chipper spitting out verbal mulch.
“Oh my God you are just like a little china doll with the porcelain skin and all!”
And you’re like a supermodel without the charisma Ellie thought.
“Come on, come on, let’s go sit down and leave these two men to do the cooking!”
Laura grabbed Ellie’s hand and dragged her over to the small picnic table. Ellie glanced back over her shoulder at Randall, almost in a plea for help. Randall smiled but didn’t come to her rescue. Laura could be a bit much at first he knew, but under the abrupt exterior she had a heart of gold.
It felt good to sit down. Ellie legs ached from the walk and burned from the sun. Laura had covered the table with a red-checkered tablecloth that matched her shirt perfectly. Ellie doubted it was a coincidence. She gawked at the food already set out on the table. Potato salad, green salad, Jell-o salad, green beans, baked beans, baked potatoes, cornbread and rolls. How many people are eating? It was a culinary smorgasbord of redneck proportions. Laura opened the cooler and withdrew two bottles of Corona from the icy water then popped the tops off in one continuous motion on the edge of the table. Why not just use your teeth? Ellie quipped inside her head. Laura handed a bottle to Ellie.
“Now the boys like to drink that Budweiser, but we gals have a more sophisticated palate.” Laura cut up a lime into tiny pieces and plopped one into the longneck bottle. “Lime?”
Ellie shook her head.
“Suit yourself. I love Corona and lime, but without the lime, no thank you. I mean you might as well be drinking Mexican piss in a bottle. So your little boy is simply adorable. How old is he?”
Ellie marveled at Laura’s ability to change topics mid sentence, but was relieved that she finally might be able to get a word in edgewise.
“He’ll be five next spring.”
“Well he is one good lookin’ boy. His father must have been quite a looker. Where is he? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“He’s somewhere in L.A. We don’t see him much.”
Laura frowned, and Ellie thought it was genuine. “That’s terrible. Doesn’t he want to see his little boy? It must be hard on him not to have his dad around.”
“Well I don’t think he knows any better. Michael took off before Aiden was even a year old.” Ellie paused a second. “He never really wanted kids, I just never really believed him. I thought that once he saw his child, he would change his mind.”
Ellie’s eyes welled with tears. It was a subject she didn’t talk about with anyone and she didn’t know why she was talking about it with Laura of all people, but it felt good to get it off her chest.
“Well I’ll tell you one thing Ellie. The nice thing about livin’ in Saltar’s Point is that everyone here is family, and if you or Aiden ever need something all you have to do is pick up the phone.”
Laura put her hand on Ellie’s arm. The simple gesture filled Ellie with guilt. Perhaps she had judged her too quickly.
“Oh yeah, steaks and ribs are done!” Denny carried the plates full of steaming hot meat to the picnic table.
“Aiden come on, time to eat.”
“Awe mom do I have to?”
“Right now Aiden.”
Aiden reluctantly obeyed his mother, returning to the table. Chubs followed behind making sure to look as cute as possible, hoping that he might get a scrap or two. The meal was delicious. Ellie was surprised at how hungry she was, and the five of them managed to eat a lot more than Ellie ever thought was possible. When they were finished she and Laura made their way into the kitchen to clean up, scrubbing the dishes and making small talk. The boys had begun a game of backyard baseball. Aiden wielded a small plastic bat and Randall underhanded the whiffle ball towards the plate. Aiden swung and missed spinning around and landing flat on his butt, laughing the whole time. Denny played first base and Chubs was content to chase the ball wherever it went.
“You know this is
“Oh my God you are just like a little china doll with the porcelain skin and all!”
And you’re like a supermodel without the charisma Ellie thought.
“Come on, come on, let’s go sit down and leave these two men to do the cooking!”
Laura grabbed Ellie’s hand and dragged her over to the small picnic table. Ellie glanced back over her shoulder at Randall, almost in a plea for help. Randall smiled but didn’t come to her rescue. Laura could be a bit much at first he knew, but under the abrupt exterior she had a heart of gold.
It felt good to sit down. Ellie legs ached from the walk and burned from the sun. Laura had covered the table with a red-checkered tablecloth that matched her shirt perfectly. Ellie doubted it was a coincidence. She gawked at the food already set out on the table. Potato salad, green salad, Jell-o salad, green beans, baked beans, baked potatoes, cornbread and rolls. How many people are eating? It was a culinary smorgasbord of redneck proportions. Laura opened the cooler and withdrew two bottles of Corona from the icy water then popped the tops off in one continuous motion on the edge of the table. Why not just use your teeth? Ellie quipped inside her head. Laura handed a bottle to Ellie.
“Now the boys like to drink that Budweiser, but we gals have a more sophisticated palate.” Laura cut up a lime into tiny pieces and plopped one into the longneck bottle. “Lime?”
Ellie shook her head.
“Suit yourself. I love Corona and lime, but without the lime, no thank you. I mean you might as well be drinking Mexican piss in a bottle. So your little boy is simply adorable. How old is he?”
Ellie marveled at Laura’s ability to change topics mid sentence, but was relieved that she finally might be able to get a word in edgewise.
“He’ll be five next spring.”
“Well he is one good lookin’ boy. His father must have been quite a looker. Where is he? If you don’t mind me asking.”
“He’s somewhere in L.A. We don’t see him much.”
Laura frowned, and Ellie thought it was genuine. “That’s terrible. Doesn’t he want to see his little boy? It must be hard on him not to have his dad around.”
“Well I don’t think he knows any better. Michael took off before Aiden was even a year old.” Ellie paused a second. “He never really wanted kids, I just never really believed him. I thought that once he saw his child, he would change his mind.”
Ellie’s eyes welled with tears. It was a subject she didn’t talk about with anyone and she didn’t know why she was talking about it with Laura of all people, but it felt good to get it off her chest.
“Well I’ll tell you one thing Ellie. The nice thing about livin’ in Saltar’s Point is that everyone here is family, and if you or Aiden ever need something all you have to do is pick up the phone.”
Laura put her hand on Ellie’s arm. The simple gesture filled Ellie with guilt. Perhaps she had judged her too quickly.
“Oh yeah, steaks and ribs are done!” Denny carried the plates full of steaming hot meat to the picnic table.
“Aiden come on, time to eat.”
“Awe mom do I have to?”
“Right now Aiden.”
Aiden reluctantly obeyed his mother, returning to the table. Chubs followed behind making sure to look as cute as possible, hoping that he might get a scrap or two. The meal was delicious. Ellie was surprised at how hungry she was, and the five of them managed to eat a lot more than Ellie ever thought was possible. When they were finished she and Laura made their way into the kitchen to clean up, scrubbing the dishes and making small talk. The boys had begun a game of backyard baseball. Aiden wielded a small plastic bat and Randall underhanded the whiffle ball towards the plate. Aiden swung and missed spinning around and landing flat on his butt, laughing the whole time. Denny played first base and Chubs was content to chase the ball wherever it went.
“You know this is
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