Page 101 of Movers and Shakers

“That isn’t how I remember it.”

“Maybe my desperation didn’t show, but I felt it.” She shrugged, a smile on her face.

My heart, even when down, skipped a beat. If it hadn’t been for Lila, I might have felt more.

I cleared my throat. “She’s been a good friend,” I said. “A great part of my support system.”

Her grin fell and I wished I could offer her more than friendship, but I knew I wasn’t ready, not after Lila.

“We all need that,” Wilfred said, oblivious to the meaning that Rose had picked up on. “Now, can I show you my garden? I think you’ll like it.”

I nodded, letting him lead me outside. The air was warm even this early in spring. He had just started pouring new dirt onto the old, telling us about his plans to get tomatoes, peppers, and other vegetables once the risk of frost was gone. It was nice to see a man doing something he enjoyed.

Peering around the side of the house, I saw a massive pile of split wood and an axe. I may not have known much about country life, but I knew there was no reason to split it when it was warm. A question bubbled up, but I shook it away. I doubted he would want to tell me.

Then Wilfred caught my line of sight.

“So you’ve seen my pile,” he said.

“Is wood splitting a fun pastime?”

“I do it when I’m mad, and after I found out about you . . . Well, I had to process it somehow. And I can still use it in the fall.”

I looked back at the pile. I was glad I hadn’t told him about Todd. If he’d already been this mad, just how much worse would it have been if he knew how awful it was?

“I felt the same way,” I said. “Let’s not mull on it.”

“Definitely not. The sun is setting and you probably have to go back to the bar.”

“I do.”

“I won’t keep you, then, but I also won’t let the two of you leave empty-handed. Come on, I have food for you.”

Wilfred sent us both home with salsa and chips. Rose offered to drive back, which allowed me to think.

I wondered what Ruth and Tom were going to say. We’d spent our entire lives in competition with each other and I questioned if they would be secretly jealous, or if they would be, once they knew it had gone well.

I would have been.

“You did good,” Rose said as we pulled off the smaller highway and onto the main interstate to Nashville.

“It doesn’t feel real.”

“To have a nice parent?”

“Yes,” he said. “I’ve never had one before.”

“Why didn’t you tell him about the man who raised you?”

“I don’t think he needed to know. He was already angry.”

“You don’t have to hide things to protect people, you know.”

“It’s a habit I’m trying to break.” I let out a sigh. “Doing it already messed up something once, but it’s hard when I look up to someone. I want to be easygoing.”

“Who did you look up to?” she asked slowly.

“It doesn’t matter. It didn’t work out and now she’s across the country.”

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