A Simple Life: Chapter 111 (Patreon)

I am woken by a kiss to my tummy.  As I am groggily surfacing Winona, who was fully beneath the blankets, crawls up my body.  I open my eyes just in time to see her peek up from out of the covers like a sleepy eyed groundhog emerging to look for its shadow.

“Good morning beautiful.”  She says, her voice a bit dry and croaky still.

“Mmm.”  I smile and stretch.  “Good morning!”

She slides up over me and kisses me sweetly.  Closing her eyes she rests her head on my shoulder and nuzzles my neck.  “Mmmm.  What a night.”

“What a w-way to wake up.”

“Mmmm.”  She sighs.  “What time is it?”

I turn my head and peer around the wide awake and purring puffball that sat looking at me expectantly beside my pillow.  “Almost 9.”  I say as I give Brutus’ little forehead a scratch.

With a kiss to my neck she whispers.  “Pops’ll be here soon.  I should get moving.”  She groans and snuggles closer.  “But I don’t wanna!”

I giggle and pet her soft hair.  “Got time for a quick chubby?  My treat?”

“Hell…yes!”  She blinks her eyes open and rubs them.  “That would be awesome.”

We roll out of bed and go about getting ready for the day.  There was such a feeling of romance and togetherness in the air and physically I was also feeling the aftereffects of the night before.  It was all so wonderful.  The morning sun had risen and my dreams melted away but still I found myself in heaven.  No drug in the world could touch this bliss of true love.

Half an hour later Winona is rolling open one of the bay doors just as her dad’s vehicle is coming up the drive.  Just before the SUV cruises by to park at the side I catch a half glower, half smirk on Amos’ face when he sees me step out into the sunshine.  He was neither surprised or upset by the fact that I had obviously spent the night with his daughter, but neither was he thrilled about it.  It was probably a Dad thing.  As I hear the engine turn off, the door slam, and his crunching footsteps approach Winona steps up beside me so that we might face any parental wrath as a unified front.

Amos rounds the corner with coffee and muffins in his hands and stops when he sees us there shoulder to shoulder.  He gives us each a long hard look.  For a moment all goes quiet except for song of the morning birds and the hiss of the distant waves.  At my side Winona stood proud.  She pushes her glasses higher up her nose and stares him eye to eye.  Not only ready to have it out but, I think, secretly hoping to.  Her dad senses that too and chooses not to say a word.  That is until he hears the mew of the only one of us he truly missed.

“My lion!”  He bellows as he barges right through us, sending us staggering left and right, to get to the tiny kitten who was trundling his way.  The pair of them come together like long lost lovers in some sappy old romance.  Setting down the box and cups right there on the floor of the garage Amos scoops up his fuzzy buddy and lifts him high in the air.  “There he is.”  He bring Brutus to his cheek where the kitty licks and purrs and greets his giant pal.  “Awww, missed you too pal.”

Winona and I look at each other with poorly hidden cringes as all either of us could think about was what that same kitty mouth that was currently nuzzling and licking her dad’s cheeks and lips had been doing the night before.

“Glch!”  Winona shudders as I cover my giggle.  “We gotta go.”

“Go?”  He looks to us.

“I won’t be long.  Quick breakfast and I’ll be back.”

“Better be.”  He warns.  “We’re taking customers soon and…”

“I know.  I know.”  She says.  “Hour and a half, tops.”  Before he could protest she grabs my hand and tugs me along behind her.  “Come on Sprout.”

“Hey!”  Amos calls.  We stop and look back to see him looking at me.  “Cher and I were wondering if you might want to come by for dinner tonight.”

“If she thinks she’s going to scare him off…!”  Winona starts.

Amos raises a hand.  “We come in peace.”  He says.  “Besides.  Your mom learned the hard way that Avery don’t scare easy.”  With a warm smile he adds.  “The boy’s got grit.”

“He’s not a…!”

“Man.”  Amos corrects himself.  “Sorry.  The man’s got grit.  How about it Avery?”

“Oh!  Um.”  I look from daughter to father.  “I-I-I wish I could.  B-but I work t-tonight.”

“No problem.”  He nods.  “Another time.”

“Yes.  Yes!”  I say.  “I w-would like that.  V-Very much.”

“Me too.”  He says.  “Now get!  I need my daughter back in an hour and a half.  No more!”

“Yes S-Sir!”

“Don’t call me…!”

“Amos!”  I correct myself, and we both laugh as he and Brutus go one way and Winona and I go the other.  With my bike in the back of her truck Winona drives us into town.  “I l-like your dad.”  I say as I watch her drive for no other reason than just to watch her.

“Yeah.  He likes you too.”  She says.  “He’s going to hold you to that promise you know.  They’re going to want you over for dinner soon.”

“Gladly!”  I say.  “C-Can’t wait.”

She chuckles.  “Brave boy.”

I found it humorous that Winona felt that her folks were so tough and mean.  Compared to my family Amos was a saint and even Cher wasn’t so bad.  And with thoughts of my family came…  “Grandpa!”

“Huh?”

“M-My Grandpa might be back.”  I say.  “He said he was coming in this morning.  W-We could see if he’s around.”

“Grandpa!”  Her head snaps to look at me then down at her sweater and overalls combo.  Suddenly she was the one with a stutter.  “I-I-I can’t meet Grandpa looking like this!  All I did was run a brush through my hair!  I don’t even have make up on!”

I giggle, absolutely tickled both by her adorable nervousness and the fact that she called him ‘Grandpa’.  She knew me too well.  There was only one person in the world whose opinion about her I actually valued, and it was his.  Although at this point even Grandpa’s opinion would do little to sway the feelings that had already anchored inside of me.  “He d-doesn’t care about that stuff.  He’s kinda…scruffy lookin himself.  He he he.”

“Uh, yeah, sure.”  She says, torn between very much wanting to meet him but also wanting to make a good first impression.  “Yeah.  If you think now’s a good time.”

“Maybe he’ll join us for breakfast.”  I say.  Seeing her trepidation, mild as it was, I add something that I knew would put her at ease.  “Did I ever t-tell you that he played FoF?”

“What?  No way!”

I nod.  “Yeah.  Just a c-couple time wayyy back.  I think like in the 70’s or something.”

“Shit.  A first edition OG!  That’s sooo cool!”  I could sense her confidence swelling again.  There was nothing like tapping into her geeky addiction for watching her bloom.  “They had these crazy race-classes back then.  What did he play?”

“I d-don’t know.”  I smile.  “He only just t-tried it.  He w-worked a lot back then.”

“Hard to find a campaign.  Somethings never change.”  Her nervousness transformed back into enthusiasm Winona is as cheery as ever as she makes her way to the docks.

As for me I am on top of the world.  The two most important people in my life were about to meet.  I could not wait for Grandpa to see what a wonderful woman Winona was.  I couldn’t wait for Winona to see what an amazing man Grandpa was.  In my heart I knew that there was no chance that they didn’t get on.  They were both bold and free spirits with great senses of humor, but mostly because I knew in my heart that they both loved me enough to make it work.  My spirits are high when we stop at a light on the street that sloped down to the docks and I see the big, bruising hull of the Anna Bella there among the sleek and slender lady’s of the sea around her.  I take in a breath, about to cheer, when my eyes catch a familiar shade of green in the parking lot at the end of the street.  As my gaze settles on the old station wagon my heart shrivels and my spirit falls.  What was Mom doing here?

The truck in motion again snaps me out of my funk.  “He’s n-not h-h-here.”  I say too late as we were already halfway into the turn.  “L-Let’s just g-go to Ch-Chubs.”

“No way.”  Winona smiles and gives a nod ahead.  “You said it was the huge one, yeah?  The old trawler.  Isn’t that it?  Down near the end?”

“Um…yeah.”  I whisper as we glide down the street making straight for the parking spot directly beside my mother’s car.  “That’s her.”

Chapter 112