by Jim Craig
She looked up at me with glistening eyes and I realized my voice had probably been a little harsh. “Look, Johnny, I know I ran out on you last summer. I couldn’t help it.”
The memory pulled a foul taste to the back of my throat. I sat back. “Yeah, I never did understand that.”
“I know,” she whispered and went quiet.
I waited and fought the temptation to say something mean. All the weeks and months of missing her and fighting off the emptiness flashed back before my eyes.
“I lied to you,” she blurted.
Now it was my turn to go quiet. What? I just stared at her.
“I told you I was divorced. I wasn’t.”
The room suddenly felt extremely small. I started to stand up.
“Wait a minute, Johnny. Please? Let me finish. Okay?”
I hesitated and tried to calm the raging confusion in my head.
“I was really mixed up then. The marriage was dead and I knew it. When I met you and we went through that whole thing last year, it made me realize what I had to do.”
I looked at her quizzically and she took a breath and went on. “I went home and ended it. The divorce was final three months ago.”
Just then the door banged open. Willie invaded the little room like a garbage truck hitting a pothole. Ignoring us, he jerked off his coat and cracked it like a whip throwing water all around the room. Then he smacked his hat on a chair three or four times and jammed both soggy garments on a wall hook.
“It’s still raining like hell out there,” he grumbled.
“No kidding? I had no idea,” I said wiping rain drops off my face.
“You don’t have a sleeping bag, do you?” he smirked. “There’s a pile of canvas in the barn. Go make yourself a bunk.”
He jerked the door open and waited for me to move.
“Uh, I was…” My words trailed off. I glanced at Brandy. She caught my look and shrugged. Papa Grizzly was sending me packing. I sighed and reached for my coat.
“Okay, whatever.” I pushed past Willie glaring at him with all the heat I could manage. He met my look straight on. Like a block of granite. I knew better than to challenge him.
With my tail between my legs I stepped outside. Reluctant to leave the warm dry room I hesitated, but the door closed firmly behind me pushing me the rest of the way out into the rain.
