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L
ucy knew if there was anyone who could annoy Ava and to get her to move a way, it would be her Barney.
“I just have to try not to go nuts myself,” she told herself.It might be a slow process, but it is possible; I will get rid of the intruder soon, better and more efficiently than my son’s own efforts.
Despite the semi-early morning a strange sound erupted from outside the house.
“What in the Lord’s name?” Lucy mumbled and made her way outside. She assumed that Barney was probably still in his new room, savoring the luxurious bed and sleeping until eternity, like he’d said he would when she’d first shown him the room. She was wrong.
As soon as she had followed the noise all the way to the pool, she found Barney in one of the lounge chairs puffing on a smoke. He was wearing nothing but his boxers. His truck was parked on the grass close to the pool, all four windows down to blast country music at ear-bursting volumes. He sat up and grabbed another beer from the six-pack that he had stashed in a champagne cooler next to him.
“So, this is what living the life feels like?” he belched with happiness and popped open another can, taking a drag from his cigarette. “By the way, I will fix that.”
“Fix what?” Lucy wondered.
Barney nodded over to his truck to point out the deep tire tracks in the grass, muddy ruts where the carefully tended lawn had been scraped away.
Lucy stood and watched helplessly. Her cheeks puffed out as she held her breath, her hands clenched.
“Don’t worry about it. Have you eaten anything this morning?” she asked in her most sing-song voice, her eyes on the can of beer and cigarette in his hand.
“Nah, but I could do with some grub, you know.” His voice was screaming over the loud music which soon slowed down with a fading guitar solo. Lucy sighed with relief when the song finally died, but another one started, this time with the musician letting out a loud screech which excited Barney and made him tap his feet on the ground, his beer spilling onto the cushion of the lounge chair.
“Remember this song, Lucy?”
“How could I forget?” she mumbled as she considered getting into that truck and stopping that infernal music. How could she forget her roots—growing up in trailer park and lacking everything. When she married into the Radcliff family, her fortunes had changed; from zero to hero, virtually overnight. She had fallen for Benjamin’s father before she knew how rich he was. They had meet at the coffee shop where she worked. Of course, she did not mind his enormous fortune after she found out about it. She had been both poor and rich, and rich was definitely better.
Lucy looked at Barney’s face. He looked so carefree and happy and… definitely not suited for this environment she’d built around herself.
But he’ll have to do,she concluded, in her head.
Barney was staring at her now. “Why’d you keep drifting off like that, huh?” he narrowed his eyes, setting down his beer can on floor. “Wait a minute,” he resumed speaking. “You don’t remember this song!”
Lucy crossed her arms. “Yes, I do.”
“Ah yeah? Where were we when I played it to you?”
She felt a headache coming on. Barney was right: she did not remember, nor did she care to.
“Inside the trailer?” she guessed.
Barney jumped up. “Ah! Wrong! You don’t remember, do you?” He grinned victoriously.
“Who cares,” Lucy snapped.
“Well, let me remind you then. Mom and dad had a real bad fight again. You cried, so I took you to dad’s truck and played this song for you. You had that stuffed animal, a cow I think.”
“Murphy…” Lucy said.
“Yes, Murphy. I made him dance to the song and you laughed so hard, your tears of sadness turned to tears of joy.”
The memory of the incident flooded her like an unwanted hurricane, winds bursting open shutters long since closed tight. So many childhood memories she had repressed. Good ones and bad ones alike.
Barney was carefully analyzing her facial expression. He suddenly stroked his moustache, his head moving in half-nods. “I’m not exactly getting the I’m-glad-you’re-here vibe.”
Lucy sighed and formed a tight smile on her lips, reaching for words, “There has been a lot going on over here. Elijah’s death, the marriage… I am glad you are here.”
“I get it.” Barney cut in. “Just sometimes wonder if you are embarrassed by me.”
