Page 33 of Sweet T

“That suit fits you well.”

“Yeah? It’s comfortable.”

“Good. I put your clothes in the wash.” Tucker handed Evan a plate and grabbed a couple of bottled waters from the refrigerator. “Let’s eat by the pool.”

* * *

They ate mostly in silence. Tucker was ravenous, having not eaten since the previous day. Evan had eaten only half of his breakfast at the hospital, which was little more than two different colored mounds of bland.

“This chicken salad is delicious,” Evan said, sipping from his water bottle. “It’s the best I’ve ever had.”

“Thank you. It’s my Nana P’s recipe. We serve it at the tavern.”

“Well, I know why. I would pay for a sandwich that tastes like this.”

Tucker smiled. “She lives on.”

“And Nana P was your grandmother?”

“Yeah. Sorry about all the initials. I know it’s confusing. It’s difficult enough with families around here naming kids with the same letter.”

“What do you mean?”

Tucker raised his eyebrows with a do you know what you’re getting into? expression before beginning–“My great grandfather’s name is Trent. His son, my grandpa, was Truman. My daddy’s name is Titus, and I’m Tucker.”

“Oh, I see what you mean. But it’s not that uncommon, is it? In the south?”

“I think it’s fading away, like everything else. Slowly.”

Evan let that comment go. “You were telling me about the initials, though.”

“Yeah. My mother died when I was a baby. A few years later, my daddy–”

“Titus?”

“Yes. Titus met a man named Pedro. They fell in love. Suddenly, I had two daddies.”

“Daddy T and Daddy P?”

“No. Well, yeah, but just Daddy, and Daddy P. Then there are grandmothers.”

“I see where you’re going now. The only way to distinguish Nanas was to slap an initial on.”

“Bingo. I had three grandmothers. Nana P was the last... and my favorite.” Tucker pointed across the water to the pool house. “That was her house until she died. I moved in later.”

“Aw. That’s sweet.”

Tucker smiled. “Anyway, to add more confusion. People have lazy tongues. I don’t know if it’s a Southern thing or not, but folks around here like to shorten given names to first initials.”

“So people call you T.”

“Yes. Sometimes Sweet T.”

“Sweet T?” Evan chuckled.

“Yes. That’s Pedro, mostly. Occasionally Daddy... who is also known as Big Britches, by the way.”

“Wow,” Evan shook his head. “This is confusing.”

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