Page 62 of Moonshine Lullabies
I smiled at him and leaned in and kissed him soundly.
“You know, you’re absolutely right.”
“It’s been kind of heavy lately,” he said. “Sometimes we just need a reminder is all.”
I nodded, and we finished up in the shop and I bought my things. We headed to the ice cream shop and found J.P. and Tate eating their ice cream at a four-person table. He slid a cup of my favorite at me, only slightly melted and I smiled.
“Ain’t know what you want, bud but it’s on me,” he handed Col a twenty.
“Well, thank you kindly,” Col said and went up to order himself something.
“So, Tater an’ I were talkin’,” Cy said casually, and I raised an eyebrow and looked at my kid. He had a weird expression on his face and I was immediately suspicious.
“Aw, yeah?” I asked. “What’s goin’ on, bud?”
Tate lowered his ice cream cone and said, “Nuckie said he and Grandy would take me out on the boat tomorrow, but it means I gotta go with him to Grandy and Mawmaw’s tonight,” he said.
I had to smile, and I said, “Well I don’t see anything wrong with that,” I said. “You love the boat, and you know how much Mawmaw and Grandy want you there.”
“Yeah, but… what about you?” he asked.
“Well, I got a place to stay here in the city,” I said, “an’ for now I’d rather be there until I can figure out what all needs to be done at the house. But if you’re askin’ me if I’d be okay if you went early so you could have a good time, then yeah Bubs. I’m more than okay with that. You’re gonna have to stay with my folks to go to school anyway.”
“You’re sure?” he asked and I smiled.
“I’m sure, baby. I want you to be happy an’ have a good time.”
“I want you to be happy too,” he said, and I felt my smile grow.
“I know.”
“Can I think about it some more?” he asked J.P.
“Sure Bub, you think about it as long as you like until I gotta go on an’ head that way.”
That seemed to satisfy Tate, and he nodded happily and took another lick off his ice cream cone.
Col joined us with a cup of his own a minute later and handed over J.P.’s change.
“What’d I miss?” he asked.
J.P. and Tate filled him in while I caught up on my melting ice cream.
By the time we’d finished our dessert, Tate had made up his mind to go tonight and Collier and I traded knowing looks for just what that meant for us.
Another night alone together? I think we were both on board with that. I didn’t know what the rest of the week was going to bring, but I did know I was going to have a hell of a long commute and I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth it in J.P.’s gas guzzling truck.
It was a problem for another day, likely tomorrow, but for today, I just wanted to enjoy the time I had with my brother who wasnotbeing a shithead for once, and my son who I was still honestly pretty worried about. I mean, I was his mamma, and I knew just how many of my feelings I was burying over this whole stressful clusterfuck. I worried Tate was doing a lot of the same.
We had a good rest of the day; I did end up calling a couple of the guys sellin’ their small trucks and set up a time to meet them the next day while Tate and J.P. went through Tate’s things to pick out enough stuff to take in his backpack and on the bike to get through the day of fishin’ tomorrow and through the first couple of days of school the next week.
Finally, it came time for my baby and my brother to hit the road and I wasn’t at all surprised to find that I wasnotokay – but I hid it, and I hid it well, so I wouldn’t stress Tate.
I watched them go across to the club’s parking lot and get on J.P.’s bike, my kid waved up at me and I smiled and waved down, and in a blink they were gone up the road.
I didn’t like him taking that long of a ride, but I would need the truck here, so there was that.
I sighed and tried to settle in but being alone just… it just wasn’t it.
