there wasn’t a clearheaded human being in town--including herself.
“I suggested he wean himself off whiskey and go to beer,” Bob went on. “He’d sober up faster that way, you know.”
No, she didn’t know. She rarely drank hard liquor. What she did know was that it took almost nothing to set Ben off on a drinking spree and as he had gotten older, he had gotten worse. No doubt hearing about the sale of the town and the home where he lived totally un-bothered and un-pressured had been enough. And as for Bob persuading him to do anything, Bob might as well forget it. Except to a few people, Ben was downright rude. “That was probably a waste of your
time, Bob.”
“I know, but I felt obligated. He is one of us. He says tangential influences drove him to whiskey this time. He’s waiting for the click in his head. He says he’ll stop when he hears it.”
Marisa had no idea what Bob had just said, but she refused to give a glut of credence to a conversation with a man awaiting the arrival of aliens from outer space.
She felt helpless as a babe to deal with the Agua Dulce citizens who surrounded her. How had her mother done it for so many years, shepherded this odd collection of eccentrics? Drop-outs were all Marisa could think to call them, people who weren’t dumb, but for some reason couldn’t quite make it in the big world. Like children, they had looked to Mama for wisdom, for guidance. Now, with their captain losing her mind, every time Marisa turned around, they were looking to her to replace her mother and right their ship.
“Hm. Well for his sake, I hope it’s soon.”
“Marisa, will you be speaking to the new owner?”
“I don’t know. I hope so. I’m sure he’ll contact us sooner or later.”
He nodded. “You will speak for our interests?”
Leaning on her elbow, she put her thumb in her mouth and bit down on the nail. What did he have to worry about? Unlike her and Mama, he owned his motel. Pecos Belle’s Emporium and Eats, however, was a tenant of the town’s owner, whoever that might be. If the new landlord told her and Mama to pack up and move, there would be no choice. That thought brought on an onslaught of problems and decisions she was in no shape to face tonight. “Of course I will, Bob.”
He nodded again.
They sat in silence for a while, rocking and looking toward the heavens. In Bob’s company, she couldn’t keep from wondering if They really were up there somewhere, looking back.
Eventually Bob stood up and said goodnight. He walked off into the moonlight, weaving through the cacti, sparse desert shrubs and fragile range grass that were making a pathetic effort to grow in the sand and rocks. She called after him to watch out for snakes.
Chapter 6
Marisa’s digital clock showed 4:45 in neon red. She had survived another night. With a silent groan she rolled over in bed and buried her face in her pillow. In the fog of half-sleep, the name Nikki Warner, the pregnant Nikki Warner, rose in her mind. How long had Woody been seeing her and was she the only one? As much as Marisa hated losing Woody, she hated being made a fool even more.
She flopped to her back and lay staring at the still ceiling fan in the gray morning light, considering the cruelty of fate. She and Woody had never even discussed kids and what might happen if one came along unexpectedly. His priority had always been his career and moving up in the Department of Safety. He even had visions of becoming a Texas Ranger. For him, she had been so cautious to avoid pregnancy.
The irony was as painful as a hard kick. Most of her life she had wanted a family. And friends. Growing up, the loneliness of being an only child, of living in an isolated place with no other children of any age, no parent except her mother and no more than infrequent contacts with her two aunts had almost overwhelmed her at times. She had told herself that someday she would meet a wonderful man and have a dozen kids who
“I suggested he wean himself off whiskey and go to beer,” Bob went on. “He’d sober up faster that way, you know.”
No, she didn’t know. She rarely drank hard liquor. What she did know was that it took almost nothing to set Ben off on a drinking spree and as he had gotten older, he had gotten worse. No doubt hearing about the sale of the town and the home where he lived totally un-bothered and un-pressured had been enough. And as for Bob persuading him to do anything, Bob might as well forget it. Except to a few people, Ben was downright rude. “That was probably a waste of your
time, Bob.”
“I know, but I felt obligated. He is one of us. He says tangential influences drove him to whiskey this time. He’s waiting for the click in his head. He says he’ll stop when he hears it.”
Marisa had no idea what Bob had just said, but she refused to give a glut of credence to a conversation with a man awaiting the arrival of aliens from outer space.
She felt helpless as a babe to deal with the Agua Dulce citizens who surrounded her. How had her mother done it for so many years, shepherded this odd collection of eccentrics? Drop-outs were all Marisa could think to call them, people who weren’t dumb, but for some reason couldn’t quite make it in the big world. Like children, they had looked to Mama for wisdom, for guidance. Now, with their captain losing her mind, every time Marisa turned around, they were looking to her to replace her mother and right their ship.
“Hm. Well for his sake, I hope it’s soon.”
“Marisa, will you be speaking to the new owner?”
“I don’t know. I hope so. I’m sure he’ll contact us sooner or later.”
He nodded. “You will speak for our interests?”
Leaning on her elbow, she put her thumb in her mouth and bit down on the nail. What did he have to worry about? Unlike her and Mama, he owned his motel. Pecos Belle’s Emporium and Eats, however, was a tenant of the town’s owner, whoever that might be. If the new landlord told her and Mama to pack up and move, there would be no choice. That thought brought on an onslaught of problems and decisions she was in no shape to face tonight. “Of course I will, Bob.”
He nodded again.
They sat in silence for a while, rocking and looking toward the heavens. In Bob’s company, she couldn’t keep from wondering if They really were up there somewhere, looking back.
Eventually Bob stood up and said goodnight. He walked off into the moonlight, weaving through the cacti, sparse desert shrubs and fragile range grass that were making a pathetic effort to grow in the sand and rocks. She called after him to watch out for snakes.
Chapter 6
Marisa’s digital clock showed 4:45 in neon red. She had survived another night. With a silent groan she rolled over in bed and buried her face in her pillow. In the fog of half-sleep, the name Nikki Warner, the pregnant Nikki Warner, rose in her mind. How long had Woody been seeing her and was she the only one? As much as Marisa hated losing Woody, she hated being made a fool even more.
She flopped to her back and lay staring at the still ceiling fan in the gray morning light, considering the cruelty of fate. She and Woody had never even discussed kids and what might happen if one came along unexpectedly. His priority had always been his career and moving up in the Department of Safety. He even had visions of becoming a Texas Ranger. For him, she had been so cautious to avoid pregnancy.
The irony was as painful as a hard kick. Most of her life she had wanted a family. And friends. Growing up, the loneliness of being an only child, of living in an isolated place with no other children of any age, no parent except her mother and no more than infrequent contacts with her two aunts had almost overwhelmed her at times. She had told herself that someday she would meet a wonderful man and have a dozen kids who
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