Stories at Happy Hour. A.M. Hoot
didn’t like the tone in his voice. She was hurt. He said, “You are starting to get boobs, and you need to wear a shirt and mom should get you a bra. I don’t want my friends looking at you, looking at your boobs!” Alex cried all night. She was devastated. She thought her brother was mad at her for getting boobs. She didn’t want boobs. She wished she could be like Braxty. She didn’t hang out with Braxton or his friends for a while. She thought Braxton didn’t want her around now because she had boobs. She was a bit embarrassed that they found out about her boobs. While Alex told Keira the story, she laughed. Alex continued to tell Keira that she wandered off and hung out by herself a lot. She discovered that the Bailey’s also had wild-flower fields on their acreage. Alex started spending most of her time in the flower fields with what she called imaginary friends while Brax would be playing at the treehouse with his school friends.
That summer boxelder bugs were really bad. The farmhouse was covered with them. Alex hated them. They were all over her bedroom windows and it creeped her out. She had problems falling asleep in that house because she felt like the bugs were going to get in and crawl all over her. She didn’t want to be alone upstairs. Alex’s parents assured her that the bugs would not get in her bed. Her parents would not allow her to go to bed with them or her brother, she needed to be in her own bed. Braxton could not stand hearing his sister cry up in her room so he would go up to her room and read her stories before bed or play music for her. She would drift off to sleep but as soon as he was gone, she would wake up.
She never felt comfortable upstairs by herself at nighttime. She told Braxton she felt like she was never really alone upstairs. She had a creepy feeling, it was the darkness, and she felt like monsters were in the upstairs with her. After she told Braxton how she felt, every night before bed, Braxton would turn on all the lights in every one of the rooms and walk with his sister in each room, looking in all the closets. He would try to comfort her by showing her nothing was there. Braxton started telling Alex stories about angels and how they were watching over her, protecting her from the darkness, when her brother could not be there, the angels would be there. Brax knew she was scared of those feelings, but he told her she needed to listen to those feelings. Her feelings are there to protect her, and when she feels those dark feelings, he told her to talk to the angels. He played her songs by Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith hoping that would calm her down and help her sleep. But every time he left the room, Alex would wake up.
Braxton begged his parents to let him switch rooms with his sister, but they would not allow it. They said they were not going to play that game. Whenever Alex cried about something Braxton would do anything for her, even move rooms if that’s what she wanted. They were worried that Alex would change her mind after the switch and then beg to have the upstairs back. They were only going to be there for three more months. Alex was going to have to deal with it.
Alex said ten years must have gone by when Braxton revealed in a drunken mess that when they lived in the farmhouse, kids told him rumors about some foster kids that went missing on the Bailey’s property. The kids joked to Braxton that the missing kids were probably buried somewhere on the farm. He didn’t want to tell Alex about it while they were living there because he didn’t want to freak her out any more than she already was, but he did tell his mom and dad. They laughed at Braxton saying it was a small town and kids their age like to make up stories to scare the new kids. They told him not to mention it to his sister.
Alex laughed, a little embarrassed, and shared with Keira that her sleep had been shit ever since the farmhouse. She also couldn’t stand listening to Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith, she thought Type O Negative and Marilyn Manson were more soothing and laughed some more.
Alex told Keira that Darius knew all about her sleeping issues. He would brush her hair every night before bed, and usually, that would help relax her. Unfortunately, there were still times where she would be restless and Darius would tell her they should listen to tunes, eat some popcorn and play darts until she was ready to crash. Many times, in the middle of the night, they would go to their basement, pop some popcorn, listen to some David Gray and play darts and sometimes they would dance until morning. Alex told Keira that marrying Darius was the best thing that ever happened to her. She said it was like having a permanent sleepover with her best friend that made her heart skip a beat every time he walked in the room. When he looked at her, it affected her in such a way. She still couldn’t believe he chose her. She just loved being in his presence. Even though Darius’s death was devastating to Alex, sharing their love story made her realize how lucky she was to have such a story to tell.
When Alex talked about love that’s when Keira swore she would never go down that path again. Keira’s husband was her best friend too and she felt like her world was gone when they got a divorce. Everything she knew was gone. It was like a death to her. It was too painful. Alex understood completely and said, “Yeah thank goodness for the rabbit, am I right?” Keira looked at her confused and said, “What do you mean?” Alex repeated herself and said, “You know the vibrator, or any vibrator, it doesn’t have to be the rabbit, any animal works.” She laughed, “I also like the butterfly, dolphin, and the hummingbird,” she laughed again. Keira looked at Alex and started laughing saying she was too old for that kind of thing. Alex was taken back, “Too old to have an orgasm? You are never too old for that. It’s good for you. It’s healthy. That’s it, it’s settled I’m getting you a rabbit. What’s your favorite color?” Keira just laughed at her. Alex thought to herself, if she doesn’t answer me, I am getting her a Vikings purple-colored rabbit. Keira never responded and was probably hoping Alex would forget about it, but she didn’t.
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