Forty: Sweeter than Honey

342 19 33
                                    

        "Mornin' darlin'," Engie says. I lift my head from the window as I yawn and stretch my arms out in front of me. He looks at me and smiles. "Rise and shine, Ma'am! Welcome to Texas."

"What time is it?" I wipe my eyes.

"Somewhere between ten and eleven," he tells. "You all rested?"

"Uh, yeah," I respond.

"Good to hear. We're not going to be doing a whole lot, but there are two very specific people who can wear you out if ya let 'em." Saying that he's excited is an understatement as I don't think his smile has ever left his face for all eleven hours we've been on the road. "I promise, you'll like it."

We have a day to kill before we start our next contract over in Georgia, and I'm going to see where Engie grew up. Perhaps it's fitting that I meet Engie's family since I might visit my own after the job. I still haven't decided if I'm going to have the guys meet my brothers. I don't want to get Salvi and the twins sucked into this world with me, so maybe I should keep the guys away from them. I could always introduce them as coworkers and tell the boys that I recently got a new job because of them, but that's too risky and opens many doors that are best kept locked and shut.

Seeing as we're in Texas, I'm a bit on edge. The stories I've heard aren't great, and we're in a small town. Word travels fast in a small town. It's best to hope that the people Engie was surrounded by are as pleasant as he is, but I shouldn't get my hopes up too high. One man at the Waffle House knew Engie. He was less than hospitable to me, and I waited in the truck for Engie. He said nothing rude or mean, but I'm not really one to get along with older people. At the very least, I hope the townsfolk are nicer.

I look out of the window and watch some nice-looking one-story houses with large front yards go by. He points to a college campus as we drive past and go into town. "That's where I went to school. Bee Cave IC Tech. We had the stupidest motto, go fightin' cows! Never understood why we couldn't been a bull or an ox. Had to be a cow."

"Cows, in general, are great," I say.

"You're right, I guess I'm just being a bit picky," he hums as he takes a turn and motions to a car repair shop. "And I got my first summer job there. Made a couple of bucks here and there, but people usually don't need nothing fixed around here." He looks over at me. "Hope I'm not already borin' ya."

"No, I enjoy hearing you talk, so I'm just letting you go on. I'm taking everything in," I watch out of the window at the buildings that go by. We pass a church, a grocery store, what looks to be a town square and two lower-level schools. We turn onto a gravel path and the truck bounces as we start off-roading, and Engie drives up the hill and through an open gate to get a house that's surrounded by woods. Saying that there's a lot of open space is an understatement since the house stands with two stories and then two barns sit out in the background. He pulls up next to a black truck and turns off the engine, replacing his hard hat with the white cowboy hat he wore on the cruise.

"Back home," he sighs and adjusts his unbuttoned red shirt with his class patch on the arms, a flannel underneath. He opens his door and slides out, helping me get out of the truck from the other side. It's hot today, and the sun in on a warpath to let us know it. The air is dry, but it's cloudy so there are breaks from the heat now and again. As we walk to the staircase to the front porch, an older woman in jeans and a yellow striped button-down shirt comes out of the front door.

"Dell Conagher, I know for a fact you did not go and get yourself hitched and not tell your mother," she rings as she steps down the stairs and hugs him.

In Need of Assistance? (TF2)Where stories live. Discover now