Charlie's Shoes

Rosie received a three-day suspension for fighting from the principal and a pat on the back from her father. She also learned a valuable lesson: he (or she) who retaliates, gets caught and punished.

We split up in January when Sally moved back to Fort Travis. Sally returned, still single and apparently unattached, after the changeover of governors in Austin. Whether her return was temporary or permanent was a decision influenced by benevolent forces at work behind the scenes. By now Mom's group of 'Concerned Episcopalians for Affordable Housing' was incorporated as a not-for-profit; but there were more issues than a group of ladies, no matter how earnest and well-meaning, can do as volunteers.

Such as - where do you build? You can't just put twenty townhouses for working poor in the middle of an upper-middle-class neighborhood and expect everyone to meet out in the street, form a drum circle and sing "Kumbaya" together in social harmony. Lots of municipalities have tried different approaches to this, some successfully, others have been disasters.

I didn't know my mother was so shrewd. It turns out until recently one Sally Jenkins was working on similar projects in the Governor's office. The 501 c (3) the ladies created needed an Executive Director and there was a qualified candidate who needed a job or she might be tempted to move away again.

Not that it did me any good. Sally was still friendly whenever we met by chance or at one of the committee meetings; but she didn't give off any romantic vibes and I didn't ask her out. We did take a drive to Dallas together some months after she moved home.

**********************

Henry Philips had returned to the States and was gravely ill. Malaria and a few other health issues had him laid up in a Dallas hospital. Sally agreed to drive to Dallas with me to visit him. Sally and I spent most of the drive talking about the housing issues she was dealing with. It was a polite conversation; I was reminded once again how smart she is. We spent an hour with Henry before Sally excused herself to make a couple of phone calls. Henry took the opportunity to discuss Ginny.

"Dwayne; sorry I didn't warn you, man. When I found out Ginny was cheating on me, all I could think to do is get the hell out of Dodge. Figured most people knew already and were laughing at me behind my back. Didn't figure you'd dump Sally and go there; thought you and Sally had a good thing going."

It was no sense arguing with Henry, especially when he was right. "Well, I was stupid. I want you to know something; I never touched Ginny until after your divorce. And I didn't know she was stepping out on you. Obviously, since it took me six months to figure out she was cheating on me. I would have said something to you if I knew."

Sally came back in the room about then and we changed the subject. Henry told us more stories; what it was like back in the Amazon jungle.

"I need a favor, Dwayne, and this is a big one; so, feel free to say 'no'. I need someone I trust - on a personal and a financial level - to go down to Brazil and unwind my business down there. I can give you the names of my partner, banker, attorney and business contacts. I know I'm going to get cheated out of a bundle, that's just the way it works, especially down there in the oil business. But if I can get back twenty-five percent of what's mine, I'll be set for a while. I'll give you twenty percent of whatever you bring back."

As you can imagine, Henry's request came out of left field and I couldn't answer him right then. He said to get back to him when I had time to consider and with any questions. One obstacle was apparent.

"I don't speak Portuguese."

"You know Spanish; you can pick up some Portuguese. Between your Spanish, English and a hundred words in Portuguese, you'll do all right. You do need to get back to me soon. Every week a little more of my share will be bleeding off."

We left it at that for now. Visiting hours were over and it was time to head home.

Sally and I were riding back from Dallas. It was quieter in the car going home; Sally was deep in thought until she broke the silence.

"Are you thinking of doing it? Going to Brazil?"

"Yea. Miguel is still at least a year from retiring and I need to make my bones somehow in the meantime. Nothing in Fort Travis is holding me back right now. I thought you and I had a chance when you moved back to town; but I see I messed it up too bad."

Sally had tears in her eyes. "Will you be careful?"

"I don't have a death wish, if that's what you're asking. I'll be as careful as I can."

Sally looked at me when I dropped her off at her folks' place. She even gave me a kiss on the lips. "Please promise me you'll be careful." She ran to the door.

Ad that's how I ended up in Brazil. Mom was against it; so was Dad, but he still had the old "this is what men do" attitude and didn't argue against it. Within a week I was gone on a flight from Dallas to San Paulo.

**********************

My Brazilian adventure turned out to be less dangerous than anticipated, which was all right with me. Henry's Brazilian business partner, Joao Fernandez, was more honest than expected, he wanted to get a deal done as much as Henry did. The lawyers, bankers and accountants all pulled their weight. A Brazilian and European conglomerate was anxious to take over and within three months a deal was signed, sealed and delivered. As a result, Henry's take home (after fees, taxes, etc.) was just over one and a half million. My share was three-hundred thousand; not bad for just over three months' work.

I did say the trip was less dangerous than anticipated; but it wasn't without a couple moments of angst.

One incident happened on the road from San Paulo to the oil fields. We were in two trucks, Henry's team in one, the conglomerate's team in another, when we were ambushed by bandits. The bandits picked the wrong convoy to mess with; there were two Brazilian ex-commandos in each vehicle. No shots were fired after the commandos made their presence (as well as their automatic weapons) known. Still, it was scary. I would have felt safer if I had one of my rifles with me; but that was forbidden by local laws.

There was one more incident, this one in a bar in San Paulo on the last night before I left Brazil. We were having a drink, congratulating ourselves on becoming (relatively) rich and most definitely, alive; when an argument started in the far corner of the room. Suddenly, two guys stood up from that table and started firing shots at each other. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two guys standing at the bar reach in their coats, pulling out pistols. That's the last thing I saw because I dove under the table; Joao had the same idea and we bumped heads. For the next minute, and it seemed much longer, I must have heard twenty or more shots fired.

When Joao and I finally got out from under the table, we expected to see bodies and carnage; but there was - nothing. Even the four gunmen were gone. How could four guys get off over twenty rounds without anyone getting hit is a mystery I'll never understand. I left the bar, post-haste, went to my hotel, locked the door and waited in my room until my flight the next morning. Goodbye Brazil.

I visited Henry the first thing after landing at DFW. He was still recovering and was pleased with the payout, thank goodness, and this ended up solidifying our friendship.

**********************

I was back working on the ranch. The second week after returning from Brazil, I stepped into the Hen, only to find Sally sitting at a table with Rosie. "Oh, shit" is all I could think. Trying to avoid a scene, I headed over to the far side of the bar and sat next to Dexter Price, a Hen House fixture.

Francis, the waitress, put a couple of long necks in front of Dexter and me, then whispered in my ear. "Two ladies bought you both a beer; you're invited to their table if you can get away."

I knew Dexter wouldn't mind; he was happy with the free beer and wasn't a small-talk kind of guy. I excused myself and 'walked the plank' over to the ladies' table.

It ended up being a good night. We three chatted, every once in a while some cowboy would take one of the ladies out to the dance floor. I took a couple turns with each of them myself. We shut the place down and I walked Sally and Rosie to their respective cars, giving each a small peck goodnight.

The next morning, just before noon, her car pulled up the drive. "Hi Dwayne. Can I get a cup of coffee?"

"Of course. You want some eggs? I was just about ready to scramble up a few."

Sally sat at the island while I made breakfast, just as if three years hadn't passed.

"I had a nice conversation with Rosie. She said you loved me; even when you two were an item."

"What happened between Rosie and me happened when you were living down in Austin. We broke it up when you moved back home."

"That's what Rosie said. She said you broke it off so it wouldn't get in the way of us reconnecting. She thought I should give you another chance."

"Rosie's a nice lady; smart, too."

"Daddy said you've grown up and I'd be a fool not to give you another chance. He wants you for a son-in-law."

"Well, your daddy's another smart person and I guess I'm lucky you don't have a sister."

Sally smiled at that. "Another person that's smart is your mother. I know it wasn't the reason for setting up the housing co-op, but it kept me in Fort Travis and gave us a chance to get reacquainted."

"I won't argue with you about my mother; without her, you wouldn't be sitting in my kitchen."

"Are you grown up, Dwayne?"

I told Sally all the things I've done since divorcing Ginny to turn my life around. How spending time with her father and my father instead of a bunch of overgrown ex-college frat boys has changed me. How I knew what I wanted to do with my life - running ranch operations when Miguel retires, having a family with a passel of kids, helping Mom with her philanthropy - now that I was grown up. How, except for my short friends-with-benefits relationship with Rosie, I'd been celibate because I now knew the difference between screwing and lovemaking.

Sally listened without interruption until I finished.

"Do you want to know anything about my time in Austin?" Sally asked.

"We were broken up, Sally. I don't think I have a right to ask."

"I want you to know two things. I never stopped loving you, Dwayne. And I had a relationship with a man in Austin similar to yours with Rosie. It ended a year ago. I'm telling you because I don't want any relationship with secrets. One more thing; my reason for refusing to go out with you when you came down to Austin had nothing to do with that other man or to punish you for dumping me. It was because I couldn't afford to get hurt again."

"Does this mean you'll accept if I ask you out on a date?"

"No, Dwayne."

Well, you could have knocked me over with a feather when Sally said 'no'. What the hell was she doing coming over this morning and talking about relationships if she didn't want to accept a date?

"No, I'm not going to start dating you again, Dwayne. Most of my things are in the back of my car. If you want a relationship with me, help me carry them in your, or should I say, our house."

I jumped up, grabbed Sally, hugged and kissed her, twirled her around and kissed her again. My feet didn't touch the porch as I ran to her car to start moving her things into 'our' home. We called both sets of parents to let them know (Sally's already knew, of course) and all four parents joined us for dinner at the cabin that night.

When Mom and I had a moment alone in the kitchen she pulled a ring out of her pocket.

"I've been saving this for you. It was your grandmother's ring. If you like it, you can give it to Sally. I hope Sally likes it; if I know that girl, she'll cherish it. I'm giving it to you now because I think you're done being stupid."

"I am, Mom."

Mom was right, Sally loved Grandma's ring. As soon as the parents left that evening, I got down on one knee and asked Sally to marry me while holding the ring out to her. Sally said, "yes" before jumping in my arms.

That night, we made love for the first time in three years.

It was magic.

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Epilogue

Well, it seems people always want to know how things turned out for everyone; and I'm going to tell you:

Sally and I got married and we have four children; one boy and three girls.

Before Sally had our first girl, she did get thirty new low-income housing units built. That may not sound like a lot; but it meant decent homes for thirty families that couldn't live in the county before that and it was a good start. Someone else can take it from there.

Sally is my best friend. How many wives can claim to have hiked down to the Colorado River at the Grand Canyon when five months pregnant? (It was her fourth pregnancy and by then, she was the poster child for pregnant, fit and active.)

I can't count the number of nights we slept together under the stars, whether outside on the ranch or at one of two-dozen National Parks we've visited. And you've never seen anyone, man or woman, who can lay a fly down in the exact spot in a hole she's aiming for, no matter how much wind on the river. We have a deal now; she catches them, I clean and pan fry 'em.

Manuel did retire the next year and I became foreman for the next ten years. Then, when Jeb Davison retired, I ran the family's entire ranching business. More desk work then I'd like, but I still get outside when I can (after all, I'm the boss).

**********************

Five years after leaving Brazil, I received a letter from Joao. The mystery of the restaurant shoot-out had been solved when one of the four participants wrote about it. The guys at the back table were rival gang lieutenants, the two at the bar their respective bodyguards. When an insult was made, the first two started shooting, hitting each other in the chest. The two bodyguards fired at the rival lieutenants, then at each other. But; everybody was wearing heavy bullet-proof vests and the 9mm slugs didn't do anything but cause bruising. One of the bodyguards did get hit in the upper-arm; but all four cleared out of the restaurant before any blood hit the floor.

Joao wrote that there's a statue of Saint Jude behind the bar now, next to the three bullet holes in the back mirror, right behind where the bartender stood, frozen and unharmed. Locals call it the miracle of Alto Do Pari.

**********************

Sally and I introduced Rosie to Henry. It worked out; Rosie could sit in the stands and watch Henry play basketball, softball or whatever, she could cheer him on and never has to break a nail. They moved into the old house after buying it from Ginny; but had to redecorate before Rosie would move in. They have two kids of their own and we all get together at least once a month.

**********************

Ginny already moved back to Dallas soon after our divorce. The house stood vacant until Henry bought it back. Ginny's attorney handled the house sale. No one knows and none of us gives a hoot what eventually happened to Ginny. We do know that somewhere there's a guy who's getting royally fucked, both physically and figuratively.

**********************

And Dexter Price is still sitting at the bar at the Hen, drinking a long neck and minding his own business.

THE END