Shoe Strings

with Ty.   He hadn’t seen the kid much lately, not
between baseball and homework.   Besides, he spent most of his free time working with Jesse, getting the
raft shop ready for the spring break crowd.  
    Cal had driven past the turnoff for the raft shop the other
day on his way up to the nursery and had noticed the sign Jesse made was
glistening from a fresh power scrubbing.   He had to admit, Jesse had turned the place around a lot faster than Cal
expected.   Course, the way he’d
pumped money into it when he first came back didn’t hurt.   Cal couldn’t say much about Jesse’s time
in Atlanta, but he sure did come home with money to burn.  
    That’s just what Cal had thought Jesse was doing when he’d
bought the old put-out spot and shacks that had once belonged to the area’s
first outfitting company.   The place
had sat dormant for almost six years and needed both deep pockets and a lot of
hard work to get it up and running.   He quickly realized Jesse’s pockets were deeper than when he’d left and
he knew his son could put the old Bloodworth grit into something when he set
his mind to a goal.  
    He’d overheard some guys down at the VFW talking about how Jesse
had turned a profit his second year out.   It had stung, hearing about it through the grapevine, but Cal understood
there’d be no bragging from Jesse as far as his career was concerned.   Water under the bridge, he reminded
himself as Jesse’s Scout rounded the bend and stopped at the entrance to the
storage shed.  
    Ty hopped out wearing an old t-shirt, camouflage pants, and
the sleepy look of a teenager who’d woken up before his internal noontime
alarm.   “Hey, Granddad.”
    “Hey, boy.   You
had breakfast?”
    “Did he ever.” Jesse pulled the toothpick he’d been chewing
on from his mouth.   “Kid polished
off four of DJ’s biscuits in less than five minutes.”
    Ty smiled like the Cheshire cat and patted his flat
stomach.   “Hey, I’m a growing boy.”
    “You’re going to grow in the wrong direction if you keep
eating like that,” Jesse teased.
    “You’re just jealous ‘cause you can’t eat like that anymore,
old man.”
    Jesse popped the toothpick back in his mouth with a
huff.   “Who’re you calling old?”
    Cal cleared his throat.   “I remember another young man who damn near ate us out of house and home
when he was a teenager.”
    “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”   Jesse started the engine and raised his voice to be heard over the
rumble.   “I’ll be back to collect
you at three,” he said to Ty.   “Work
him like a dog, Pop.”   And with a
cocky grin, he set off.   Cal noticed
Lita had come out onto the porch to see what the commotion was.   Jesse slowed down enough to salute her
as he passed and Cal could have sworn he saw her blush.   Lord.
    “So, Granddad, what’s on the agenda for today?”
      “Yard work,
mostly.”   He handed Ty a metal rake
and led him to the flowerbeds around the larger of the two cabins.   “We’re going to clean out the debris
from the beds and put down some new mulch.   I’ve got three or four pallets of impatiens to plant here and around the
smaller cabin.”
    Ty leaned on the rake and yawned.   “Dad says you’ve got a renter in the
small cabin.”
    Cal glanced down and realized Lita had gone back
inside.   “Sure do.   That’s why I’d like to start up here, so
we don’t disturb her just yet.”
    “Dad said she’s hot.”
    Cal rolled his eyes.   “She’s a very attractive woman.   And very nice, so be sure to show some respect, unlike your father.”
    Ty just laughed and dug into the old mulch.   It was hours later before Cal wiped his
brow and suggested they take a lunch break on the porch.   He fixed Ty’s favorite, tomato
sandwiches and potato chips.   They
were a treat for both of them, even though he had to buy hothouse tomatoes from
the market until he could plant his own garden.   They listened to the Braves preseason
game on the radio and ate as the still cool breeze helped revive their energy
as much as the food.  
    “You gentlemen look like you could use a cookie.”   It was Lita, dressed in fancy jeans with
rips in the knees and a skin tight t-shirt.   She was hobbling over the grass in
another pair of heels, this time with rhinestones that flashed in the splashes
of light that managed to break through the canopy of trees.
    “Lita.”   Cal
stood up and gave Ty a quick slap on the back of the head for him