1972

Chapter Five

   Yesterday was grueling my brain to the point I didn't want to be around Ivor. Tom decided to head into town for a few things and I was quick to go with him. Seeing an open journal from the front seat as I was about to get in the car, Tom eagerly jerked for it. I left up a suspicious eyebrow and he tries not to look at me. Sitting in the front seat I see books piled in the back and a leather satchel filled with dozens of papers.

   "What are you writing?" I say as the road comes into view, he looks embarrassed and doesn't tell me. "Come on Tom I'm sure it isn't bad."

  "It's just poems an stuff." He grips the steering wheel and turns along the twisted roads.

   "Poetry!" I get excited. "I don't know much about poetry but I'd love to read some."

  "Didn't you use to write poetry Letty?" He looks at me for a brief moment confused.

  "Yeah but that's until I found out I wasn't any good at it." I admit feeling silly afterwards. "May I read some?"

"Okay," he caves in. "I'll stop by later,but I still half to finish up a few things."

  It has been a while since I've read fresh poetry. In Kenny it's rare to find actual books of poems that haven't been destroyed, in fact it's not much of poetic place at all. The only poetry that is fresh is the one that comes from college and most regard to the war. Just by writers hunch something tells me the Tom's genre is different. We go into a swift silents for a moment and then I break the silents.

"So what are we grabbing from the store?" I ask. "Shouldn't we have ask the grocer boy to deliver it?" 

  "Malinda and I don't really know the store to well." He laughs at himself. "Honestly she said we needed more than what we had so grab what you think will need."

  I nodded and starting laughing too. I don't know what more we could have and it's not like we would be staying there for forever. When we get to the store it was practically vacant, the doors where mint green and there were a couple of bikes staked up along the side. The gasoline at the pumps were fairly cheap and parts of the garage repair shop were spread out on the dead grass. Inside the store was actually very nice but it carried a slight pungent aroma.

  "Get anything you like." Tom leans in and whispers over to me politely, before going into a different isles. 

   Grabbing a few Appleheads I place them in the crook of my arm and head for the  soft drinks. I grab a few Cream Sodas, Pepsi-Colas, and Ginger Ales so everyone could have some verity of what they wanted.

   "For a pretty lady you sure do like a lot of junk." I heard a southern drawl next to me.

   "Oh not all of this is for me." I turn around and see a guy from the slaughter department eyeing the items in my hands.

   "You need a basket for that?" He hands one to me. "So are you moving up here?"

   "No uh," I look around me for a moment until I spot Tom and point at him. "Me and my friends are staying up at the cabins for a few weeks."

  "Yeah?" He questions. "Where are ya'll from?"

  "Where from Kenny, it's about a day's drive from here." I say tucking a piece  of my hair from behind my ear. 

   "Yeah I bet." He looks me up and down with his deep expresso eyes.  "My name is Irwin."

  "Letty." I say taking his extended hand, yet feeling uncomfortable at the same time .

"Letty," Irwin sounds shocked. "I ain't ever heard no name like that."

  "It's a nickname," I laugh. "My real name is Scarlett."
 
    Normally I'd talk to anybody but this was just getting to be a little odd. Every moment or so Irwin's eyes would drift from my face and analyze me over. When he put a tooth pick in his mouth he'd move it from side-to-side to the point I felt out of place. I rush the conversation while keeping an eye out for Tom. When I finally see him, Irwin stops talking and I excuse myself out of our conversation. Not turning around I feel his eyes digging deep into the back of my head.

  "Did we get everything?" I say to Tom  and he nods his head.

     "Made a new friend?" Tom ask as we carry the stuff out.

   "Something like that." I say getting into the car.

   The drive back was made in half silents. I suppose this silents is the best because it is not like one another despised each other. None of us ran out of things to say we both just got lost in the moment. Tom was the first to break the silents. It was good to hear him talk he always lost in thought or attending lectures If not writing articles. The person beyond the words was so detached for socializing and you simply regard him as the type that sees everything.

  "I can tell you were upset due to yesterday's events." He avoids saying last nights dinner. "You left quickly after dinner."

   "I wasn't feeling to well." I lie so he won't feel guilty.  "Probably ate to much."

  "I know it was Malinda." He says pushing for something. "She's only like that because you are young."

    "Tom honestly it's alright." I say mentally kicking myself for the last part. "Where never really around each other often for it to mean anything."

    We leave it like that between us and arrive back to the cabin. Music was playing from one of the jukeboxes as Malinda and Ivor where outside on mint green, lawn chairs. I place the paper bag down on the mint green table and pull out my Appleheads. Malinda ignores my existence and starts demanding things of Tom.  I feel sorry for him but he knows how she can be. Overbearing and snobbish indeed she is naturally, but manipulative along with calculating comes with a cause.  I don't let her get to me instead I just put my head back and lose myself in my own head.