Dark day
1235 Words
Later that night Stetson and Leanne got hotel rooms at the Sunshine Inn. Stetson lay in bed sipping a bottle of crown until he drifted off to sleep. He stirred in his sleep. He was dreaming of his father. He could hear his voice. He could feel his hand on his throat. He woke up shaking. He sighed and took another drink of crown and lay back staring at the ceiling. Devin started wailing in the next room. Stetson groaned and put a pillow over his head. Leanne pounded on his door the next morning. “Stetson,Stetson,you in there?!” She yelled. He sighed and sat up.
“Yeah,just a minute,” he replied. He picked up yesterday’s jeans off the floor,put them on,and opened the door.
“You just woke up didn’t you?” Leanne snapped.
“Yeah...” Stetson replied.
“Stets, I told you eight o’clock,” she said.
“Sorry.”
Leanne spotted the bottle of crown on the night stand. She walked over to it and grabbed it before he could get to it.
“When did you start drinking again?”
Stetson snatched it out of her hand.
“When I started remembering,” he said and took a drink. “I’ll be down in five minutes.” Leanne walked out into the hallway. The funeral was at ten. The siblings got there early to help set up. Most of the town members had shown up. Mr. Roberts’ ex wife appeared. She had shed a few tears during the ceremony. Stetson had no emotion. He didn’t feel any pain to see his father lying there,knowing he would never come back. He knew he should’ve felt something and he should’ve at least felt some kind of guilt for not feeling grief. However all he saw when he looked at his father was the man that abused him. After the funeral he stood off by himself. Oakland noticed him standing there,looking at his feet. She walked up to him.
“Hey,I’m sorry for your loss,” she said.
“Thanks. Can you tell your dad I’ll talk to him tomorrow?”
Oakland looked puzzled.
“...About the job,” Stetson said.
“Umm, yeah I can do that,” she replied.
“Thank you.”
“Stets,come here!” Leanne called.
She was talking to their mother.
“I gotta go,nice seeing ya,” Stetson told Oakland.
“You too,” she replied.
Stetson gritted his teeth as he walked up to his family.
“My boy,” his mother said as she put her hand on his face. Stetson pushed it away and walked off. Leanne went after him.
“What the hell is wrong with you?” She asked. Stetson turned to both of them so his mother could hear.
“The last time I tried to talk to her was when dad was drunk and shoving me around. I called her to see if I could stay with her. Dad said, “What are you calling her for? She don’t care about you.” She didn’t answer,guess he was right. His mother sighed as a tear rolled down her cheek. Stetson left. Oakland watched Stetson leave.
“Ready to go honey?” Michael asked her.
She nodded. Michael put his arm over her shoulder and they left. Stetson had bought another bottle of crown and finished the first one. He was passed out when Leanne knocked on the door.
“Stets,Stetson!” She yelled. Stetson groaned, “what?” He asked as he opened the door.
“What the hell is going on with you?” She snapped.
“Nothing,” he replied. He gagged and went into the bathroom. He threw up. Leanne found the empty crown bottle and put it in front of him.
“Got a hangover?” She asked. Stetson didn’t say anything.
“You need to get your s**t together!” She snapped.
“I’m fine,” he said.
“Why were you such a jerk to mom?”
Stetson looked at her and yelled. “She abandoned me! She abandoned us....how can you talk to her like nothing happened? How can she call me her son?” Stetson sobbed.
“Stets—I’m....”
“Just get out,please.”
“Sorry,” Leanne said and left. Stetson knocked on the door of the Conway house. Michael opened the door.
“What can I do for you?” he asked.
“I’m here to see Mr. Conway about the job,” Stetson replied.
“Come on in.”
Michael placed his hands on Oakland’s shoulders. She looked up at him and kissed him. Mr. Conway walked into the room.
“Stetson right?” He asked.
“Yes sir,” Stetson replied.
“Jim Conway, nice to meet ya,” Mr. Conway shook his hand.
“You as well,” Stetson replied.
“We can talk in my office.”
“Ok.” Stetson followed him into the office.
“I’m sorry to here about your father.”
“Thanks.”
“Tell me about yourself.”
“Uh,not much to tell. I’ve always been an odd job kinda guy. I’ve never worked on a ranch but if you take me on I promise I’ll work real hard.”
“Well,it’s calving season,if I took you on you’d have to catch on real quick.”
“I can do that.”
“Ok I’ll give you a shot.”
“Thank you sir!”
“Absolutely. You have a good night now.”
“Thanks I will.”
Stetson called Leanne and asked her to meet him for dinner.
“Hey,” Leanne said and sat down.
“Hey,” Stetson replied.
“What did you wanna talk about?” Leanne asked.
“I got the job.”
Leanne looked a little frazzled.
“Okay,does that mean you’re staying here?”
Stetson nodded.
“Okay. Please take care of yourself.”
“I will. Thanks for all you did for me sis.”
“I’d do it again,in a heartbeat.”
“I know.”
Leanne smiled. “I’m proud of you.”
“Thanks sis.”
Leanne left that evening and Stetson started moving into Mr. Conway’s bunkhouse. He had a bag on his shoulder and an extra pair of boots. He knocked on Mr. Conway’s door.
“Come on in son,” Conway said.
“Thank you,” Stetson replied.
“Michael can show you where to go.”
Stetson nodded. Michael walked outside and Stetson followed.
“So you’re a newbie at ranching?” Michael asked.
“Yeah, I guess,” Stetson replied.
“I’ll show you the ropes. It’s not the easiest job.”
“I know.”
“It beats being in a building all day though.”
“Yeah,” Stetson said.
“So you went to school with my fiancé?”
“Yeah.”
“You don’t talk much do ya.”
“Not usually.”
“Here’s your bunk.”
“Thanks.”
Stetson sat his bag down and threw himself down on the bed. He reached for a bottle and took a swig.
“You drink a lot do ya?” Michael asked.
“Sometimes,” Stetson replied.
“Careful, I wouldn’t wanna be hungover in the morning.”
Stetson put the bottle down and rolled over. He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.
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