Forever Country (8 page)

Just before closin’ time, Abel Lee comes into
the diner. He’s the last customer and offers to leave so we
wouldn’t have to stay.

“
Get in here. We still have
plenty of work to keep us busy while you eat.” I wave him into the
empty restaurant.
 

“
I don’t want to keep you,”
he says, removing his cowboy hat.

“
Sit at the counter so I
can talk to you while I do my side work.” I pat the counter top so
he knows I’m serious. If he were anyone else, I would let him sit
anywhere he wanted.

He reluctantly takes a seat
and asks, “Are you sure?”
 

“
Yes, I’m positive.” I hand
him the menu. “Because it’s so late, we don’t have any specials
left.”
 

He browses the menu and smiles. “I really
just want a big ole greasy cheeseburger and some steak fries.”

“
Now that, I can get for
ya.”
 

“
With a
Coke?”
 

“
Comin’ right
up.”
 

We talk about the holidays
and laugh about old times. He was a few grades ahead of me in
school, but we know a lot of the same people. He says he’s been
away trying to find himself and realized when he came back home,
that maybe he lost himself along the way.
 

“
Sadly, I know what you
mean.”

He lays his hamburger down
and looks at me. “Really? You seem to be really put
together.”
 

I can’t look him in the
eye, I stare at the counter. “Looks are quite
deceiving.”
 

He pays his bill and leaves while I’m in the
back. When I get to the counter to clear his glass and napkin,
there is a hundred-dollar bill on the paper place setting.

I hear, “Looks like someone has an
admirer.”

I look over my shoulder; Bill is refillin’
his drink. Bill has been the cook here ever since I can
remember.

“
I’ll be right back.” I
make a dash for the door and hope Abel Lee is still within
hollerin’ distance. I’m happy when I see him openin’ his truck
door.

“
Hold up,” I yell, waving
the hundred-dollar bill in the air. He pauses and waits for me to
catch up with him. “What’s this?” I demand.
 

“
Your tip.” He looks
confused.

I try to soften my scowl.
“I can’t take this!”
 

He looks at me and I think
I see hurt and sadness in his big brown eyes. “Savannah Mae, it’s
just a tip. It’s not a big deal.”
 

I take a step closer and say, “This is not
just a tip. It’s way too much.” I slip the money into his open
hand. “Thank you, but I honestly can’t take it.” I want to explain
that this is an insult, but I don’t. I’m hurt that he even did
this.

He watches me. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean any
harm.”

“
It’s okay.” I try to
smile. “Don’t do it again.” I turn and walk away, leavin’ him
standin’ near his truck.

I prayed to God for good tips, but I don’t
want a tip I didn’t earn.

Abel

I stand at Pop’s truck I
borrowed, holding the money I left Savannah Mae for her tip. I
watch her walk into the diner. My mouth hangs open and I’m
speechless. I swear, I only had good intentions. Now I feel as
though I’ve offended her. That was never my intent. I just wanted
to lighten her load a little for the holidays. I pull my truck
around back and park beside her car. I need to clear this up. But
how?
“Sorry, I never meant to insinuate
you couldn’t make it on your own.” Or, “Sorry, I didn’t mean for
this to look like a handout.”
I’m such an
idiot!
 

From the pickup I watch as
she and the cook lock up and exit the back door of the diner. I get
out of my truck and lean against the truck bed waiting for her. The
cook sees me first. He whispers something to her and she nods. I
hear her say, “It’s okay, you can leave.”
 

Still leaning against the
pickup, I watch as he cautiously walks to his truck and
drives away.

“
I thought you would be
home by now.” She pulls out her keys and unlocks her car
door.
 

I push off from the truck and stand taller
than I normally would. “Not until I resolve this misunderstanding.”
I slowly walk towards her, almost expecting for her to hit me. If
she did, I’d have to say that I was deserving of it.

She leans against her car
and pulls her coat tighter around her. “You think this is a
misunderstanding, Abel?”
 

She called me Abel. I
think she’s mad. She only calls me Abel Lee.
“I do. I thought I left you a one-dollar bill.” I crack a
smile, but quickly try to hide it.

She giggles and her smile
lights up her face. “You did not.”
 

I want to say I did, too,
but it would be a lie. “I wish I did, but I didn’t. I didn’t mean
to insult you either. I was just trying to help
you.”
 

“
By giving me money
I
didn’t earn?”
 

I watch her and I want her to understand. “By
trying to do something nice for you.”

“
Abel, some people might
like and appreciate a tip like that. But to me, it’s an insult.
Almost like a handout.” She stops, and I give her a minute. I think
about what she is saying. “If you want to do something nice for me,
bring me flowers, or bring me firewood, or buy me a drink or
something.”
 

“
Really? Firewood?” I want
to laugh, but I want to smooth this over more.

She smiles and it makes me
smile. “Maybe not firewood.” She thinks for a minute and says,
“Coffee would be nice. A normal tip would be nice. A slightly
bigger than normal tip would be nice. Polite conversation might
also be nice.”
 

I hold up my hand in
surrender. “Okay, I get it.”
 

“
Do
you?”
 

“
Yes, I do, and I’m sorry,”
I say, honestly.

“
Good, apology accepted.
Abel Lee, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get my son from his
daddy’s.”
 

I hold her car door open and she smiles as
she gets into her car.

“
Be careful driving
home.”
 

She replies, “I will, thank
you.”
 

I watch as she drives off
and I think about what she said. Bring me firewood or coffee. I get
in my truck and drive past her house. The street is sparsely
decorated with Christmas lights. Some homes have their Christmas
trees in the front windows. Savannah Mae’s house is dark. No
lights, no electric candles burning in the front windows, and no
Christmas wreath on the front door. I drive by, looking in her
window, and I can’t see a tree. Her house is small and I have a
good view of the entire living room.
I know
what to do, so I drive to the farm.

Savannah Mae

After I pick up Sawyer Jackson, I pull up at
my house and I’m surprised to see Abel Lee sittin’ on the wooden
rocker. I get out of the car as he walks off of the front
porch.

“
Hi,” I finally say as I
open the passenger side door to get a sleepin’ Sawyer Jackson
out.

Abel Lee is right behind
me, looking into the car. “I’ll get him for
you.”
 

Steppin’ out of the way, I wait for him to
unfasten the seatbelt. I watch as he carefully picks my son up.

“
Thank you.” I close and
lock the car door behind us.
 

We both remain quiet, careful to not wake
Sawyer Jackson as we walk into my house. Abel Lee follows me and I
lead the way to Sawyer’s Jackson’s room. I pull the Thomas the
Train covers back and watch as Abel gently lays my son on his bed.
Once his coat and slippers are removed, I kiss him and pull the
covers up to his waist, the way he likes it.

Abel is leaning against the
doorframe, watching. I follow him out into the livin’ room. “What
brings you here?”
 

“
I forgot to tip you.” I
can see a hint of a smile on his lips.

“
Are you back to that
again?” I walk into the kitchen. “Can I get you something to
drink?”
 

“
No, I’m okay. I have to
run out to the truck, I’ll just be a minute.”
 

Before I fill the glass with water, he’s
gone. I walk to the front door and watch in surprise as he removes
a live Christmas tree from the bed of his pickup. He is wearin’ a
grin of a five-year-old. I have to smile as I open the door as wide
as I can for him and for the tree. He holds the tree up in the
middle of the living room floor.

“
What in the dickens is
that?”
 

He smiles, revealing that
single dimple in his cheek. “Savannah Mae,
that
is called a Christmas tree. See
the long pine needles.”
 

I have to laugh. “Abel Lee,
I know it’s a Christmas tree, but what is it doin’ in my
house?”
 

“
It’s your tip.” He smiles
even bigger, revealin’ a beautiful boyish grin. “You said to bring
you firewood or coffee. I had one of these lying around the barn
and thought you and Sawyer Jackson could use
it.”
 

I cross my arms over my
chest. “You just so happen to have a tree in the barn you weren’t
usin’?”
 

“
Sure
did.”
 

“
Abel Lee, does your Momma
know you be tellin’ lies?”
 

He places his hands over
his heart and acts as if he’s wounded. “Savannah Mae, did you just
call me a liar?”
 

I try to hide my toothy
smile. “I may be from the country, but I ain’t plumb
dumb.”
 

“
Whoa, I never thought you
were.” He readjusts the tree and says, “On Thanksgiving, we cut a
few trees, one for us, one for the church,
and this one here is for you and Sawyer Jackson.”

“
Really?” I tilt my head
and squint my eyes.
 

“
Really.”
 

I smile. “In that case, I
reckon you should put it over there.” I point to the area between
the window and the fireplace.
 

I get the tree stand from
the basement and the tree fits in it perfectly. Abel Lee and his
daddy even had the bottom of the tree cut and trimmed to make it
fit into a tree stand. He holds it in the corner and looks at me.
“Here?”
 

“
Nope, it’s crooked. Turn
it again.”
 

He lifts the tree and turns
it. “Here?”
 

I pretend to be inspecting
the tree. I raise my hand and twirl my index finger around to
indicate he needs to spin the tree again. “Nope, bare
spot.”
 

He repeats his action and turns the tree
before settin’ it down again. “Here?” He leans back to try to get a
view of the tree.

“
Nope, spin it
again.”
 

He looks at me and then the
tree. He looks at me again and says, “Savannah Mae, are you pulling
my leg?”
 

I laugh out loud. “Nope.”
is all I can say.
 

Smilin’, he sets the tree down and walks over
to where I’m standin’.

“
It looks pretty good to
me. Are you sure it’s uneven?”
 

I tilt my head side to
side. “Musta been seein’ things, it looks pretty good
now.”
 

He turns to look at me.
“Savannah Mae, do you lie to your momma with that
mouth?”
 

“
Abel Lee,” I laugh,
“there’s a big difference between a lie and a…”
 

“
White lie?” he interrupts,
laughin’.

“
No, I was going to say
fib.”
 

“
Same
difference.”
 

Abel builds a fire in the fireplace. He also
offers to stay and make sure the Christmas lights from last year
still work. They do. He also helps me carry up the boxes of
decorations from the basement.

“
Sawyer Jackson is gonna be
so excited about this. Thank you so much.”
 

“
You’re
welcome.”

I stand beside him and
admire the tree. “It fits that corner
perfectly.”
 

“
I need to get going. Momma
won’t be happy with me keeping a beautiful woman up this
late.”
 

I feel the heat rise to my
cheeks. I walk him to the door. “Then you shouldn’t disappoint your
momma.”
 

“
Good night, Savannah
Mae.”
 

“
Thank you again, and good
night, Abel Lee.”
 

Abel

I go home and think about
Savannah Mae. In fact, she’s all I can think about. When she was
telling me to adjust the tree, I could see the mischief in her
eyes. She’s beautiful. I haven’t allowed myself to
have a serious romantic relationship
since college. I couldn’t. Not after what
happened. I push those memories aside and try to think of something
else. Nothing else comes to my mind but beautiful, sweet Savannah
Mae.