Black Water Creek (5 page)

Chapter
7

Keegan sat crossed legged on the living room floor, one eye on cartoons and the other on the pile of blocks spread out in front of him. Sue had a few toys left over from their younger foster kids. The wooden blocks were old and faded, complete opposite of the bright color plastic toys littering his bedroom back home. They didn’t light up or make noise but he seemed to enjoy them just the same.

“You’re sure there isn’t anything I can do? I feel like a leech just sitting here,”
Kelly said as Sue entered the room and sat in the easy chair next to her.

“Sometimes I have a hard time coming up with things to do myself,”
Sue said. “Retirement isn’t what it’s cracked up to be. Eddie’s always telling me I need to learn how to relax and be happy doing nothing. Just not my nature, I suppose.”

Kelly
smiled and turned back at the TV. Even though she didn’t need to review the letters of the alphabet, she couldn’t take her eyes away from the cute cartoon duckling on the screen singing about them.

The doorbell rang and
Sue feigned frustration as she got up. “Never a moment’s rest around here.”

Earlier that morning Ed called and delivered the bad news. It would cost at least two thousand to get her car fixed.
Kelly was surprised to find it didn’t even bother her that much. With a dead car and Ed’s offer of the cottage, she practically had no choice but to stay in Black Water Creek. At least for a while. It was sort of liberating not having to make a decision of what to do next. Even better, it was exhilarating to know she didn’t have to go back to Don. Deep down she knew all she’d have to do is call him as a last resort. He’d always take her back, but for all the wrong reasons.

Ed told
Kelly he could get her a few hundred dollars by junking her car for parts and she agreed. Just to make things official she accepted the offer of the cottage over the phone.

Sue
opened the front door to a smiling man on the other side of the screen. “Paul, what a surprise!”

“Mom
asked me to bring this over.”

“Oh right, th
e pies for the church bake sale. I forgot all about it.” She unlatched the screen door and took the box from his hands. “Come on in, sweetheart.”

Sue
turned to Kelly. “This is my nephew, Paul. Paul, this is Kelly and her son Keegan. They’re going to be staying with us for a while.”

Paul dusted off his hands
and said hello.

“I’ll go put these in the fridge,”
Sue said. “Paul, can I get you some coffee? Did you have lunch yet?”

“No thanks. I’m good, Aunt
Sue.”

“I’ll be right back then, you two get to know each other.”

Sue whisked out of the room and Kelly immediately felt uncomfortable. She’d been at ease from the start around Sue and Ed but for some reason, being in the same room as a guy around her own age felt awkward. She suddenly felt the need to explain her existence in the house.

“My car broke down yesterday
. They were nice enough to let me stay the night.”

Paul nodded. “Really? That sucks.”

Keegan got up from the floor and crawled into Kelly’s lap.

“Hey, little guy,” Paul smiled at him. “How old are you?”

Keegan buried his face in her chest and she answered for him. It was a common occurrence, Keegan ignoring strangers and Kelly speaking for him, explaining he was shy. It was another habit Don criticized her about all the time.

To
Kelly’s relief, Sue came back into the room and saved them both from more awkward small talk. “Thank your mom for me, dear. You sure I can’t get you anything?”

“No thanks, I need to
open the store.”

“So late? It’s past noon.”

Paul shoved his hands in his pockets. “I had an appointment this morning I couldn’t miss and Dave quit last week, so there wasn’t much I could do.”

“Hey!”
Sue’s eyes opened wide and she spun around to face Kelly. “I’ve got a great idea. Kelly is looking for a job and you just had an opening come up. It’s perfect!”

“Ah, well.” Paul fidgeting and glanced at the door. “I’m not sure
…”

“Paul owns a little computer store downtown,”
Sue explained. “Video games and whatnot.”

“I don’t know too much about computers,”
Kelly said.

“Nonsense,”
Sue waved her hand. “Paul would be happy to show you the ropes, isn’t that right, dear?”

“I don’t really have the time to teach…”

“It’s not that far from here either. You could walk to work. It’s right next door to that new coffee shop. What’s it called again, Paul?”

“The Cuppa Joe.”

“Oh that’s right. I’ve only been there a couple of times. They have really good muffins although I wish they wouldn’t make them so big. You could share one of them between two people and still not finish.”

“Aunt
Sue, I’d love to be able to help her out but I really do need somebody with experience. No offense, Kelly.” Paul took a step towards the door. Kelly fully expected him to sprint down the street any second.

“None taken,” she said.

Sue crossed her arms. “I happen to know for a fact you hired Jimmy Phillips just this past summer and according to his mother he barely knows how to run their microwave.”

“Right, that’s one of the reasons he’s not working for me anymore.”

“Then it’s settled,” Sue said. “At least give her a chance, that’s all I ask.”

“
It’s okay, really,” Kelly said. “I’m sure I can find a waitressing or cashier job or something.”

Before
Sue could protest again, Paul spoke up. “No, it’s fine. You could start tomorrow, if you want. If you want the job, I mean. I really just need somebody to mind the counter while I’m working in the back on repairs.”

Sue
beamed at her and raised her eyebrows in anticipation.

“Well,”
Kelly looked down at the top Keegan’s head. “I’m not sure what sort of hours I could work without arranging for somebody to watch him first.”

“Say no more,”
Sue said. “You have a built in sitter, right here. I’d be glad to look after the little guy anytime you need and it won’t cost you a nickel.”

“Um, if you wouldn’t mind…”

“Then it’s settled,” Sue said again. She gave Paul a big hug and patted his back. “I’ll drop her off tomorrow when the stores opens. Tell your mom I said hello, okay dear?”

“Yeah, okay. See you tomorrow,
Kelly.”

“Bye.”

Sue closed the door behind him. “Well, this calls for a celebration. Who wants ice cream?”

“Me!” Keegan tumbled off
Kelly’s lap and followed Sue into the kitchen.

Kelly
stared at the TV in a daze. “What in the hell just happened?” The cartoon duckling didn’t have an answer.

Chapter
8

Kelly strapped Keegan’s car seat into Sue’s Ford and helped him climb into the back seat.

“Where are we going?” he asked.

“I already told you, honey. I’m going to work and you’re just coming along for the ride. You’re going to stay with Sue today, remember? I’ll be back real soon.”

“When are we going home?”

She latched the belt shut and sighed, wishing she could make him understand, but she was barely comprehending it herself. Their entire world had flipped upside down in just a matter of days. “This is our home now. Remember that cute little house down by the river I showed you yesterday? That’s where we live now.”

He didn’t ask any more questions as she finished strapping him in until she was about to close the back door.

“Where’s Daddy?”

That was the big one.
Sue glanced at Kelly before busying herself with her purse as she waited in the driver seat.

“Daddy is at our old house. We’re not going to see him for a while, remember? I told you all of this last night.”

Before he could reload with another round of “why’s” she closed the door and climbed in front next to Sue. She was already a bundle of nerves and Keegan’s questions weren’t helping.

“Okay, let’s go,”
Sue announced in a sing-song voice and pulled out of the driveway. Kelly checked her hair in the mirror for the hundredth time that morning and took a deep breath. New situations whether they were first days of work or school or whatever, always made her nervous. She could only imagine what a wreck she would be when Keegan started school and prayed her neurosis wouldn’t rub off on him.

She rubbed her sweaty palms
on her thighs, trying to flatten out a rogue wrinkle on her new pair of pants. Ed came home from work the previous night and gave her the money from junking her car, five hundred dollars. She didn’t believe for a second her car was worth that much and unsuccessfully tried to give him some of it back. His stubborn generosity prevailed and she wondered yet again how she would ever be able to repay him and Sue back.

Sue
had lots of toddler clothes stashed away from her foster kid days for Keegan, but Kelly had still been wearing the same clothes she came to town in. She borrowed Sue’s car and bought a few outfits and toiletries from Walmart to get started. The blouse and pants she wore to her first day of work were off the discount rack but at least she wouldn’t show up in the same dirty outfit Paul had seen her in yesterday.

“Here we are,”
Sue said and pulled to the curb.

“Already?”
Kelly looked out the window at the front of the store. “It really is close enough to walk.” Bright red letters on the window displayed the store’s name, THE ELECTRIC CONNECTION.

“Have fun
, dear. Tell Paulie to give me a call when you’re done and we can pick you up.”

“That’s fine,
Sue. I can walk home.” She leaned over the back seat and kissed Keegan on the forehead, quickly scrambling out of the car before she lost her nerve. She stood on the sidewalk and watched the car pull away before turning back to the store front.

A desktop computer sat in the window, its monitor displaying 3D animation in a loop. Above that was a sign telling customers all the goods and services available behind th
e pane of glass: buying and selling used games and hardware, new and used desktop and laptop computers, computer repair. Kelly was completely out of her element and hadn’t even stepped inside yet.

She
yanked the door handle before she chickened out and walked in. The store was dominated by two massive shelving units on opposite sides of the store. On her left were hundreds of video game boxes, discs, and cartridges of all shapes and sizes. A scrawny kid with baggy pants and a peach fuzz mustache glanced at her before looking back down at the box he was holding.

Used computer equipment filled the shelves on the right side of the store. A few racks in the middle of the room held more used electronics
, from VCR and DVD players to old game consoles. Paul was hunched over the counter at the back of the store, writing on a piece of paper.

Kelly
marched up to the counter and put on her best first day of work smile. “Good morning!”

Paul glanced up and went back to his order form. “Oh, hey.”

She stood there fidgeting while the seconds ticked by. She was almost tempted to reintroduce herself and remind him of the conversation about her working there when Paul finally looked up. “So, you said yesterday you don’t have any experience with computers. Were you being literal or were you doing that thing that drives me crazy?”

“That thing?”

“Where people pretend they’re retarded with technology because they think it’s cute or funny.”

“
Uh, I know how to go online and check email and things like that. And I took a couple of typing classes in high school.”

Paul rolled his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose before sighing. “Awesome.”

“Look, I can get a job waitressing or something like I said yesterday. If you didn’t want me working here you should have said so yesterday.”

“No, it’s fine.” A cell phone on the desk in the back room starting ringing and vibrating across the table top. “Sorry, it’s just…” he glanced
over his shoulder at the phone.

The peach fuzz kid sidled up next to
Kelly, a game box in one hand and a twenty dollar bill in the other.

Paul took a step for the office door. “I’ll be right back, give him a hand, would
ya?” He pointed at the kid and disappeared into the office. Kelly stood there at the counter, too shocked at how badly things were going to move. The kid sniffed.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She moved around the counter to the other side and faced him, feeling ridiculous. He put the game box and the twenty on the counter.

She picked up the box and checked both sides for a price tag. Nothing. “Do you know how much this is supposed to be? Sorry,” she said again. “It’s my first day.”

“
Three-sixty games are two for twenty, unless they’re marked. Hey, did you guys get a copy of Bone Storm 2 in yet? Dude said last week he might get a couple.”

Kelly
fumbled with the register. Fortunately it was similar to the one at Barry’s Diner and she was able to make the sale. “I don’t even know what that means. It’s my first day.” The kid took his change and grunted before shuffling out of the store. Kelly fought back tears and was ready to rush out the front when Paul stepped out of the office.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for a call all morning and it just turned out to be another bill collector.”

Kelly bit her lip, willing herself to keep her face a frozen and unemotional slate. There was no way this pompous ass was going to see how upset she was.

He sighed and leaned up against the office door jamb. “Not just about the phone call, sorry if I came off as an
jerk just now.”

She had the standard “that’s okay” response on the tip of her
tongue but stopped the words from slipping out. If her time with Don had taught her anything, it was to stop letting men walk all over her. Those days were over.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot,” Paul said. “All my fault. How ‘bout a coffee next door? My treat.”

Kelly looked around the empty store. “Didn’t you just open? Is there anybody else here?”

He ducked into the office and grabbed a ring of keys. “Tuesday mornings are always dead, don’t worry about it. We won’t see any
action until after school lets out.”

Before Kelly could protest, she found herself out on the sidewalk again with Paul locking up the store behind her. They walked a few steps to The Cuppa Joe next door and Paul opened the door for her. It may have had a corny name, but the coffee shop was warm and
intimate. A handful of customers lounged on the sofas filling the room, sipping on steaming drinks while smooth jazz slipped out of the speakers in the ceiling.

Paul
studied the menu over the counter. “So, what’s your poison?”

“Just regular coffee is fine.”

“Nice. I was never much for all those froo-froo drinks myself.” He ordered two of the house blends and they took a small table by the window.

“Sorry again for being a jerk back there,”
Paul said.

Kelly poured creamer in her cup and gave it a stir. The coffee was a nice gesture and the comfortable setting of the store softened her a little. “It’s okay, you weren’t that bad.”

“My sister always tells me I make a horrible first impression. I usually deny it, but I guess I proved her right today. I’m really a nice guy once you get to know me, I promise.” He winked and blew on his coffee before taking a sip. Now that he wasn’t scowling and actually had a pleasant look on his face, Kelly realized he was pretty cute.

“You know, hiring a new employee right now is actually a pretty bad idea.” He set his mug down on the table and looked out the window. “I hate to admit it, but business is lousy.”

Kelly paused mid-sip and placed her own mug down. “Wow, you really need to come up with  a different orientation program for new hires.”

Paul blushed
and he sat back in his chair. “Man, there I go again. That came out really wrong.”

Kelly laughed, enjoying watching him squirm.

“I really could use some help at the store, that’s not the problem. I’m glad to have you. I guess…I don’t know. Things really aren’t working out like I had planned.”

“What do you mean?”

“I thought I had it all planned out while I was in the hospital. I had nothing but time and I worked out all the details, had the whole business plan ready before I even got home.”

“Hospital?”

Paul shifted in his seat. “Yeah, Aunt Sue didn’t mention it? I guess I figured she told you my whole life story ad nauseam. Man, can that woman can talk.”

“She mentioned last night you were in the Army but didn’t
say anything about a hospital.”

“Twelve years.
After nine-eleven I became obsessed with serving. I was practically standing in front of the recruiters offer waiting for my seventeenth birthday, but my parents refused to give their permission. A year later I was at basic training, ready to fight for God and country.” Paul rolled his eyes and took a sip of his coffee.

K
elly noticed a young man standing outside The Electric Connection next door looking through the windows. She almost told Paul but decided not to. He looked over her shoulder, a million miles away.

“I loved the Army at first,” he continued.
“I pushed myself and always looked for the next challenge, always wanting to be the best. Like a lot of the other naive kids around me, I wanted nothing more than the chance to go into combat. I wanted payback for the twin towers. I knew the Rangers were the tip of the spear so I went to airborne school as soon as I could, and the Ranger indoc program right after.

“After four weeks of hell, I earned my tan beret and my battalion shipped off to the Middle East before I even sewed on my shoulder patch. By that time, Iraq was just a babysitting gig. The serious fighting came courtesy of the Taliban and their pals in Afghanistan.”

A look of embarrassment flashed over Paul’s face. “Sorry, I don’t mean to bore you with all this stuff.”

“No, that’s okay,” Kelly said. “I want to hear about it.”

“Well, long story short, I decided to make the military my career, did several tours over there, and got hurt on my last deployment.” He
moved his foot out from under the table and knocked on his shin. A metallic sound came from beneath his jeans. Paul lifted the cuff of his pant leg to reveal a black rod where his calf should have been. “Titanium from the knee down, courtesy of Uncle Sam.”

“
Wow, I had no idea.”

“Good. All that practic
e of walking without a limp is finally paying off,” Paul smiled.

“That’s why you’re not in the Army anymore?”

“Not quite. I was involved in an incident before the injury. I left the Army under not-so-great circumstances. Officially, they label it,” Paul did air quotes with his fingers, “‘getting discharged general, under honorable conditions.’ I would have been out whether I got hurt or not.”

He drained the last of his coffee and pushed the empty cup to the edge of the table. “I spent a month in
Germany at the military hospital. My dad died a week before he and my mom were planning on flying over there to see me.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thanks. I know it probably makes me sound like a blowhard, but I decided right there in the hospital that I wasn’t going to feel sorry for myself. Ever. I had the idea for the shop years ago and figured I’d get started after I retired from the Army. My injury only moved my plan up earlier than I expected.

Paul looked out the window and absently tapped his knuckles on the table.
“My dad was a penny pincher and squirreled away quite a nest egg. My mom decided to give my sister and me a large part of our inheritance after he died so that helped me fund the opening of the store. After a stint of physical therapy in California, I got my walking papers, moved back here, and got started. A year later and I still haven’t been able to turn a profit, much less pay myself.”