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Graham
Iwent home last night and took a long, cold shower. Then, I lay awake, thinking about Taeli all night. I wasn’t lying when I said changes are scary, but anything worth doing or having is worth it.
I spend the morning on a jobsite. We are clearing trees and prepping the land at the top of one of the mountain peaks for an old gold mine–themed amusement park, complete with roller coasters and other rides along with an old Western town full of saloons and bank robbers, cowboys, and gunslingers. It’s every little boy’s dream. A major investor took on the project, and it’s being overseen by the company that manages Dollywood in Sevierville. The valley is excited about the tourism that it will draw along with the ski resort that Langford is helping to open next winter.
After overseeing the beginning of the excavation, I head down to Mom’s office to pick up some contracts that Pop had his attorneys look over for me.
I check my messages when I get a phone signal and find out some auto parts I’ve been anxiously waiting for have come in, and I decide to call it an early day.
I walk into the office and catch the end of a tense moment between Taeli and her son.
“Whatever,” Caleb snaps before putting in his earbuds and walking away from her desk.
She gives me an apologetic look when she catches my eye.
“Hi, Graham,” she greets.
“Hey. Rough afternoon?” I ask.
She slides her eyes across the room to where he has plopped down in a chair.
“He hates me,” she says.
“No, he doesn’t,” I disagree.
She brings her eyes to me. “Oh, yes, he does. He told me so this morning.”
I chuckle. “Every kid says that at one time or another. If they don’t, you aren’t parenting right. You aren’t supposed to be his friend. You’re his mother.”
“Can’t I be both?” she asks.
“Eventually, like when he’s a grown man, but not now. The worst thing for a teenager is to have a friend instead of a mother.”
Her concerned eyes flicker to him again.
“I hope you’re right,” she mutters.
Then, she looks back at me, shakes her head, and snaps back into professional mode.
“I’m sorry. Sara-Beth said you were dropping in. I’ll get those contracts for you,” she says and walks off down the hallway.
I look over and see her son sitting in a chair in the corner of the small office with his head buried in a device.
I stroll to him and look over his shoulder at the screen to see he is engrossed in a computer game.
When he realizes someone is in his space, he peeks up at me through his bangs that have settled over his eyes.
“Hi,” I say.
“Hi, Graham,” he replies.
I stand up and lean against the wall at his side.
“I’m going to the soda shop for a burger, and then I’m going to pick up some parts that came in at the post office and head to my garage to work on my Firebird for a bit. You interested?” I ask him.
His brows furrow. “Interested in what?” he asks.
I shrug. “In having a burger and helping me work on my car,” I reply.
“You want me to help you? I don’t know how to work on cars,” he says.
“I can teach you. It’s gotta be more fun than sitting here all afternoon, fiddling with that thing.” I nod to the gadget he is grasping.
He looks down at the game and then up to the clock above his mother’s desk. Then, his eyes come back to me.
“I am hungry,” he admits, and I know I have him.
I call out to Taeli, and she comes from the file room and looks at me standing here with Caleb.
“Do you mind if I steal Caleb here for the afternoon?”
She glances down at her son.
“We’re going to eat burgers and work on cars,” he tells her.
Surprise washes over her as she brings her gaze back to me.
“I’m going to show him how to replace the alternator and the spark plugs on a 1977 Pontiac Firebird Trans Am.”
“You still have that car?” she asks.
“I sure do. It’s in the garage at my office on blocks while I wait for some parts to come in. How did you know about it?”
“Garrett used to drive it sometimes when we were in school. The girls, including me, would drool over it.”
Yeah, my brother was always begging to use it when I was away at college.
“Can I go, Mom?” Caleb asks.
She grins and then looks to her son and gives in. “Okay. You leave your phone and tablet here and listen to Mr. Tuttle,” she instructs.
He hands over the device, and she fishes in her wallet for cash and hands it to him. He takes the money and shoves it into his pocket.
“I’ll be right back,” he says before taking off for the bathroom.
Taeli watches him and then turns to me. “I’ll come by to get him once I’m done here. Around five thirty.”
“That’ll be fine,” I agree.
