“Austin, tell me the truth,” Scarlett raises her voice. She sounds pissed, and I know I have about five-seconds to resolve this situation before Scarlett disappears into the darkness my dirt path leads into.
“Laurie-Cate is my step-sister. We’re obviously not together, nor have we ever been. She’s out of her damn mind.”
“That’s not exactly true, Austin,” Laurie-Cate says with a giggle. The sound of her laugh is like a nail going through my head, and I wish this town were just a little bigger so I could avoid her, but there is no avoiding anything or anyone here.
“You’re kidding me,” Scarlett says. “Look, I know things are different down here, but if it’s even remotely true—you two being an item at any point—I can’t—nope, not my thing.”
“Scarlett, will you just wait a minute, please,” I beg her. I can’t hide the irritation in my voice, but it’s not directed at Scarlett.
“Scarlett, sweetie, our parents have had this planned for years. Austin and I are going to get married and live here on his family’s farm.”
“Go!” I yell at Laurie-Cate. “Get the hell off my property.” I don’t know the last time I’ve yelled that loud, but if that doesn’t scare Scarlett away, I might be in the clear.
“I think I’m going to get going,” Scarlett says. “I don’t know what’s going on here, but I don’t think I should be involved.”
A gust of wind blows by me and the door slams shut. I only see Waldo’s tail before he disappears into the corn stalks. “Waldo!”
“Oh no,” Laurie-Cate says. “Waldo, come here boy!”
“Laurie-Cate, leave … now!” I yell at her while I’m chasing after Waldo.
“No, I need to talk to you about something,” she shouts after me. Doesn’t she get a damn hint? It’s not even a hint. I told her to go. It wasn’t just a suggestion. I hear her following in my footsteps and I’m about to lose my shit.
“Where are you, Waldo? Come here, boy. I’ll give you a treat,” I plead, trying to focus on him rather than the drama behind me.
* * *
An hour has come and gone and I’m sitting in the middle of a cornfield with my phone in flashlight mode. Waldo doesn’t usually get out at night, but then again, there aren’t usually two women standing on my front porch at the same time either—must have been too much estrogen for him too.
Laurie-Cate gave up the chase about a half mile back and I’m guessing Scarlett left too. “Waldo!” I shout again, feeling and hearing my voice grow hoarse from calling.
I can’t just leave him out here. The coyotes will get him. I need a better flashlight, though, because this thing isn’t doing much, and my battery is getting low.
The walk back to my house is slow and full of wound up thoughts. I can’t stand anything about Laurie-Cate, yet somewhere in that brain of hers, she thinks she’ll be able to change my mind and turn me into a believer of incest—fucking crazy. Just like all the other women around here, though, they think they can make a man change, so they date one for a few months and convince the moron to propose. Then they get married, pop out a kid or two, and that’s where the real fun begins. The women finally realize their man isn’t going to change his ways, so she starts forcefully using control until everything is destroyed, except divorce in this town is a sin, so people live in misery until death. It’s morbid and disgusting … and sad. I’m not interested in the whole charade.
I reach the front porch, thanking the high heavens I don’t see any signs of Laurie-Cate. Scarlett’s gone too, though, and that part sucks.
I fling the screen door open and hear a panting sound coming from around the corner.What the hell?
Scarlett is on the floor with my big, dumb yellow lab, who’s lying peacefully between her legs.
“Well, at least someone’s getting some action tonight,” I say.
“What happened to you?” she asks. “I didn’t want to go chasing after you through that field. Those weeds are all over my head, so I figured I wouldn’t be much help anyway.”
“It’s corn, not weeds,” I correct her.
“I figured you’d come back if you couldn’t find him.”
“You waited for me?” I ask her, needing confirmation that I’m not seeing things.
“I had a hunch you weren’t sleeping with your stepsister. That’s seriously gross, and you’re in healthcare, so I just—she’s probably just pissed off that your parents got married and screwed up those chances for you two, I assume.”
“This is why I like you, Scarlett. Despite your commitment to torturing me, you’re intelligent and you get me, somehow.”
“I’m not sure I get you, Austin. I feel like there’s a lot I need to learn.” I take a seat in front of her, staring at the content look on Waldo’s face. “I gave him some water when he came back.”
“When did Laurie-Cate leave?” I ask.
