Burnt

by Lacy Hart

  “One fresh lemonade,” she said as reached down and grabbed a straw. “I just made it myself.”

  “Thanks, Maggie,” I said to her, trying not to show my nervousness to her. I took a sip of the tart lemonade and felt it hit the back of my throat as it went down, making me choke a little.

  “Easy, sweetie,” Maggie said to me. “That’s strong stuff you know.”

  I could feel myself turning red again as she smiled at me and went back down towards Fred. He had already finished most of his burger and was trying to engaging Maggie in conversation when I heard a cell phone ring. It was obviously Fred’s, as he pulled it from his shirt pocket and flipped it open, disappointed that his conversation was interrupted. He had a brief, animated discussion with whoever was on the phone with him, hung up angrily, and sat back down with his shoulders slumped. He told Maggie he had to go, there was some problem with someone misplacing Mrs. Henderson’s favorite dress, and she was ranting and raving in the shop. Maggie reached over and touched his hand gently and said it was okay, causing him to brighten with a smile again. He took money out of his wallet and left it on the bar, turned and smiled at me widely as he walked out, obviously happy with how things went.

  Good for you Mr. Perkins.

  Maggie had disappeared again, but quickly came bouncing back with my lunch. As she was putting the plate in front of me, I knew it was now or never time for me. I took a quick glance down at the salad, which looked yummy with its chicken, hard-boiled egg, bacon, and avocado with some bleu cheese crumbles over greens. I lightly picked at the salad as Maggie took some glassware out of the dishwasher behind the bar to my left.

  “So Maggie,” I began, hearing my voice cracking slightly as I spoke, “ Mary and I were in here last night. It was pretty busy.”

  “Yes, I was surprised it was so packed for a Thursday night. But you know, summer, small town, it’s hot, no one wants to cook. It’s all good for me,” she said with a laugh.

  “Yeah, I guess it is,” I could feel the nervousness making it’s way from my stomach up to my throat, trying to cut me off. I had to get it out before I stopped myself.

  “I saw you in here, with a young girl, a redhead,” I said as I grabbed a forkful of greens and shoved them into my mouth.

  “Oh?” Maggie said to me. There was a slight twinkle in her eye as she closed the dishwasher and came closer to me.

  I swallowed my greens slowly, trying not to choke. “Yes,” I said, feeling my hand tremble a little as I pierced a piece of chicken. “I had never seen her before. She looked like she would be the age of the girls in my class. I was just wondering who she was.” There, I had said it. It was hanging out there, and I just had to brace myself for the reply.

  Maggie put her arms on the bar in front of me. “That was my granddaughter, Abby,” she told me. A seriousness came over her face as she said it, making me feel like I had to brace for the worst news I could hear. That knot was in my throat now, and I could almost feel tears welling up in my eyes.

  “Granddaughter,” I said solemnly, trying to look like it didn’t bother me. “So… so Travis has a daughter.” I am sure Maggie could tell this was tearing me up inside, but I had to press on. “I’m sure he and… and his wife… are very proud. She’s a very pretty girl.” I forced myself to take a bite of avocado, though now it felt like acid going down my throat. I washed it down with some lemonade, which made me cough and choke again. I grabbed my napkin and coughed into it, using it to wipe the light tears I could feel in my eyes.

  I felt Maggie’s hands pull mine down slowly from my face. She could see my eyes were red now, and I tried to hold myself back from bawling. I could see her smiling at me.

  “Travis isn’t married, Sophie,” she said to me, using the napkin I was holding to wipe my face.

  “He’s not?” I said to her, finding it hard to believe the Travis would divorce anyone.

  “Nope never has been,” Maggie told me. “Brenda, Abby’s mother, took off when she was two months old. She didn’t want a family or to be tied down. She wanted to live a “free” life. Travis hasn’t seen or heard from her since. He’s raised Abby by himself… well, with a little help from me along the way,” she said proudly.

  I felt a huge weight lifted off me as the knot went away. I laughed a little as the last tear fell, and took another bite of my salad. Suddenly, Cobb salad tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten.

  I took a quick glance down at my watch to feign interest in it.

  “Oh, look at what time it is,” I said in haste, trying to move quickly. “I need to get over to the school for paperwork.” I fumbled with my purse, trying to get it open.

  “I thought you said you were skipping school today,” Maggie said to me, arching an eyebrow.

  “I did, I mean I was going to, but I really should get some work in. Classes start in just a few weeks.” I pulled my wallet out of my purse. “What do I owe you?” I asked Maggie.

  “No charge,” Maggie told me as I tried to hand her a twenty. “Lunch is on me. Just two friends getting together for a little catching up, okay?”

  I smiled broadly at her, maybe even wider than Fred Perkins had. “Thank you,” I said to her softly.

  “Your welcome Sophie,” she said. “Come around again soon, okay?”

  “I… I will. I promise,” I told her as I practically skipped out of the restaurant.

  I barely noticed the wave of heat that hit me as I walked outside and quick-stepped to my car. I opened the car door, sat down, turned the car on and felt warm air rush from the vents as it worked to get cool. I banged my palms on the steering wheel as I felt a huge grin on my face.

  “You can forget about those cats,” I said out loud to myself as I backed out and started driving over to the school, hoping to catch Mary there so I could tell her all about this.

  9

  Travis

  At some point, mornings aren’t going to feel like they come too soon. Lately, every morning comes after a terrible night of sleep. There’s always one dream or another making my nights miserable. Last night it wasn’t the dreams so much, though those moments certainly came up as well. Fitful images of my Dad, his house and trying to make my way through that mess were certainly part of it. I also had plenty of visions of Sophie, both good and bad. Sleeping on the old full-sized bed in my bedroom at my mother’s certainly didn’t help things. I wondered how I was able to sleep in this all those years ago. Granted I was bigger now than I was then, thanks to years of working out, training, and working at the firehouse. Still, this bed had plenty of dips and lumps so I could feel practically every spring poking me in the back all night long.

  The sun peeked through the thin white curtain on the window much earlier than I had anticipated it and tried as I did to roll over and block it out, it just wasn’t happening. I rolled back over and looked at my watch that I had placed on the rickety nightstand and saw it was barely 7 AM. I didn’t have to get to Mr. Rogers office until 9 AM or so, so I had some time to shower, wake myself up some more and get ready for whatever this meeting was going to present to me.

  I wandered down to the bathroom with my toiletries in tow and went in so I could shower. The bathroom, much like my bedroom, looked like it hadn’t aged much since my teenage years. Everything was clean and in place, and Mom had even put in a new showerhead in the shower so that the flow was better than I ever remember it being when I was younger. The hot water felt good on my skin and even helped to take some of the aches out of muscles and my leg. I took a quick look down at my leg as I showered. It still amazed me that the scar was that big and that the wood nails of that porch had torn so easily through my fire suit to cause that much damage. I can remember being at the hospital as they were frantically trying to stop the bleeding, grateful it hadn’t gotten to my femoral artery to where things would be really dire. The physical therapy I had done did help some to get me moving again, but after a while, I decided I didn’t want to do it anymore and just did work on my own to get bett
er.

  I got out of the shower and wrapped myself in one of the large towels Mom had in the linen closet in the bathroom. Even if she didn’t know we were coming, everything about the house seemed like it was ready for guests at any moment. I looked in the mirror and could see a few days of stubble on my chin, but I decided I couldn’t be bothered with shaving it off today and just left it the way it was. I didn’t really care if some lawyer didn’t like that I wasn’t clean shaven for my appointment.

  After brushing my teeth, I opened the bathroom door to go back to my room to dress. As soon as I opened the door, the steam came rushing out into the hallway. I also saw Abby and mother both standing there, waiting to get into the bathroom. Mom seemed a little more congenial than Abby, who was scowling at me.

  “It’s about time!” she shouted as she pushed past me and went into the bathroom, closing the door loudly.

  “Gotta love girls that age,” I said to Mom as I rolled my eyes. My mother was looking at me when I realized I just had a towel around me, making me feel a bit embarrassed.

  “When did you get the tattoos?” she remarked to me as she saw the tattoo on my upper right arm and the one on my left shoulder.

  “Oh those,” I said casually. “The one here,” as I pointed to my arm, “was when Abby was about year old or so.” It was a jagged piece of rock with Abby’s name in the center with her birthdate.

  “The one on my shoulder is more recent, just a few years ago I guess. It was something all the guys in the firehouse had done. It was our firehouse shield with the 32 on it to recognize the team, something we were all proud to get and own.”

  “I see,” Mom said, trying not to judge, but clearly judging.

  “It’s not a big deal Mom, really.” I suddenly felt like I was a teenager again, trying to explain why I was out so late.

  “You’re a grown man Travis,” she said to me. “You can do as you like, you know that. I just never saw the sense in tattoos. Your father had his from his time in the Army, and I never liked it.”

  I could remember Dad showing off the tattoo on his arm. It was something that he was always proud of, even if he rarely talked about his military time. He was in the military at a time when there wasn’t much activity going on, so he never saw any action, which I think disappointed him in a way, and maybe led to why he drank so much.

  “I’m going to get dressed now,” I said to my mother, feeling more uncomfortable by the moment standing there in my towel. The bathroom door opened and Abby brushed past me again.

  “Abby, you need to get dressed and come with me this morning,” I said to her as she went towards her bedroom.

  “Why? I thought I could go with Grandma this morning to the restaurant,” she said, pouting.

  I glanced over at my mother, hoping she would give me a look that showed some support for my side for a change. Mom finally got the hint and replied to Abby.

  “I’m pretty busy there in the morning Abs,” Mom told her. “ I wouldn’t really be able to spend much time with you down there. You’re better off going with your Dad.”

  “I can help you out,” she said hoping to sway her Grandmother with her green eyes and smile.

  “I’ll tell you what,” Mom said to her as she put her arm around her and led her towards Abby’s room. “You can come with me tomorrow and spend the whole day at the restaurant. Saturdays are the day when I can use the most help anyway. Sound good to you?” Mom looked over at me, and I nodded.

  “Okay,” Abby said reluctantly going along with the plan. She walked into her bedroom and shut the door to get dressed.

  “Thanks, Mom,” I said as I walked down the hall to my bedroom so I could get moving.

  I put on a simple blue dress shirt and a pair of jeans to wear to the lawyer’s office. How good did you have to look just to sign some papers? I pulled my boots on and headed down the hall and made sure to knock on Abby’s door.

  “Are you ready?” I shouted through the door.

  “Give me just one minute Dad!” she yelled back, sounding frustrated that I would even ask.

  I went downstairs to pour myself a cup of coffee before we left. Mom apparently could get ready in the blink of an eye and was already dressed to head out to the restaurant, pouring coffee into a travel mug for herself. She then handed me another travel mug she had already filled for me.

  “How did you get ready so fast?” I said to her as I took a sip of coffee.

  “When you do it so often it comes naturally, Travis.” She said as she put the coffee pot down. “Besides, you were always painfully slow in the mornings. I had to rush you out every day, so you didn’t miss the school bus.”

  ‘Well apparently my daughter takes after me now,” I replied.

  “She’s a young girl, Travis,” Mom said to me, lowering her voice a little. “You have to start making some allowances for her. She’s growing up, changing, is more worried about how she looks, all that stuff.”

  “I don’t even want to think about all that stuff yet Mom. I am far from ready to have boys crawling around looking at her.”

  “It’s probably already happening Travis,” she said as she sipped her coffee. “You just haven’t seen it.”

  That was just one more log to add to the fire with everything else going on. Obviously, I knew Abby was growing up, I just hated to believe it was happening so fast. She was only a few months from turning thirteen, and then it was just a short while before she started high school. The thought of sending her to high school where we lived right now might be enough to get me to reconsider coming to Canon, though I knew boys that age acted crazy everywhere.

  Abby appeared behind me, wearing a pair of denim shorts and a simple gray t-shirt. She had her earbuds hanging around her neck already and had her backpack with her.

  “What are you bringing?” I asked her quizzically.

  “It’s my laptop,” she said to me, clutching her bag. “I don’t know how long you are going to be with this guy; I need something to pass the time.”

  I just shrugged and leaned down and gave my Mom a kiss on the cheek.

  “I’ll call you and let you know how things go,” I said to her.

  “Why don’t you two plan to come to the restaurant for dinner tonight?” Mom said to me. “Otherwise I won’t see you until tomorrow morning. By the time I get home, you two will be long asleep.”

  I groaned at the thought of going to the restaurant, but I knew she was going to want me there so we could eat together.

  “I guess so,” I conceded and saw Abby’s face light up at the decision.

  “Great,” Mom said to me. “I will see you two tonight. I need to run; I have to stop at the dry cleaners to pick up a few things before work.” She kissed Abby on her forehead as she went past her and out the door.

  “Let’s go get this over with,” Abby said to me, tugging me to get moving out the door.

  I couldn’t argue with her; I wanted to get this over with too. We followed my Mom out the door and went to my car to head over to Rogers’ office.

  10

  Travis

  The ride over to Rogers’ office, short as it was (what in this town isn’t a short ride away?), was quiet and uneventful. Abby sat in the seat next to me, not uttering a word, as she listened to her music. I glanced over at her a few times, to see if she was even looking at the window to see what the town was like, but she showed little interest in what was going by. I tried to think of topics in my head that would be good for conversation, but I could never seem to come up with anything lately to connect with her. So we rode on for the few minutes, with the only sound the light hum of whatever song she happened to be listening to at the moment going through the air.

  We arrived at Rogers’ office a little after nine. I had figured since he said the office opened at nine that he would actually be there to meet us, but, as things were going for me lately, that wasn’t going to happen. We were greeted by his admin, a woman by the name of Carol, who said Mr. Rogers was expected short
ly. Carol was a friendly woman who looked to be in her early sixties, and she sat back down behind her desk while Abby and I waited in the less-than-comfortable vinyl-backed chairs that were in the outer office. Abby continued to fiddle with her iPod while I just looked around, hoping that we could get this over with quickly. I didn’t expect that Dad had much that I would have to deal with beyond the house and whatever was in it. I did wonder about the condition of the house and whether it would be a good place for Abby and me to live. It would be nice for her to be closer to my Mom since she was the only family we had at this point. Canon, though a small town, wasn’t an awful place to live. My only fear was what I was going to do with the rest of my life. The fire department wanted me to take my disability and retire. After twelve years, my pension was going to be enough to live on, but I was still too young to just sit around and, well, risk the threat of becoming like my father. I wanted something to do, but I didn’t know what else I would be good at doing. I never finished beyond the one year of college, and I couldn’t see myself sitting in a classroom with a bunch of teenagers listening to lectures about God knows what today. There were a lot of decisions on the horizon for me, and I wasn’t sure just which way to go with any of them.