Page 25 of Our Own Light
“He might be General Whiskers now. I have no way of knowing.”
Floyd’s face broke into the nicest smile—one that made his eyes crinkle at the corners and little dimples etch into his cheeks like little parentheses. And, God, Oliver loved seeing him smile like that. Suddenly, Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about how nice of a smile Floyd had and how badly he wanted to keep making it happen. He hadn’t ever experienced something like this before.
“I’m really, really sorry,” Oliver said. “Sometimes, when we’re together, it feels like I’ve known you for a long time, and then I realize I know next to nothing about you and—” He ran a hand through his hair. “Anyway, I’m sorry.”
After a moment, Floyd leaned against the porch column, looking a bit lost in thought, tilting his head and furrowing his thick brows. Oliver had to force himself to look away so he wouldn’t ruin everything by talking at him. He wished Floyd would say something.
Floyd heaved a sigh and said, “I’m from McDowell County. My family had a farm there.”
I thought you worked in a coal mine, Oliver wanted to say but stopped himself. Instead, he forced himself to wait so that he could hear what else Floyd might want to share on his own.
“Coal companies were buying up a lot of the land around us. I’d been working on the farm since I was little—helping out here and there—but when I was ten, I started as a breaker boy for the closest coal company. Just wanted to earn some money.”
Floyd became quiet again. His eyes had a faraway look about them as he stared off into the night. Oliver tried to focus on the high-pitched chirping sound of the spring peepers coming from the woods so that he wouldn’t feel the need to fill Floyd’s silence with commentary of his own.
Floyd eventually continued, “Years later, some events happened and... we had to leave. Me and Effie. I chose Logan for us since I knew there were some big coal companies here. Effie was pregnant with Josephine then, and I knew I had to take care of them both.”
Oliver tried to imagine what had happened to make them have to leave but couldn’t come up with much. Floyd and Effie were probably the kindest people in the entire world.
“Our lives ain’t perfect, but I like to think I made the right choice,” Floyd said. “Don Chafin may be a bully, but I’m thankful we’re here, not over in Mingo. If we’d had moved there, I’m sure I’d have felt the need to strike with my work buddies, too. We’d have probably ended up in one of them tent colonies.” He clicked his tongue once, shaking his head. “I couldn’t put Effie and Jo through that. We’re lucky that, well, if it happened here, if we were forced out of our home, I think I’d have the means to help start our lives over somewhere else. I’d have to sell something first, but I could come up with some money. Not much. Just, you know, maybe enough to move to another coal town. But I like our life here. I can’t... I can’t never start over again.”
“I understand,” Oliver said, trying to keep his voice soft and kind. He hoped he could make Floyd see that he really hadn’t meant to upset him. “I’m sorry for pushing you about it earlier. I couldn’t understand why you wouldn’t want to better your lives and—” He realized he was putting his foot in his mouth again. “Sorry. I respect your choice.”
Floyd nodded. Oliver nodded back.
Seconds passed. Both men stayed silent. Oliver chewed on his bottom lip while Floyd seemed to be studying his boots. After a minute or two, Floyd looked Oliver up and down.
“What in the heck are you wearing?”
Oliver grinned. “This is my worst suit. I thought that by wearing it, I’d be able to prove to you how terrible I feel about how I acted earlier. You know, because I made myself look terrible. I tried to make my outsides match my insides. Does it look horrible?”
Floyd’s mouth twisted up into a half-smile, and he raised one of his eyebrows. “Yeah, pretty bad.”
“Alright, well, pretty bad isn’t nearly horrible enough.” In rapid succession, Oliver loosened his tie, popped the top button of his shirt, and yanked one of the buttons clean off his suit jacket. And then, as the final touch, he mussed up his hair. “Better? Worse?”
Floyd snorted a laugh. “Worse.”
“Good,” Oliver said, feeling relaxed and content once again.
And Floyd looked plenty relaxed now, too. His shoulders weren’t tensed up anymore, and he had finally uncrossed his arms.
He said, “We had supper earlier, but you can come in if you want. Effie and Jo would be happy to see you. Sorry, I meant I’d be happy to see you.”
“You haven’t seen too much of me already?”
“Not at all,” Floyd said, a sweetness in his voice.
“I’d love to come in, then.”
As soon as they were inside, Josephine skipped over to them. She stopped a handful of paces short of Oliver and tilted her head to the side.
“Why’s your hair like that?”
“I thought I’d try a new style tonight. What do you think?”
Josephine pursed her lips for a moment as she thought.
“Too messy,” she said.