Keystrokes Page 7

  “What a pleasure to meet you, Farrow. You are all he talks about,” she tells me as she squeezes the breath out of me. My eyes meet Kasen’s, and he shrugs as he walks to the back of the car to get our luggage. “Come in the house now, I have some fresh sweet tea. You can have it on the porch.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Wells. Your son is a wonderful man.”

  “You won’t be callin’ me Mrs. Wells, now. You can call me Mama. Just like everyone else.” She swats at my arm and tugs me in close. “So happy you’re here. Go on to the house now Kasen will collect your bags. Go freshen up.”

  Kasen quietly laughs behind us. “Already got them babe, you’d better listen to Mama.” His eyes are twinkling with happiness.

  “Kasen, you show Farrow to your room and let her have a wash up. Then you come down and have some sweet tea. Supper is almost ready and I have a surprise for you later.”

  “Yes, ma’am.” Kasen nods as Mama cradles his face in her hands and kisses him again. “I missed you, Mama.”

  “Hush now.” She chokes out and walks away swatting her towel in the air. I smile as I watch her walk back to the kitchen and busy herself. Mama has got to be one of the most animated women I have ever watched in my life.

  I look up at Kasen, who is standing on the staircase grinning like a fool. He smiles and nods toward the kitchen, “Well, that’s my mama.” His smile is wide “She’s as busy as a beehive, but she never forgets to stop and give her family some sugar.” He turns to go up the wooden staircase. “I’d better take you on up, follow me.”

  As we walk down the narrow hall at the top of the stairs, the floorboards creak with almost every step because they are old.. There are three wooden doors at this end of the hall, and then there are two doors at the other end. Kasen opens the one straight ahead, and it leads to his bedroom. I walk in and soak up my surroundings. Band posters hang on the wall, four guitars in the corner by the closet, and the far wall is lined in windows.

  Kasen puts the bags on the bed. I shake my head as he opens the suitcase and pulls a box of condoms out. I laugh as he stores them in the nightstand and joins me as I gaze out into the countryside. He points straight ahead. “Raleigh is about twenty minutes that way, give or take.” All I can see are trees

  “This is beautiful, Kasen. Thank you.” He wraps his arms around my shoulders and rests his head beside mine.

  “You had better go wash up or Mama will have my head!”

  I look at him. “Oh, I see I have a mama’s boy on my hands.” I tease while turning in his arms.

  “Mmmhmm, you bet your sweet ass I am. That woman STILL scares the hell outta me!” I smile at his confession and walk over to my suitcase.

  “Mama likes you.” Kasen offers while I pick out a t-shirt and jeans. “That is very important to me.”

  “Kasen, she doesn’t even know me.”

  We walk out of the room and Kasen opens the door to the bathroom for me. “I’ve told her everything about you, Farrow…she knows you. Now wash up and meet us on the porch.” Kasen gives me a quick kiss and rushes down the steps to his mama.

  I wash up, change into my clean clothes and walk toward the staircase. I see pictures of Kasen when he was young, pictures of his mama and who I presume to be his father, and pictures of two small boys. I wonder if Kasen has a brother. He hasn’t mentioned one. I decide to ask him about them after dinner and walk through the kitchen to the porch.

  Mama sits in the rocking chair, shaking her head back and forth, while Kasen sits on the swing with his feet planted on the floor. His elbows rest on his knees and his head is dropped low. I feel like I am walking into a very deep conversation. Clearing my throat, I swing open the squeaky door and walk over to Mama, kissing her on the cheek. Kasen watches me and scoots over so I can sit on the swing beside him.

  Once sitting, he wraps his arm around my shoulders and hands me my tea. “Hi,” he greets before he kisses my lips tenderly.

  “Hi,” I reply and look over to see Mama smiling brightly with her fingers crossed in her lap.

  “Supper’s ready,” she announces as she stands from her chair. “Come when you’re ready.” She disappears into the house through the rickety, old, squeaky door.

  Kasen stands and the porch swing rocks backwards. He looks at me and offers his hand. “Come on, I want to show you something.” I set my tea down and take his hand. “Mama said dinner was ready, shouldn’t we go inside?”

  “When Mama says dinner is ready, what she means is ‘you’ve got about half an hour until I start yelling your full name across the fields’, we have time. Come on.” He urges gently tugging my hand until I fall into step beside him.

  We cross the yard, and he leads me down a small path through the trees. On the other side of the path is a clearing with a tire swing hanging from a large, old oak tree. As we get closer, I notice blocks of wood nailed to the tree and looking up I see a tree house. It’s white with black shutters, just like the main house.

  Kasen touches the makeshift ladder and raises an eyebrow. “Wanna play in my tree fort?” He asks playfully.

  “Kasen, that’s a tree HOUSE.” I tease him

  “FORT... I’m a boy, I play in tree FORTS!” He corrects me and begins to climb the ladder.

  Shaking my head I watch him climb and disappear into the trap door on the bottom, I am quick to follow. When I poke my head in, Kasen is sitting on the bench and has his chin in his hands looking out the window.

  “I have so many memories here. This is my favorite place to be.” He admits to me

  “Apex is beautiful.” I agree

  “It is you’re right. But the best place to be is here. In this tree FORT.” He smiles and looks at me.

  I sit across from him on the floor.

  “I’m sorry I interrupted your conversation with your mom. My timing is horrible.” I quietly offer as I watch his eyes dart around the scenery outside the window. He takes a deep breath and I see his Adams apple bob with a swallow, as he blinks a few times. He bites his lip and rubs the back of his head with his hand. “Don’t worry about it.” He confirms after a moment. “We should go back to the house. It’s probably a good thing Mama doesn’t know your full name yet. She has a holler that carries for miles. I don’t think you are ready for the whole county to know you yet, but I can guarantee you, by the end of the week, and if Mama has her way, they will.”

  We both laugh and climb out of the tree. When I reach the ground I hear the holler:

  “KASEN EVERETT WELLS, SUPPER TIIIIIIIME!”

  Laughing I wrap my arm around his waist. “I see what you mean.” And we walk toward the house.

  “You ain’t seen nothing yet, Farrow. Not a thing.” Kasen assures me as we retreat to the house for dinner prepared by Mama.

  Chapter 16

  After dinner, I took it upon myself to clear the table so mother and son could spend some quality time together on the porch. You can see how much she loves and misses him, with every look in his direction and every tender pat on his cheek. I smile as I watch him hold her hand on the swing, as I look at them through the screen window above the sink, while I take my time washing the dishes. I imagine many summer nights out here reading stories on the swing. Cuddling on the swing when there was a fall off the bike or a falling out with friends.

  I dry off the dishes and put the extra supper in the refrigerator. I cut a piece of peach pie for all of us. I carry three plates to the screen door and push it open with my hip, balancing the dessert plates and the forks as I do. Kasen stands and takes two of the plates from me and passes one to Mama. I sit in the rocking chair and eat the most delicious dessert of my life.

  We sit in silence for a while and watch as the sun sets over the treeline. Mama takes our plates and scoots us off the porch, telling Kasen to show me the property. “Yes, Ma’am,” he replied. She smiled as she disappeared back into the house.

  “She really loves you, Kasen. You’re lucky to have her.” I speak qu
ietly not to disturb all the sounds of the dusk spreading around us.

  “I’m all she’s got left. She’s protective of me, but with good reason.” He looks up at the overhang.

  “Let’s go for a walk, we’ve got lots to talk about.”

  Kasen takes my hand and leads me around the house towards the pond out back. “Did I ever tell you I had an older brother?”

  “No, you didn’t,” I whisper. “Is that his picture on the wall by the stairs?”

  Kasen nods a slow smile and gives me a little squeeze. “Well, I did. When I was 14, he was almost 16, and he was driving Daddy’s old Ford pickup. There was a bonfire that night at our friend, Cassidy’s. We were all drinking… always drinking.” He laughed and shrugged “Small town, anyways…” We arrive at the pond and look into it. The frogs are singing their song of lament. It’s a solemn sound.

  Taking a deep breath Kasen continues, “His girlfriend was pregnant. Mama wanted her to move in with us, but her parents didn’t want anything to do with that idea. They wanted to send her away. SO my brother took her to the bonfire for one last hurrah. He was so in love with her.” He picks up a long blade of grass and traces my arm with it.

  “They had a fight, and he was driving her home. They never made it. They were found a couple of hours later. Daddy’s truck was wrapped around a solid oak down the road a ways.” I wrap my arms around his waist and I watch him stare into the distance remembering the past as if it happened yesterday. His tears began to flow.

  “I remember Cassidy running and telling me what happened. I was so drunk. I should have stayed sober. He should have stayed sober. I ran most of the way home, when Sheriff Parkins saw me and picked me up. He knew I was drunk underage, but he also knew that he had to tell Mama what happened and me drinking was the least of his worries.”

  “A piece of Mama died that night. Sheriff Parkins drove us to the hospital, where we said goodbye to my brother and my niece or nephew.”

  I wait for him to wipe his tears and look at me. “What was his name?” I ask in a barely audible tone.

  “Brayden,” he sighs and wipes his nose.

  “And hers?” I prompt.

  “Tammara.” His shoulders drop.

  “I’m sorry,” I whisper and hug him tightly. He wraps me in an embrace while he sheds a few tears.

  We stand like this for a while, just the two of us. The sun sets and darkness surrounds us. The insects are dancing in the moonlight, as all the creatures mourn for him. I want to take it all away.

  Slowly, we pull away from our embrace, and our arms encircle each other’s waist. No words are needed as we continue our walk around the property, just like Mama told Kasen to do. I feel his loss and can only imagine how Mama felt.

  We walk around the property until the moon is high in the sky, and the night life is buzzing and singing their songs. So tranquil. Kasen leads me back to the treehouse and asks me to wait for him inside. I nod and watch him walk away. Instead of climbing into the treehouse I sit on the tire swing, and slowly rock back and forth. In the dark with my eyes closed I think of that little boy in the picture, as I hug the rope that hangs from the thick limbs above me.

  “Didn’t want to wait in the fort?” He questions as he nears me in the quiet of the clearing.

  “Nah.” I grunt as I push my feet toward the sky. “I like swinging.”

  He sits at the bottom of the tree, beneath the ladder on the moss. I continue to swing with my eyes closed, just feeling gravity rock me back and forth. The breeze caresses my hair, and I have not a care in the world. I stop swinging when I hear the soft strumming of a guitar and the lyrics to The Blowers’ Daughter flow gracefully through the breeze and taking hold of the highway to my heart. I just watch him as he sings to me in the moonlight. It leads every butterfly on earth to take up residence in my stomach, my chest.

  I throw my legs back over the tire swing and let them fall to the ground. Moving slowly, his eyes follow my every movement. I sit beside him and rest my head on his shoulder, closing my eyes, soaking in the moment.

  Finishing the song, he turns to me. “I can’t take my eyes off of you. Can’t take my eyes off of you. I can’t take my mind off of you, ” he sings just for me. My hands stroke his face, and my eyes begin to fill. “I love you too, Kasen.” We make love under the tree to the sound of nature all around us, until the sun rises and welcomes the new day.

  Chapter 17

  Kasen

  Looking at Farrow as we walk back to the main house, makes me wonder if she is in the same place as I am. I have the guitar over my shoulder and her tucked safely under my arm, where she belongs. Where she needs to always be.

  We step onto the porch, and the smell of fresh bacon wafts out of the screen window. It’s barely sunrise and Mama is already cooking for us with her radio on. Lonestar coming from the speakers. I look into Farrow’s eyes and see all I have ever wanted. Peace, happiness, and so many tomorrows. I place my hands on either side of her face, and slowly I am drawn into her. “I wanna spend the rest of my life with you by my side, forever and ever,” I whisper, and I mean every word. Farrow’s eyes close and gently we kiss as we sway together on my porch to Mama’s music.

  The song ends, and we pull out of our embrace. I kiss her forehead, smile and open the door for her. When it squeaks, Mama comes rushing over and begins to fuss over us. It’s her way.

  “Sleep in the treehouse?” She asks, with one hand on her hip and a whisk in the other.

  “It’s a tree FORT, Mama. And yes we did.” I smile at her

  “Treehouse, tree fort… What’s the difference?” She asks as she spins on her heel and throws her hands in the air.

  “Mama, I’m a boy so it’s a FORT.” I begin to defend when Farrow starts laughing at me.

  “WHAT?! IT’S A FORT!” Both of the women who I love are in front of me laughing. “I don’t want to play with you guys anymore.” I stomp and climb the stairs to my room.

  “IT’S A TREEHOUSE, KASEN...” Farrow calls from the kitchen, as both women continue laughing. I can hear dishes being rubbed together and pots being moved around. “Oh Mama, let me help you with that.” I can hear her offer from upstairs, and it makes me smile. Farrow wants to be here, as much as I want her to be here.

  The smell of bacon is making my stomach growl, so quickly I wash up and hop down the stairs, but I stop right before Brayden’s picture. “I miss you, brother,” I whisper, kiss my fingers and touch the frame. “And just so you know, now that I found her, I won’t let her go! Kiss Tammara for me.” Taking a breath I continue on my merry journey down the stairs.

  I enter the kitchen, and Mama and Farrow are laughing as they put the food on the table. Mama keeps patting Farrow’s back, and Farrow keeps smiling and kissing Mama on the head. I lean on the door jamb, with the biggest dumbest grin on my face, and watch my two favorite women in the world.

  Mama notices me first. “Come now, Kasen. Made you some grits!” She pulls out a chair for me and I enter the room. Farrow sets the glasses on the table and sits across from me. Mama dishes up our plates with heaping piles of grits, bacon, and eggs. Farrow’s eyes bug out of her head. “You’re too skinny, girl. Eat up, let’s get some meat on those bones.” Mama states as a matter of factly and I chuckle behind my fist.

  “What do you have planned today?” Mama asks as I scoop some more grits into my mouth. Swallowing, I reply, “Taking Farrow to Raven Rock.” I nod at Farrow and take a drink of my orange juice.

  “I’ll pack you a lunch then.” Mama nods and stands to busy herself at the cook top.

  “What’s Raven Rock?” Farrow asks across the table.

  “Wear comfy clothes,” I tell her “We’re going hiking. You are going to love it!”

  “I’d better go get ready. Thank you for breakfast, Mama.”

  Farrow excuses herself and leaves me alone with Mama, who is now giving me a pointed look with both of her hands planted firmly on her hips. “What’s
wrong, Mama?” I laugh

  “Kasen Everett Wells,” she hisses. “She deserves the world, you know that right?”

  “I do, Mama.” I swallow and bow my head.

  “You still gonna do that when you get back to that movie of yours?” She shakes her breadknife at me.

  “I do my best, ma’am.”

  “Do right by her, Kasen. She’s smitten with you.” She walks over and takes my head in her hands. “Just do right by her, son.” She pats my cheek and gives me a kiss on my forehead.

  Chapter 18

  We arrive at Raven Rock just before noon. Farrow is excitedly bouncing in her seat. I can’t wait to take her on the loop trail. It’s only one mile, but when we get to the rock, there is so much more to see.

  I throw the car in park, and we climb out. Tossing the backpack over my shoulder, I take Farrow’s hand and lead her toward the beginning of the path. We walk deeper and deeper through the forest and listen to the wildlife, as we near Raven Rock. We see squirrels playing in the trees and laugh as it appears to be a game of tag. Farrow uses her phone to take pictures of her surroundings as she smiles in amazement. I encourage her to walk in front of me because just around the bend is the gateway to tranquility.

  When the forest opens, Farrow stops cold in her tracks before beginning her descent down the wooden stairs towards Raven rock. A stone balcony overlooks the floodplains and the riverbank takes us around the awe inspiring centerpiece.