Tumbleweed

by Heather Huffman

  “It's Jeremy,” Ethan recognized the trucks first. “Looks like he brought most of the crew with him, too.”

  We all watched as our construction workers poured out of several trucks. Jeremy strode over to Ethan and me, shaking Ethan's hand and hugging me.

  “The boys and I thought we'd see what kind of help we could be cleaning up the place.”

  “Thank you.” Ethan coughed uncomfortably. “That's real good of you… we'll gladly pay you for your time.”

  “No you won't.” Bobby shook his head. “Because we won't let you. If it was our home, both of you would be right there with us. You know you would.”

  “Thank you,” I accepted the offer for Ethan.

  With so many reinforcements, things started to come together pretty quickly. Or in some cases, come apart.

  I salvaged what I could from the rubble that had been our cabin. Most of our belongings, though, were food for the fire.

  “Hey mom, I found your sword,” Aaron called out triumphantly at one point.

  “That's great, kiddo. Put it by the car,” I caught Ethan out of the corner of my eye. He was grinning at me. A small smile tugged the corner of my mouth as I turned back to the task at hand.

  My washing machine joined my dryer in the pile of things that couldn't be burned or salvaged. I got a little teary when my new refrigerator joined that pile as well. When we were finished sorting through the rubble that had been our cabin, our earthly belongings consisted of a handful of clothes and a broadsword.

  Well, at least I wouldn't have to ask for Daddy's help moving this time. I found that thought sobering. I had no idea where I would move to. If I rented one of the small apartments in town, I could keep Aaron and me afloat for a couple of months, but that probably wouldn't be long enough to find a new job. I was slowly coming to grips with the fact that I'd failed yet again.

  I probably looked rather calm to the casual observer. Inside, I was seething with rage. Why couldn't we have caught a break just once? Just one flipping time.

  Conversations went on around me and I worked like a person obsessed. The more my anger boiled, the harder I worked. The harder I worked, the more my anger boiled. I was mad at God, furious at Hobbes, and even a little ticked at Jim. I wanted to be mad at Ethan, it seemed like the thing to do, but couldn't quite muster it.

  The sun was sinking over the horizon when the volunteers headed home. Jim offered to drive Sue back to her place, leaving Ethan, Aaron and I to stand in awe of how much had been accomplished in one day.

  Tomorrow, if everything was dry enough, we'd burn the piles that had been created today. Aaron wasn't happy that I planned to make him go to school and miss all of the fun, but I'd never forgive myself if the burn got out of control and he was hurt.

  “Who wants Chinese?” I asked, my voice flat.

  “Sure.” Aaron tried to muster a smile.

  We climbed in Ethan's truck. The ride to Seymour was a silent one. The amazing food actually put me in an even worse mood. I'd miss this stupid little buffet.

  “Can you run me to the Dollar General?” I asked when we were back in the truck. “I need to pick up some dog food and I'm out of underwear.”

  “Mom.” Aaron looked thoroughly grossed out.

  “What?” I shrugged. “Even mothers wear underwear.”

  “That's fine, but I don't want to think about it.”

  “Whatever.” I bit back further reply. I knew my mood was foul if even Aaron was irritating me.

  Apparently, Ethan realized that as well. “Why don't you come with me? We'll grab a few snacks while your mom gets what she needs.”

  “Sure,” Aaron agreed a little too eagerly. I couldn't blame him. I didn't want to be around me either right now. I lowered my head and grabbed a cart, making a beeline for the pet food. I loaded a large bag of dog food then grabbed a bag of rawhides as an afterthought.

  I was so intent on picking a treat for my dogs it took me a second to realize that I wasn't alone in the aisle. A shiver ran down my spine and I looked around, a knot forming in my stomach when I saw Hobbes standing there leering at me.

  “Hey neighbor.” The innocent words seemed vile coming from his lips. A picture of Ethan lying in a hospital bed flashed through my mind and my temper flared. Little red dots danced in my vision; my face felt hot. I didn't trust myself to speak, so I straightened my shoulders and grabbed the nearest bag of pig ears.

  “I said…hey neighbor,” he ground the words out this time, grabbing hold of my cart as he did.

  I glared mutinously at him, debating if I should just abandon the cart or wrestle it from his grasp.

  “I hear ya'll had a bit a trouble at that place of Jim's. Guess some folks just ain't meant to farm. Should have kept your nose out of my business, huh?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but had no idea what I could possibly say. Did the fool actually believe he controlled the weather now? Surely he didn't think the wrath of God followed his whim.

  When his speech didn't get the right response, he tried again. “I sure hope you don't think Ethan'll want anything to do with you after this. He'll toss you and that brat kid of yours to the side any day now.”

  Something in his words caused my tenuous hold on sanity to snap. I flew around the cart, my fist connecting with his nose the second I was within striking distance. He let out a bellow and jerked back while trying to get a good hold on me.

  I doubt I did much damage as I pummeled his massive chest. It felt like hitting a tree, but I didn't care. Even if I hurt my hands more than I did him, it felt good.

  He managed to grab hold of my hands, jerking me to him so his stale breath burned my face. “You're a little big for your britches, ain't ya sis?”

  “Let go of me you foul, filthy, disgusting…” I continued to rattle off every insult I could think of as I tried to wriggle my way free. I finally gave up with that approach and resorted to the good old standby.

  He howled with pain when my knee connected with its target. Better yet, he let my hands go. The howl must have caught someone's attention because I heard footsteps rapidly approaching.

  “Lady, you're nuts. I should have killed you when I had the chance.” Hobbes took a step towards me.

  “This one's for hurting Ethan.” I kicked him again. “And for scaring my son.”

  Just as I was preparing to launch myself at him again, a pair of hands grabbed me by the arms, lifting me off the ground as I fought to free myself.

  “Hey, hey little hellcat. Calm down,” Ethan soothed, but I think I might have heard a touch of a chuckle in his voice as well. “Bobby's on his way over. We'll get this whole thing sorted out.”

  At that announcement, Hobbes seemed to try a little harder to collect himself, stumbling once or twice in an attempt to head for the door.

  “Actually, Hobbes, I think he'll want to have a word or two with you when he gets here.” Ethan let go of me to swiftly block Hobbes' escape.

  Hobbes took a swing at Ethan but missed. I don't know how Ethan stayed so calm as he corralled Hobbes. I wanted to fly into him again. Aaron was there, now, though. That tethered my temper like nothing else could. I stood beside him, my arm protectively over his shoulder.

  It took Bobby long enough to get there that our little group was joined by a nervous Dollar General manager, who had apparently taken it upon himself to ensure no more fist fights broke out on his watch. I had to give him credit; I'm not sure I'd have been quite so dedicated to my post.

  Hobbes continued to run his mouth, but even he seemed to be smart enough to do the math. He stopped trying to pick a fight now that he was outnumbered. We'd attracted a bit of an audience, though, so his mouth ran full speed ahead.

  I went through the motions of answering Bobby's questions, but my mind was firmly planted on Hobbes' words. Rationally, I knew he'd just been spewing hatred, but something in what he said struck exactly what I feared in my heart. Inside, I wanted nothing more than to curl into a little ball and cry. Well, maybe put ic
e on my hands and then curl into a little ball to cry. I was brought back to the necessity of the moment by Bobby's next words.

  “You know, technically Hailey, you assaulted him.” Bobby's voice was soft.

  “He goaded me into it.” I sincerely hoped my panic wasn't detectable in my voice. That's the last thing Aaron needed, his mom in jail.

  “He threatened her,” Ethan quickly amended. “She had reason to believe both she and her son were in danger.”

  Bobby nodded. I don't think he believed it for a minute, but he didn't seem keen on pressing the issue. “Lucky for you, Miss Hailey, Hobbes stirred up trouble down in Arkansas just after Ethan's accident. He got into a tussle in a bar and hit someone with a broken beer bottle. Hurt him real bad, too. He'll have to go back to face that. I can't promise he won't press charges against you, hon, but he might not want to make too big of a fuss about being beat up by a girl.”

  I nodded, not sure what to say to that. The nod was as coherent as I was going to get. I never did get my dog food or underwear. Instead, I followed Ethan out the door and rode silently back to what was left of the ranch. Aaron chattered excitedly the entire way home; he thought it was fantastic that his mother was in a brawl in Dollar General. When I finally got him settled down and in bed, I allowed Ethan to look over my hands. They hurt like a son of a gun, but there was nothing to do for them besides apply ice. I didn't really have patience for that, but Ethan insisted, so I found myself sitting across from him with my hands in his as he held ice packs to my knuckles.

  “You're quiet,” Ethan observed.

  “I think I've just hit my wall.” It was partially true. I didn't know how to explain the jumble in my heart to him. “My hands will be fine. I think I need to go to bed.”

  Ethan leaned back, releasing my hands. “If you need to talk, I'm here.”

  “You always are.” I offered the most reassuring smile I could before kissing his forehead and heading to bed, where I curled up with my pillow and finally had that cry I'd been needing.

  We'd been so close. But without Mountain View, I had no way to support myself or Aaron in the Ozarks, and that had to be my main concern. I'd learned long ago that was all I could count on in life: me and Aaron. As I drifted off to sleep, I'd made up my mind. Aaron might be mad at me for it, but he'd understand someday. It was time for our adventure to end.

  Chapter Fourteen

  I couldn't stand the look on Ethan's face. Those eyes tore right through me every time; they had been for days. Only it was worse now that we stood at the door to my little Nissan with my son, two goofy dogs, and what little we owned packed inside.

  “You know, it doesn't have to be over now, Hailey.”

  “What do you mean? You heard Jim, he's not rebuilding. I have no job, no home here and my family is a couple hundred miles away. For me, it's over.”

  “Marry me,” Ethan grabbed me by the shoulders, his eyes trying to break through the steel wall I'd erected around my heart. Something inside me melted just a little, that familiar fire smoldered in my belly. I could spend thousands of mornings with this man, watching the sun rise with each new promise. I could almost see a vision of us in those eyes. I reached up to run my finger along his jaw line.

  Somewhere in the back of my mind another picture arose unbidden. It was the picture of a little blue coupe driving away, down the street and out of my life. There was a little boy clinging to my leg crying. He didn't understand things like a husband simply deciding married life wasn't for him.

  He just wanted his daddy. I'd just wanted to be loved for who I really was. Only problem with that, I didn't know who I really was. I hadn't then. Did I now? Could I risk hurting Aaron for the promise of a thousand mornings? Was this only a convenient way to stay here now? What happened when Ethan wanted to get in his truck to drive out of my life – who would I be then?

  I didn't have to say the word. He knew. He saw the sorrow on my face and he knew. I pulled him to me and kissed him one last time, drinking in the sandpaper feel of his unshaven jaw in sharp contrast to the feathery softness of his lips on mine. Oh, he smelled so very good. I never wanted to forget how he smelled. I never wanted to forget how his hair felt under my fingertips as I held him to me. At last he pulled away, splintering my soul into a thousand shards.

  “I have to know who I am on my own, before I can be with anyone—even you—and I can't ask you to sit around and wait on me to figure that out,” I whispered hoarsely. He nodded. He looked so sad, but somehow I knew he understood. There were no last words for me to cling to, to tuck away in my memory. He just turned and walked away.

  I sat in the car for a moment, willing my hands to stop shaking. I reached out to ruffle Aaron's hair, but he pulled away from me. I nodded, not surprised by his anger but not fully equipped to deal with it, either. So I simply sighed and turned the car on. It was going to be a long drive back to St. Louis.

  It didn't help that the sky, that sky I had loved so much, stretched out before me on the highway, blankets of white rolling across brilliant blue, pointing the way. On and on it stretched, a seemingly endless reminder of a dream ended. A great knot was lodged in my throat and my chest tightened a little more with each mile of blacktop that passed underneath my wheels, carrying me further and further from the place we had come to call home.

  Aaron was quiet in the seat next to me. Sometimes he looked out the window at the farms we passed. Sometimes he played his handheld game. Always I knew that I had let him down again. I'd failed. And now we were homeless.

  Homeless. A new low even for us. Poor kid – he'd been born into the roller coaster that is my life. He hadn't gotten on this ride by choice. I'd dragged him along. And now that stupid sky was mocking me for it.

  Without much fanfare, we settled into life in my parent's basement. We took turns sleeping on the daybed and the recliner. Old Blue and Rover did their best to destroy my parents' small and perfectly manicured lawn. I guess suburbia really was no place for a country dog. They just couldn't seem to help themselves.

  There were perks to living at Mom and Dad's. They had cable, and a dryer, and the food was good. Of course, the sympathetic looks I got from everyone stabbed like a knife. So did the barrage of “what are you going to do now” questions that I got from my siblings. I knew they all meant well. What I didn't know was what was next. I felt like a piece of highway litter that was caught on a fence, forgotten and twisting in the wind. I felt like tumbleweed rolling along with no real place to go next. Just ambling.

  Once when I was taking out the trash, I could have sworn that I heard Allie nickering a hello. I whirled around and instantly felt foolish. Of course I was alone. Allie was gone. Hopefully the ASPCA had taken her by now, but that meant she would be nearly starved so I wasn't sure what to hope for, I guess.

  I missed her eyes, though. I missed her. Any time I really stopped and thought of all we'd come so close to and lost, my throat tightened and tears sprang to my eyes. It was like sucking on a particularly tart lemon on a regular basis.

  And then there were the nights, the long and lonely nights. I never minded sleeping alone before. Now it didn't seem right somehow. I could almost picture him there beside me. His broad back would be bare. I could rest my head on his shoulder and run my fingertips down the length of his spine. Those musings always ended with a groan into my pillow. Then the sun would rise, and I would wish he were there to share a cup of coffee with. I almost called him a thousand times a day but didn't. I figured he was through with me and mine.

  For better or for worse, life marched on. I took a job substitute teaching at the high school my sisters taught at. I liked it well enough and it paid the rent on the little two bedroom apartment Aaron and I took a temporary lease on. Aaron got to finish the school year out with his cousins. That made life a little more tolerable for both of us. I knew I was supposed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life, but I seemed to only dig myself deeper into the one life I knew I didn't want.

  My typic
ally sunny child seemed reticent and sad most days. That is, when he wasn't glaring angrily at me. He was too respectful by nature to come right out and say it, but it was always there – the anger that simmered just beneath the surface. Not that I blamed him; most days I was pretty angry as well. Keep a lid too tight on a simmering pot and it'll eventually boil over, though. So I shouldn't have been surprised when it came.

  “Hey babe. Don't forget to pick up your room before you go to Grandma's.” I poked my head in his room.

  “I will.” He didn't look up from his game.

  “Why don't you turn that off and get started?” I frowned.

  “I said I'll get to it,” he snapped.

  “Hey, kid, watch your mouth.” I stepped into his room.

  “Whatever.” He still didn't look up from his game.

  “What has gotten into you?”

  “Nothing.”

  “No, I mean it. Who are you and what have you done with my son?”

  “Forget it. Just leave. That's what you do, isn't it?” He focused even harder on his game.

  “Hey, that's not fair.” I crossed my arms. I knew he was mad, but he'd never been mad at me like this before. We were a team, or at least we had been.

  “Not fair?” He threw his game controller aside and stood to glare at me. “What about Ethan? Was what you did to him fair?”

  “Wait a second. What are you talking about? What did I do to Ethan?”

  “You know.”

  “I'd like to hear it from you, please.”

  “He loved you Mom! He loved you and you hurt him. You ran away and that's not fair.”

  “Who told you all of this?”

  “I have eyes, Mom. I'm not stupid. Ethan won't say anything about it. He asks about you, though. I think he still loves you even though what you did was crappy.”

  “It's not that simple, babe,” I was completely taken aback by his vehemence.