where Mom couldn’t see us through the open window. “And we drank all of Mom’s sweet tea…with a little of your dad’s SoCo mixed in,” I add with a small smile of my own.
“With a lot of his SoCo mixed in,” Drew says, and we both laugh. She reaches for the radio and tunes it to something neither one of us can understand, before she turns on her own iPod playlist.
“ See ,” I say, “talking to me, that wasn’t so bad. So, can we try to be friends for however long you’re here? I won’t even mention how your iPod is still shitting bubble gum. Jesus, it’s like someone’s tossing syrup on a chalkboard with nails scratching down.”
Drew gasps but I see a hint of a smile under her mock offense. “Fine…we have a lot to do and you’re right, it’s better if we get along. I promise not to say anything mean about your princess.”
Sunlight catches her ring as she turns up the volume. “And I promise to pretend that you’re not marrying Beaver Bucky,” I say, laughing.
Drew slaps my shoulder. “Ha! He wore braces after high school. His teeth are fine now, thank you very much.”
“So, how’d you like College Station?” Drew went to Texas A&M, just like her dad. Before we lost contact four years ago, our breakup was amicable because we had always known we would go to separate colleges. College seems like safe conversation territory; granted, she could still answer with, “You’d know if you had picked up the phone every once in a while,” but the fight is gone from her eyes, and that is always the first place to check. “What’d you study? History?” She always had an unnatural ability to retain information.
“ Yup. Double majored in that and museum studies. Now I just have to hope that the man Carol Duncan’s been talking to on Match.com moves her to Wherever, USA and I can take her job. For now, I work part-time with her when I’m not at Tickles or the pie shop . ” Carol Duncan is Glory’s historian at the library, and she has been since I was born; yet, the only history I’ve ever seen her archive happens on her web browser.
“So you’re—you and Buck—plan on staying in Glory?”
“Yeah. Farm’s finally doing well again, now that the boys know what they’re doing, with their uncle’s help. After almost ten years in Glory, I feel like I have a duty to the place. I just want to make it better, not somewhere people pass on their way to see something better. That’s why the arrival of all those people who are coming there because of Henry makes me really angry. That place is my home.”
“You’re not buying that Alejandra is just a jealous girlfriend?”
“Not unless he’s into kinky gunplay, but then again, with your father, who knows.”
I wish I could disagree. “His Ponzi scheme story is plausible , but I can’t see Henry trying to go corporate legit. Maybe it’s just about owing money from gambling on the fights, and he was ashamed to tell me.”
Drew’s expression darkens as she turns the radio down. “ Could be. Look, the truth is, Buck and I still go to fights. Sometimes. All over Texas. We haven’t run into him, so if he’s betting on fights still, he’s doing it somewhere else.” She shifts until her knees are nearly touching the gearshift. Like Mexico. “And death threats against kids, chopping off fingers, psycho Mexican ladies, guns…I bet that’s cartel.”
“Fuck.” I know as much but it’s still startling to hear. Are we really getting ourselves involved in this shit? Yes, but for HJ. I clench the steering wheel until the polyurethane burns my palms. We fall into silence again, but it’s not that awkward kind from before, so we leave the music low and settle into the comfort of the quiet car. With a magazine in her lap, Drew puts her feet up on the dash and waves her fingers in the breeze at her window. I set my seat to a deeper recline and drop my arm to the back of her chair. It might be a while before we’re able to just relax
“With a lot of his SoCo mixed in,” Drew says, and we both laugh. She reaches for the radio and tunes it to something neither one of us can understand, before she turns on her own iPod playlist.
“ See ,” I say, “talking to me, that wasn’t so bad. So, can we try to be friends for however long you’re here? I won’t even mention how your iPod is still shitting bubble gum. Jesus, it’s like someone’s tossing syrup on a chalkboard with nails scratching down.”
Drew gasps but I see a hint of a smile under her mock offense. “Fine…we have a lot to do and you’re right, it’s better if we get along. I promise not to say anything mean about your princess.”
Sunlight catches her ring as she turns up the volume. “And I promise to pretend that you’re not marrying Beaver Bucky,” I say, laughing.
Drew slaps my shoulder. “Ha! He wore braces after high school. His teeth are fine now, thank you very much.”
“So, how’d you like College Station?” Drew went to Texas A&M, just like her dad. Before we lost contact four years ago, our breakup was amicable because we had always known we would go to separate colleges. College seems like safe conversation territory; granted, she could still answer with, “You’d know if you had picked up the phone every once in a while,” but the fight is gone from her eyes, and that is always the first place to check. “What’d you study? History?” She always had an unnatural ability to retain information.
“ Yup. Double majored in that and museum studies. Now I just have to hope that the man Carol Duncan’s been talking to on Match.com moves her to Wherever, USA and I can take her job. For now, I work part-time with her when I’m not at Tickles or the pie shop . ” Carol Duncan is Glory’s historian at the library, and she has been since I was born; yet, the only history I’ve ever seen her archive happens on her web browser.
“So you’re—you and Buck—plan on staying in Glory?”
“Yeah. Farm’s finally doing well again, now that the boys know what they’re doing, with their uncle’s help. After almost ten years in Glory, I feel like I have a duty to the place. I just want to make it better, not somewhere people pass on their way to see something better. That’s why the arrival of all those people who are coming there because of Henry makes me really angry. That place is my home.”
“You’re not buying that Alejandra is just a jealous girlfriend?”
“Not unless he’s into kinky gunplay, but then again, with your father, who knows.”
I wish I could disagree. “His Ponzi scheme story is plausible , but I can’t see Henry trying to go corporate legit. Maybe it’s just about owing money from gambling on the fights, and he was ashamed to tell me.”
Drew’s expression darkens as she turns the radio down. “ Could be. Look, the truth is, Buck and I still go to fights. Sometimes. All over Texas. We haven’t run into him, so if he’s betting on fights still, he’s doing it somewhere else.” She shifts until her knees are nearly touching the gearshift. Like Mexico. “And death threats against kids, chopping off fingers, psycho Mexican ladies, guns…I bet that’s cartel.”
“Fuck.” I know as much but it’s still startling to hear. Are we really getting ourselves involved in this shit? Yes, but for HJ. I clench the steering wheel until the polyurethane burns my palms. We fall into silence again, but it’s not that awkward kind from before, so we leave the music low and settle into the comfort of the quiet car. With a magazine in her lap, Drew puts her feet up on the dash and waves her fingers in the breeze at her window. I set my seat to a deeper recline and drop my arm to the back of her chair. It might be a while before we’re able to just relax
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