Borrowing Trouble(4)

“She even said she could ‘look past’ the divorce issue.”

“Oh, good lord. Where’d you find this woman?”

“You know Stewart,” he sighed, referring to their hometown. “Near as soon as I moved in, they asked when we’d work our issues out. And when I said there were no issues to work out, they started pushing girls from their churches on me.”

“Good grief. Good to know some things never change.”

“No kidding.”

“I had a date tonight too, but that was about as unsuccessful. When I said I was from Mississippi, he acted like he was surprised I knew how to use silverware and wear shoes.”

Jay snorted. “Nice.”

“How’s the new job?”

Jay had no complaints there. Over the last three weeks, he’d grown to enjoy his new job. The work was hard, but that was nothing new to him. He didn’t like how much time he spent over a desk doing bullshit payroll and logging mileage, but the boss seemed to like him and Landon was a competent trainer. He was still impressed that a man as young as Landon was so responsible, seeing how he had taken care of things for his dad at the expense of his own time and social life. The guy had admitted to not getting out much himself.

“It’s good. Ricky’s a good man to work for. The crew works hard and has been pretty accepting of me as their new boss since I’m a local boy. Most of ‘em know your dad, so I’m sure that helps.”

“That’s real good. I talked to the kids. They said they’re liking school.”

“They’ve been great. They can’t wait to see you, though.”

“Oh right, I meant to tell you, my fall break is the same week as theirs, so if you don’t mind them coming up that week, I’d love to have them.”

“Of course.” Jay loved his kids, but a week to kick back at home with just himself and the crickets would be nice. Since the kids came back from staying with Bethany for the summer, it had been chaos between moving, the new job, and typical teenage dramas. They missed their mom as much as he missed his best friend, but he knew they’d made the best decision.

“Great, well, I ought to get off the phone. I have work early. You have a good night, Jay. Sorry your date didn’t go well.”

“Sorry about yours too, Beths. Have a good night.”

When they hung up, he stayed on the back porch, finishing off his beer. He was glad he and Bethany had appeared to have made the right decisions. At least, he felt like they had. He knew the original reason for the kids to stay with him during the school year was because they were supposed to keep things status-quo, but over time and with Bethany’s new job, he knew she missed them terribly, but everything continued to fall in place as it should and they all seemed to be moving on well. He couldn’t help but wonder if the other shoe might drop. Seemed things had always gone a little too well. The only thing that had been awkward was when people were shitty to Bethany for leaving her kids “just to go to school.”

Jay didn’t begrudge her the need to go back. They’d married so young, fresh from high school, because that was what you did. With time and maturity, they’d grown to be great friends but no longer lovers, and the need to make their ways in the world beyond what they’d been expected to do had grown to be a heavy weight on their marriage. It had hurt at first for everyone, but they were all settled now after all these years and the kids seemed to be doing well, so they hadn’t done any irreparable damage.

He hoped.

****

“Ugh. That’s why I don’t let them set me up,” Landon teased. “They mean well, but my God, the church invitations get so f*ckin’ old.” Landon had overheard Jay telling Ms. Lynne about his abysmal date.

“I told them thanks for tryin’, but I’m gonna find my own dates from here on out.” Jay only half meant it. He didn’t really have much interest in trying to date any more than he’d done. It was awkward. He didn’t miss his ex that way, at all. He missed the companionship and sure, he missed sex, it’d been almost six months without it before Bethany announced she might go back to school. Almost four years with his hand was definitely a hardship, but he’d had enough to focus on that the only time it sucked was when he went to bed alone, yet again, when the kids were gone.

“Well, I better head on out. Looks like my trailer is ready to go,” Landon announced. They’d been friendly as one could expect, but Jay thought Landon always seemed to avoid much personal conversation and seemed to try not to spend more time than necessary in Jay’s company. It sucked, really, because out of all the people he’d reconnected with since he’d come back home, Landon seemed like the person he had the most in common with. When the man wasn’t being too guarded, he was pretty funny.

And for the life of Jay, he couldn’t figure out why he gave a damn if the man was guarded. That sounded like something Bethany said about him to the marriage counselor when they talked about the last few years of their marriage at therapy. Now he was off worrying about someone else’s inability to communicate.

While Landon trained Jay, they’d discovered they both liked the same football team and had a similar sense of humor. Landon also seemed oddly alone for a guy surrounded by people he’d known his whole life. Jay wasn’t sure how he knew that, but it was a vibe he got. And Jay could sympathize. He’d never really fit in around home, Bethany having been his best and only friend before they’d gotten married and moved off. Somehow, though, he sensed a kindred spirit in Landon and it’d be nice to be in the company of an adult. He was getting tired of drinking beer on his back porch alone. The novelty was beginning to wear off.