Page 30 of The Summer of ’98

Leroy’s nostrils flared. “Leave her alone, Noah.”

“Bite me.”

Noah left the room with his middle finger raised.

“That’s the first part of the plan settled,” Leroy said and rested his large hands on the curve of my waist. “I’ll talk to Mom; she’ll be home from church soon. Dad’s easy. He’ll just do what Mom tells him to.”

I gave him a quick kiss. I was excited to spend some proper time together. It felt like we had been struggling to make it happen since I’d arrived a week ago.

I told Leroy that I needed to shower and change before I went downstairs. I was still in my nightdress. He left me to it and I didn’t waste time, getting ready as fast as I could. My hair fell in its natural wave after I had showered, and I changed into a denim spaghetti strap dress and pulled a plaid flannel around my waist. We had plans to go to the grocery store to get tonight’s dinner ingredients, so I swiped on a little bit of gloss and mascara as well.

Downstairs it was quiet, save for the hum of the television in the living room. I peeked through the door and spotted Jacob in his recliner chair, a coffee in one hand, the remote in the other. He was watching the football highlights, still dressed in his Sunday best. I was about to continue in search of Leroy when he hollered out.

“Ellie,” he smiled. “How are ya this morning, darlin’?”

I skipped down the step and wandered over to the sofa. “I’m good, Jacob. How are you?”

“Not bad,” he scratched his head, and I noted what a full head of hair he had for his age. “Leroy’s helping his mother with something in the garage.”

“Oh, that’s fine,” I said, sitting down on the sofa.

“He’s a good boy,” he chuckled, almost more to himself than me. “Good thing about him going to Baylor, you’ll be close. Worked out nicely.”

He lifted his coffee and guzzled it back, lowering the cup with a content sigh. “Good school that school. I went there.”

“How come you moved to Colorado?”

“Eleanor,” he answered, his gaze moving between myself and the football. “She always wanted to raise kids in a smaller town, and she got a job offer nearby so it just sort of happened. Good place to retire.”

“Of course,” I nodded with understanding. I always imagined raising children in a small town myself. “It must be nice to have Leroy attending the same college you did.”

He let out a cheerful whistle. “Sure, makes me happy. He didn’t have to. He was free to do what he wanted. But I’m proud. Real proud.”

I could tell that he meant it in the way he smiled. His tone was bold and enthused. It was such a pure kind of pride and a splitting grin formed on my own face in response.

The sound of the back door opening and closing was followed by the chitchat of Leroy and Eleanor. They appeared at the living room entrance and the room became brighter when he looked at me.

“Honey,” Eleanor set down a box of old records and wiped her brow. “Leroy bought us tickets to the cinema tonight and he reserved us a table at Duke’s Steakhouse in Castle Pines.”

Jacob looked suspicious for a second. But he quickly smiled at his son. “What are the tickets for?”

“The Truman Show,” Leroy said.

“Oh, that looks good.”

“I would have liked to have seen Out of Sight,” Eleanor mentioned as she sat on the floor, whipping a dish towel out of her dress pants pocket. She wiped down the old records, clearing them of dust.

“You can go and see that next weekend,” Leroy suggested.

He and his father locked eye contact as he offered me his hand and pulled me into his side. It would appear as though Jacob could see through our sweet gesture. But he didn’t call us out.

“Ready to go to the store?” Leroy asked, taking my hand. I gave him a confirming nod and we started out of the living room. He watched his mother with a curious stare, stopping at the entrance threshold before we rounded into the foyer.

“Mom, what are you doing with those?”

She peered up and waved a record. “I’m donating some of our collection. I’ve kept the best, of course.”

“Let me know if you need me to run them into the thrift store.”

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