A Simple Life Ch. 72-83

"What are you talking about Pops?" Winona plays dumb.

"I'm talking about the bags under your eyes, Kid. I'm talking about the fact you're wearing day old clothes. I'm talking about the goo-goo eyes you keep making at each other. You think I'm blind? You think I'm deaf?"

Winona and I look at each other then she looks back at him. "Okay. The truth."

"I'd appreciate it."

"The truth is...Avery and I are in love with each other."

"Uh boy." He sighs and buries his face in his hand.

The moment he does that I feel something tweak in Winona, he'd just hit a button. "That's right. I love him Pops!"

"Winona..."

"A-And I love your d-daughter Sir." I say, hoping it would be helpful.

"I'm sure you think you do."

"He doesn't THINK, Dad, he knows. How dare you say that to him. We love each other. We're meant for each other." Winona snaps. "We're here together because we spent all night having wild, passionate sex. Okay? Not that it's any of your business!"

"It really isn't." He cringes, glancing about at the heads turning our way. "You coulda left that part out ya know."

"And why should I? Huh? I'm 24 and I'll spend my nights with who I want. And I want Avery."

"Winona." He says, trying to keep the volume down. "Why don't we talk about this...alone. Mmm?"

"There's nothing to talk about. It's none of your business."

"Winona, you JUST met this boy the other day."

"He's not a boy. He's a man. He's my man." She says. "And it's not true we just met. We met a long time ago. Didn't we Sprout?"

"Yes. T-Technically we m-met back..."

"Winona." He says, paying my words no mind. He reaches across to take his daughters hand but she pulls it away from him. He slowly pulls his hand back. "This is Kayla all over again Kid. Can't you see that? I don't want to see you hurt. That's it."

"You don't want to see me happy." She seethes. "I know what this is really about. He's white."

"What?"

"He's white and he's not loaded. That really bugs you, doesn't it? You can't stand that I fell in love with a white man for who he is and not for his money."

Amos sighs the timeless sigh of the beleaguered father. "Winona..."

"Are you denying it? I heard you and Mom talking. About finding me finding some sugar daddy or getting me hitched up to some college boy 'with a future'."

"Winona!"

"Well I love him Dad and there isn't one thing you or Mom can do about it. I'd love him even he didn't have a penny to his name. I love him because he's..." Her voice softens as she looks to me. "...perfect."

I sit speechless. That was so beautiful! At the same time I feel so incredibly awkward for being the point of contention.

"Your mother and I just want what's best for you." He says in a low, measured tone. "I don't care one whiff that he's white. I'm sure he's a fine boy...man, sorry. I don't care about any of those things. I care about you Kid."

"Well you got a funny way of showing it. Why can't you just be happy for me?" She says. "Ah, what do you know? You just don't understand about true love."

"Uh boy."

"There you go again. That know-it-all tone. As if you have clue what I'm feeling." Then with a sudden wave of her hand Winona puffs. "Bah! You are impossible!"

And just like that she gets up and storms off for the ladies room! I watch her in disbelief until she disappears through the washroom door, then slowly back across the table. Looking as huge and imposing as the north peak of Ehkolie Amos' narrowed eyes glower down on me.

***

Chapter 75

Amos leans forward, elbows on the table and his mug engulfed by both his big hands, and sighs. "Headstrong and hot-blooded, just like her Mom."

"Um..."

"So what's up with the mouse?"

"M-Mouse?"

"The shiner." He motions toward my eye. "Get in a scrap or something?"

"Oh, um, s-sorta." I considered telling another lie but what was the point? The truth was out there now.

"You a fighter Avery?"

"N-No S-Sir."

"Did ya win?"

"Um, no."

"You'll lick'im next time." He leans back and takes a slurp of his coffee. "I hope it wasn't my daughter who put that on you. She can get a bit rowdy I know."

"N-No Sir. It w-was...my b-brother."

"Ah." He nods as if that explained everything. "So ya work at the grocery store."

"Mm hm." I nod.

"Been there awhile?"

"Yeah." I say. "G-Going on six years n-now."

"Work is work. Good on ya."

"Oh! Um, thank you."

"So you workin on this photography stuff on the side?"

"Um...yeah." Truth was I wasn't 'workin' on anything on the side. Photography was just a hobby, like camping and exploring, but I didn't want to undermine Winona's fib earlier. "On the side."

"Smart." He nods. "Keepin one foot on the ground as you step with the other. I respect it. It's how I started out. Workin on buses and fleet vehicles during the day and runnin out of my garage at night. Busted my ass but it got us here." He downs another slurp, emptying the mug, and sets the cup at the edge of the table to signal for a refill. Amy spots it and heads this way with the pot. "Keep at it Avery. Good things'll happen if you got the grit to see'em through."

"Yeah. I-I will Sir." He was being so...nice!

"Call me Amos." He says as he watches his mug get refilled. He thanks Amy, stirs in some sugar, then takes another long look at me. "I'm assumin you, erm, know about Winona. About how she's so special."

"Yes Sir, we've..."

His hand snaps up to cut me off. "I don't want to hear about it. But you do know?"

"Yeah."

"You won't say anything?"

"Of c-c-course not."

"Even if things go South?"

"I'm n-not a g-gossip."

"That's a promise?"

I nod. "Th-That's a promise."

"Mmm." His eyes narrow, his gaze drilling into mine as he tries to peer into my very soul. I try to think of something to say but all I end up doing is sitting there and squirming. "Listen kid, ya seem like a sweet guy and I know it's none of my business." He says at last. "But that's my little girl you're dating. You gotta understand with her that there's no in between. She's all or nothin, all in or all out, and if she's sayin that she loves ya...she means it. She tells ya like it is, good or bad. If you're just messin around with her, if it's just a bit of fun, I get it. I was young once too. I know what it's like. But she's not the one Avery. Just let her go now. Before anybody gets hurt." The implied threat was impossible to miss. Basically, if you hurt her...I hurt you.

I swallow hard and sit up as tall as I can. "R-Respectfully Amos, I d-do love your daughter. I love Winona w-with all my heart. I kn-know it's only been a short time but..." I take a deep breath. "...but she's the best thing to ever happen to me."

"Avery..."

"Wait." I say. "I-I don't know why she loves me. I-I certainly d-don't deserve her. B-But there's nothing you or anybody else c-can say that will make me give her up. And that's that."

"Oh yeah?"

I look him square in the eyes. It was really, REALLY hard holding eye contact with him, but Winona was worth it. "Yeah."

As my little heart beats like a hummingbird's wings we stare each other down for a long moment...before he slowly nods in resignation. "Uh boy. Another hopeless romantic." He says. "Looks like we're stuck with ya then."

I giggle, mostly to blow off the tension. "I'm afraid so, Sir."

He chuckles at my giggle then smiles. "Call me Amos."

"Okay, Amos."

Both of us relax, him sipping coffee and me tea, as our new understanding settles in. All was peaceful...until Winona returns.

Still full of fire she slides into the booth beside me and takes my hand. "I'm so sorry baby. I just...can't talk with that man sometimes. He's so infuriating."

"I-It's okay." I say. "We actually..."

"I can't imagine all the things he said to you. I'm sorry I left." She turns to her dad. "I bet you tried to scare him off, huh? Ya big bully! Ya big brute! Ya big...gorilla!"

"Gorilla!"

"You leave him alone or you got me to deal with. Got it?"

"Winona..." He says, his hands up in a gesture of peace.

Just then Amy strolls up holding a platter with all of our orders. The conversation stops as she lays out Amos' one man breakfast buffet, Winona's hearty breakfast, and my still steaming garlic clam noodles. There are a few looks and chuckles from around the restaurant as Chub grumbles at the lunch item's appearance. "Enjoy." Amy winks and moves on.

"Noodles?" Amos tilts his head.

"That's right!" Winona says boldly as she switches her plate and mine so that we had the correct orders. "Avery likes noodles for breakfast. You got a problem with that?"

"I was just..."

"I think it's wonderful!" She says, her tone argumentative even though nobody was arguing with her. "It's different and bold and not boring. He doesn't need to be like everyone else. He's strong enough to be his own man. Aren't you Sprout?"

"Uh..."

"That's right! He loves noodles and I'm gonna buy him noodles every morning if he wants them. What do ya think of that, Dad?"

"Well..."

"It doesn't matter what you think!" Winona cuts him off before he even has a chance to answer. "We're gonna do whatever we want and you can't do a thing to stop us. Isn't that right Sprout?"

"Um..."

"That's right!" She nods. "We're gonna have clam noodles breakfast, lunch and dinner if that's what we want. Don't matter what noone says."

Amos sits back trying his best to hide a grin. Winona had no clue that he and I had already made peace and he was amused to no end watching his spark plug of a daughter go to war for me. With a trouble making glint in his eye he says. "It's kinda weird don't ya think?"

"Weird!" Winona exclaims, offended on my behalf.

"Morning, noon, and night?" He says, his chipper tone only infuriating her further. "That's a lotta damn noodles."

"Winona..." I whisper.

"Pbbrt! Who are you to judge!? Huh?"

"Winona..."

"One second Sprout." She says. "Ya think it's weird huh? I'll show ya weird." She takes up her fork and scoops up some noodles and jams them into her mouth and makes a show of eating them. "Mmmm!" She chews loudly as her angry eyes glare at her father. "Damn that'sh good." She says with her mouthful. "Noodlesh for breakfasht is the besht!" She shovels in another forkful in. "MMMM!"

Amos looks at me. I look at him. As one we burst out laughing.

"What?" A confused Winona looks back and forth between us with full cheeks and glossy noodles dangling from her lips. "What'sh sho funny!?"

***

Chapter 76

After a hearty laugh Amos looks to me with a big smile. "Would you mind passing the ketchup Avery?"

"Here you go Amos."

"Thank ya Avery."

"You are v-very welcome Amos."

Winona looks to her dad, then to me, then back and forth one more time. She slurps the noodles and wipes her lips with a napkin. "What's this all about?"

"What's what?" Amos says as he squirts the ketchup over his potatoes. "Avery and I are trying to have a pleasant breakfast. I don't know what you're on about. But hey, don't let me stand between you and noodles."

Winona points at him, then swings the accusing finger around to me. "What? You two are getting along?"

"Sure." He says. "Who ever said we weren't?

"I t-tried to tell you." I giggle.

"Poor guy couldn't get a word in. Get used to it Avery." Amos says with some genuine sympathy. "Syrup?"

"Here you go." I slide the maple syrup and butter across the table.

As Amos butters and syrups his stack of pancakes and I take one of the sets of chopsticks and dig into my deliciously succulent garlic clam noodles Winona sits there looking at us like she just uncovered some deep conspiracy.

"Well...good." She says at last as she turns her attention to her own breakfast. "Glad we cleared that up."

We all share a chuckle and enjoy our morning meal. It is not long before the conversation turns to their work. I am as happy as could be to sit there quietly and just fade into the background and listen like I often did, but the Crows had other ideas.

"What do you think Avery?" Amos asks.

"Huh?"

"Traffic. Location." He says. "It's a great spot for the rural folks but most of the population is in town. You're the advertiser, how do you think we can draw people out to the shop?"

"Um...I-I'm a photographer, I'm not really...um..."

"Shuttle service first and foremost." Winona says. "Let folks know that we'll get them back and forth as easy as could be. It's only a few minutes out."

"Yeah." I agree. "Also, um, m-my grandpa knows Margie Maslanka really well."

"Who?"

"She owns the towing company." Amos answers his daughter's question. "What are ya thinking Avery?"

"Well..." I lean in and lower my voice, they lean in close to hear. "...Margie and Bobbo used to be a thing way back when."

"Bobbo?"

"Robert." Amos again answers. "Robert Cruz."

"Oh. Oh!" Winona says. "Our competition."

"I guess they can't stand each other. M-Messy divorce and all that stuff." I say. "You m-might work out good deal or something with her. Sh-She'd love to see another g-garage cut into Bobbo's business."

"Ha ha ha!" Amos reaches across and slaps my shoulder, the weight of his hand nearly smashing me down into my food. "We got our man on the inside!"

I giggle. "Inside?"

"Inside the island." Winona says, careful to keep her voice low. "You locals are nice enough but you can be a bit, erm, insular."

"Yeah." I agree. While we had nothing against outsiders, like many small towns we looked out for our own first and best. And with Ehkolie being an island with such a unique history that sentiment was held even more so.

"Mmm." Amos takes a strip of bacon, a link of sausage, and a slice of ham in a single forkful and begins to chew. "I should go talk to Mike."

"H-He'd like that." I smile. "Grandpa always likes v-visitors."

"He lives on a boat, yeah?"

"Yep. The Anna Bella." I say. "I'm n-not sure if he's back yet though. He was taking a sail about."

"No!" Winona suddenly sits up. "No way."

"Oh?" Amos cocks his head.

"Um, I'll do it." She says. "We're partners in this, right Pops?"

"That's right." He says. "50-50-50 between you and me and your mom. You'll be workin for peanuts in the meantime but once it's paid off that place'll be as much yours as mine kid."

"Well I'd like to be the one to talk to Avery's grandpa." She looks at me. "If that's cool."

"Mmm." I nod and we smile at each other in that way we did every single time we caught each other's eyes. It wasn't only cool, there was nothing more in this world that I wanted than the two most important people in my life to meet each other. "Um. My b-brother m-might be able to help too."

Winona's bright smile disappears. "We're not interested."

"Hold on. Let him talk."

"Um...m-my brother Joshua drives a cube van. Just deliveries back and forth from the mainland." I say. "He knows all the other d-drivers."

"Oh yeah?"

"Mm hm. Sometimes Bobbo gets backed up..."

"And time is money when your rig's not runnin."

"Exactly." I say. "I c-can mention you guys to him. Could be a help?"

"Could be a BIG help!" Amos says. "Let him know that we don't have the bays for big rigs or heavy equipment but we're set up for anything smaller. Lots of experience with diesel."

"I'll mention it then." I say, feeling pretty darned good to be helping out. I knew it was a long shot that my brother would switch from a local's garage to a newcomer's, but it wasn't completely beyond the realm of possibility. Josh could be almost nice when Jack wasn't around. "And Grandpa might have a suggestion or two. He knows everyone."

"Ha ha!" Just then Chub had found his way to our table as he was making his rounds. "I don't know if Micheal knows everyone but everyone certainly knows him."

I knew Chub's statement wasn't meant to flatter, my grandpa was an eccentric old kook in his and many people's eyes, but I choose to take it as a compliment as I always did. "That's right." I say proudly. "Everybody knows my grandpa."

"How you enjoying them noodles, huh?" Chub says directly to me.

Winona's cover for me blown I shrink in spot and blush. "It's v-very good, thank you."

"For a half off oil change we made it extra garlicky."

"It's d-delicious."

"A half off what now?" The penny-pinching Amos bolts up tall.

"That's a generous daughter you got there Amos. A real good girl."

"Hold on a sec..."

"And you promised a big tip." Chub waggles a bony digit Winona's way.

"You'll get it." Winona says. "Pops'll look after you, won't ya Pops?"

"Eyyy! Big spender!"

"Pops will...wait a second!" Amos objects. "I never agreed...!"

"You said yourself that I'm makin peanuts, and Avery's our guest. And he's gonna help us without asking for a nickel." Winona says, the same twinkle I'd seen in her father's eyes earlier now glimmering in hers. "We're just a couple of broke ass kids in love. Just a pair of poor lovebirds struggling to start our lives in this big cruel world. You're not gonna make us pay, are you Pops?"

I giggle. These two made me happy.

"Th-Thank you Amos." I say in my best polite voice then take another bite of my food. "Yummm!"

"But...I never...I just..."

"Look at that smile." Winona rubs my back. "Tell me that isn't worth it."

"That's a 30% smile if I ever saw one." Chub agrees.

"It is not!" Amos cries.

As Chub and Winona continue to work Amos over I notice that once more we were the center of attention. I look around at the smiles and hear the laughter and I feel a part of this community in a way I usually only felt at Grandpa's side. It felt really nice. Everything was just wonderful. But quickly becoming overwhelming. Nothing was wrong and yet I could feel the old panic starting to grow inside of me. And once my anxiety began to build I knew from experience that it would snowball onto itself to swiftly become unmanageable. I hadn't even really recovered from all the socializing last night. And after the one on one with Amos, it was all becoming a lot to bear.

"Well can I at least try these priceless noodles made of gold that I'm paying for?"

"Huh?" I say, looking back to Amos. "Oh, sure. I'm f-f-full anyway." I push the plate across to him. "You c-c-can have the r-rest."

"Full! You barely ate half!"

"He's not a big eater." Winona says.

"But... Then... Why did he even...?" Amos shakes his head. "If I'm payin for it I'm eatin it!" And with that he scoops a mass of noodles up then stabs another sausage and jams it into his mouth. "Eyyy! Not bad."

I try to giggle but it quickly cuts off as an awkward guffaw. I giggled easily but I had trouble faking it when I wasn't feeling it. Self conscious of the faked laugh my breathing starts to pick up. Amos would have heard it to. He'd think I was a big fake. Or a total weirdo. Struggling to keep my calm I ever so subtly shift closer to Winona, my only point of safety in this public place. Turning my head I stare out the window trying to block everything else out but the bit of blue sky that was peeking through a break in the clouds. Right away Winona sensed something was off.

"Hey?" She says softly, her hand stroking up my back. "You okay?"

"Mmm." I nod stiffly.

She gives me a long look, concern in her beautiful hazel eyes. The moment her gaze meets mine she saw the truth inside of me.

The next thing I knew the truck keys were being slipped into my hand. Gripping my hand she whispers. "I'll just be a couple minutes." She then lets it go.

I nod again and give her no argument. With a mumbled "You'll excuse me." I slide from the booth as casually as I could.

"Where ya goin Avery?" Amos looks up. "I wasn't actually angry."

"He just needs some air Pops." Winona says. A moment later she calls out to Chub who had just moved a couple of tables down. "Hey, old timer! Limited time offer on that oil change, just so ya know. And one time only."