“I’m not just special. I’m the queen.” Bodine floated on air to the front door.
“Hey, you might be the princess, but I’m not dead yet so you can’t be queen,” Roxie yelled at her.
“Yes, ma’am,” Bodine giggled.
“Well done, Dee,” Roxie said when she heard the school bus pull up in the gravel driveway. “You didn’t answer my question. Is Jack going with you to the lawyer’s or do you want me to go?”
“I’m going by myself. I’m twenty-five years old and I drove all the way from Pennsylvania alone, so I suppose I can get from here to Sulphur without a chaper-one,” Dee said.
Roxie nodded. “That’s the old Hooper spirit. Besides, Jack needs to mind the store. I’ve got to go to Molly’s this morning. You can drop me off and pick me up when you are finished.”
Dee wore a pair of freshly pressed jeans, a buttoned chambray shirt, a wide leather belt, and cowboy boots.
Roxie pulled her thick red hair back with a wide silk multicolored scarf that matched her turquoise knit pants and jacket. Dee could have sworn her grandmother had been visiting a Dolly Parton garage sale.
Roxie checked her reflection in the mirror behind the sun visor and reapplied bright pink lipstick. “So what are you going to do with the inheritance?”
Dee pulled into the Brannon Inn driveway. Molly waved from the front porch. “I honestly don’t know. Tell Molly I’ll run in when I come back.”
“That would be good. She’s not faring too well these days. She’s turned what business she’s got lined up over to Etta, who says this is her last hunting season. She’s hanging up her dishrag and cookbooks after Christmas this year.”
“The B&B queens are retiring? Who’s going to fill their glass slippers?”
Roxie patted her arm and picked up a basket of fresh bread and jellies. “You might be surprised. Just don’t you be forgetting me. I’d hate to make you clean the bathrooms this afternoon.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Dee saluted.
“I’m a queen, not an army major.”
“And I’m in a pickup truck so I can’t curtsy. Besides, my jeans are too tight to stoop and bow.”
Closing three old boardinghouses would be the end of an era in Murray County. Sure, there were bed and breakfast establishments springing up all over the area. Some in old two-story houses. Some in spare bedrooms in people’s homes. And down close to Turner Falls in Davis, cabins were the in thing. Jack said there was seldom a vacancy sign flashing in the summertime. But Molly, Roxie, and Etta had begun the business fifty years ago before there were motels in every town and folks knew there was a fortune in tourist trade.
Travelers would find a place to spend the night, but what would really happen to the queens? She wondered as she nosed into one of four parking spots in front of Mamie Rockford’s office. Roxie seemed to be surviving well in her self-induced retirement. Maybe the other two would as well. And what did she mean when she said what she did about who would fill their shoes? Surely Roxie didn’t think Dee had come home to reopen Roxie’s B&B.
Mamie met her halfway across the room. “Well, hello, Dee Hooper. You haven’t changed a bit.”
Dee hugged the woman. “Neither have you.”
“Oh, honey, I just reduced my rates by five hundred dollars for that comment. How’s Roxie and Mimosa? Haven’t seen Roxie since she came in to redo her will last month, and Mimosa hasn’t been by to see me since she retired.” Mamie led her into an inner office.
“Roxie and Mimosa are both fine. Roxie’s still the voice of the old south. She’s over at Molly Branson’s visiting while I’m here. Actually, I think she just made up an excuse to ride part way with me.” Dee handed Mamie the papers Ray had brought. “Mimosa says she’s retired and she’s going to cosmetology school down in Ardmore, but I see that antsy look in her eyes. She’ll be up and gone again before long.”
“That’s Mimosa. She’s always been a free bird that couldn’t sit still very long. Tell them both I said hello.” Mamie scanned three pages of legal jargon.
“This is a mess. Let’s make a phone call and see what’s been left to you.” Mamie picked up the phone and dialed the number from the top of the paper, tucked a strand of gray hair back into a bun at the nape of her neck, and bit her upper lip while she waited.
“This is Mamie Rockford from Sulphur, Oklahoma. I’m an attorney at law, representing Delylah Loretta Hooper,” she said and then covered the mouthpiece and whispered, “I’m on hold while the little Chihuahua goes for the big Doberman.
“Yes, I do have the document before me and no, Ms. Hooper is not interested in signing them. My fax number is 580-622-0001 and I’ll expect a full list of her inheritance in the next five minutes and a copy of the will these people have tried to dispute. That’s right. No, I will not wait while you talk to Ray Suddeth. He’s not back in the state anyway. Five minutes and yes, sir, I am a hard-headed southern woman.”
Mamie looked up at Dee. “Tell me about this woman while we wait.”
“Ray’s aunt, his father’s only sister, was half owner of the business they ran in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. She was a wealthy old girl and as salty as Roxie. I loved her, and she took to me. The only one out there who did. Had a stroke a couple of years ago but before she did, she made a new will and left me what she had. Ray says the private institution used up most of her savings and worth, but there is some jewelry. I figure his new wife, Angie, has her eye on those sparkly pretties.”
“I see. How are things with you and Jack?” Mamie asked.
Dee’s eyes widened. “Where did that come from?”
“I see him on a monthly basis. He’s got a gleam back in his eyes that don’t have anything to do with bank account figures.”
“We’ve been best friends forever and we still are.”
The fax machine began to spit out sheet after sheet. “Aha. We’ll save the discussion about Jack until later. Well, well, well. So the lady used up her resources in the retirement home, did she? Honey, if she did, then I’d like to see what she was worth before she signed her name on the dotted line. And the will . . . pretty simple. Says you were the most honest person she’d ever seen. The only one she could trust since her son was killed in Vietnam, and she trusted you with everything she owned. Dee, you might need some smelling salts when you see this.”
Dee took the first list and scanned it. Row after row of jewelry with the appraised value in parentheses. Diamonds. Rubies. Pearls. Where on earth in Sulphur, Oklahoma, would she ever need such finery?
Mamie handed her another paper and took the jewelry list from her before she could truly comprehend everything on it. The second document reported a half a million dollars in actual cash, a portfolio of stocks and bonds worth another two million, and forty-nine percent of the company Mr. Suddeth owned.
Dee was glad she was sitting. Her mind was in a complete boggle. No wonder Ray took such a chance. No wonder Angie let him.
Mamie leaned back in her chair and looked over the top of her reading glasses. “Sounds like you’ve got some major decisions to make.”
“Guess I do,” Dee whispered. “Call him back and ask him to send me a list of the jewelry again. I want to know which pieces were hers and which were inherited from her mother. I want to know if Ray and Angie’s child is a girl.”
Mamie dialed the number and told the man what she wanted. “Anything else?” She turned to Dee.
“We’ll be calling back in a few minutes. Soon as I see what’s going on with the jewelry. I want the cash transferred into a trust account for Bodine Delight Hooper. It’s to pay for her college wherever she wants to go. Set it up so that it’s not something she can take out and play with. It’s for college expenses. Room. Board. Books. Tuition. Monthly stipend that’s generous enough to keep her from waitressing.”
The fax machine began running again. Mamie picked up the new sheet and handed it to Dee. Half of the jewelry had been handed down from Ray’s grandmother to her only daughter. At the end of
the page was a handwritten note saying a phone call had been made to Angie who had said the ultrasound predicted a girl.
Dee wanted a daughter so badly and now Angie had that too. Anger filled her heart. “The pieces of jewelry inherited from Ray’s grandmother will be put into a vault for the baby girl. The child can have the jewelry on her fortieth birthday. Not a day before. The rest of it I want delivered to me personally by a courier who’d best handcuff the briefcase to his arm and insure it to the hilt because if there’s one diamond or ruby missing, I’ll sue Ray. The shares in the business are up for sale to the highest bidder. That should take care of it, shouldn’t it?”
“Stock portfolio? That’s worth a couple of million at least. Maybe more,” Mamie said.
“Ray will probably end up being her last surviving relative. Give it to him. But make it so he can’t cash any of it in until he is sixty-five years old, and if he dies before his father, his wife, or even his child, it all goes to the cancer fund. If he lives to be sixty-five, it’s his to do with whatever he wants.”
“That’s pretty decent of you. One other thing, the life insurance policy? She was insured for half a million.”
“Give it to the cancer foundation. Maybe it’ll help find a cure for folks like Molly.”
“You sure about all this? Girl, you could be the richest woman in Murray County.”
“I’m not interested in being a rich woman. I’ve been there and it wasn’t any fun. When the shares for that company sell, put half the money in a trust for my sister Tally, to be given to her when she graduates from college. The other half is to go to the cancer fund. I don’t want any of the money, Mamie. I’ll keep the jewelry that belonged to her and remember the sweet little lady who made me welcome. The rest would remind me of a very difficult time.”
“Smart woman. Sign here for me to take care of everything for you, then. I expect the jewelry will arrive within a week, and that Ray will be pulling his hair out and screaming to the top of his lungs by bedtime tonight.”
Dee signed with a flourish and made her still-limp legs stand up. “I certainly hope so. Thanks so much, Mamie. I appreciate you. Do I owe you anything today?”
Mamie walked her to the door. “No, if I’m going to represent you in this and take care of the trust funds, I’ll just bill you later. Why don’t you take a week or two to think about things? You might change your mind later.”
“No, I won’t. Get it all ready and call me. I’ll come sign all the legal stuff then.”
“Okay, then it’s a done deal. The cancer foundation is going to love you, girl.”
“I just wish it would have helped Molly sooner.”
“I know, honey. I know. Give my best to Roxie. And tell Mimosa to call me. We’ll do lunch. You know, I always envied her. She didn’t give dang what people thought, and she had you. I always wanted a daughter.”
“So did I,” Dee whispered as she walked out the door.
Dee parked in front of Brannon’s Inn. Before she made it to the porch, Molly was at the door, holding it open for her. “Darlin’ girl, I’m so glad to see you. Come right in. We’re in the kitchen having oatmeal cake and coffee. Roxie’s been tellin’ me stories about you and Jack. I’ve already had two pieces of cake. Appetite sure picks up when I’m laughing.” She wrapped her arms around Dee and smothered her in a hug.
Dee felt as much at home at Brannon’s as she did at Roxie’s. “Now don’t you go believing everything Roxie tells about me.”
Molly ushered Dee into the kitchen. “Roxie, pour up another cup of coffee. Next time you come around, Dee, you bring Jack with you. Haven’t seen that man in a year or more.”
Roxie pointed toward a chair. “So what’d you find out?”
“That there was a lot involved.” Dee made noises of appreciation when she put the first bite of cake into her mouth. She told them what she’d done with the inheritance as she finished off a huge chunk of oatmeal cake.
“You just kept the jewelry for you and gave the rest away?” Molly asked.
“That’s what I did.”
“Think that’s the wisest move,” Roxie asked.
“The jewelry will remind me of a sweet lady who loved me. The rest would remind me of Ray. I don’t need that.” Dee dabbed her mouth with a lace-edged white napkin.
Molly cut another piece of cake and laid it in her plate. “Money isn’t everything, is it? Seemed like it was when I was young, but lately it’s not worth near as much. Back when I had to keep soul and body together, when my worthless husband chased everything that had a skirt on, then dollars were almighty important. But today, I can see your point. Roxie tells me you got a settlement out of the divorce that will keep you.”
“Yes I did, and it’s mine for seven years of stupidity. So tell me what’s going on with Stella?” She changed the subject.
“She’s in California. Married Mitch Mason five years ago. He’s got his head in the clouds. Thinks he’s movie-star pretty and he probably is, but that isn’t enough to make him one of those real actors. She’s working two jobs while he runs around getting something called head shots done and talks to agents about bit parts. Of course, every week when she calls, he’s almost got a part. Almost don’t mean squat. He’s a pretty little boy in a big man’s body. Only his mind didn’t grow to fit the rest of him. Stella is wearing thin with him. I can tell even if she doesn’t say it in so many words.”
“I’m sorry. At least I thought I was happy until the bomb exploded,” Dee said.
Molly waved her hands in the air. “You girls! Used to watch you and Stella and Rosie play out there in the backyard on a quilt with your doll babies. Jodie was always busy with the stick horse or using a rope to lasso the rosebushes. Figured at least three of you would grow up to be mothers and go to school parties, make cookies or cupcakes, and go to little league games right here in Murray County.”
“We ain’t dead yet.” Dee patted her hand.
“But I would’ve liked to have seen it before I die.”
“Now, enough of that kind of talk. You aren’t going to die. After Christmas the three of us are going on a cruise. Remember?” Roxie said.
Dee cocked her head to one side. “Oh?”
“Sure we are. We’ve been planning it for thirty years. After Christmas every year. When hunting season is over and business slows down. Let’s really do it this year,” Molly said.
“I think that’s wonderful,” Dee said.
“I’ll talk to the travel agent next week,” Roxie said seriously. “You ready to go home? I bet Jack is sitting on pins. Molly got a big kick out of the story of two men in your bedroom last night.”
“Roxie,” Dee moaned.
“Hey, there ain’t nothing in this kingdom that the queens don’t share,” Molly said. “It’s like old times, when you girls were in high school.”
The phone was ringing loudly when Roxie and Dee opened the front door. Dee grabbed it first and said, “Hello,” breathlessly.
“Dee, this is Ray, you cannot do this,” he said coldly.
“Do what? Where are you?”
“I’m in a taxi on my way home. I just talked to the lawyer.”
“Well, Ray, I can do it and I have. The jewels are your daughter’s but only when she has enough sense to appreciate their value. I figured forty was a good age for her to shed some of her mother’s genes. I was generous and gave you the portfolio. It should be a good retirement fund. Take Angie around the world with it when you retire.”
“The shares? For God’s sake, the shares?”
“Oh, that. Well, you better find a bank with a lot of money, because they’re up for sale. If I don’t like the bid then I guess you can look across that big old boardroom table every Monday morning at my face and darlin’, I will learn all I can about the company. You won’t be pulling any wool over my eyes. Can Angie trust you to be good every week? I mean, after all, you couldn’t stay away from me in Oklahoma. Buy them at the going rate or I’ll fly in once a week and honey, I
’ll be wearing my jeans and OU T-shirts to the meetings. I didn’t see a thing in the will that said anything about a black power suit.”
“You wouldn’t dare embarrass me and my father that way.” Exasperation came through the phone.
“Yes, I definitely would. Oh, and don’t call here again. I’m paying a lawyer to take care of my business. I’m sure you have her number.”
“You are a worthless . . .”
“Careful there before you call me anything ugly. I could sell all those shares for a dollar to Jack Brewer and you could sit across the table from him every Monday morning.”
“You wouldn’t dare,” he shouted.
“Ray, I really really would. Your lawyer has my lawyer’s number. Tell Angie congratulations on having a daughter. I hope you both enjoy her. I always wanted a daughter. Good-bye.”
“You all right?” Roxie asked from across the room.
“Never felt better. I’m going to change clothes and go see Jack.”
Chapter Nine
The store had changed little since Dee’s first memories. A bit of white paint seven years ago just before she left. The old cane-bottom kitchen chair with chipped green paint had long since been relegated to the storage building out behind the trailer and replaced with a wooden bench. Everything else was the same, and that’s where Dee found Jack that morning: sitting on the bench with a faraway look in his eyes.
“Hey, what happened? Was old Ray yanking your chain?”
“Yes, he was.” Dee drew her knees up and rested her chin on them. Fall was in the air. Summer hadn’t officially pushed it completely into the history pages, but the mornings were cooler and the thermometer was only reaching the low nineties during the day.
“So?”
“So.” She sucked in a lungful of air and told the story again. “And I own forty-nine percent of the company. He called as soon as I got home. I told him he can buy them or I’ll sell the whole kit and caboodle to you for a dollar bill.”
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