Keep Me Safe

Chapter Nine

The next week went by as usual. Floyd began working in the shop, much to Daryl's disapproval. Lottie stuck close to Mama and did everything with her, from cooking dinner to volunteering at the Wednesday night church gathering. Sometimes, when there was a lull in activity, she would help Franny with various chores.

Although the Miller household was always full of guests, it was especially busy this week. Every man under the age of thirty kept finding convenient reasons to drop by and stare at Lottie. They all knew her relation to Floyd, so they didn't make any moves, but they unashamedly ogled at and flirted with her. She took it like a champ and graciously accepted all the flowers that were given to her.

Agnes was sick of it by noon on Monday. Unexplainable jealousy would flare up in her chest whenever she saw their eyes following her. The urge to punch someone always followed, and the more she suppressed it, the more frustrated she became. Because of that and the subsequent shame she felt for being jealous, she spent much of the week outside.

Even when the fish weren't biting, she stayed at the lake for hours on end. There were numerous spots where the tree branches hung low enough for her to climb up them and fish from there. She would lay down on the branch and dangle the pole below her. If she felt like she was about to fall asleep, she would toss the pole back onto the shore and let herself drift off.

In the evening, she would make the hike out to James Nunally's house. If he was in the mood, they would play poker. Sometimes the other men in town, usually the older ones, would drop by and play a few rounds. If James was in a bad mood, they would sit out on his porch and indulge themselves in his liquor stash. James was one of the only people Agnes could consider her friend, and she had a feeling he felt the same way for her, even if he would never admit it.

Agnes had just settled into this routine by the time Saturday rolled around. She woke up around eight and went down the stairs, expecting to find the house empty. Instead, she was surprised to find that everyone was awake and milling around the living room. When she saw Lottie there, she realized she hadn't bothered to check if there was anybody else in her bed when she got out of it.

"What's going on?" she asked as she finished buttoning her disheveled overalls.

Lottie looked up at her and smiled. "Good morning. I hope I didn't wake you when I got out of bed. I tried to be quiet."

She yawned, still groggy, and scratched her head. "You're fine. But what're y'all doing?"

Mama swallowed the biscuit she was eating and said, "Floyd was gonna head down to the river to swim, and the rest of the kids all said they wanted to go along. We're waiting for Franny to bring the boys over, too."

"I figured you might want to go along," Floyd said, noticing her still-confused look. He reached down and picked up Argie, who was pawing at his feet.

It always to Agnes a while to fully wake up, and in the the meantime, her replies were always slow. "I was going to go fish," she said after a moment of thought. "You guys are noisy when you go." She made to grab her pole from where she'd left it by the staircase.

Daryl crossed his arms and stepped in her path. "Come on, Red. You've been keeping to yourself this past week. You need to get out and socialize with people."

She rolled her eyes and shoved past him. "Is that the whole reason for today's outing? Because you're worried I'm all lonely by myself?"

"Just go with them," Papa pleaded. "People are much better company than dead fish. It won't kill you."

"Yes, it will," she huffed.

On her way to the front door, Agnes made the mistake of catching Lottie's eye.