Some Day Somebody (25 page)

“Not as long as you think. Besides,” she sent Grant a look, a silent plea to understand, “Who I date isn’t the real issue here. You all know how far I have to drive to work.”

“So do Uncle Cullen and Dad,” Lauren added.

“They also earn triple my starting salary, sweetie. I can’t afford to have fuel costs eating up that much of my take home pay.”

“But you went to college and got a degree. That’s not fair,” Gretchen pointed out.

Carrie cocked her head and gave her daughter a lopsided grin. “Welcome to my world,
Gretch
. Life doesn’t always guarantee you’ll be treated fairly.” She placed a hand on her daughter’s cheek. “But sometimes it hands you opportunities to help balance things out. I think this is one of those times.” Carrie cleared her throat. “I saw a place in Kenton last night for half of what I’d have to pay for the place we’re supposed to take in January. It’s larger, completely remodeled, in a quiet neighborhood, and I’d be able to move in right away. I’ve thought about this all night long, but I wanted to talk to all of you, first.  It’s possible I may have to take it.” She examined her daughters’ expressions.

“I’m not moving to Kenton,” Gretchen proclaimed.

“Me either. All my friends are here,” Lauren agreed.

Carrie nodded and crossed her arms tightly.  “I know that, not now, for sure, but I thought maybe when...maybe sometime in the future you might want to give it a try.”  Carrie crossed her arms tightly against the defiance on her daughters’ faces, and turned to stare out at the back pasture. When had life turned into one major stress-fest? She gazed out at the tall grass, longing for the carefree days when she’d used that patch of land to explore and play all day long. She wiped away a tear at the corner of her eye and took a calming breath. She had no other choice. “Nothing has to be decided now, but if the time comes when all this...mess...is cleared up, I’ll expect the both of you to move in with me.”

Her twins exchanged silent gazes steeped in stubbornness. “We already have a home,” Lauren said. “You remember, that place you helped build with
dad
. If you’d just move back there, we c—”

“Look, I will
always
be thankful that I met your dad. Without him, I wouldn’t have the three of you.” She focused on Lauren as she continued. “But he and I are finished. You have to accept it, so we can all go on with our lives.” When Lauren’s face crumbled, Carrie pulled her daughter close for a hug. She smoothed a hand over tawny curls, tangled from the brisk, December wind. “Life is all about growing, changing, and having different people come into our lives at times to help us adapt to those changes. Your lives will be filled with new people and new experiences. You’ll make new friends, but family will always be our constant. You are my children, and I’ll want you with me.”

“Lauren pulled away from her mother. “What if we go live with you and those Yankees don’t like us?”

Carrie worked hard to keep from laughing.
“Yankees?”

“Last year I heard you say how anyone north of I-10 was a Yankee and how they talk funny.”

“That was a joke, hon. I’ll admit that some people there talk with a twang, kind of like your cousins from Lake Coburn, but it’s still in Louisiana, even if it is a different Parish. To people from Kenton, we’ll be the ones with the accents.”

“You see?” Lauren cried. “I don’t want to be different. I want to be the same as all my friends.”

“You don’t know what it’s like to leave your friends,” Gretchen accused.

Gretchen groaned. “What if they don’t like us?”

“They’ll love you, sweetie,” Carrie explained, realizing when the time came, she would have to push the issue. But now wasn’t the time.
Forcing
her daughters to move would lead to more complications. Carrie pictured them planting their stubborn size sevens firmly in Dave’s camp, and blaming her for everything bad that happened to them from now until forever.

Carrie stood
staring out of her mother’s front door sipping a cup of coffee. When Christie pulled up into the driveway, she set the cup on her mom’s entertainment center and went to help her sister unload the car. “Hey
roomie
, I didn’t realize you and Max would be back this early.”

Christie unbuckled Max from his car seat and set him on the ground. The toddler promptly ran to the front door of his Maw
Maw
Elaine’s and banged on it until someone let him inside.

Carrie watched her nephew’s progress then turned to grab some packages out of her sister’s open trunk.

“You want to tell me why the screen on my back door is cut?” Christie asked.

“Dave,” she answered, then gave her the abbreviated version of everything that happened. She pointed to her windshield. “Look what he did to my car.”

“That son of a bitch!”
Christie growled.

“I know, and as bad as that seems, it’s not the worst that’s happened. She explained about the call and the fact that he’d been watching Christie’s house. “I’m considering a move to Kenton instead of the place in Gardiner. “I’m going to check it out tonight.”

“Really?
You’d move to Kenton?”

“Is this guy really scaring you that much?”

“Enough to make me leave everyone I love behind. I need to know my kids are safe.
Me
staying at your place has only put you and Max in danger.”

“So you and Sam went out on a real date.”

Carrie stopped to gape at her sister. “After me saying your lives may be in danger, all you can think about is my date?”

Christie stopped and put a hand on Carrie’s arm. “Y’all didn’t
do
anything, did you?”

Carrie’s jaw shut with a snap. “
That
was a Dave-worthy comment. Of course we didn’t.”

Christie raised one hand in explanation. “Hey, I told you all about the lack of sex and the horny woman syndrome.” She pulled a pack of cigarettes from her purse and lit one up.

Carrie wrinkled her nose in distaste. “I thought you quit smoking.”

Chris took a long drag on the cancer stick. “I did,” she said, but no way in hell I can give up sex and cigarettes at the same time.” She took two more exaggerated drags before putting it out. “See? Just talking about it makes me need a smoke.” She grabbed the last of the gifts, and closed the trunk. “Have you spoken to your kids about moving to Kenton?”

“Yep, but I didn’t tell them about the guy on the phone.  I just said that I needed to be closer to work, and that maybe later they could move in with me, switch schools and all.
That
went over like a tent in a hurricane,” Carrie groaned.

“At some point, they need to learn there’s a world outside this tiny town.”

The two women made their way to door and paused. “I wish I knew what the future held for us, Chris, and whether or not it’ll be worth it to put them through this.”

“What are your instincts telling you?”

Carrie bit her lower lip. “Honestly? That this is the right thing to do.”

Christie gave her older sister a hug. “It’ll be fine.”

“Don’t tell anyone about the cut screen yet. I don’t want anyone talking bad about Dave in front of the kids. It would ruin their Christmas.”

Christie nodded her head. “My lips are super glued.”

The rest of the family streamed steadily in until around noon. They feasted on a wild goose and sausage gumbo, cooked by Mack, Carrie’s older brother by two years. After lunch, the grandchildren migrated to the front porch to take advantage of the crisp, clean air of the sunny December day. The men, stuffed on good food and desserts, staked out various couches, chairs, and recliners for naps. That left the women of the family seated around the table in the just cleaned kitchen. The aromas of dark roasted coffee, fresh baked breads, and fig tarts filled the air.

At the first lull in the conversation, Carrie cleared her throat. “I need to get your opinions on something. I’ve got an opportunity to move to Kenton,” she said, as the other women focused their gazes on her.

“I remember playing Kenton in football. That’s about thirty miles north of Jennings, right?” Jen said.

“Yeah, it’s about sixty miles from here, but a little under thirty miles to my job in Lake Coburn.”

“That should save you some fuel,” Katie added.

Elaine turned to place a hand on Carrie’s arm. “I wanted to tell you that I got a phone call bright and early this morning from Kathleen
Ledoux
, Rob’s mom.”

“Oh hell, I guess she told you everything, didn’t she?”

“Well, if everything includes Crazy Dave’s antics, from a broken windshield to breaking and entering, then I guess so.  She also said something about threatening phone calls early this morning?  What’s going on?”

Carrie shushed her while she checked the front porch to make sure her kids were out there. “They know about the windshield, but that’s it, and I don’t want them to know anything else,” she said, giving the other women a look of warning. “We talked some about me moving when I got here.  They think it’s just to be closer to work...and Sam, but they’re not thrilled, of course.”

“Who’s Sam?” Katie asked.

“He’s her new boyfriend,” Chris said, excitedly.

Carrie glared at her sister, tight jawed with annoyance. “He’s a friend, for now, who may, or may not, turn into something more.  Yes, the house I’d be renting happens to be across the street from his place, but that has nothing to do with anything.”  She shook her head at all snickers.

Finally Elaine spoke up, putting an end to the teasing.  “They’ll go with you, Carrie.  Maybe not right away, but they’ll go. You’re a good mother, and they’ll miss that if you’re not around,” Elaine told her daughter.

Carrie walked over to the coffee pot for a refill. “I hope you’re right.” She turned and leaned against the cabinet and sipped from her mug. “Sam and I have only been on one date, so don’t
assume
something is happening that
isn’t
,” she said, glaring at Christie. “And please don’t upset my kids by talking about Dave.”