Easy Silence (4 page)

He shook his head, looking a little stunned as he examined me closely. “Now I see it.”

“See what?” I asked.

“You look just like…your dad.”

“You know my dad?”

“Yeah, I do. I knew him long before he became Senator Maxwell Carmichael. We used to play basketball together in high school. We were good buddies.”

“Wow, my dad played basketball?”

“Yeah, and he was pretty good at it too! Not as good as me, but…okay.” he joked. That was a shocker. The closest thing to sports I had ever seen my dad play was golf, and he wasn’t even too interested in that. It was more of a social status thing for him. He never cared to watch sports on television or went to any events, but then again he didn’t care to do much of anything unless there was a political agenda behind it. It just seemed weird to hear that he was once
normal.
“Yeah, Max was the only one in this town who ever made something out of himself.”
Max?
No one ever referred to him as Max except my grandmother.

“Yeah, well just because he made something out of himself doesn’t mean he’s a better person than anyone else.” I didn’t hide my disdain for my dad’s profession in any way.

“This is true.” He stared into my eyes, and at that moment I felt like he could see all the pain and animosity that I had bottled up over the years.

His gaze broke with mine when the front door slammed and Jaxson reappeared. “I have to head into the diner, Pete,” Jaxson said, buttoning up the shirt he had just put on while walking off to his truck.

“Jax, aren’t you going to give Sam a ride back to her grandmother’s? It’s on your way.”

“Well, I would, but I think her last words to me before she jumped out of my truck rhymed with duck and then
you
was after that.”

“I’ll just walk. I’m fine,” I whispered to Pete.

“Don’t be silly, look at that sky. We’re supposed to be getting some really bad thunderstorms,” Pete replied.

“You heard her Pete, she’d rather walk, so let her,” Jaxson said, pulling the tailgate down to get my bike.

“Jaxson Michael Callahan!” Pete scolded. “That’s enough. You will give this young lady a ride home.”

Jaxson rolled his eyes and let out a loud annoyed breath.

“Really, I’ll be—” I started before Pete put his hand up to stop me.

“Oh, and Sam. I’m having a little barbeque here tomorrow to celebrate. I would love to have you come,” Pete said. Jaxson let out an even louder breath to express his displeasure over the invitation.

“What are you celebrating?” I asked.

“Jax’s birthday. He’ll be twenty tomorrow.” I looked over at Jaxson. He was shaking his head at Pete and shooting him daggers with his eyes. I wasn’t quite sure what had come over me. The last thing I wanted to do was hang out with the likes of Jaxson once again tomorrow, but something inside of me wouldn’t allow me to say no.

“Oh, well, what time?” I asked as Jaxson slammed the tailgate and went storming off into his truck.

“Two o’clock.”

“Yeah. Sure.” Pete gave me a warm smile, and I smiled back as the knots in my stomach began to twist and turn when I stepped up into Jaxson’s truck.

“You know, you didn’t have to say yes,” Jaxson snapped once we pulled away.

“Well, I wasn’t saying yes because it’s your birthday. I was saying yes to Pete. He seems like a really nice guy.” He looked over at me and rolled his eyes. “Will you stop doing that?” I shouted.

“Doing what?”

“Acting like you know so much about me and judging everything I say.”

“You look at everyone else as a charity case. I’m not up to your standards and neither is Pete, so stop trying to be miss do-gooder and go back to your own little world that you came from.”

“I really hate you! No, wait I take that back, in order to hate someone you have to have feelings for them in the first place. I despise you!”

“Oh no, whatever will I do? Miss Prissy Pants Samantha despises me. I don’t think I’ll be able to go on with my life.”

I bit my lip, wanting so badly to just haul off and punch him and make both of his eyes match. “You know what! Now I can see why you have a black eye. I’ve only known you for a second, and I seriously want to knock you out.”

He stopped the truck in front of my grandmother’s house and glared at me. “You don’t know shit about me or my life, so keep your fucking comments to yourself.”

I shivered from the look of danger in his eyes. He hardly even gave me enough time to jump out of his truck before he sped away, tires screeching with my bike still in the back.

Damn it!
Hadley and Henry were sitting on the front porch the whole time and witnessed Jaxon’s speedy departure. I took a deep breath as I inched closer to them, preparing for my lecture. Henry was Hadley’s boyfriend. They had been together for over twenty years and never married. Henry was also the police chief in town. Every year he said he was going to retire, and every year he didn’t. He was proud of the title and even prouder to be the first black police chief that this town ever had, as well as the first in the county for that matter. Hadley stood up and shook her head as I walked up the stairs. “Hey Henry!” I exclaimed, trying my best to ignore her.

“Hello, Sam. How are you?”

“Pretty good.” I widened my eyes at Hadley when I could no longer ignore her death stare. “What?”

“What? You know what!” she barked.

“Hadley, please. I’m okay, aren’t I?”

“Sam…you keep hanging out with that boy, and it’s only a matter of time before—”

“Hadley,” I interrupted. “I got a flat tire on my bike at Jenks Pond, and he gave me a ride home…simple as that!”

She shook her head in disbelief. “You are not telling me that Jaxson Callahan has done a complete one eighty? Yesterday, rescuing you from the ocean and now today with your bike. No way are you going to make me believe it.”

“I’m not saying anything about him, because I really don’t know him to begin with. All I know is he gave me a ride home today because he said something about some Felix brothers.”

Henry’s ears suddenly perked up. “Bo and Lyle? What about them? Those boys didn’t start anything with you, Sam, did they?”

“No. I haven’t a clue as to who they even are. I was dragging my bike down the dirt road that leads out of Jenks Pond, and Jaxson told me to get into his truck because they were a little ways up the road drunk and with shotguns.”

Hadley let out a loud gasp. “What time was this?” Henry asked, going into police mode.

“I don’t know. About a half hour ago.”

He immediately pulled out his cell phone and began belting out orders to get a patrol car down to Jenks Pond.

“I’m starving. Is there any more of that chicken in the fridge?”

“Mmm…hmmm.” Hadley looked straight ahead rocking back and forth in the rocking chair while I quietly laughed at her. Now she was giving me the silent treatment. She always did this to me when I would go against her wishes.

“Great, thanks!”

“Supper will be ready in an hour so don’t spoil your appetite.” She caved.

“Oh, I’ll just have a little bit of the chicken. I have to quickly run out to the store when I’m done to buy a birthday present.”

She pinched her eyebrows together. “Oh, who’s birthday?”

I crinkled my nose and shook my head, trying my hardest to hold back my giggle. “I don’t think you want to know.”

“Samantha Rose!”

“Love you Hadley,” I shouted back as I ran inside.

* * *

I began to question my sanity as the time got closer for this barbeque. Jaxson didn’t want me there, so why the heck was I going? Why did I feel compelled to push my way into his life when he clearly didn’t want me around? As I turned down the road that led to Pete’s house, part of me contemplated turning around. But, Pete had invited me, and he was a really nice guy, plus I really wanted to hear some more stories about my dad when he was younger. It was as if my father were reading my thoughts when his name flashed across my caller ID. I pulled up to Pete’s house and parked before answering.

“Hey, Daddy.”

“Hey, Sam, what’s going on?”

“Not much.”
I almost drowned
, but I figured I would spare him the boring details. “What about you?”

“Well, we’re leaving London in the morning and heading for Paris.”

“Oh, sounds like fun.” I didn’t hide the sarcasm in my voice.

“Wish you would have come with us.”

“Nah, Grammy needs me more.”

There was a brief silence. “How is she?” He sounded like he was afraid to ask.

“How do you think?”

“Well, your mother and I will be home for a week before we head out to California. I’ll swing by and see her then.”

And the award for son of the year goes to… “Hmm…okay.”

“So what have you been up to?”

“Not much, heading to a barbeque right now.”

“Oh, where’s that at?”

“Actually, he’s a friend of yours from high school.”

“Who’s that?” he asked with uncertainty in his voice.

“His name is Pete.” Silence filled the line once again and for a moment I thought I lost him. “Dad, are you still there?”

“Yeah, I’m here.”

“Well, do you remember him?”

“Yeah, I do. Pete Fairchild.”

“I didn’t know you played basketball?” I giggled.

“Yeah, well that was a long time ago.” He seemed solemn. His whole demeanor had changed from just moments ago.

“Is Mom around?”

“Oh, she’s in the shower.”

“Well, tell her I said hi.”

“Will do.”

We said our goodbyes, and I prepared myself to enter the lion’s den. Actually, there was only one lion that I feared, the same one whose birthday present I was holding in my hand.

I took a deep breath and followed the voices around back. Thankfully, Pete was the first person I spotted. “Sam, you came!” I nodded and gave him a smile, scanning the backyard for Jaxson who was nowhere in sight. “Bonnie, come meet Sam,” Pete shouted to the attractive brunette who looked to be around his age. She seemed just as warm and welcoming as Pete as her deep brown eyes settled upon me, and she smiled.

“Sam, you’re Max’s daughter?” I nodded. “It’s so nice to meet you! I went to school with your mom and dad.”

“Oh, my mom and dad didn’t know each other in high school. They met after college.”

“Oh…ummm.” She turned her head in Pete’s direction, looking a little confused.

He cleared his throat and ignored her gaze. “Sam is spending the summer here with her grandma.”

“Oh, that’s nice,” Bonnie responded. “Geeze, I can’t get over how much you look like her.”

“Her?” I asked.

“Oh…I mean your dad,” she corrected herself.

“Yeah, I get that a lot.” I smiled.

“Jaxson…look who’s here!” Pete shouted as the back door slammed, and Jaxson appeared.

“What’s up?” he mumbled, barely looking at me while Pete gave me a sympathetic smile. I wasn’t going to let his mean spirit get me down; instead I was taking the high road. I walked over to the group of guys he was standing around talking to and took him by total surprise when I placed the birthday gift I had gotten for him in his hand.

“Happy birthday.” There was a brief silence as he stood there gazing at me. His eyes had a softness to them that I had never seen before, and I knew it was his way of saying thank you without actually saying it. I flashed him a quick smile before walking away and joining Pete and Bonnie once again.

I spent the rest of the afternoon exchanging awkward glances with Jaxson and listening to old stories about my dad. I was thoroughly enjoying myself; it was nice to know he had a life at one time that involved more than politics. Although, it seemed weird to hear them talk about him with Brooke, his high school sweetheart. I couldn’t imagine my dad with anyone else but my mom. “So whatever happened to Brooke?” I asked.

“Oh…umm,” Bonnie stammered.

“We all kind of lost touch after they went off to college,” Pete interjected. “And, your dad never really did come back here to visit.”

“Tell me about it.” I sighed. “My grandmother is wasting away from Alzheimer’s, and he hasn’t come to see her in years.” I felt the familiar burn in my eyes. “His stupid career takes precedence over everything and everybody.” I was feeling like such a fool for crying in front of these two people that I had just met, but the sad part was that I actually felt more comfortable talking to them about how I was feeling than to my own parents. Bonnie moved closer and rubbed my back while Pete grabbed me a napkin to wipe my eyes. Once I pulled it together, Bonnie got up to greet some more guests, and Pete got pulled off into another conversation. I was feeling a little awkward sitting all alone and decided to take a walk by the creek that was at the edge of the property. I took a seat under the tree and listened to the restless trickle of the water flowing. Why did I just let myself get so emotional over my dad? Was it because I yearned for the man that he once was from the stories they were telling instead of the uptight politician he had now become? My mind began to wander. Why didn’t he marry Brooke instead of my mom? Maybe he would have been a different person if he had…but then I wouldn’t be here right now.