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ings whatsoever.
I went down there to spy on Ry.
L ove and a Bad Hair Day 89
I couldn t help it. Here was a man I had spent more than
half my life mooning about and then he shows up in the
flesh, moves in across the street and suddenly he s acting
like mail-order-catalogue role model to my son. How could
I not be curious about that?
So there I stood, hanging back in the shadowy doorway,
listening in on whatever lessons in man talk, mechanics and
malice among mountain families that Ry had in store for
my son.
 Get in there and give it all you ve got. Ry put a protec-
tive hand on Dylan s back to help steady him as the boy
stretched his arm down into the crevices of the car s engine.
 This is fun, isn t it?
Dylan, intent on tightening a hose, couldn t see Ry s nod.
 Yeah. Doing a thing for yourself, getting your hands dirty,
building something, making something work, that s what
makes a man happy.
 You think we can really get the Starliner running again?
He looked up, his eyes shining.
 Having a first-rate mechanic like you on the job sure im-
proves the chances.
Dylan beamed.
My heart melted toward the man for his kindness just a
teeny bit.
Ry stroked two fingers along the bright chrome trim on
the side of the old convertible.
I shivered at the unexpected intensity that gesture had
for me. It was as if I felt every inch of that long, languid ca-
ress over my own body.
 Yeah. She s a beauty all right. Definitely worth what-
ever extra effort it takes to do right by her.
90 Annie Flannigan
He meant the car, not me, I reminded myself.
 Mama says we probably won t ever get her running
again, but that it s okay to imagine what it would be like to
ride in her. Dylan s muffled voice shook me back into re-
ality. Then he sealed the deal by using my jaded opinion
practically as his own.  She says it s the kind of car made
for dreaming and that real life wouldn t probably live up to
those dreams anyway.
 Your mama says that, huh?
Didn t anyone ever tell you that your mama can be a real ass?
I wanted to shout out, but did not have the nerve. I guess I
had never realized how much my fears and apprehensions
had affected my child. It cut deep to suddenly see how this
precious child, only nine years in this world, had learned
from the person who should have nurtured hope and faith
and innocence in him that dreams don t come true.
Crying is a weakness I have not afforded myself for a
very long time. But I had to hold my breath and shut my
eyes to keep the tears from spilling over.
 She s special enough to try for, though, isn t she?
Dylan patted the fender.
Well, maybe there was hope yet. Obviously Dylan hadn t
given up entirely on the idea of going for his dreams. I took
a deep breath at last. There was hope that I could still fix my
mistakes. Lord, what better feeling on Earth is there than
that?
 Now do I undo that bolt like you said? Dylan held up
a wrench.
 Yeah, get down in there. It ll be a tough one, so go ahead
and really use some muscle.
Dylan looked back over his shoulder. His eyes sparked
L ove and a Bad Hair Day 91
with pride at being entrusted with this job.  Okay, Mr.
O Malley.
He gave the boy s shoulder an encouraging shake.  Just
do your best, pal.
Dylan looked intently down at the engine. He banged
the wrench around in a way that might have seemed, to the
untrained eye, like work.
It didn t fool Jolie for a moment.
 Did I say something wrong? Ry asked.
 Grandpa Howdy used to call me  pal,  he murmured.
I shut my eyes. I had forgotten that.
 Guess the two of you got pretty close?
 I went over to see him every afternoon after school. He
didn t look at Ry.
 Yeah? Ry leaned in like he was enthralled with the en-
gine workings and put his hand on Dylan s back.  What
did you two get up to?
 We talked. Dylan gripped the steel wrench in both of
his hands.  He let me have a grape or strawberry soda from
the machine.
 Did he still use that slug on a string to fool the machine
into sending down a can?
 Naw, he had a plastic card he stuck in like at the bank.
 Modernization comes even to Verbena, eh?
Dylan turned the tool over, then over again, his shoul-
ders lifting and falling in a half-hearted shrug.  I guess.
 You know, my grandfather would cuss and connive and
crab and cry foul each and every time the vending supply
man came to stock the soda and candy machines. The old
coot tried to get around paying for anything because he felt,
just by virtue of being Howdy O Malley, he should get what-
92 Annie Flannigan
ever he wanted for free. Guess he mellowed with age. Ry
tapped his finger on the bolt Dylan needed to loosen.  How
else did you and my grandfather spend your time together?
Dylan dutifully went about the task.  In the summer he
watched me while I swam in the pool.
 Really? Ry raised his head and gazed in the direction
of the South Winds, though he couldn t have seen past the
backside of the auto museum.
I pressed my back to the wall and did the same. I couldn t
see anything either, but oh, how I did remember! [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]