After having herself a good giggle, Gran said, “You don’t have to go traipsing through a blizzard for some more hair color. I always keep a spare box under the bathroom sink.”
“Oh, Gran you’re a life saver.” Lizzie gave her a big hug before unzipping her coat.
“I can’t have one of my gentleman friends showing up and catching me going gray.”
“What time did Billy and William get in?” Lizzie asked as she poured a glass of orange juice.
“I’m afraid they aren’t going to make it. Bob Caldwell just said most of the Northeast is shut down by this blizzard.”
“Who?”
“That handsome young weatherman on WLOS." Gran pointed towards the TV. “Bob knows his stuff when it comes to bad weather.”
“That’s just great, stood up again.” Lizzie slumped into one of the chairs surrounding the kitchen table.
“Quit pouting, he’ll be here as soon as he can.” Gran laughed. “William would tie him in knots if he even suspected Billy was about to slip off on you again.”
Elena appeared at the bottom of the stairs still in her nightgown. “He’s not here yet?”
“No, I guess the wedding is off, at least until it stops snowing.”
“Well, at least you’ll have time to fix your hair,” Elena said, ever the optimist until she looked out the window and saw how bad the weather was. “Damn, there’s no way Allan’s minister will be able to make it through that mess.”
“Never fear.” Gran smiled devilishly. “I just happen to have a judge snoozing upstairs in my bedroom. Grant can do the honors for you.”
“Grant?”
“One of those gentlemen I was referring to. He’s an old friend who just happens to be a retired circuit court judge. He came a calling last night and I couldn’t very well not invite him to stay over, seeing as how bad the weather was.”
“I guess I’ll have to wear the tacky bridesmaid dress,” Lizzie said, trying to hide her own disappointment so as not to upset Elena.
Ding, dong… the doorbell rang and someone pounded impatiently on the back door.
“Maybe that’s-”
Not waiting for Gran to finish her sentence, Lizzie dashed to door and pulled it open without bothering to look through the glass.
Odessa burst into the kitchen like she owned the place.
“Where’s Will?” She demanded.
“Most likely still in Baltimore.” Gran stood to face her. “Just who the hell do you think you are barging into my home like this?”
“Odessa Scott, William Fletcher’s paramour.” She swept aside her cape, not the least bit intimated. “I’ve driven all night and I’m exhausted. Please show me to his room.”
“The Inn is closed. You’ll have to seek accommodations elsewhere.”
“I don’t believe William would appreciate you speaking to me with that tone of voice.”
“I know Dinera. Mrs. William Fletcher wouldn’t appreciate me letting William shack up with a rat under my own roof.”
“You’re looking at the next Mrs. William Fletcher.” Odessa sneered. “Dinera DeFleihr didn’t even take his name.”
Before Gran could summon a comeback, the phone rang. Hoping that it was Billy, Lizzie was the first to reach the wall where it was mounted.
“Hey baby.” Yes! It was Billy.
“Where are you?”
“We’re still at the hotel in Baltimore. The roads are all shut down and I even called the airport. There ain’t no way for us to get out of here today.”
A tear ran down her cheek. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
“Don’t go getting all sad on me cause this wedding ain’t off. I’ll marry you the minute I get there. I promise.”
That stupid witch yanked the phone out of her hand. “Let me speak to Will.”
As far Lizzie was concerned, Odessa could stand there and yak with him all day. Gran had other ideas, “Give me the damn phone.”
Odessa clutched it like a life line and turned away from them to where all they could see that hair of hers falling down her back like a crimson river. In that moment Lizzie hated Odessa and her perfect head of hair more than she had ever disliked anything in her whole life.
She whispered to William for several minutes before handing the phone over to Gran and turning around to face Lizzie and Elena with a defiant scowl.
“What are you looking at?” When Odessa bared her teeth, Lizzie expected to see fangs instead of a perfect row of pearly whites. “It’s not real fur. I don’t wear dead animals.”
With that hair, the last thing they had noticed was the dark lining of her velvet cape. The rich green fabric made her eyes almost glow in contrast to her absolutely flawless alabaster skin. Now Lizzie knew the true meaning of the phrase ‘don’t hate me because I’m beautiful'.
Odessa tossed back a strand of shimmery copper tresses and said, “I knew all along you weren’t a real red head.”
“That’s enough.” Gran grabbed Odessa by the arm, walking her towards the stairs. “If I had my say, I’d throw you out on your pretty little backside, blizzard or not.”
“It’s not like I want to stay here. Will has a suite reserved for us at the Grove Park Inn.”
“Don’t let the doorknob hit ya where the good Lord spilt ya,” Elena said like she was ready to drag Odessa down the mountain by her hair.
“William had damn well better appreciate this.” Gran picked up the bag Odessa had dropped by the heels of her pointy “not made for walking in snow” boots. “I’ll see you to your room. You’ll stay there and be quiet until I’m able to get one of the men to take you over to the Grove Park.”
“I do so appreciate your hospitality,” Odessa replied without a trace of sincerity.
Chapter 45
Elena and Allan got to say their ‘I dos’ without a single glitch. It was a simple but beautiful service with Gran’s gentleman caller Judge Grant filling in for the minister from the Flag Pond Freewill Baptist Church. Thanks to the Miss Clairol, Lizzie’s hair was back to an almost natural shade of red and she had gotten away with wearing one of the totally chic vintage evening dresses Gran stored on a rack in her attic.
After both sets of conservative parents left the reception, Gran spiked the punch with a bottle of rum. Vlad added some vodka and the tables were pushed against the walls to create a makeshift dance floor in the middle of the Inn’s dining room. By the time things started to wind down, Lizzie was the only one who wasn’t part of a couple.
Elena kicked off her heels and led Allan to the center of the floor to have their first official dance as husband and wife. Vlad took off his tie and thrift store suit jacket and joined them with Franny who looked much more at ease with a few drinks in her. For a big guy, he was really cutting a rug with his former stripper of a wife by his side.
PJ looked more like her daddy every time Lizzie laid eyes on him. Over the summer he’d gotten taller and Rita had blossomed in the light of his perfect smile. She wore the sliver of a promise right he’d given her for her eighteenth birthday like it was the Hope Diamond. There could have been a thousand people in the room and they still would have only had eyes for each other.
From the way that Judge was mooning over Gran, Lizzie had a feeling he might wind up being Grandpa #5. Even Allan’s sister and cousin had paired off with two guys on the Inn’s staff who had walked three miles in the snow to help Gran pull off Elena’s dream wedding.
That left Lizzie all alone, sitting in the corner gorging on butter crème wedding cake. If it was bad luck to eat your cake before the wedding, her marriage to Billy was going to be doomed. Elena was going to have to bake another one if her future groom ever made it through the storm. It was a good thing Elena and Allan’s honeymoon plans only involved walking a few yards to the nicest of the three cabins tucked behind the Inn.
When the music stopped, Elena plopped down beside of her. “I’m ready to call it a night.”
“You forgot one last tradition.” Gran hande
d her the bridal bouquet of pink roses. “You have to toss this before Allan carts you off to the honeymoon suite.”
“Okay girls, line em up.” Elena stepped up onto a chair, turning her back to them.
“Front and center Lizzie.” Gran pulled at Lizzie's arm yanking her to the middle of the lineup.
“One… two… three…” Elena tossed the flowers over her head landing them right in Rita’s outstretched arms.
“Yay, I’m next. Well, after Paul finishes medical school anyways.”
“I certainly hope Billy gets here before then,” Gran said with a laugh.
“Oh, I didn’t mean to butt in.” Rita tried to pass the roses to Lizzie but she refused them.
“That’s okay. I caught the bouquet at Carol Ann’s wedding so I’m already covered.”
“You’re the best.” Rita gave her a hug. “I can’t wait until we’re officially sister-in-laws.”
At the rate those two were going, her brother and Rita would be married with a couple of kids by the time Paul Junior had Doctor in front of his name.
After Elena and Allan’s send off into the snowy night, Lizzie filled up a glass with the last of the liquored up punch and headed up to her room. It was the only one on the third floor that had an attached bathroom with its own shower, but what she really wanted was a nice long soak in the huge clawfoot tub in the shared bathroom at the end of the hall.
Lizzie changed into the worn terry cloth robe that had hung on the back of the door since her college days and tiptoed down the hall, careful not to disturb the Allen's or Elena's parents. There was no light shining from underneath any of the doors so she figured they had all called it a night.
She eased the bathroom door shut, locking it behind her and stepped out of the robe before pulling open the curtain that enclosed the area surrounding the monstrous old tub.
“Wouldn’t this make Billy’s dick spring to attention?”
Odessa’s purring voice sent a shiver down Lizzie’s spine. Odessa sat chin deep in bubbles with that hair piled on top of her head like a tressed crown.
“And what a magnificent dick it is.”
Lizzie just stood there staring at Odessa.
“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?” Odessa sat up completely nonchalant about her nakedness.
With a body like that, she had nothing to be embarrassed about. Her breasts were small but perfectly proportioned, her stomach washboard flat in contrast and then there were those long shapely legs. No wonder Billy had been seduced by her. In the candlelight she was so beautiful she looked like a perfectly formed creature from some other exotic world.
Odessa bent over to pick up her towel, deliberately holding the pose like she wanted Lizzie to admire the curve of her ass.
“Sorry, I don’t swing both ways,” she said looking up at Lizzie with a mischievous grin. “I am Will’s in mind, body and soul. Billy only got just a little taste of me that week I consoled him in his time of need.”
Chapter 46
“Are you sure you’re up for making the rest of the drive tonight?” William asked as they crossed the Virginia line into Bristol, Tennessee.
“I’ll be good once I get some more coffee in me,” Billy said. “I’m too keyed up to even try to sleep until I’m holding Lizzie in my arms.”
His first wedding date had rolled into Sunday and then Monday before they had been able to get out of Maryland. Here it was in the early Wednesday morning hours of Christmas Eve and they were only about ninety miles away. The driving had been touch and go, but they had made it this far and Billy wasn’t about to quit now.
They stopped to gas up and Billy filled a thermos to the brim with strong black coffee before sliding behind the wheel to drive them in.
“Even in the best of weather, that stretch of 19/23 can be rough between Erwin and Mars Hill,” William cautioned. “Once we get past Johnson City there won’t be nothing but road until we hit Asheville.”
“I don’t plan on so much as slowing down until I get to Glenda’s place.”
It was smooth sailing until they got to the curvy two-lane road that snaked across the mountain close to the Tennessee border. Billy slowed down and crept along white knuckling the wheel. At that point there was no place to turn around even if he had wanted to head back to civilization.
William was snoring by the time the headlights lit up the ‘Welcome to North Carolina’ sign at the top of the mountain. Billy eased his foot off the gas, relieved to be able to coast their way down. He relaxed even more when he started seeing patches of black pavement along the snow packed roadside. Maybe they really were past the worst of this mess.
He took a swig of coffee straight out of the thermos. Just as he was screwing the lid back on a tracker trailer barreled by going way too fast for the conditions. That caused him to hit the curve a little too hard. The car veered towards the shoulder and right then he knew they were skating over black ice.
Billy started to hit the brakes before remembering what William had told him about that being the worse thing to do on a slick road. Instead he tried to ride it out like they were on some kind of roller coaster. The only problem was there was no one there to stop the crazy ride. His stomach lurched when he saw how steep some of those banks were. One slip of the wheel and they would be goners.
The car went into a tailspin. They were either going down the hill hard way or – a white blinding light hovered above the opposite embankment. He yanked the wheel as hard as he could. The car followed the light and crashed into a snowdrift. There was a brilliant swoosh of red and then the windshield shattered under the weight of the snow.
Billy caught his breath then wiggled his arms and legs. Yep, he was still alive and all in one piece. He looked over at William and about lost it again. William’s head was planted clear through the glass. He wasn’t moving or making any noise. Billy grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him back against the seat watching the glass splinter even further from the impact of his weight. There was so much blood on William’s face that Billy couldn’t even tell where he’d been cut.
“William. William…” Billy shook him hard, not even thinking that might be making matters worse.
He thought he might have killed him until William jerked and then tried to sit up.
“What the hell?” He asked, wiping at the blood pouring down his face.
“We crashed.”
“You okay?” Only a man like William would have been worried about someone else in the shape he was in.
“Yeah, you just wait here and I’ll go see if I can find some help.”
“Dess!” he hollered and pointed behind Billy towards the back windshield. “Dess… my Dess… I love you Dess.”
“You’ve done been knocked silly,” Billy said. “Odessa ain’t anywhere near here.”
“I saw her hair, that beautiful red hair. Go get her. Go get Dess.”
There was no opening his door with the car buried in that heavy bank of snow. Billy had to crawl over the back seat to manage to get out thru the back door. Everywhere he turned there was nothing but snow. He didn’t know which way to go. There was nothing where they had been and he didn’t know what was on the road ahead. The car had spun around to where he didn’t even know which way was which.
He got his coat out of the backseat and just stood there for a minute trying to get his bearings.
“Billy.”
Someone called out his name in a voice he hadn’t heard since he was a little boy.
“Billy, this way.”
Was that his sweet mama’s voice?
Billy must have been knocked silly too cause there she stood as real as he had ever remembered her. His mama. Her red curls blazed against the first rays of morning sunshine. It had to have been his Mama’s hair that William had seen through the glass.
She looked so real and so beautiful that it made his eyes sting with tears. He had to follow her, slipping and sliding his way up to where she stood waiting for him at the top of the hill
. Just as he reached out to touch her, she raced ahead of him, gliding over the packed snow, her hair flying around in the breeze.
His mama was alive!
Why was she running around in this weather wearing nothing but her wrestling gear? She had on the yellow swimsuit and her new white boots. Just like in that photo he had of her grinning at him from the ring. She worked two weeks of shows to be able to afford to special order the kangaroo-skin wrestling boots. He couldn’t understand why she would risk getting the soft leather all wet in the snow.
At last he caught up to her, stumbling into her open arms. Yellows, oranges and reds swirled all around in a dazzling display of lights. Billy fell to his knees, trying to hold on to his mama, not about to let her go.
***
“Billy! Billy!”
Lizzie’s voice rang through the darkness. Billy tried to open his eyes but those damn swirls made him squeeze them shut. He felt something warm across his back and caught a whiff of her Chanel *5.
This one was real, all right.
It took all Billy had to prop up on his hands and knees. That was as far as he got until he fell back down into Lizzie’s embrace.
“What happened to me?”
“You had an accident.”
Billy steeled his stomach and took a look around. Sunshine baked on the snow, causing a horrible glare that made him afraid he was gonna hurl all over his sweetie.
“William flagged down a car and got a ride up to the church to call Gran.” He followed her hand as she pointed across a cemetery towards a tiny church nestled in a grove of trees at the foot of the hill. “Me and Vlad came to get y’all and you were gone. William didn’t know where you had took off to.”
“My mama… I followed my mama.”
Lizzie gasped, “Right to her grave.”
Sure enough, they were sitting right on top of his mama’s grave. Billy must have wiped the snow off the headstone before he passed out cause he could see her name clear as day, Billie Jean Dalton. June 18, 1930 - December 2, 1957.
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