Chapter 24
“It didn’t make you sick at all?” Thibaut asked for the dozenth time.
“No. Stop asking stupid questions. I told you I like to eat as much as the next person. If that means cleaning and gutting things to fill my belly with then so be it. Now leave off, I’m trying to watch Mr. Julius skin that rabbit and you’re getting in my way.”
I suppose people are just going to think I’m weird … for a girl. It isn’t the first, it won’t be the last. Doesn’t really matter one way or the other. It was a good day and I had fun … mostly. I’d gotten very, very lucky and I knew it. And the luck was mostly because of Sarge. The guy knows his stuff and took us away from the rest of the group who, meaning to or not, ran several animals towards us.
Thibaut was still grousing. “Ain’t no way you got two bucks your first time out. Em had to have taken them and he’s just saying you did it so he can keep all his tags.”
I’d had enough. Being a lowly feeemale was one thing, putting up with his pranks and BS I was willing to brush off as well, but being called a liar was something else completely. I turned, swept Thibaut’s feet from under him and pushed at the same time sending him backwards into some nasty swamp water. He comes up spitting but fast and getting set to punch at me which told me he was no stranger to fighting. But neither was I, for reasons obvious and not. When he came at me he made it almost too easy to use a shoulder throw but this time I made sure he landed hard enough to knock the wind out of him, and before he could get up I had his arm in a lock and my boot on his throat.
“Knock it off,” I told him. “You called me a liar. I’m not fond of that. You stop acting like a knothead and this is over with.”
The other men were all blinking like they had been caught off guard at how fast things had happened and weren’t sure how to handle it. It was that feeemale thing again that left them not knowing what to do or say.
Or should I say most of them didn’t. “Ava!”
“Sarge, he’s been at me all freakin’ day. Including that damn snake. I’m not taking any more.”
“Turn him loose I say.”
“In a sec. I want to make good and sure he understands just how much I’m not taking it anymore.” To Thibaut I said, “You a stupid boy for not thinking about who you might be turning into an enemy. You got any idea what I had to do to make it from Florida to here on my own? You think about that. You also think about the fact that I didn’t hesitate, that I knew I could do it. And now I’m here and I’m just done putting up with crap that tries to get in my way. You hear what I’m saying?”
“Ava I said turn him loose. He ain’t worth the trouble.”
“I say he is. He disrespected you. Disrespected Mr. Julius. And disrespected some of the other men here. That shouldn’t be allowed to pass. You all let me come hunting. I know it was just because of the boat but you still let me. But if I don’t stop him now, he’s just going to get worse and worse and then a real fight is gonna have to happen. I’m trying to end this before blood gets spilled.”
In frustration Sarge snapped, “Dammit boy, you see what you started. I oughta let her tear your ass up. I’ve seen her fight. She ain’t got no back up in her. And stubborn as a damn mule.”
That’s when a big man that I didn’t recognize and hadn’t seen before came on the scene. “Don’t stop her Em. I been warning that boy one o’ these days he was gonna fun himself into a world o’ hurt. I reckon Henley’s niece just may be the one time too many he’s messed around.”
“Dad!”
“Don’t come calling out to me Tib. You was warned. Was Henley still with us you’d probably already be gator chow.”
Thibaut looks at me and then says the dumbest thing on the planet. “I was just jokin’. No need to take it so damn serious.”
Knowing it was over with I turned loose and step back. “Yeah, yeah. It’s all fun and games until someone gets their eye poked out. Stop being a pain in the butt. Mr. Julius and the others don’t need that crap and neither do I. Instead of instigating we could work together. Make things easier on both of us. You got a fine way with a snare. I wouldn’t mind seeing what knots you use …” I caught a look in his eyes and added, “But I’ll knot your head if what is in your mouth actually falls out.”
In no time Thibaut is snickering and it is like the fight never happened as I help him up. It’s like he is about five years younger than his age for some reason and I’m having to play big sister. Gawd I’ve done that enough in this life to be just plain sick of it but I’ll admit it isn’t a completely awful thing to have to be considered to some boxes people have wanted to shove me into.
Everyone goes back to what they were doing though some of them looked like they wanted to take a swat at us. Don’t blame them, just glad none of them followed through with it. Sarge shakes his head in aggravation and I know there is a discussion gonna be had at some point in the near future. The big man I gave a wide berth to as I hadn’t taken his measure just yet.
It only takes an hour more and everyone is packed up and ready to go. Thibaut runs over while I’m getting in Sarge’s truck and asks, “You wanna come next hunt?”
“Depends if Aunt Orélie needs me. Check with Sarge … I mean Em (he’d already put the kibosh on me calling him Mr. Em) … and maybe we can work something out. Only this time, no damn snakes.” Thibaut laughs but nods and takes off. He throws back one last comment about me screaming like a girl and I come real close to reminding him that I am a girl. I think he’s been dropped on his head more than a few times in this life, from birth onwards. It is the only explanation for that level of stupidity.
We were half-way back to the checkpoint when Sarge thinks he is gently about to raise a certain subject. I forestall him by saying, “He is a gold-plated knothead. Sure, he’s got blue eyes and wavy hair that all the girls probably go goo-goo over but I’m not them. And if it comes up again I’ll put him down again.”
“Not that I’m not glad to hear it but …”
Trying to show him I’m serious and not just fooling I say, “Sarge I ignored him as long as I could, but I’ve met his type before. If I hadn’t stood up for myself, eventually he would have pushed me too far and the fight it caused …” I shook my head. “Words, yeah, most of the time they can be ignored. Next though he would have been touching me when his words and pranks didn’t get the desired reaction and attention he was looking for. I’ve been pinched in places no one should have to accept. By both boys and men … and a few women if you must know. I’ve had some try to do more than that. And on a couple of memorable occasions I almost wasn’t able to get away when their ‘attention-seeking’ got out of hand. Thibaut strikes me as the kind that doesn’t know when to stop, and blind about when his fun and games aren’t seen as fun and games by other people. The only way not to be his prey is to teach him I’ve got big, sharp, and pointy teeth and will bite. Hopefully he’ll leave me alone now … or at least leave me alone about that stuff.”
“Hmm. You never said you’d had that kind of trouble.”
I could have been insulted but was smart enough to know it wasn’t worth the energy. Instead I told him, “Well it isn’t something you bring up in casual conversation is it. But unless you are going to hide away in a convent or monastery everyone eventually runs into it in some form or another, even if it is just casually. I’ve dealt with both kinds from both sides of the coin. I don’t have a lot that can be said about me but one thing anyone can say is I don’t lie, and I won’t be pushed. Try it and you’re going to pull back a nubbin.”
“You going to make a habit of this?”
“You mean fighting? Heck no. I already explained eleventy dozen times that I don’t want trouble and go out of my way to avoid it. Just sometimes you can’t avoid it. But … er … do me a favor and not mention this where Zeb hears about it.”
Like he’d caught me out he says, “So there is something there.”
I rolled my eyes and made sure he could see me do it. “Not the something you are thinking. He’s a friend. Like a lifelong friend. I don’t want him trying to figure out how to take sides in something that is none of his business.”
“I thought you said he was a friend.”
“He is. And I’m his friend. And you don’t go dragging your friends into things that is going to get them in trouble. I’m thinking fighting with a local family … who also happens to be family to the lady that is hosting your superior officer … would definitely create trouble. And I’ve already dealt with it. Unless Brainless’ father is going to expect something from me.”
“Hubert? Nah Cher. He thought it a good joke once he realized you really didn’t want to hurt Thibaut, just put him off your scent.”
It was a pretty outrageous remark. “Are … you … serious? You did not just say that.”
He chuckled. “Sure did Cher. As did Hubert. And as to that … Hubert is the real deal so you watch out. He works the oil rigs. I once saw him break a gator with his bare hands that came after Fabrice when he was a toddler. Don’t get on his bad side.”
“I don’t care to get on any of his sides, good or bad. Especially not someone that makes it seem like I’m an animal in heat.”
“Get down outta the trees, doubt you’ll see him much. He’s only around a couple times during a season. He and his kids’ mother are divorced, and he can’t stand the woman for more than a few minutes at a time. Neither can I for that matter. He blames her for the way Serafine has turned out. When he’s in town he stays in a room he keeps at his mother’s cousin, who just so happens to be Julius’ sister. Her forename is Adelle but mostly people call her Momma LeBlanc. She’s a crazy ol’ Rougarou at certain times but ain’t a bad person overall so long as you don’t mess with her family. She and Aunt Orélie used to be really tight as girls, sometimes they still share work. You’ll probably meet her this week ‘cause she comes by to help when there’s a lot of food to put by.” I made a face at hearing the next episode of the Cajun soap opera Comme les Tours D'Estomac and he finally relaxed and gave a belly laugh and I knew he’d let the rest of it go.
We were both tired and dirty when we pulled up to the Big House but there was still work to be done though I would have given a lot to be able to go off and think about the day and get some perspective. The reason why Mr. Hubert showed up when he did was because he had trade goods he wanted to barter. He had his limit on Coastal fish, blue crab, and shrimp and wanted something more local and fresh at home. He traded such things for his room and board. We didn’t get much of the fish except for some mullet and seatrout but we traded one of the bucks I brought down for half his take of blue crab (half of the twelve dozen he had on hand) and all the shrimp (fifty pounds). While trading was going on I heard about a local farmer’s market and I was wondering how that might figure into making some extra money. My Jill-of-All-Trades job is good and I’m not looking to give it up, but it never hurts to have something in the pipeline just in case.
When Aunt Orélie saw what we brought her she was happy enough to kiss me on the cheek and then flap her apron at me and tell me to go wash the stink off before coming in the house. My suspicions were up however when I saw Fabrice helping to cart everything in (the other buck went off to the processor who will call Sarge in a couple of days to come get the cuts he’d asked for). I’d never met a kid who seemed to light up like a calculator when he was counting groceries. It gave me ideas about why that might be so when he is normally as lazy as a hound that lays its head down to bark. In addition to the crabs and shrimp (and the deer that will be coming later), there was freshwater fish like bass, crappie, bowfin, buffalo fish, shad, and catfish. There were also birds like ducks, quail, doves, and pheasants.
The other biggie though were two feral hogs that Sarge and I had nearly been treed by before he got off shots with the right caliber to take them down. A pair of rangers were out patrolling for poachers and tried to shake us down but I’d remembered to bring all the paperwork I had and when they found out I was Uncle Henley’s niece they acted really civil, even telling me they were sorry for my loss. I nodded but let Sarge do the talking. It still feels weird to have people know my family more than I did.
The rangers took the hogs off but gave us receipts so we could come get them if they didn’t have some disease that was being checked for. We didn’t tell anyone about those hogs because Sarge said they were “illegal quadrupeds” and were basically free to anyone who could take them … and he didn’t necessarily want to share them with the others who were likely taking their own stuff they didn’t intend on sharing out.
And speaking of suspicion didn’t Fabrice act a little surprised to find that the coolers and pantries had new locks on them. “Why?” he demanded. “You gonna get in trouble. Auntie won’t like it.”
“Aunt Orélie is who these locks are for. There are a lot of strangers coming in and out of the house and plenty more coming in the future. No need to put you and her at risk by making this expensive stuff too easy to get to. Now things can’t just grow legs and walk off. Everything will be accounted for, just like the lawyers like. I’ve got cameras and alarms in there too so if someone just so happens to break in, the cameras will take a picture of whoever it might be and the alarms will wake everyone up.”
With a knowing look he said, “Cameras and alarms won’t work at night when there’s no ‘lectric.”
“They’re game cameras and don’t need electric. And the alarms are battery operated. So you don’t have to be scared anymore Fabrice; you’ll sleep better and have more energy to work with. I’m here now and I know how to look after things.”
A little spitefully he said, “That what Henley used to tell Auntie and he died.”
Evil little turd. He’s heard that somewhere and I’m going to be watching to find out where. I’m also going to be watching who might be setting him up as their useful fool. Seven-year-olds can be crafty … they ain’t that crafty.