Page 4 of Ripped & Shipped
“Davis?”
“Yeah. It’s not easy being on the outside of a tight-knit group of people who grew up more like cousins than neighbors. I figure it’s our job to help him fit in.”
“You’re a good man, Chris.”
“Don’t let that get out to too many people,” I joke.
“Your secret’s safe with me,” Duke says with an affable smile. “Speaking of secrets, I’m still not sure what you do on Wednesdays when you leave town.”
I hum and then I take a sip of coffee.
“Is that your way of telling me to mind my own business?”
I just grin at Duke. Then I change the subject. My Wednesday excursions have been the topic of teasing and prodding in my friend group ever since I came home from my discharge over two years ago.
I’ve been trained to endure strategic interrogations. You’d think the inquisition from my closest friends would have nothing on a military shakedown. You’d be wrong. Relentless doesn’t begin to describe a group of small-town citizens trying to unearth a bit of gossip.
“I just need to shake the dust sometimes,” I supply.
“Shake the dust?”
“Yeah. Like when you take your bike out on the open roads to remind yourself this town isn’t all there is to life.”
Duke nods.
“But I always turn my bike around and come home. Everything I need is right here in this town.”
Duke’s voice rings with contentment. I envy him, and not in a way that means I’d take one thing away from him. I love seeing him so settled. I honestly never thought it would happen. He was far more restless than me only three years ago. Once he got serious with my sister, everything changed. Up until then, he had his weekly outings away from here too. I don’t bring those up now. That’s history. And he’s more than proven he’s committed to Shannon, and to being a responsible husband and provider.
I’m so far from that lifestyle it’s almost comical. At thirty-two, I thought I’d be settled down, raising a family, coming home to a wife—whether she worked or not. Sharing our dreams. I’d be the safe place each of us needs in a life full of uncertainty and heartbreak. And trust me when I say this. The pool of candidates for my life’s partner here in my hometown is shallower than a rain puddle in summertime.
Sometimes Bordeaux feels like a safe haven. At other times, it feels like an enclosure. A man could suffocate or shrivel if he never got out. It’s a mystery to me how most of my friends never left here. Rob did. He even went to MIT, but then, like a homing pigeon, he flew back as soon as he graduated. Of course, he had a girl on the brain. That’ll do it every time.
If it weren’t for my family and friends living here, I’d have chosen to settle somewhere bigger. But my family needs me. And after traveling the world, I realized friends like the ones I’ve got aren’t a given. So, I’m back.
Besides, this town is off the radar. I like that. I can get lost from the rest of the world here and blend in.
“What’s your day looking like?” Duke asks.
He’s the local history teacher and the co-owner of the gas station. But he’s got mechanics running that business nowadays, so his summers are easy-breezy, consisting mostly of days that bleed together. If it were me, I’d be filling my time with some sort of structure and responsibility. Duke’s fine letting all that go until mid-August when he preps for the coming school year.
“I’m popping by Dad’s office, and then I’m helping Memaw clean her gutters.” I tell him.
“Doesn’t Bryan Dashwood do that?”
I shrug. “She asked me.”
“Okay then.” Duke chuckles. “Want some help?”
“If you’re actually going to work.”
“I bet you I’ll clean more length of those gutters than you. Loser takes the winner to Mad River burgers Friday.”
“I thought we all were going there anyway.”
“Loser pays for the winner’s double bacon cheeseburger with extra onions, large onion rings, and shake.”
“That sounds like your order.”
