Chapter 3
3
“Well, Chaos are you going to be at home here? I know the yard isn’t as big as the one in West Virginia, but it was all I could find to rent on such short notice.” Not to mention within my budget. My savings had already taken enough of a hit, so a manageable rent was a major factor when finding a place here in Jasper Creek.
Chaos looked up at me and tilted her head.
“Exactly. The red front porch swing makes up for everything. I agree.”
My big Bernese Mountain dog followed me out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, which was still a mess. I had boxes everywhere. I so should have unpacked the kitchen before I unpacked the bedroom.
“No cooked food for you tonight, sweetie. It’s Alpo and kibble for din-din.”
She whined. My baby totally understood me.
“I know, I know, I’m not too happy either. The store’s closed and all I get is another protein bar and Gatorade.”
This time, she really whined.
I bent down and gave her a deep rub, concentrating on her neck and shoulders. Her tail wagged.
“And I hate to tell you, I’m too tired to take you for a walk. You’re going to have to take a spin around the backyard by yourself.”
She whined again.
No question about it. Chaos understood what I was saying. Of course, being named after such a complex theory like the Chaos Theory, of course she would understand. I liked the idea that she represented the process that nothing could ever be predicted, and considering how my life was turning out, that sure as hell was the truth. Plus, she often stirred up chaos in my life, and I loved her for that.
I rubbed on her some more.
“You like that, don’t you?”
Chaos pressed her cold nose against my neck.
“Don’t worry, girl, the grocery store is top of the list tomorrow morning, and I’ll be well rested so we can explore the neighborhood. I’ll get us fed right now, then we can unpack the kitchen and hit the sack. What do you think about that?”
She yawned.
“Hey, don’t get me started. We still have a couple of hours left to go.”
I dug her food and bowls out of the duffle bag that I’d made up for her before we’d left this morning from the house Granny had left me in Madison. I’d snagged a can opener and soon had her dinner ready.
I hated leaving Granny’s house. But at least I didn’t have to sell it. Maybe one day I could go back home to Madison, but for now, my job was here in Jasper Creek. Who knew, maybe Sue’s husband would actually get a bite and my old house would actually get rented, and I’d have a little bit of extra money in my pocket.
Yay me .
Chaos came over to the bowl, sniffed, and walked away. I shrugged. She’d eventually eat when she got hungry enough. I grabbed the protein bar and warm Gatorade out of my oversized purse and forced it down, then got to work unpacking boxes. Every so often, I would run another load of laundry that I hadn’t finished before I’d left West Virginia.
Beau hadn’t been kidding when he said that the kitchen had been updated. Even these appliances were top of the line. It was a wonder that he wasn’t charging me more. He told me he’d worked a deal with the contractor, but still…
It took me three and a half hours to get everything unpacked and put away or put into the dishwasher. There was no way I was going to eat on the dishes after they had been packed away in newspaper.
I looked over when I heard Chaos’ claws on the wood floor. She went for her bowl of food. She took another sniff and then looked at me and whined.
“Look here, my mathematical theory, don’t turn all high and mighty. Be a heroine and suck it up. You’ll get good food tomorrow.”
I laughed when she started eating the Alpo.
Now that I was done with all the dirty work, I needed a shower and a glass of wine. I washed out one of the wineglasses, then realized I didn’t have any wine.
“Dammit!”
Well, this was not a good way to start my new life. I should have bought wine to celebrate. After all, this was a new chapter.
Well, at least I’d get a good night’s sleep.
Everything about this house was old and beautiful. I loved the original hardwood floors. I’d never seen this type of wood before. I’d have to research on the internet what kind of wood it was. I yawned so hard as I was walking down the hall to the main bedroom that I seriously considered foregoing the shower. Then I saw my bed all made up with yellow sheets and the yellow duvet with sunflowers, and I couldn’t bring myself to go to bed dirty, so I headed for the shower.
The warm water almost put me to sleep standing up, but I managed to get out and dry myself. My hair was useless. Thick and blonde, there was no way I was going to try to dry it tonight, so I just braided it and headed for bed.
I was almost asleep when the bed shook and Chaos made herself comfortable against my back. She was a cuddler. Then I fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
I heard a thud that woke me up. Chaos had hit the floor. I rubbed my eyes and noted the sun shimmering through the gauzy curtains. I grinned. I couldn’t imagine Beau being the delicate curtain kind of guy. Maybe it was the last tenant. He’d said he hadn’t stepped foot in the house in over fifteen years. He had an old friend named Bernie Faulkes, who checked up on things. Beau said he was quite the character and I might want to go introduce myself.
It had been fun talking to Beau. He’d explained to me that I was looking to rent at the perfect time, because this way I could actually talk to him instead of Bernie. Normally he wouldn’t have the time to FaceTime, but his team had some downtime. I made the mistake of asking some questions, like where he was and what he was doing, and what branch of the service he was in. All I got out of him was he was a Marine in Europe. He didn’t seem mad that I had asked questions, probably because I didn’t push, I just moved onto other things.
Beau was really serious. I couldn’t get him to crack a smile on any of the three FaceTime calls we had. The only time he came close was when he mentioned getting a piece of pie at Pearl’s. He told me to skip the apple and go for the peach. When he mentioned he hadn’t stepped foot in the house for fifteen years, it took me a moment to think of something to say to that. Finally, I went with the obvious, “Why?”
“Don’t get me wrong. Jasper Creek is a friendly town, but it was time for me to leave.”
I figured I could circle back to that on our fourth FaceTime call, but that never happened. Instead, I got a call from Bernie Faulkes to complete the paperwork on renting the house. When I asked about Beau, Bernie just said that Marine Raiders were always called away at a moment’s notice.
With one last glance at the curtains, I rolled out of bed. Since Chaos was already up, I knew she needed to take a walk for her morning business. I headed to the bathroom and did my thing, then hit the small closet that almost fit my clothes. I pulled out my wide-leg jeans, the red belt with the gold Wonder Woman buckle, and the almost-pink crop top that Sue had got me. After I had that on, I grabbed one of my favorite slouchy sweaters—cream with pink hearts—and slipped on my Vans Old Skool sneakers.
“Chaos, we’re going for a walk!”
I headed to the kitchen and grabbed some poop bags and her leash. I saw her empty bowls.
“Food first?”
She headed to the front door.
“I guess that answers that.” I grinned.
I jogged down the stairs, and off we went down the street. Dogwood was a beautiful street. It had gorgeous old maple and oak trees planted on either side of the street. I grinned when I saw that almost every yard had a dogwood tree planted in it. It seemed like nobody could handle living on a street called Dogwood and not having a dogwood tree in their front yard.
“Hey there, Missy. Are you enjoying the sunshine?”
I stopped short. I couldn’t find who was talking to me. I finally spotted a woman who was on her porch across the street watering her ferns.
“Yes, ma’am. I am.”
“You must be the new schoolteacher, am I right?”
“Yes, ma’am. I am.”
“Well, come on over. I have fresh coffee cake. You can even bring that behemoth of a dog with you. My cat ain’t scared of dogs.”
“My name is Marlowe Jones,” I said as I crossed the street. Chaos was actually leading me at this point. She knew when she’d spotted a friend.
“I know your name is Marlowe Jones. A lot of us were at the school board meeting where they voted whether or not to hire you. You sure got a raw deal at that prissy school, but we all liked your spunk. It was an easy vote, it ended up being unanimous.”
I winced. I’d had no choice but to use Sue as my reference. It sounds like she made me sound better than I was.
She motioned me to join her on the porch. “Well, that’s real nice, Mizz…?”
“Lettie Magill. I was born and raised here in Jasper Creek. Followed my husband for his job for a few years when he moved to Dallas, but we came back after six years. So, I know the lay of the land. You come on in, and I’ll tell you what to expect at the school.”
She was a lot to take in, but she seemed sincere. “Can I come over after Chaos is done with her morning constitutional?”
Lettie laughed. “I would prefer it. If I hadn’t seen your resume, and listened to your accent, I would think with that big fancy word, that you were a Northerner.”
“Nope, I bleed country,” I laughed.
“Well, come on back. If I don’t answer when you knock, just let yourself in. The doorbell is busted. I’ll probably have my fancy standing mixer on and can’t hear you knock.”
Only in the South.
“Okay, I shouldn’t be more than a half hour. And I can certainly leave Chaos at my house,” I offered.
“Nonsense. Icicle needs someone to play with.”
I grinned. “Okay, Lettie. I’ll be back in a half hour or so. Thank you for the invitation.”
Lettie looked up from her Kitchen Aid mixer. “Glad you made it,” she said as she turned it off. “Sit yourself down.” She indicated the little nineteen-seventies dinette with the orange vinyl covering on it that was set in the kitchen.
“I set out some food for your dog. What is his name again?”
“Her name is Chaos.” I told her. I was charmed that she thought of putting out some food for my dog. “You had dog food?”
“I had some left-over brisket and gravy and threw it into my food processor.”
“Lettie, that was extremely kind of you.” I was still holding onto her leash when Chaos spotted the bowl with the food. She sat down and looked back at me.
“Well, aren’t you polite?” Lettie smiled. “Go ahead, dig in.”
I nodded at Chaos and unhooked her leash. I watched as she walked calmly to the dish. Not her normal rampage toward food. Then her ladylike manners went down the drain as she shoved her muzzle into the bowl and started chowing down.
Lettie and I laughed.
“Now for us.”
She pulled open the oven door, and the heavenly smell of coffeecake wafted through the kitchen. My stomach grumbled. I guess neither of the Jones girls were behaving ladylike this morning.
“I hope you like this. I’ve also put together fruit cups. A friend of mine has an orchard, and she always sends me home with fresh peaches and pears, when they’re in season. What would you like to drink? Coffee? Juice? Milk?”
“I would kill for a cup of coffee. Chaos needed to be taken on a walk before I had a chance to make a pot.”
Chaos lifted her head up when she heard her name. I smiled and shook my head. She went back to eating.
Soon I had the necessary caffeine in my system and a feast in front of me. I liked Lettie’s style. There was no little dainty piece of cake. She gave me a healthy slice, and she brought butter. She was my kind of woman.
“Did you get a chance to talk to Beau when you rented his place?” Lettie asked.
I nodded my head and swallowed my bite of pear.
“Yeah, we FaceTimed for a few days. I got the feeling he was kind of lonely for conversation that wasn’t military related.”
Lettie leaned forward. “How was he doing? Did he seem in good spirits?”
I frowned. “What do you mean, exactly?”
Lettie paused and took a sip of her coffee. “Beau left Jasper Creek fifteen years ago. As soon as he turned eighteen, he signed up for the military. He became a Marine. He hasn’t been back since.”
I tried to process what she wasn’t saying, but I wasn’t getting her subtext. My confusion must have shown on my face, because Lettie continued.
“Beau had a hard childhood. His dad was mean. When I say mean. I’m serious. He should have been locked up, considering how many times the sheriff was called to their house, but he and the sheriff were tight. Nothing ever came of all the calls. I wasn’t living here at the time, but I heard about things.”
I could imagine. There had been two times I had to call CPS on behalf of one of my students. It was yet another black mark on my record as far as Principal Sykes was concerned. But my parents had instilled a bedrock knowledge of right and wrong that had never once wavered.
“So, what happened?” I asked.
“Finally, Beau ended up in the hospital. They didn’t know if he was going to live or die. His daddy had kicked him so bad in the side with his steel-toed boot, he cut him open and one of his ribs punctured his lungs. Brady saw the whole thing.”
“Who’s Brady?”
“Beau’s twin brother. The boys weren’t yet four years old.”
“He did that to a four-year-old?” Images of a chubby baby’s broken body flashed before my eyes and it took everything I had not to cry. “How can a monster like that be possible?”
“His mama told the sheriff that Beau had spilled Arthur’s beer.”
“He seemed all right when I talked to him. How long did it take for him to recover?” I asked her.
“Months. But it was like Rose and Beau lost their way when Beau came home. Arthur was gone, and so was Brady. The sheriff said he notified everyone and even brought in the FBI, but Brady was never found.”
“That’s outrageous! If he would do that to Beau, imagine what he’s doing or did to Brady.”
“We all did. His mother, Rose, was never the same. Neither was Beau. Most of the town put it down to his injuries, but not my granny. Little Grandma was sure that he was missing his other half.”
I couldn’t eat another bite. Even now, what I had eaten felt like lead in my stomach.
“I can tell you he seemed good when I talked to him. I did wonder why he was renting out his house, sight unseen. He’d told me he hadn’t stepped foot in it for over fifteen years, which seemed odd.”
“What seems odd is that he hasn’t sold it.” Lettie stood up and took our plates to the sink. She scraped off the uneaten coffee cake into the garbage.
“What happened to his mother?”
“She died six months before he joined the service. Everybody knew she just didn’t have the will to live. She’d been a shadow of herself for years. She’d just been holding on for Beau.”
“Living with a depressed mama must have been hard for him.” Chaos came and laid her head on my thigh, and I petted her head.
Lettie nodded as she sat back down. “He was a good boy. He took care of her. The ladies in the community did what they could, but most of the burden fell on Beau.”
My heart ached for the young man who had been beaten so badly and lost his brother. Then to care for his mother? It was unthinkable.
“Wasn’t there any family?”
“Rose came from some family up North. Minnesota. Social Services contacted her parents, but they wanted nothing to do with her. Eventually the social worker found out that Rose had been told if she married Arthur, she’d be disowned. They didn’t care about her current circumstances. I know that hit our community hard. Who could be that cold?”
I shook my head. The sad part was, I could see it. Teaching in the public school system for six years had opened my eyes to a lot of things. But this had to be one of the saddest stories I’d ever heard.
Lettie continued. “By the time Beau was ten, me, Robert and our daughters had moved back. I know my Little Grandma and my mama had tried to help, but Rose and Beau would only allow so much. Thank God he got into sports. It opened him up some. He had something more than just his mother in his life.” She leaned forward. “But for sure he sounded good?” she asked again.
I smiled and patted her hand. “Yes. He smiled and talked. Lettie, I promise you, he even laughed.”
She sat back in her chair. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me. Wait until I tell my mama and Little Grandma. That’ll make their week.” She grinned at me. “Scratch that. It’ll make their month.”
“I really have to go. We don’t have anything in the house to eat. I like to cook, so I want to make a trip to the grocery store. Maybe I can invite you and your husband over to my house for dinner next week. How does that sound?”
“That sounds lovely.”
By the time I was walking down her porch steps, I could swear I heard her on the phone. I would bet anything she was calling her mama or grandmother to tell them about Beau.