Rason & Eliza - Cee Bowerman Page 0,24

out until it was time to harvest. Because, right now, I was honestly thinking she might be the one for me.

But the funny thing was it didn’t scare me at all.

6.

“I’m already sick of this shit and I have a feeling it just started.”

Rason

RASON

“Let me make sure I’ve got this right.” My dad moved away from the hood of the car and leaned a hip against the workbench that he’d built years ago. “One girl goes crazy and gets taken away, and within a few days, you’ve got another girl that you think might be the one for you. Am I getting the gist of it?”

“Yep.” I looked up from the panel I was repairing and nodded at my dad. “That sums it up perfectly.”

“A whole lot has happened this week, son. Maybe you should take a breather.”

“You know, I wondered the same thing, and Eliza and I even talked about it. We agreed to table the subject and come back to it in about a month. I think she’s got the right idea.”

“That’s probably wise. I can tell from what you’ve already told me that she’s probably got a good head on her shoulders.”

“She does. She’s one smart cookie. She reads everything she can get her hands on. If she hears about something she isn’t familiar with, she gets this far-off look and mutters that she needs to research it. She got that way when I was telling her about some of Mom’s ways.”

“Did you tell her about the antique watch?”

“I told her about that and Tet.”

“About that... your brother and his family will be here for a week, and your sister is coming for four days. Any chance you can take that time off again?”

I nodded. “I already put in for it. As a matter of fact, when I opened up next year’s calendar, Daughtry already had it marked off for me. You know he didn’t even make me use my vacation time this past holiday? He said he considered it a religious holiday and I should get paid time off for it.”

“That’s what I mean, right there. You’ve made some really solid friends in that job, and I’m glad for you. Most places would give you shit about it. I’ve been at my job long enough for them to know I’m taking it off to be with my wife. If they gave me hell about it, I’d just move on. I think they know that too.”

“Why don’t you retire, Dad? You’ve almost 30 years under your belt already.”

“What am I going to do all week if I don’t work?” My dad laughed. “I already talked to them about taking a leave of absence so I can take your mom home to see her family. We’ve got everything done with the government to bring your grandma here to live with us. All we need now is to get your mom over there to see the rest of the family and then we’ll bring Grandma back with us. If I retire, I’ll be here all day and all night with both women, and I know that’s not a good idea.”

I laughed with him because I knew he was right, “When are y’all going?”

“Probably around Christmas so your grandma will be here for Tet and can see your brother and sister and their families.”

“That sounds good.” I nodded. “I bet Mom’s excited.”

“She doesn’t know,” my dad admitted. “I got it arranged with your uncle’s help, and we’ve kept it all a secret.”

“Still? I knew you wanted to get the ball rolling, but she still doesn’t know about bà ngoại moving here?”

“Not a clue.” Dad smiled.

“Holy shit,” I whispered. “She’s going to be so happy, but she’s going to kill you for not giving her time to prepare.”

“I know,” he said with a laugh. “I told her we were going to rent the cottage to a Vietnamese exchange student and she’s been fixing it up just right so they’ll feel like they’re at home.”

“That’s devious.”

“Isn’t it? Every time I talk to your grandmother on the phone, she giggles like a little kid. I don’t know if it’s from the excitement of moving here or pulling one over on your mom.”

“Mom’s going to kill you. I’ll miss you when you’re gone, but I’ll look back on this day and remember that I told you it was going to happen.”

“Back to this woman.” Dad changed the subject, probably because he knew I was right. “If you think she’s the one, not to put