“We’re stopping at Franklin’s on the way home to eat dinner. What do you think about a nice, expensive meal for a change?” Mom turned her head toward the back seat.
“How do you know that I haven’t had an expensive meal lately?”
“Have you?”
“No. But I was hoping to go straight home. I’m so tired I could just eat a pizza in front of the TV.”
“Pizza? Television? Honey, that’s no kind of meal. You need some lobster or crab to welcome you home.” Dad slammed the brakes on to avoid hitting the truck in front of them.
Mom sighed. “Okay, we’ll stop somewhere else, where we can get in quickly.”
“Mom, Dad, I appreciate you wanting to take me out, but how about tomorrow night? I’m wiped out from the flight and dealing with the airport. Really, I’d love a slice or two of pizza and my bed.”
Mom finally looked at Cora and held her eyes prisoner for over a minute. Cora’s gaze didn’t waver. Mom looked away first. “Fine. We’ll call from the car and order it now. It should be there shortly after we get home.” She turned back around.
Thank you, Lord. Thank you. As they neared home, Cora inhaled the salty sea air. “Are we going to the beach house tonight or staying in town?”
“We’ll go home tonight. We can go to the beach house tomorrow.”
“Okay.” Cora rested her head against the seat again and closed her eyes.
* * *
After filling her stomach and talking with Mom and Dad for a while, Cora excused herself to her room. She called Anne to tell her she was home and phoned Pearl as well. It’d been years since she’d slept in her old bed, and she couldn’t wait to fall asleep. Although Mom had changed the decorations in her room to an Asian theme, the bed was still the same.
Thank you, Lord, for getting me home safely. Please be with me as I attempt to heal the broken relationship I have with my parents. And help me know if I’m supposed to stay here or go back to the ranch and, if so, in what capacity that would be.
Before her eyes shut for a final time that day, Cora read Psalm 71:20. “Though you have made me see troubles, many and bitter, you will restore my life again; from the depths of the earth you will again bring me up.”
* * *
The next morning, Cora awoke to the smell of breakfast cooking on the stove and coffee perking in the gurgling pot. She rolled over and sat up in the bed, missing the feeling of having Susie curled up next to her. Cora drug herself out of bed, she threw on her robe. In the bathroom down the hall, she brushed her dark hair and washed her face. She touched the delicate skin beneath her eyes. The dark circles were returning. Cora went back to her room and slid on her house shoes then headed for the dining room.
“Morning.” Cora yawned.
“Morning. Did you sleep well?” Mom asked.
“That bed is as wonderful now as it always was.” Cora sank into a chair at the dining table, a different table than had been there before.
“Well, if you hadn’t run off with Clark Buchanan, you’d have no reason to have missed that bed,” Dad commented from behind his morning paper.
Cora’s mouth dropped open. If this was supposed to make her want to stay, they were crazy. There was nothing to say in defense, so she shut her mouth. She tried to eat her breakfast without choking, even when the bacon threatened to wrap around her vocal cords. But her anger prevented her from swallowing her food. Why wouldn’t they forgive her for marrying Clark? If she could only get away from her family and be by herself.
“Cora, I thought we could go shopping today while Dad is at work. I’m sure you could use some better clothes. There’s a new boutique at the mall, and the clothes there would help you dress more your age.” Mom took her seat at the dining room table.
“Mom, we don’t have to do that today. My clothes are fine. Really.” Her insides bubbled like a volcano. “Besides, I thought I’d call some of my old girlfriends and arrange a get-together. Anne's been waiting to see me.”
“Well, so have I. For years! But if that’s what you want to do with your time, go ahead.” Mom took a sip of her hot tea and gazed out the window, blinking tears away.
“I do. Thanks for understanding. We’ll go shopping another day. I’ll be here for a few weeks.” Cora excused herself from the table, holding back a scream. Pulled between Mom’s wishes and her own, she went to her bathroom to take a shower. She slammed the door behind her. Surely, she could do that right.
While Cora showered, guilt crept up from her toes and threatened to overtake her. She should want to be with Mom, but she wanted to see her friends too. Why should she have to choose? There were plenty of hours in the day.
A short while later, after brushing her damp hair, she called Anne to see when she could meet, then began calling her other friends. Before long she’d rounded up nine girlfriends for dinner that evening.
Cora next found Mom pruning the roses in the back yard, wearing her designer hat and garden gloves. She went outside to help and tried to make casual conversation, but Mom’s near silence was an old attempt to spread the plague of guilt. Cora needed a big vaccine against it. Mom and Dad were not currently attending church anywhere, so she didn't go to church either that day. Instead, she watched Mom meticulously care for her roses.
* * *
Cora’s insides jumped like popcorn in a pan of oil by the time she got to Antonio’s that evening. The ocean view and brisk sea breezes electrified her senses. She waited in the lobby for the hostess then followed her to a table on the patio by the beach. She sipped her water as she waited for the others to arrive. The ocean waves soothed her nerves. Her troubles were small in the grand scheme of life.
When Anne arrived, the two best friends squeezed each other’s necks until they felt like they'd break. Cora’s other friends arrived soon after Anne did, and the hugs and hellos flew like balloons on the breeze. Everyone applauded when Cora said dinner was her treat.
“You should've seen my parents when I told them I was going out with all of you tonight.” Cora pushed her hair behind her ears, and the wind whipped it across her back.
“What do you mean? Like how Pete acted when I asked him to put the kids to bed tonight without me?” Alicia burbled, slinging her blonde locks over her shoulder.
“They wanted to take me out to eat. Actually, they wanted to go last night on the way back from the airport, but I was too exhausted. I was in no mood to be with them tonight, either.” Cora and Anne exchanged a knowing look.
“That’s how my mom is when she finds out I’m going out with friends.” Jo’s amber eyes stared directly into Cora’s.
“Mine always want to know when I’m getting married. I mean, you have to have a guy first!” Denise chimed in.
“What’s the problem? Why are they driving you crazy?” Karen asked.
Cora reached for a garlic roll. “First, they arrived at the airport, when I never even told them when I was coming in. My father, the big travel agency detective, found out my flight information. Then, not one minute after I saw them, they were already jumping on me about my choice in airlines. It’s been nonstop since then.” Cora sipped her cola; water droplets formed on the glass.
“They’re probably just concerned about you,” Janet said.
“But they sure have an irritating way of showing it.” Cora straightened her silverware.
“When you’re a parent, you’ll understand.” Janet caught her napkin from flying off the table.
“Maybe. I’d thought about staying at the beach house a night or two before coming home, but they surprised me.” She tapped her foot to the Caribbean music in the background.
“They'd have caught you. The neighbors would've called them.” Anne broke her long silence, her blue eyes like the sky over the gulf.
“I know.”
“Enough about your parents. I want to hear about Clark. We haven’t seen you since you left with him.” Denise grabbed a roll from the basket.
“Nothing much to say, really.”
Denise focused her eyes on Cora. “Oh, come on. He does business with the law firm you work at, comes in all suave and debonair, whisks you away from us, and you say there’s nothing to talk about?”
“Yeah, a drug dealer posing as an export businessman coming in to take advantage of the young and trusting legal secretary. Real suave. Export business, my foot!”
Anne giggled. “Bitter, are we?”
“Shut it!” Cora stuck her tongue out at Anne. “You guys know the story. Clark entered my life like a tornado, uprooting every bit of common sense I’d ever had. His stupid blond hair and gorgeous blue eyes suckered me in, and his charm won my heart. I was too trusting for my own good.”
“Go on,” Karen said.
“When we moved to South Carolina after we got married, Clark’s parents lived only a few miles away. Having them around made me feel at home, and when Clark traveled on business, I stayed with them. I grew really close to them because they accepted me unconditionally. I used to style Mrs. Buchanan’s hair and do puzzles with his dad. We were happily married, and then one day they arrested him for drug dealing.”
Cora exhaled. “Looking back at the picture from my twenty-fourth birthday, I see in Clark’s eyes something not quite right—something unsettled. Less than a month after that, the police arrested him on drug charges. Supposedly, according to reporters, Clark’s export business fronted for a drug operation. His dad put up bail, and Clark came home while waiting for his trial. The next night, he slipped out of the bed and disappeared. I haven’t seen him since. His dad almost lost everything because of him. In fact, I paid them back with some of the life insurance money. He was gone a year when I decided I had to leave and start over. I had hopes he might return, but I knew if he did, he’d go straight to jail. I was headed home in my car when I broke down in Georgia.”
“What happened then? This is more excitement than I’ve had in a long time.” Jane played with the strap on her sundress.
“I stayed at a bed-and-breakfast for a bit and met a real nice family there that offered me a job. So I stayed. That’s where I’ve been for the last couple of months.” Cora took a big breath.
“What kind of work did you do for them?” Mary prodded.
“She flirts with their grown sons.” Anne sniggered, making full eye contact with Cora.
“Anne! I do not.” Cora smacked her hand playfully.
“Well, from the description of them, I’d flirt with them if I was there.”
“Maybe.”
“Maybe, huh? Anyway, tell us what you do. Why did you leave?” Karen asked.
Cora shrugged her eyebrows. “You don’t really want to know all the boring details, do you?”
“You bet we do.” Alicia nudged her gently.
Cora crossed her eyes and stuck her tongue out playfully. Before she could elaborate, the waitress came to take their orders. When she walked away, Cora continued, “Here’s the story. My car broke down, and it would take a few days to repair it. So I found a room at a bed-and-breakfast inn. When I found out the estimate on the repairs and that it would take a week to get the car, I knew I wouldn’t have enough money to pay for it and my expenses too. So I started working for the lady who ran the inn. I almost had enough money to come home, but I called Mom and Dad and asked them to send me a little more. We got into a huge fight, and they refused to send me any money. I planned to stay with Ms. Lottie and work for a while until I could come home.” Cora took a bite of her roll.
“Maybe you need to go to a counselor.”
“Are you kidding, Peggy? My counselor would need a counselor. Do you want to hear the rest?”
“Yes,” they all sang.
Denise followed a tanned, shirtless man in shorts and flip-flops with her eyes. The others laughed at her. She blushed.
“Okay. A man named Rex came into the inn one day to eat. Although I didn’t know it until later, he was interested in me. He went home and told his parents about me, and they came into the inn to meet me. A few days later, when they heard I needed money and couldn’t afford to stay at the inn any longer, they offered me the position of nanny for their grandchild, Rex’s daughter. His wife died a year ago.”
“Ooh, so does he have feelings for you?” Anne’s blue eyes sparkled like crystals.
“I don’t know. Not really. He had a girlfriend, who I will not waste my breath or your time telling you about. Anyway, I told them I’d try it for a while and see how I liked it. I ended up falling in love with the little girl. Her name is Susie, and she’s three, almost four.”
Cora’s throat choked up, and tears welled in her eyes. “Then, one day, when my car was ready, I drove to town with Jimmy, the cook, to get it. On the way home, I got lost on these back roads and blew my tires on something. Then someone crashed into my car. When I got out to walk, someone came up behind me and hit me over the head…” Cora paused, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Peggy urged her on. After she finished telling them about her near-death experience and the other missing girls, Anne begged her to tell them more about Rex. Cora couldn’t fool her lifelong friends. They all knew she had feelings for this man. She finally shared with them everything that had happened with Rex. They threatened to hang her if she didn’t go back to Georgia to be with him.
* * *
Cora punched the code into the keypad by the gate and waited for the gate to open. She pulled through in her mom’s Lexus with her friends following in their cars. The three-story beach house with its pink stucco and red tiled roof was ridiculous. Cora shook her head at the extravagance. She pulled the car into the garage, careful not to bump the door on the support pole.
“Oh my gosh! I forgot how great this place is,” Peggy reminisced.
“Yeah, great. It’s a bit too rich for my taste.” Cora shrugged.
“What do you mean?” Alicia asked.
“I mean, they’ve got this house and our home five miles away. Do you know how many starving children they could feed for what they paid for this house?”
“Cora, get over it. Just enjoy the opulence. It’s not going to go away,” Anne blurted.
“I guess.” She stuck her tongue out at her.
They climbed the stairs to the front porch, which was on the back of the house and faced the beach. Cora stopped and leaned against the rail, soaking in the sunset. The sea breeze blew through their hair and kissed their skin.
“It’s so great that your parents are letting us stay here tonight,” Karen said.
“I’m glad my parents didn’t mind watching the kids.”
“Yeah. I wish Jane had been able to stay,” Cora said.
“Well, her husband wouldn’t let her stay the night out.” Janet groaned.
“Wouldn’t let her?”
“Yeah. A big story going on there.” Jo shifted her overnight bag to her right shoulder.
“You’ll have to get her to fill you in,” Mary added.
Cora opened the door and led the way into the beach house. Soon high-heeled shoes and wooden sandals clicked on the Italian marble floor. “Why don’t y’all pick out your bedrooms? There’s five. Should be enough especially since we’ll probably crash in the living room, don’t you think?” Cora tossed her purse on the sofa.
“Probably,” Anne agreed, kicking off her shoes by the door.
“I’m tempted to sleep out here.” Denise lingered outside on the porch.
“Me too,” Peggy agreed.
“It’s probably too muggy out there.” Alicia rejected the idea for herself.
“And we’d get bitten by mosquitoes,” Mary offered.
“You guys are such moms.” Jo giggled. “Let’s go for a swim.”
“Okay.” Cora picked up her duffle bag.
“Wait, let’s see what kind of food your mom has first…in case we need to run back out,” Janet said.
“I’ll look in the pantry.” Cora walked into the kitchen and flipped on the light. She walked over to the pantry and opened the door, noticing
the new stainless steel appliances. She shook her head. “Here’s a box of brownie mix, some marshmallows, popcorn, tortilla chips, and a jar of cheese sauce.” She opened the freezer. “The freezer is stuffed with pizzas and chicken tenders.” She opened the refrigerator door. “There’s soft drinks and water.”
“Any beer or wine?” Karen asked.
“No, I don’t see any.”
“Well, shoot.” Karen faced Cora with hands on hips. “When I can get a night away from the kids, I want to enjoy myself. With an ex-husband, I need a drink every now and then. Wouldn’t you drink?”
“No, probably not. It’s only gotten me into trouble in the past. We could make some coffee, though.”
Karen shrugged. “Don’t make it on my account.”
“Let’s bake the brownies and then go for a swim.” Mary walked toward the kitchen.
“Let’s go for a walk on the beach first before it gets too late and then bake the brownies and swim.” Denise kicked her shoes off.
“Sounds good to me.” Anne stood and grabbed her duffle bag off the floor.
* * *
After their walk on the beach, Cora and the others came back into the house to bake the brownies.
“Is that my cell phone ringing?”
“Yep,” someone called out from one of the bedrooms down the hall.
Cora ran to her purse, grabbed her cell phone, and checked the caller ID. “It’s Mom,” she announced. “Hello?... Yep, we’re here... Okay, well, y’all have a good night... Yeah, I’ll be home midmorning.” Cora hung up the phone and stared at Anne. “Wow! For the first time in forever she treated me like an adult.”
“It’s about time.” Anne laughed.
“I’m starting to smell those brownies.” Alicia headed toward the kitchen.
“Me too. Let me go check them. I think they still have about ten minutes.” Cora followed.
After Cora pulled the brownies out of the oven, she put her suit on. “Let’s go. The beach towels are in the closet downstairs by the back door.”
Song of the Meadowlark (Intertwined Book 1) Page 13