Tutu's & Cowboy Boots (Part 1)
Page 10
Chapter 9
Cadence
At four o’clock in the damn morning, my alarm begins to buzz. I wish I could sleep for five more minutes or the rest of the day but then I remember what today is. It’s the first day of making Barrick’s life a living hell. I smile, toss my covers off, and let my feet touch the cool wooden floor. I hurry to the bathroom, check the mirror and realize I have no clue what to wear to the farmers’ market. Maybe Mom will know. I tiptoe into her room, and wake her.
“Cadence, are you okay? It’s four in the morning,” she says with a yawn.
“I’m fine. I’ve got to work the farmers’ market today. What do I wear?” I whisper.
“Whatever you want. It will be hot though.”
Well, that’s not a lot of direction, but I guess I’ll work with it. I go to my closet, and pull a tank top with an embellished neckline and a pair of matching shorts. Then I look through my shoes and pull out a pair of sandals. How hard can this be? I mean, we are just selling vegetables.
I take a few extra minutes to perfectly apply my makeup and straighten my hair. I brush my teeth and then smile in the mirror. Let’s do this.
As I enter the kitchen, Gran hands me another green smoothie, and I thank her, take a seat, and get my game face on. Mom comes downstairs in her pajamas.
“Why are you up?” I ask.
“Well, let’s just say I had an early wake up call, and now I can’t sleep. No worries.” She pours a cup of coffee and turns to face me. “We’ve got to get you some new clothes.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
She shakes her head and takes a seat at the table with me, and it gives me the perfect opportunity to ask about the phone.
“So Mom, can I get a new phone when I’m in town?”
She puts her cup down and looks at Gran. Is she looking for a blessing?
“Cadence, I doubt a cellphone will work out here.”
“Mom, Barrick has one and it works. I saw it. Pleassseeee!” I beg.
“Fine. Don’t get some crazy plan with crazy charges.”
“Thanks Mom!” I say as I put my glass in the sink and grab a cup of black coffee for the road.
Walking toward the barn, I see that Barrick has already arrived. I slide the door open and hear the machines. Yuck! I take a deep breath and walk toward him.
“Morning Barrick,” I say as pleasantly as possible. He looks up at me.
“Morning. Um, can you do me a favor and put those last two baskets on the back of my truck?”
I pause, afraid it might be another joke after the compost pile incident.
As if he’s reading my mind he says, “I promise it’s legit. That’s how you’re supposed to do it.”
I smile and make my way to them. Good gosh these are heavy. As I approach the truck, I try to decide the best way to accomplish this task. I’m not tall enough to lift and place the basket over. Carefully, I pull the lever to open the tailgate so that nothing tumbles out.
Once I’m in the clear, I slide the basket in and turn to get the last one. Barrick meets me at the barn door with it in his arms.
“Thank you for grabbing the last one,” I say with a smile.
“No problem,” he says, skeptically. Lord, I hope he’s not on to me.
I walk to the passenger side, and am pleasantly surprised by the amount of room in this truck and how clean it is. It’s not like Gran’s at all. Our ride to the farmers’ market is relatively quiet except for the radio in the background.
Once we arrive, Barrick pulls into his assigned spot but pauses a moment before getting out of the truck. “Cadence, this place is crazy. Just try to keep up and pay attention to what I do especially with the prices and such.” Seriously, does he think I’m an idiot? I try to refrain from rolling my eyes, but it’s no use. I do however wait until his back is turned.
By eight o’clock, cars are beginning to arrive and the sun is high in the sky. We’ve set up our table, unloaded, and I’m sweating like crazy. I try to gracefully wipe it from my brow when Barrick sees me.
“There’s a towel in my truck or a hat if you want. It’s only going to get worse,” he says.
“Thanks, but I’m good for right now. Is there a restroom?” I question and he points across the market. I excuse myself and when I open the restroom door, I’m hit with heat and funk. I hurry to handle my business. When I look in the mirror I want to die! I look horrible! Taking a paper towel, I blot my face and try to salvage what makeup is left on my face. Not to mention that my eyeliner smudged and Barrick didn’t bother to tell me. Boys! I walk back to our table that is now overflowing with customers.
“Cadence, can you grab another basket of tomatoes?” he asks as I approach. I tell him yes and then begin to help him with the rest of the orders.
As noon approaches, I’m absolutely exhausted and my hair looks a mess. I don’t even need a mirror to prove it. It’s stringy, knotty, and makes me feel as if it’s twenty degrees hotter.
“Cadence, I’m telling ya. Grab my hat, it will help.” I don’t want his damn help, but at this point I’m dying from the heat. I walk toward the truck and find it. Ewww, camo? It does not match my outfit. As I bring it toward my head, I smell something and realize that it’s the hat. Nope, can’t do it. There’s got to be something else. Why didn’t I grab a hair tie this morning?
“Did you find it?” he questions.
“Yeah. I’m not wearing that! It doesn’t match my outfit and it stinks!” I say with spice, and just like that my game face is broken. I poke around in his back seat, and am completely surprised when I find a rubber band. This is going to break my hair but I’ve got to do something. I close the door and look in the side mirror while I pull it up into a cute yet messy bun. Perfect!
Barrick
What in the hell is she doing? So what if the hat’s camo and it stinks? It’s a hat for crying out loud. I try not to worry about her and focus on the customers. I finish ringing up an elderly couple and turn to see what she’s doing. As I turn around, she’s right in front of me with her hair pulled up in some creative bird’s nest and a smile. I hate to admit it, but she looks hot as hell. Her makeup is barely visible, her cheeks are flushed from the heat, and her smile looks genuine.
“I found a rubber band. Guess it will have to do,” she says, and I know she’s right because it does exactly what it should and more.
A little after lunch the crowd begins to dwindle and we begin to pack up what few items we have left.
I can tell that as much as Cadence has tried to act like she’s okay with being here, she hates every minute of it. Glancing at my watch, I know it’s time to go, and I’m starving.
“You ready?” I ask her.
“I guess. So was it a good day?” she questions.
“Yeah it was. We’ve been working on bringing just enough, and this week we only have half a basket left.”
“What are we going to do with it?”
“We’re going to drop it off at the battered women’s shelter before we go back to the farm, and then we’re going to get some real food for lunch.”
“Oh, and by real food what do you mean?” she asks.
“Not a dang green shake. Here we have plenty of choices. There’s anything from burgers, pizza, salads, seafood, or anything else you might like. What would you like?” I say trying to be nice, but knowing I’m getting a Blizzard before I go back for sure.
“I don’t know. I’m more of a green shake kind of girl,” she says with a wink.
“Do you eat anything bad for you?” I ask her, genuinely concerned.
“Well, I’m a sucker for froyo.”
“Okay, well, we don’t have froyo around here, but we have the best Blizzards.”
“A what?” she says, confused.
“You’ve never been to a Dairy Queen?” I ask. That should be a sin itself.
“Nope. Never heard of it,” she says.
Cadence
Barrick drives to the shelter, and I go in with him to deliver the fresh produce. I’m accustomed to seeing people down and out as I walk in town. What I’m not used to is seeing people so gracious for a handout. Most people I’ve come across beg for money. These people are the opposite. They are thankful for what is handed to them and you can see that Gran’s help does make a difference.
“You ready?” Barrick asks as we get back in the truck. I’m scared. What the hell is he talking about?
“For what?” I say as I look at him like he’s lost his damn mind.
“Dairy Queen.” Food, go figure, but the only thing on my mind is a phone.
“What about that promise you made?” I question and he looks puzzled. “My phone,” I say.
“Oh, you sure it was okay?” he asks and I really want to just smack him.
“Yes, do you want to call Gran to double check?” I sass back.
“Nah, I believe ya,” he says with a laugh, and that pisses me off.
“What’s so damn funny?” I ask as I face him.
“You. That’s what’s funny. Most people are worried about eating and stuff, but not you. You just need a lifeline to yankeeville.”
“Whatever,” I say.
He turns to look at me. “Seriously, can’t you stop with that ‘whatever’ shit? It’s not attractive on a girl at all.”
Hold up, did he just call me attractive or say I wasn’t attractive?
“Excuse me?”
“Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Whatever is one of those words to try and make yourself look like you’re better or you know more information when actually you don’t know shit. It makes you look stupid.”
“I am not stupid!” I yell at him as he drives down the road.
“Never said you were, but it makes you appear that way,” he says as he pulls into a parking lot. “We’re here.” He opens the door but I don’t move. “You comin’ or what?” he questions.
“Nope,” I say with my arms folded.
“Suit yourself,” he says as he takes the keys and walks inside. The heat begins to rise and so does my temper. How dare he leave me out here? Who does he think he is? Is he really eating it inside? When I can no longer stand the sauna of the truck, I push open the door and stomp across the parking lot and swing open the door to find him seated in front of a big TV watching baseball highlights. He looks up at me when I reach the table.
“I didn’t know what you’d want, but I got you a grilled chicken salad with Italian dressing. Oh and dirty water. I mean an unsweetened tea,” he says with a disgusting look on his face.
Sliding into the booth, I don’t say a word. Instead, I pop the plastic lid off the salad, and dip my fork in the dressing then my salad. Dressing is full of too many calories.
As I wipe my lips with my napkin, I can’t help but stare at him as he eats a greasy burger. I want to say it looks disgusting, but for the first time in my life, I really want a bite. What is wrong with me?
He catches me staring. “Wanna bite?” he asks, pushing the burger toward me.
“I’m good. I can’t eat that.”
“Why? It’s just a burger.”
“I only eat turkey burgers. They have less fat and calories.”
He places his burger back on the wrapper and wipes his fingers. “Cadence, I don’t know why you’re worried. You’re in perfect shape. One burger won’t kill ya. I promise,” he says, and the way he’s built I think I could agree.
“I’m good.”
“You are getting dessert. What’s your favorite? Oreo, Nerds, Reese’s, or strawberry cheesecake?” he questions.
“Um, Oreo,” I say, even though it’s been years since I’ve eaten one. “But I want a small one.”
Barrick excuses himself and then comes back to his seat empty-handed. “Where are they?” I question. He places a number on the table, and within minutes a worker brings them to the table.
Looking down at the small cup, I see death by calories and chocolate. He smiles, and I pick up my spoon and place the cool chocolate ice cream into my mouth. It’s sweet and the Oreos are crunchy. This is perfection.
The look on my face must say it all because Barrick begins to laugh. “That good huh?” he questions.
“It’s okay,” I say, refusing to give him the win.
Barrick
Watching Cadence try and act like I wasn’t right was one of the cutest things I’ve ever seen. We finish and walk toward the truck. After we purchase her new cellphone, I no longer have her attention. She spends every moment downloading apps and sending text messages. She laughs as she continues to talk to someone, and I wonder whom it might be.
As we arrive back at the farm, the first thing she does is pull down the visor and check her makeup and hair. I try not to laugh out loud.
“What’s so funny?” she questions.
“You’ve worked all day in the heat, got your nice clothes dirty, and you’re still worried about your makeup and hair. I don’t get it.”
She rolls her eyes, “You wouldn’t. You’re a guy.”
“Good point. Look, thanks for giving today a shot. I’ve got to start milkin’ again. Would you mind grabbing the empty baskets and placing them in the barn?”
She cuts her eyes toward me, “I think I can handle it.”
Ms. Mae has already started milking the cows. I tell her she didn’t have to do that, and give her the money from today. She thanks me and calls for Cadence to thank her as well. She also thanks us for working together, and then excuses herself and I finish the job.
The entire time I’m working, I keep thinking about Cadence and how her attitude was different. It was nice that she wasn’t so difficult today. I wonder if that is the real Cadence and if the snarky one will be back tomorrow. I guess I’ll find out tomorrow when I have her milk the cows.