Small Town Secrets 2

Arlo strode through the store without really paying attention, the isles filled with occasional shoppers pushing their carts or browsing a colorful selection of cheap, mass produced goods of every description.

Even in the three years since he had moved away from his home town the stores layout hadn't changed, Arlo bee lining towards the isle that held his prey, the male hygiene products. He grinned at the analogy even if it was cliché and even misogynistic to think that men hunted and women browsed. He had always hated shopping with any of his past girlfriends, the endless wandering up and down isles, the monotonous comparison of two identical items that might save a nickel, the aggravation of waiting in line while someone sorted through an entire set of Encyclopedia Britanica in coupons. Some people hated the advent of self checkout lanes, but Arlo loved them. He knew without a doubt that they were created by a man for men who wanted to walk in, grab the one or two items they wanted and leave.

Arlo found the isle exactly where he expected and after running it mercilessly to ground seized his prey, a can of Skintimate and a pack of a dozen disposable razors. His hunt now a success he turned to return to his hearth and...

He banged his knees into the cart that had just made the turn into the same isle with a clatter of metal on metal.

"I'm so sorr..." a woman began to say at the same moment Arlo stepped back with his own, "Sorr..."

Arlo stumbled to a stop while he stared at the tall, slim woman, dark brown hair tied up in a messy bun with stray strands sticking out haphazardly. Her long, narrow face had a look of absolute shock, gray blue eyes wide as she raised a hand to cover her mouth.

"Daphne," Arlo said, his own face mirroring her surprise.

"I... I didn't know you were in town?" Daphne whispered, her expression never changing.

"Dad's back in the hospital," Arlo replied, his eyes never leaving hers, "Came back to see him and you know me, I'm always forgetting something when I travel."

Arlo held up the can of shaving cream and razors, Daphne's eyes barely flickering down towards them.

"Mommy?" a child's high pitched voice piped in.

Arlo glanced down at the child sitting in the seat of the shopping cart, only now even noticing him. He began to glance back up at Daphne when the boys mop of curly dark black hair made him stop and stare.

A mop of curly black hair that was identical to his own.

"It's Ok, Jason, just a little bump," Daphne said reassuringly, "Here..."

Daphne took her purse from her shoulder left bare except for the thin straps of her yellow sundress and after digging for a moment offered the little boy a sucker which he seized greedily. Arlo stared at the back of the boy's head while his tiny fingers worked at the wrapping and then slowly looked up to meet Daphne's eyes.

"This is Jason," Daphne quickly said without meeting his eyes, "I... how's your Dad?"

Arlo paused at the sudden change in topic before giving a slight shrug.

"He's not... going to get better," Arlo replied as he stared into Daphne's eyes when she finally met his.

Light blue eyes with a dark rim around the outside of her iris, dark spokes radiating inward from the edge.

"He's just too damn stubborn to go into assisted living, so I came back to give Sis a little moral support and try to convince him."

Daphne nodded and glanced away.

"My mom, she was the same way," Daphne said.

"I heard," Arlo said, "I'm sorry."

Daphne nodded and then seemed at a loss for words.

"Daphne," Arlo said and looked down at the little boy sitting in the shopping cart seat who was still busy with his sucker.

"Not here," Daphne quickly said, her voice breaking, "Not in Kmart!

"Can... would you like to come over for dinner tonight?"

Alro had to make himself look away from the back of Jason's head to meet Daphne eyes.

"Please," Daphne said softly.

"Runch!" Jason suddenly demanded and smacked his lollipop against the push bar of the shopping cart.

"We'll get Captain Crunch, I promise," Daphne said with a smile as she glanced down at Jason only for a moment before looking back at Arlo.

"Mom left me the house," Daphne added, "You won't even have to climb up onto the garage and sneak in my bedroom window."

Arlo coughed back a laugh and glanced from Daphne's eyes to the back of Jason's head who was again busy with his lollipop and back to find her eyes imploring him.

"How old is he?" Arlo asked.

"He just turned two in May," Daphne replied.

Arlo swallowed back a sudden lump in his throat, memories of a hot, humid August three years ago coming back to him. A summer where he and Daphne had been inseparable before he had graduated college and taken a job on the other side of the country.

"I think... I probably should come by, huh," Arlo said.

"Seven?" Daphne asked.

Arlo nodded while Daphne stared at him, their eyes almost at eye level. It was unusual for a girl to match his six foot three, something that when it happened always reminded him of Daphne who was maybe an inch shorter than he was if that.

"I... I have to finish shopping," Daphne said almost apologetically.

"I'll see you at seven," Arlo replied.

Daphne gave a hesitant nod and then pulled the cart back before steering it around him and then down the isle.

"Bye," Daphne said while she stared back at him over her shoulder.

Arlo stared at Jason, sucker firmly emplaced in his mouth while his tiny fingers worked at the buckle holding him in his seat and then up to Daphne.

"Bye," Arlo said before watching Daphne turn and hurry away.

Arlo watched her round the corner of the isle and disappear, her flip flops slapping at her bare feet merging with the memory of her never wearing shoes making his stomach knot painfully, the image of a small head covered in a mop of curly black hair racing through his mind.

Arlo continued to stare after her for another minute and then wandered out of the store. He was only feet from the mat that would trigger the sliding glass doors when he realized he had even forgotten to pay. He turned back and hurried over to the self checkout, a store employee eyeing him suspiciously until he finally made it out to the parking lot.

The drive back to the Holiday Inn barely registered, Arlo running up to his room and quickly shaving while he stared at his own unruly curly black hair. He was just wiping his face off with a towel when his phone began playing 'Rock'n Roll Ain't Noise Pollution'.

"Hey, Sis," Arlo said after glancing at the phone to see his sister's caller ID before answering.

"Hey yourself," Kate shot back, "Dad's awake, I was wondering if you were ever going to come by?"

"Had to run to the store to pick up some things first," Arlo replied, "I'll be there in thirty."

"Good," Kate replied in a much pleasanter voice, "He's doing good today."

"I'll be there soon," Arlo replied and then hesitated.

"What's up?" Kate said after a moment.

"I saw Daphne at the store," he replied quietly.

There was absolute silence from the phone and Arlo pulled it away from his ear for a moment to see if he still had connection.

"She had a little boy with her," Arlo continued.

Kate took a deep breath that Arlo could hear even over the phone connection.

"You remember Bradly Simpson?" Kate suddenly asked.

"Vaguely?" Arlo replied, "The guy who ran cross country and track that was messing around with his cousin?"

"That's him," Kate said with a laugh.

"Ok, what about him?" Arlo asked after several moments of silence.

"They're getting married," Kate replied.

"Wait... what?" Arlo said in confusion, "Who's getting married?"

"Daphne and Bradly," Kate replied.

Arlo felt like he had been punched in the stomach for a second time that day.

"Have you seen her little boy?" Arlo finally managed to ask.

"Everyone in town has seen Jason," Kate replied, "Just...

"Stay away from her and go back to Portland in a couple of days."

Arlo didn't reply while trying to sort out his racing thoughts.

"Like you've ever listened to me, asshole," Kate finally said, "Hurry up and come see Dad."

"I'm leaving now," Arlo replied and hung up.

Arlo came to a stop beneath the shade of a maple, a seedpod spinning dizzily to land on his windshield a moment later. After so many years the street he had grown up on seemed smaller and somehow dirtier. The home he had grown up in was a modest gray with white trim split level ranch that his Dad had sold two years ago when he moved in with Kate. He wasn't even sure who lived there now, but the dangerous looking tree house leaning drunkenly to the side in the backyard oak seemed wrong and out of place when he thought back to all the times he had spent sleeping in it on a hot summer's night.

He could almost smell the cloying sweet smell of honeysuckle while memories of lightning bugs and the distant rumble of thunder in the humid air made him sad.

And Daphne, giggling and laughing when she had snuck out to join him in that treehouse before either of them had understood why boys and girls shouldn't have sleepovers together.

Arlo stared at Daphne's house that was adjacent to his, a two story brick colonial with white pillars over a gabled front door, one side of the house taken up by a doublewide garage door. The shutters on the second story windows were all painted a dark green, the copper gutters only a slightly lighter color of corroded green. Rose bushes clung to a trellis alongside the garage, Arlo remembering all the pricks he had willingly endured climbing up that trellis once he and Daphne had discovered why boys and girls shouldn't have sleepovers together.

Arlo tried to forget the trip to the hospital, Kate's silence when he had tried to discuss Daphne or her son, the way his Dad had drifted in and out, sometimes not even recognizing who Arlo was while insisting on going back to Kate's house after just a stupid trip in the kitchen had resulted in a ruptured spleen. He had stayed for nearly two hours until the nurses had chased both he and Kate out and then waited some more at his hotel until it was half past six.

Arlo stared at the window that had been Daphne's room, white curtains drawn to block his view which was something Daphne had certainly never bothered doing with his own bedroom window only thirty feet away and almost at the same height. She had never bothered turning out her light either.

With an image of dark black curly hair and a childish voice demanding 'Runch!' Arlo opened the rental car's door, the humidity hitting him like a wet cloth after the airconditioned ride and the harsh rise and fall burring of cicadas filling the air. He checked his watch and with five minutes to spare walked up the sidewalk to the steps of the entry.

It seemed surreal to walk up and just knock, Arlo and Daphne's families cordially hating each other for as long as Arlo could remember. Daphne's family had been 'house poor' as his father was want to describe, and not even able to keep up on the maintenance of their white elephant, Arlo's Dad never missing an opportunity to show off the latest expense be it a backyard smoker, or even a pool that he had installed a few years before Arlo had moved out after college. Arlo pushed the yellowed and faded plastic rectangular doorbell, double chimes sounding from inside.

"Yea! Just a second!" Daphne's voice yelled.

Arlo gritted his teeth at the sound of her voice, his jaw aching while he waited until after a minute the door flew open.

"Hi!" Daphne said while she looked at Arlo nervously.

Arlo gave a small, almost forced smile as he looked at her, the yellow sundress from earlier having been replaced by cut off jeans and a crop top that left most of her stomach exposed with the lower edge of the shirt tented out from the swell of her D cup breasts. He glanced down her long, tanned legs and wasn't surprised to see that she was barefoot, memories of all the times he had teased her for never wearing shoes even in the winter with the snow and slush coming back to him.

"Hey," Arlo replied and after several moments gave another small smile, "Can I come inside?"

"Oh! Right!" Daphne exclaimed and stepped back for Arlo to walk inside.

"Shoes off," Daphne said the moment he stepped into the foyer while he was glancing around what he could see of the living room and sunroom.

"Umm hmm," Arlo replied and turned to stare at her, "Still into everyone being barefoot?"

Arlo toed out of his shoes, a pair of Nike sneakers he had bought just before his trip home since most of his other shoes were old enough to be falling apart or for work.

Arlo glanced around the living room and sunroom again, the furnishings more eclectic and cluttered than he ever remembered. The sunroom was even carpeted in a giant canvas drop cloth with a handful of easels and partially completed paintings scattered around, the living room floor covered in toy trucks, oversized Lincon logs, and stuffed animals ranging from lions and bears to a giant walrus that was as long as Arlo was tall.

Arlo stared at all the toys scattered about, something that would have been unthinkable when Daphne's mom and ruled the roost and then looked at Daphne.

"Is Jason home?" Arlo asked.

"No," Daphne replied, "He's... with a babysitter tonight."

"Babysitter..." Arlo said flatly.

"Yes, a babysitter," Daphne snapped.

"But..." Arlo began only to have Daphne hold up a hand to stop him.

"Jason's none of your concern," Daphne cut in, "We need to talk, but you don't get to suddenly show up and start demanding jack shit!"

Daphne's tone of voice didn't leave any doubt at all about what she had just said, but after glancing into the living room and the clutter of toys he shook his head and glared back at her.

"Should he be?" Arlo asked, "I mean, my sister Kate, from what she said, everyone in town seems to know something I don't. What the hell is going on, Daph?"

Daphne only glared at him for several seconds and then glanced down at his stockinged feet.

"Socks too," Daphne demanded and then turned around to walk away.

"What?" Arlo asked in astonishment, "Why?"

"You've never seen Risky Business?" Daphne asked and then stepped through the door into the kitchen and out of view, "Wouldn't want you to slip and fall."

Arlo rolled his eyes but also hopped on each foot to pull his socks off and stuff them into his shoes before walking after her. When he stepped into the kitchen there was a moment of vertigo at how little it had changed, the only noticeable difference being the massive white enamel fridge now replaced by a brushed steel freezer and fridge combo. Daphne was already sitting at the table with an open bottle of Espolon Blanco and a shot glass in front of her. She slammed the shot back with barely a shudder and then looked up at Arlo before nodding to a chair across the table from her.

"How have you been?" Daphne asked as Arlo took a seat, "Keeping Portlandia weird and all that shit?"

"Doing my part," Arlo replied and took the shot glass out of Daphne's fingers to poor himself a glass, the bottle still ice cold from coming straight from the freezer and beaded in sweat, "You'd love it.

"I go to the nude beaches every week in the summer."

Daphne snorted while she watched Arlo take his own shot before setting the shot glass back on the table.

"You do not!" Daphne said accusingly, "Everyone knows it rains there all year so how are there supposed to be nude beaches!"

Arlo cocked an eyebrow at Daphne without saying a word while she smiled and shook her head.

"It would be fun though, wouldn't it," Daphne said mischievously, "How many times did we go swimming in your pool at night?"

Arlo smiled at the memory, of seeing Daphne's long, lean, naked body frosted in the moonlight and then took a deep breath.

"You could have come with me," Arlo said softly, "You should have come with me. Jason..."

"Stop!" Daphne cut in and then quickly refilled the shot glass before finishing it off.

"What... what happened after I left?" Arlo asked quietly.

"Life went on, Arlo," Daphne shot back, "You leaving wasn't the end of the world!"

Arlo flinched while Daphne grimaced and glanced down at the table.

"I guess it wasn't," Arlo replied and reached out for the shot glass to refill before taking his turn.

"It was... rough," Daphne said after a moment, "but with Dad having passed I was the only thing Mom had and she needed my help.

"We still had a mortgage and Dad's life insurance barely covered the funeral and..."

Daphne trailed off for a moment while staring into space and then looked up to meet his eyes.

"I missed you," Daphne said and then grabbed the shot glass back for herself.

"Yea, me too," Arlo admitted while staring into her eyes.

Arlo reached out tentatively and laid his hand on the table between them, palm up. Daphne stared at it for several seconds and just as Arlo began to pull it back reached out to take it in hers. Arlo gave a squeeze, her hand freezing cold and sweaty at the same time while he glanced from her fingers entwined in his up to meet her eyes.

"You said... you said Jason turned two in May," Arlo said softly and felt Daphne stiffen, "I moved to Portland in August three years ago."

"You ran away and left me!" Daphne accused.

"I took a job, Daphne!" Arlo said and held onto her hand when she tried to pull away, "A career!

"I'm doing really well, Daphne!" Arlo pressed, "I'm making enough... I'm making enough for a family!"

"Well, good for you," Daphne said and yanked her hand free before quickly pouring and downing another shot.

"Daphne!" Arlo pleaded while looking into her eyes, "It doesn't take a rocket scientist!

"August, September, October, Nov..."

"Oh, shut up!" Daphne interrupted him, "You don't think I know exactly how long it took for me to have Jason!"

"But..." Arlo tried to cut in.

"You were gone, Arlo!" Daphne snapped, "You left!

"And you have no right to say anything about Jason!"

"But..." Arlo cut in.

"He's not yours!" Daphne yelled and slammed the shot glass down onto the table.

"Really?" Arlo asked sarcastically, "You want to see the pictures of me when I was his age?"

"Arlo, he is not yours!" Daphne said and then sniffed back tears.

Arlo stared at her and then pulled the shot glass towards him to refill and slam back a shot. As soon as he finished he put the glass on top of the neck of the Espolon Blanco bottle and moved it off the table and over to one of the counters before taking his seat again. He could already feel his head spinning, having really not drank much and certainly not traded shots since...

He smiled at Daphne when he remembered how often he had woken up absolutely miserable fighting a hangover and promising himself that if he just got to feel better this time he'd never have another drink again.

"What?" Daphne asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," Arlo replied and then started to say more for Daphne to quickly cut him off.

"I invited you over because we had to talk... and yes... about Jason," Daphne pressed on, "There's lots of rumors... everyone knows who Jason's Daddy is in this fucked up town, but it is not you!"

"How do you know that?" Arlo pressed, "It's not like you were ever on birth control with your Mom ready to freak out, we never used condoms, I always pulled out... except for a couple of times when I didn't and you swore up and down it was safe for us.

"How do you know? I leave and... what... nine months to the day later... surprise!"

"You're right, everyone in town thinks Jason is yours," Daphne replied, "And... maybe I should have told everyone the truth and he wasn't, but it was easier just letting everyone assume.

"And it wasn't nine months, Jason was a preemie, he was born two months early and spent a month in the NICU before I could take him home."