A few night creatures started their calls to nature. An owl off in the distance serenaded the moon. A few crickets join in with their chorus.
Evie finally broke the rhythm of nature, “were you ever married?”
“No.” She sighed. “Too busy with maw n paw. Couldn’t get close ‘nough.” She patted the rifle next to her. “Leonard n me.”
“You’re purdy handy with that broom.” Dillon remarked.
She laughed, a deep, free laugh. Her whole body shook. It reminded Evie of what laughing must be like for Santa. “Teach u to sneak up on an ole woman.”
“Wasn’t trying to scare you.” Dillon said.
“Oh,” she pointed at him. “Should’a saw the look on your face. You ran like a rabbit.”
He just sighed, “yeah.”
Evie made a mental note of his lack of enthusiasm regarding this subject. It crossed her mind that he had been beaten with a broom before? Suddenly, she remembered, one evening she and her dad found him curled up at the bottom step of their back porch. For whatever reason, her mom wasn’t there. She had helped her dad care for him. His arms and legs were black and blue. There was a few whelk marks on his back. It was remarkable that he didn’t have a broken bone. Or 5.
Evie just watched him. It seemed to her he was thinking about that same thing. When she looked at Smith, she was watchin’ them both.
“You hadn’t been born yet,” Smith started talking. “Coral was a bad seed even back yunder. He’d pull my hair. Take sticks and lift up my dress tail. Had this coat, last thing paw bought me. He lit it ah fire with me in it.” She cleared her throat. “Beat his ass over that. He spit blood rest of day. Got n trouble by teach. Never went back.” She locked eyes with Dillon, “sorry didn’t teach him his lesson.”
Evie hugged up her knees, “who was the Mr. Smith that got away?”
Smith sucked air through her teeth and just sighed.
Evie heard the sound of spitting. “I guess that be y we just keep lectin’ you?”
“What did you think of the show?” Dillon asked.
“Waitin’ on ‘nother show.” She spat.
Evie leaned up, “what other show?”
“Spect he’d ask fur your hand.” She spat. “Weddin’s make me cry.”
“Done did.” Evie held up her hand, the ring sparkled in the moon light.
She spat, “when u tiein’ the knot?”
“Now, if she’d let me.” Dillon teased.
“U not gitten’ yunger. What ‘bout babies?”
Evie blushed, “I’m a little long in the tooth to be poppin’ out babies.”
Smith spat, “maw was 55 when she had me. Thought she was done with the change n all.” She spat, laughing, “one more bun in the oven.”
“She was a better woman than me.”
“Evie brought some snacks. Wanna join us?”
She spat, “snacks?”
Dillon helped Evie out of the back of the truck. It was then she noticed the shotgun draped over Smith’s arm. They spread out the blanket to sit on. Makin’ sure not to put it in Smith’s chaw juice. Remarkably they didn’t see any. Dillon handed her the basket and she sat with her back against a tire. Dillon sat beside her. Smith spat before she sat across from them.
Evie spoke as she emptied the basket, “I tried to cut out a shooting star but the tail fell off.” The sandwich she handed to Smith was in the shape of a star. She pulled out a full moon and a crescent moon. “I tried to make them festive. We have some nabs, some chocolate, nuts and hot chocolate.” Dillon held a cup while Evie poured, passin’ it over to Smith.
The first time I got covid, it messed with my sense of taste. Coffee was beyond nasty. My beloved Diet Mt. Dew was gross. Coke products were okay but Pepsi products were undrinkable. Just random foods that shouldn’t be salty tasted like I was licking a salt shaker.
I’ve started drinking matcha tea. The 3 big ingredients in matcha tea are turmeric, black pepper and green tea. A box (with tax) is about $4.00 at Kroger. After reading the ingredients, I thought, I can buy a box of turmeric and make this way cheaper. So that’s what I’ve been doing.
The other day, I make a cup and as I’m drinking, it just keeps getting saltier. I know I put pepper in my tea because some of the pepper flakes float to the top. Heck no! I’ve got covid for the 3rd time this year?
Convinced I have covid – AGAIN! Take a covid test is the first thing I do when I get home. I know Chico is about to bust. But must! – take! – covid test! Praise God it’s not Covid. What then!?
I wash my cup. Make another. Perfect.
????? What the?
This time, when I make my cup of tea, I’m making dang sure I get pepper. As I search the packet bag for pepper, I discover pepper packets are black. Salt packets are red. EXCEPT for Burger King. Their salt packets are blue. The only thing that makes sense is that a salt and pepper packet were stuck together and I put both in my tea.
In this case, salt was nasty. 🧂Not the flavor I was going for.
Dillon took the basket from Evie puttin’ it in the backseat of his truck as she hopped in the passengers seat. He turned her around so that her knees were at his waist, “madam,” he grinned. “Do not deny me the pleasure of helping you in my truck.” He kissed her.
“Sir, if it is pleasure you seek, I will not deny thee.”
He trailed his thumb across her cheek, “I’ve missed you.”
As he walked around the truck, she saw him. Really saw him in the pole light. She didn’t say anything for a while. When she looked at him he was grinnin’ from ear to ear. She gushed, “you had your tint taken off the front.”
“Lowered,” he never stopped smiling. “I scared you. Even though you know it’s my truck, with my windows that dark, you can’t see who’s driving.”
She kissed him, then caressed his cheek, “that was very sweet.” He took her hand in his and kissed it. “How was tint that dark legal?”
He winked, “who’s gonna pull the sheriff over?”
“You booger.” She teased. “Smith isn’t gonna shoot at us is she?”
“We’re gonna go around and above her house. But I did call her to tell her we would be in the area. More for our safety than hers.”
Evie loved the drive up the mountain. As they drove, she searched her memory, “don’t think I’ve ever been up the mountain in the dark.”
“It’s truly a different experience. What’s in the basket?”
“Nothing heavy. Some crackers. Thermos of hot chocolate. Couple peanut butter sandwiches. Snacky type stuff. Do you think we will really get to see the aurora borealis tonight?”
“They are sayin’ tonight is our best chance.”
“I guess we’ll find out together.”
Once they past Smith’s house, the road turned into an old logging road. Dillon got out, walked around the front of the truck, came back and put the truck in the lowest gear it had. Evie laughed, “that is what dad called ‘bulldog’.”
“Your dad was always comin’ up with colorful turn-ah-phrases.”
The truck whined with each roll of the wheels. Shaking and bouncing its passengers as they inched toward the top of the mountain. Evie couldn’t stop laughing. “What’s so funny?” Dillon asked.
Between giggles she spewed, “this.” With each bounce, she just laughed that much harder. By the time they reached the top, she was in tears.
He back the truck up so that they had the best few of the night sky from the bed of the truck. They worked together to spread out the sleeping bags so they had something more comfortable than metal to sit on. Dillon threw a blanket in the back as she retrieved the basket.
About 11:30 pm, the sky started its show. Evie stood up watching the colors fight for supremacy as they danced across the horizon. Like waves washing on shore they flowed back and forth. “Beautiful,” Evie sighed. Rejoining Dillon.
Rebecca walked through the door to the amazing smell of food. “Hey baby.”
“Hi, sweetheart.”
“What’s cookin’?” She asked playfully.
“Spaghetti. How was your day?”
“Wild. You?
“I bumped into Evelyn at the grocery. Not literally of course.”
“I thought she had all her food delivered. There is always someone over there.”
He shrugged, “don’t know. Something isn’t right somehow. She broke down in the middle of the produce sobbing. I just sat in the floor with her. Felt like she needed a hug.”
Rebecca froze in place. A fork in one hand and a plate in the other. “ You didn’t.” She hissed.
“No. It wasn’t my place.”
She continued setting the table, “damn straight it ain’t.”
“Widow Blake showed up.”
“Attention seeking. That’s all that is.”
Simon had so much he wanted to say but he let it go.
When someone comments on a post, I’ve been doing the 💕 emoji. For whatever reason, Jetpack isn’t allowing me to add emojis in the comment section. Sadness.
Poetry & More 