Chapter 18

Life was grand until I ran into Freddy, Trent’s younger brother outside the grocery store. I was picking up some supplies to make a cake. Mom wanted to impress Mr. Bow-Ridge by baking a blueberry cake using a secret family recipe. Freddy was walking along the sidewalk with his hands in his pocket. His usual chipper attitude was replaced with a somber shimmer.

“Hi Freddy,” I said. The last time I had seen him was during the week of exams.

“Vivvie, I’m happy to see you. Can we talk for a few minutes?” He asked.

“As long as the butter doesn’t melt, I’ve got time.” I said. We sat on a bench outside the barber shop. I hoped I wouldn’t be put through a series of twenty questions regarding Trent.

“I wish things were back like they used to be. It feels weird not having you around. Even Kayla is depressed. She hates Eva. I do too. That girl’s a bitch and can be cruel. She tells Kayla she’s fat. I don’t think so, do you?” Freddy looked so unhappy. I hadn’t thought of how breaking up with Trent would affect others.

“Kayla’s not fat. Make sure you tell her every chance you get that she’s beautiful. Eva will get tired of Trent eventually. I don’t think your parents will let it get so far anyway. I can’t see the daughter of a maid marrying their son.”

“Will you please take Trent back? I think he would go for it. I heard him tell Paul that he misses you and wishes he had treated you more like a girlfriend instead of a prize.”

“I...I..don’t think I will, Freddy.” A lost of how to describe my feelings caused me to stutter a bit. “It’s difficult to tell you this but, I think I love Javelin. It’s not that I don’t care about Trent. He was my first love, but this is different. It’s hard to describe.”

“Little James? Trent said you were a fool to be involved with him. Kayla thinks so too, and so does a lot of other people. Vivvie, if you don’t watch out, you’ll get hurt. That guy is trouble. I can’t help but think that something is going to happen before he leaves town. It always does, when he’s around longer than a weekend.”

“Don’t be silly. You guys have made Little James into something he’s not--a monster. All of you should give him a chance. I’ve got to go. The butter is going to melt. Say hi to Kayla.” I walked away. I had too many things to do besides listen to negative talk.

It was Saturday, the day before dinner with my family and Javelin’s. Mother worked on her cake with great care. I left the kitchen so that she could concentrate on the task. Dad was in his workshop talking to one of his best workers, Tiki Smith. Tiki was a few years older than me. His mother was the daughter of Sadie Ruth, who owned the local tavern. Tiki’s mother was a wild one during her youth. She ran off with a traveling salesman and was gone for a year. When she came back, she had a new baby boy that she named Tiki. The traveling salesman was long gone and Tiki’s mom didn’t know where he was. Tiki was the only souvenir she brought back from her travels. To this day, no one knows why she named him Tiki.

“Hey Viv,” Tiki said when he saw me. “Guess what? I’m going to be a deputy. I came by to tell your day, I won’t be working full time anymore.’

“That’s wonderful, Tiki.” I said, giving him a hug.

Father said, “Tiki, don’t forget where you came from. Welding is a part of you.” They shook hands. Tiki said, “I won’t. You’ll see me when I’ve got time off. I still plan on working part-time if you’ll let me.”

“Son, you’ll always have a job as long as I’m alive. Well, I need to get back to work, if I want to finish before supper. Take care, Tike.” Father went back to working.

“Your dad’s like a father to me, Vivian. I appreciate all he’s done for me over the years.” Tiki said, watching Father walk away.

“When did you decide to join the sheriff’s department?” I asked. Tiki motioned me over to his truck. He lowered the tailgate and we sat there, catching up on with each other.

“A few of the old guys want to retire and there was an opening. Sheriff Florence thought I would be a great choice for the job. So here I am. Had to take a few courses at the Technical college but I passed easily. So there’s no worries.” He grinned and added, “Better watch yourself, you wild woman. There’s a new deputy in town.”

I laughed, “Like I get in trouble now.”

“I’ve heard the gossip around town. How that mean ole Vivian Wilde broke little rich boy Trent Sawyer’s heart and is going to run off with that wild Bow-Ridge boy!”

Somberly, I said, “Part of the gossip is true. I think I did break Trent’s heart. He’s with Eva now. She’s consoling him.”

“Eva’s bad news. She’s too aware of her feminine wiles and uses them for the wrong purposes. I was over at Granny’s the other night and saw Eva talking to a man the other night outside the tavern. Don’t know who the man was. Granny says she knows but couldn’t tell, and I know for a fact it wasn’t Trent or any of the other guys around town, because this guy was tall.”
“Eva surprises me with the way she’s been acting. I thought I knew her but I don’t. She wasn’t like this until Javelin appeared.”

“Javelin? Oh you mean Little James. Can’t get used to that nickname. Is the gossip true? Have you fallen for this guy, Viv?” Tiki asked. He leaned forward until his forehead almost touched my temple.

“Silly. Don’t tell anyone but I think so. He’s fun and I believe he genuinely likes me. And for the record, Deputy Smith, we’re not going to run off together.”

He said in a semi-serious voice, “Maybe you should. There’s a curse hanging over his head. Maybe you should run away from all the guys around here.”

“Everyone’s obsessed with this curse. Jeepers, Tiki, I’m tired of the warnings.” I was getting a bit irritated with him. He was just like all the dull people in this town, stuck in superstition land.
Knowing he had stepped on my toes, Tiki winked at me and said, “You could run off with me, if you like the older brother sort of guy.”

We laughed. Tiki was the average sort of guy. Nothing really stood out about him, except his personality and I knew he would settle for a Susie Homemaker sort of girl before trying to tame the freedom loving artist inside me.

He left a while later and I went inside to check on Mother and her cake. She was taking it out of the oven with great care so that the center didn’t cave in. I held my breath until it was safely on the kitchen counter. She proclaimed, “There, it’s perfect.”

From the doorway, Father said, “Sure smells like it. Is it for me?” He was teasing her.

Mother said, “No but if you’re a good boy, you can nibble on the cook later.” I smiled at both of them, because they never acted so carefree.

The urge to sketch drove me upstairs. I flipped through my sketch pads to find one that had a blank page. There were few that did. I was amazed at how many sketches I had of Javelin. An idea came to me; I could give Mr. Bow-Ridge some of the sketches. I knew he would love to have them. He reaped much affection on Javelin and it was returned twice over.

The phone rang and I answered it, hoping it would be Javelin. “There’s a full moon tonight,” he said. “Can you come out?”

“I’ll ask.” I put the phone down and asked if I could go out for a while. Mother and Father answered “Yes” at the same time. I grabbed the phone and whispered, “Yes.”

“Blueberry Girl, I want to kiss you in the moonlight tonight. I know it’s straightforward and a bit bold, but I can‘t help it. I want to touch your hair under the full moon, surrounded by blueberries.”

My heart skipped a few beats. With a shaky breath, I said, “I want to see you, too.” My mind flashed to images from fantasies I had, about us making love amongst the blueberries. And in these fantasies, he and I are in perfect synch.

“Good, then I’ll be over at your house in about 20 minutes. Is that ok?” He asked, “Will that give you time to get ready?”

“Yes. It will. I’ll see you then.”