CHAPTER ELEVEN
CASH

“What’s got you so antsy, son?” Dad asked me the next day as I stared out of a window in the living room. “You’ve been staring at your Mom’s daffodils for ages now.”

Caught off guard, I gave a short laugh of amusement. “Just people and the strange things they do, Dad. Nothing important, really. Why are you up so early?”

“Well, I thought we could go fishing, like we used to, down by the river.”

I thought about it and how it might distract me from my irrational angry reaction to Mitchell putting his hands on Brenda yesterday. Every time I thought about it, I saw red. And I kept thinking about it, over and over again. I know I’m not home to find love, or even have a casual relationship with a woman, but I couldn’t help myself. The very thought of anyone going near Brenda with anger in their heart made me want to break things.

“Yeah, maybe a day of fishing would do me some good.” I turned to follow him out to the garage to grab some of our fishing gear. Dad stopped on the way to our usual spot to get some bait and then we were unpacking everything and setting up for a day on the bank of the calm, meandering river.

“I haven’t been fishing since I left home,” I said after a while, my fingers gently grasping the reel. “I’ve missed it.”

“I thought you might like a day of fishing. I miss those days with you.” Dad said, getting seriously close to having a moment with me. I smiled over at him, saying everything with my eyes. He gave a curt nod and then pushed his chin out towards a cooler he’d brought with him. “There’s drinks and sandwiches there. Your mom made the sandwiches.”

“Awesome,” I said and reached into the cooler to pull out a peach soda, grinning because I hadn’t had it in years. “Oh man, that’s my favorite.”

“I know, ” Dad said, looking…happy.

The stress of thinking about this album melted away. I might not be getting much done in that regard, but I was making up for it with the moments I was having with my family.

“So, what’s on your mind today, Cash?” Dad asked carefully, as if afraid he was overstepping.

“Nothing. I don’t know. It’s just something that happened. I caught a guy harassing Brenda. You know, Stacey’s friend?” I replied, not sure I should be telling the woman’s business like this, but I knew Dad would give me good advice, if he had any to give.

“Who was that? Brenda is such a sweet girl!” Dad turned to me with a shocked expression.

“Mitchell. You remember Mike Kettle’s son?” I said, hesitating to go into it further, but needing to know what Dad thought. “He grabbed her arm and was getting really loud about how she should take him back, that they were meant to be together.”

“Ah, right, yeah. They used to date. Still, that doesn’t mean he should harass her like that, but you should keep a cool head, son. But don’t let him do it again if you’re around, either. What I mean is, choose your battles, but fight the ones that matter.” Dad said and I nodded over his wisdom.

“You’re right. I’ll try to not go over there and kick his ass,” I said, my eyes going to my rod when it jerked, but then it stopped. Not a hit, just a nibble at my bait.

“You should ask her out.” Dad said a while later, after we’d both caught a few good-sized fish and let them go. “Stacey absolutely adores that girl. They teach at the same school, you know? She’s a good girl.”

“I know, I met her at the barbecue. She is nice and I like her, but I’m not staying here. And I really need to get some work done on this album. I have to focus on that and get the writing done so I can start recording it.”

Dad nodded slowly, as if understanding the pressures that came with pursuing a music career. “I get it, son. You have ambitions and you’re focused on them. But don’t forget to live a little. You never know when something good might come along.”

I smiled at him, appreciating his words of advice. “Thanks, Dad. I’ll keep that in mind.”

We fished for a while longer, talking about everything and nothing. It was good to spend some quality time with my dad, to reminisce about the old days and catch up on the new. As the sun began to set, we started packing up our gear.

“Same time next week?” Dad asked, tossing me a grin.

“Definitely,” I replied, feeling lighter than I had in days.

“I’m going to take your Mom out for dinner. Can you fend for yourself tonight?” Dad said as we pulled up to the driveway at the house a few hours later.

“Sure, Dad. I can go into town, do some more exploring.” I nodded, thinking about what I could do with my evening.

I showered and changed into a pair of dark blue jeans, a dark blue T-shirt, with a denim jacket on to keep me warm in the cool air of a spring evening. I grabbed the keys to Dad’s old Pontiac and headed down to Main Street. The day before I’d seen that Libre, the old bookstore in town, was still open.

I wanted to find out if they still had that awesome collection of vinyl records that they used to have. Some inspiration would be nice and the selection at Libre had always been great. As soon as I walked in Florence Green, the owner of the bookstore, gave a loud whoop of joy and came over to hug me. “Cash Saunders, as I live and breathe. It’s good to see you, boy.”

The slightly overweight, middle-aged redhead drew me into the kind of bear hug it’s hard to get out of. I hugged her back, enjoying the love she was giving me. “How are you, Flo?”

“I’m good, Cash. Real good. Better for seeing you,” Florence smiled, revealing one of her front teeth had moved over the other, hiding it, but giving her smile charm. She ran a hand over her short hair and looked around. “What brings you in?”

“I thought I’d check out your vinyl collection, if you still have one?” I ran my own hand over my hair, feeling a little nervous now. Here I was, again, out in public without security. But, this was my home town, I knew I was safe. The real worry was creating a media circus for those that I wanted to remind me I was a normal human being the most.

“I’ve got a bunch of your stuff in,” she said with a sly wink from lips she’d coated with purple lipstick. Florence always had been quite a character in a town that was mainly homegrown, conservative, All-Americans. I’d always admired her for the way she stuck out. “But yeah, I keep a good selection of vinyls in, for those that still appreciate music on a record player.”

“I always did like those pops and whistles.” I said, barely sparing a glance for her “Cash Saunders Collection.” I did have a sudden thought, though. I used to spend a lot of time here, back in high school, buying records and music sheets to learn my craft. I should do something for Florence. “Hey, you want me to sign any of that stuff for you?”

“If you want to. I keep it mainly for my own little spark of happiness. It brings me joy, knowing how you’ve succeeded out there.” She patted my back and walked with me the rest of the way to a table at the right side of the store lined with bookshelves. Plastic milk crates held hundreds of albums and I eagerly dug in, flipping through the selection.

I glanced up when I heard a soft thump against the light brown industrial carpet. Brenda was there, picking up a book from the floor. My heart immediately did a flip and a smile crawled across my face. I wanted to rush up to her, ask her if she was okay after yesterday, but my feet were planted to the floor.

She hadn’t looked up, hadn’t seen me, because she was studying the back of the book, engrossed it would seem. Then she tucked a lock of her blond hair behind her ear, revealing more of her pretty face. That just made the whole situation more endearing. Brenda looked up then, just as I, undoubtedly, got a love struck look on my face.

Brenda didn’t turn away, frown, or try to hide from me. Instead, she smiled, an open greeting that invited me in. I felt relief wash over me and it was only then that I knew part of my anxiety had been worry over whether she’d want to come near me after what happened at the grocery store the day before. The invitation in her smile washed all of that away. I lifted my hand and walked over to her.

“Hey, girl, what are you doing here?” I drawled before I thought about how stupid that must sound. I felt my smile falter a bit, but she didn’t say anything. Brenda held up the book.

“Oh, this place is my second home. I’m trying to find something to do this evening. What about you?” She looked behind me at the albums, her smile growing wider. “Looking for some new music?”

“Inspiration.” I said without thinking. I didn’t want to admit I was stuck and couldn’t think of even a verse to write down today. “How come I haven’t run into you before, Brenda? It seems like we should have met a long time ago, especially if you used to come here a lot.”

“Oh, you know how these small towns are. They’re not always as small as you think they are when you’re living there.” Her eyes moved away, back to the book, and I felt a sudden urge to spend more time with her.

“Hey, you want to catch a bite to eat? Mom and Dad are out for the night and I’m on my own. Then you wouldn’t need to buy a book.”

“No, but thanks. I love reading, when I get the chance.”

“Come on, surely you can’t turn down a burger from Wanted Burger and a cherry pie a la mode? With a cherry milkshake, maybe?” I teased, hoping my offer would lure her in. I leaned in a little, giving her a pleading look. “Do me a favor and don’t make me eat alone?”

“Oh, alright. You had me at cherry pie.” She laughed as she spoke, but all I cared about was that she’d agreed. My heart flipped again and I knew I was in trouble, but I couldn’t get her off my mind. Spending a little more time with her would be heaven.