I saw the wisdom of this advice and didn’t delay.
Bessie had politely declined our offer but did not decline keeping the cash I earned from my Charger, cash I left behind with her. She promised me, once she got on her feet, she’d pay me back. I let her promise me that and when she tried to pay me back, I would decline. I knew she’d take care of me for free, I knew she’d take care of me no matter what but I needed to give her that. It didn’t cover what I owed her for pulling me together after I fell apart but then again, nothing would. But it would be something.
Then she left Panama City Beach and headed to Miami. She’d never been there but she heard it was a fun place to be and was going to check it out. The last word I had from her (which was yesterday) was that she liked it, wanted to give it a shot and was currently looking for a job.
I had mixed feelings about this. Dallas was a one day, very long haul from Carnal. Miami was a lot fucking further. But she’d been in a shit situation and unhappy almost as long as I had been with Ronnie. It was good she was making this change and if she liked Miami then I would like Miami for her.
And anyway, it would be fun when Ty and I could visit her there.
Things had changed for Ty and I and when I say that I mean for the better. There was nothing between us now, it was out there, open, talked about. He shared more, I got to listen more. Day to day, he relaxed more, he smiled more, he laughed more and my man was fucking funny so I laughed more too. We’d weathered one hell of a storm but we did not come out with nicks and dents. We came out tougher, stronger, closer.
But even though home life was good, great, the best, the sun shining all the time not only because it was August in Colorado but because there were no clouds over our life, Carnal was different.
There were clouds over Carnal, big, black, threatening thunderclouds. Everyone felt them, everyone was being cautious, quiet, braced and waiting for that first crack of thunder and bolt of lightning, hoping they weren’t too close when it struck.
Although the news travelled slow, the murder of Misty Keaton, allegedly by Officer Rowdy Crabtree, sent low, buzzing shockwaves through the town.
I thought Ty would at least receive suspicious glances but this did not happen. Ty had been gone awhile but Ty was well-known, well-known enough that folks knew that was not his style.
But the town was humming with gossip and at the salon, as it had a tendency to be at salons, that hum was fast, furious and prolific.
Therefore I learned, not surprisingly, that Misty was not well-liked. No one had much against her five plus years ago, though she was known as a gold-digger intent on making a good marriage. But public opinion of her plummeted when she lied about Ty’s alibi then took another significant drop when she married Chace Keaton. This was because many guessed the connection and, to my surprise, I learned that many liked Chace and didn’t like him saddled with the likes of Misty. When she married a town cop who happened to be in line for a large inheritance, she instantly decided her shit didn’t stink and let everyone know she felt that way and they should too. This behavior was further frowned upon. After that, what was left of her popularity took a nosedive but she didn’t care much seeing as she had a hot guy in her bed, his ring on her finger and his Daddy’s fortune on the way, all she had to do was wait for the old man to die.
Through salon gossip, I also learned that this didn’t work out for her as she had planned. From the beginning, Chace made it blindingly and publicly apparent that he was not blissfully married. He put up with her. He went through the motions. But he didn’t like either. And because he could barely stomach the sight of his wife, when he needed to get him a little somethin’ somethin’, he went elsewhere and did this openly.