Page 38 of Troubles in Paradise
“It’s breathing room,” Irene says. “I’m going to split it four ways—me, Cash, Baker, and Maia.”
“Maia?”
“For her education.”
“AC…”
“Just let me do it, please,” Irene says. “She’s Russ’s daughter, Milly’s granddaughter. I’m not arguing with you about it.”
“Okay,” Huck says. “Should we celebrate? Maia is with Ayers tonight, so it’s just the two of us.”
“Shambles?” Irene says.
Huck chuckles. Shambles is Irene’s new obsession. It’s a brightly painted local bar at mile marker two on the Centerline Road that overlooks the Paradise Lumberyard and a mechanic’s car-strewn lot. The place puts thelocainlocal,which is maybe what Irene likes about it, along with the drinks. The first time they went, the bartender, Nathan, made Irene a rum punch that she claimed was “magic” (or maybe just strong). The food is better than it needs to be; it’s downright delicious.
Huck and Irene grab two bar stools, then order a couple of rum punches and pulled pork sandwiches with fries and slaw. They chat with the mechanic and his wife and a couple visiting from Toronto. Nathan slips Irene a second rum punch and, Huck suspects, maybe even a third, because by the time they’re ready to leave, Irene has talked the couple from Toronto into booking a fishing charter.
“Ha!” Irene says as they climb into the truck. “That was fun. And I made it rain! We have a full-day charter on Friday.”
“Good job, AC,” Huck says. When he pulls into the driveway at home, he turns off the ignition but he stays in the truck, and Irene stays in the truck, and it feels for all the world like he’s taking her home after a date. Should he kiss her? He promised to let her make the first move.
She places her hand on his thigh. She takes off her seat belt and scoots closer to him. She raises her face to his cheek; he can smell the rum and fruit on her breath. How magic were those rum punches? he wonders.
“AC,” he says. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
He warns her they’ll be difficult to read.
“It’s the story of their relationship,” he says. “Start to finish. I can give you the CliffsNotes version, if you’d rather?”
Irene shakes her head, clutching the journals to her chest. Instantly, he wants to snatch them back. Rosie never intended those journals for Huck’s eyes and shedefinitelynever intended them for Irene’s eyes.
“When I found out about Rosie and Russ, I told myself that I would find a way to forgive them,” Irene says. “Maybe understanding how it all unfolded will make that easier.”
No,Huck thinks.It won’t.“Maybe,” he says.
She’s standing in front of her bedroom door. The air between them is charged—yes? Maia is away overnight for the first time since Irene moved in.
“I appreciate you giving these to me,” Irene says. “I’m sure it was a hard decision.”
“Torturous,” Huck says. He needs a cigarette, badly. “Well, good night, AC.”
“Wait,” Irene says. She opens the bedroom door, sets the journals on the nightstand, and reemerges to give him a kiss. It’s a real kiss, long and delicious, that leaves Huck breathless and aching. She pulls away for a second, then comes back in for more. Huck is very careful with his hands. One is on her shoulder, one on the side of her face. Her fingers are linked through his belt loops. He forgets about the cigarette, about the journals, about the FBI, about the Jeep with the tinted windows, about Rosie, Russ, LeeAnn. He’s here with Irene in this moment. It’s all he wants in the world.
She reels him in; she lets him go; she reels him in a little closer. He’s hooked. She is the Angler Cupcake.
She lets him go. Pulls away. Smiles at him. “That’s all for tonight,” she says.
Huck raises his palms. He can’t speak.
She disappears into her room. Huck grabs the Flor de Caña from the shelf in the kitchen and his pack of Camels and goes out to the deck.
The next day, Irene is fine, she’s normal. She tells the boys about the money from Milly. Baker says he doesn’t need his share; he got a windfall from Anna. He tells Irene to split his portion three ways.
And Cash is…
“He seemed more relieved than anything,” Irene says. “Thirty-nine grand is a big boost for him, so I thought he’d be more excited. He sounds preoccupied. Tilda has just left on a work trip with an investor in this project her parents have cooking and he’s bothered by that.”
“Women,” Huck says. “They’ll get you every time.”
