On Saturday, I made pot roast.
Carrots and potatoes in the pan. Onions underneath. Gravy stirred over the one burner that only works on high.
At ten minutes to six, I carried out my mother’s tablecloth and spread it over the bench seat. I lit the candle in the Mason jar. I set two places. I brought out the roast and set it on the bench between the plates.
Marlys was already in her lawn chair.
Duane and Lyle had parked at the curb.
Tyler and Amber came walking up the sidewalk from where they’d left their car at the corner.
Three cars were pulled over on the shoulder across the street. The pastor’s wife was walking her dog again.
Rick wasn’t in the garage.
He wasn’t anywhere I could see.
At six o’clock exactly, our front door opened.
Rick came down the front steps in his good shirt. The light blue button-down he wore to Tyler’s wedding. He’d shaved. He’d combed his hair wet. And he was holding a folded piece of paper in his hand.
He didn’t climb into the boat.
He walked right past it. He stopped at the very end of the driveway, where everybody on the street could see him.
A white pickup truck pulled up behind Duane’s.
A young man got out. Maybe thirty. Wearing a Hawkeyes sweatshirt. Holding an envelope.
“This is Jeff,” Rick said. Loud enough for the whole street to hear. “He’s from Ames. He’s buying a boat.”
Across the street, Marlys set her coffee cup down on the step.
Rick unfolded the piece of paper.
“Karen,” he said. “Come stand by me before I sign this.”
I climbed out of the boat on the step stool. I walked down to the end of the driveway and stood next to my husband.
It was the boat’s title.
He laid it down flat on the hood of Jeff’s pickup. He took a pen out of his shirt pocket.
And in front of the whole street, he signed it over.
Jeff handed him the envelope.
Rick didn’t open it.
He turned around and put it in my hands.
“It’s a cashier’s check,” he said. “Ten thousand two hundred dollars. I lost eight hundred on it, Karen. That part’s on me.”
I looked down at the envelope in my hands. I couldn’t see it very well. My eyes had gone blurry.
Ethan Blake is a skilled Creative Content Specialist with a talent for crafting engaging and thought-provoking narratives. With a strong background in storytelling and digital content creation, Ethan brings a unique perspective to his role at TheArchivists, where he curates and produces captivating content for a global audience.
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