Jayce wasn’t sure when he’d started yelling, but anger and hurt had billowed up inside him as if they’d been stashed therefor years. “I came to you for a place to lay my head for one night!” He threw his arms in the air. “But it’s your house. Ibarged in.” He dropped his arms, shook his head, and started toward the door. “Forget it. You wouldn’t understand anyway.”
“Oh, quit being so dramatic,” Gus said as Jayce reached the door. “Fine, sleep on the couch if you want.”
“No.” Jayce grabbed the doorknob. He was trembling mad, so he just held his position and lowered his head. Then he felt ahand on his arm.
“Esther brought a chocolate pie over earlier today. I don’t share my pies with anyone. But since you’re being such a baby,you might as well stay and have some.”
Jayce blinked back his tears and turned around. He wanted to punch the guy. Or hug him. Neither seemed appropriate, so hejust nodded before walking back to the couch and sitting down again.
Gus came over and stood in front of him, nostrils flaring. “Geez, kid. You need to get a grip.” He went around a counter into the kitchen area that wasn’t even in a separate room. He brought a pie, three plates, and two forks to the coffee table, then went back around the counter and returned with a can of cat food, which he dumped on one of the plates.
“My floozy of a cat can’t seem to get enough to eat.” He set the plate on the floor near the definitely pregnant cat. “Here.Eat,” he said as the animal gobbled up the food.
Gus sat on his corner of the couch and looked at Jayce. “Go ahead. Eat up.” He waved toward the pie. “Esther makes the bestchocolate pie ever. I’ll reprimand myself later for sharing it with you, but you’re a mess right now.”
Jayce wasn’t hungry, but he slid a slice of pie onto his place, then took a small bite.
“It’s like medicine. Trust me.” Gus crossed an ankle over his knee. “There ain’t nothing Esther’s chocolate pie can’t fix.”
After two or three bites, Jayce thought Gus might be right. “Congratulations, by the way,” he finally said. “I hope my dadpaid you.”
Gus cleared his throat. “He did.”
Jayce wondered how much, but Gus wouldn’t know if it was a fair wage or not. He didn’t seem all that interested in money anyway,based on the way he lived.
“If I had to guess, I’d say this is about the Amish girl and the fact that you’re leaving Tuesday. I told you so.” Gus reachedfor the pie and got himself a huge slice.
“You know, Gus, right now I don’t need anyone telling me I told you so.”
“And I don’t need to be up past my bedtime with someone sleeping on my couch. But since I’m already inconvenienced, you might as well get whatever’s ailing you off your chest.” He yawned, which tempted Jayce to leave, but he reached for another slice of pie instead. Gus might not have been right about the pie being an actual cure-all, but it was at least a temporary fix.
“I messed up,” he said through a mouthful. “I want to stay, but I can’t.”
“No, you can’t.” Gus yawned again, which was starting to agitate Jayce.
“Why can’t I? I know I said it, but why are you saying it?”
“You can’t stay here cuz you ain’t got the guts to do what it would take to live here. You’d have to sell your fancy stuff,and let’s face it, kid. You’re not cut out for this kind of lifestyle.”
“How do you know? I like it here. I’ve always wanted to live on a farm or somewhere in the country. Just because my fatherhated it doesn’t mean it’s, like, in my DNA or something. I could make a life here. I could sell everything I own, take themoney from this job, and buy a farm.”
“You just said you can’t.” Gus raised an eyebrow. “Now you say you can. In less than two minutes you’ve flip-flopped. Youdon’t know what you want. Go home on Tuesday with the rest of them.”
“I think I’ll stay.” Jayce was shaking again, and the pie wasn’t feeling like medication anymore.
“Then stay.” Gus picked at a scab on his lower leg, which caused Jayce to want to hurl.
“Do you have to do that?” Jayce set his plate on the coffee table, forcing aside the empty glasses, cups, and newspapers.
“It’s my house.” He picked even more. “I know there’s a tick burrowed in there.” Glancing at Jayce, he grinned. “Hazards ofcountry life. You up for that, kid?”
Jayce leaned his head back against the couch and closed his eyes.
Gus finally lowered his leg and stopped messing with the sore. “Here’s the way I see it. You think you’re in love with the Amish girl. You think you’d like to live on a farm. You think you’d like to get away from your father. You think all your problems will be solved if you make these radical changes to your life.”
Jayce looked at him and waited.
“But you’d just be running away and toward something unfamiliar that might not work out.” He shrugged. “Or it might be thebest thing you’ve ever done.” He laughed. “Although, I don’t see you becoming Amish.”
Jayce wasn’t sure about that part, but he could imagine the rest. “Out of everything you said, you’re right about one thing.I care a lot about Evelyn, and I don’t know how that happened or how I let it happen.”
“Yep. Women. They’re at the core of all our problems.” Gus
