True North

Chapter 22

It was well past midnight when Stormy finally got back to her father's house, and morning was much too soon in coming, but Stormy dragged herself out of bed nonetheless and padded down the hall to the bathroom. The smell of fresh coffee and bacon drifted up the stairs from the kitchen, signaling that her father was already up and running, so she hurried off to the shower.

When she came downstairs, Walter was at the sink washing the skillet. Whistling.

"'Bout time you got up. There's bacon on the stove," Walter said and then returned to his tune.

"You're whistling..." Stormy observed, eyeing him cautiously as she made a wide berth around him.

"So? You got a problem with whistling?" he asked.

"Nooo," Stormy said warily. "I've just never heard you whistle before, that's all. I take it that your date last night went well."

Stormy reached for the coffee pot, keeping her back turned to hide the smirk on her face.

"Date?" Walter asked. "Who said it was a date?"

"Dad, you went to a restaurant with a woman," Stormy said matter-of-factly as she snatched a piece of bacon from a plate on the stove. "That's a date."

"Says who?" he argued. "Can't a man and a woman enjoy a dinner out together without people making it into a sex thing?"

"I said date, I never said anything about sex," Stormy corrected, her eyes rolling up in her head. "But thanks for putting that horrifying visual into my head." She sat down at the table and sipped her coffee as she opened the newspaper. "So did you kiss her?"

"What? No!" Walter sputtered. He swiped the dishcloth over the spotless countertop. "But so what if I did?"

"You did!" Stormy crowed, slapping a hand over her mouth. "You kissed her!"

"This is ridiculous!" Walter said disgustedly as he tossed the dishrag into the sink and strode toward the kitchen door. "I don't have time for this horseshit!"

"Oh, come on, Dad! I'm just teasing you! I think it's cute that you have a girlfriend!"

She laughed as she chased after him, but he had already disappeared from sight. She had started down the hallway to look for him when there was a knock at the door.

"Tammy!" Stormy said with more than a little surprise when she pulled the door open. "Hi."

Through the screen door, Tammy looked just as primped and polished as she had that day at the Laundromat, except today her eyes were red and swollen from crying.

"Don't you 'hi' me, Stormy Daigle!" Tammy hissed. "I'm not stupid, you know! You're not fooling anyone!"

"Tammy, I don't know—"Stormy started.

"DON'T LIE TO ME!" Tammy screamed. "I KNOW YOU'RE SCREWING MY HUSBAND!"

"What?" Stormy sputtered as her eyes flew open wide. "Are you crazy?"

"Oh, drop the innocent act, Stormy!" Tammy spat, yanking the screen door open and jabbing a finger in Stormy's face. "People saw you and Gage leave the bar together last night, and he didn't come home until almost one o'clock this morning—I'm not stupid, Stormy! I can put two and two together! I'm not stupid!"

"Tammy, I..." Stormy stammered. "I did see Gage at the bar last night, and I talked to him, but I didn't leave with him! He was still there when I left."

"Yeah, for about five minutes before he followed you out!" Tammy shot back. "Pretty obvious, don't you think?"

"Tammy, I don't know where Gage was last night, but he wasn't with me, I swear!" Stormy insisted.