that job offer is still open if you want to get off of that dock,” Mr. Petersen told Rick.
“Still thinking about it but haven’t made up my mind yet,” he answered.
“Won’t be around forever, you know?”
“I know,” Rick answered.
“Good day to you, boys, got to run. My food is getting cold,” Mr. Petersen told them as he walked away.
“You, guys, planning on fixing your barn?” Rick asked.
“My dad wants to replace the south wall. Ain’t nothing wrong with it, just old I guess,” Mike answered.
“So let’s get back to your problem,” Rick said as he sat up straight in the booth.
“What problem?” Mike asked as if he didn’t already know the answer.
“Your girl problem,” Rick answered.
“For the last time, I don’t have a girl problem,” Mike answered in a louder-than-normal tone.
Both of them kind of looked around to see how many people were staring at them. And as usual, everyone had stopped eating and was staring at them. Then they all went back to whatever they were doing before.
“Thanks, Rick,” Mike told him as he slid down deeper into the booth.
“See, now everyone knows that you have a girl problem,” Rick answered as Floe walked up with their orders. Neither of them spoke as she slid their plates down in front of them.
“There you go, boys. Eat hearty,” Floe said as she turned and walked away.
“Hey, there’s talk around town that somebody bought the old Matterson place,” said Rick as he bit into his sandwich.
“The old Matterson place you say? That place is a dump. Remember when we used to play in that creepy old place?” Mike replied.
“I remember when a certain someone fell through the floor.”
“Hey, don’t laugh. I really thought I was going to die that day. One minute I’m chasing after you—”
“Yeah, then you were gone. Nothing but a big hole in the floor. That was funny,” Rick added.
“Funny now maybe, but back then—what was I, maybe eight—stuff like that has a way of scaring people for life,” Mike responded.
“Scaring you for life? You were back the next day doing it again,” Rick said with a laugh.
Mike looked up at the clock. “Look what time it is. We’ve got to go if we want to see that movie,” Mike said as he crammed the last few fries into this mouth. They dropped a few bucks on the table and shot out the door. “I’ll meet you in the same place out in front!” Mike yelled at Rick as the two ran off in different directions.
As Mike ran into his house, the screen door slammed behind him.
“Michael, is that you?” yelled his mother from the kitchen.
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied.
“Get yourself in here and give your mama a hug,” she yelled. He entered the kitchen to find his mom standing over the stove, cooking beans again. He walked up and gave her a big hug and a kiss on the cheek.
“Where you off to in such a big hurry?” she asked.
“I’m meeting Rick over at the theater house, Mama, just like I do every Saturday,” he answered.
“I don’t think the Lord would look down kindly on you for going there. All they show is guys and girls kissing and all,” she said, which happened to be the very same word-for-word line that she used every Saturday or whenever the topic got brought up—usually by her.
“It’s only a picture show, Mama, and besides, what’s wrong with kissing?” he asked. “You and Pa do it all the time.”
“We be married folk, Michael. There’s some things that a proper woman shouldn’t do until she’s wed,” she answered.
“Maybe so, Mama, but don’t worry, I don’t think there’s a girl in this town that’s worth kissing anyways,” Mike told her.
“Well, see that you don’t. The good Lord is watching over you,” she told him.
“Yes, ma’am. I’ve got to go take a shower,” he told her.
“Ain’t no hot water, did the washing today,” she told him.
“Mama, again! Can’t you do washing on Friday?” he asked her.
“No, Friday is pie-cooking day. Saturday is washing day, always has been, always will be,” she told him.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“What ya need a shower for anyways?” she asked him. “It’s just a picture show.”
“Because I stink, Mama. I’m sweaty and hot, and I stink,” he told her.
“Ain’t nothing wrong with a man sweating. It means that he’s a hard worker. Yep, that’s the way I figure it,” she told him.
Mike knew that he was on the losing side of the argument, so he bowed down and quietly went to take a