Rusty

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What the hell did I just say? Did I just tell Lee’s mother that I would marry Lee? Had I lost every ounce of sanity in my brain? Fuck me. I barely knew her.

“Rusty, have you gone mad?” Lee asked.

“I’m not sure.” And I wasn’t.

Her mom cackled.

“And Mom, aren’t you sick?”

“Not really. I was just upset because you hadn’t come home all night.”

“Jesus. This is crazy here. Rusty, I think we need food because the blood has left your brain and you’re saying stupid things.”

I held out my hand with one finger extended. “Wait a minute. You know what? I’m not crazy. People fall in love all the time. You told me about your great-grandparents. Why can’t we fall fast like that? I’m not saying we have and that we should get married now. That is off the charts insane. But I am saying is I believe in us, even though we’ve just met. And I’m willing to bet that one day, I’m going to be waiting for you at the end of the aisle and you and I will be saying our I do’s.”

Lee waved her hand, saying, “Whatever.”

Her mom cackled again, and said, “Lilou, I like this young man. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll hang on to this one.”

“Yeah, okay Mom.” Turning to me, Lee said. “Let’s go eat.”

We got in my truck and I said, “Lilou, huh?”

“Yeah, that’s my real name. Lilou Grace Marsten. But most everyone, except my immediate family, calls me Lee.”

“Wow.”

“What?”

“That’s the most beautiful name ever. My foster sister made up her name.”

“You mean Midnight, right?”

“Yeah. Her birth name was Velvet. That was her name when she came to live with us and I remember thinking how that name suited her. Her hair is like black velvet. Velvet Summers was her name.”

“But that is sort of a crazy name.”

“Definitely. Her mom was a drug addict, so you can kind of see where this is going. She was probably high when she named her. But as a kid, I thought it was cool. Not cool now. But your name … totally cool and awesome.”

“I’ve always hated Lilou.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. I like Lee better.”

Grabbing her hand, I said, “I love it. And sorry I got you in trouble with your mom.”

“Don’t be. She’s happy now after what you said, you crazy fool.”

“I may be a lot of things, but a fool isn’t one of them. You’ll see one day.” I smirked at her.

At the cafe, we ordered breakfast from a happy Jackson. She was gloating over the two of us. She laughed when Lee told her how she got into trouble with her mom.

“Just like high school.”

“What did you do in high school?” I asked.

“For one, we got into Jackson’s grandma’s moonshine. We got so trashed it wasn’t funny. Then we got in trouble for getting drunk and from her grandma for dipping into her stash.”

The thought of the two of them staggering around hammered as hell had me laughing my ass off. “Wish I could’ve seen that.”

Lee held her hand up. “Oh no. It wasn’t pretty when we were throwing up all over the place.”

“If you can’t hold your liquor …” I shrugged.

“Uh, yeah. We didn’t touch that stuff again,” I said.

Breakfast was delicious—the best I’d ever eaten. This cafe rivaled any food I’d ever tasted.

“Jackson needs to enter some of those food contests or get on one of the TV shows. Her cooking is amazing,” I said.

“I know. She is talented.”

We finished eating and Lee informed me she had to work the lunch hour.

“Would it be okay if I just hung out here?”

“What? Are you gonna ogle me all afternoon?”

“Of course. What else would I do in a town like Drummond?”

“You’ve got a point.”

I leaned across the table and pressed my lips to hers. “If I can help, just let me know. I’m pretty good at chores, you know.”

“Can you wash dishes?”

“Pfft. Anyone can do that.”

She grabbed my hand and said, “Come on. And bring your dirty dishes with you.”

We cleaned up our mess and headed back to the kitchen where Jackson was running the show. There were a couple of helping hands with her, but she had everything under control.

“Hey you two. Tell me about last night,” Jackson called out. Her grin was a dead giveaway she knew what we’d been up to.

“I’m not the kiss and tell kind of guy,” I called back out.

“Hey Jackson, do you recall an old guy working at Neal’s store?” Lee asked.

“Not that I can remember. Why?”

“Rusty was in there yesterday and said there was some old man in there,” Lee said.

“Yeah, I went inside to check out that old wooden train set in the window. I was interested in buying it, but he told me it wasn’t for sale. Anyway, we had quite a long conversation and then he sent me here to eat.”

“I have no idea who that could be. Did you get a name?” Jackson wanted to know.

“Nope. Didn’t bother to ask.”

Lee was cleaning off the griddle while she spoke. “After lunch, I want to go over there to see if he’s still there.”

Jackson only shrugged. “Maybe he’s an uncle of Neal’s or something.”

“Maybe. I just think it’s kinda weird that neither of us knows him.”

“Eh, whatever. I’m glad he sent me a new customer and got you a date.”

I laughed as Lee threw a dishcloth at her.

The lunch crowd was thick. I was a quick study at bussing tables and serving drinks. I also helped carry the heavier trays out and later joked around with Lee about sharing her tips.

“You owe me, Lee.”

“I do, but not to worry. I’ll make this worth it.”

I watched her hips sway and it dawned on me how well she walked with her prosthesis. Her slight limp was barely noticeable.

When she was finished for the afternoon, we left the cafe and went down the street to the little woodworking shop. The bell on the door rang when we entered. Neal came and greeted us.

“Hey, Neal. You doing okay?”

“Pretty good, Lee. What about yourself?”

“Good. Neal, this is Rusty. He’s visiting from Virginia Beach and was in yesterday.”

“No, not yesterday. I was closed. You must’ve been in the day before. I came down with some stomach thing, so I never opened the shop yesterday.”

“Are you sure?” I asked. “I came in and there was an old gentleman in here. I inquired about that train set in the window. He told me it wasn’t for sale but sold me some other things. Ducks and fish.”

“No. I promise you, there wasn’t an old man in here and I didn’t open up yesterday.”

Lee touched my arm. “Come on, Rusty. You must’ve been mistaken.”

“Yeah, I suppose so.”

“See you, Neal,” she called out as we left.

When we got outside, I said, “Look, I know you think I’m nuts, but I swear I saw him. I even have things I bought from that shop. I can show you.”

Lee was quiet for a minute as we walked. Then she suddenly stopped and said, “If I show you a picture of someone, could you recognize that man?” she asked.

“I couldn’t forget his face if I tried.”

“Come on. We’re going to my house.”

We went back to the cafe and jumped in her car. When we got to her parents’ house, she took me inside and dug through some old pictures. She handed me one and asked, “Is this him?”

The picture was aged and worn, but I checked it out closely. “I’m not sure because this man is so much younger. Do you have one of him when he’s older?”

“Hang on.”

She flipped through another old photo album and continued her search. Finally, she pulled another picture out. “What about this?”

I examined it closely. “Yes! He’s still younger but that’s him.”

Lee smiled. “This is really weird. This is my great-grandfather.”

“How in the hell was he in that shop yesterday? This man is dead.” I shook the picture in my hand.

“Not only is he dead, but he’s also been dead for over thirty years.”