On the Porch (Blogophilia 52.17)

The shack was a weathered gray stack of sticks overlooking the wide tidal flat. A getaway from the real world. Jimmy and the kids fished the marshes during the day while she spent most of her time on the porch reading trashy novels and getting pleasantly buzzed. Like right now. The white Adirondacks contrasted with the dark green paint of the screened in porch. The box of wine on the table next to her.

Outside, a shelf cloud storm had blown in, the wind tossing her still full curls.  Emmy came out to check out the weather, carrying her smoothie. 

"Mom?" 

"Yes, Sweetie."

"You and Daddy have been together for a long time." Emily took a small pull and looked out at the approaching rain. "Were there any other boys besides him?"

Kathy poured another glass of wine and was quiet for a moment. She'd never lied to her daughter, but this was a little personal. 

"Not really. A couple tried back in high school. But they never got anywhere."

"Ooh. Tell me more." Emmy's green eyes flashed.

Pulling her wrap closer together, Katy grinned.

"Well, you know Daddy and I fight now and then..."

"Then you make up and get mushy!" The teenager shot back.

Kathy cackled. "Well, yes." She took another sip of wine.

"Anyway, this was maybe 10th grade? We had a fuss over some dumb thing and sort of 'broke up' for a couple of weeks. I forgot what was said, but I stormed off and told your Daddy not to call me anymore. Everybody was shocked because your Daddy and I had been joined at the hip for so long."

"Did you cry your eyes out in your room like they do on TV?"

A mist came across the older woman’s eyes. "No, but I came home yelling and screaming, though. This boy, Bobby McLendon, took it upon himself to make me feel better. I wasn't having it, though. At least right then."

"So, what happened?

"He kept trying to call the house. Your Grandma had my back and kept saying I wasn't home or whatnot. Finally, she just told him to quit calling. Your Daddy called a couple of times, too. But I didn't want to talk to him, either. Grandma understood. She wasn't mad at him, just there needed to be a little time."

"A couple of weeks later, Bobby tried to corner me in the hall at school. One of his problems was that he smelled bad, like he needed a bath. I was trying to get past him when he grabbed my arm. I yelled at him to leave alone. Then all of a sudden, he got pulled away, and everything smelled like Old Spice. Your Daddy threw him on the ground and told him to leave me alone. Bobby got the message and slinked away. Daddy asked if I wanted to go to the Basketball game that night. Of course, I said yes."

"And then you made up?"

"No. I ended up with the stomach flu later in the day and couldn't go."

"Too bad it didn't happen with the other guy on the ground."

"Emily Morris, you are evil." Kathy laughed. "Anyway, Daddy brought me some flowers he picked out of his Mom's garden. I knew I wanted him back. The next night, I was feeling a little better, and we met at the back fence. He wore his Old Spice and put on the Lavender stuff I hadn’t had on since the fight."

"Cue the mushy music." Emily smiled.

"Yep." Another sip of wine." We talked a while. His mom was on her patio, and my mom was looking from the kitchen. We were hoping they'd leave us alone, but not that night. We did get one good kiss in, though."

The storm stopped. The sky burst into twenty shades of red and purple with the sun a magenta dot on the horizon.

"And you rode your Cowboy into the sunset."

Kathy screamed. God, this child was way too smart for her own good.

"It wasn't quite that way.  At least, not yet. But I still wouldn't trade him for nothing."