Branndon Jr. (3 page)

“I’m
scared,” said April.

Her
daughter’s voice brought her back to the present.

“It’s
okay, sweetie, we’re all scared the first day we do something new.” She
squeezed her hand. “My tummy felt all funny on my first day at nursing school.”

She
opened back the door, getting a familiar scent which reminded her of her years
in this building. Now she was scared, too. She let April go ahead of her before
stepping over the threshold. The place still looked the same, well, except for
the walls being white now instead of blue. Students’ artwork scattered here and
there, the long hallway with classrooms on either side.

The
kindergarten was down the corridor to the left and she heard the noise coming
from it long before they got there.

“We’ll
take your coat and hat off in a minute, but first let’s go in and meet your
teacher,” said Susanne.

Maddie
Thurston was sticking a name tag onto a little boy’s sweater as she and April
made their way into the classroom. Maddie looked over at them and smiled.

She
stood. “And this must be April,” said Maddie. She got down on her knees and
reached out to take April’s hand.

“Can
you say hello to Ms. Thurston? Because she’s going to be your teacher,” said Susanne.

April
chewed on her fingernail and shook her head.

“That’s
okay April, I’m shy at times, too. How about we find your cubbyhole so you can hang
your coat and put her hat and mittens inside? Then I have a special treat for
you.”

“For
me?” asked April.

Maddie
stood and winked at Susanne.

“Yes,
for you.”

Maddie
took April’s hand and led her over to where the children stored their
belongings. April’s name was on the wall, above it, and Susanne helped her take
off her coat and hung it on the peg.

“Here’s
a name tag for you,” Maddie said, peeling it off the pad and sticking it onto
April’s jumper. “And I have a coloring book that you can take home.”

Maddie
handed it to her.

“She
loves coloring,” said Susanne.

“That’s
a good thing because she’s going to do lots of it during the first week in
school.”

“I’m
going to see a horse, too,” said April.

“Branndon’s
horses, that is,” said Susanne.

“That’s
right. You just moved in. How are things at Branndon’s?” asked Maddie.

“We’re
settling in okay,” said Susanne.

“I’m
glad to hear that. And could you tell Branndon that Brody would like him to
stop by the hospital? There’s something he wants to talk to him about.”

“Sure.
And how is Brody doing?”

“Great,
he’s been walking around the hospital more and more each day and they think he
might be discharged at the end of next week.”

“That’s
so good to hear,” said Susanne. As a nurse she knew the risks that went along with
organ transplants and how it was a slow road to recovery for most patients.

“So,
April, you ready to start learning lots of good things in kindergarten?” asked
Maddie.

April
looked up at Susanne.

Susanne
touched her daughter’s cheek and then leaned down and kissed her.

“I
want you to be on your best behavior, and I’ll be here at lunchtime to pick you
up.”

Maddie
took April’s hand and led her over to her desk “We’re going to begin with me
reading a story,” she heard Maddie telling her.

Susanne
turned to walk away. If she didn’t she knew she’d end up crying.
Please, please let my baby girl love school.
Please let her make some wonderful friends, too.

****

The
morning had flown by because before Branndon knew it Susanne was returning with
April in tow. She’d told him she was going to run errands and then pick her up.

April
ran into the house and then into the living room where Branndon was sitting
watching a rodeo event on one of the sports channels. Most of the guys he knew,
many of them competitors of his, were taking part. She picked up the remote
control from the coffee table and started flicking through the channels.

“Hey,
hey, that’s kind of rude because I was watching something important,” said
Branndon.

“Mudge
and Snuggles show is on soon. I always watch it.”

“I
don’t give a…”

He
was about to drop the f-bomb but stopped himself in time.

“You
get your mom to buy you a TV and then you can watch all the Smudge and Muggles
you like.”

“Mudge
and Snuggles, Mudge and Snuggles,” she continued chanting as she flicked
through the channels at lightning speed that was suddenly giving Branndon
vertigo.

“Hey,
you give that to me. This is my house and don’t you forget it.” Branndon stood
and chased her around the room for a few minutes as she tried to get away from
him. Finally he caught up with her and snatched the remote from her. She began
wailing again.

Branndon
was pretty sure the glass shelf that housed all his rodeo awards was about to
shatter.

“What’s
going on in here?” said Susanne, suddenly appearing in the doorway.

“Didn’t
you teach your child manners, or what? She barges in here, takes my remote, and
wants to watch some Smudge and Muggles show.”

“It’s
actually Mudge and Snuggles,” said Susanne.

“I
don’t give a damn what it’s called,” Branndon shouted. “I was watching
something important to me.”

“Hey,
would you watch your language in front of my child, please?”

Branndon
stood up so quickly it felt like a knife in his back. “This is my house, my TV,
and it’s also my mouth and I’ll pick and choose whatever comes out of it. Now
if you don’t like those rules, there’s the door.”

April
screamed louder and ran to her mother and put her face against her mother’s
leg.

“It’s
okay honey, don’t cry. We’ll find a way for you to watch your show.”

“Branndon
Junior what’s the meaning of making a sweetheart of a girl cry?”

Shit.
He hadn’t seen that his father had entered the house and obviously at the same
time as Susanne. His pa always did have a way of creeping up on him when he
least expected it.

Branndon
swallowed and sat back down. He was close to thirty-six years old and his
father still made him quake in his cowboy boots. Only person who’d ever been
able to do that.

“I’m…”

Lost for words

His
father took April by the hand and led her to the couch.

“We’ll
all gonna watch Mudge and Snuggles together,” he said. “And that means
everyone,” he said, glaring at Branndon.

Just
what the fuck was going on around here? He suddenly was getting a feel for what
being on the other end of the bullying was all about, and he didn’t like it one
damn bit. His father flicked through the channels until some tatty-looking dog
puppet appeared on the scene dancing and singing.

“That’s
Mudge,” said April. He’d never seen a child with a bigger smile on her face.
She sat on the couch between him and his father and kicked the back of her legs
against it to keep in time with the rhythm. Soon an equally tatty-looking cat
puppet joined the dog in song and dance and Branndon guessed that was Snuggles.

“This
is my favorite song,” April said, suddenly getting up and dancing around as the
puppets continued singing.

“Isn’t
that the cutest thing you’ve ever laid eyes on?” said his father. He nudged
Branndon’s arm. “You and your brother better find yourself a woman soon because
I can’t wait to be a grandpa. Well of course, Brody’s is getting wed soon so my
wish might be granted by this time next year.”

Hopefully
his pa didn’t see him rolling his eyes.

“Can
I get you two something to drink?” asked Susanne.

Yeah, cyanide for
me.

“Just
a soda for me,” said his dad.

“Me,
too,” said Branndon.

“I’ll
be right back with those.”

“You
have to sing along, too,” said April, pointing at both of them.

Brannon
looked around for something sharp he could throw himself onto.

 
“We don’t know the words,” said his dad.

“They
put them on the screen,” April said, spinning around so fast, Branndon’s
vertigo was setting in again.

Lucky us.

“See,”
she said, putting her sticky little fingers all over his nice, big screen TV.
He hoped Susanne did housecleaning as well as nursing duties because the kid
was going to ruin his bachelor pad.

His
dad started singing and then turned and gave him one of his looks.
You better do it, too, or there will be hell
to play.
Maybe he’d just lip sync and that would satisfy him.

“I
can’t hear you junior,” his father said, leaning toward him.

Weren’t
most dads deaf by the time they got to his pa’s age? Shit. He had the only one
with still perfect hearing.

Branndon
sang along, glad no one could hear him singing about the dog and a lost bone.

More like my lost dignity
.

Susanne
turned the corner and grinned at him. He always been pretty good at
interpreting grins and this one said, look who’s a sucker now.

****

Branndon
was signing along, his dad was clapping to the music, and April was spinning
and dancing like she’d loved to do since she was a toddler. She really should
go grab her camera because she’d never seen her daughter look quite so happy,
and she’d never seen Branndon look this vulnerable before. She could imagine
what was going through his head and it almost made her want to laugh.

The
show went to commercials.

“Why
don’t you show Mr. Mckinney what Ms. Thurston gave to you?” said Susanne.

April
rushed to her bag and pulled out her coloring book and ran over to Branndon Sr.
with it.

“Isn’t
Ms. Thurston kind? I call her Maddie because she’s going to be my daughter-in-law
soon,” Branndon Sr. said.

“She’s
pretty,” said April.

“She
sure is and my son Brody’s very lucky to have found her. Now we have to find
Uncle Branndon here a wife, too.”

Branndon
glanced at Susanne and then back at the TV.

“Do
you think you can help me do that?” asked Senior.

April
nodded.

Poor
Branndon he looked like a deer caught in the headlights of a car out on the
highway.

“Why
do you both have the same name?” asked April.

“Well,
I’m senior and he’s junior,” said Mr. Mckinney.

“You’re
big Brannon and he’s little Brannon,” continued April.

“Big
and little. I kinda like that. What do you think junior?”

Susanne
bit her lip as Branndon gave his father a sideways glance that somehow said it
all.

April
opened up the coloring book.

“You
have crayons for this?” asked Senior.

April
nodded. “Maybe you can color this with Uncle Branndon. He used to love this
sort of thing.”

Branndon
did a double take at his father and Susanne had to stop herself from laughing.

“One
time he crayoned all over the wallpaper in the kitchen,” said Senior.

“That
was Jackson, not me,” said Branndon.

“He
always says that but who do you think it was really?” asked Senior.

April
pointed at Branndon.

“We
never did punish him so let’s do that now. He has to crayon one picture with
you, okay?” said Senior

“Hey,
what is this, gang up on Branndon day or what?”

His
father was the one who did the double take this time and Susanne laughed. Branndon
looked at her. “I think I’m going to go get some rest before Jackson arrives to
feed the horses.”

“I’m
brushing them,” said April. “You promised.”

Senior
winked at Susanne as Branndon left, mumbling under his breath.

****

Branndon
had never been more relieved to see his brother then when he rang the doorbell
later that day. His dad had left, and Susanne and April were in the kitchen
getting supper ready. He grabbed his jacket and cowboy hat before Jackson even
got to the front door. He needed some air and exercise after the sort of
afternoon he’d had.

“Are
you forgetting something?”

He
stopped in his tracks when he heard Susanne talking to him. She was yielding a
scarf and mittens. He’d never worn either in his entire life. “It’s freezing
out there and we don’t want you getting chilled,” she said.

Jackson
now stood at the door with a grin on his face. What was it with everyone today?
Public humiliation for Branndon day or what? He was about to protest, but
before he could say anything she’d stood on tiptoes and was wrapping the scarf
around his neck.