“It’s a little less offensive when I’m gay too,” Deputy Bobby said.“And just for your information, I know about the meat bracket you and Keme have running.”
“Okay, but—wait, you know?Keme told you?”
“He couldn’t wait.”
“That little turd!No.No, no, no.I’m not going to be embarrassed.A meat bracket is a perfectly reasonable system for determining the indisputably best meat on the planet.It has all the advantages of a bracket system, plus you add in eating delicious meats, plus it gives Indira a new challenge—you know she gets bored.”
“Do you hear how much worse it sounds when you explain it out loud?”
Fortunately, Ella came back with our drinks.
When she left, Deputy Bobby said, “You said meat, like, seven times.”
I blew the wrapper from my straw at him, and one of those rare, goofy grins exploded across his face.
He caught the wrapper, by the way.Snatched it right out of the air.It’s stuff like that that makes it zero fun to be friends with Deputy Bobby.
On the big TVs mounted around the dining room, a baseball game was in progress.The clink of silverware mixed with the rise and fall of voices.Chairs scraped across the floor.
“So,” Deputy Bobby said, and his voice held a note I couldn’t identify.“Probably not what you imagined.”
“Well, I didn’t think I’d see you lift a cat by its heinie.”
He smiled, but it wasn’t the big one.
“It’s been great,” I said.“Idefinitelydidn’t expect Mr.Cheek.”
Deputy Bobby groaned.
“And I’m very curious about Ella.”
“Trust me,” he said in a flat voice.“I noticed.”
I was about to giggle, but I managed to cover it by taking a drink of my Sprite.
In the wake of my words, Deputy Bobby opened his mouth, but he looked like he was struggling with what came next.“I know it’s not…glamorous.I mean, it’s a small town.And a lot of the time, it’s stuff like what you saw today.I guess it looks silly.Or sad.Or like I’m—like I’m wasting my life.I mean, maybe Iamwasting my life, dealing with cat intruders and a cardboard cutout of The Rock and the Naught brothers pulling each other’s hair until they cry.”
I stared at him.And I wanted to know who had said those things to him.Who had made him feel that way.I thought, maybe, I knew.
Those burnt-brass eyes flicked up to mine and away again, and he sounded like he was forcing lightness into his tone as he said, “Not what you want to write about, I guess.Sorry—I don’t know how this is going to help you with your books.”
“You’re doing something important,” I said.“Every day.”
He laughed.His gaze was locked on one of the TVs.
“You are.These people trust you.You treat them with respect and kindness.You help them with whatever they ask.You understand what they really need, even if they don’t know how to say it, and you do your best to give it to them.That’s incredible.That’s—that’s what being a community is all about, and the reason we have it is because of you.”
He settled back in his seat.His shoulders relaxed.After what felt like a long time, his eyes came to mine, and I still couldn’t read what I was seeing in them.
“Plus,” I said, “you keep us safe from invasive kittens.”
The goofy grin splashed across his face again, just for a moment.He ran his hands along the edge of the table.And then he said, “Thanks.”
“Thankyou.In fact, I was hoping we could do this again.”
“You know,” Deputy Bobby said, back to one-hundred percent earnestness, “there’s a rule about that.”
Thanksgiving Episode
