Carnal Innocence

were a big favorite, along with hearts and stick figures, but occasionally someone was inspired to hack in HEY! or UP YOURS! Or in the case of one grumpy individual, EAT SHIT AND DIE .
    Earleen Renfrew, who managed the establishment, had been so put out by that suggestion, Tucker had been forced to borrow an electric buffer from the hardware store and smudge out the offending words.
    Each booth had its own individual juke where you could turn the knob and flip over selections—still three for a quarter. Because Earleen favored country tunes, so did the juke, but Tucker had managed to sneak in a few cuts of rock or R & B from the fifties.
    The big counter was lined with a dozen stools, all topped with the same fading red vinyl. A clear three-tiered dome held that day’s offering of pies. Tucker’s gaze lighted on the huckleberry with pure delight.
    Exchanging waves and “heys” with a scattering of customers, he made his way through the grease- and smoke-tinged air to where his sister perched at the counter. Deep in discussion with Earleen, Josie gave her brother an absent pat on the arm and kept talking.
    “And so I said to her, Justine, if you’re going to marry a man like Will Shiver, all you’ve got to do to stay happy is buy yourself a padlock for his fly and make sure you’re the only one with a key. He may wet himself now and again, but that’s all he’s going to do.”
    Earleen gave an appreciative cackle and wiped afew wet rings from the counter. “Why she’d want to marry a no-account like Will’s beyond me.”
    “Honey, he’s a
regular tiger
in bed.” Josie winked slyly. “So they say. Hey, Tucker.” She turned to give her brother a smacking kiss before wriggling her fingers in front of his face. “I just got my nails done. Hotshot Red. What do you think?”
    Dutifully he examined her long scarlet nails. “Looks to me like you’ve just finished scratching somebody’s eyes out. Gimme a lemonade and some of that huckleberry, with French vanilla on top, Earleen.”
    Rather pleased with Tucker’s description of her nails, Josie ran them through her artfully tangled mane of black hair. “Justine would’ve liked to scratch mine out.” Grinning, she picked up her Diet Coke and sipped through the straw. “She was over at the beauty parlor getting her roots done and flapping her hand around to show everybody this eensy speck of glass she called a diamond. Will probably won it knocking down bottles at the fair.”
    Tucker’s golden eyes twinkled. “Jealous, Josie?”
    She stiffened up, bottom lip poking out, then her face cleared as she tossed back her head and hooted. “If I’d wanted him, I’d’ve had him. But outside of bed he just about bored me senseless.” She stirred what was left of her soda with the straw and sent a quick flirtatious look over her shoulder at two boys lounging in a booth. They puffed up quickly, sucking in beer guts. “We’ve got this burden, you and I do, Tuck. About being damn near irresistible to the opposite sex.”
    After smiling at Earleen, he dug into his pie. “Yeah, it’s our cross to bear.”
    Josie drummed her newly painted nails on the counter for the pleasure of hearing them click. The restlessness that had driven her to marry and divorce twice within five years had been flaring up for weeks. Nearly time to move on, she thought. A few months back in Innocence made her yearn for the excitement of anywhere else. And a few months anywhere else made her yearn for the quiet aimlessness of her hometown.
    Someone had popped a quarter in a juke and RandyTravis was crooning about the miseries of love. Josie drummed her fingers in time and scowled at Tucker as he shoveled in huckleberries and ice cream.
    “I don’t see how you can eat like that in the middle of the day.”
    Tucker scooped up more pie. “I just open my mouth and swallow.”
    “And never gain a goddamn ounce. I have to watch every blessed thing I eat or my hips’ll be as wide as Mamie Gantrey’s.” She stuck a finger in Tucker’s ice cream and scooped up a lick. “What’re you doing in town besides stuffing your face?”
    “Errands for Della. Passed a car turning into the McNair place.”
    “Hmmm.” Josie might have given that piece of news more attention, but Burke Truesdale strolled in. She wriggled straighter in her chair, crossing long, smooth legs, and sent him a honey-dripping smile. “Hi there, Burke.”
    “Josie.” He came over to give Tucker a thump on the