James “Jimmy” Lions owns a small but trendy donut shop in the heart of the town where he lives with his mother and his dog named Trip. Coincidentally his only enemy in town, his former college roommate and frenemy, Robert “Bobby” Rhodes, also owns a Bakery not far from his donut and ice cream shop and it’s running a strong war with Jimmy for many reasons, the first and main one for sleeping with his wife, secondly for trying to kill him on a fight over a woman they both loved.
The story begins when Jimmy opened his first donut & ice cream shop, The Eclair. He was very proud of himself and very happy for the quick success his shop was having. But one afternoon as he got home exhausted from long hours at his store and a bit drunk from Whiskys & Girls, the only bar in their small town that sold extremely cheap beers, and had stripper shows on the weekends, he is surprised to find his best friend and his loving girlfriend having sex on his dinning room table.
Jimmy was so blinded by anger, alcohol, and jealousy, that he grabs his hunting riffle and shoots both of them, almost killing his fiancé and his ex best friend, but my a miracle they both survived. Unfortunately his girlfriend overdosed herself on pain killers and alcohol and passed away shortly after.
In this town called, the Watering Hole, Town, better known as the Dam Hole, the rule has always been “mind your own business” and “to each to its own” mentality. What happened between Jimmy, his late girlfriend, and Bobby was a tragedy. But blamed and hated each other for Sally Martino’s death.
But that’s how things got solved then in that town, with hunting guns, or machete fights and lots of rum. Bobby lost a finger and the strength on his right arm and Jimmy lost his fiancé and his pride. But like a true macho, he had saved his honor in their fight. No one went to jail, a fact that still bothered Bobby to this day and he was determined to make Jimmy pay. He would avenge Claudia Martino’s death, one way or another. He’d promised her that on her death bed.
3 years later_
Sally Ann Lions, Jimmy’s oldest niece, is madly in love with Bobby and he had asked her to marry him many times before, but this time around while they danced a soft Country Line dance, Sally whispers yes to Bobby’s ears. Now everyone is celebrating their engagement at the Whiskys & Girl’s bar, except of course Jimmy who is crying his eyes out planning to kill Bobby and even his own niece if she actually goes on to marry that bastard and traitor.
In his mind he always blamed his late girlfriend more than his old friend for their fall out and he wasn’t really going through with his plan of killing his old childhood friend. But he wasn’t going to lose the war they both had started years ago either. He wasn’t going to let him marry Sally. Sally was Jimmy’s only niece who recently turned 18 and she wasn’t ready to marry, let alone some one as vicious and reckless as Bobby. Jimmy begged to his brother Todd and his wife Sarah not to let his stepdaughter marry Bobby. But Sarah was happy for Sally’s and Bobby’s relationship and wasn’t going to meddle in their lives, despite the grudges between Bobby and her brother in law.
Jimmy was so upset he went for months giving long hours to Sally at the store to have her close to with him, then tried to “court” his own step-niece with an old Wrangler jeep, in a rustic and bright orange color, and lots flowers and even wine, chocolates and teddy bears. When none of that work he took her into the back of the room of her donut shop, to giver her one last surprise. A cute little puppy. That day he kissed her. They both kissed. But Sally he welcomed his one kiss only as gratitude for the job and the many gifts he kept offering her. She was really impressed and felt attracted to the the man that she had called uncle for almost a year but had no blood relation to her. So she didn’t see it wrong accepting his gifts or kissing him back in gratitude. But she had no feeling for him and knew her mother would be very disappointed if she knew that she and Jimmy who was almost ten years her senior and a relative had kissed. But that was all the excuse Jimmy needed to justify himself and thinking Sally was his now, and that he had partially won his war with Bobby.
That evening after Sally closed the register and was finishing cleaning and organizing the store, Jimmy seduced her and practically force himself to her. He swore to Sally that he would kill her fiancé if she opened her mouth and told anyone about it.
3 months later_
Bobby & Sally who looked radiant and more beautiful than ever married in the Town’s big and opulent church, one of the few rich and nice one in town. And 6 month later Sally & Bobby had their first child, Damian Peter Rhodes.
The children in town didn’t liked Sally very much and created a song after her and her son.
“In the Damn Hole
Damian Peter Rhodes was born
From the Whisky bar’s hoe,
Whoever his father is,
No one really knows,
as upon a time
Sally was a hoe!”
That was the chant little Damian will hear in the school yards years later, after Sally confessed to one of her friends that Jimmy was the real dad of her only son and not Bobby, and the story spread like fire in California dry mountains. It seemed that her friend’s little bratty daughter heard the whole conversation and made up that little chant song to bother Damian, the kid she liked but who never paid attention to her and even compared her to the duck that she took to class one day for “show & tell” and mocking her while the whole classroom laughed at her.
“We are all evils”, Jimmy told Damian as they both rode their horses into town to buy some vegetable and fruits at the local Market.
You are a good kid and you never intended to hurt or humiliate that girl that you like, but you did regardless. You were just being a silly proud boy, or at least you tried to be proud and turned yourself into a fool. But It’s ok boy, it happens to all of us. For example, I once made a fool of myself in front of your mom, just like the drunken I was I acted out badly and to this day I can’t close my eyes at night thinking about it and regretting the times I made her cry. And your mom wheee very close friend, but now because of me being a totally fool she hates my guts. And I love her. You know that I love Sally with all my heart. Bobby knows it too and her hates me for that. But he abandoned her and you too. You both are the only family I have but I hurt her and made her cry by my childhood attitude and foolish actions. She truly hates me, no matter how many times I begged her to forgive me for breaking her heart and her spirit. I was a true monster son. And I’m really sorry. Jimmy said this as he covered his face in his hand so Damian won’t see his tearful eyes.
“Mom doesn’t hate you uncle. She’s just afraid of you. She says you are the town’s drunk and that you are up to no good.” “She
doesn’twant me to be near with you. She says you are an evil man.”“I was evil once. But I’m not anymore and I regret all of my past actions and wrongdoings and all the pain and suffering I caused to your mom, your dad and this whole town. I’m a man of God now. I’m now a Pastor and all of that is in the past. My sins have being forgiven by our mighty Lord, son. I pray everyday that your mom stops hating me. And for her to leave that job as dancer and singer at Whiskys & Girls and also finds God.”
“I will help you uncle. I promise. Mom will love you back. Mom is taking me to your church on Saturday evening after the inauguration of “Softies” Dad’s new ice cream parlor. I know mommy didn’t invited you but you’re coming to the inauguration, right Jimmy?”
“Yes son, I will be there. Only because you are inviting me and just to give my blessings to your parents and bless the shop. My own shop has being closed for some years now, soon after you were born it never saw the light of day, but on Sunday I’ll be reopening it too and I want you there working with me sometimes. Your dad is too busy to teach you how to use the register and sell but I will teach you, besides I need help bringing customers in and I love having you around. You are like the son I never had. When my fiancé died she was pregnant but none of us knew it, until they were both gone.”
“Oh wow! I’m sad that you lost a child, I would have love meeting him or her. But I’m happy that you will reopen “Sweet Spot” you donuts & ice cream shop. I’ll be working most evenings at “Softies”but I can come help you around some weekends. It’s the first day it open his new store and we are going to be very busy, even mom is going to be working with us that day. She asked me to help out on Sunday too. sorry uncle Jimmy. But good luck and break a leg! Hahahaha!”
” It’s ok. I won’t be too busy. We’ll go fly fishing at the lake later on after I close my shop. I have lots of stories to tell you.”
“Yes. I love fly fishing. Dad told me that one day when he was fishing at the lake, he almost drown and even though he was always bullying you in school you jumped in and saved him and almost drown yourself saving him.”
“Yes son. I saved your dad. But I was the one who had pushed him into that lake in the first place. That was the least I could do but to save him. We became best friend’s since, until I almost killed him again 14 years ago. If I had gotten and kill him, you wouldn’t be here today, probably. Or you probably would be but under different circumstances. Who knows?”
“Have you been drinking again? What are you saying? That you almost kill dad, twice? What did he do to you that you hated him so much? That can’t be true. You aren’t an evil man like mom says. I know you are a good man. You are a Pastor a man of God! Tell me that isn’t true uncle Jimmy. Tell me that! Are you that kind of bad person, that evil? Please answer me?”
No the first time I pushed him it was us playing around. But the second time I did wanted to see him dead after I caught my fiancé with him in my own house. But I’ve never killed no one and never will. I don’t think I’m evil. But I deserve hell! I do my son. I deserve hell for still hating so much.….TO BE CONTINUED.
Summary:
James “Jimmy” Lions fights with Robert “Bobby” Rhodes one day by the lake as the other teenage kids were fly fishing as they usually did during summer. Bobby tries to push Jimmy into the water by Jimmy struggles and pushes Bobby back and the later falls into the dip are of the lake. He can’t swim but Jimmy didn’t know it. But when he sees him struggling to get out Jimmy and his friends jumps in and saves Bobby and then Jimmy faints in the water after he hits his head on a rock. Other kids save him and pulls both of them to a safety and day area by the lake. Bobby hugs Jimmy for saving him and risking his life doing so and they all become best friends at that moment. A year later Jimmy’s dad, a widow, remarries and brings from out of town a beautiful wife and and bring home his oldest son and his wife and his son’s step daughter a young girl named Sally. Jimmy and Bobby fall crazily in love with Sally. Sally’s best friend Rachel meets Jimmy on her sweet 16 party. Her first boyfriend was no other than Bobby but she traded him for Jimmy. Bobby goes after Jimmy’s Step niece Sally. They all begging hanging out together. Sally secretly likes Jimmy but he only sees her as his little gir and rejects her abruptly each time she makes an advance on him. Bobby loves Sally but is secretly obsessed with Rachel. They see each other often and make out even have sex on Jimmy’s back. Rachel loves Bobby but Jimmy is the catch of the town. He is handsome, his father own the biggest church in the area, and areas near by. His family also owns a bakery and a horse ring. And her father who is a horse gambler and former horse rider loves Jimmy and hates Bobby. Besides Sally want him and she will not let her best friend win. She plays hard to get.
Jimmy find a girlfriend. Her name is Claudia and he wants to please his girl and keep her living on her old luxury style so he works hard at his father’s Donuts shop and at the horse ring and stables. Meanwhile his ex girlfriend Rachel marries his best friend Bobby. She spends all of his money on expensive gifts for her lover Bob Alexander Rhodes aka Bobby, few of them were: a nice brand new 4×4 Ford F1 50, a Rolex watch, a black opal gold 25k ring with a small carat African diamond on it and extravagant clothes and shoes that Bobby picked himself, and lavished dinners at nice restaurants at her old town, named just like that, Old Town or at her own home like she did on the tragic night of her death. Soon Jimmy finds out Killing his wife and shooting his best friend now archenemies. They both own a donut shops the largest stores and only donut stores in their poor small town. They both now compete for the love of one woman, Sally. The only woman they both really love. And they both compete for the love and attention of Sally’s son Daemon Peter Rhodes. Peter was Sally’s stepdad’s name, Jimmy’s dad. And Pete is actually his son and not Bobby’s. Jim forced him on Sally one night in his bakery while he was drunk and jealous of Sally’s immediate marriage to Bobby.
Jim always thought Sally had feelings for him and he liked her and had feelings for her too. But she didn’t forgave him for choosing Rachel over her and later shooting his wife to death. Regardless of how much Sally wanted and loved him to she would not forgive him for forcing her against her will either. If only he had being kinder and patient…..
The End
KEY TO MY HEART BLOG by Evelyn R. L. 