“Thanks for sayin’ that, but it wasn’t your fault, Bax.You think you could’ve stopped him?”
“No,” he said.“No, I probably couldn’t have, but I’m still sorry you had to go through that alone.”
“Thank you.”I wrapped an arm around his shoulder, holding onto his drawings in my other hand like they were diamonds.“I don’t blame you.I never have.So, let’s put the subject to rest.I talk about it enough in therapy.”
I’d also talked more about it with Merv.She helped me fill in some blanks in my memories, but we hadn’t gone too in depth yet.I thought it might be good to do that in the therapist’s office.
William had shown up.He met Stu, and he and Merv started going for walks.What they did or talked about on those walks was a mystery.She was tight-lipped about it.I thought he might be seeking a little redemption himself.Time would tell.
He and I had talked a little, but if he wanted to be my father, he had miles to go to get there.I knew what I deserved now.
“You know you’re gettin’ more annoyingly well-adjusted by the day?”Bax asked.
This time, I shrugged.“Don’t we have some fish to catch?”
Stu popped his head in the door.“Yeah, we do, so let’s go!Oh, and AJ’s here, and she brought her new fishin’ pole.”He rolled his eyes.“It’s pink.”
“I don’t think the fish care,” Bax said.
Stu rolled his eyes again, this time more dramatically.It was his new thing.If he didn’t roll his eyes six times an hour, he did it ten times the next.
“Yeah, but pink’s a girl color.”
“A pink pole will catch fish same as a blue or green one,” I added.
“I like pink,” Bax said.“You like pink, Deedee?”He elbowed me lightly in my ribs, letting me know we were good, and I smiled, ’cause even though it pinched a little, it felt right.Ribbing and jabbing each other was what brothers were supposed to do, like we used to when we were Stu’s age.
“Love it,” I said.“I kinda have to since it’s AJ’s favorite color.Everything that woman owns is pink.”
“Her van’s not pink,” Stu said.“Her cat Fancy’s not pink.Her flower shop’s not pink…”
This time, I rolled my eyes.“Somebody needs to teach this kid the meaning of sarcasm and the difference between figurative and literal.”
“Ooo, fancy words for a redneck,” Bax joked as we descended the stairs.
Stu ran ahead to hug AJ, waiting for us in the living room, and he made sure to give her pink fishing pole the side-eye.
“Y’know,” Bax drawled, “I think you should pay me for my artwork.I’m thinkin’ five million dollars when you get a big book deal.”
I snorted.“Pretty sure it don’t work like that.”
“Well then, the least you can do is cook up all the fish I catch today for supper.”
“As long as I get to eat some of it, you got yourself a deal.”
“Five fish!”
AJ beamed, looking down into her bucket of trout.She’d beaten me and Bax both.And poor Stu looked utterly dejected with only two fish dangling from the hook lures in his hand.
“I like my fish grilled with a dash of lemon and Lawry’s salt,” Bax informed me, smirking, and he reached over to ruffle Stu’s hair.“Ready for football, Stu Man?”
“Yeah!”Stu handed his fish to me.“Deputy Frank says if we’re late for practice, he’ll arrest us.”He darted ahead and tossed his pole into the bed of Bax’s truck.
“I think he was kiddin’,” Bax said, chuckling.“It’s only Pee Wee football.Alright, see y’all around five.It’s just the four of us tonight, Stu, and Rye.Athena’s eatin’ at Shaylene’s, and Aubrey’s doin’ inventory at the bookshop.Merv said she’s busy, so it should be a quiet, uneventful evenin’.”
They buckled into the truck and took off, but as they drove away, Bax stopped and Stu yelled out his backseat window when Bax rolled it down.
“You’re comin’ next week, right Deedee?It’s our last game!”
