Six
Clint
I wondered when she’d bring that up. “My dad and Gladys. I don’t know all the details, and I don’t want to know. What I believe is that my dad loved my mom until she took her final breath. They’d been married for thirty-three years by that point. I can’t ever remember a time when I didn’t feel he’d do anything to make her happy and spent all my life doing just that. He and Gladys always fought like cats and dogs. She’d snark at him. He’d snap right back. That was their everyday routine until after my mother died. After the funeral, Gladys stopped going to the house for a while. She stayed here with Sammy and me, avoiding my father until he began pushing her buttons even more than he did. It was like he felt angry that both she and my mom left him at the same time.”
“He missed her,” Tamara whispered.
I didn’t want to delve too much into that, so I just shrugged. “Whatever it was, he became nastier and meaner, always making cutting remarks. Tonight though… I don’t know what that was. They don’t usually go at each other that way.” When I glanced over at her face, I could tell she was holding something back. “Go ahead. Tell me what you’re thinking. I know all about your life, might as well return the favor.”
“I think your father was jealous,” she squeaked with a hint of a giggle.
“Jealous? No way? My dad?” Why would my dad be jealous… Oh! “Gladys was going out with Ernest.”
“Yup. And guess what?”
“What?” I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.
“Your dad was searching for her earlier when he came in.”
How did I not notice what was going on right in front of me? “Are you sure? I mean, he always wants to taste her cookies when he stops by.” As I said the words, Tamara’s eyes got wide. I noticed her body shaking with laughter. Then I got the joke. “Oh, God. My dad wants Gladys’ cookies.” I tried to keep a straight face but couldn’t help the snicker. Then full-blown laughter. “Well, damn. Ain’t this some shit.” If my dad were going to move on with anyone, I’d rather it be Gladys than some other random lady. For one thing, I know how she feels about our family. I didn’t want to think about when those feelings started to show, so I’d keep my focus on right now.
“Are you upset? About your dad and Gladys maybe, possibly having feelings for each other?”
I had to think about it for a second, but the answer wasn’t hard to accept. “No. Gladys loves us, and we love her. She’s a beautiful woman. I’m surprised she hadn’t married someone else and had kids of her own. Then again, we were a ready-made family, and I needed her so much… after Janet died.”
“I don’t think Gladys is going to make it easy for him.”
Shaking my head, I agreed. “Oh, you can bet your ass on that.”
Just then, a car drove up the long driveway. It had to be someone I knew because there was a code to the main gate. As the car got closer, he recognized Gladys’ car. Maybe old Ernest wasn’t up to the task. Then again… Ewww!
“Is that Gladys?”
“Sure is,” I responded as my eyes caught sight of another set of headlights coming up the drive. “Hmmm, this is interesting.”
“What? What?” Tamara was looking at me, then she looked at Gladys getting out of the car. Finally, she turned her head towards the truck coming up the driveway.
“Well, I’ll be damned.”
“What? What? Oh, good evening, Ms. Gladys,” Tamara called out.
“Nope. Not a good evening at all. Clint, you tell your daddy I’m not talking with him. Do you know what he did?”
I shook my head. I really didn’t want to get in the middle of this.
Gladys pinned me with that look I knew well from my childhood. “Well, do you know what he did tonight?”
Tamara spoke up, her voice full of curiosity. “What did he do, Ms. Gladys?”
Fumbling with her purse, I could tell she was getting upset, which I didn’t like one bit. My dad may seem like the doting grandfather and relaxed rancher, but the man was ruthless. If I thought I was bad, I knew I had nothing on him. Now that I’d opened my eyes to the world around me, I knew Gladys didn’t stand a chance.
“He showed up at the restaurant, Tamara. Can you believe it, Clint?”
“No, Ma’am,” was all I could say as I watched my father’s truck tear up the driveway.
“Well, he did. And he embarrassed me in front of Ernest. He sat right there at our table, dirty boots and all, and just glared at Ernest the entire time. Every time I tried to ask him to leave us alone, he claimed he was there to protect my virtue from snakes in the grass.”
Oh shit. My dad had gone full-blown psycho. “But Gladys, maybe he just wanted to make sure that guy Ernest didn’t do anything untoward. My Dad’s real protective of those he cares about.” As I finished, I heard the truck door slam.