Deep Fried and Pickled (Book One - The Rachael O'Brien Chronicles) by Paisley Ray
Authors: Paisley Ray
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light on my turmoil and after a stack of flapjacks my stomach would be equally gratified. Until Katie Lee opened her mouth, and ruined my peace.
Determined not to ride back in Hugh’s makeshift metal on wheels, Katie Lee used Perry Mason persistence listing why she needed a car on campus. Silently I cursed her for choosing the topic of automobiles.
“Mama, Daddy,” she said, very businesslike. “I’d like to drive the blue Olds back to Greensboro this afternoon and keep it there.”
“Katie Lee, we’ve been over this before. Your mother and I think it’s best if you wait until next year to have a car at college.”
“Daddy, what if Rachael or I get sick or hurt? I’d hate to rely on public transportation to get to the hospital.”
The Browns were generous and treated me like family. I wasn’t happy that she referenced my name in reason number one. I didn’t want them to think I was unappreciative and feared that siding with Katie Lee would give that impression. I ordered another orange juice. “Do the sailboats race every Sunday?”
With bloodhound persistence, Katie Lee talked over me. “Mama, when I want to come home, you won’t have to fetch me.”
Having humiliated myself in the laundry room, I didn’t need any more red X’s on my scorecard. I sat in my chair and acted like Switzerland until Katie Lee kicked me under the table. “Rachael can attest. The food in the cafeteria is horrible. Isn’t it?”
“Well yah. They don’t serve crab cakes with pink sauce.”
“We need to make grocery runs, and the Piggly Wiggly isn’t within walking distance.”
Katie Lee possessed nerve like none I’ve encountered. Without a thought regarding the undiscovered damage on the cruiser van, she gathered momentum, pleading her case for the blue Olds. Drop it, I mentally transmitted, but she’d blocked my signal.
“Y’all, I can pack myself up at the end of the year.”
Mrs. Brown blew on her coffee. Lifting a spoonful of grits, Dr. Brown cracked a grin.
“Katie Lee,” Mrs. Brown said, “That’s silly. It took three of us four hours to unload you.”
In a last ditch effort, Katie Lee dug deep and teetered on the bullshit fence line. “Mama, I was considerin’ volunteering at the local children’s hospital.”
I busied myself by arranging pieces of my pancake into an intriguing Mona Lisa mosaic. The table fell silent as I ate Mona’s nose. Dr Brown looked at Katie Lee then at Mrs. Brown. Holy shit, he was caving. I knew Katie Lee’s number one reason for wanting the car. His name began with “N” and ended in “ash.” Sisterly protectiveness welled inside of me, and I didn’t want either of us to have contact with him.
Dr. Brown scraped the last of his grits off his bowl. “Where are you going to park the car on campus?”
AN ORANGE SPAGHETTI-STRAP sundress accentuated Patsy’s tanned arms that she waved at us from the dock. She leaned against the Brown’s covered Bayliner ski boat and waited for Katie Lee and me to walk down the path. “Hey y’all. I wanted to say goodbye before ya head back.”
The river slurped against the rocks, playing hide and seek with the shoreline. The three of us dangled our feet over the edge of the dock. Staring into the cyclical ripples she created with her toes, Patsy asked, “Have they noticed anything?”
“Noticed what?” Katie Lee asked.
“Stop messin’ with me. Have your parents seen the van?”
Katie Lee stood up, and leaned her back on a piling that was as tall as she was. “Y’all there’s nothing to notice.”
Y’all ? I didn’t bring up the subject and was miffed at the insinuation. Unable to clear my head of what Katie Lee confided the night before, worrying about the van took lower priority. Katie Lee needed to ditch her boyfriend, and I needed to convince her.
Baitfish darted under the shadows of my legs. I didn’t like being responsible for their short-term safety and pulled my feet out of the water. “What are
Determined not to ride back in Hugh’s makeshift metal on wheels, Katie Lee used Perry Mason persistence listing why she needed a car on campus. Silently I cursed her for choosing the topic of automobiles.
“Mama, Daddy,” she said, very businesslike. “I’d like to drive the blue Olds back to Greensboro this afternoon and keep it there.”
“Katie Lee, we’ve been over this before. Your mother and I think it’s best if you wait until next year to have a car at college.”
“Daddy, what if Rachael or I get sick or hurt? I’d hate to rely on public transportation to get to the hospital.”
The Browns were generous and treated me like family. I wasn’t happy that she referenced my name in reason number one. I didn’t want them to think I was unappreciative and feared that siding with Katie Lee would give that impression. I ordered another orange juice. “Do the sailboats race every Sunday?”
With bloodhound persistence, Katie Lee talked over me. “Mama, when I want to come home, you won’t have to fetch me.”
Having humiliated myself in the laundry room, I didn’t need any more red X’s on my scorecard. I sat in my chair and acted like Switzerland until Katie Lee kicked me under the table. “Rachael can attest. The food in the cafeteria is horrible. Isn’t it?”
“Well yah. They don’t serve crab cakes with pink sauce.”
“We need to make grocery runs, and the Piggly Wiggly isn’t within walking distance.”
Katie Lee possessed nerve like none I’ve encountered. Without a thought regarding the undiscovered damage on the cruiser van, she gathered momentum, pleading her case for the blue Olds. Drop it, I mentally transmitted, but she’d blocked my signal.
“Y’all, I can pack myself up at the end of the year.”
Mrs. Brown blew on her coffee. Lifting a spoonful of grits, Dr. Brown cracked a grin.
“Katie Lee,” Mrs. Brown said, “That’s silly. It took three of us four hours to unload you.”
In a last ditch effort, Katie Lee dug deep and teetered on the bullshit fence line. “Mama, I was considerin’ volunteering at the local children’s hospital.”
I busied myself by arranging pieces of my pancake into an intriguing Mona Lisa mosaic. The table fell silent as I ate Mona’s nose. Dr Brown looked at Katie Lee then at Mrs. Brown. Holy shit, he was caving. I knew Katie Lee’s number one reason for wanting the car. His name began with “N” and ended in “ash.” Sisterly protectiveness welled inside of me, and I didn’t want either of us to have contact with him.
Dr. Brown scraped the last of his grits off his bowl. “Where are you going to park the car on campus?”
AN ORANGE SPAGHETTI-STRAP sundress accentuated Patsy’s tanned arms that she waved at us from the dock. She leaned against the Brown’s covered Bayliner ski boat and waited for Katie Lee and me to walk down the path. “Hey y’all. I wanted to say goodbye before ya head back.”
The river slurped against the rocks, playing hide and seek with the shoreline. The three of us dangled our feet over the edge of the dock. Staring into the cyclical ripples she created with her toes, Patsy asked, “Have they noticed anything?”
“Noticed what?” Katie Lee asked.
“Stop messin’ with me. Have your parents seen the van?”
Katie Lee stood up, and leaned her back on a piling that was as tall as she was. “Y’all there’s nothing to notice.”
Y’all ? I didn’t bring up the subject and was miffed at the insinuation. Unable to clear my head of what Katie Lee confided the night before, worrying about the van took lower priority. Katie Lee needed to ditch her boyfriend, and I needed to convince her.
Baitfish darted under the shadows of my legs. I didn’t like being responsible for their short-term safety and pulled my feet out of the water. “What are
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