“So how was he getting out to her house?”
“Begging. He begged rides from everyone. All in the name of true love. Apparently, he has a very active imagination and has watched one too many teenage romances. Susan has even taken him by there. He’s also, apparently, very persuasive.”
Jackson laughs a bit under his breath. “He does come off as pretty cute and harmless.”
“And I asked him in the car on the way home why he did it. He said there was a movie he and Brittani watched where the boy wouldn’t let go. He said it’s her favorite movie, and he thought that was what he was supposed to do.”
“Okay, listen, I’ll be home tomorrow afternoon. I have to hand some stuff off, and I’ll do that first thing in the morning, then come home. Me and Bryan will go out to dinner. Just the two of us.”
My next sigh comes through a smile. Parenting is hard work. And I can’t imagine doing it with anyone other than this man. “Thank you. That’ll be good.” Then I laugh. “And wait’ll you hear that I had to do all this with white paint all over my behind!”
“What? How did you do that?”
“I’ll tell you tomorrow. Love you and drive safe. Go have one more nice solitary dinner before coming back to this nuthouse.”
We hang up, and I pull myself up off the couch, which I put newspapers on before I sat down. I don’t know how single parents do it. I feel about a thousand times better than when I first got home.
Oh, I forgot about Will maybe moving home. And Savannah and Alex, someone has to do something about that.
And then there’s dinner. Wonder who’s cooking?
Passing the mirror beside the coatrack at the foot of the stairs, I get a glimpse of the white paint on my jeans and shirt. I pause to take a longer look, and I don’t even try to stop the laughter that blasts out. First things first—put these clothes in the washer.
Changed into shorts and a tank top, and standing in the basement at the washer, I hear someone upstairs calling my name. Then more talking. With the washer filling, I pour in detergent, add my clothes, then walk back up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, the door to the basement opens before my hand hits the handle. “Oh, hi.”
Susan stands at the door, then steps back for me to come up the last stair. “I’m furious at your son for tricking me into taking him up to Brittani’s. I’m taking him out to your garden to get him busy, if that’s okay with you?”
“Of course,” I say. Rest of the country may give lip service to it taking a village to raise a kid, but in a small town in the South, it’s a way of life. Adults will call out a kid misbehaving even if they don’t know him, and if you object, you’re the one everyone looks at. Took some getting used to when we moved here. Suburbs have lost much of that.
“Mom, I don’t know what to do in the garden. It’s hot out there,” Bryan appeals to me, but Susan twists around to answer him.
“You should’ve thought of that when you were lying to me that you were taking Brittani a card since she wasn’t feeling good. And that your mother knew all about it!”
“Bryan! You told everyone I knew what you were doing?”
Suddenly he looks like he would prefer the heat in the garden to the heat in the house. He drops his head and mumbles, “I’ll get my shoes.”
As he turns away, Susan smiles at me. “I should’ve known he wasn’t telling the truth. Guess I’ve had too much on my mind to think straight. But I’m too busy to pull all those weeds out there, so I needed some kid to act up that I could put to work.”
“Good idea. Have a seat,” I say as I sit down at the kitchen table. “So, about your house.”
She slumps back against the chair just as her bottom settles on the seat. “Yeah. It’s something, isn’t it?”
“It’s amazing is what it is. Griffin must’ve gotten some kind of raise.”
Susan nods. “He did, but we’ve also had the money from the sale of his grandmother’s property sitting in our account. She split it up between him and his three siblings years ago, and we never spent it. Plus, the power company was trying to get rid of that house. It’s sat empty since it was built by an ex-company official who left under bad circumstances. They offered us a crazy deal, and, well, Griffin’s pretty competitive. Couldn’t pass up being the local boy done good.”
“I’m just figuring that out about him being competitive. Never realized it until lately.”
We sit quietly until we hear Bryan dragging back down the stairs. As I stand, I say, “You know you have to show the house to Laney.”
Susan grimaces. “I know. Griffin’s champing at the bit to have a big party, but I have to have my family there before that. I keep holding him off.” She opens the back door. “Meet you in the yard, Bryan,” she says as she walks across the deck.
I look out at the jungle I created and pat my son’s back as he walks past. “Daddy is coming home tomorrow night, and you and he are going out to dinner to talk.”
He stops. “Okay, that’ll be fun, but where will you be?” His eyes are innocent and full of light. Is he joking? Is he really naïve, or is it all a cover? Either he’s really good at lying or… wait, evidence says he’s really good at lying. And I remember something I heard once, probably in a political campaign or on Dr. Phil. “How do you know he’s lying? His lips are moving.”
Shaking my head, I push him on out the door. “Susan’s waiting.”
Savannah’s honesty stings, but I’m beginning to see it beats the alternative.
Chapter 22
“You came in late last night,” I say to Will from my seat at the kitchen table.
He nods as he pours a cup of coffee. He sets it on the table across from me, then collects a cereal bowl, the box of Lucky Charms, and the milk. After he sits down and pours his cereal, he looks up. “Oh, forgot to get a spoon. You done with yours?”
I look at my spoon, resting in the puddle of milk in the bottom of my cereal bowl, then look at him. “You’d rather use the spoon that I’ve already used than get up and walk five feet to the silverware drawer?”
He shrugs, sighs, then gets up to get a spoon. “Just seemed easier,” he says as he sits back down.
“So, you came in late last night,” I say again.
“Yeah,” he manages before he puts a spoonful of cereal shapes laced with bright-colored marshmallows in his mouth and starts chewing.
“Were you with Anna? And if you were, did you get anything straightened out?”
“No, wasn’t with Anna. So the answer to question two is also no.”
Now, I know, like every parent knows, that the more questions I ask, the fewer answers I’m going to get. However, I’m no longer dealing with a snotty teenager, he’s a man. A married man with a baby coming. So, I take a deep breath. “Quit ignoring me. Act like a man, not a boy. What is going on?”
His head jerks up so fast, there is milk trailing out of his mouth. He wipes it away with the back of his hand before he says, “Don’t you think that’s between me and Anna? It’s enough that her family is all involved. You want to get involved, too, now?”
Part of me agrees with him. Part of me thinks he needs to talk. Part of me wants another bowl of cereal. After all, I do still have my spoon.
“Hand me the Lucky Charms,” I say. I just want a bit to take the bran cereal taste out of my mouth. “Okay, what do you want us to do? Me and your daddy.”
He eats for a bit, then says, “I don’t know. She’s changed or something. Acts like that job of hers is the greatest thing ever. It’s just a dollar store.”
He’s totally dismissive. Think I see part of the problem. “Well, son, have you tried to look at it from her perspective? She’s never had a real job, probably sees this as something to be proud of. That Mr. Kendrick seems to think she’s doing really well.”
That gets his attention. “You’ve meet this Kendrick guy?”
“Just for a moment, at the China buffet. Right after Anna was hired. Why? Have you met him?”
Will
laughs and drops his spoon into his empty bowl. “No. Why would I go meet him? I’m busy. I have to work, remember?”
“Hey! No need to get all snippy with me.”
He stands up and takes his bowl to the sink while talking. “Sorry, Mom. I did stay out too late last night. Went down to Marietta to hang with some guys from high school. Haven’t seen them in a while.”
“Who’s back there now?” I ask.
He leans on the counter, “Just some of the regular guys. Pete and Mike and some others I don’t think you know.” He straightens up and tucks his dress shirt in.
Another piece of the puzzle. His friends are moving ahead like they always planned. Pete has an internship with the governor’s office, and Mike is headed to medical school. “I guess it was good to see them?”
He bobs his head up and down, but also sideways. “Okay, I guess.” He leaves the kitchen. Heaviness surrounds him. He’s never had to settle. Never been anywhere but at the top of the heap in grades, sports, life. I believe he’ll rise to the occasion, that he’ll find a way to see the good in being married to Anna and the baby coming. I do believe that, but I don’t know how to help him.
Maybe I should talk to Anna.
From my purse sitting in the front seat of my buggy, my phone rings. I stop right in the middle of the aisle and grab for it. “Hi, Anna.”
“I saw you called,” she says.
“Yes, just wanted to stop in and see you, but didn’t want to interrupt you at work. I’m over at the Piggly Wiggly. Do you have a minute? I could run over.”
She hesitates, but manages to drag out an “okay.” “Just come to the front door, and I’ll unlock it for you.”
While we’ve been talking, I’ve pushed my buggy to the front of the store. “Hey Danielle,” I call to the cashier, which means she stops checking out the women in front of her, turns completely away from her register, and answers me.
“Hey, Mrs. Jessup. How are you? Did you get your air conditioning fixed?”
I shoot the lady now waiting on Danielle a look of apology. “Yes, we did.” I don’t let her ask her next question. “But I need to run over to the Dollar Store. Just going to leave my buggy here for a minute.” Me waving my hand and trying to stop her doesn’t keep her from leaving her register and coming to look in my cart.
“Okay. Anything you want me to put back in the freezer? Reckon your deli meat will be okay?” She picks up a baggie filled with turkey breast. “I can take this back to the deli right now.”
I take the turkey from her. “No, it’ll be fine. I don’t have anything frozen yet. Just go finish what you were doing.”
She expresses her lack of understanding by sighing and reaching for the turkey. “It won’t take but a minute—”
“No! Go take care of your customer. I’ll be right back.” And I whirl away from her to leave through the automatic door.
I trot and half-run down the sidewalk in front of the China Palace and stop to slow my breathing at the door to the Dollar Store. Anna is waiting, and she turns the key as she sees me approaching. “Come in,” she says as she pulls open the glass door.
“Thanks, wow, look at this place.” It smells new and clean. There are still boxes everywhere, but many of the shelves have merchandise on them. “Y’all have really gotten a lot done.”
She closes the door and locks it saying, “Yes. And we still have a lot to do. You sure we can’t talk about this later?”
I chuckle. “Where? Figured this was the only place we wouldn’t have all those other people.” She and I had a good relationship when she lived with us. Before we were related. Maybe I can get back there. I reach out and cup my hand around her upper arm, firm enough to show I honestly care, soft enough to not make her feel trapped, and bend my head to look in her eyes. “How are you? You look good. Tired, maybe? But with the new job and all…” As my voice trails, she jerks her arm away from me and pulls back.
“Of course, it’s my job making me tired. Not being pregnant, or fighting with your son, or listening to my grandmother blab all day about everything I do. Y’all don’t want me to work. You only care about the baby. When, in reality, my job is the only thing not making me tired.”
“No, honey, I didn’t mean it like that. I think your job is great. I think—”
“What’s going on here?” Kyle Kendrick demands as he comes around the end of the far aisle. His stride is angry, and he looks bigger than I remember. “Anna, are you all right?” he asks as he comes up behind her.
“She’s fine,” I say. “We’re just talking. I’m Carolina, her mother-in-law. We met the other day.” I reach out my hand to shake his. He ignores it, but steps toward me. Putting himself between me and Anna.
He lowers his voice, but not in a soft way. “I’ve had just about enough of the bullying of my assistant manager.”
“Bullying?” I exclaim as I step away from him. However, he quickly fills the space I just emptied and continues talking.
“I’d hate to have to take away the promotion she so deserves because of her family situation. Now, you need to leave.”
Pulling my eyes off his angry red face, I look to Anna. She’s smiling. Not at me, she’s smiling at her boss. Like he’s, I don’t know, but it doesn’t make me feel good. I speak up as I back towards the front door. “Anna, we can talk later. I’m not on any side, just want to help.”
At the door, I turn away from her, and Kendrick, who’s kept pace with my retreat, twists the key and jerks open the door.
He says, as I walk past him, “Anna knows who’s on her side. And none of them seem to be related to her.” He shoves the door closed, turns the key, then folds his arms, and glares at me through the glass.
Trembling, I race for my van and sit in the driver’s seat. When I immediately lock the doors like someone is chasing me, I realize how shaken I am. Taking some deep breaths while closing my eyes, I try to relax. He really scared me.
A banging on window causes my eyes to fly open as I scream.
Danielle is standing there, wearing her Piggly Wiggly apron, shouting, “Mrs. Jessup, you forgot your groceries.”
I nod and blow out a long breath before I open the door. “Thanks, Danielle. I’ll be right there.” She walks back toward the store, and the line of customers I’m sure she left waiting there.
Setting my feet out of the car and onto the gravel, I test them to see if they are still shaky. That was the first time anyone has ever come at me like that. He was truly angry. At me!
As I near the grocery store entrance, I finally sneak a peek in the direction of the Dollar Store and find it hard to believe what just happened. Then my stomach really drops.
The way Anna was looking at Mr. Kendrick? It was like he was some kind of knight in shining armor. And worse?
I’ve never seen her look at Will that way.
This is a mess.
Chapter 23
Gertie is in the kitchen eating lunch when I get home from Piggly Wiggly. She asks without looking up from her food, “You need any help carrying groceries?” After my encounter with Mr. Kendrick, Gertie’s kind words make my tight shoulders relax. Then she adds, “‘Cause your son is upstairs and you could call him.”
She continues eating her sandwich and talking with her mouth full. “Bought this at Peter’s place, and it’s right good. Italian Beef, that good-looking boy called it.”
Sitting my bags on the counter, I say, “Really? He called it Eye-talian Beef?”
“Yes, Carolina, he gets to name his own food, right? Speaking of naming stuff, you and Shannon need to get to thinking about what you’re going to call the store. Got the painter for the sign coming tomorrow, so think on it.”
“Tomorrow? I don’t know. Never really thought about a real name. What’s Shannon think?” I ask as I close the freezer door.
“Not much from what I can see. Look at this pepper, kinda sweet. He called it a cherry pepper. Right good.” She pops the piece of pepper in her mouth, and then folds up the m
essy wrappings and puts it all in the white bag it came in. “You’re coming to the bookstore this afternoon, right?”
“Yes. Is the painting done?”
Gertie groans as she stands up. Then puts both fists on her wide hips and straightens the rest of the way up. “You know, you and Patty working together didn’t really work, and I told you I was getting you another partner?”
“Yes, you did,” I say as I get out two slices of bread from the bag and place them on a saucer.
“Well, it was harder than I thought it was going to be. There are a bunch of folks don’t want jobs. Leastways, not one selling books.”
Layering turkey breast on my bread and adding lettuce, I ask, “Did you put an advertisement out or something?”
“Naw, just asked around. But I did find someone, and she’ll be there this afternoon.” She sways into the dining room. “Oh, and Carolina, did I tell you I’m moving out?”
“Out of here? No. You’re going home?” I try to not sound too happy.
She stops and leans with her hands grasping the back of one of the dining room chairs. “No, made me a right nice place in Andy’s Place. Got a bedroom and the kitchen. Porch out back. That way I can keep an eye on it and the kids.”
My lunch forgotten, I walk towards her. “Are Andy and Patty going to live there, too? They get back from their honeymoon this weekend, right?”
“Yeah, but no, they’re staying in the apartment upstairs of your store. I’ll get them a house when they get me a grandbaby. Figure that place is so small, it’ll be good incentive.” She waves a hand at me as she lets go of the chair back. “Go eat your lunch and come down to the store straight away.”
I turn back to finish my sandwich thinking of how Gertie has orchestrated everything. Wonder who she got to work with me. She’s thought of every little thing it seems.
Well, except who’s going to tell Missus she has a new next-door neighbor. A smile interrupts my chewing.
Kids are Chancey Page 15