Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [6]
“Quite a trunk, right?” he asked.
Malene just rolled her eyes.
“Actually Earl’s brother from Socorro already got the best of it. I didn’t even know the corn was ready until Fred told me at the diner. By the time I got there, most of the ripe ears had been picked.” He stood behind his daughter and reached for another basket. He lifted it up, and the two of them walked toward the rear of the house. “But with the wind picking up, I guess it’s a good thing I went this morning.” They placed the baskets at the back door. Malene turned.
“What was it Mama used to say about early morning winds in summer?”
“Breeze before noon, storm coming soon,” Oris replied, quoting his wife.
Malene smiled and headed toward the car.
“Aren’t you staying?” he asked, surprised to see her leaving.
“I got to go to work, Daddy,” she explained. Her voice sounded tired, heavy. “I already had to split my shift. I was up all night with Alex. It’s his legs again.”
Oris glanced away. He knew about the continuous aches and pains of his great-grandson. The little boy had been born with spina bifida, and he had been in and out of the hospital for most of his ten years. Malene was a certified nursing assistant who worked at the local nursing home and had become the primary caregiver for both her grandson and her father. Angel, Alex’s mother and Malene’s daughter, had left Pie Town about a month after Alex was born. No one knew exactly where she was.
“You want me to go over there and keep him company?” Oris asked. Alex had around-the-clock care, services the state offered through its health care program, but Oris still stayed with the boy quite a bit. They were close.
“Frieda’s there until I get off work at seven.” Malene stopped and glanced back at her father. “Just you stay out of trouble, would you?” She shook her head. “Please, just keep your clothes on when you’re outside.” She turned and headed to her car. She opened the door and could see the sheriff’s car pulling around the corner. She yelled back at her father, “Looks like you’re wrong about Fedora paying her phone bill. I’m going to have to let you handle this with Roger. I’m already half an hour late.” She got in and cranked the engine. She backed out, waving at the sheriff who stopped his car on the street in front of the house.
Roger got out and nodded at Malene as she pulled away. He rested his hands on his hips and glanced over at Fedora Snow’s house. He could see her peeking out the window, and he raised his chin at her, waiting to see if she would come out of her house. When she didn’t open her door, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and headed up the driveway toward Oris. He could see the old man from the street. Oris had walked to his car and taken a third basket from the trunk and was heading to the back door. As Roger passed the Buick, he noticed a remaining small cardboard box of corn, and he grabbed it and closed the trunk.
“Buenos días, Oris,” Roger said as he got near him. “You’ve been out to Earl’s early,” he commented. “I didn’t even know it was picking time.”
“You didn’t know because you don’t pick corn, and anyway, just because you’re sheriff doesn’t mean you know everything.” Oris studied the younger man. “Fedora got you on her payroll like she does Stan Ortez? Funny, though, because it looks like he does all the yard work, so what’s she paying you for?”
“She claims you’re performing lewd and lascivious acts in your front yard.” Roger placed the box of corn next to the basket and pulled a toothpick from behind his ear and stuck it in his mouth. He stood in front of Oris.
“Fedora wouldn’t know a lewd and lascivious act if she participated in it,” Oris responded.
“What’s that hanging out of your zipper?” Roger asked.
Oris glanced down. He had forgotten that he had put his pants on over his daughter’s sweater. He unbuttoned his pants, yanked off the sweater from around his waist, and threw it on the back of one of the patio chairs by the door. He then zipped up his pants and