Page 50 of Small Town Beast 2: Saverin's Duet

“I’ll see what I can do, sir,” Absalom said.

Lorrie rubbed the bridge of her nose, feeling a headache coming on.

“Young man, would you like something to drink?” broke in Aunt Pearl. “Whiskey? Scotch? Vodka? Rum? Lemonade?”

Absalom’s lips twitched. “I’ll take a lemonade, thank you.”

Uncle Julius made a noise. “You don’t drink?”

“Nothing I didn’t brew myself, sir.”

“And what’s that? Corn liquor?”

“Apple hooch. I can’t stand the other stuff.”

“Bad for your teeth.”

Absalom grinned. His teeth were perfectly white and straight. “True enough.”

Losing track of the conversation, Lorrie stared at Absalom’s hands, which were holding Franklin Junior so gently. Those hands had built her entire front porch, rewired her kitchen and fixed her roof. Those hands had caressed her intimately. And just yesterday those giant hands had picked up an axe and—

She stood up. “Excuse me.”

Aunt Pearl exclaimed, “Lorraine, you’re green as a dollar bill!”

“Which reminds me, I need to go to the store,” said her uncle. “Y’all need anything?”

“I ate before I came here, sir, thank you.” Absalom looked up at Lorrie. “Can I talk to you outside?” he murmured.

“Alright.” Avoiding her Aunt Pearl’s eye, Lorrie took back Franklin Junior and headed to the front door. She felt better holding the baby in her arms.

Absalom shut the front door and now they were alone together on the porch. Lorrie stared at the road. More specifically she stared at the raccoon trying to get into theneighbor’s garbage can. The animal was damn near the size of a bicycle. It stood on its hind legs and hauled itself up the fence. Then it stretched out its paws and began trying to lift up the lid.

“Lorrie, will you stop staring at that critter and look at me?”

The sunset, now sunk deeper between the hills, had turned Absalom’s white-blonde hair into autumn leaves. He stared down at her, his hands thrust into his pocket, studying her face. She smiled at him crookedly.

“Hey.”

“Hey. You look nice,” he said.

“Thank you.”

“It was nice to meet your folks.”

“I’m happy that you did. I should have come around to see them more.”

“They love you a lot.”

“I know.” Lorrie could feel Aunt Pearl’s eyes on her through the lace curtains.Jezebel,she imagined her aunt was thinking, which was not the truth so much as Lorrie’s own image of herself.

Because all Aunt Pearl was really thinking was,I don’t think little Lorraine will stay for dinner after all. Maybe I can send her off with some of that pecan pie in the fridge, if Julius didn’t eat it all. I hope that baby knows what she’s doing. Nice girl, but she’s too much of her Mama. I’ll pray for her.

“Let me say my piece, and then I’ll leave if you want me to,” said Absalom.

“Say it, shug,” said Lorrie quietly.

“I would do anything to make you happy. You know how much I poured into you, just to see you smile and taken care of. I didn’t do it to buy your love or your body. I did it because you are the only person in the world I love and trust. But I know I got fucked up ways. I’m fucked up. ‘Cause as much as I love you, Lorrie, I made a promise to myself long before you and I evermet. I wanted to be in charge of the Harvest. And in the end, I put my ambition before you. But you don’t deserve to come second place for anybody. Not even for me. I just don’t know where that leaves us ‘cause I still can’t let you go even if– even if maybe I should.”

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