I don’t try new things often. But today I decided to be brave and try the new Dr. Pepper Blackberry.
Here is my humble review of the New Dr. Pepper Blackberry. “Meh.” Yes, that’s right, “meh.” If you love blackberry and want it to be the predominate flavor, you are going to be sadly disappointment. It’s more of an after taste that hits you in the back of the throat. If Dr. Pepper is your drink of choice and you don’t care what it is as long as it’s a Dr. Pepper, you’re gonna love it.
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Thinking
Dillon lay in his bed thinking. Evie was right. The people of Sunshine Valley did give Sunshine Sue a lot of their time. Including him. She lived rent free in his mind for something that happened 30 some odd years ago. He was a different man now than he was back then. He was hostile, hurt, lonely and in all honesty, just wanted to hurt someone else. Everything in Sunshine Valley reminded him of Evie. He didn’t have the courage to leave. Didn’t have the courage to end it all. Though, he prayed someone else would. Hurting someone else the way he was hurting, left him empty and ashamed.
His Evie had come home. She had come back to him. Gettin’ to know adult Evie was amazin’. But was she enjoying this exploration period? Well, she had agreed to marry him.
Before she came home, the only time he had darken the door of a church was for a funeral. Watchin’ Evie struggle with the humanity of church was eye opening, sad and he had this deep seated need to help her. He could offer to go with her? Why did she feel this dread? Shame? Guilt? Worse than he had? He didn’t think about it much at all. She was there. It was done to her face. In front of the body of the church. ‘That’s why’, he told himself. Then to offer to help the very woman that had called her out. He was wowed in that moment. He was just getting to see the magnitude of her faith.
Her faith? To step into a relationship with the man that had been waiting on her. That some would say, was pinein’ his life away. Waiting on her. While there were plenty of good women in Sunshine Valley to choose from. He was waiting on her.
He really didn’t know Rebecca. He was familiar with Simon because of Teka but didn’t know him either. Whatever was goin’ on with Rebecca toward Evie, was this what jealousy looked like in adults? If this was jealousy? Why? Adult Evie had never lived in Sunshine Valley. All those childhood connections were that, childhood connections. She had to work her way back into the community like a stranger. It helped that Jack was so respected and loved. He wanted to think that he had been a big help, but he knew better. Most people in Sunshine Valley forgot he existed, until the shit hit the fan.
He had to admit to himself, she didn’t complain about gettin’ churched much. He knew it hurt. And she talked to him about it. But to say she complained wasn’t accurate. Come to think about it, he hadn’t heard Evie complain about much. Not even Doug. He smiled to himself, she did complain about her shoes when they went hikin’. Even that was short lived. The car wreck didn’t seem to phase her. Her dad’s truck not having heat caused her some temporary discomfort but not really complaints. Adult Evie was much more fascinating than childhood Evie.
How long had it been since he prayed? ‘Dear God, please don’t take her away from me again. Let us grow old together. Let our love grow in you, together as you would guide us too. Give me the strength to forgive myself. To ask for forgiveness. To be the man, husband, member of this community that you need me to be. Amen’. He let out a long sigh.
His phone chimed. It was a message from Evie. ‘Happy Valentine’s Day 💕 Stay safe out there lawman.’ A huge smile crept across his face. Yeah, she loved him.
He decided to send her an emoji back. Did she know his heart was all hers? 💝
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
I will sue her
Simon rubbed his sore side. “That hurt.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” she mocked him.
“I was being polite.”
“She is only doing this to cover her ass.”
Simon was exasperated, “from what?”
“I will sue her skinny ass. This is all her fault. Now she has ruined Valentine’s Day.”
“It was already rurnt because you are pissed you had to work today.”
“They should just make Valentine’s Day a federal holiday. Who wants to come home to sexy time after you’ve worked 8 hours and had 3 parent teacher meetings?” She paused, “and what kind of stupid word is rurnt?”
“You have the power to schedule your own meetings.”
“For once, can you not take up for me?”
“This is not a pissin’ contest. The fire wasn’t her fault. If anyone’s, it was mine. I should have hired someone that specializes in old furnaces. That furnace is almost 60 years old. I knew better. But I had to try to be a big boy and show off for my wife.” Simon’s voice became elevated but he wasn’t shouting. He pointed toward Evelyn’s house. “She tried,” he corrected himself. “No, she did save our lives. And her quick response calling 911, saved our house. I don’t know what kind of bee has gotten in your bonnet; you need to check yourself. I don’t know where this bitch; that used to be my wife has been hiding, but she can go back to the pits of hell where she came from.”
Rebecca looked shocked, “did you just call me a bitch?”
“No, this attitude you have developed over the past year is what I’m referring to. It’s like you are a different person and I don’t like it. It’s mean, possessive, snotty, aggressive and arrogant.”
“Just admit it. You have a crush on her. You like red heads.”
“What?! Yes, I like red heads. No, I don’t have a crush on Ms Evelyn. I do believe she’s a nice person. I married you not her. And,” he hissed. “Since when has talkin’ about suein’ become your favorite sport?”
Rebecca put her hands on her hips, “this is my house and you can get out.”
“It’s a free country, ain’t it?” He grabbed his coat and left.
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Valentines Day
Evie and Dillon got their marriage license. They did it together. They’re present to each other. “What would you like to do tonight?” Dillon asked as he held the door open for her. The cold air smacked them both in the face.
“How about dinner at my house? Then you can play for me.”
“Will you sing?”
“If it’s a song I know.”
Dillon kissed her. “Don’t do everything, I want to help.”
“I will save you some work, my future husband.” He went to work and she went home.
Evie had lit candles to give the living room and kitchen a more romantic feel. She had salsa baked chicken and baked potatoes. When Dillon came in, he helped set the table and made a salad. They ate and talked about the day.
“This feels weird that I didn’t get you a gift.” He cleared his throat, “a traditional gift.”
“You will learn lawman that I’m not big on fluff,” she said with caution. “Gifts are nice. If you are going to buy flowers, I’d much rather you buy something that can be planted outside or that we can eat later.”
He pecked at the piano. “This spring can I dig up the honeysuckle vine or do you want me to buy you a new one?”
“What are you thinking?”
“I want to plant it at the bottom of the fence where we first come up the driveway. That way, it’s the first thing you see. When it’s in full bloom, of course.”
“Dillon,” she kissed him on top of the head. “You are a sweetie.”
“Only for you,” he winked.
She sat in the floor leaning up against one of the overstuffed chairs as he played. “I’ve been thinking, you know how the community came together to fix up this house.” He nodded. “Who organized that?”
“Jack.”
“I was thinking, with their permission of course, we could do that for the Ledbetter’s. They can still live in their house. Which is amazing. But you know they are gonna need help. Insurance isn’t gonna be enough.”
Dillon was stunned. He couldn’t believe his ears. “Evelyn, are you drunk?”
She gave him a confused look, “no – why?”
“If that woman has had one good word to say about you, I’ve never heard it.”
“Simon seems to be a sweet person. Somehow I feel sorry for him. I can’t put my finger on why.” She shrugged, “we can at least ask if they would like that.”
Dillon got up looking out the window, “let’s go.”
They walked arm and arm up the Ledbetter’s drive.
Dillon spoke, “this mornin’ on the radio Sunshine Sue asked ‘what would you do if you won the lottery?’ “What would you do?”
“I don’t know, you?”
“Build some kind of housing infrastructure for the homeless.”
“If I won, I could help you with that.”
He smiled, “that would be lovely.”
“Y’all give Sunshine Sue a lot of your time. Guess I need to buy a radio.”
“It’s hard not too. She’s everywhere. Honestly, I usually only listen to the radio in the truck. She has a special place in hell for the sheriff’s department.”
Simon and Rebecca met them on the front porch. Dillon and Evie remained in the yard.
Simon smiled, “we saw you walkin’ up. Everything okay?”
“Yes,” Dillon answered. “We were wondering,”
Evie finished, “would you 2 be open to allowing us to organize a house fixin’ weekend? It might take a couple. I know, you will want to discuss it.”
Dillon continued, “it’s never easy havin’ people trample through your home.”
Simon felt Rebecca squeeze his arm. “Thank you. We will let you know.” He answered.
“Happy Valentine’s Day.” Evie smiled as she and Dillon left.
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” Simon responded. Rebecca elbowed him in the ribs. He stifled a groan.
One of our fellow bloggers posts got me to thinking about love. And how, I feel, we are wired for love. Both to give and to receive.
This got me to thinking about random act of kindness. Have you ever done a random act of kindness, only to have it blow up in your face? Share your story in the comments below.
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Aftermath
Evie took a shower. She didn’t want to do anything. Numb was how she was feeling. There came a gentle knock at her door. It was Dillon. When she saw him, she just fell apart. Everything poured out. He hugged her up and let her cry.
His phone vibrated in his pocket. He let her go long enough to meet the fire marshal.
It didn’t take the fire marshal long to find the cause of the blaze. A faulty wire. Simon admitted they had found mice since the bitter cold.
“It’s her fault,” Rebecca snapped. “If that property hadn’t been bush hogged, we wouldn’t have had a problem.”
The fire marshal glanced helplessly at Dillon. He didn’t return the favor.
“Your girl friend has caused nothing but trouble since she moved in.” This got Dillon’s attention. “That damn horse leaves shit all over the road. Homeless people in the basement of the church. Mice. My husband could have gotten killed playing the hero. That’s your job.” She pointed aggressively at Dillon.
The fire marshal cleared his throat, “here’s 2 copies of your report. Here’s a business card with my number.“ He tipped his hat and left. With Dillon hot on his heals.
“We need to sue her?”
“What for?” Simon asked in shock.
“This is her fault!” Rebecca screamed
Calmly Simon asked, “how?”
“Were you not paying attention? Faulty wire. Most likely caused by a mouse chewing on it. I had mice when I first bought this house. But none since.”
“That you know of.”
“Why are you taking her side?”
“I’m not. I’m trying to have a conversation with my wife.”
“Conversation,” she huffed. “Maybe the 2 of you can go be heroes together.”
“Maybe you could win the lottery?” He suggested. “Maybe read a book.”
She shot him a look that told him more than words ever could.
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Fire!
Evie couldn’t sleep. She rolled over to see 4:00 am stairing back at her. “Just get up.” She scolded herself. It was still cold. But at least it wasn’t -5. Maybe a walk or a run. Regardless, this pent up anxiety had to go. Dillon didn’t like it when she went out at night alone. He offered to buy her any exercise equipment she wanted. Even though they didn’t have a clear idea who was harassing her, she wouldn’t live in total fear. She had spent too much of her time in the dark.
The road toward town was where she normally went. She decided to walk to Dillon’s and exercise Teka. A text to Dillon to tell him she stole their horse. “Your horse.”
“Why not ours? Because you think she hates you.”
“I know she does.”
Evie smiled remembering this conversation as she and Teka strolled through the morning. They walked to the main highway. Which was about 45 minutes from Evie’s little house.
At the intersection, where they turned, Evie paused for a minute. When she was little no one lived here. Now, there were about 10 houses scattered around. She wondered what they were doing? Was someone cookin’ breakfast? A family setting ‘round the table gettin’ ready to face another day? Perhaps someone overslept and they were busting their butts to get out of the door on time. Or was someone just gettin’ to lay down who worked the graveyard shift. Whatever was happening behind closed doors, she prayed it was full of love.
On the way back, Evie started smelling smoke. Which wasn’t unusual. Folks were getting up. Building fires. Gettin’ ready to face another day. The closer she got to her house, the stronger the smell became. Her heart sank at the wild notion that her house might be on fire. It wasn’t her house.
However, smoke was boiling from the Ledbetter’s. She called 911 while approaching the house. She pounded on the door. Circled the house twice, banging on every window. Shouting as loud as she could. Nothing. “Where’s a rock when you need one?”
Something crashed from inside the house. A glass breaking kinda noise. She had to do something and do it quickly. With her flat hand, she smacked the window pane, “Teka kick. Teka kick.” She commanded. The horse turned, kicking the window with both hind legs. The window shattered. Smoke bellowed out of the open hole.
Rebecca was difficult to move in her own right. Simon was almost impossible. Evie screamed at him. Shook him. Nothing.
She rushed to the window for a fresh breath of air. Rebecca was now coughing. Teka caught her eye. “Teka, come here girl.” She hooked the reins to Simon’s feet. Coughing and gagging as she worked. “Teka, walk.” The horse drug Simon across the room to the open hole. She figured a few scrapes from the window frame would be preferable to death.
At that moment, big strong hands lifted Simon out of the window into the arms of waiting EMS. Then those hands reached for her. She had never felt more like a sack of potatoes in her life. The smoke was all consuming. Her vision was blurry and her lungs hurt.
EMS propped her up in the passenger side of the sheriff’s suv with an oxygen mask. “Breathe normally, dear. You’re gonna be just fine.” The paramedic smiled.
“This is your fault!” Rebecca screamed lunging from the back of an ambulance. “Your fault!” She flung her arms wildly in the air, “go back to where you came from! My husband could have gotten killed. You set our house on fire so you could play hero!”
Dillon just glared at her. Then he glanced sympathetically at Evie. Everyone just stood frozen. She took the oxygen mask off, took Teka by the reins, and walked her toward Dillon’s.
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Leftovers
Dillon helped Evie and Della pack up the leftovers for Pastor Sam. He had a brief conversation in the corner with a plain dressed man.
Dillon stopped as the lights of a car blinked, “did you get a new car?”
“Used.” She smiled. “Yes. It was Pastor Sam’s wife Sue’s car.”
“I figured he would have gotten rid of that years ago.”
“Said he didn’t have the heart.”
“I think you may have started something.” Dillon smiled.
She blushed, “and what would that be lawman?”
“The man I was speaking to in the corner was the department therapist. He liked this. Said it was good to see everyone laughing together. While he realizes it is impossible to have civilians knowing department business, it was an added benefit that they were present.”
“Something good happening because of something bad.” She teased, “and you didn’t want me to do it.”
“I will defer to your judgment.” He was all smiles.
“How about we meet in the middle? I always want to know the when and why’s.”
Dillon was shocked, “really?”
“Yes really. I’m not that arrogant to think I know everything. Your thoughts, input is always important.”
He was floored. “I will keep that in mind.”
“You’d better, lawman.” She smiled.
He pulled her into a kiss before asking, “so does this mean you and Pastor Sam have made peace?”
“Yes. I let Satan get in my head. He’s good at that. It still may take me awhile before I go to church. That wound is still fresh.” She gently touched his arm where he had gotten shot.
“It’s okay. It was mostly a flesh wound.”
“Mostly a flesh wound?”
“I’ll show you tonight.” He smiled.
“Speaking of tonight, what would you like to do?”
“I don’t get a lot of leisure time. Not sure I’ma gonna know how to act.”
“How about we make pizza? You can check out some board games I have and we’ll take it from there?”
Instead of answering the daily prompt with personal stuff; I’m gonna work the prompt into my story. Hope you enjoy.
Stories over breakfast
There was half an hour between morning shift coming in to the sheriffs office and night shift leaving. His deputies needed time to decompress. If this meant taking a shower before you left, venting to your fellow co-workers, he didn’t care what about. Over the years, they had collected a mini gym. Many times Pastor Sam or another spiritual leader was present. There was also a therapist that frequented this time frame. Cops are often portrayed as hard ass s.o.b’s jacked up full of adrenaline on a power trip, Dillon knew better.
Evie had asked if she could use this time to cook breakfast for the department. As a thank you. He tried his best to tell her that it wasn’t necessary. Their thanks was that she didn’t get hurt.
She grinned from ear to ear, “that’s your thanks.” She winked, kissin’ him on the nose.
Evie got Della to help her.
The deputies had an abbreviated meeting. As they filed into the breakroom, one moaned, “you ladies are killin’ us.”
“It’s hard to concentrate smellin’ all those great smells.” Dillon smiled as she handed him a hot cup of coffee. He was dressed in street clothes. “Thank you.”
Someone’s stomach growled about the time Pastor Sam and the Ledbetter’s walked in. Simon was carrying a fruit basket. Evie knew a fruit basket was a joke as a gift. She was unsure of how to express her gratitude. Apparently, one of them thought it was weak as well.
The room erupted in laughter. Clint blushed, “sorry y’all.” It was his stomach that had growled.
“The red handled pot is cinnamon coffee and the black handle is regular.” Evie reported.
“Who puts cinnamon in coffee?” Rebecca snapped.
She blushed, “you know that cheap coffee stores put on the bottom shelf hopein’ you won’t find it? That’s all Doug and I could afford. It tasted like sawdust. So we started experimenting with different spices to make it drinkable. Cinnamon tasted best. Even though I can buy better coffee now,” she shrugged, “I like it.”
“It’s delicious.” A female state trooper reported as she took a sip. Her partner was too busy loading a plate to get coffee.
Dillon pointed at the plate filler, “I’m sure you remember McMillon? You didn’t get to meet Brewer.” Brewer was the lady getting coffee.
Della accepted the fruit basket and started taking it apart. “When Bill and I first got married, I couldn’t boil water.” She laughed. “We had one kettle and I burnt a hole in the bottom of it the first time I used it. Reverend John’s wife Rita gave me my first real cookin’ lesson. And my first job, I did odd things around their house and bought back the kettle I destroyed.”
Jack smiled a loving smile, “I had one Sunday go to meetin’ shirt when Lily and I got married. Back then, irons were the ones that you put on a hot stove. The iron got so hot that it burnt a hole in my shirt. She cried for a week over that. Had to wear a jacket to church for a month.”
“I shot my dad in the butt.” Brewer chimed in. “No daughter of his would ever go hungry. He taught all of us how to hunt and fish. I’m still fuzzy on how it happened. There was a beautiful buck lined up in my scope. It was a perfect shot. I held my breath, squeezed the trigger, the buck jumped and there was my dad screaming, ‘you shot me’!”
Laughter mixed with ooooh’s filled the room.
Banks laughed, “now that’s a place I’ve never been. I’ve never been hunten’.”
Brewer shook her fork at him, “we’ll have to arrange a trip sometime.”
“Not if you’re gonna shoot me.” Everyone laughed.
Other staff members filtered in. Evie figured it was front office staff and dispatchers.
Poetry & More 