or do you just like rubbing it in?” Tres asked. Russell hesitated before answering. “I like you, Tres Coulter. And like I said, I don’t like speaking ill of the dead. But then I s’pose being honest ain’t so bad. It’s not like Jake ever seemed to be bothered by who he was. Surely didn’t give a damn about what people thought of him. So I guess I ain’t speakin’ too far outta turn...” Russell shifted in his seat and took a swallow of beer.
Russell began slowly, but built momentum as he spoke, “Now, like I said, I liked Jake. He was a good enough sort, though he preferred to drink and carouse more than he cared to put in a day’s work. But now, he always had a joke or a tale to tell. Easy man to get along with. Never found any fault with him ‘til he married Jenna. I’d never met her before then, her being from Kitty Hawk and all. But once I did, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out Jake had struck gold. Most men would be tickled to have a wife like her.” Russ paused and took a long breath and lit a cigarette. He appeared to think for a moment before continuing on. “But not Jake,” he added with a frown. “He never grew up. Never changed any of his ways. Definitely made a body wonder why he didn’t take better care of his family. But I still liked him. It was hard to dislike him.” Russ’ words weighed heavy with remorse, a fact not lost on Tres. “It was just hard to justify how he treated her. More than once I thought about grabbing him by the shirt collar and telling him to grow up. He was married. It was high time for him to step up and be a man and stop cavorting with loose women . It wasn’t right to make a fool out of a wife who was loyal and dependable. I knew...hell, the whole town knew what he was up to. Sure, he did all his partying in Elizabeth City, but that didn’t matter. Buxton might be separated from the mainland by water, but word spreads.”
“And I’m the bad guy? What’s wrong with her Russ?”
Russ shrugged. “Hell if I understand women, son. She must have loved him an awful lot. Maybe it was because he helped her with her daddy and her sister. I don’t know. But I know she was loyal to him…he wasn’t loyal at all to her. Breaks your heart really. I bet she even lost her dad over Jake.”
“What do you mean?”
Russ cleared his throat and explained, “Now, it’s not that I pay much attention to the hub-bub, but I am a married man, so I have to hear about such things.” Russell rolled the end of his cigarette in the ashtray bringing it to a perfect tip. “The summer they got married was a hell of a summer. I don’t think the gossip has ever been so wild. The whole town buzzed. And my wife, she was like a dog with a fresh bone. I suppose life here’s too boring, though we’re surrounded by strangers for half the year.”
Tres leaned forward, his elbows on the table.
Russ continued, “It all started with Jake dating Jenna’s sister, Angel. Now everybody knows just how wild and crazy most preachers’ daughters are, but this girl, whoa...she was a real prize. Danced damn near naked on a bar in Nags Head.” Russell flicked the ash from the tip of his cigarette and sighed. “Hell, her antics were well beyond typical bad girl and though they lived up in Kitty Hawk, people in Buxton were shocked. And of course we all knew Jake and knew Jake kept runnin’ with the girl even though his momma and her daddy were against it. Poor Maureen asked a few of us men…Jake’s daddy died when he was a boy… to go up to fetch Jake home more than a few times. We damned near hog tied him and brought him home once. He fought us so bad, he damned near wore out three grown men. Well, we turned him loose and he was gone again before dawn, snuck out when Maureen went to bed.” Russ shook his head. “And unfortunately, Angel died that same night of a drug overdose.” He sighed and rubbed his chin. “Damned shame to lose a girl so young. Beautiful girl too.
Russell began slowly, but built momentum as he spoke, “Now, like I said, I liked Jake. He was a good enough sort, though he preferred to drink and carouse more than he cared to put in a day’s work. But now, he always had a joke or a tale to tell. Easy man to get along with. Never found any fault with him ‘til he married Jenna. I’d never met her before then, her being from Kitty Hawk and all. But once I did, it didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out Jake had struck gold. Most men would be tickled to have a wife like her.” Russ paused and took a long breath and lit a cigarette. He appeared to think for a moment before continuing on. “But not Jake,” he added with a frown. “He never grew up. Never changed any of his ways. Definitely made a body wonder why he didn’t take better care of his family. But I still liked him. It was hard to dislike him.” Russ’ words weighed heavy with remorse, a fact not lost on Tres. “It was just hard to justify how he treated her. More than once I thought about grabbing him by the shirt collar and telling him to grow up. He was married. It was high time for him to step up and be a man and stop cavorting with loose women . It wasn’t right to make a fool out of a wife who was loyal and dependable. I knew...hell, the whole town knew what he was up to. Sure, he did all his partying in Elizabeth City, but that didn’t matter. Buxton might be separated from the mainland by water, but word spreads.”
“And I’m the bad guy? What’s wrong with her Russ?”
Russ shrugged. “Hell if I understand women, son. She must have loved him an awful lot. Maybe it was because he helped her with her daddy and her sister. I don’t know. But I know she was loyal to him…he wasn’t loyal at all to her. Breaks your heart really. I bet she even lost her dad over Jake.”
“What do you mean?”
Russ cleared his throat and explained, “Now, it’s not that I pay much attention to the hub-bub, but I am a married man, so I have to hear about such things.” Russell rolled the end of his cigarette in the ashtray bringing it to a perfect tip. “The summer they got married was a hell of a summer. I don’t think the gossip has ever been so wild. The whole town buzzed. And my wife, she was like a dog with a fresh bone. I suppose life here’s too boring, though we’re surrounded by strangers for half the year.”
Tres leaned forward, his elbows on the table.
Russ continued, “It all started with Jake dating Jenna’s sister, Angel. Now everybody knows just how wild and crazy most preachers’ daughters are, but this girl, whoa...she was a real prize. Danced damn near naked on a bar in Nags Head.” Russell flicked the ash from the tip of his cigarette and sighed. “Hell, her antics were well beyond typical bad girl and though they lived up in Kitty Hawk, people in Buxton were shocked. And of course we all knew Jake and knew Jake kept runnin’ with the girl even though his momma and her daddy were against it. Poor Maureen asked a few of us men…Jake’s daddy died when he was a boy… to go up to fetch Jake home more than a few times. We damned near hog tied him and brought him home once. He fought us so bad, he damned near wore out three grown men. Well, we turned him loose and he was gone again before dawn, snuck out when Maureen went to bed.” Russ shook his head. “And unfortunately, Angel died that same night of a drug overdose.” He sighed and rubbed his chin. “Damned shame to lose a girl so young. Beautiful girl too.
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