her hips in a universal gesture that meant, “I am really mad at you right now.”
Brad flipped the saw off and, while the motor wound down, drank in the sight of her. She wasn’t too tall – she came up maybe to his shoulders – but she was slender, and from what he could tell she had lots of nice things under those clothes. Not big in the chest area, sort of petite, but Brad liked that in a woman. She had long hair that at first he took for blonde, but then he realized that she had those highlights done that left streaks of darker hair beneath the lighter. Her face wasn’t quite beautiful, but she was certainly pretty – very pretty – and her eyes were amazing, sort of a hazel color that really caught the light. Brad knew that he was staring, but he didn’t care. Since he’d come to stay with his father he hadn’t met up with very many attractive women, and this one was a sight for his very sore eyes.
Her arms were crossed now, and she seemed to be waiting for him to say something. “Ummm, hello?” he offered.
“You didn’t hear me.”
“Hear you what?”
“Of course you didn’t hear me, what with the unbelievable racket that thing was making! First I asked if you could turn it down. Then I asked again, louder. Then I shouted it. I was starting to think that I would have to throw a rock at you to get your attention.”
“I’m sorry, but I honestly didn’t hear any of that. And no, I can’t ‘turn it down.’ It’s a chain saw. That’s what it sounds like.”
“Well, could you use it some other time? I’m trying to relax.”
“I’ll be done soon.”
“And I’ll be insane soon, if I have to keep listening to that saw! Please, could you just cut wood some other time? It was really nice on my porch with the sound of the birds and the wind in the trees, and now I can’t hear anything but you.”
“I’m not breaking any laws. That’s what people do around here. You’re going to hear a lot of saws, and sometimes it will be when you want to listen to the birds. That’s the way it is.”
“So you refuse?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll finish later. But next time you might think about asking nicer.”
“Next time? Oh, wonderful. I really look forward to that.” Without another word she spun on her heel and stomped away. Brad watched her go. It was a shame – finally there was a good-looking woman in town, and it turned out she was kind of a bitch.
Walking away, Sarah felt a mixture of satisfaction and regret. On the one hand, she had stood up for herself and asked for what she wanted, and now she had a chance to reclaim what was left of her quiet afternoon. On the other hand, she had finally come across an attractive man in Tall Pines, and she already knew that she didn’t like him. Oh well, she thought. He looked like a jock. If Sarah had one principle that she applied to the vestigial remnants of her love life, it was that she didn’t date jocks, even jocks with curly brown hair and shockingly blue eyes.
As she was getting back to her cabin, Sarah realized that she had never thanked him for agreeing to stop using his saw. She felt a twinge of regret at that; Sarah hated rudeness. In any case, it was too late to go back now. If she saw him later, she’d remember to apologize.
7
Later that evening Brad sat on the couch next to his father, like he did every night, pulling on a beer and staring at the fire in the fireplace, like they did every night. He didn’t like how much he was getting used to this. When he first arrived, he made fun of the way his father had fixed the place up. It was like a museum of manliness, what with antlers mounted on the wall, resting on the mantelpiece, and even hanging from a light fixture. The deer’s head on the wall and the fishing rod propped up next to the fireplace only completed the picture. It was painfully obvious that no woman had been in this cabin for far too long. Certainly none since his mother had died.
When he arrived, that
Brad flipped the saw off and, while the motor wound down, drank in the sight of her. She wasn’t too tall – she came up maybe to his shoulders – but she was slender, and from what he could tell she had lots of nice things under those clothes. Not big in the chest area, sort of petite, but Brad liked that in a woman. She had long hair that at first he took for blonde, but then he realized that she had those highlights done that left streaks of darker hair beneath the lighter. Her face wasn’t quite beautiful, but she was certainly pretty – very pretty – and her eyes were amazing, sort of a hazel color that really caught the light. Brad knew that he was staring, but he didn’t care. Since he’d come to stay with his father he hadn’t met up with very many attractive women, and this one was a sight for his very sore eyes.
Her arms were crossed now, and she seemed to be waiting for him to say something. “Ummm, hello?” he offered.
“You didn’t hear me.”
“Hear you what?”
“Of course you didn’t hear me, what with the unbelievable racket that thing was making! First I asked if you could turn it down. Then I asked again, louder. Then I shouted it. I was starting to think that I would have to throw a rock at you to get your attention.”
“I’m sorry, but I honestly didn’t hear any of that. And no, I can’t ‘turn it down.’ It’s a chain saw. That’s what it sounds like.”
“Well, could you use it some other time? I’m trying to relax.”
“I’ll be done soon.”
“And I’ll be insane soon, if I have to keep listening to that saw! Please, could you just cut wood some other time? It was really nice on my porch with the sound of the birds and the wind in the trees, and now I can’t hear anything but you.”
“I’m not breaking any laws. That’s what people do around here. You’re going to hear a lot of saws, and sometimes it will be when you want to listen to the birds. That’s the way it is.”
“So you refuse?”
“No, it’s fine. I’ll finish later. But next time you might think about asking nicer.”
“Next time? Oh, wonderful. I really look forward to that.” Without another word she spun on her heel and stomped away. Brad watched her go. It was a shame – finally there was a good-looking woman in town, and it turned out she was kind of a bitch.
Walking away, Sarah felt a mixture of satisfaction and regret. On the one hand, she had stood up for herself and asked for what she wanted, and now she had a chance to reclaim what was left of her quiet afternoon. On the other hand, she had finally come across an attractive man in Tall Pines, and she already knew that she didn’t like him. Oh well, she thought. He looked like a jock. If Sarah had one principle that she applied to the vestigial remnants of her love life, it was that she didn’t date jocks, even jocks with curly brown hair and shockingly blue eyes.
As she was getting back to her cabin, Sarah realized that she had never thanked him for agreeing to stop using his saw. She felt a twinge of regret at that; Sarah hated rudeness. In any case, it was too late to go back now. If she saw him later, she’d remember to apologize.
7
Later that evening Brad sat on the couch next to his father, like he did every night, pulling on a beer and staring at the fire in the fireplace, like they did every night. He didn’t like how much he was getting used to this. When he first arrived, he made fun of the way his father had fixed the place up. It was like a museum of manliness, what with antlers mounted on the wall, resting on the mantelpiece, and even hanging from a light fixture. The deer’s head on the wall and the fishing rod propped up next to the fireplace only completed the picture. It was painfully obvious that no woman had been in this cabin for far too long. Certainly none since his mother had died.
When he arrived, that
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