Old Flames

Old Flames: Chapter 5 (1st part)

Chapter 5 (1st Part)

The smokey aroma of hot dogs on a grill pulled Lainie in one direction, while Chloe tugged on her left arm, saying, "I want to feed the bunnies," and Chris jerked on her right arm, demanding to go on the hay ride.  Lainie had been at her wit's end since she woke up this morning and discovered that she was out of coffee.  After a sleepless night of soothing Chloe's night terrors and Chris' complaint's about his sister keeping him awake, and knowing that she had until tomorrow afternoon to finish the editing of the non-fiction novel she'd been putting off ever since Aaron's dog scared the living daylights out of her, the absence of her morning caffeine hit had done nothing to soothe her nerves. 

She was as raw as a freshly butchered pork roast.

"I'll tell you what," she said, trying to reason with her children.  "Let's get some lunch first, and then Gramma can take Chloe to the petting zoo, and I can take Chris on the hay ride."

Chloe immediately agreed, but Chris pouted and muttered, "I'm old enough to go by myself."

Lainie chose not to comment.  She shepherded them toward the end of the street where the picnic tables were sitting in a jumbled mess.  Her mother followed along with a bored look on her face.  This, apparently, was not her first block party.

Lainie, like her children, had never been to one.  The small community of Cammack Village, which sat smack dab in the middle of the Little Rock city limits, started this yearly tradition after she left home.  And she was glad it was only held once a year.  Everywhere she looked, she saw faces of people who knew her mother and wanted to stop and chat, there were the mingling smells of the cookers at one end of the street and the petting zoo at the other, and the noise!

Lainie wished she'd had the sense to beg for some coffee from her neighbor this morning.  After an afternoon of these kinds of entertainments, she'd be sloshing a bit of whiskey in her cup of Joe. 

She wanted to have fun -- she really did -- but it was more than the racket and odors and lack of a mental boost that frayed her nerve endings.  Everywhere she turned, there was Aaron.  And that blasted dog of his...on a leash, thank God, but still there.

He never approached her, and if he saw that they were walking in the same general direction, he'd suddenly change course and otherwise occupy himself by making friendly conversation with whomever was nearby or tending to his dog.  He was avoiding her, and a part of her was glad that he had the sense to know she didn't want a relationship -- of any kind -- with him.

But there was that small section of her brain, that one that controlled her heart, that stubbornly refused to listen to any arguments.  Aaron Dozier was there to stay.  End of story...now go away, and let the brain do it's job.

By the time Lainie managed to wash down her hot dog with a gulp from her water bottle, Chloe had dragged her grandmother toward the animals, and Chris shifted impatiently from foot to foot.  Lainie smiled wearily at him and let him lead her past the smoking grills to a group of ATV's hauling smallish trailers of loose hay bales. 

"Hurry up, Mama," Chris urged, galloping ahead of her, "It's about to leave!"  Lainie walked a little faster, even though there was only two other people on the trailer and showing no evidence of departing any time soon.  Chris scampered over the back of the trailer with a huge grin on his face.  She stopped and stared at him for a moment.  Neither of her children had much of their father's countenence in them, but there for a moment...just a split second, her son's smile looked a lot like Gary's had been in the beginning of their marriage.

Lainie's heart stopped briefly.  Not because she missed her husband much, but because she knew her children missed their father.  Gary had been charming, eager and vibrant when she met him in college.  And those qualities were what won her heart to him.  After graduation, he wanted to start a business of his own, and had managed very well for all of two years.  Lainie never knew the extent of the failure.  Gary kept all that private...like so many things.  But she had known that when he accepted a job at that software company, he'd changed from the man she married to the man she buried.

Suddenly, Lainie knew that though she wished for him to still be alive -- for the sake of her children -- she didn't love him any more.  However, that didn't change the fact that Chris needed a strong, good male role model in his life.  He had no one who fit that description.

"Mind if I join you?" a voice asked behind her.  She turned and came face-to-face with Aaron, but he wasn't looking at her.  The Fire Captain was quirking an eyebrow at Chris.  "Bowser, here, likes the ride...that is, if your Mama don't mind riding so close to a dog."

Chris stared at Aaron.  Then he blurted out, "Mama hates dogs."

Aaron smiled and chuckled.  "Yeah, I've been told.  Well, maybe I'll catch the next trailer."  He didn't glance at Lainie at all as he turned to go.  Chris jumped up and shouted, "Wait, you can ride.  Can't he, Mama?  You won't mind, huh?  That old dog won't hurt you."

Lainie glanced down at Bowser.  The "old dog" looked half asleep at it was.  She looked up at Aaron, who still refused to meet her eye, and dejectedly said, "No, I don't mind." 

Chris whooped happily and scooted over for Aaron to sit next to him.  Lainie perched on a hay bale across from them, warily studying the way Aaron and her son became fast friends.

Just as she'd been thinking about role models, here came the man Lainie didn't want in her son's life.  The man that had insulted her family, insulted her, and then purposely avoided her for the next decade.  But her son didn't know that.  Chris saw a man with a cool job, a cool dog, and a ready grin.

And for her son's happiness, she'd not say anything...for now.  But if Chris started talking Aaron into doing things, like building treehouses and having a sleep over, she'd have no choice but to take away another man in his life.  Aaron Dozier could be Chris's friend, nothing more.