the One Tree Hill house. Said he’d seen her there while he was walking up to the pier from his rental.”
“ And did you know at that point?” Cara asks.
“ Actually I did know. But something about him wasn’t right so I told him I didn’t know who he meant.”
“ You did the right thing,” Cara says.
“ Oh?” Joe’s sister asks.
“ Yes. Her ex. He has peaks and valleys. And in the valleys he obsesses about her.”
“ Does she know?”
“ Not as much as I know,” Cara says.
“ Is he dangerous?”
“ No. I don’t think so. I just think he’s lonely.”
“ He didn’t remarry?”
“ Twice already, and twice divorced. He got the kids he wanted but I don’t think he got the life he wanted.”
“ They never do, do they?”
“ Mine’s full, I’m going to get a replacement,” Shannon says.
“ K. That’ll give me a chance to talk to Mike. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“ Mike. Gotcha,” she says. She walks, stops, let Karen and Cara pass her, and waits for the support truck.
“ Full already?” the driver asks.
“ Yes. There’s a lot of trash.”
“ If you step on the beer cans first to crush ‘em you can get more in the bag,” the driver says.
“ But I might not be able to carry much more than this,” she says. “It’s heavy!”
“ Yeah you are kinda little,” he says.
Shannon vows to crush a few more cans in her next bag.
Shannon catches up to Cara and Karen.
“ So what are you two talking about?” Shannon asks.
“ The weather, the stock market, you know, regular Friday morning trash picking talk.”
“ Uh huh,” Shannon says.
“ What do you think we’re talking about?” Cara says.
“ You better not be talking about me and Joe,” she says.
“ What else would we be talking about?” Karen says.
“ Fine,” Shannon says. She speeds up and leaves them behind, working her way forward to catch back up with the other half of the topic of the conversation. As she approaches Joe she overhears Mike asking a question.
“ So what day of the week is she? She looks like a Friday to me.”
Mike and Joe start to laugh.
“ A Friday?” she asks.
Mike snaps his head around, and Joe’s laugh dies in his throat.
“ A Friday to Friday renter,” Mike says. “Which day of the week you arrive and depart.”
Joe’s face turns from pink to light red to flaming red as she watches. It is not a pretty transformation.
“ Oh look! My bag’s full,” Mike says. He stops walking, steps a little further off the edge of the road, and makes a show of waiting for the support truck.
“ A Friday?” Shannon asks.
“ He’s a jerk,” Joe says.
“ But he’s your friend?”
“ So I’m guilty by association?”
“ Are you?”
“ He was asking me which day of the week you were going to sleep with me,” Joe confesses.
“ Is that a big sport around here? Figuring out which day of the week you can plug the renter?” she asks.
“ For him it is.”
“ And for you?”
“ No.”
She looks directly in his eyes, searching him, waiting for him to flinch, or make some other show that he is lying.
He holds her gaze. Doesn’t flinch. Knows that this is a crossroads at a very early point in their relationship.
“ Why not?” she asks. “You’re a good looking man. You’re not married. There’s a lot of lonely women, divorcees, people who want to get away for a while. So why not?” she asks.
“ It’s not me. Not who I am. Since my wife died there’s only been a couple of women, and I’ll admit that both of them were renters.”
“ Since your wife died?” Shannon asks. “I’m sorry. But is that something you tell someone on their third date? That your wife died.”
Joe jerks his thumb over his shoulder at where Karen and Cara are still talking.
“ It was twenty years ago. And if I know my sister, she’s telling your sister everything she knows about me, about my wife, about our daughter, about everything. I don’t
“ And did you know at that point?” Cara asks.
“ Actually I did know. But something about him wasn’t right so I told him I didn’t know who he meant.”
“ You did the right thing,” Cara says.
“ Oh?” Joe’s sister asks.
“ Yes. Her ex. He has peaks and valleys. And in the valleys he obsesses about her.”
“ Does she know?”
“ Not as much as I know,” Cara says.
“ Is he dangerous?”
“ No. I don’t think so. I just think he’s lonely.”
“ He didn’t remarry?”
“ Twice already, and twice divorced. He got the kids he wanted but I don’t think he got the life he wanted.”
“ They never do, do they?”
“ Mine’s full, I’m going to get a replacement,” Shannon says.
“ K. That’ll give me a chance to talk to Mike. I haven’t seen him in a while.”
“ Mike. Gotcha,” she says. She walks, stops, let Karen and Cara pass her, and waits for the support truck.
“ Full already?” the driver asks.
“ Yes. There’s a lot of trash.”
“ If you step on the beer cans first to crush ‘em you can get more in the bag,” the driver says.
“ But I might not be able to carry much more than this,” she says. “It’s heavy!”
“ Yeah you are kinda little,” he says.
Shannon vows to crush a few more cans in her next bag.
Shannon catches up to Cara and Karen.
“ So what are you two talking about?” Shannon asks.
“ The weather, the stock market, you know, regular Friday morning trash picking talk.”
“ Uh huh,” Shannon says.
“ What do you think we’re talking about?” Cara says.
“ You better not be talking about me and Joe,” she says.
“ What else would we be talking about?” Karen says.
“ Fine,” Shannon says. She speeds up and leaves them behind, working her way forward to catch back up with the other half of the topic of the conversation. As she approaches Joe she overhears Mike asking a question.
“ So what day of the week is she? She looks like a Friday to me.”
Mike and Joe start to laugh.
“ A Friday?” she asks.
Mike snaps his head around, and Joe’s laugh dies in his throat.
“ A Friday to Friday renter,” Mike says. “Which day of the week you arrive and depart.”
Joe’s face turns from pink to light red to flaming red as she watches. It is not a pretty transformation.
“ Oh look! My bag’s full,” Mike says. He stops walking, steps a little further off the edge of the road, and makes a show of waiting for the support truck.
“ A Friday?” Shannon asks.
“ He’s a jerk,” Joe says.
“ But he’s your friend?”
“ So I’m guilty by association?”
“ Are you?”
“ He was asking me which day of the week you were going to sleep with me,” Joe confesses.
“ Is that a big sport around here? Figuring out which day of the week you can plug the renter?” she asks.
“ For him it is.”
“ And for you?”
“ No.”
She looks directly in his eyes, searching him, waiting for him to flinch, or make some other show that he is lying.
He holds her gaze. Doesn’t flinch. Knows that this is a crossroads at a very early point in their relationship.
“ Why not?” she asks. “You’re a good looking man. You’re not married. There’s a lot of lonely women, divorcees, people who want to get away for a while. So why not?” she asks.
“ It’s not me. Not who I am. Since my wife died there’s only been a couple of women, and I’ll admit that both of them were renters.”
“ Since your wife died?” Shannon asks. “I’m sorry. But is that something you tell someone on their third date? That your wife died.”
Joe jerks his thumb over his shoulder at where Karen and Cara are still talking.
“ It was twenty years ago. And if I know my sister, she’s telling your sister everything she knows about me, about my wife, about our daughter, about everything. I don’t
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