At Last

by JM Dragon

  The only thing going through her mind was something her father said to her when things got tough. Do what you can do, what you are good at, what people can’t take away from you, and at some stage things will have clarity. She picked up her shoes and headed out of the house.

  †

  “Okay, folks, the last question of the evening. Let me tell you that Team Charlie and Team Drover are neck and neck. If the President and the Vice President die at the same time who becomes President?”

  There were groans around the room and several curses.

  “What do you think, Quinn?” Charlie asked.

  “Not sure, Secretary of State I’d guess at.”

  “Good option but…”

  “Yeah, Charlie?”

  “Logically it’s the Speaker of the House of Representatives, that would be my answer.”

  “Damn, Charlie, what do we do, flip a coin?”

  “A one question shoot-out. What a challenge.” Charlie grinned. “To be honest, normally it’s another team who are the contenders, but they aren’t here tonight. I think we have a chance.”

  “All or nothing. Let’s go with your answer.”

  Charlie scribbled the answer down and handed in their answer.

  “It’s been full on since I arrived late. Exactly what do you do, Quinn, and why are you staying in Grady?”

  “Not sure I dare say anything. Every time I do, I put my foot in my mouth and screw things up here.” Quinn shook her head.

  Charlie laughed. “Got to tell you Quinn, that’s the norm in life generally. So, spill. Believe me, tonight I’m on a roll, in helping people, at least trying to help them…not sure I can.”

  “This other team you mentioned wouldn’t happen to be Max and Alice would it?”

  “Why sure it would…you didn’t upset Max, did you? She’s got a mean temper when riled, usually only if you disparage Alice, otherwise she has a heart of gold and the temperament to go with it. I’ll get the next round.” Charlie collected the glasses and headed off to the bar.

  Quinn watched him. I’d have figured Alice was the volatile one, but she wasn’t mean just upset. Maybe this town means more to people than mine did to me.

  Five minutes later Charlie arrived back at the table with two drinks and a wide grin.

  “Did we win?” Quinn threw him a narrowed glance and smiled as he nodded.

  “Damn straight we did, Quinn, beat The Drover’s fair and square.”

  At that moment the winners were announced and asked to come forward. Quinn pushed Charlie toward the bar. “Go get ’em, champ.”

  “I’m having a hellava day, I hope it doesn’t stop.” Charlie chuckled, walked back to the bar, and collected a weird looking object and a certificate.

  Quinn was proud of their achievement. By the thumping of tables and whistles and hand clapping Charlie was a popular winner. She took a swig of her beer and settled back in her chair and wondered what she’d do about Desrosiers if they didn’t come up with the goods. Nothing in life is straightforward. Hell, I was expecting the normal boring hours and going home in time to settle on the sofa with a TV dinner and a beer. Got to say this is so much more fun.

  “Hey, Charlie to Quinn, have you gone back to NY?”

  Quinn looked at Charlie. If anyone this morning had said she’d be spending her evening in a small town at the local bar quiz with an older man, she would have said they were crazy. Yet here I am and…I’m loving every minute of it.

  “You really are missing NY?” He placed the weird object on the table.

  “I’m sorry, Charlie. I apologize for my inattention. I guess I was thinking about home, and other stuff. What the hell is this anyway?”

  “Well, my dear Ms. Quinn, it’s the town mascot and rightly so because without this we wouldn’t be a town anymore, in fact we would be a ghost town.”

  Quinn frowned. “Okay, but…it looks like a squashed cabbage.”

  “Better than what most first timers say when they see it. It’s an abstract rose ready to bloom. Peter Desrosiers commissioned it about twenty years ago and trust me it’s an honor to win it.”

  A guy with a straggly gray beard that touched his chest arrived at the table and gave them a cool look before beaming a smile.

  “Well, Charlie, can’t say the Drovers are happy you won but you’ve waited long enough for the accolade. Wish Francine were here to celebrate with you, she was a mean quizzer. Still you have a new woman now. Our treat, what you both drinking?”

  Quinn knew her eyebrows had hit the stratosphere at the “new woman” comment, but she kept silent.

  “Thanks, Jeb, we’ll have the same again, Ray knows what it is.” He pointed to the glasses on the table.

  “Next month, Charlie, we’ll be out to take it back. Well deserved though, have a great night.” He went half way to the bar and then shouted loud enough to break the glasses, “Whatever Charlie and his lady are having is on us.”

  Quinn rubbed the side of her head. “Damn at this rate I won’t be able to negotiate for my company. Got to say I’ve loved every minute. Thanks, Charlie, for taking a chance on me.”

  “Hey, after tonight if it all goes pear shaped, it will all be okay.”

  Quinn frowned, not understanding the comment, then smiled as their celebratory drinks arrived.

  †

  Gene surveyed the Grand Victorian glasshouse her father had added to the formal garden area out in the back of the house. It had been his dream to produce the perfectly scented rose for a trademark perfume that would be a lasting tribute to the family name and business. He hadn’t managed it. He died from a heart attack when she was eighteen. Ah yes twenty-five years ago next month. Damn, it still hurts almost as much as it did when I found him. Shaking away the sad thoughts, she slowly walked down the left side, flanked by an eight-foot-wide table the length of the glasshouse. Occasionally she’d stop to inspect the plants that she had nurtured over time. As she came to the end of the pathway, she opened a small internal doorway that held what she hoped would finally be her father’s legacy.

  Gene shut the door behind her, ensuring that the conditions she’d experimented with over the years were as perfect as possible for her babies. Patience was the great granddaughter of Matriarch. Her fingers trailed the wooden edge of the large garden bed sunk into the floor.

  “Patience, my you are a beauty and your sisters are looking equally as beautiful.” Gene looked over the three other roses in their respective beds. Cleo was a pale pink with a delicate scent, Sara a vibrant red with a strong aroma, and Dee a gorgeous peach strain with a subtle perfume that could be worn at any time. Then there was Patience, a subtle lavender color with the most glorious scent that immediately had Gene salivating at the prospects that she might finally fulfil her father’s dream.

  “Matriarch would be proud of you all. Sleep well, my babies.”

  Gene retreated to the main part of the building and walked down the right-hand side and half way down, she stopped and stared at the black pot and grinned. Reaching out she snagged a strawberry and revelled in the sweet juice that burst on her tongue. One of the advantages of having the glasshouse was that out-of-season fruit could be grown, especially her all-time favorite strawberries. In fact, it was the first plant she had ever grown to maturity and reaped the benefits. Chuckling, she snagged another and left the building, ensuring that the door locked behind her. Right now, as much as her life was on a downward drag, she felt comforted. Losing Desrosiers House was simply not happening no matter what she had to do.

  Chapter Five

  Felix placed his stubby hands around his stomach and sighed in happiness.

  “Dad, mom wants to know if you want truffle now or later?”

  “God, Dee, later. I don’t know about you, but I’m stuffed.”

  “Later, Mom.” Dee grinned and plonked herself down next to him. “So true. Do you hear the sofa groaning at the added pounds I’ve put on?”

  Felix winked at his daughter. “Your mom is one
fine cook. You should take lessons.”

  “Nah, I like to grow things not cook them to death, and believe me that’s what happens. Gene won’t let me even make her a sandwich for lunch…she said my talents are better suited elsewhere.”

  Felix raised his eyebrows, “Aye, and what would that be?”

  Dee shifted on the sofa.

  “Don’t be silly, Felix, Dee loves those plants of hers. Don't you remember when she was five and Harry Sinster next door trod down all the daffodils in the front lawn? She was inconsolable.” Megan walked into the sitting room.

  “Harry was only seven. It was a fool prank.” Felix shrugged.

  “He never did it again though, did he, ’cos you tore a strip off him for upsetting Dee.”

  “Well I had to protect my little girl.” Felix winked at Dee who rolled her eyes.

  “Got to say I can’t remember but thank you, Dad. That doesn’t solve the current problem of saving Desrosiers though, does it?”

  The heavy sigh accompanying the question caught Felix on the back foot. He wanted his little girl to be happy and knew she was working hard for Desrosiers. Truth be told he was too, had been since his first day of work. Back then his friends who worked at the lumber yard had laughed at him for working for an outfit that made perfume. Some had gone so far as to sever years of friendship. It didn’t matter because he needed the work and he wasn’t going into logging. His grandfather and dad had both died too early in that industry, leaving a devastated family. He had been called a gay, waster, weak, not a true man, but he’d outlasted them all. In a few months he’d have worked forty-five years at Desrosiers, as long they had been established in town.

  “Dad, are you listening? What do you know about the situation at work?”

  Felix stood and turned to the two women he loved the most in life and frowned. “Desrosiers, from what I can see, is on the brink of bankruptcy. I’m not even sure we can help.”

  Dee gasped.

  “Oh, surely not, honey, there is always something that can be done. I believe in hope. Dee, who can we add to our fight?” Megan placed a hand on her husband’s.

  Dee frowned. “There was a woman today who needed our product. She works for Sutters.”

  “Sutters—that’s one of our best customers, probably the best from the amount of stuff we have dispatched to them in the last couple of years.” Felix relaxed and relished the supporting pressure from his wife.

  “Then, Dad, we work that angle. If they want what we provide and are prepared to pay, it might give Gene a break.”

  “How are we going to do that? She’ll only talk to management and neither one of us is that.” Felix shook his head.

  “She doesn’t know that. Gene hates the management side, we can do this.” Dee excitedly stood up.

  “Do what exactly? Defraud someone? I won’t do that and won’t let my daughter entertain such an idea either.”

  “It isn’t fraud, if we give them product. We have the best perfumes anywhere in the world...okay, certainly in the USA. They need us; I know it in my bones. That’s why they sent someone, no one else has.” Dee headed for the door.

  “Going so soon, love?”

  “Sorry, Mom, right now I have a mission. I need to do some executive planning and get ready for the action tomorrow. Dad, I’ll see you at seven sharp in your office.”

  Felix groaned. “That’s half an hour earlier than normal.” He stood and walked over to Dee and kissed her cheek whispering, “Give your mother a hug. She worked hard on dinner for you.”

  Dee rolled her eyes and bit her lip. “Sorry, Dad.” She headed back to her mother and bent to kiss her cheek and give her a swift hug. “Thanks for the wonderful dinner, Mom. I’ll try to get over again at the weekend.”

  Megan smiled. “Love you, Dee, go careful on the way home.”

  Dee nodded and winked at Felix as she left.

  “We have a good kid there, but I think this might be out of her league, Meg. That woman Christine did a number on the business from what I can see.” He sat next to Megan on the sofa and she turned to him.

  “Let her try. Dee loves Desrosiers and those plants. Sometimes love is enough to solve any problem.”

  Felix smiled, pulled her close and kissed her gently.

  “Then love it will be that saves the day.”

  †

  Max stood at the doorway of the kitchen and stared at Alice who was pounding to death some unfortunate vegetable, interspersed by muttering or it might be cursing, though Alice rarely cussed. Her partner of twenty-five years had a relatively placid personality, usually she smiled all the time and was considerate to all folks, but if Alice got a bee in her bonnet and someone upset her, that was it. The poor vegetable rack was her first port of call…thankfully. A sharp amber gaze caught hers and she felt like a deer in headlights.

  “Hi, I see the pumpkin pie will be well squashed tomorrow.” As the gaze narrowed, Max wished she hadn’t attempted levity. It might actually be a glare now. “Shall we discuss what upset you tonight?”

  “Nothing upset me. I just decided that tonight I wasn’t in the mood for the quiz.”

  Max knew the sharp words were an untruth. Alice loved the quiz and never missed one unless she was sick. “Okay, are you ill?” Max didn’t move from the doorway; a pumpkin projectile could be dangerous.

  “No!” Alice stopped her pounding and leaned back against the oven and sighed. “I don’t like your new friend’s attitude.”

  Kind of knew that, love. Slowly she moved into the room and stood opposite her partner with the width of the counter between them.

  “I asked what she said that upset you. Quinn used some big words that I found difficult to understand. That’s a New Yorker for you.” She gave a tentative smile.

  Alice’s expression was wary. “She doesn’t understand what Desrosiers means to Grady and all who live here. Her tone was dismissive. Max, we can’t lose Desrosiers. What will Grady become…a ghost town in a few years. It isn’t right. Our people don’t deserve it.”

  The passionate outcry had Max scramble around the counter and hug Alice close.

  “Ain’t gonna happen, darling. I promise while I can draw breath, I will do everything possible to save Grady from that prospect.”

  Alice sank into her hold and Max bit down on her lip as she began to cry. A part of her wanted to cry too. I love this town and the woman who has made me whole. I’ll do whatever it takes.

  “I’m sorry I walked out tonight. I know you love quiz night.” Alice pulled away and with a teary look nodded.

  “Never be sorry, love, never.” Max kissed her lips gently. “I love the quiz because you do. It makes you happy so I’m happy.”

  “We might have won tonight. Old man Franklin is out of town,” Alice announced sheepishly.

  “Darn. Still I want to beat the Drovers with a full team otherwise it isn’t a win. Right?” Max laughed and held Alice an arm’s length away.

  “Exactly. I’m sorry to have embarrassed you with the Quinn woman.”

  Max exaggeratedly drew her eyebrows upwards. “Me? You’ve known me twenty-five years, have I ever been embarrassed? Not in my makeup, darling, ever.”

  “True. We do need to do something about Desrosiers, Max. Something is terribly wrong.”

  “Then we will find out what it is. I’ll chat up all the regulars and see what they are saying.”

  “I’ll speak to Felix.” Alice paused as Max frowned. “I know you don’t want his help in anything, but he will know the true position. Besides, Dee will lose her job too and she loves it so much.”

  Max snorted. Then a soft amber gaze melted her opposition. “We haven’t seen Dee for a couple of weeks, let’s invite her over for dinner Friday.”

  “Great idea.” Alice smiled. “You know I’m beat, want an early night?”

  “Always with you, darling.” Pointing to the debris she asked, “What about the mush on the counter?”

  “Oh, right. Half an hour then. Let’s have
a beer and you can tell me the big words Quinn said that you didn’t understand.”

  “Did I say that? Hmm, well it was more the statement…analyzing my appreciation of what was happening at Desrosiers, who talks like that?”

  “New Yorkers. Get the beer, want something to eat with it?”

  Max hunched her shoulders and grinned. “Sure, we were supposed to eat at Ray’s but,” she held up her hands. “I much prefer whatever you have for me.”

  Alice giggled as she headed for the refrigerator and pulled out two packages. “My backup, steak and cheese pies. They only need to be warmed up.”

  Max laughed as she gently moved Alice away from the fridge and pulled out two beers. “I thought you wanted an early night?”

  Alice grinned. “It will be, unless you decide to watch a movie. It was ‘The Hobbit’ last time.”

  “You know me so well.”

  “If you put any movie on, it has to be ‘Fried Green Tomatoes.’”

  Max shivered, “Oh I love you so much. You know it’s our fav movie.”