I’m stammering now. I don’t know who this girl is. “Anna, no. Never. You were just so helpful, and we loved having you there. We love having you in our family.”
“Really? You’re glad Will isn’t heading off to law school? That he’s selling cars and living back in your house?”
When I pause to try and say none of that matters now, she steps into the pause. “See, told you.” She sets her full plate, minus the one chip, on the ground beside her, then stands up. “Thank you for dinner. It was… interesting.” When she turns around to leave, Kimmy appears out of nowhere and marches up to her.
Kimmy’s jean skirt is straight and tight. She has a navy blue sleeveless shirt tucked in and a silver belt around her waist. She has on silver wedge sandals and a silver clip holding her blonde hair up in back. She has on makeup, but not like it’s hiding a bruise. It’s actually done very well. She’s small and doesn’t exactly have a figure, but she doesn’t look like the hillbilly I have in my memory.
She brushes some floating strands of hair to the side, then puts that hand on her hip and tips her chin at Anna. “There you are. Kyle said you offered to watch the kids. They’re done with being cooped up in there. They’re over in one of the bounce houses. Baby’s in that red stroller there. I just fed him, so he should be good for a while.” She leans toward me. “Hey, Carolina. Thanks for helping Anna out. Good to get to meet folks inside, where it’s air-conditioned and there’s a bar.” She starts walking away, then turns back to yell, “Diaper bag is under the stroller.”
Savannah stands up as we all stare at Kimmy’s retreating back. “Good luck, y’all. Those kids are a nightmare. I see Jenna and some others. Give me a couple Oreos, Bry.”
She walks off in one direction with her handful of cookies, and Anna walks toward the bouncy house area and the red stroller. Bryan stands up and talks through a mouthful of chocolate and cream filling. “I’m going over there.” He points with his elbow. “Will and them have a Frisbee. You want the Oreos?”
I present him an open hand. Yes, I want the Oreos. I need the Oreos. I deserve the Oreos.
Dark is taking way too long to get here. Until I found myself helping Anna, the kids play area hadn’t registered with me. It’s an actual carnival company they’ve hired. Not a carnival like at the fair, with full-blown carnies running the rides and the smell of sawdust and vomit. This looks like a church group hired to do face-painting and expensive rental games. Not our games, like the duck pond which still has mildew on it from being stored out behind the ballpark stands in a shed. The workers are young and friendly and all wearing collared shirts with a logo on the left breast that says, “Carnival Capers. We bring the fun!”
Sleeping baby Kevin and I wander around, and I’m realizing everyone here is from town. So, where are the Laurel Cove people? I walk past the last bouncy slide and look toward the clubhouse where things appear to be winding down. Noise level sounds like they thoroughly enjoyed the open bar and air conditioning. As I stand there watching the crowd of “important people” meander on the clubhouse lawn heading in this direction, Anna comes up behind me.
“They’re done?” she asks.
“Looks that way. So, you volunteered to watch the kids?”
She sighs and crosses her arms. “I guess. For Kyle, not her. But anyway, I was kind of mean to y’all back there. Things just feel so stupid right now.”
We turn and watch K.J. and Katherine get back in line to come down the slide again. There are two workers who have everything handled. “We really just want you to be okay,” I explain. “Us and Missus and FM and Peter.”
She shrugs. “I guess. But, well, I really like my job. I think I could be good at it.” She turns and challenges me. “Did you know they have a whole manager training program? That I could become a manager of my own store? I don’t need college or anything.”
“Really? That’s great, Anna,” I encourage. “You are such a hard worker. They’d be lucky to have you.”
“What do you mean ‘they’d be lucky to have me’? They do have me.”
Stammering, I say, “I mean in the management training program. Right now you just work there, right? You’re talking about the future, aren’t you?”
As K.J. dashes off the end of the slide and starts running in our direction, she flips around, facing me with her back to the little boy. “Why does it have to be in the future? The baby?” She looks down at the stroller. “A baby is not stopping me.”
I reach out and grab her hand. “It won’t. We’ll help. Whatever you need. Okay?”
She looks out at the people coming from the dinner. Missus is there in a red dress with a white jacket. She’s holding on to FM’s arm and getting into a golf cart. As K.J. walks up and says he has to go potty, Anna doesn’t break her gaze on her grandparents. When I see tears in her eyes, I pull her to me.
“Honey, don’t cry. It’ll be okay.”
She pushes away from me. “How? Unless I do what my grandmother did and give my baby up for adoption. And look what a disaster that was. I’m stuck with it.” She starts walking off and growls back, “C’mon, K.J. Let’s go to the bathroom. Watch Katherine.”
Oh, Katherine. When I turn back, I see just how much darker it’s gotten facing away from the open driving range. Katherine is in line once again for the slide. The baby, Kevin, is beginning to stir, and I look for Kimmy and Kyle in the crowd near the clubhouse. I see them also getting into a golf cart with another couple. As they pull out, I watch where the golf carts are going. Walking around the big red bouncy slide I not only see the golf carts’ destination, I find the Laurel Cove people. On the side of the lake, on a beautifully sculpted golf green, there are dozens of golf carts. They weren’t there earlier, and now I understand the signs posted all along that side of the road about “No Foot Traffic” and “Members and Invited Guests Only.”
“You didn’t think they’d mingle with us commoners, did you?” a voice asks over my shoulder. I turn to see LaVada’s granddaughter, whom I met at the hospital.
“Rose, oh, I don’t know. It’s my first time for Fourth of July here. Who all is down there?”
She smiles and says, “Laurel Cove residents and the special guests for the dinner. They invite us here for fireworks, and a picnic which we bring, then permit us to hang out over there. Keep the riffraff out of the way.”
“But the games are pretty nice, right? They don’t have to provide those,” I say as I turn to check on Katherine again.
Rose shakes her head and laughs. “Yes, they are. They wouldn’t have anything but the best for their Fourth of July celebration, which was earlier. This is all just leftovers.”
As Kevin begins to cry, I lean over the stroller and pat his back. Then I straighten up and say, “Oh, that’s why you didn’t like me. You thought I was from Laurel Cove.”
She looks down and nods. “Yes, ma’am. Grandmother set me straight. Matter of fact I only came up here to find you and apologize. And to bring you this.” She holds out a plastic grocery bag. As I look inside at the towel wrapped bread and small jar, she explains, “It’s bread and a little jar of herb oil.”
“Did LaVada make the bread? It looks homemade. Smells homemade.”
“No, Ma’am. I did. Part of our deal, I do the cooking. She does the gardening. She’s teaching me about herbs, though, so I enjoy using them in the oils and cooking. Well, I better get going. Getting dark.”
“Come watch the fireworks with us, and then we’ll give you a ride home. Just let me get Katherine. Guess her parents aren’t coming for them. This is Kevin,” I say as I begin pushing the stroller to the slide.
Rose follows me, making excuses, which I don’t answer as they sound pretty weak. I don’t think she’s got a reason not to stay, but feels she has to try.
“Katherine, let’s go watch the fireworks.” The little girl takes my hand, then looks around. “K?” she asks me.
“K.J. is coming. Want an Oreo?”
With a quick bob of her head,
she comes right along beside me and the stroller. Most times I might worry about feeding a child cookies, but these particular parents don’t get a minute of my worry. Rose walks on the other side of the toddler, and Katherine reaches up to hold her hand.
“Oh! You want to hold my hand?” We walk along, and it’s not the fast falling darkness making Rose stumble as she walks. It’s her staring at Katherine.
I ask her, “Not used to being around children?”
She shakes her head. “No, I’m the youngest in my family. My brother and his wife don’t have children, and my sister isn’t married. She’s getting her doctorate in Texas. How old is she? Katherine, I mean.”
“Um, almost three, I think. The baby is about six months. There’s our blanket.”
As we make our way, an explosion and a burst of white light sends sparkles across the surface of the lake. Katherine jumps and starts to cry. “Take the stroller,” I say to Rose as I bend down and scoop up the little girl. Just as we get to the blanket, Jackson and Will arrive from the other side. I make the introductions while digging the Oreos from the picnic bag. With another explosion and a burst of green up high in the sky, we all look up and settle down. Katherine looks around, a cookie in each hand, then plops onto Rose’s lap.
“Oh, hi there,” Rose says surprised, but in the fading green light, I can see she’s delighted.
Kevin, however, is not. I pull him out of the stroller and just as he begins to settle down, another explosion sets him off. “I’m going to walk around with him,” I say as I stand up. “Maybe I’ll take him to his parents. Surely they don’t want to miss his first fireworks show.”
Jackson chuckles. “I bet they do.”
Back over near the games area, where we aren’t disturbing anyone, I take a seat on a bench and bounce Kevin on my knee. Being up and moving settled him down, so he’s no longer jumping at every boom. K.J. comes running up and pokes his head in his brother’s face.
“Hey, Kev!” He makes funny sounds and faces while Kevin reaches for him. Anna sits at the end of the bench. With another firework, both of the boys focus on the sky. Kevin on my lap, K.J. leaning against the bench seat.
“Did Kyle come by this way?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Not since he and Kimmy went off on the golf cart. Can’t believe they left you with all three kids. But then, guess they’re used to it with Zoe. Where is Zoe?”
Anna shrugs. “I don’t know. Kyle complains about her being at Laney’s all the time, but then he brags about how much money they’re paying her. He believes work is very important.”
“Work? Or money?”
Anna ignores, or just plain misses, my sarcasm.
“Both. Wish I’d known that earlier. My mom always talked about work like it was to be avoided at all costs. Whenever she had to work, she would get sick.” She turns to look at me. “I love my job. And I’m keeping it.” She swallows and lowers her voice. “I’ll keep this baby, if y’all want me to, but I don’t think I want to be its mama.”
“And how do you think that’s supposed to work?” I whisper back at her.
She shrugs. “Don’t know. Guess that’s for y’all to figure out. I figured out that I can’t run off, have it, then give it up for adoption.”
“Glad to see you realize that isn’t a good plan.”
She agrees. “Yeah, because I’d lose my job.”
I sigh. Sometimes she’s just so nineteen. “Oh Lord, yes. It’s all about your wonderful job at the Dollar Store,” I expel in a huff.
“I’m keeping my job. And I’m going to be a manager. If y’all, you and Missus and Will and Peter, all think this baby is such a great idea, then you can have it. I’ll just be some kind of aunt.”
“Anna, be serious. That’s no way to raise a baby.”
She leans back and takes a deep breath. “I am being serious. It’d be easier to just give it up for adoption, but everyone freaks out when I say that.”
“Have you and Will talked about any of this?”
She looks at me and squints. “Will? Will’s more confused than I am.” She pauses. “You know, we really did think we loved each other, but I think we were both just scared.”
“Having a baby, especially as young as you are, is scary.”
She tilts her head off to the side and stares up at the exploding designs in the sky. “No, before the baby and all that. I was scared of being alone, and Will was scared of being a lawyer.” She pulls her eyes back down and stares at the top of K.J.’s head, resting between us. “You know Will doesn’t want to be a lawyer, don’t you?”
“What? He’s always talked about it.”
She shrugs. “All I know is when I told him I was pregnant, he was mighty relieved. And first thing he said was, ‘Now I don’t have to go to law school.’”
My mouth hangs open, all the way through the finale’s mass explosions. As I pull my mouth shut, I know she’s right about Will.
And even though it rings true, I’m thoroughly, deeply disappointed. Jackson will be disappointed, too. Which tells me why our son didn’t tell us sooner.
Well. Hasn’t this been fun?
Chapter 30
“Hasn’t he wanted to be a lawyer for ever?” I ask Jackson. Again. He doesn’t answer me, as he gave up answering me about the four hundredth time I asked him that question last night and this morning. We are taking a walk down the hill to the river with our cups of coffee. There’s only one church service today since it is actually July Fourth, and there are no Sunday School classes. The one service is at eleven o’clock and in the park at the gazebo. So, we are having a lazy morning, much needed after such a full day and late night.
Looks like we’re in for afternoon storms the way the clouds are building. There’s a stiff, warm breeze which is keeping the mosquitos by the river away from us. We stop beside a fallen log and sit down. It faces the river and you can see the train bridge, so it’s our favorite spot down here.
Since Jackson is no longer answering, or seemingly listening to, my exhausting concerns this morning, I try a new tactic. “What did you think of Laurel Cove? Rose really seems to have a chip on her shoulder about it, doesn’t she?”
He sighs. “Yeah, she does. But then she was explaining her grandmother’s property matches up to it the whole way, and the Cove people continue to pressure her to sell. Guess there’s a stream there they want for a horse trail.”
I sip my coffee. “With all the curves in the road, I didn’t realize it was that close. Only took Will a few minutes to walk Rose home through the woods, though. But it was kind of strange how all the Cove people were on the golf carts on the other side of the lake. Oh, I didn’t tell you. Susan is going to have a baby shower for Laney and Griffin, so you’ll get to see their house. Everyone will get to see it.”
Jackson stands up, “I thought Laney’s on bed rest?” He says as he offers me a hand up.
I take his hand. “Apparently it’s not total bed rest. She acts like it is, but it’s more that she needs to rest throughout the day. Being on ‘total bed rest’ must feed that Southern Belle part of her persona. Plus, she got to order some lovely nightgowns and robes, Jenna says. For holding court.”
Jackson keeps my hand in his as we walk out of the woods and begin up the hill. He swings it and laughs. “Also allowed her to hire herself an assistant. Shaw was telling me about the girl, Zoe Kendrick, right? That family just moved lock, stock, and barrel into Chancey. Did they apologize at all last night about leaving their kids with you and Anna?”
“Yeah, right.” I scoff. “You’ve not met them. Both Kyle and Kimmy remind me of tough little mutts. Not much to look at, but so good at strutting around, you can’t help but watch them. And as for keeping your distance, that doesn’t work either because they’ll march right up in your face. Pretty hard to ignore.”
Halfway up the hill, I stop, face him, and take hold of his other hand, too. “But really, what about Will and Anna? Do we just let it go on falling apart like it is? Do we
step in? Is a divorce the right thing for them? And what about the baby?”
Jackson looks down, then back up at me with squinted eyes. “Is there any chance that giving it up for adoption is the best option?”
I suck in my breath, and in that express my shock. Trying to cover it, I nod and say, “Okay, okay, we can talk about it.”
He rushes to explain. “I mean, if she truly doesn’t want to be its mother.”
Tears fill my eyes. “Our grandchild? Never get to know him or her? It belong to another family?”
He pulls me into his arms and soothes me. “Here, I’m sorry. No, that’s not a real option.” He pauses, then I feel his arms tighten as he says, “I guess we’re not too old to have another baby. Look at Laney and Shaw.”
There. There’s the thought that has kept pressing into my mind whenever I left a crack exposed. I close my eyes tight and let it form completely. My forehead rubs against his chest as my head shakes back and forth. Nothing in me lifts. No bit of joy surges in my chest. Instead there’s a flutter of pure panic at my center, and the word “no” echoes back and forth from my heart to my brain to my mouth. However, it doesn’t come out. Instead, I take a step back, force my head to nod, and say, “It’s something we should at least consider.”
Jackson nods once and turns toward the house. I walk beside him, but we’re no longer holding hands.
Thunder more than worship keeps our eyes on the sky during the outdoor church service. It’s an even smaller crowd than anticipated, and that crowd is only as large as it is because no rain has fallen yet and the thunder is distant. We mainly came because my plan for lunch is sandwiches from the Bistro. Peter and Alex had advertised they were running a special on Italian beef sandwiches today. They set up borrowed picnic tables on the whole sidewalk since the other shops, including Blooming Books, are closed today.
I’m not the only one having trouble concentrating on the service with the smell of beef and peppers wafting across the street, the threat of imminent rain, and the kids running around at the back of the congregation. Plus, no one remembered to set up a sound system. Or maybe they were afraid of lightning, but seeing as the audio/visual team has trouble inside the sanctuary on a weekly basis—I’m figuring a little lightning could only help.
Kids are Chancey Page 21