Chapter 10Liem
10
Liem
Every time I pushed through the saloon doors at Ari’s, I felt like a sheriff in an old Western movie. My steps were led by my hips as I swayed my upper body just so, and I wondered if it was finally time to purchase a pair of cowboy boots.
“Liem,” Vinh rumbled, breaking me from my recurring daydream.
I pivoted toward him in my uninspired footwear and made my way to the counter, where he was typing away on his laptop. “How can I help you this fine afternoon, brother?” I leaned my elbow on the battered countertop and rested my chin on my hand.
He smiled softly to himself as he made a couple more keystrokes, and then he closed the laptop, giving me his full attention. “We had a good day today.”
I beamed, though it took more effort than usual, as the full morning of biscuit making and serving crashed into me. Mom and Dad had already left for the day, headed to one of Dad’s frequent doctor appointments.
“Better than good. We ran out of the Mardi Gras specials.”
He nodded, ever the man of few words. Then he pushed a key I hadn’t noticed toward me. “Could you get this to Cody sometime today?”
Scooping it up, I frowned at the lack of key chain. That wouldn’t do.
“He’s moving onto the houseboat?”
Vinh watched me closely, his dark eyes so calm but also so intense. “He is.”
I had many good memories on that boat, as did Vinh. Last year, Paul—the owner of the houseboat and a former co-worker of Bree’s from Fortuna—got unexpectedly promoted to a casino that was about an hour away down the coast. And, long story short, Vinh ended up renting the houseboat from Paul last year.
“Paul decided not to move the boat up to a dock near Titan?”
My brother’s answering smile felt… secretive. How delightfully curious. Almost as curious as the conversation I had with Aunt Ari early this morning.
I pocketed the key and then leaned against the counter again, but this time I rested my chin between both hands as I asked, “My dear brother, do tell me what you did.”
He smirked, and his eyes practically twinkled. “I made an investment.”
“Hmm. And does Princess know about this… investment?”
“Not yet, but we talked about the possibility before. She’s visiting her grandmother at the nursing home now, but I’ll tell her when she gets back. I’m hoping it’ll be a good distraction.”
I hoped so too. She always looked so drained after those visits.
Shaking the sadness off, I leaned over and pushed my brother’s shoulder. “Vinh, do you own a houseboat?”
His smile was big. “I’ll sign the paperwork at the end of the week.”
He put his laptop in its bag and hoisted it over his shoulder. Following his unspoken lead, I ran into the back and double-checked that all closing procedures were done. After we locked up, we loaded into his car and made the short drive to the cottage, where we parked beside Cody’s truck.
I unbuckled my seat belt, but Vinh made no move to do the same. He pulled out his phone, sent a text, and then gave me his attention. “I’ve gotta go pick up Bree. When you give Cody the key, could you tell him the boat’s new address and the lease agreement will be in his email sometime this week?”
I frowned at him. “New address?”
He was wearing his secret smile again as he gave me one of his infamous shrugs.
“Hmm.” I narrowed my eyes at him in suspicion but got out of the car and shut the door, keeping eye contact with him through the open window. Houseboat purchasing had put my brother in quite an interesting mood. “I’ll see you both when you get back?”
He dipped his chin in agreement, then threw his arm behind the passenger seat and looked over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway.
I let myself into the cottage and was greeted by a sleeping Cody sprawled across the couch. He had one arm thrown across his eyes and his bare feet hanging off the end. His other arm rested against his stomach, rising and falling with his deep, even breaths.
He’d been sleeping here for a couple nights, but his truck was usually gone before I even got up, which had worried me. I knew from our many early morning chats as LL and Dezi that, unlike me, his early rising wasn’t by choice, but a battle with insomnia.
Tearing my eyes away from him, I took in the cluttered coffee table. His old laptop was open on top of an open textbook, and there were scattered papers strewn across the table, the ones on top looking like course syllabi and timetables.
He must be thinking of going back to school.
Smiling, I eased out of the living room and into my bedroom, closing the door quietly before heading straight for my unfinished supply shelves. Uncle Gil had worked with Vinh on them and had even made the trip here from Gulf Shores to finalize the design before the actual building began. The frame was complete, and the bigger shelves were done too. All that remained were the smaller drawers.
I fished out a brass clasp from my hardware caddy and then pulled my yarn and macrame cord box from the shelf and sat it on my lap, thinking of the conversation I had with Ari this morning as I sat at my desk and got to work.
“Oh, my Liem,” she sighed wistfully and then gushed at full force and with almost no breaks or breaths:
“You were right. The Locc was amazing. I talked to the director of activities, and Lord help me, I’ve already forgotten her name…. Anyway, she said that we could run a class! Isn’t that exciting? I already signed Gilbert up to do a workshop on making balcony herb boxes—and no, he does not know yet, and please don’t tell him—but she mentioned that their art teacher is about to go on maternity leave, so I told her I might know just the person to step in! I wouldn’t mind teaching it, but honestly, I’d rather teach it with you so one person can help and one can demonstrate. And honey, I know you’d be so great at it. You could stay with me and Gil during the week, and we could do a slew of classes if you wanted to! And I was thinking…”
On and on she went, talking about how it’d be better to schedule them soon before the Coast’s busy season, when the restaurant would need me most, and then a few other ideas about what we could paint ( Oh, my Liem, what if we did birth flowers for their grandbabies?! Oh no, what if they don’t have any grandkids? That may be dicey. Let me think on that one…) until she informed me that Gil was waking up and she had to go fix his oats or his day would be off to a terrible start.
I refocused on my task, the macrame leaf already taking shape, and considered her offer. The longest I’d been away from Bay Springs since we moved here was when I’d spent two nights with Aunt Ari and Uncle Gil at New Year’s, which had been lovely. I’d especially enjoyed watching the fireworks over the Gulf from their balcony.
But that was before I’d really grown my business to what it was now, the restaurant had been closed for the holidays back then, and it was just…. Well. Just before .
I’d always been close to Aunt Ari, sharing frequent phone calls with her as I grew up, but getting to know her as an adult was something entirely different. She and Dad were slowly repairing their relationship, too, though it wasn’t necessarily strained. Before his amputation, they’d just fallen out of touch. We almost never visited them on the Coast when they were running the restaurant, and since they didn’t have kids of their own, they always traveled to us in Alabama for holidays.
By the time I’d thought through all of this, I still hadn’t come to a decision, but it was sufficiently marinating in my mind.
Plus, I’d completed my craft.
I stood up from my desk and stretched, and then I took out the key and attached it to its new key chain, satisfied with my work. Feeling grounded, I clutched the key chain in my palm and let my gaze drift to the therapy art that leaned against the wall.
I’d look at one. Here and now, while I felt up to it.
Everyone is well, I reminded myself as I took a step. My people are here, whole, and near, I sang under my breath as I reached for a canvas at random and turned it around.
My grip on the macrame intensified, the ridges tight against my palm as I saw and smelled charcoal. I lifted the canvas into the air delicately, maintaining my grip on the key chain, and angled toward the light coming in from the window as I studied every inch of it. Every stroke, each shade and line.
I’d drawn my own hand reaching toward plumes of smoke. The tattoos on my knuckles were the most in-focus aspect, while the featureless face in the top left corner was the least. The effect was eerie, and the impression singed at nerves that were still tender, but it did not wound me any more than I’d already been wounded.
It was progress.
Turning it once more, I leaned it against the wall again and went through my breathing exercises until the muscles in my chest lost their tension, and the air around me cleared to complete reality.
A little less grounded but perhaps a bit more whole, I eased my door open, only to encounter Cody bent over the coffee table, tidying up his computer and papers.
An unfortunate sort of noise clawed up my throat and out of my mouth before I could stop it, my control not quite as tight as it should have been. He jerked and straightened abruptly—too abruptly—hitting the edge of the coffee table in the process.
“ Fucking ballsonthesun,” he yelled, collapsing back onto the couch and gripping his shin.
The smile that sprang to my face was easy and instant. Did he have to be so magnificent?
I padded over to him and picked up the papers that had skittered to the floor in the hubbub, then stacked them neatly back onto the table. “You okay over there, Dezi?”
He ran a hand down his face, revealing pink skin when he dropped it. “Yeah, uh, bit of an overreaction.”
“Excellent. I have something for you.”
He frowned and shifted, his deep voice flat as he stated, “I am the worst gift receiver you’ve ever met, LL. I thought Bree would have warned you.”
I watched him curiously. “She did not. Would it help to know that it’s not really a gift? If you want me to insult you like Bree does, I’m afraid I’m not up for it.” I reached over and swiped the key from where I’d set it when I picked up the papers. Then I took a seat beside him on the couch and offered it to him on my open palm. “One key to a fine houseboat, courtesy of my brother.”
His nails lightly grazed my palm as he picked it up, and then he rotated the key chain, inspecting it from both sides. “Wow,” he breathed.
“Vinh also said that he’d email you the paperwork and the boat’s new address soon. I hope you love it.”
He flicked his gaze to me and then shuttled the key down into his clasped hand, running his fingers over the texture of the macrame. “I’m glad you were there. During that time.”
I wasn’t certain if Bree knew or even suspected that her best friend had bade me to look out for her before he left for the boat, but I didn’t feel the need to tell her. It seemed like something that was between them, and I didn’t think the impetus for our relationship defined what it was now.
So, I nodded instead and smiled warmly at him, holding his golden gaze. “And I’m glad you asked me to be.”
We stayed like that for a few moments, just existing, until the sound of car doors shutting had us snapping our attention to the front door. Cody rose from the couch and fussed with his things some more, shoving them into a tidy pile just as Bree and Vinh walked into the house.
Bree hung her bag on the entryway coatrack before moseying over to us. “And what are you two up to?”
Vinh closed and locked the door and followed behind her, pressing a kiss to her hair before he wandered into the kitchen.
Cody’s expression turned absolutely evil as he lifted the key in the air and opened his mouth. “Dad?—”
“ Cody Louise Desmond, NO,” she screeched, interrupting him. “You will not. ”
Bewildered, I got up from the couch and backed away, looking between them. It didn’t seem wise to be caught in the middle.
But Cody just cackled as he got up and followed Vinh into the kitchen.
I raised my eyebrows at Bree and asked, “Louise?”
She sucked in her cheeks and pursed her lips in amusement. “No, it’s Louis. But one time when Grandmother was giving me hell, which actually… I think that was the last time he saw her before her stroke. Huh.” She flapped her hand in the air before continuing. “Anyway, he was doing his usual, trying to deflect from me, and ended up telling her that he’d changed his middle name to ‘Louise.’” She shrugged as she finished the story, but there was mirth in her eyes. “It was awesome.”
I walked over to her and offered my arm to escort her to the kitchen. “How was your visit today?”
She took my arm, and as we were almost the same height, our gazes held easily as we talked. “Fine. They said her vitals are strong, and she even shows some improvement as far as reflexes go, but no other changes. They’re not sure if she can hear or understand more or not, but I talked to her for a while and then just sat and read. I don’t know what else to do.”
I pulled her in for a snuggle. “You’re doing great.”
When we rounded the kitchen island, Cody and Vinh were deep in discussion.
“As I’m sure you know, hurricane season begins on June 1,” Vinh was saying to Cody, who looked as serious as I’d ever seen him. Which was very serious. “I’ll send you Henry’s number. If for some reason I’m not around, Henry is who you want to call if you need the boat moved inland, not Roy. Roy is an asshole.”
“Hey, I like Roy,” I objected.
Vinh sighed. “I like Roy too. He’s just more likely to make truly horrific jokes than actually help you move the boat.”
I hummed. “True. But he did let me tattoo a happy oyster on his back.”
“When?” Vinh demanded.
I shrugged. “Last week.”
Bree knocked me with her shoulder. “You didn’t tell me your supplies came in. Does this mean you can finally do mine?”
I didn’t tattoo much these days, and when we moved from Eufaula, I only brought my gun, leaving the rest behind at the shop I apprenticed at. That only changed when Roy came into Ari’s a few weeks ago and mentioned being jealous of the tattoo-cover-up job I’d done for Malachi last year. Which resulted in me bartering a deal with him—one oyster tattoo for a shipment of oysters for the restaurant.
Mom had been very pleased with my entrepreneurial spirit.
More pleased than the actual oysters would be, I imagined.
“Come on.” Bree nudged me again, and I realized I hadn’t answered. “The design is perfect. I’m ready.”
I blew out a breath and, for some reason, glanced at Cody, only to find him already looking at me. He smiled in encouragement, and that did the trick.
“Okay, Princess. We can start it today. You’re sure there aren’t any changes you want to make to the design?”
She jumped in excitement but then stilled, deep in thought as her eyes went distant. She turned to Vinh and Cody. “I am so sorry, but I need you two to leave.”
They both just stared at her, but Cody recovered first. “ Jesus Christ , Cher. What happened to Mrs. Make Everyone Happy? That was fucking rude.”
There apparently was some of that left in her because she flushed. “Well, I want to show you guys when it’s done. And this is going to sound kind of self-pitying, but you two are the only ones I’d be excited to show besides Jeanne. So, ya know, why don’t you skedaddle while Liem works his magic, and then when it’s done, I can show it off?”
Vinh worked his way over to her as she spoke and then gathered her into his arms as she finished, whispering something only for her in her ear. Whatever it was, it made Bree flush even worse, and Cody gagged before he announced, “Okay, I’m leaving. Vinh, do you want to go sit in silence with our laptops somewhere together?”
My brother tucked Bree under his arm and aimed his arched brow at Cody, who was already backing out of the room. “Deal.”