WPFAAT, Winter Chapter Fifteen
Sorry it took so long! My semester's over now, though, so hopefully updates won't be so few and far between.
Junior didn’t know how to go about getting Jack and Ennis ready for Bobby’s broken arm. How do you prepare a parent for that? Tell them not to worry? That wouldn’t do any good. Maybe she should break her own arm before he got back? Yeah, right.
“Junior, what you worrying so hard on over there?” Jack asked. “Look like your eyes’re getting ready to jump outta your head to relieve some pressure.” He laughed at himself. He was usually the only one who did.
“Uh…just…” Junior thought hard. “I had this dream last night.” She said casually. “Bobby was riding a bull and fell off and broke his arm.”
“Mm, yeah, that’s a pretty accurate dream.” Jack said with a snicker. For a second Junior was startled, thinking Jack knew already. But then he added, “I broke a bone most every time I get on a bull.”
“Oh, yeah.” She forced a little chuckle. “So it’s no big deal.”
Jack shrugged, taking another swig of his coffee. “Just a dream.”
Junior worked hard to keep the wince off her face. Unfortunately it wasn’t.
--------------------
Later that night, while Jack and Ennis were brushing their teeth-well, actually, Ennis was brushing his teeth and Jack was leaning against the counter watching him-Jack brought up something he’d been storing up for a few days.
“Ennis? I gotta…I mean…I been thinking…”
Ennis spat a mouthful of toothpaste in the sink, accidentally splattering some on the mirror. Jack grabbed a rag to wipe it off. “What, Jack?” Ennis said, more splattering happening with his words. “Just spit it out.”
Jack frowned at him. “I’ll spit it out if you quit spittin’ on the mirror.” Ennis rolled his eyes and started rinsing. Jack licked his lips. “I just…there’s another one of them stock fairs. I think it’d be good if I went.”
Ennis straightened up slowly, wiping at his mouth with the heel of his hand. “But…” He switched gears. “When?”
“Next week. I’d leave the third, get back the seventh.”
“That’s like a whole week.” Ennis whined before he could stop himself. Jack grinned at him.
“You gonna miss me, cowboy?” He asked playfully, moving closer in the small bathroom. Ennis ducked his head.
“Mm…”
“Come on, say you’ll miss me.”
“I’ll…Ja-ack, you know I…I’ll miss you.” He barely whispered the last part, more just mouthed it, because it was really true. And Jack’d just barely gotten back, too. Jack came close, hooking a finger through Ennis’s belt-loop and resting his head in that space between Ennis’s shoulder and neck.
“I’ll miss you too. But I gotta do it if we want the kids to go to college.”
Ennis grunted, digging his nose in Jack’s hair and inhaling the scent. “Pretty worried about the money, huh?” He said softly.
“Yeah. Ennis…it’s all my fault.”
“Oh, you hush up now. Ain’t your fault.” Ennis let a hand trace lazy circles on Jack’s back.
Jack sighed. “If you say so.”
“Come on.” Ennis laced his fingers through Jack’s and pulled him out of the bathroom. “Let’s just go to bed, huh?”
They spooned comfortably, bodies fitting together perfectly after years of practice. Jack sighed into the back of Ennis’s neck and laughed when the fine blond hairs there stood at attention.
“What part of ‘just go to bed’ don’t you get?” Ennis growled playfully.
“When have we ever just gone to bed?” Jack countered.
“Mm. Guess you’re right. And I’d hate to break tradition.”
----------------
Lureen was planning a big party for New Year’s. The more platters of tiny food the caterers brought in, the more Bobby wished he would be home. Jack and Ennis never served finger crackers with crab paste on them. They ate hot dogs and potato chips and wore their grubby jeans and holey socks. Lureen was out getting her hair done and had a fancy dress upstairs that flashed her cleavage.
Bobby had to wear a suit. To a party. He didn’t understand why he had to wear a suit or comb his hair or eat crab paste. He made himself a sandwich before Lureen got back. He didn’t want to faint from hunger and ruin her party. That would just be rude.
Two hours later, about a million people were jammed in the house, talking and drinking champagne and smiling big fake smiles at each other. They were all dripping with money and Bobby wished desperately to be away from all of them. His tie was choking him to death and he was sick of people asking him about his cast. He had no idea where Lureen was, and the old women from her mother’s church were circling him like vultures and clucking like hens.
“You’re so handsome.” They kept telling him.
“Those eyes.” They kept sighing.
“Those cheekbones!” They kept exclaiming. And every time he replied with a polite “Thank you, ma’am,” they tittered and got so excited.
“Such a gentleman!” They would shriek, and then one would pinch his cheek while another tried to smooth his cowlick. He was pretty sure one of them even grabbed his ass. Perverted old hags.
“Bobby!” Lureen called from the kitchen. “Could ya c’mere?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He called back. He suffered through a final round of fondling before he could make his escape. He sighed as he made his way to the kitchen. Was he going to have to carry more crackers? People were gobbling them up. Probably because they were so small you had to eat about eight of them to even feel any affect at all.
“You all packed?” Lureen asked when he pushed through the swinging doors.
“Uh…” He thought to his room upstairs. His clothes were mostly piled on the floor.
“Didn’t think so. Your flight leaves at eleven tomorrow morning, so you’d better go up there and pack. It’ll take you longer with only one arm.” She flashed him a wry grin, and he saw a hint of his own smile in there. He smiled back gratefully and scurried up the stairs, loosening his tie as soon as he was out of sight of the party guests.
He flopped onto his bed and caught sight of the picture Lureen had drawn on his cast. He traced it absentmindedly. Happy as he was to be going home, he felt a twinge of sadness at leaving Lureen behind. They’d started to get along after they’d cleared the air. Really, he was getting to actually like her. Not leaving was out of the question, though. He blew out a frustrated breath.
Why did everything have to be so difficult? He half-wished his parents had loved each other, then pushed that wish away, because what about Ennis? All our lives would’ve been easier, a little voice in the back of his head whispered traitorously.
He let himself picture his life, with a mom and a dad and maybe a few brothers and sisters. But all his imaginary sisters looked like Junior and Lureen kept morphing into Ennis. He sighed and pulled himself off the bed. Oh well. Wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it now, and he doubted he would even if he could.
-------------------
Jack and Ennis were used to New Year’s Eve on their own, mostly, because Bobby usually had some party to go to. He’d hang around until ten or so, feeling bad leaving them on their own, but then the pull of his friends and girls always got him out of the house. They never did anything special-drank beer and ate hot dogs and chips in front of the TV. Ennis usually fell asleep by eleven and Jack had to wake him up when the countdown started.
This year was their first with Junior. Jack secretly thought she’d want to go out with Kurt, but he knew better than to tell Ennis that. Ennis liked Kurt-he’d called him responsible more than once, even-but that didn’t mean he wanted Junior spending too much time with him.
But when Jack asked Junior what her plans were, she just shrugged and said she didn’t have any.
“Um…you’re not doing anything with Kurt?” He asked tentatively.
“Nah.” Junior blushed and ducked her head. “I was…well, he’s going to be at his grandma’s house.”
“Oh, I see.” Jack couldn’t help grinning as her blush deepened. She looked so much like Ennis it made Jack’s heart hurt.
They got the snacks ready and gathered in front of the TV to watch the festivities. As usual, Ennis was out within an hour. His big toe was sticking out of his sock, and Buddy kept licking it. Ennis cracked an eye and told Buddy to get away, then promptly drifted off again. It was hard for Buddy to be afraid of him when he was asleep-he looked like a little kid.
“So, Junior, you and Kurt are pretty good friends, huh?” Jack decided to dig a little. Right on cue, she started blushing.
“Um…guess so.”
“He’s a nice kid. Responsible. Smart.”
Junior nodded and picked at a loose thread at the hem of her sweater. She was probably supposed to add something to the conversation, but she figured Jack had a handle on it.
“He’s a nice kid.” Jack repeated. Junior nodded again. She wasn’t looking at Jack, but she could hear the amusement in his voice. Obviously she wasn’t as sneaky with her feelings as she thought she was. But she sure wasn’t going to let Jack know he was right.
They were getting ready to start the countdown, so Jack shook Ennis awake. Junior thought of last year. She’d gone to a party with all her friends and had had a great time-laughing, dancing, kissing a cute boy at midnight. She’d gotten home at one to find her mother fast asleep on the couch, alone, in her pajamas with the TV on, volume low. She’d felt sad then. Now she wanted to bury her head in a pillow and sob. The lights on the TV blurred in front of her full eyes. So many awful things she could’ve done better for her mom.
Jack and Ennis were counting down with the man on TV. Ennis was still half-asleep, his head lolling sleepily onto Jack’s shoulder. He wasn’t self-conscious about it because he was barely conscious. Junior blinked hard several times to clear her eyes. She couldn’t do right by her mama now-it was too late. But she could do better with her daddy.
----------------
The ride to the airport was awkward. They didn’t know what to say to each other. Bobby kept glancing at Lureen from the corner of his eye, wondering if she was regretting his visit. He was pretty sure she was glad he’d come, but he had said some awful things to her. She stubbed out her cigarette and pulled into a parking lot. She had a habit of driving one-handed so she could smoke, and it kind of freaked Bobby out.
“Well.” She blew out a stale-smoke breath. “We’re here.”
She walked with him to the gate. She was biting her lip and smudging her lipstick. He was waiting for her to say something and she was waiting for him to say something so they just stood there, waiting. Finally she cleared her throat.
“Well, uh, this is you.” She said.
“Yep.” Bobby replied dumbly.
“Thanks for coming, Bobby. I know you didn’t…really want to.” She shrugged and he shrugged back.
“Maybe not at first.” He told her. “But I’m glad I came.”
She gave him a small smile. “So don’t be a stranger, huh?”
“Yeah…and you could come visit me, you know, in Wyoming. Maybe come watch me ride once I get this cast off my arm. Or come to my baseball game…or my eighteenth birthday’s coming up!” Bobby was getting excited, little-boy excited, wanting his mama to come see his house and all his toys. Now her smile was tinged with sadness.
“We’ll see.” She said softly. Bobby sobered up. Right. She couldn’t very well stay in their guest bedroom, now could she? That would be all kinds of strange. Wouldn’t it?
“Well anyway, I should probably get on the plane.” He said lamely.
“Yeah, you should. You have your daddy call me if he starts blowing a gasket ‘bout your arm.”
“Oh…yeah, okay.” He’d momentarily forgotten the stupid cast on his arm. He shrugged, said, “Well…bye, then.” and walked away. He could feel her eyes on his back and he hesitated. He turned back and gave her an awkward little hug.
“G’bye…Mama.” The word felt strange in his mouth, but the look on her face was worth it.
--------------------
“Bobby!” Jack was grinning from ear to ear, rushing to the gate unabashedly when his son came into sight.
“Daddy!” Bobby returned the grin in full force, hugging his father tight when he reached him.
“Whoa, what’s this?” Jack grabbed Bobby’s arm. The one with the cast. Shit.
“Uh…”
“What the hell?” Jack exclaimed. “You broke your arm?”
“Well…”
Junior and Ennis came up to them then.
“Bobby!” Ennis was all excited to see him-until he caught sight of Jack’s face. “What’s wrong?” And then he saw the cast. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I said.” Jack told him angrily.
“Um…” Bobby looked at Junior. She shrugged.
“So, what in the hell happened?” Jack asked, taking deep breaths through his nose and exhaling loudly. “Why didn’t Lureen tell us?”
“Okay, look. It wasn’t her fault.” Bobby said quickly. Ennis grunted disbelievingly. “It really wasn’t. See, we were at this rodeo-”
“Oh, Christ-”
“-and she didn’t know I’d never ridden before-”
“Yeah, because she never bothered to find out!”
“-so I got up there and…well…” Bobby shrugged. “I made the whistle, though. And I won!” He flicked his shiny new belt buckle. Jack and Ennis didn’t look appeased.
“I’m gonna call her and give her a piece of my mind.” Jack said, shaking his head.
“No, Daddy!” Bobby protested. “I told ya, it was my fault. I acted like I knew what I was doing.”
“You’re a seventeen year old boy.” Ennis pointed out. “You act like you know everything.”
“No, I don’t.” Bobby objected, wounded.
“Still, she shoulda known better.”
“Daddy. Ennis. Please. I promised her you wouldn’t freak out on her.”
“Well that was a stupid promise.” Jack said, nostrils flared.
“Goddammit, Daddy!” Bobby blew up. “It was my fault and I’m taking responsibility and you ain’t calling her and chewing her out, you hear me?”
“Robert Twist, you don’t talk to your daddy that way.” Ennis warned him. “Don’t think I won’t put you over my knee right here in the airport.”
Junior felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place. She felt like she should stick up for Bobby, but she didn’t feel like it was really her place. But Bobby had trusted her, hadn’t he?
“Um…” She started timidly. “Maybe you should all just…calm down? And talk about it later? At home?” She hadn’t meant for her suggestions to come out as questions, but she couldn’t help it. She was a bit scared of the flint in Ennis’s eyes and the anger coming off Jack in waves.
“Yeah.” Jack muttered. “That’s what we’ll do. Let’s all just get in the car.”
Junior followed the three fuming men. Bobby spared his anger long enough to shoot her a grateful look. Then he went right back to being pissed. They had to stand and wait nearly fifteen minutes for Bobby’s luggage. It was a very tense fifteen minutes.
Out in the parking lot, Jack gave Junior a squinty look. “Should I ask when Bobby told you, or just assume you’re some kinda fortune teller now?” He asked.
She blushed when she remembered her conversation with him the other morning about her fake dream. “Uh…” She grinned sheepishly. “Fortune teller?” She suggested.
Jack shook his head. “Yeah. Fortune teller.”
Junior didn’t know how to go about getting Jack and Ennis ready for Bobby’s broken arm. How do you prepare a parent for that? Tell them not to worry? That wouldn’t do any good. Maybe she should break her own arm before he got back? Yeah, right.
“Junior, what you worrying so hard on over there?” Jack asked. “Look like your eyes’re getting ready to jump outta your head to relieve some pressure.” He laughed at himself. He was usually the only one who did.
“Uh…just…” Junior thought hard. “I had this dream last night.” She said casually. “Bobby was riding a bull and fell off and broke his arm.”
“Mm, yeah, that’s a pretty accurate dream.” Jack said with a snicker. For a second Junior was startled, thinking Jack knew already. But then he added, “I broke a bone most every time I get on a bull.”
“Oh, yeah.” She forced a little chuckle. “So it’s no big deal.”
Jack shrugged, taking another swig of his coffee. “Just a dream.”
Junior worked hard to keep the wince off her face. Unfortunately it wasn’t.
--------------------
Later that night, while Jack and Ennis were brushing their teeth-well, actually, Ennis was brushing his teeth and Jack was leaning against the counter watching him-Jack brought up something he’d been storing up for a few days.
“Ennis? I gotta…I mean…I been thinking…”
Ennis spat a mouthful of toothpaste in the sink, accidentally splattering some on the mirror. Jack grabbed a rag to wipe it off. “What, Jack?” Ennis said, more splattering happening with his words. “Just spit it out.”
Jack frowned at him. “I’ll spit it out if you quit spittin’ on the mirror.” Ennis rolled his eyes and started rinsing. Jack licked his lips. “I just…there’s another one of them stock fairs. I think it’d be good if I went.”
Ennis straightened up slowly, wiping at his mouth with the heel of his hand. “But…” He switched gears. “When?”
“Next week. I’d leave the third, get back the seventh.”
“That’s like a whole week.” Ennis whined before he could stop himself. Jack grinned at him.
“You gonna miss me, cowboy?” He asked playfully, moving closer in the small bathroom. Ennis ducked his head.
“Mm…”
“Come on, say you’ll miss me.”
“I’ll…Ja-ack, you know I…I’ll miss you.” He barely whispered the last part, more just mouthed it, because it was really true. And Jack’d just barely gotten back, too. Jack came close, hooking a finger through Ennis’s belt-loop and resting his head in that space between Ennis’s shoulder and neck.
“I’ll miss you too. But I gotta do it if we want the kids to go to college.”
Ennis grunted, digging his nose in Jack’s hair and inhaling the scent. “Pretty worried about the money, huh?” He said softly.
“Yeah. Ennis…it’s all my fault.”
“Oh, you hush up now. Ain’t your fault.” Ennis let a hand trace lazy circles on Jack’s back.
Jack sighed. “If you say so.”
“Come on.” Ennis laced his fingers through Jack’s and pulled him out of the bathroom. “Let’s just go to bed, huh?”
They spooned comfortably, bodies fitting together perfectly after years of practice. Jack sighed into the back of Ennis’s neck and laughed when the fine blond hairs there stood at attention.
“What part of ‘just go to bed’ don’t you get?” Ennis growled playfully.
“When have we ever just gone to bed?” Jack countered.
“Mm. Guess you’re right. And I’d hate to break tradition.”
----------------
Lureen was planning a big party for New Year’s. The more platters of tiny food the caterers brought in, the more Bobby wished he would be home. Jack and Ennis never served finger crackers with crab paste on them. They ate hot dogs and potato chips and wore their grubby jeans and holey socks. Lureen was out getting her hair done and had a fancy dress upstairs that flashed her cleavage.
Bobby had to wear a suit. To a party. He didn’t understand why he had to wear a suit or comb his hair or eat crab paste. He made himself a sandwich before Lureen got back. He didn’t want to faint from hunger and ruin her party. That would just be rude.
Two hours later, about a million people were jammed in the house, talking and drinking champagne and smiling big fake smiles at each other. They were all dripping with money and Bobby wished desperately to be away from all of them. His tie was choking him to death and he was sick of people asking him about his cast. He had no idea where Lureen was, and the old women from her mother’s church were circling him like vultures and clucking like hens.
“You’re so handsome.” They kept telling him.
“Those eyes.” They kept sighing.
“Those cheekbones!” They kept exclaiming. And every time he replied with a polite “Thank you, ma’am,” they tittered and got so excited.
“Such a gentleman!” They would shriek, and then one would pinch his cheek while another tried to smooth his cowlick. He was pretty sure one of them even grabbed his ass. Perverted old hags.
“Bobby!” Lureen called from the kitchen. “Could ya c’mere?”
“Yes, ma’am.” He called back. He suffered through a final round of fondling before he could make his escape. He sighed as he made his way to the kitchen. Was he going to have to carry more crackers? People were gobbling them up. Probably because they were so small you had to eat about eight of them to even feel any affect at all.
“You all packed?” Lureen asked when he pushed through the swinging doors.
“Uh…” He thought to his room upstairs. His clothes were mostly piled on the floor.
“Didn’t think so. Your flight leaves at eleven tomorrow morning, so you’d better go up there and pack. It’ll take you longer with only one arm.” She flashed him a wry grin, and he saw a hint of his own smile in there. He smiled back gratefully and scurried up the stairs, loosening his tie as soon as he was out of sight of the party guests.
He flopped onto his bed and caught sight of the picture Lureen had drawn on his cast. He traced it absentmindedly. Happy as he was to be going home, he felt a twinge of sadness at leaving Lureen behind. They’d started to get along after they’d cleared the air. Really, he was getting to actually like her. Not leaving was out of the question, though. He blew out a frustrated breath.
Why did everything have to be so difficult? He half-wished his parents had loved each other, then pushed that wish away, because what about Ennis? All our lives would’ve been easier, a little voice in the back of his head whispered traitorously.
He let himself picture his life, with a mom and a dad and maybe a few brothers and sisters. But all his imaginary sisters looked like Junior and Lureen kept morphing into Ennis. He sighed and pulled himself off the bed. Oh well. Wasn’t like there was anything he could do about it now, and he doubted he would even if he could.
-------------------
Jack and Ennis were used to New Year’s Eve on their own, mostly, because Bobby usually had some party to go to. He’d hang around until ten or so, feeling bad leaving them on their own, but then the pull of his friends and girls always got him out of the house. They never did anything special-drank beer and ate hot dogs and chips in front of the TV. Ennis usually fell asleep by eleven and Jack had to wake him up when the countdown started.
This year was their first with Junior. Jack secretly thought she’d want to go out with Kurt, but he knew better than to tell Ennis that. Ennis liked Kurt-he’d called him responsible more than once, even-but that didn’t mean he wanted Junior spending too much time with him.
But when Jack asked Junior what her plans were, she just shrugged and said she didn’t have any.
“Um…you’re not doing anything with Kurt?” He asked tentatively.
“Nah.” Junior blushed and ducked her head. “I was…well, he’s going to be at his grandma’s house.”
“Oh, I see.” Jack couldn’t help grinning as her blush deepened. She looked so much like Ennis it made Jack’s heart hurt.
They got the snacks ready and gathered in front of the TV to watch the festivities. As usual, Ennis was out within an hour. His big toe was sticking out of his sock, and Buddy kept licking it. Ennis cracked an eye and told Buddy to get away, then promptly drifted off again. It was hard for Buddy to be afraid of him when he was asleep-he looked like a little kid.
“So, Junior, you and Kurt are pretty good friends, huh?” Jack decided to dig a little. Right on cue, she started blushing.
“Um…guess so.”
“He’s a nice kid. Responsible. Smart.”
Junior nodded and picked at a loose thread at the hem of her sweater. She was probably supposed to add something to the conversation, but she figured Jack had a handle on it.
“He’s a nice kid.” Jack repeated. Junior nodded again. She wasn’t looking at Jack, but she could hear the amusement in his voice. Obviously she wasn’t as sneaky with her feelings as she thought she was. But she sure wasn’t going to let Jack know he was right.
They were getting ready to start the countdown, so Jack shook Ennis awake. Junior thought of last year. She’d gone to a party with all her friends and had had a great time-laughing, dancing, kissing a cute boy at midnight. She’d gotten home at one to find her mother fast asleep on the couch, alone, in her pajamas with the TV on, volume low. She’d felt sad then. Now she wanted to bury her head in a pillow and sob. The lights on the TV blurred in front of her full eyes. So many awful things she could’ve done better for her mom.
Jack and Ennis were counting down with the man on TV. Ennis was still half-asleep, his head lolling sleepily onto Jack’s shoulder. He wasn’t self-conscious about it because he was barely conscious. Junior blinked hard several times to clear her eyes. She couldn’t do right by her mama now-it was too late. But she could do better with her daddy.
----------------
The ride to the airport was awkward. They didn’t know what to say to each other. Bobby kept glancing at Lureen from the corner of his eye, wondering if she was regretting his visit. He was pretty sure she was glad he’d come, but he had said some awful things to her. She stubbed out her cigarette and pulled into a parking lot. She had a habit of driving one-handed so she could smoke, and it kind of freaked Bobby out.
“Well.” She blew out a stale-smoke breath. “We’re here.”
She walked with him to the gate. She was biting her lip and smudging her lipstick. He was waiting for her to say something and she was waiting for him to say something so they just stood there, waiting. Finally she cleared her throat.
“Well, uh, this is you.” She said.
“Yep.” Bobby replied dumbly.
“Thanks for coming, Bobby. I know you didn’t…really want to.” She shrugged and he shrugged back.
“Maybe not at first.” He told her. “But I’m glad I came.”
She gave him a small smile. “So don’t be a stranger, huh?”
“Yeah…and you could come visit me, you know, in Wyoming. Maybe come watch me ride once I get this cast off my arm. Or come to my baseball game…or my eighteenth birthday’s coming up!” Bobby was getting excited, little-boy excited, wanting his mama to come see his house and all his toys. Now her smile was tinged with sadness.
“We’ll see.” She said softly. Bobby sobered up. Right. She couldn’t very well stay in their guest bedroom, now could she? That would be all kinds of strange. Wouldn’t it?
“Well anyway, I should probably get on the plane.” He said lamely.
“Yeah, you should. You have your daddy call me if he starts blowing a gasket ‘bout your arm.”
“Oh…yeah, okay.” He’d momentarily forgotten the stupid cast on his arm. He shrugged, said, “Well…bye, then.” and walked away. He could feel her eyes on his back and he hesitated. He turned back and gave her an awkward little hug.
“G’bye…Mama.” The word felt strange in his mouth, but the look on her face was worth it.
--------------------
“Bobby!” Jack was grinning from ear to ear, rushing to the gate unabashedly when his son came into sight.
“Daddy!” Bobby returned the grin in full force, hugging his father tight when he reached him.
“Whoa, what’s this?” Jack grabbed Bobby’s arm. The one with the cast. Shit.
“Uh…”
“What the hell?” Jack exclaimed. “You broke your arm?”
“Well…”
Junior and Ennis came up to them then.
“Bobby!” Ennis was all excited to see him-until he caught sight of Jack’s face. “What’s wrong?” And then he saw the cast. “What the hell?”
“That’s what I said.” Jack told him angrily.
“Um…” Bobby looked at Junior. She shrugged.
“So, what in the hell happened?” Jack asked, taking deep breaths through his nose and exhaling loudly. “Why didn’t Lureen tell us?”
“Okay, look. It wasn’t her fault.” Bobby said quickly. Ennis grunted disbelievingly. “It really wasn’t. See, we were at this rodeo-”
“Oh, Christ-”
“-and she didn’t know I’d never ridden before-”
“Yeah, because she never bothered to find out!”
“-so I got up there and…well…” Bobby shrugged. “I made the whistle, though. And I won!” He flicked his shiny new belt buckle. Jack and Ennis didn’t look appeased.
“I’m gonna call her and give her a piece of my mind.” Jack said, shaking his head.
“No, Daddy!” Bobby protested. “I told ya, it was my fault. I acted like I knew what I was doing.”
“You’re a seventeen year old boy.” Ennis pointed out. “You act like you know everything.”
“No, I don’t.” Bobby objected, wounded.
“Still, she shoulda known better.”
“Daddy. Ennis. Please. I promised her you wouldn’t freak out on her.”
“Well that was a stupid promise.” Jack said, nostrils flared.
“Goddammit, Daddy!” Bobby blew up. “It was my fault and I’m taking responsibility and you ain’t calling her and chewing her out, you hear me?”
“Robert Twist, you don’t talk to your daddy that way.” Ennis warned him. “Don’t think I won’t put you over my knee right here in the airport.”
Junior felt extremely uncomfortable and out of place. She felt like she should stick up for Bobby, but she didn’t feel like it was really her place. But Bobby had trusted her, hadn’t he?
“Um…” She started timidly. “Maybe you should all just…calm down? And talk about it later? At home?” She hadn’t meant for her suggestions to come out as questions, but she couldn’t help it. She was a bit scared of the flint in Ennis’s eyes and the anger coming off Jack in waves.
“Yeah.” Jack muttered. “That’s what we’ll do. Let’s all just get in the car.”
Junior followed the three fuming men. Bobby spared his anger long enough to shoot her a grateful look. Then he went right back to being pissed. They had to stand and wait nearly fifteen minutes for Bobby’s luggage. It was a very tense fifteen minutes.
Out in the parking lot, Jack gave Junior a squinty look. “Should I ask when Bobby told you, or just assume you’re some kinda fortune teller now?” He asked.
She blushed when she remembered her conversation with him the other morning about her fake dream. “Uh…” She grinned sheepishly. “Fortune teller?” She suggested.
Jack shook his head. “Yeah. Fortune teller.”