Meme me

     Evie was sittin’ at the kitchen table starin’ blankly at her laptop. Dillon walked up behind her. She had sat there so long that her laptop had went to sleep. Dillon was shocked as he watched the pictures roll by. Patty had gone hog wild at their wedding taking pictures. This one was her sittin’ on the tailgate of Danny’s truck. He was standing on the ground. Patty had told them to look at each other and say, ‘I love you’. They were about to kiss. The bottom of the picture read ‘at last’. The next picture was of them and her dad. Them and Bradley. The next picture was of his back, he was looking out over the landscape at Smith’s. This was taken the day he passed out. ‘Dear sweet Lord, she really did love him’. He finally remembered where he was, bent over and kissed her on top of the head. “What doin’?”

     She stirred slightly, “studying memes and meme advertising.”

     “What’s a meme?” He asked as he sat down. 

     “This is how the internet defines them.” She slid her finger across the laptops built in mouse pad bringing it to life and read “… an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a …” she trailed off. 

     “And why are you studying about it?” 

     “The internet is a powerful advertising tool. And the human attention span is getting shorter. Memes are a great way to connect with your audience using just a picture and a few words. The Peel’s and I think it might be interesting to name the goats. Figure out what kind of traits they show and use them to market Hillbilly Yoga. The participants can decide if they want to do yoga with Dexter the demur goat. Or Scotty the playboy. Max might pee in you. Connie could head-but you.” She paused. “Dillon, thank you for lookin’ out for dad.”

     “You’re not mad at me for not tellin’ you?”

     “No. I know you love dad.”

     “He was more of a father to me than my own.” Dillon smiled, “Dexter the demur goat?”

     She blushed, “playin’ with names.” She jumped, “do any of them have names?” 

     “No. They wind up at the butcher shop.”

     “I don’t think I’ve ever ate goat meat.”

     “It’s okay. I don’t prefer it.” He shuffled in the chair. “Since we are talkin’ ‘bout work related things. Bradley approached me about Sarah (is daughter). She hates the drive to Perkinsville. Which has changed her entire attitude about teaching. She thinks she’d like to try her hand at an all natural line of goats milk soaps and lotions.” He stopped.

     “You and Bradley have been friends for a long time and you have all kinds of goats.” Dillon nodded yes. “What are your thoughts?”

 

     “I told Bradley I would run it by you.” 

     She looked at him waiting for more. But he offered nothing. “It’s just me and you here. How do you feel about it?”

     “If she is being genuine,” he rubbed his hand through his hair. “It can’t endanger the goats. Everything has to stay in the barn with Hillbilly Yoga. I want no part in the day to day.” He leaned up puttin’ his elbows on the table. “If this goes sideways it could end Bradley and mine, our workin’ and friendship.” He took a deep sigh, “does she have any idea what she’s doin’?”

     “Let’s find out. Tell Bradley that we need a business plan before we move forward. Nothing formal. But if she’s serious, she will not hesitate to produce something. If not, it might intimidate her. And we’ll hear no more about it.”

     “A business plan?” He repeated back softly. 

Jack

     “Dad!” Evie called as she walked into the house. 

     “Kitchen.” He answered.

     “Where’s Chris?”

     “He’s gone down to the mill to see about a job.”

     “Alright. Dillon will be here soon.”

     She set the bags on the counter and started to prepare breakfast. The knock at the door was Dillon. 

     “While I have you 2 kids here,” Jack sat down with a heavy sigh. “We need to talk about the fact that I might,” he stopped. Evie looked at Dillon with concern. He couldn’t look at her. He just glanced at the floor. “I think,” Jack continued, “I need to hang up my keys.”

     “Why?” She asked with caution. 

     “Don’t get upset with my boy here.” He patted Dillon on the arm. “I put him between a rock and a hard place. I asked him not to tell you until I worked up my nerve.” Evie sat down at the table and Dillon took over cookin’. “It’s time hummin’ bird. My eyes are goin’ dim. Can’t hear it thunder.” 

     “Dad, are you sure this is what you want?” She asked softly.

     “I’ve,” he glanced at Dillon. “Ran a few stop signs. Gettin’ my directions mixed up. You know,” he scoffed. “Little things.” He looked like he might cry. “I don’t want to hurt anyone.”

     “You know that whatever you need, I’m right here.”

     He held her hand, “I know hummin’ bird. I know.”

Easter

     Easter was here. Dinner was in the park so more people would attend. Pastor Sam and Sara both were going to have an active roll in the religious ceremony part before dinner. This would be the first year communion had been offered. Then the evening would end in a surprise Easter egg hunt. 

     As Dillon and Evie sat down to eat, he leaned over whispering in her ear, “let’s get married now?” They had gotten the license on Valentine’s Day. Now all that was left was the act itself. “Look around, all the people we care about are here.”

     She did look around. Patty and Bradley were talkin’ and laughing with Pastor Sam. Her dad was chewin’ the fat with Widow Blake. Everyone seemed in great spirits. There were a few children at this dinner. Though they were playin’, they were well behaved. Simon and Rebecca seemed to be havin’ a good time.  Even the weather was beautiful. “Ask Sara and Pastor Sam if they will each read a piece of the ceremony? You know one of them has a Bible.” Dillon ‘bout broke his neck as he got up from the table. Evie caught her dad’s eye and winked. Sara and Pastor Sam both looked at Evie and smiled. 

     Della scooped up the children that was there, gave each of them a lid and a wooden spoon. She started the parade. From behind the food line, ‘round the tables, toward the seated citizens of Sunshine Valley, she and the children marched, banging their lids. 

     Della ushered her grandson to her side. He took a deep breath, “hear ye! Hear ye! We call,” he glanced at his grandma. She knelt by his side, whispering in his ear. He finished, “we call Pastor Sam and Miss Sara to the front.” The children hit their lids once as Sam and Sara came forward holding their Bibles. They stood off to the side of the parade staring toward the eating – bewildered crowd. 

     Della motioned for the next child in line to come to her. She whispered in the little girls ear. The child took a deep breath before shouting, “hear ye! Hear ye! We call Bradley Raymond Smith to the front.” Bradley stood close to Sara. 

     This little girl moved and the next child in line stood beside Della. Again, she whispered in the child’s ear. The little boy nervously stammered, “hear ye! Hear ye! We call Tammy Savanna Blake to the front.” The children hit their lids once. Widow Blake stood close to Pastor Sam. 

     In as unison as you can get an impromptu group of children, everyone shouted, “hear ye! Hear ye! We call Dillon Jackson Pace to the front.” The children hit their lids once. Dillon was about to die inside as he stood between Bradley and Sara. His heart was on fire. This was really going to happen. The woman of his dreams was about to become his wife. 

     Danny had spent every dime his youthful self could get turning his truck into a rollin’ jukebox. This was the one time he wouldn’t get a ticket for blarin’ his truck. At last by Etta James filled the park. Dillon was a little shocked that Evie hadn’t picked a more traditional wedding march but honestly; nothing about them had been traditional. The music became a blur in his mind as she and Jack walked toward him. Somewhere she had found some Easter flowers for a bouquet. The most beautiful woman in the world was walking toward him. 

Should’a, could’a, would’a

     Rebecca came home to find Simon’s truck in the drive way. Some old rough sheets of lumber were stacked on the porch.  She opened the door to the sound of hammering. He had stirred up the smell of burnt wood, the house smelt of stale smoke again. He had hung plastic around the once basement door. There was a latter in the hole where the steps to the basement had been. “Simon.” He climbed up, covered with soot. “What are you doin’ home? I thought your calendar was full this week?”

     He took his shoes off on a rug he had placed by the sheets of plastic, before walking out of the room. When he came back, he plopped a calendar on the kitchen table, put his shoes back on before disappearing into the basement. 

    

     She picked the calendar up, almost every appointment had been marked through. In some places, a new name had been added. “What is this?” She called after him. “What does D & E stand for? What are you doing?” When she got no answer, she quickly changed into old work clothes, took a deep breath before descending the latter. “I’m comin’ down.” He was sittin’ on a bucket waiting on her.

     “You answered none of my questions. I want answers.”

     “All of my clients are canceling on me because (I suspect) you keep runnin’ your mouth where you don’t have any business. This job that I have worked so hard to build, you are tearin’ apart with your mouth. But you want to know the wildest part? D & E is D & E Farm. They are still givin’ me work.Money that we desperately need.”

     Rebecca was instantly furious, choosing not to mention the farm, “I have a right to say what I want to say.” 

     “Yes, you do. You have that right. And you exercise it without thinkin’ about any of the consequences. How the venom that flows from your mouth affects others. You’ve had a beef with Ms Evelyn almost from the start. Your beef is costing me my livelihood.” 

     She put her hands on her hips, “where did you get that cheap ass lookin’ lumber that’s stacked on my porch?”

     “Free lumber from the lumber mill.”

     “Hell no. You are not puttin’ free shit in MY house.”

     Simon stood, “this is your house. You would get to keep it in the event of a divorce. But I have done a crap ton of work to this house since the marriage, increasing its overall market value. And unless you are hidin’ money from me, you don’t have it to pay me half the value of what this house is worth. The way I’m feelin’, right now, I will fight you for every penny I can squeeze out of you.” 

     Her jaw dropped to the floor. She squeezed out, “divorce?”

     “You should’a kept your mouth shut. You should’a took Ms Evelyn and Dillon up on their offer to organize the town into helpin’ us. You should go crawlin’ on your hands and knees over to her an apologize for being such a mouthy bitch. Maybe, just maybe, if you hadn’t disrespected Jack, I wouldn’t be loosin’ my job.” Simon was almost to the point of tears. “At this point, I’m so thankful to God we didn’t have children. Ms Evelyn is not a threat to you, if you are perceiving her as one. You are a big enough threat to yourself. I can’t go out into our community without hidin’ my head in shame because of some hurtful, nasty accusation my wife has made. Now, he pointed at the latter. You can grow a set of balls and help me rebuild what I,” he pointed at himself, “I destroyed. Ms Evelyn and her trained mice did not catch our house on fire. You can shut your damn mouth and be the woman I married again. Or I can jolly trot my ass right out that door and you can kiss where the sun don’t shine. I didn’t have a pot to piss in when we married. But I’ll have one if we get divorced.” He picked the bucket up that he had been settin’ on and shook it at her. “But I don’t want a divorce. I want my wife back. I want us back before you became a jealous little schoolgirl bully. You need to decide what you want.”

WITSEC

     Clint knocked on the sheriffs door. As he walked through the door, Bradley was hot on his heels. Dillon looked concerned for a moment. “Gentlemen.”

     Bradley almost slammed the door but thought better of it. “What’s goin’ on?” Dillon looked back and forth between the 2 men. 

     “Well,” Clint rolled. “I’m almost embarrassed to tell ya. Both men sat down. “Rebecca Ledbetter is not in WITSEC.”

     Dillon erupted with laughter, causing both men to jump. “I’ve been usin’ that wrong all these years?”

     Bradley shrugged, “we’ve never had anyone in Sunshine Valley before in the program.”

     “Oh, that’s great.” Dillon smiled. 

     “Sir, I couldn’t find her because Rebecca is her middle name. Marie Rebecca “Becky” Honeywell.”

     “She’s clean,” Bradley continued. “I can’t shake this feeling that she’s a small fish in a big pond.”

     “It wouldn’t surprise me if she didn’t swim here to hide from bigger fish.” Clint added. 

     Dillon picked up his coffee mug Evie bought him, “bigger fish being Douglas Greenroll?”

     “It is possible.” Bradley remarked. 

     Dillon got up, walkin’ over to the window. “Evie,” he didn’t even bother correcting himself. “Told me that one day, out of the blue, Doug decided he didn’t want their business anymore. He was burnt out and tired. She didn’t want to go into business with his new friend. She bowed out. And they did their own things. She also told me that he liquidated everything he could get his hands on.”

     “Did she know who he was?” Bradley asked. 

     “No, Doug never formally introduced them.”

     Clint gave Dillon a sideways glance, “I would want to know everything about the person my wife was going into business with.”

     Their relationship was,” Dillon thought about a word that wasn’t too off the wall. He finally settled on, “weird.”

     “If Rebecca is connected to Doug somehow, that would explain the senseless animosity Rebecca has toward Evelyn.” Bradley was staring into space as he talked. 

     Dillon looked at Bradley, “this doesn’t make sense.”

     “What part?” Clint asked. 

     “All of it.”

     “You got a better idea?” Bradley asked. 

     “I’m not saying you’re wrong. I’m thinkin’ there’s more to this story. Why would you,” he pointed at both men, “pick Sunshine Valley?” He sat back down.

     “We are isolated.” Bradley offered. 

     “Small backwater town.” Clint remarked.

     Dillon gave him a lglance before adding, “keep diggin’ when you have time.”

     Neither man moved. Clint cleared his throat. Bradley gave him a nod for encouragement. “Deputy Calvin, I know you’ve overheard some of our break room conversations.” Clint stopped, lookin’ at Dillon for any kind of recognition. When he got none, he continued. “He and this woman that he’s been courtin’, she’s pretty messed up. She’s in and out of Coal Town. She’s been in and out of rehab’s, goin’ as far away as Lou-ville.”

     “You just wrote him up for excessive force.” Dillon added. 

     “Yes, sir. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about, he’s becomin’ more so. With Bradley’s permission, I told him one more outburst, he’s goin’ on review. Daisy, his girl, ended up in the e.r. that same evening but she won’t tell me who beat her up.” Clint shook his head, “it was bad.”

     Dillon sighed, “all we need is for Sunshine Sue to get ahold of this. Don’t give him one more. Make him go talk to the department shrink. The last thing we need is a deputy full of aggression on patrol.”

     “Yes, sir.”

*I’d like to thank Violet Lentz for correcting me on an abbreviation. I decided to work the error into the story. Thank you 💕

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