Page 42 of Home in the Country
OTTO: Naw, Rhea talked some sense into me—she’s pretty smart.
CASE: [link to classroom wishlist]
CASE: What about this?
OTTO: Dude, how do you even know this shit?
CASE: I have good ideas
HANK: I’ll make some freezer meals you can take over
WAYLON: I can make her kid a sign for his room. What does he like? Dinosaurs? Trucks?
CASE: I’ll give you some white carnations. They can do an easy color changing experiment—she’s a science teacher she’ll love it
SORREN: I’ll give my card to Rhea and she can make Fallon one of those relaxing baskets with the bath shit
WAYLON: Dude who are you?
SORREN: What? It’s relaxing but it’s weird if it comes from me.
CASE: I think I’m speechless
SORREN: Don’t make this a thing
HANK: I think you made this a thing
SORREN: Don’t act like you didn’t have a big-ass tub delivered like two weeks ago.
HANK: My girl gets what she wants
WAYLON: Marlee is real jealous of that tub – thinkin’ about gettin’ her one
SORREN: I hate all of you
CASE: I didn’t even do anything this time
SORREN: Guilt by association
OTTO: I love you guys and #realmentakebaths
SORREN: (middle finger emoji)
Smiling, I tuck my phone into my back pocket. I’m exhausted from the emotional whiplash of today, but knowing that my family has my back eases some of the tension.
I know I’m a lot, but now I just have to show Fallon that I’mwortha lot too. With my tentative plan in place, I throw my truck in gear and turn up “Chicken Fried” by the Zac Brown Band and sing all the way home.
14
FALLON
“Mommy, did you know…” Briggs pauses and waits till I meet his gaze before continuing, “that icemeltsin water?”
“I did know that,” I say, perking up. “Do you want to talk about why it melts?”
He shrugs and I pull the electric teakettle out and fill it with water. As we wait for it to boil, I put some ice cubes in a bowl and grab a measuring cup for the hot water.
When everything is ready, I explain the basic points and then hand him two empty cups. He places two ice cubes in each cup and then watches in awe as he pours room temperature in one cup and hot water in the other.
