Page 1 of Bastain

Chapter 1

Bastain chopped the wood that was in front of him and thought of nothing else. Fear made him careful, and he’d not be hurt simply because he was pissed off at his mother. Looking around when he put the next piece of wood onto the stump, he saw her standing there looking at him. He chopped the wood into three pieces without much trouble, other than his anger making him a bit stronger.

“Have you had enough chopping wood?” Her soft voice floated toward him without much effort on her part. She could make a grown man whimper with that voice and have them eating out of her hands. But not today. She was as angry as he was. “I asked you a question, Bastain Smith, and I demand an answer.”

“I can chop until it’s all gone.” She asked if he was still angry with her. “Yes, I am. I don’t know how you’d think otherwise when you’re forcing me to go out with a woman that I barely know.”

“She’s a good lass.” He put another piece of wood on the chopping block and said nothing. “You’ll do this for me because I asked, Bastain. Won’t you?”

“You didn’t ask me. You told me straight up that I was going to do this for you. I’m a grown man and know when someone is too young for me to be dating.” He looked at his mother. “The real reason, if you please. Why am I taking a young lass, as you called her, to the prom when I’m too old for her? There has to be a reason other than you say so.” She struggled with an answer, and he cut another two pieces before he got one.

“She’s being bullied by the older girls and boys in her class. They think of her as a nobody when we both know that she’s more than that.” He said that he didn’t even know her name. “Shelby Donaldson. She’s a mite younger than you, but I’ve got permission for you to take her so that you can protect her. She’ll need it before the night’s over.”

“What am I supposed to do? Beat up a bunch of seventeen and eighteen-year-old kids because they’re not being nice to one of their own?” He chopped two more pieces of wood before speaking again. “Mom, this won’t end well. I’m nearly twenty-seven years old, and I don’t have time nor the inclination to mess with a bunch of kids.”

“Do it for me then.” He just stared at her, and she smiled. “I’ll make your favorite dessert to go with your dinner? Would that make you want to help out an old friend for me?”

He found that he couldn’t turn her down when she pleaded like that. “I’ll do it, but it’s going to cost you more than just a cherry pie. I’m ten years older than the oldest kid going there, and I’m going to have to live this down.” She said that no one would care if the girl was taken care of. “I don’t understand, but I’ll do it. Are you going to bail me out if I get into trouble? There is a good chance that I will, from what you’re telling me.

“You just show up with her, and she’ll have a good time. There’s not a lot going on with you right now, and it’s a favor for me. I’ll repay you.” He asked if she’d visit him in jail when he was arrested for hurting a kid. “No one will arrest you, Bastain. I promise. You just escort her there and back, and that will be the end of it. Most of the young kids around here are afraid of my boys anyway.”

“With good reason.” He chopped the rest of the wood when his mom went into the house. He would think about what he’d have to do between pieces of wood flying. But he’d never distract himself while chopping. That was just too dangerous. About as dangerous as him going to a high school dance with a kid that he didn’t know or had never seen before.

After he was finished with the pile, he stacked it up along the line with the rest of the wood they’d use for winter. Mom didn’t really need all that much wood; they had a brand new furnace in the house that heated it well enough. But she liked to have a fireplace going so that she could sit in front of it during the winter months. He couldn’t even begrudge her that little bit of fun.

Taking a shower to wash the sweat and shavings of small pieces of wood that would be in his hair, Bastain decided to go and see if his suit still fit him. He knew his black one would, he wore it to work nearly every day a couple of months ago, but he didn’t want to wear the black one, but the blue one. Getting it out of the closet, he noticed that his shirts were gone. Mom must have taken them to be pressed, and he was all right with that.

Bastain was the only one of his brothers who lived at home. He’d gone through a nasty divorce a few years ago and had vowed never to marry again. Women were crazy. He knew that most of them weren’t like Debra, but he’d not seen one yet that would make him want to ever walk down the aisle again. He didn’t mind dating, so long as they understood that he wasn’t into anything long-term, but he didn’t want to get into a relationship with anyone again that would cost him what it had with Debra. He decided to wear the black one after all because the blue one no longer fit. The black one barely fit, and he was upset about that, too.

It was too small across the shoulders and chest. He figured that doing all the chores around the household that his mother had for him had done that. He’d rather chop wood than sit around and read a book or watch television. And it showed on his body. Going to find his mother after getting dressed, he found her in the laundry room ironing his shirts.

“I only need the one.” She said that she loved doing it for him. “I’m going to have to get myself some more suits come Monday.”

“I can see that.” She handed him his freshly ironed shirt and asked him to try it on. Like the blue suit, it no longer fit. Nor did the other three shirts that had been in his closet. He decided to go into town and find himself something to wear tonight so that he’d not have to wear something too small for his frame. “I’ll go with you. That way, if something looks out of place, I can tell you.”

“When is this prom thing?” She told him it was tonight. “I have about enough time to get one tailored for me and a couple of shirts. That’s what I get for chopping wood like I have been.”

“You look good.” He flexed his muscles, and she laughed. “I can’t believe that you’re my baby boy. I know that you’re nearly twenty-seven, but I can’t believe that I gave birth to you all these years ago.”

Not only was he able to get him a suit off the rack, but he was able to get it fitted to him, too. They would have to rush it, but he didn’t mind. If he was going to go to this thing, he was going to look his best. Besides, he told his mom, he needed extra suits for work too.

“What changed your mind? I thought you liked wearing shirts and jeans to work.” He told her that he had several meetings coming up this next week and decided that if he needed a suit, he might as well get one that fits. “I can understand that. You’ve been working around the house for so long that it’s looking good. And I’ll use the wood this winter when we’re without power.”

“Mom, why are we living in this old house?” She said it was paid for. “Other than that, does it serve any purpose for us to be living in this shack?”

“I’ll have you know that this house has served us very well over the years, young man.” He kissed her on the cheek and said he knew that. “What do you expect me to do? Go into debt for something new that I’ll be paying on for the rest of my life?”

“No, I expect you to help me find a house for myself and live with me for the rest of my life. It’s the least I can do since you’ve been taking care of me all these years. The others and I have talked about it, and this is what we want to do for you.” She asked him what he’d do if he found himself another wife. “That’s never going to happen. I am finished with women and their ways. You come live with me and the two of us will be happy roommates and not have another worry about the power going out because we have run the electric stove and the heater at the same time and blew the power.”

“It would be nice if I don’t have to put pans everywhere when it rains.” He told her that he’d not noticed that. “It’s only in my bedroom. It’s been like that since before your father died.”

“We’ll take care of that as well. Just as soon as this thing is over with me, I’ll take you to the real estate office, and we’ll put in an order for a much better house. And we both know that it won’t take much to be better than this one.” She looked around her little area and smiled up at him. “What’s that for? You want to live here for the rest of your days? With leaky roofs? A stove that only had one burner? Or for that matter, heating the house with firewood simply because the furnace in this place has blown a fuse when it’s brand new?”

“Are you saying that I’m old?” He said that he’d never do that, but the furnace does blow sometimes. “Yes, it does. I’ve been meaning to have it replaced every summer, but something else comes up, and I put it off. It’s not that we can’t afford it, but I’ve gotten lazy about things around here for some time now.”

“The only time I think about the replacement is in the middle of winter when there are several inches of snow on the ground.” Mom nodded and said that was when she thought about it as well. “Monday, we’ll get ourselves out and see what sort of house we can get. I know that we can afford just about anything that’s out there, but we don’t need huge. Just something for the two of us.”

Bastain was getting ready for his date when his mom came to find him. She said that Shelby was ready to be picked up. Asking his mom again if this was a good idea, she told him that the poor girl had been bullied so much that she didn’t even want to go to school anymore. Bastain couldn’t figure out why this prom was something that he had to go to. Surely there was something else going on right now with this child, and his mom wasn’t telling him. He left the house before he could get into it with his mom again about all this.