by Chal, Bella
The kids waved to the parents still standing at the dock. Kurt honked the loud airhorns making the kids jump, then they all cheered for him to do it again. The boat made its way out of its berth where dozens of shrimp boats, charters, and transport vessels lined the wharf outside Morgan City’s seawall.
The kids hugged the sides, watching with pointed fingers when someone called out the landmarks they passed. After turning into a broad, brown waterway, Kurt revved the engines making the boat speed along a little faster.
The kids were occupied under the watchful eyes of the older teens and young adults, so Polly made her way up to the cabin where Kurt was piloting the boat. The two deck hands she saw earlier were relaxing against the cabin wall and stopped talking to grin at her approach.
Ignoring the leers, she stepped into the small cabin to find Kurt sitting in a tall chair bolted to the floor in front of the chrome-spoked ships wheel.
“Hey,” she said as she stopped next to him to look out the front window at the Atchafalaya river opening up in front of them. He seemed a little down when she first came in, but as soon as he saw her his face lit right up.
“Hey,” he replied. “How’re you doin’ this mornin’?”
“Better after your Meemee’s coffee,” she said as she turned to look at his face. His strong jawline and tanned skin made him look more mature than he had the night before. When he glanced at her, she noticed his eyes drop down to her chest. Typical, she thought to herself with irritation.
“Yeah, that old percolator she has does the trick better than the new machines they got,” he said as his gaze returned to the river. “You have fun last night?”
“Yeah, it was nice,” she answered noting the slightly irritated tone in his voice when he asked. “How about you?”
“Naw, not really,” he said. “But sittin’ with you that little bit was nice.”
“You and Trey didn’t seem to get along,” she said, guessing at what might be bother him.
“He’s all right,” Kurt said. “Just stuck up some, like his mama.”
“Look, I wanted to apologize for leaving you there with the baby and Kendall. Charlotte filled me in this morning on the situation with her. If I’d known, I wouldn’t have just left you there.”
He shut his eyes for a second and rubbed his forehead. “It’s fine. You can’t get away from people in a town this small anyway.”
“So, tell me about yourself. I already know you play guitar and drive huge boats like this one,” she said, hoping to get on easier topics.
“The St. Marie here is only eighteen meters. She ain’t big. We use her to get crews to the rigs out in the swamps or just off the coast. Great Uncle Charlie, he got a sixty meter boat called the Grand Béatrice that he takes deep into the gulf that is three times this big and has three decks.”
“You ever get to drive that one?”
“Sometimes, but it’s a bitch to dock without thumping the wharf, so usually Uncle Charlie does that part.”
The conversation lulled for a moment as they both looked at the passing scenery. “It’s peaceful,” Polly whispered.
“Yeah, and a little boring after doing it for ten years, but it’ll do ‘til I figure out what I want to do next.”
“What do you want to do?” she asked, watching his dark brown eyes dart around the river. He glanced at her with a wistful expression for a moment, then took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“That’s the big question, ain’t it.” He was quiet for a while, but Polly could tell he was thinking about the answer. “Sometimes you can feel the world pushing in on you out here, but it never quite reaches you. Like it’s a TV show or something. I keep telling myself I’m gonna get out of here and see what it’s like livin’ out there, but then another year passes and here I sit.”
Polly could see his eyes getting misty, but he blinked it away. She asked, “So why don’t you just get in your car and drive? Go see what’s out there for yourself?”
Kurt shook his head. “I been places, but they never stuck. I don’t know, maybe I’m afraid of being alone, or maybe it’s just nice being somewhere you belong, where people know you.”
“What about going away to school or joining the service?” she asked as he clenched his jaw with pinched lips.
“I had problems in school,” he said without looking at her. “It ain’t gonna happen.”
“I’m sorry, I wish I could help,” she said and put her hand on his arm. His skin prickled and she felt a shock pass between them almost like static electricity. Kurt put his warm hand over hers and looked her in the eyes.
“You have, sha,” he said as he smiled sadly. “Thanks for listening to me bitch about it.”
Charlotte poked her head in the door and said, “Hey Polly, the kids are going crazy for snacks and a drink. Can you give me a hand?”
“Coming,” she said, squeezing his arm before letting go. On the way out she raised her hand to her lips without thinking, finding the scent of his cologne on her fingertips.
* * *
After distributing the food and drink pouches, she listened as Charlotte and her cousin Jean pointed out plants and animals on the river. The great oak trees with beards of Spanish moss were so beautiful Polly took pictures of them with her phone. They saw plenty of nutria swimming on near the shore, which Polly thought looked like beavers with skinny tails. There were hundreds of birds, including tall cranes, colorful ducks, and even some eagles diving after fish.
When the boat docked again and was tied off to the wharf, Polly ushered her two charges into the waiting arms of their parents with a smile. Jack and Julie listened as the girls recounted everything they saw on the trip with the excitement only children seem to possess.
While Jack asked the girls questions, Julie looked up at Polly and asked, “Did they behave?”
“Oh, yes, they were great. Who kidnapped Jackson?” Polly asked with a grin.
“Meemee, of course,” Julie said with a laugh. “She was too busy yesterday with all the cooking, so she grabbed him out of my arms as soon as he’d been fed this afternoon.”
“I’m gonna stay and help clean up. I’ll get a ride back with Kurt and Charlotte.”
“Have fun!” Julie said with a wink.
Back on the boat, Polly helped Charlotte and Kurt clean up the mess of juice pouches and sandwich bags. Kurt let the two hands go and locked up the boat’s cabin. After they dumped the melted ice overboard into the river, Polly and Charlotte carried the empty ice chests down the gangway to a faded green sedan. Kurt walked up jangling his keys, then opened the trunk for them to put away the ice chests.
“Is this your car?” Polly asked.
“Yeah, it looks like hell, but I keep it running good. No point in getting a car painted that sits in the sun all week while I'm out on a boat.”
Charlotte shut the trunk. “It’s a sleeper,” she said with a smirk.
“What’s a sleeper?” Polly asked, looking between them. Kurt didn’t say anything as he opened the drivers side door and sat behind the wheel. When the engine turned over, the low purr made the ground vibrate. “Oh!”
“He completely gutted it and replaced the engine and drive train with a big eight-cylinder engine and fast transmission he could maintain himself. On the outside it looks like a family car, but this thing can fly. Come on!” Charlotte laughed as she opened the passenger door for Polly and climbed in the back seat.
Kurt drove carefully, but the power under the hood punctuated every start and turn with a rumble she could feel in her stomach. Actually, she could feel it a little lower as well, which made her shift in the seat with a grin.
“What a surprise,” she said to Charlotte as she leaned over the seat back.
She gave Polly a penetrating look and said, “I love this car.”
“I can see why,” Polly said with a wink.
“Yeah, working on it keeps me sane,” Kurt said, oblivious to their private moment. He deepened his voice and said, “She may not look like much
, but she’s got it where it counts, kid.” Polly recognized the quote instantly.
“So when will we make the jump to hyperspace?” Polly asked as they got back on the highway.
Kurt laughed. “A Star Wars fan, too? Damn it, Polly, why you have to live so far away?” Charlotte reached over and mussed his hair while Polly grinned out the window. “We’re probably eating leftovers at Pawpaw and Meemee’s house tonight. Wanna play cards or something later?” He glanced at Polly with an expression of longing that scared her a little.
“Sure,” she said. “What game?”
“Poker? Spades? Crazy Eights? Whatever you want.”
“I love Spades. Wanna be my partner?” Polly asked Charlotte.
“Hell, yeah!” She said and put her hand up for a high five.
Polly smacked it with a grin and said, “We need a fourth. How about Trey? Is he still in town?”
Charlotte grabbed her phone. “Let’s find out.”
* * *
The turkey was even better warmed up and everyone sat around the big kitchen table for a while after the meal to share family gossip. When the little kids started getting rowdy, their parents ran them through the bathroom to get ready for bed. Kurt got the playing cards from a drawer and began shuffling them.
“Okay, Polly picked Spades and called Charlotte as her partner. That means you and me gotta show them how to play, Trey.”
“Good, ’cause you and Charlotte have that freaky twin telepathy thing and I only play a game if I can win.”
The first game went fast, but the guys couldn’t get a break against Polly and Charlotte. In the end the guys threw their hands up, complaining loudly about their loss.
“I love my new partner,” Charlotte said as she took the final hand with the king of spades. “Get me a beer?” she asked her brother.
“Anyone else?” Kurt asked as he went to the fridge.
“Me,” Trey said while Charlotte started shuffling the deck. He turned to Polly and asked, “So how was the boat trip?”
“Oh, it was so much fun. Why didn’t you come?”
“I slept in after you wore me out last night. I had a great time.” He was leaning on the table to gaze at her with an expression that made her feel warm.
“Me, too,” she said and reached over to pat his hand. He took her fingers in his hand and squeezed them. “I wish you weren’t going back tomorrow.”
“It’s not my call. Jack said he has some work around the house to do.”
“I’ll drive you back if you want to stay ’til Sunday,” Trey said. He kept glancing between her eyes and lips with a hungry expression. “I don’t mind a side trip to your side of town.”
Kurt returned and thumped the beer down hard next to Trey’s hand, making the beer foam up out of the neck. “Sorry,” he growled as he sat and picked up his cards.
Trey let go of her hand to put the beer bottle in his mouth to catch it before it spilled. “What the hell, man?” Trey said after drinking it down a little.
“I said sorry,” he growled again. “What’s your bid?”
“I don’t know, I haven’t even looked at my hand!”
Polly felt the tension and caught Charlotte giving her brother a warning look. They both can’t like me! she thought in shock. Other than creeps that tried to pick her up from the pharmacy window, no one had been interested in her for over a year. She stared at the cards in her hand without actually seeing them.
Kurt was nice, but he wasn’t really her type. She wanted someone that shared her interest in reading and world politics. Her dream man had a career, not just a job, and was driven to learn and improve himself. She wanted a partner to share her life and just couldn’t see Kurt that way.
Trey was a bit too perfect. His eyes twinkled all the time like he was about to laugh, but he never shared the joke. There was something smarmy about the way he smiled at her, always looking over her shoulder to make certain Kurt noticed. If I could trust him though... she thought, but the rest was interrupted by Kurt.
“Polly, are you going to bid?” he asked with an annoyed edge to his voice.
Her hand only had one king, no spades, and all the other suits mostly even. She looked up at Charlotte and said, “Nil.” The grin she got in return confirmed her bid was a good one.
Trey grinned as well and said, “Don’t worry partner, I’ll set her.”
“Let’s hope so, otherwise they’ll be too far ahead to catch,” he said in a tired monotone.
In the end, the girls trounced them. Polly recovered her composure and begged off playing another round to have some time to think. Trey said goodnight with a reminder of his offer to drive her back to Houston. Kurt stood at the back door watching him drive off with a hard expression on his face.
Charlotte put the cards away, then leaned close to Polly. “It’s none of my business...” she started, but stopped as she appeared to think about what to say next.
“Go ahead. I need all the help I can get.” Polly looked up at her sympathetic expression with a sad smile.
“I love my brother. He’s a great guy, but he’s like a barge loose in the river that needs a tug boat to push him along. I always wave off girls I like because he hurts them all eventually. He doesn’t mean to, it just happens.”
“I see that,” Polly said, as Charlotte’s words fitted in neatly with her own perceptions.
“But Trey's another story. You watch your ass with him. He isn’t anywhere as nice as he pretends to be.”
“What do you mean?” Polly asked with a frown.
“Something happened at his fraternity and Uncle Thomas had to pay some money to hush it up. There was a girl involved, but no one knows the whole story. I think it was some kind of prank gone wrong.”
“Wow,” Polly whispered.
“Shit, Meemee would kick my ass for airing our dirty laundry to a guest,” Charlotte said with a laugh. “Look, take everything I say with a grain of salt and make your own decisions. Just be careful.”
Polly took her hands and squeezed them. “I will. Thanks so much for everything.”
Kurt came back in and stopped when he saw them standing together. “Are you coming home with me or hanging out?” Kurt asked his sister.
“I’m coming,” Charlotte said and hugged Polly quickly before joining him. “Hey, you want to go see the famous Carillon Tower tomorrow?”
“I need to check with Julie first, but I’m up for anything,” Polly said.
“See you tomorrow, then!” Charlotte said as she dragged her brother out the back door.
Chapter 4: Kurt
“You sure been spending lots of time with that friend of Julie’s,” Noëlle Guidry said. Kurt looked at his mother and grit his teeth, knowing full well what she was about to say. “Why don’t you invite Kendall to go to the bell tower with y’all today?”
Charlotte jumped in before Kurt could say anything. “Polly’s my friend, Mama.”
“So you can’t take two friends with you?” Noëlle said as she got up to do the breakfast dishes. “Besides, I heard that Trey is takin’ a shine to the girl.”
Kurt finished off his toast and got up to put his plate next to the sink. “Drop it, Mama.”
“I just wish you’d get over whatever happened between you two. Kendall is such a nice girl.”
“Then you marry her,” Kurt growled and stomped out of the kitchen.
Despite being an adult, discussing the nuances of his sex life with his mama was out of the question. He couldn’t imagine trying to describe how he found Kendall kneeling next to the bathroom trash with his used condom in her hand. When she glanced up, the look of shock and guilt on her face had made it obvious what she’d been intending to do with it. Sometimes he was tempted to tell his mama just to see if it would make her drop the subject for good.
Sitting on his bed to put on his shoes, Kurt felt her comment digging into his head. Trey is takin’ a shine to the girl, Kurt thought as his stomach clenched. There was something about Polly he cou
ldn’t put his finger on, but he’d been unable to think about anything else for three days.
She was pretty, but he’d seen lots of pretty girls before. Then there was her easy going nature and her kindness, but that wasn’t uncommon either. She had a sensual way of moving, especially when she danced, that made his blood rush into his guts. Still, there was something else, something impossible to describe about her that captivated him.
Like when she touched him on the boat, such a simple thing. He swore he felt a connection between them like the spark on a battery when you hook it to a car. There was no reason a simple touch like that should have driven him crazy, but it had.
“Are you ready yet?” Charlotte asked from the door.
“Yeah,” he said and stood up. She was reading his face with a look of concern, so he stuck his tongue out at her.
“Funny man,” she said. “Don’t let her get to you.” Kurt couldn’t decide if she meant his mama, Kendall, or Polly.
* * *
When they arrived at Pawpaw and Meemee’s house, Kurt was annoyed to see Trey’s vintage Camaro parked outside. When they got inside the house, Trey was sitting next to Polly at the kitchen table eating breakfast. Aunt Bella and her family were sitting in the living room watching television.
“Good mornin’,” Trey called when he caught sight of them. “Polly invited me to go see the Carillon Tower with y’all.”
“I hope you don’t mind,” Polly said looking a little apprehensive.
“It’s fine. The more the merrier,” Charlotte said as she poured a cup of Meemee’s strong coffee. “Want some?” she asked her brother.
“Naw,” he said as he sat opposite Polly at the table. “Where is everyone?” The kitchen was usually bustling in the morning when there was a house full of guests.
“Jack and Julie got the kids up early to go to Avery Island,” Polly said. “I almost ditched you guys. I had no idea they make Tabasco sauce out here!”
“Yeah, the visitor center is pretty nice. We can go there instead if you want,” Charlotte said.
“No, I read up on the Carillon Tower last night on my phone. I want to hear what those bronze bells sound like.”
