ClarenceBN by Sarah M. Anderson Read Free Book Online

mom—a woman who had raised two daughters by herself and was now helping to raise two grandchildren—a woman who had a firm grasp on exactly how hard ‘good ones’ were to come by—had merely smiled. “Well, you have fun, honey,” she’d said. “Don’t you worry about me and Mikey. We’ll have a good time.”
    So Tammy tried not to worry. She leaned her head against Clarence’s shoulder and said, “I’m glad I came, too.”
    “Lunch is almost ready,” he said, guiding her toward his house. “Hope you like burgers and fries?”
    “That’s fine.” She smiled to herself, a feeling of warm satisfaction. It wasn’t that the meal was fancy—but he’d made it for her.  
    She wasn’t sure what kind of place she expected Clarence to live in. After all, she lived in a pre-fab house that dated back to the 1980s. Most everyone she knew either lived in the same kind of house or in a trailer that was even older.
    At first glance, Clarence lived in the same house she did. But upon closer inspection, she noticed important differences. For one, he had an actual lawn—neatly mowed and green, which meant he was watering it. His house was a bright blue color and had shutters—bright white and hanging straight—on the windows. Along the foundation were clumps of black-eyed Susans and coneflowers in full yellow and purple bloom.
    Tammy searched her memory, but couldn’t find any recollection of painting her house. Once, she’d tried to plant some flowers around the steps, but they’d died.
    “Your place is pretty,” she said, not sure if that was the right thing or not.
    “Thanks.” She looked up at him—was he blushing? Maybe ‘pretty’ had been the wrong word. “It’s all those years in the Navy. A place for everything and everything in its place.” He opened the door for her.  
    When was the last time someone had held a door for her? “How long were you in the Navy?” she asked as she walked past him.
    “Joined when I was eighteen. They put me through nursing school—there was no way I could have afforded the schooling on my own.”
    She sighed. “I know. I’m still in debt from when I attempted college.” As she talked, she looked around. The inside was what one might call sparse—he had a blue couch and a matching recliner, but he didn’t even have a coffee table. Instead, he had a flat-screen TV on a stand that lined up perfectly with the recliner. She could tell from the way the recliner sagged and the couch didn’t that he always sat in the chair. The other thing that was surprising was that the entire wall between the front door and the hallway that lead back to the bedrooms was lined with bookcases—huge bookcases that loomed a solid foot over her head and were neatly lined with all kinds of books. She hadn’t seen so many books in one place since she went to the library at school.
    She had never actually seen a flat-screen TV in person before, just on the commercials. They had a regular old tube TV that got most of the channels but lines drifted up the screen on three of the channels. When it went, she didn’t know if they’d be able to get another one.  
    Clarence grinned down at her. “Come on.” He led her through the dining room, which opened into the kitchen. The walls were a bright white without a scuff or crayon mark in sight and the table was nearly completely empty. At home, she didn’t have a flat surface that didn’t attract piles of papers or toys or whatever, but the only thing on Clarence’s table was salt and pepper shakers.  
    It wasn’t that she didn’t try to keep a neat house, but with three adults and two kids—Mikey and Tara’s daughter Nelly—living in the same small house, keeping things this clean was nearly impossible. She was doing good most days if Mikey didn’t add another permanent stain to the carpeting.
    “Are you okay?” Clarence asked as he guided her through the kitchen, which was much cleaner than her own, and out the back door onto