AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Leona asks if we can stop at Market Square, so she can pick up an order from One with the Moon.
While she is in the boutique, Caleb and I walk the square.
We make our way into the Penny-Pinching Pack Rat. It’s a thrift shop, tucked between the more upscale shops.
“Let’s pop in here. I want to introduce you to someone,” I tell him.
The bell on the door chimes as we walk inside, and an older gentleman with a limp comes shuffling out of the back. His coveralls and wiry gray beard give off the impression that he could be found in the woods, checking on an old moonshine still.
Zemry Wells. A war hero. A sourpuss and my pop’s closest friend. I adore him.
“Who do you have here?” he asks when he catches sight of Caleb.
“Hi, Zemry. This is Caleb, Leona’s grandson. Caleb, this is Zemry Wells,” I introduce.
He looks at Caleb and grunts. “You like boiled peanuts, boy?”
“What?” Caleb asks and looks up at me.
“Did I stutter?” Zemry asks.
“No, sir,” Caleb says.
“Well, do you?”
“I don’t know what that is,” Caleb admits.
“It’s peanuts that are boiled. Pretty self-explanatory, don’t you think?”
“I guess.”
“Come on,” Zemry says and motions for Caleb to follow him deeper into the store.
I nudge him forward, and Caleb apprehensively falls in step behind him.
Zemry leads him over to two large steel pots resting over a coal stove. He opens the top of one of the pots, ladles a huge scoop of peanuts into a Styrofoam cup, and hands it to Caleb.
“These are the regular boil since you’re a beginner, but I’m famous for my Cajun recipe,” he tells him before preparing a cup of the spicy version for me.
Caleb watches as I take one of the nuts and crack the shell. I suck the juice from the pod and then slurp the tender nuts into my mouth.
I moan as the delicacy touches my tongue. Nothing reminds me of childhood like Zemry’s boiled peanuts.
“Your turn,” Zemry says to Caleb.
We watch as he mimics me. He wrinkles his nose as he chews and swallows.
“Well?” Zemry asks.
“It’s salty and slimy,” Caleb says.
“That’s how it’s supposed to be,” Zemry assures him.
Caleb tries another.
“They’ll grow on you,” Zemry states.
We kill time, meandering around the shop, looking at the old antiques. Caleb is fascinated by some of the Native American tools and old knives.
“Here,” Zemry says as he hands Caleb a tarnished pocketknife with a carved ivory handle.
“I don’t have any money,” Caleb tells him.
“It’s a gift. You don’t pay for gifts.”
“I’m not sure my mom will let me have it,” Caleb says as he looks up at me.
“Every boy needs a pocketknife. If Taeli or Leona has a problem with it, you send them to me, and I’ll sort them,” Zemry says.
“Thank you,” Caleb offers.
Zemry just grunts and shuffles off. Caleb’s eyes follow him, and then his head snaps to me.
“It’s him. Isn’t it?” he asks excitedly.
“It’s who?”
“The one old grump, like the sign says. Mom said I’d know when I saw him. It’s Zemry. He’s the town’s old grump!”
I laugh. “Yep, it’s Zemry.”
Leona finds us as we exit, and the three of us decide to leave the truck and walk three blocks to the Blackbird Motel. Caleb tells her about the pocketknife, and she makes him give it up until he asks his mother for permission to carry it.
I expect the kid to pitch a fit, but he doesn’t. He just hands it over.
“I didn’t think it was okay for me to keep it,” he tells her.
“I can keep it safe until she decides it’s time for you to have it.”
We find a crosswalk and make our way across the street. When we arrive, Taeli is already waiting for us at the entrance.
“Mom, I met the grump!” Caleb tells her.
“You did?”
“Yep, and he yelled at us and made me eat slimy peanuts.”
Her eyes come to me as she fights back a laugh.
“That does sound grumpy,” she tells him.
“I think he’s secretly nice, but he doesn’t want anyone to know it. He even gave me a knife.”
“He did what?”
“Don’t worry. I gave it to Granna. She’s going to put it up until I’m bigger.”
“Okay,” Taeli says as she looks between us.
I walk over and open the door. “Shall we?”
The three of them file in. I lead them through the lobby to the door that opens to the courtyard. I pay our entrance fee, which covers the food and compensation for the band. Leona chooses our seats at a picnic table close to the stage.
We enjoy an evening of burgers and tunes. Leona dances with an older gentleman in attendance and then tries to teach Caleb how to shag as he cackles.
I can’t take my eyes off Taeli, who is alight, watching her boy and his grandmother.
Her glow is so bright, the moon is jealous.
