by Chal, Bella
After panicking for hours when Kurt had gone missing, Cathy called late in the afternoon to report he was drinking alone at the bar in Dave and Buster’s. Polly didn’t want to scare him off, so she told Cathy to keep an eye on him until she could get up there, but Camden had found him first.
Standing up from the dining room table, she went out the patio door into the predawn cold for privacy as she called her friend.
“I can’t believe you’re still up,” Cathy asked when she answered, sounding weary herself.
“Yeah, I can’t sleep,” Polly said. “Did he say anything?”
“I didn’t understand it, but maybe you will. Did you tell something to Trey that Kurt told you?”
“Sort of,” she sighed. “Trey always obsessed about what Kurt was doing for some reason. This whole thing got started when I mentioned in passing where Kurt was working.”
“Kurt says he only told you about his job after you started seeing him.”
“No, I’d overheard him and Jack whispering about it the day he got the job.” Then cold chills shot up her back when Polly remembered the job offer that Kurt had told her about. “Oh, shit! He didn’t know I overheard him and Jack talking. He thinks I didn’t know until he showed me his offer letter.”
“So that’s what he meant,” Cathy said. “Apparently Trey said you told him after you’d had sex or something,” Cathy said.
“No wonder he’s so pissed at me,” Polly said as she covered her mouth with her hand. “He mentioned talking to Trey and I know they haven’t spoken since Thanksgiving. He must have gone to see him today! God, what a mess. I can only imagine what kind of lies Trey filled his head with.”
“Oh, one more thing, he said he was heading back to Morgan City when he left a while ago,” Cathy said.
“Then hopefully he’ll be coming by here for Charlotte and his things,” Polly sighed. “I have to get him to listen to me.”
“Look, if it means anything I’m kicking Camden out of my apartment. We had a huge fight about all this after he left. She’s a total pig anyway and I was getting tired of doing her dishes.”
“I appreciate you standing by me,” Polly said, fighting tears again. “You’re a real friend, Cathy.”
“Hang in there,” she said. “I gotta get some sleep. So do you.”
“I will. Talk to you soon,” she said and ended the call.
Looking through the sliding glass door, she could see Jack still leaning over the dining room table with his head in his hands. His shoulders were moving as he sobbed quietly over the paperwork on the table. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and marched back into the house.
“Okay, the pity party is officially over. Let’s get to work fixing this shit,” she said as she sat down next to him.
He looked up with a scowl at her. “I’m already doing everything I can think of.”
“Let’s see,” she said as she ticked off her fingers. “You broke your nephew’s heart, you kept a dangerous secret from your wife, you’ve pushed away all the people who’ve tried to help you, and your sitting here pretending to be busy so we’ll leave you alone. Did I miss anything else you’re doing?”
“Fuck you, Polly,” Jack growled. “You can leave any time you want.”
“No, I can’t,” she said as her rage boiled over. “The man I’m in love with thinks I betrayed him because of you. Kurt idolizes you, Jack. When he and I sat around dreaming, he wanted to be more like you than his own father! Do you know what you did to him when you accused him of talking and threw him out of here?” Her hands were clenched into fists as she leaned into Jack’s face.
“He told someone what we were doing and caused all this! I know he did because I sure as hell didn’t,” he shouted back.
“No, you son of a bitch, I did! I overheard the two of you discussing his job and mentioned where he was working to Trey.”
“Trey?” he asked with a puzzled expression. “What’s Trey got to do with this?”
“Who do you think sent the fucking email?” she shouted in exasperation.
“Mike Phillips,” Jack muttered. “It had to be Mike.” He looked away with a deep frown on his face.
“Wait, what does your old boss have to do with what happened?” Polly asked, feeling totally lost.
“Oh my God,” Jack whispered. “I’m such an idiot.”
Charlotte came stumbling into the dining room. “Come on guys, stop yelling or you’ll wake the kids.”
“I think Kurt figured it was Trey who sent the email and went to see him today,” Polly said, trying to keep Jack talking. “This is all my fault, Jack, not his. He never told me anything about your plans. All I did was tell Trey the name of the company when I overheard you two talking. Trey must have figured out the rest himself and used it to get Kurt fired after we broke up.”
Charlotte sat down on the other side of Jack. “I knew you asked Kurt to come here to do something for you, but he never told me either, Uncle Jack.”
Jack was glassy-eyed and panting like he was pushing back a heavy weight. “I can’t fix this,” he whispered. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Let us help,” Polly said.
“I’ll make some coffee,” Charlotte said as she got up and patted her uncle on his shoulder.
It took the whole pot of coffee and the rest of the night before Polly understood the whole situation. Jack had wanted to know why every transport company had doubled their quotes at the same time. After Kurt found out that Jack’s old company, MJP Engineering, was getting cut rate shipping it hadn’t been too far of a stretch for Jack to figure out what happened.
Jack had discovered his old boss, who was also the man Sophie had left him for a couple of years before, had extended loans and investments to transport companies to get favorable rates. After he had some leverage it wasn’t hard to imagine him asking each of them to stop doing business with his competitor, Deep Drilling, by raising their quotes when asked for bids.
That left Deep Drilling paying such high shipping costs that there was no profit from the sales Jack had brought in. So when the email came, Jack assumed it was Mike’s final punishment for stealing away his most lucrative customers. The idea that Trey was behind the email took Jack a while to accept.
“Whatever problems I had with Laurie over the years, she’d never have done something like this to me. Trey’s my blood,” Jack said as he stared into the steaming cup of coffee. “I brought him in as an intern, for fuck’s sake.”
Polly nodded. “He fooled me too, Jack.” The three of them sat quietly for a moment.
“Well, at some point your boss is gonna figure out you didn’t steal anything, so what are you gonna do then?” Charlotte asked.
“We’re completely screwed,” Jack admitted. “Johnson and Abernathy won’t deliver for us and getting someone else at the last minute is impossible. Those guys plan their deliveries weeks, sometimes months out. Without a way to deliver the equipment I sold, the company will be hit hard, maybe even go under.”
“So call Great Uncle Charlie,” Charlotte suggested. “Maybe he could help.”
Jack nodded and said, “I was thinking that very thing, but there are more important things to take care of first.”
“Hopefully showering is one of them,” Polly mentioned with a grin.
He chuckled sadly and nodded his head. “I've got to make things right with Julie. I should have know better than to keep secrets after what we’ve been through.”
“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked, but Polly answered.
“Julie was pregnant with Jackson for months and kept putting off telling Jack. When she sprang it on him one night, he left town without a word to her for weeks.”
“Oh, I never knew,” Charlotte said, then took a sip of coffee.
“It wasn’t my finest moment,” Jack said. “But we swore we’d never keep secrets again. I didn’t think a secret from work would backfire this way.”
“Well, go clean up, buy some pr
etty roses, and go grovel until she comes back,” Polly said with an encouraging smile. When it faded, Jack took her hand.
“I’m gonna make things right with Kurt, too,” he said. “You were spot on. I wasn’t being fair to him. I’m sorry it ended up hurting you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not giving up,” Polly said with a quivering chin. “He’s mine and we’re gonna get through this.”
“I’ll help,” Charlotte said. “I know he burns hot now and then, but Kurt can see sense if you put it the right way. Of course, sometimes that means a hard stick upside his head, but I’m willing to beat some sense into him for my new sister.”
That made them all chuckle, then Jack stood up. “Thanks for helping me work through this. I never expected...” He stopped and pinched his lips for a moment until he got control of himself. “You’re both good friends.”
“Naw,” Polly said, imitating Kurt’s Cajun accent with a grin. “We family.”
* * *
Julie came home later that morning. Polly and Charlotte had kept the kids busy while Jack had gone after her, then napped while Lisa and Jen played with their new Christmas toys. Polly had just started dreaming about making up with Kurt when the shrill cry of the girls woke her.
“Julie-mom! Julie-mom!” They ran from the living room to embrace Julie’s legs, not letting go until she sat down on the floor to hug them both. Polly spotted a large bouquet of red roses on the ground behind her back.
“I’m so sorry I left without saying goodbye. I’ll never do that again,” she promised with eyes full of tears. “Never again.” The kisses and hugs slowed down just as Jack came in carrying Jackson and their overnight bag with a broad smile on his face.
“Good choice,” Polly said, nodding at the roses.
“Thanks again,” he said as he stepped around Julie and the girls. “Take Jackson for a sec?”
“Come here, little man,” she cooed and held out her arms for him.
“Da! Da Da!” Jackson said as he reached out for her. She gave him kisses until he squealed, then sat him down to toddle between the couch and coffee table.
Jack went into their bedroom to put away their things while the girls pulled Julie into the living room to show her what they’d been doing. Polly couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under her best friend’s eyes. They probably match my own, she thought to herself. After the excitement wore off, Julie scooted back to lean against the couch.
“Jack explained what’s been going on. I’m so sorry about Kurt. Have you heard from him yet?”
Polly shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’m in for the long haul. I’m not letting him go.” The room got a little blurry until she wiped her eyes.
“I seem to remember feeling that way once when someone was mad at me. You gave me some pretty good advice, as I remember.”
Polly laughed and said, “Oh god, here come my words. I hope they taste as good the second time around.”
“Go to work, read a book, see a movie, because worrying about something you can’t change only hurts you more.”
“I’m a pretty smart cookie,” Polly said with a sad smile. “I do have to go to work this afternoon, but I’ll leave my phone on vibrate. Text me if he comes by and make him stay until I get here. Please,” she begged with tears in her eyes. “Please.”
“I will,” Julie said and hugged her friend close. “Go on, we’ll get through this.”
* * *
No messages came during her shift, so Polly sped back to Julie and Jack’s house after work only to arrive disappointed his car wasn’t parked out front. She was exhausted, but forced herself to go inside long enough to find out the latest news.
Julie answered the door with a frown and shake of her head. “No one seems to know where he is. Jack called everyone he could think of, his parents, Kurt’s parents, Uncle Charlie, but he hasn’t shown up anywhere yet.”
The news made Polly’s empty stomach clench until she felt like gagging. “There’s no reason to panic yet,” she said, but decided to call the hospitals along the route between Houston and Morgan City when she got home.
“Come in for a bit,” Julie said and pulled her in. “Charlotte made some gumbo for dinner and it’s still warm.”
“I can’t eat,” Polly said, her fingers twisting the strap of her purse.
“Just come sit for a minute. You look like you’re gonna pass out.”
The kids were already in bed and Charlotte was cleaning the kitchen when she got there. “Hey, sis,” she said with a half-smile.
“Hey, sis,” Polly said and embraced Charlotte. “What’s new?”
“Mom and Dad freakin’ out, Meemee calling every thirty minutes, you know, the usual.”
“Damn,” Polly said as she pulled back. Charlotte looked as worried as she felt.
“There’s one bright spark in all the gloom. Uncle Jack and Great Uncle Charlie think they have a plan to save Deep Drilling.”
Julie brought over a hot mug of tea and gave it to Polly with a grin. “Bush tea?”
“Oh my god, yes,” Polly said as she brought the mug under her nose for a deep breath. “Oh, this is just what I needed.” Bush tea is made from the red leaves of the rooibos bush in southern Africa and was one of Polly’s favorites. “Let’s sit and talk for a minute. I’ve been on my feet all day.”
They went to the dining room table, but left Jack alone at his end where he was typing madly.
“Does Uncle Charlie think he can help?”
“Yeah,” Charlotte said. “He said he’s got a light schedule the first couple of weeks of the new year and is going to send a couple of his smaller platform supply ships to help Jack out.”
Jack stopped typing for a second and said, “Assuming my boss is willing to keep me on, that is. The second part of the plan is to form a joint venture with Uncle Charlie and create our own transport company. That’s what I’m working on now.”
Polly tilted her head and smiled. “Which means you’d need to have someone local to pilot your ships, right?”
“Do you think Kurt would go for Director of Operations?”
She felt chills as she smiled. “You have no idea what that would mean to him coming from you.”
Jack nodded. “I think I do. We just need to get him here so I can apologize and ask him.” He rubbed his temples. “First things first, I have to get this business plan drafted and sent over to Uncle Charlie before I pass out.”
Polly had just taken another sip of her tea when Jack’s cell phone rang.
“This is Jack,” he said to answer the call. “That’s good news, so what’s next?” As he listened, Jack trapped the phone against his ear with his shoulder and continued to type on his computer. “That’s fine. I already explained what we were doing.”
Polly decided he was talking to his boss at Deep Drilling. His demeanor was more relaxed, so she hoped it was good news.
After typing some more, Jack stopped to look at the ceiling. “No, I understand. Will you give me an hour tomorrow? I have a proposal I’d like you to consider to get us out of this mess.”
Definitely his boss, Polly thought. Watching his expression shift while he was on the phone was fascinating.
Jack smiled and shut his eyes. “What do you think I’ve been doing? I’ve already got ships coming in from Morgan City to deliver our inventory starting January first!”
Hearing Jack laugh made all three women smile. After saying goodbye, Julie asked, “Well?”
“I still have a job. They didn’t find anything related to me, but the warehouse manager may not have been so lucky. He was blown away that I never stopped working on this problem, even after they suspended me. I’ve got an hour tomorrow to sell him on the idea of the partnership with Uncle Charlie.”
Julie sighed and collapsed backwards in her chair. “Thank God,” she whispered. “I thought I was going to throw up for a minute there,” she said as she rubbed her stomach.
Jack looked at Polly with an intense express
ion and said, “Thank you.”
She nodded at him, finished her tea in one gulp, and pushed her chair back. “I’m done. I can’t stay awake any more.”
Charlotte’s phone rang, making her sigh. “I bet it’s Meemee asking if we heard anything yet.” When she pulled out her phone, she grinned and showed them the name on the phone. “Hey there, Meemee. He is? Oh, thank god! Let me talk to that ragondin— Well, wake him up! When he wakes up... Okay, okay. Mo laimé twa, Meemee. Bonswa.”
“He’s safe?” Polly asked as her heart rose in her throat.
“Yeah, he got there about an hour ago and passed out in the downstairs guest room. She didn’t even know he was there ‘til he started snorin’! He wouldn’t wake up, so she just covered him up and left him there.” Charlotte shook her head. “I can’t believe he left me here. I’m gonna get him back for years on that, you can believe me.”
Polly sat back and silently thanked God. It wasn’t fixed yet, but he wasn’t off somewhere dead or hurt. She heard Julie get up and opened her eyes as both friends bent to hug her tight. The tears came fast as she sobbed out her relief with her best friend and new sister.
Chapter 15: Kurt
Kurt knocked twice on the door to Great Uncle Charlie’s office. Bernice, who worked up at the front desk, said Uncle Charlie had beaten her into the office for the last couple of days and was staying late into the night. Kurt stared at the plain wooden door, devoid of hope and more exhausted than he’d ever been.
Despite sleeping a full day, he hadn’t rested. His dreams were full of slow-motion fights where his cousin Trey danced around laughing as he avoided the blows coming his way. Slipping out of his grandparents house without being seen, Kurt drove to the one place he still felt connected.
The Mouton Transportation Company was where he’d gone after failing out of high school. It had given him a skilled trade and the long trips out on delivery runs had given him time to think. Now, the idea of getting away from everyone and everything had become irresistible.
