“My main man,” Keaton spoke vehemently, giving his nephew a turn in the air.
“Throw me up high,” Levi requested, recalling the thrill of previous experiences.
“Maybe not right now,” Noel quickly warned, not knowing how much her brother drank this morning.
“Mommy’s orders trump our fun,” Keaton concluded with a sideways grin surrounded by the stubble on his tired face.
“Hey, Keaton,” Chelsea greeted after waiting for her turn.She stepped toward him and gave him a side hug.Like Noel, she noticed his breath and wished he wouldn’t drink in the mornings.
Hugging her back, Keaton shared a short stare with Rainey who stood on the other side of his wife with an uneasy look covering his face.
“Keaton,” Rainey greeted simply.
“Rainey,” he responded with a nod.
At that moment a voice vibrated the speakers set up around the tent which interrupted the reunion.
“Ladies and gentlemen, Happy Thanksgiving,” the mayor offered enthusiastically and then gave a short speech while the crowd settled.Most found seats, some stood in groups, and others inched toward the food.The aroma of the Thanksgiving meal tempted everyone’s senses as volunteers lifted the covers from the dishes and dashed around taking care of last-minute preparations.“I won’t ramble on because I know you all are hungry.I am going to hand the microphone over to our dear friend who will say grace for this wonderful meal created by our local restaurants and dessert donated by Beaufort Candy Company.Make sure you find these fine folks and give them thanks for their generosity.”
Last year, Noel cringed when she heard those words and subsequently found people’s eyes darting in her direction.She remembered wanting to crawl underneath the table and hide like the kids had while playing.This time around, it didn’t sound all that bad although she wouldn’t have invited the attention, but, hopefully, it would drum up some much needed business.
A local pastor blessed the food, and then several lines quickly formed at the buffet tables.
“Can Mommy’s handcuffs be removed now so that I can eat lunch?”Noel asked Levi using her soft motherly voice.
Levi looked at Rainey for approval.
“I think some of the officers found the missing turkey,” Rainey announced then shrugged.“It looks like your mom is innocent after all, so we better release her so she doesn’t become hangry.”
Laney and Levi giggled.Keaton glanced at the kids and then at Rainey.
“We don’t want that,” Chelsea agreed, lifting her eyebrows for emphasis as a breeze caused her blonde hair to swish like streamers on a little girl’s bicycle.
“You have to watch out for these officers,” Keaton warned with a sarcastic snicker.“You think they’re your friends and then all of a sudden they turn on you,” he reminisced, cutting his eyes at Rainey.
Rainey’s shoulders broadened, and he turned his body toward Keaton.
Chelsea grabbed her husband’s hand.“Not here,” she whispered, wrapping her body into his as if about to dance.“Especially in front of the kids,” she added.
At that moment one of Noel’s hands became free of the cuffs, and she instantly used it to clutch her brother’s wrist.“Stop it,” she hissed in his ear and rolled her eyes at him.“The kids are having fun.”
Noel hated the animosity between Rainey and Keaton these days.It kept her up at night sometimes as her mind spun, and on many occasions the animosity made her cry even in front of them a few times.In a small town avoiding people proved difficult, especially those within the same circle of friends.
Keaton and Rainey grew up best buds nearly inseparable like Levi and Laney.They ran around the streets of Beaufort having fun, swimming in the creeks and rivers, playing sports, and enjoying life to the fullest.As adults, they carried on many of those same activities and added new ones like listening to live music on the waterfront.Noel and Chelsea always joined in on the fun although at certain stages the boys had been too cool for the girls and vice versa.
Now Keaton and Rainey couldn’t be in the same room without arguing, and sometimes the disagreements led to physical altercations.Pushing and shoving started wrestling matches which on a few occasions turned into blows, and both of the stubborn men walked away bleeding and bruised more than once.Noel knew that anytime they all got together Keaton would say something he shouldn’t, and Rainey never backed down.She couldn’t count the number of times she and Chelsea stood in the middle of the two grown men although both were about the same size and strong enough to throw either of the ladies out of the way with one arm.Thankfully neither did that, but Noel feared her brother might accidentally hurt an innocent bystander on one of these nights when alcohol called the shots.
Keaton was lucky Rainey never pressed charges.In a way their scuffles reminded her of fights the two boys got into as kids when something didn’t go their way and they didn’t know how to control their emotions.Nowadays, Rainey controlled his temper well.Dealing with criminals on a regular basis required knowing when to use words and when to assert physical force.On the other hand, Keaton, who had been cool, calm, and collected up until the tragedy, let alcohol and anger do the talking for him.Whether Noel liked to admit it or not, her brother had been arrested several times and served short-term jail sentences.
These days Noel made sure not to invite Keaton anytime Rainey would be around.Of course Rainey and Chelsea didn’t invite him to their get-togethers either, and the same went for the rest of their friends.The downsides of this trend held many negative consequences.An alcoholic often doesn’t do well alone or with a group of friends who wait at the bar with open arms and similar problems.
Most importantly, Noel didn’t want the kids around Keaton when he drank which happened way too frequently these days.When Noel’s and Keaton’s parents and spouses died in the boating accident—on the trip where her father planned to share some big news—Noel knew two options existed.She could let her emotions control her, or she could fight with every ounce of energy possible to control her emotions.She elected the latter as often as possible while Keaton chose to give in fully to the grief.When Noel hit her knees and crawled to friends and God, Keaton ran to isolation and alcohol.
Early on, Noel let Laney stay at her house because Keaton admitted he could barely take care of himself let alone his little girl.At the time his realization of his struggles seemed admirable, and Noel thought everything, including the turn to the bottle, would be temporary.However, what started out as a day or two here and there became a weekend, and then a week, and before she realized it, Laney basically moved in with her and Levi.
Little by little Laney’s clothes, toys, and other belongings filled up the dresser and space in the guest room which slowly became hers.Eventually Noel took Laney to pick out a bedspread, curtains, and other things for her room so it would feel like home.Laney chose a beautiful stars and moons theme, and they even created a solar system on her ceiling.However, at bedtime Laney always wanted to crawl into bed with Levi, and Noel understood firsthand why they didn’t want to sleep alone because she didn’t either.
Rainey and Chelsea wandered to the other side of the tent, and Noel, Keaton, and the kids headed for the long buffet line.After standing there for about ten minutes slowly inching forward, Noel came up with an idea.
