Page 19 of Nothing But It All
“It’s called a ‘char-cute-rie’ board these days. Get it together.”
My laughter trails off. “Sorry. I’m not as hip as you.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Anyway, I need you to please go by my house and grab my insulin and bring it to me.”
I pour half the bottle of creamer into the mug.Fuck it.“Where are you? The diner?”
“No ...” The pause lingers, going on too long for it not to intentionally be a cliff-hanger. Then: “I’m at Story Brook.”
I stare straight ahead.Is he kidding me?
“I decided to come up here this morning and get some fresh air. Hell, we own these cabins and haven’t been up here since Christmas. Kinda stupid to let them go unused, if you ask me,” he says. “Maybe do a little fishin’. Might see if Mrs. Shaw is around and do a little face-sucking.”
My head shakes back and forth as I grin. “You better hope she’s on the pill.”
His laughter is fast and loud—so loud that I have to pull the phone away from my face. It’s infectious. I find myself laughing too.
“She’s about as old as I am,” he says, as if I don’t already know. “I reckon she lost the ability to have kids about thirty years ago.”
“You never know.”
“I do have high testosterone. I bet I still have some swimmers.”
“Harvey,stop it,” I say, my tone light with humor.
“Fine. But will ya bring it to me or not? I don’t want to have to ask that husband of yours, because he’ll give me shit about being here in the first place. He forgets that I managed to raise him and not get him killed. So I don’t know why in the hell he thinks I can’t be trusted alone at Story Brook, but that’s what’s in his head.”
“He’s probably worried you’ll knock up Mrs. Shaw too.”
Harvey chuckles.
“I suppose I’ll bring it,” I say, sipping my drink. “I mean, it’s three hours there and three hours back. It’s not like I have anything to do today.”
“Didn’t figure you did. And if you did, it doesn’t hold a candle to seeing this old face.”
“That’s true.”
He sighs. “Can you not tell Jack about this? Or those kids of yours. I hate to tell ya, but they’re little snitches. I lit a cigar a few weeks ago, and they told their dad within ten minutes of pulling out of the driveway.”
“You don’t need to be smoking.”
“Honey, that’s the least of my worries. I had a pound of bacon for breakfast. Now, will you stop at the store and bring some stuff for a char-cute-rie?” He says the word in his fanciest accent. “I have some beer up here. We’ll have a little picnic-y.”
“No beer.”
“You’re no fun.”
“I’ll have to tell Maddie, because I’ll have to bring her. Jack and Michael went fishing this weekend.”
Harvey coughs again. “Yeah, Jack said something about that. Why didn’t Miss Maddie Moo tag along?”
“She had cheer, but I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t have gone with just the two of them anyway.”
“Well, bring that little darlin’ with you. It’ll be good to see her too.”
I sigh. “We’ll see you at ...” I glance at the clock on the stove. “I don’t know. Around three o’clock? Maybe four?”
“Sounds wonderful. Thanks, sweetheart.”
