Her Wild Oats by Kathi Kamen Goldmark

Author:Kathi Kamen Goldmark [Goldmark, Kathi Kamen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literary Fiction
Publisher: Untreed Reads
Published: 2014-05-26T16:00:00+00:00

“What, and Quit Showbiz?”

14

“So then the drum set blew entirely off the stage and we had to leave. Remember that?” Oats said, encouraging Bobby Lee to add his two cents to the story, desperately trying anything he could to make his mother change her mind about dragging him back home; he thought some funny gig stories with an enhanced sense of camaraderie might do the trick.

“What I remember most about that day was Oats kicking ass on ‘Orange Blossom Special,’” Bobby Lee said thoughtfully. “There’d been some serious wood-shedding going on there. The crowd went wild.”

“That was right before Jeremy’s steel guitar almost blew off the back of the flatbed truck,” Oats giggled. “I’ve never seen wind like that ever in my life.”

“Sounds like a blast,” Sarah Jean said sarcastically. The pun seemed to go over everyone’s head except Eddie’s. He chuckled to himself, then quickly put a lid on it as he realized that Oats’ stories had not yet managed to lift the somber mood around the table.

“Then there was the time we found Dickie in his bunk with a girl…” He saw Bobby Lee’s warning eyes a moment too late.

“…a girl kitten, yeah, a cute little kitty,” Oats finished lamely. “Me and Melody found a whole litter of baby kittens out behind a Best Western in the bushes.”

“Who’s Melody?” asked Hank Wilson.

“Oh, just this girl I know. She’s a baton twirler in a Christian marching band. In fact, they’re the ones who gave me a ride back here from my walk earlier today—the Angels of the Lamb Drum and Bugle Corps. Melody is only in middle school but she gets to march with the high-school-aged group because she’s really good at twirling. She can do this routine with two flaming batons at one time. It’s pretty awesome.”

“How did you meet someone in a Christian marching band?” Sarah Jean asked, just as Eddie said, “Is she hot?”

“They’re on the same circuit we are, only in the children’s area…and yeah, she’s sort of hot but really, really Christian, too.”

“I hope you’re being respectful of other people’s beliefs and traditions,” Sarah Jean said.

“Don’t worry. You should have seen me not kicking any ass at all on ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ on their bus this afternoon. Does anyone else there think that’s a really lame song, though? Really?”

“I’ve always preferred the peaceful hymns myself,” Bobby Lee said, “like ‘Down by the Riverside.’”

“I love that one,” Sarah Jean replied.

“Me too!” said Bobby Lee, as he looked right into her eyes for the first time since she’d shown up. “It’s right up there with ‘Waltz Across Texas.’”

“I don’t remember that being a gospel song,” Sarah Jean answered and she looked down, concentrating on tearing her bright green paper napkin into tiny little pieces. Everyone could tell that something had happened, but no one could figure out exactly what, so everyone sat staring at the menus. The awkwardness of the moment was saved at last by one of the Millies, who came over to take their order.

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