Sweet Whiskey Nights

Curiosity And That Damned Cat

Marcus

I hate this man. I have never hated anyone as much as I hate this man. He grates my nerves and his voice irritates my soul. David Foster. He reminds me of the weasels that get into the chicken coops and steal eggs. I need to stop jaw-jacking and catch up with T’Jay and make sure he’s buying the right bulbs for the hatchlings and I need to check on my tractor parts I ordered. He snaps me back to the conversation when he puts his hand on my shoulder. I look down at his hand as if it was bird s**t and look him in the eyes with disgust. At least he’s smart; he removes it quickly and stutters on. Does this man ever shut the hell up? I’ve lost track on how long we’ve been standing here but it feels like an eternity.

He’s shorter than me, he’s gotta be bout five feet ten or eleven inches compared to my six feet three inches. It looks like he spends a lot of time on his hair like the ladies do; it looks like one of them models in the magazine type hair cuts. He frequents the salon here in town and I can tell he gets his eyebrows done because once when he cornered me the skin around them was an angry red and they were perfectly lined like the girls that come riding at the ranch. Everything about him is meticulously put together which puts me on edge. He’s laughing at something he said but I missed it while I was critiquing his appearance. He stopped abruptly and straightened up as I felt a hand on my back. I looked down to see Mrs. DeeDee and my mood instantly lightened. I love this woman as if she were my own ma. Maw and Mrs. DeeDee were really close and she was there for me when Maw passed. Then my father came and picked me and my brother T’Jay up one day and took us to the city. I hated it and as soon as I could, I ran back to the ranch with my uncles. She gives me one of her tight hugs and I can’t help but smile. I feel eyes on me though and at first I thought it was the weasel’s until I looked up and caught sight of her daughter staring at us through the store’s window. I had to suppress a laugh as she glared daggers at me. Her mother then turned her attention over to David and read him for filth from everything from buying up the land to surprisingly about her daughter. How could he have had a chance with her daughter? I don’t know much about her other than she lives in a city as well. Apparently, she haul tailed it to the city once she was out of high school and has barely came back. I remember when we were kids I used to hear her squealing as she ran from the chickens with an egg held up high in the air calling for her daddy. Them chickens were always after her. Her daddy never made her work though but she was always by his side. She was like a tornado on their farm. You could always tell when her daddy dressed her compared to when Mrs. DeeDee dressed her. Mrs. DeeDee tried to keep her in dresses and bows and her daddy kept her in cowboy hats and boots. We were always too busy working and learning the ranch to be able to play with her and I always figured her daddy was teaching her how to run the farm. I never realized how much I miss hearing that squeal of hers until now.

Mrs. DeeDee finishes up her tongue lashing and tells David she don’t want him anywhere near her daughter again and if she catches him that he’ll be pig food. I cross my arms and stare at him daring him to challenge her. Thankfully he has some sense and says, “No ma’am. I promise I’ll leave her alone.” With that we both turn away from him and walk off.

“Thanks for leaving me to do all the work.” Great. Now I gotta listen to T’Jay’s attitude. “You act like I like dealing with that guy. I would’ve rather been shovelin’ horse s**t than talkin’ to him. Did you get the bulbs? Was my parts ready?” We get everything packed up and loaded onto the bed of the truck but as he was climbing in the passenger side I decided to follow Mrs. DeeDee and her girls. “We got work to do. Unless you thinkin’ bout gettin’ some food cuz you know I can always go for some food.” I shake my head at him, “You’re always eatin’. I don’t get how you’re as slim as a straw with as much food you inhale. Nah, I’m not getting food yet. I wanna see what’s up with Mrs. DeeDee and her daughter.” He laughs at me and says he thinks she’s taken and points to the girl next to her. But I don’t think they’re together like that. Then again, she does look possessive and protective of her; what’s her name again? s**t, I can’t remember for nothin’ and I know Mrs. DeeDee said it when talking to the weasel. I hang back far enough not to be caught but I’m noticing everyone else is keeping their distance too. That’s odd. She watches the ground as she walks and doesn’t look as confident as she did while she was yelling at me this morning. Something ain’t adding up.

I’ve watched them leave several stores and each time the distance people keep from them gets larger and larger. The woman that’s with her seems to notice it too because she stares down some of them who she catches whispering. They now got cowboy hats on and Mrs. DeeDee’s daughter is hiding her face with hers. I don’t like how everyone is staring and whispering, not going near them. We all know each other and look out for one another so why are they actin’ like this?

T’Jay gets excited when I tell him we can grab something to eat from the diner until David stops us. “I smell cow pies,” T’Jay eyes David up and down while he puffs his chest up at him. “So cute. You think I’m scared of you Biggie Smalls? I don’t deal with thugs, I’m here to talk to your brother” s**t. “b***h, who you think you talking to? Don’t let this country s**t fool you! You’ll be spittin’ teeth out when I’m done!” I grab up my brother because he’s still on probation and the last thing he needs is for this man to press charges on him. I hear David laughing behind me and for a split second I consider letting my pitbull of a brother loose on his ass. I push him back and yell at him to calm down before I turn on David. “The f**k you want? I told you we ain’t got s**t left to talk about.” David holds his hands up as he backs up a little. “I thought you might change your mind since you seem so close to Mrs. Thompson. Seeing how her daughter is in town and works for the development company that’s trying to buy up this community. I mean the only reason she would be in town is if she’s planning on talking her mother into selling her property which is going into foreclosure. You know, she’s the one who closes all the deals so if she’s here it’s only a matter of time before this town is sold. You should jump on board and sell first to get the most money.” I look up as I see them leaving the diner. She’s watching the ground again but this time it looks like she’s crying as she wipes her face. The girl that’s with them is even more on defense as she glares at everyone almost daring them to approach. Maybe she’s not as good as a closer as he thinks. And maybe that’s why everyone’s keeping their distance cuz she’s no better than another city weasel.