A Dry Creek Courtship

She just didn’t know what to do.

Edith could see why people who tried to cover up things almost always got caught, assuming they didn’t have a heart attack from the stress first. It was too hard to remember everything. And to know what to do at every twist and turn.

Edith arrived in Dry Creek and she honked her horn to signal Charley that she had made it back safely and that, while she’d appreciated his escort, she hadn’t really needed it since her car had made it to town just fine. As usual.

In response, Charley rolled down his window and put his arm out to point at the café.

Edith smiled. Now that he’d shaved his moustache, her world had settled back into place. She had to admit she could use a cup of tea. It was the middle of the morning and she’d like nothing better than to sit with Charley and try to think of a way to get his advice without telling him anything he didn’t already know.

Charley pulled up beside her car and was at her door to open it before she could get her hat pulled off. She reached up to anchor the pins in her hair better as she looked at Charley.

“You could have gone ahead of me,” Edith said as she finished with her hair. “There was no need to wait.”

Charley grunted. “I won’t always be there following behind you and what then? That’s when your car’s going to break down.”

Edith swung her legs around to get out of the car. “Any car can go bad at any time.”

“That’s why you shouldn’t be driving by yourself,” Charley said triumphantly as he held out his hand to help her stand.

Edith took his hand graciously. “If my car breaks down, I’ll just get someone to fix it. You don’t need to worry.”

Charley snorted, but he didn’t say anything else as they walked toward the door of the Dry Creek Café. Linda Enger, the owner of the café, had put a sign over her small restaurant a few months ago. The café had a fifties look to it, with black-and-white linoleum on the floor and memorabilia hanging on the walls. She even displayed a guitar that belonged to her new husband, singing legend Duane Enger. He went on tour periodically and Linda loved to boast about where he was playing.

Edith could hear someone in the kitchen when they entered the café, but there were no other customers. She was glad for that just in case her conversation with Charley got more candid than she planned.

“How about here?” Charley asked as he led her to a table by the far wall.

Edith nodded.

There were two menus on the table, standing upright between the napkin holder and the salt and pepper shakers, but no one in Dry Creek ever looked at them. Everyone knew the regular items and if there was something special on the menu, Linda would let them know.

Linda brought out coffee for Charley and tea for Edith before she even asked what they wanted.

“Maybe some buttered toast,” Edith said when Linda took their order.

“Biscuits for me if you have any,” Charley added.

Linda went back to the kitchen.

Edith curved her hands around the hot cup. “I’m glad you wanted to stop. I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

“Yeah?”

Edith nodded and took a deep breath. “I’ve been wondering what you think about digging up old troubles.”

“You mean like debts that aren’t paid?”

“No, things that people did that were wrong, but happened a long time ago. Is there any reason to talk about it now?”

Charley looked a little surprised. “I don’t know. I’d say it depends. Was anyone hurt?”

Edith nodded. “But it was a family matter.”

Charley took a sip of his coffee. “Well, maybe it needs to be talked about in the family then.”

“Oh, I don’t know if there’s any point to that. Doris June doesn’t even—” Edith stopped. She hadn’t meant to tell Charley it was her family she was discussing.

“Well,” Charley said, clearing his throat. “I know Doris June loves you and she’d probably forgive you anything. Is this something you did as a mother when she was little?”

“Of course not, I was a good mother.”

“I’m sure you were. I can’t think of what else would be worth discussing at this stage of things though.”

Edith could see she wouldn’t get any good advice out of Charley this way. He couldn’t help her unless she told him everything. She took a deep breath and looked over to be sure the kitchen door was still closed. “It was about Harold.” She leaned over the table and whispered, “He had an affair.”

“He what?” Charley had started to lift his cup for another sip, but he put it back down and coffee sloshed over the saucer. “Harold?”

Edith nodded. “And I’m not sure, but Elmer might know about it.”

“Elmer, too?”

“Well, I don’t know that Elmer was having an affair. I just know that Harold had one that winter in Billings.”

“Ah,” Charley said as he mopped up the coffee with his napkin. “I thought something was different with him when he came back.”

Edith felt relieved. After all these years, the secret was out. She’d told someone besides that pastor who had died years ago. And, Charley hadn’t looked at her in horror. He’d been surprised, yes, but he didn’t look as if he was sitting there asking himself what she’d done wrong to drive Harold into the arms of another woman.

“Her name was Jasmine,” Edith said.

“Never heard of her,” Charley replied as he picked up his coffee cup again.

“She wants to meet me,” Edith added.

“What?” Charley set his cup down again without taking a drink.

“Well, not really me. She wrote to Harold asking to talk to him and, since he’s dead, I said I’d—”

“I can’t think of what she can say now to make what happened back then better,” Charley said. A muscle twitched along his jaw. “Hasn’t she done enough damage?”

Edith felt warmed by his indignation on her behalf. She never lacked for a champion when Charley was around.

“I keep wondering if maybe she wants to apologize or something.”

Charley just stared at her. “After all these years?”

Edith shrugged. “They have all kinds of programs where people apologize for things they did in the past, like in Alcoholics Anonymous. The more I think about it, the more I think that has to be it.”

Edith looked at Charley. In those early years on the farm, she had always thought Charley had an average face. Her Harold had been the handsomest man around Dry Creek, with his thick black hair and clear blue eyes. In contrast, Charley had looked very ordinary with his sandy hair and moss-green eyes. Even if he had a moustache, a woman’s gaze would slide right over Charley in a crowd. But that’s because, Edith realized, most people didn’t look at the bones in his face. Charley’s whole face showed his strength. His jaw was firm. His cheekbones were set high. His hair was graying now, but he was clearly ready to take her part in any trouble she had.

“You’re a good friend,” Edith said. “A good friend.”

Charley knew he should smile. He forced his lips into making an attempt. It was a sad day though when a woman looked at him as directly as Edith had and all she had in mind was friendship.

“We go back a long way,” Charley said.

He wondered how Edith could still be so in love with Harold after all the man had done. It was true he had been a charmer, but he’d been gone a long time. Charley finally understood why she had been unhappy in those days long ago. She’d never said anything to his wife; he was sure of that. But she’d no doubt been miserable. How could Edith have been so loyal to a man who was unfaithful to her?

It was because she was a saint, Charley decided. Harold hadn’t deserved her, that much was certain. Here she was still trying to protect his memory. If Harold were alive, Charley would have had some words with him behind a barn somewhere.

Not that it would help the woman sitting across the table from him.

“If I can do anything,” Charley said.

Edith nodded. “I’m just a little worried about Elmer.”

“I could talk to Elmer if you want. He’s got a big mouth, but he wouldn’t say anything to hurt you.” Especially if it was pointed out to him that there would be consequences.

“If you can do it without telling him anything. I mean, just in case he doesn’t know.”

Charley nodded. “Leave it to me.”

“You’re a good—”

“Not a problem,” Charley interrupted. He didn’t want to hear once again that he was a good friend. He’d been trying for months to find a way to be more than a friend to Edith. He’d even stopped going by her place at mealtimes, not wanting her to think he was only interested in her cooking. His wife had told him that Harold used to say he’d married Edith for her cooking. Charley didn’t want to make that mistake—no woman should be told that.

Not that Charley had a list of romantic things to say instead. Of course, he’d done all he could to show he cared about the car she drove. And he was getting her some chokecherries. So far, though, neither of those things had made her look at him any differently. He couldn’t be doing worse if he tried.

“Is there anything else I can do?” he asked.

Charley saw the hesitation on Edith’s face.

“Anything,” he repeated. He wasn’t opposed to facing down someone besides Elmer if there was anyone else she was worried about.

Edith was silent for a moment. “You could help me look right.”

Charley looked at her. That floppy hat of hers had left a red crease across her forehead after she took it off. Her hair was twisted in some way he didn’t understand. Her face was pink with embarrassment. “You look fine.”

“I don’t mean now,” Edith said. “I mean when I meet her.”

“Oh.”

“I’ve always thought she must have been beautiful.”

Charley was almost wishing there was someone he could beat up for her. He hated to see her looking so vulnerable again. “She couldn’t have been more beautiful than you.”

That surprised her and then made her frown.

“I’m not asking for a boost to my morale. I want some real help,” she said.

“Shouldn’t Doris June give you that kind of advice?” Charley thought his neck might be sweating.

The kitchen door opened and Charley had never been so happy to see Linda, and that included the time he’d been up all night taking care of a sick horse and Linda was bringing him the first food he’d seen in twenty-some hours.

“Toast,” Linda announced as she put the plate in front of Edith.

“And biscuits,” she said, setting the plate of biscuits in front of Charley.

“Now, does anyone need jelly?” Linda beamed at them.

“What kind of jelly do you have?” Charley asked. He knew she had over a dozen flavors and he was happy to have her slowly list them all to him. Charley asked for the last flavor, orange marmalade, simply because it was the last flavor she mentioned and he needed some time to gather himself.

“See?” Edith said when Linda went back to the kitchen to get the jelly.

“What?”

“See how many kinds of jelly there are in this world? We don’t need chokecherry. We can have grape.”

“I’m going to get you those chokecherries,” Charley said. “Just give me a little time. I haven’t even had a chance to drive out to the Morgan place.”

“I don’t want to be a bother.”

Charley grunted. “Then get your jars ready to make jelly.”

Maybe making jelly would get Edith’s mind off this Jasmine woman. At least, he hoped so.

Chapter Four

The next morning, Charley went by the hardware store as he usually did. Elmer didn’t show up at his regular time, so Charley decided to go over to the church for a bit. He told himself he was only going there so he could finally move those old hymnals from the back Sunday school room to the shelves by the pastor’s office. He’d meant to do it yesterday, but his morning had been spent with Edith and it took most of his afternoon to get her enough chokecherries from that coulee out by the Morgan place.

Charley was a little nervous about going to the church when no one but the pastor was there. He’d never been one of those people who felt the need to have pastoral counseling about everything they did in life and he wasn’t going to become one now. If he happened to run into Pastor Matthew while he was at the church, though, and they just happened to have a conversation, that would be okay.

Charley felt a man should know his own mind without having to talk with someone else. Still, he needed to move those hymnals and the bookshelf was just outside the pastor’s office.

Charley didn’t want to disturb Pastor Matthew, of course. That’s why he carefully held the hymnals so they wouldn’t fall to the floor and startle the pastor. If the pastor happened to look up and see him walking past though, no one could count that as an interruption.

“Charley,” Pastor Matthew called out as Charley walked past the open doorway. “I’ve been meaning to check with you. Did you catch up with Mrs. Hargrove yesterday? How’s her car running?”

Charley told himself it was only polite to turn back and stand in the open doorway to answer the pastor. No one liked to have to yell back and forth to have a conversation. “I sure did. She was out trying to get some chokecherries.”

“She makes a good jelly. I always look forward to the jar she brings us at Christmas. Glory uses it to make thumbprint cookies. They’re the twins’ favorite.”

Charley swallowed. He hadn’t even known about the cookies. “I ended up getting the last of the chokecherries at the Morgan place. There weren’t many, but I found enough.”

“That’s good. The harvest dinner is coming up and her biscuits and jelly are the hit of the evening.”

Charley shifted his weight so he stood up a little straighter. “The jelly will be there. I think she’s going to make it tomorrow.”

The two men were silent for a moment as Charley tried to think of a way to begin to talk about his problem. He almost wished he had a spiritual crisis—that would be easier to talk about than what he had troubling him.

“How’s your grandson doing? He getting along okay with Doris June?” the pastor finally asked.

Charley stepped inside the pastor’s office.

“He worships her. She makes him those sour-cream raisin cookies that Edith makes. Doris June is pretty near as good a cook as her mother.”

It was silent for another minute before Charley cleared his throat. “Speaking of Edith—I—ah—”

Charley couldn’t think of how to say it so he just stopped.

“She’s a fine woman,” the pastor prodded. “Not perfect, of course, but—”

“She’s closer to perfect than any woman I know,” Charley snapped. He decided next time he wanted to talk he’d go into Miles City and see that dentist who didn’t believe in using Novocain. “Just because a woman has a few opinions and doesn’t know anything about cars doesn’t mean she’s not, well, perfect.”

The pastor nodded.

Charley nodded back. He was glad they had that settled.

Charley was starting to turn to the door when the pastor said, “The two of you have been friends for a lot of years.”

Charley turned back. “That’s it right there.”

The pastor frowned. “It’s good to have friends, isn’t it?”

“I don’t want to be friends anymore.” Charley spit it out and then took a breath.

Pastor Matthew looked bewildered. “Did you have an argument? I hope I wasn’t responsible. I truly thought someone should help her with her battery. She was trying to jump-start her car using the motor on her lawn mower.”

“Well, that would never work.”

“I know, that’s why…” he trailed off. “Please, don’t be upset with her about what I did.”

“I’m not upset with her,” Charley said. “I’m—I’m…”

For the life of him, Charley couldn’t say he wanted to have a romantic relationship with Edith. In his own defense, though, he did have to say that the dentist in Miles City would have guessed the truth of everything by now. Of course, that man dealt all day long with people in pain who couldn’t talk so he was good at understanding the unspoken agony in a man’s eyes.

“Well, don’t give up on your friendship,” Pastor Matthew finally said. “I know all of us are a little annoying at times. But you and Mrs. Hargrove have been friends almost your whole lives. You don’t just throw that kind of friendship away.” The pastor stopped as though something had just occurred to him. “She’s not mad at you, is she? I know she’s awfully protective of that car of hers. Maybe you shouldn’t have told her to get a new one.”

“She only likes that car because Harold bought it.”

The pastor nodded. “I’m sure the two of you will work things out. Just be patient with one another. Who knows? If you give her some time, she might even buy a different car.”

Charley doubted that, but he nodded anyway. He sure wasn’t going to reveal that it wasn’t the car that was bothering him. It was that Edith kept that beat-up old vehicle like a shrine to her dead husband. And she knew all along that the man didn’t deserve it. Harold had betrayed her. Most women he knew would have taken a hammer to that car years ago. All of which must have meant Edith had a powerful love for Harold that just wouldn’t let go.

Charley hoped he lived long enough to see Edith give up that car. If she would even do that much, he would have reason to hope that she could break away from the past and begin a new future. He’d asked his nephew to give her a call and see if she was interested in a new car, but he told him not to expect to make a sale.

“Well, I better get the rest of these hymnals moved,” Charley said as he started toward the door again.

“I’m glad you stopped by to talk,” the pastor said.

“I wasn’t really stopping to talk,” Charley said as he stood in the door. “I was just moving the hymnals. If we don’t move things around, we get in a rut.”

The pastor nodded.

Charley left to stack the hymnals. He suddenly wished time would go back to last Sunday. Or better yet, two Sundays ago. That would be before Edith got the letter that had her so upset. And it would be well before she’d turned to him for beauty tips. Him! What kind of a man did she think he was? She wouldn’t take car advice from him but she wanted to know what he thought about the way she looked?

Charley decided he was losing his touch with women. That was the only explanation.

Of course, he still had to help her. Maybe he should drive out to Elmer’s place and try to talk to him there. It might be better than waiting for him to come to the hardware store anyway. He’d want to ask his questions in private, just in case Elmer did have anything interesting to say.

Elmer lived with his dog in the bunkhouse on his old ranch. When he’d retired, he’d leased the land out to the Elkton Ranch and, since his wife had died, he’d decided the main house was too big to clean and too hard to heat in the winter. Besides, Elmer, apart from that old Cadillac of his, was a simple man. The bunkhouse suited him fine.

Charley drove his pickup down the lane leading into the yard and parked it next to the Cadillac right in front of the bunkhouse. The dog started barking and Elmer came to stand in the doorway.

Charley reached over and picked up the pint jar of fresh-squeezed orange juice he’d gotten from the café on his way out of Dry Creek. He opened the door to his pickup and stepped down.

“Didn’t see you this morning so I thought you might be sick. Brought you some orange juice,” Charley said as he held up the jar.

“There was a day when you’d have brought me a bottle of whiskey if you thought I had a cold,” Elmer grumbled.

Charley smiled. “Well, we’ve changed, haven’t we?”

It seemed like a lifetime ago since he and Elmer were young and wild together. His wife’s faith had brought Charley to the Lord when he was in his thirties and he’d never regretted giving up his old habits. He wasn’t opposed to using the past to move Elmer into the right conversation, though.

“I bet the last time you really let loose was that winter in Billings,” Charley said as he handed the jar to Elmer. “Never did hear the stories of those days.”

“Man, it was something else,” Elmer said with a shake of his head.

“Oh?” Charley sat down on one of the wooden chairs that stood on the low porch to the bunkhouse.

Elmer followed him and eased himself into a chair as well. “We used to go to this place where they had wrestling. If you’ve never seen live wrestling, you’re missing something.”

“I thought you would be out painting the town red,” Charley said. “You know, wine, women and song.”

Elmer grinned. “I was a married man back then.”

So was Harold Hargrove but that didn’t stop him, Charley thought.

“You expect me to believe you all walked the straight and narrow?” Charley asked as casually as he could.

“What does it matter?” Elmer looked at him suspiciously. “It was a long time ago.”

Charley nodded. He would bet money that Elmer knew some secrets from those days, but he wasn’t going to give them up easily.

“Just curious, that’s all,” Charley said as he stood. “That car of Edith’s had me thinking of Harold. I wondered what he’d say if he knew she was still driving it.”

“He’d say she was one stubborn woman.”

“Ever wonder if our wives would have kept one of our old cars like that?” Charley asked as he leaned on the post holding up the porch roof. “If we’d died before them, I mean.”

Elmer snorted. “I know mine wouldn’t. Not even the Cadillac. She didn’t have much sentiment in her, my wife.”

“Well, life wasn’t always easy for the women around here.”

Elmer nodded. “Can’t say I don’t have some regrets when all is said and done. I wish I’d been better to her.”

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