“You cleaned us out, sir,” said the clerk with a smile. “But you can go online and order.”
“I checked some sites when I first came,” Wolfe said. “Pricey for me.”
“I know a guy in Minnesota,” the clerk said. “I’ll reach out. Because a portion of keychain sales goes to local vets, he’ll cut you a deal.”
“Cowhide,” said Wolfe with a shake of his head as though surprised to find the same generosity in others that he’d given me. “It’s got to be cowhide.”
“I’ll let him know,” the clerk said. “I’ll have his number for you when you ring out.”
As the clerk went off, humming beneath his breath, Wolfe tugged on the sleeve of my coat and began to select things for me. Those boots. The blue canvas high-tops. A pack of underwear, a pack of t-shirts. A pack of thick white socks. A pair of jeans. Two Henleys in my size. A red scarf. Wool gloves in dark gray. A toothbrush from the discount aisle up front.
As we walked to the clerk waiting by the cash register, our arms laden with things for me, and none for him, Wolfe said, “I’ll get you a better coat next time.”
As I stood there, watching the clerk ring up the items, half-listening to their continued discussion about the key rings, I saw that no money changed hands when the clerk handed the receipt over. Which meant that I’d surely wiped out Wolfe’s credit at thearmy surplus. Which meant that it was important that I learned what Wolfe knew: how to make things that people wanted. Handcrafted items for sale at Christmas.
“Sit down,” Wolfe said, taking the handles of the plastic bags the clerk had packed for us. “Put these on, and I’ll put the rubber boots in the box.”
I sat down, pulled off the rubber boots, and one pair of woolen socks. As I laced up those new boots, I sensed a kind of stability. I stood up, testing the feel, which was balanced as though, for once, I was standing on solid ground.
“I feel like a new man in these,” I said. “Thank you.” I’d make a million lanyards or key rings, whatever he needed, just to pay him back.
We went out to the truck. The temperature seemed to have dropped, so it was like walking inside a freezer, only a freezer would have been warmer. Wolf put the bags in the truck bed, packing snow on top so they wouldn’t fly away. We started out of the parking lot, and I would have thought we’d head back, but instead we drove deeper into Billings, to a strip mall. Wolfe parked in front of a place that said Village Inn Pizza.
“Thought we’d get a bite,” he said without looking at me, as though he wanted us to do something I’d object to. Which I wouldn’t. I followed him in, my feet heavy in my new boots, sniffing the garlic-laced air as the glass door shut behind us, bells on the handle jingling our presence to the owner. It was early for lunch, so the place was empty as we took our seats near the front, where the bright blue sky painted a swath across the front windows.
Wolfe looked at the plastic menu and turned it so I could see it, pointing at the Hawaiian pizza as if to ask, did I like that kind of pizza? I had no idea, but Wolfe wanted it, so I nodded.
When the young lady in the sauce-stained apron came to take our order, he ordered an iced tea, so I did as well. It was as if,outside the familiar confines of the cabin, I wanted to stay small so as not to rock any boats or make any sudden moves. I wanted to stay invisible to everyone but Wolfe, so I did everything he did.
The pizza came quickly, and I watched Wolfe eat. Slowly and with care, using a paper napkin after just about every bite. I remembered the way I’d eaten that first meal at Wolfe’s cabin. Shoving everything in as though I’d been starving, which might have been true, but I didn’t know. Only that the food had been hot and good, and Wolfe had watched me then, as I watched him now.
“This is good,” I said after a few bites. The sweetness of the pineapple went well with the tomato, and I vowed I would have it again.
“Some people hate it, some love it,” he said, just about winking at me. “I’m glad you’re one of the good ones.”
I ducked my chin to hide my smile at the joke and the off-handed compliment. “How many key rings will we have to make?” I asked him.
“Millions,” he said, the laughter draining out of his eyes. “Just about millions.”
“I’ll help you,” I said.
“Thank you,” he said, his eyes soft in a way that went beyond mere gratitude. In a way that made it feel like Wolfe liked having me there, sitting across from me. Doing something as simple as eating pizza. That maybe he didn’t mind having me in his cabin, eating all his food. Needing boots. Taking up space. No, he didn’t seem to mind at all.
“This is really good,” I said, swallowing a huge bite, gasping around the swallow. He smiled and looked around at the people coming in the door, as though he didn’t want to be caught smiling. But I’d caught him, and I wouldn’t forget that I had.
CHAPTER 12
blue
We drove back from Billings just after noon. Though the sun was shining like a spotlight, glittering across the snowy landscape, and the air was crystal blue, it was cold. Wolfe had the truck’s heater going full bore, but I still felt the chill coming through the floorboards.
“At least it’s not snowing,” Wolfe said as he pressed on the gas and urged the truck to go faster.
We arrived in Hysham in good time, going past the turnoff for Wolfe’s cabin. I recognized that much, could see where we were. In Hysham, Wolfe made a pit stop at a small strip mall that had a coffee shop and a little gift shop. He went in and came out with a tin of loose tea leaves, which he put in my lap to hold. Then he went into the little gift shop next to the coffee shop and came out, five minutes later, with a cherry-red teapot.
“A local woman makes them,” he said, handing me the teapot as he got into the truck. He blew on his hands while I adjusted the articles on my lap. “They don’t sell very well. Not much call for teapots in these parts, I guess. So it was on sale.”
The paper tag said five dollars, which was a bit more than the fifty cents he’d paid for his other one. Which meant that I’d have to make even more lanyards and key rings. It might takeus all winter to make as many as Mabel seemed to want, and as many as it would take to pay Wolfe back. Which I realized, as Wolfe pulled out of the parking lot and trundled the truck to the market, might not be a bad thing.
