Free Different Drummers by Jean Houghton-Beatty Page B

smiled. “Yeah, I guess I did, son. I kinda had a feelin’.”
    Bob turned to Kathleen, the disagreement with his father already forgotten. “You ain’t never tasted nothin’ like Momma’s fried chicken and her rice and gravy. And these biscuits, wow. Everywhere I’ve gone I’ve looked. Even Texas. But there just ain’t no biscuits anywhere like Momma’s.”
    He grinned as he helped himself to the green beans. “I just can’t get over seeing Kathleen sitting around the table with us in this house. The last time I saw her was in England. I’ll tell you this and it ain’t no lie. If I never see that place again, it’ll be too soon for me.”
    Kathleen swung around to face him. Why had he said that? Didn’t he realize it would hurt.
    â€œTexas ain’t much better,” he went on cheerfully. “There’s miles and miles of nothin’. There just ain’t no place like Eddisville. Ain’t that right, Baby?”
    He put an arm around her shoulders and hugged her to him. “Don’t you just love it?”
    â€œI haven’t had much chance to get to know it yet,” she said. “Your cousin Freddie has turned out to be a good friend. He’s already given me a tour of the town.”
    As casually as she could, she told him about the impending interview for the job with The Eddisville Gazette . She held her breath, waiting for Otis to interrupt with his diatribe about Mr. Tate being the devil incarnate, but for reasons of his own, the man was strangely silent.
    Bob held the drumstick away from his mouth and stared at her.
    â€œYou mean you’ve been here less than a week and already had a job offer? Now, how do you think that’s gonna look from my point of view?”
    â€œYou won’t have any trouble finding a job.” She leaned closer to him, resisting the urge to put her head on his shoulder. “Do you have any idea what you want to do?”
    â€œShoot no,” he said, then took a bite out of the chicken leg. “I just know I’m not gonna be in any big hurry. I’ve been gone a long time and there’s a heap of things I want to do before I get a job.”
    His sullen look and sharp reply caught her off guard. “I only asked, Bob. But you’re right, I suppose. It’ll take a while to get yourself adjusted.”
    Selma jumped right in, a smirk slashing her face. “You don’t know diddley-squat about men do you, Kathleen? They need to sit and think awhile. Let the poor guy settle down, for Pete’s sake.”
    Kathleen shot her a warning glance but Selma turned away.
    â€œI got three hundred dollars musterin’ out pay,” Bob said proudly. “I guess that’ll keep us going for a while.”
    Otis licked his greasy fingers. “That sounds like a gracious plenty, and I reckon you’ll be givin’ some of it to the church.”
    â€œI doubt it.” Kathleen was braver now she had Bob to back her up and dared Otis to challenge her. “We don’t own a single thing of our own. We can put some of it in the bank and save toward a home of our own.”
    * * *
    That night, while the rest of the family went to church again, Bob and Kathleen found themselves alone at last. When they made love, the bed creaked and groaned but because there was nobody in the house to hear it, they didn’t care. And afterwards, exhausted and spent with emotion, they fell asleep. When Kathleen awoke, the house was dark and silent. She propped herself up on her elbow and looked for a long time at her husband’s face, innocent as a child’s, in the waning moonlight.
    She edged gingerly out of bed, trying to soften the creak. Slipping on her robe, she made her way to the bathroom. After she’d used the toilet, she cringed at the loud flushing sound, then tiptoed back to their room. She closed the door softly, removed her robe, and slipped back