Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk Bar (13 page)

Red snorted. “That whiny sack of designer clothes couldn’t begin to make trouble for me.”

“You’d be surprised. Aunt Phyl and her posse pretty much run this town.”

“Her posse?”

He shrugged. “My description, not hers. Aunt Phyl has this little clique of Alamo Heights matrons who get together at the Argyle for coffee and gossip a couple of times a week. If you’re under discussion, you might as well hire a billboard because everybody in town will know about it in no time.”

“Like I would care?” Red shook her head dismissively.

Cam eyed her critically. “Of course you wouldn’t,” he said. “But it’s not all about you anymore, is it?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t want me tarnishing your reputation among your peeps.”

“I wasn’t thinking about myself,” he said. “Despite your occasional need to talk down to me, I’m an adult male, perfectly capable of taking responsibility for my own choices. I was thinking about Olivia and Daniel. Isn’t this time hard enough for them? Their mom is in the middle of a war. Their grandmother is ill. And they are making a life in a new school with all new people. I think they should get to do that without the added burden of social ostracism.”

“I’d rather see them ostracized than caught up in all that social-climbing crap.”

The vehemence of her response caught his attention and Red knew that she’d said too much. Quickly she attempted to deflect the questions that her reaction might have provoked.

“Your stupid aunt accused Daniel of throwing rocks at her birdhouses. Can you imagine anything less likely?”

“He was throwing rocks, though.”

“I’m sure she told you that,” Red said. “He was aiming at a target on the fence. Maybe a couple went over, but I seriously doubt there was any danger involved.”

“She told me that the children were running wild, unsupervised. She was concerned for their safety. And that she came over to let you know about it and you refused to get out of bed and ordered her off the front porch.”

Red was hardly in a position to deny that.

“Aunt Phyl felt she had no other choice but to speak to the children herself.”

“Speak to them?” Red was incredulous. “She was screaming at them. She called them ‘menaces and criminals.’”

Cam chuckled.

“You think that’s funny?”

“No, I think it’s Aunt Phyl,” he answered. “The only kid she has ever been around was me. And I definitely fell into the criminal–menace category.”

He got up from his chair and seated himself beside her on the swing. Cam slid his arm across the top of her shoulders and pulled her close, planting a tiny kiss on her temple.

“I’ll talk to Aunt Phyl,” he promised. “I’ll convince her to stay out of sight, or at least out of our backyard.”

“Good.”

“But I need you to promise not to antagonize her,” Cam said. “She loves me and has been good to me. And I’m certain that if she ever got to know you or the kids, she would love you as much as I do.”

Red opened her mouth to dispute that. She knew all about women like Cam’s Aunt Phyl, high-class ladies who were so concerned with their social position and community standing. Red’s mother was like that. And if she couldn’t
put her own daughter first, no one else could ever be expected to do so.

None of this came out of Red’s mouth. Instead, she was silenced by the dawning revelation of Cam’s comment. He had just said that he loved her.

To: [email protected]

September 28 7:41 p.m.

From: [email protected]

hiya Mom-ster 2 emails waiting 4 me! That is totally the best. And U are going to be so happy. I know, cause I am. The big news is TA-DAH!!!! I have a best friend. I haven’t had a BFF for like 3 schools or something. An she is SO COOL. Much cooler than Mixon, tho Mixon is way popular. Nayra, my BFF, is smart like me. I met her in music class. We are both taking violin for the 1st time this year. She is changing from piano. I took it cause Cam said that it helps the brain do math. I don’t know how, but Cam always knows what he talks about and he loaned me one of his violins anyway. Nayra and I are IMing or on the phone every night. I talk 2 Kaya 2. But Kaya always says what R U going to wear tomorrow and I don’t care much. Nayra and I talk better stuff. And sometimes we practice together over the phone. I want her to sleepover on Saturday, but Red says that’s her busyest night, so I told her Cam would stay with us if she asked him, but she won’t. POOT!

I wish U were home. U would let me have a sleepover. But SHE won’t.

Daniel is ok too. He likes school and he can read now. Truly. He wasn’t so into Curious George and Babar like I was. So Cam took him to Red Balloon Bookshop its not far from us and told him he could have any books he wanted to read. He chose a bunch of Scooby-Doo with
vampires in them. I don’t like scary stuff but Daniel can read them all by himself. Thats pretty good huh. Cam lets us go to the bookstore any time we want and buy whatever we want. He says the library is great but some books you just gotta have forever. He’s right.

I luv U Mom. An I miss U so much. Please come home as soon as U can. Daniel and I are fine. But we want U.

Livy

A
s the weeks went by, Red settled into a new routine that included both the kids and the construction. Daniel turned out to be quite talkative about school and vampires and who’s who in professional wrestling. Olivia became as much a phone diva as an Internet surfer. And the guys from the crew site all wanted coffee the minute she opened and a beer as soon as they clocked out for the day.

Sunday and Monday were nights off for Kelly, the babysitter. Red found that worked just fine. The bar was closed on Sunday, and Monday was the slowest night of the week. Karl actually seemed pleased to be given a chance to run the place on his own.

They visited the children’s
abuela
almost every week, and she was improving. Her speech was still a huge challenge and Red couldn’t help but admire how patient Olivia and Daniel were as the old woman struggled to get out the words she wanted to say. She was still mostly wheelchair bound, but was making progress in therapy on a walker.

Bridge called as often as she could. Because of the time dif
ference, it was decided that Saturday mornings was the best time to call. Ten o’clock in San Antonio was 8:00 p.m. in Kabul. Bridge tried to make that, but sometimes work or phone availability got in the way. The weekends when no call came were always quiet ones for the kids.

Red hadn’t caught a glimpse of Aunt Phyl since the day of the brooming, but Cam was around all the time. He spent more time with the kids than he did with Red, but it was hard to resent that. Daniel more or less idolized him. The little boy followed at his heels like a puppy. Cam took great care to talk to Daniel about whatever he was doing and to listen to all the silly stories from his day at school.

He spent time with Olivia, as well. Cam tutored her on the violin, and once she decided she could not be separated from her best friend, Nayra, he expanded the one-on-one to include both of them.

Managing to do all this was aided in part by having more time on his hands, though it was not his own choice. The band was suffering through a soap opera that threatened its future.

Brian had gotten one of his groupie/fans pregnant.

“I think that’s what guys your age are supposed to do,” Red told Cam. “Be fruitful and multiply.”

Cam, seated across the bar, rolled his eyes at her. Of course, it was much more complicated. The young woman was only twenty and earning minimum wage at the counter of Whataburger. Although Brian was in his thirties, with a bit of money in the bank, he was still living with his parents. He’d spent the last ten years totally absorbed in the band.

“So what does he
want
to do?” Red asked.

“I think he wants to marry her,” Cam said.

“That is so totally retro,” she said. “I didn’t think guys like you and Brian ever even considered the ball-and-chain life.”

Cam gave her a long look. “Honestly,” he replied, “I decided back in high school that marriage just wasn’t in the cards for me. But I’m beginning to rethink that.”

Red felt the blood drain from her face. It was what she wanted for him. It was what he deserved. Standing behind the bar, she grabbed a towel and began wiping down the pristine surface so that she wouldn’t have to look him in the eye.

“No hurry,” she told him. “It’s not like guys have the biological clock that gals do.”

He reached across the bar and grasped her wrist, stopping her deliberate distraction and forcing her to look up at him.

“Different people have different kinds of clocks, Red,” he told her. “I think we both set ours running when we still should have been in that timeless-childhood place.”

She looked askance at him and defended her feelings by lashing out.

“Well, I know I had to grow up in a hurry,” she said. “But it seems to me that you’re still just a big kid.”

An unhappy line appeared on his forehead, and she knew that she’d hurt him. She’d meant to do it. Now she wanted to take it back. The phone rang and saved her from attempting to.

“Red’s Hot Honky-Tonk.”

“Uh…hello. I’m…I’m looking for Daniel Lujan’s grandmother. I was given this number….”

“I’m his grandmother.”

“Oh, great! Hi! It’s Sarah. Sarah Carson. Mia and Elliot’s mom. I met you at Howdy Night.”

“Oh yeah, sure,” Red answered, vaguely recalling the woman with the baby in a stroller.

“I’ve had a terrible time getting in touch with you,” she said. “Nobody answers your phone in the mornings and in the af
ternoon and evenings, it’s always the babysitter, and she is as closemouthed as the CIA. I swear, if you hadn’t become, like, the latest gossip in town, I never could have tracked you down.”

The last statement was accompanied by a fairly frantic giggle.

Red didn’t know how to respond to that. Cam had warned her that she was going to get talked about. She’d been the subject of gossip once before and she didn’t like it.

“Is that why you called?” Red asked. “To let me know that my name is being dragged around Alamo Heights?”

“Oh no, no,” Sarah assured her quickly. “I called about the Cupcake Committee. I went ahead and signed you up and…well…Could I come in?”

“Huh?”

“I’m actually parked outside,” Sarah said. “I didn’t want to come in unless…unless you really are inside.”

“Come on in,” Red told her. “It’s usually pretty safe this time of day.”

She slammed down the phone shaking her head.

“What’s up?” Cam asked.

“We’re being invaded by your homeys,” she answered.

Red walked around the bar and over to the front entrance, assessing the cleanliness of her skintight jeans and her low-cut lace camisole. She held the door open and waved her visitor inside.

Sarah looked much the same as she had on Howdy Night. Dressed in designer slacks with coordinating blouse and expensive shoes, her accessories included a Fendi bag on one arm and a six-month-old boy on the other.

“Hi, oh my God! Your hair! It’s, like, incredible hair.”

Self-consciously, Red attempted to smooth it down. “I guess it must be humid today.”

“No, no, it looks great. Is it natural? Oh, it must be. I am so jealous.”

“Uh…thanks.”

“I’m so sorry to barge in on you. I hope you’re not too busy.”

“It’s fine,” Red said. “Not much happening this time of day.” She indicated the less than half-dozen customers scattered around the room.

Sarah glanced at them, but her gaze was caught immediately by Cam.

“Oh wow!” she exclaimed with a giggle to Red. “So it really is true. You two
are
a couple. That is so cool!”

Red didn’t get a second to answer that as Sarah immediately stepped forward to offer Cam her hand.

“I’m sure you don’t remember me,” she said. “I used to be Sarah Endicott. I was a junior when you were a senior. Go Mules! I married Brad Carson. I think you were in Boy Scouts with him.”

“Oh yeah,” Cam answered, nodding vaguely.

“You were in Boy Scouts?” Red asked rhetorically.

Cam ignored that. “It’s nice to see you again, Sarah,” he said. “What’s Brad up to these days? I haven’t seen him since high school.”

“Oh, he’s a real-estate attorney with Isaccson and McNulty. He just made partner.”

“Sounds good. Those Eagle Scouts always turn out well. Say hi to him for me.”

“Oh, I can’t,” Sarah protested with a whisper. “He’d have a fit if he knew I was down here. But as soon as I heard about this place, I was dying to come here.”

Cam flashed a smile that was definitely feigned as he shared a glance with Red.

“So, now that you’re here, what do you think?” Red asked.

“Oh, it’s great. I used to go to places like this when I was in college,” she confessed. “Drinking too much and listening to honky-tonk. There was nothing I liked better.”

“Well, you are welcome to drink too much and listen to music here anytime,” Red said.

Sarah giggled again and it was all Red could do not to roll her eyes.

“What did you want to talk to me about?” Red asked.

“Is there someplace we can sit?”

Red glanced at Cam.

“Go ahead, I’ll take care of the customers,” he said.

Red led Sarah toward the back of the building. Normally, she would have taken her out to the patio, but the construction workers were noisy. Instead, she took the corner booth. It was a good distance from everyone else and slightly secluded from the other patrons.

“How’s this?”

Sarah nodded agreement. “Do you have a high chair?” she asked. “I could strap Elliot in and give him some crackers and he’d be just as happy here as anywhere else.”

Red shook her head. “Sorry, no high chair. I do my best not to serve these guys that really do look underage.”

She reached out and touched the chubby fellow’s cheek. To her surprise, he offered her a great big toothless grin.

“I’ll just sit him on my lap,” Sarah said, scooting along the seat.

“He seems like a pretty easygoing guy,” Red said.

“And thank God for that,” she replied. “Mia has always been such a drama queen. I deserve a child that’s, like, more centered. Elliot is practically Buddha compared to her.”

Red thought the comparison might be apt. He was fat and
happy and bald. And, at least initially, he seemed content to sit on Sarah’s lap, beating crackers into small pieces and then stuffing them into his mouth.

“I hope you don’t mind me dropping by, but I did have to see you and I was really curious about this place,” Sarah said. “It’s really pretty amazing. And this is yours? It’s your business?”

“Yes.”

“Was it, like, a family business or did you get it from your husband or something?”

The young woman’s questions seemed strangely genuine, as if she was really interested. For once Red decided not to evade the answers. If she did, Sarah would undoubtedly keep asking. Red figured one really stark, honest reply would be stunning enough to shut her up.

“No, I built it myself,” Red told her. “I had a kid and figured I needed something more steady than lap dancing. I saved my money and opened this place. You might say I pulled myself up by my G-string.”

Sarah’s eyes got huge. But rather than being shocked into silence, she was stunned into speech.

“Oh my God, that is so…so heroic,” she said. “I mean it. You are just my hero. It’s like…like, real feminism.”

“Feminism?”

“Absolutely,” Sarah replied. “You went into a man’s world and turned a den of misogynist exploitation into something that empowered you and your child. I so admire that.”

“Misogynist exploitation?”

“Absolutely,” Sarah said. “It is so hard to swim against the tide. And when I see a woman succeeding at it, I’m just so impressed.”

“Well, thank you,” Red replied, uncertain.

“I tried something like that, you know,” Sarah told her with a sigh. “When I went off to college I was determined to major in Women’s Studies. My mom was just horrified! She said that only lesbians do that. And that I’d lose my chance with Brad. He’d been my escort the year I was Duchess of the Sublime Virtues at Fiesta. And you know your escort is really your family’s first choice for you. Mom didn’t want me to mess that up. And I just said to her, I’m not a lesbian, but I am going to study this and you just might as well get over yourself.”

“I guess you told her,” Red replied, a bit confused as to where Sarah was going with this.

“And it all worked out well for me anyway,” she said. “Brad and I got back together just before graduation and had a beautiful wedding just like my mom had hoped. So all’s well that ends well.”

“Congratulations.”

Sarah giggled again. It was not a particularly attractive behavior, but Elliot seemed to like it and began to giggle, as well.

“So I was thinking about that,” Sarah said. “And when I heard the gossip about you and Cam, I thought this is going to be even so much better than I thought.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh, the Cupcake Committee, didn’t I make that clear?”

“No, not quite.”

“Well, I really need someone to help,” she said. “I signed up for it before I knew who was going to be the committee chair and now no one else will sign up. But as soon as I heard about you and Cam, I said, this is somebody who won’t be afraid to take on Tasha Shakelford.”

“Who?”

“Tasha Shakelford. She was Tasha Godfrey.”

Red continued to look at Sarah, completely clueless.

Sarah leaned forward dramatically, causing some complaint from Elliot.

“Tasha Godfrey was Cam’s high-school steady,” Sarah revealed. “He was
her
Fiesta escort and her family was completely sold on him. Then they mysteriously broke up and no one would say why. I don’t think she ever got over him. Shake Shakelford went to Edison, for heaven’s sake. Alamo Heights girls might
date
guys from Edison, but they never marry them.”

The would-be rebel was so clearly horrified at the thought that Red had to disguise a chuckle as a cough and hide a smile behind her hand.

Elliot began to dislike the whole crackers-in-a-booth thing. And Sarah had to rush to get through the rest of her talk as quickly as possible. The bottom line was that the Cupcake Committee, including Red, would be serving up the refreshments at Harvest Party on October 31.

“We can’t call it Halloween,” Sarah explained, “because we don’t do religious holidays. Of course, it’s really kind of an anti-religious holiday, I guess. Unless maybe you’re, like, a Wiccan or whatever. Well, anyway, we call it Harvest instead of Halloween, but it’s still orange and black. We do mostly pumpkins. No ghosts or witches or black cats. That could scare the children.”

“Okay,” Red answered, suddenly wondering about Daniel’s fascination with vampires.

“I’ll take care of getting everything ordered,” Sarah said. “If you’ll just be there to help me set up and serve, then Tasha won’t be on my case. You know, she just can’t stand me.”

A few minutes later she was rushing out with all the starry-eyed enthusiasm she came in with, stopping for only a moment at the bar to speak to Cam.

“Oh, I really like her, Cam,” Sarah said. “I don’t care what anyone says, you two are just perfect for each other.”