by Debby Mayne
The server approaches our table, saving me from having to say anything. After she takes our order, I decide to go on the offense.
“Why don’t we start a tradition of getting together once a week for our own little potluck? If Sara is available, she can join us. If not, it’ll just be you and me.”
She blinks and wipes her eyes with the back of her hand. “You’d do that for me?”
I nod. “Not only for you. I’ve gotten kind of used to having the two of you around, and I enjoy the company. You girls are fun to hang out with.”
For the first time that evening, she grins. “I like you, too, Shay. I can’t believe we never got together before. I mean, you are quite a bit older than Sara and I are, but we have a lot in common.”
I stare back at the gorgeous blond with big blue eyes and more brains than anyone else in the family has ever given her credit for. Since I’ve gotten to know the twins, I understand why they’re successful. They both have drive and determination, and they complement each other in their business.
“There’s no time like now to start something new,” I remind her. “That’s what Sara has done, and you and I can do it, too.” I prop my elbow on the table and rest my chin on my fist. “Now what’ll happen to me when you meet your prince?”
She snorts. “Like that’ll ever happen.”
“You never know.” I smile.
“Hey, I have an idea.” She picks up her handbag, unzips it, and rifles through it before pulling out some familiar-looking gizmo. “I just got a new selfie stick. Let’s take some pictures of us eating sushi and”—she gestures toward my plate—“what’s left of your chicken on a stick.”
I scoot my chair toward hers, and she starts snapping shots. At first, I’m self-conscious, but then she teaches me some poses—like the pouty face and duck lips—that have us both rolling in laughter. Even the server gets in on the action by photobombing us.
After we finish, we head back home. Sara isn’t in yet, but Sally seems to be in much better spirits, so I go to my room to pray and meditate. The stress of my upcoming move is starting to sink in.
I’m not sure when I fell asleep, but I’m awakened by shrieking. I hop out of bed, grab my robe, and head out to the living room, where Sally is standing by the door gripping a slip of paper, her face red from crying.
“What happened?” I step closer, and she hands me the note. As soon as I read it, I can’t do anything but shake my head.
The note is in Sara’s handwriting, and it simply reads, “Justin and I eloped. I’ll call you soon. Love, Sara.”
You’d think someone got shot, the way the family is reacting to Sara’s elopement. I pretend to be appalled when Digger’s mama calls to tell me, but deep down, I think it’s romantic.
I’ve always thought that Digger’s family goes way too overboard with weddings. They spend money most of them don’t have—with the exception of Bucky and Marybeth, of course—to have a big blow-out where everyone comes dressed in clothes they’re not comfortable in and pretends to have a good time, while all they want is to be home in front of the TV, in their jeans, watching the Saints play football.
“I’m not sure you heard me, Puddin’. She eloped.” The way she says the last word makes it sound like it’s a federal offense. I don’t dare tell her about what happened to Trey. No tellin’ what she’d say to the family.
She makes a clicking sound with her tongue. “I reckon I don’t have to tell you that Sheila is fit to be tied. I just hope Sally doesn’t up and do something foolish, now that her twin has gone off and gotten married. I hear she took the news real bad.”
I’ve always thought Sally was the smarter of the two girls. “I don’t think she’ll do anything stupid, but I bet she’s just as upset as her mama.”
When I sign on to my email, I see that all of Digger’s cousins, aunts, and uncles are buzzing about it on the family loop. It seems the only people who haven’t commented are Sally and Shay. So of course, they’re the ones I want to talk to. But first, I get supper prepared to make sure no one in my family starves to death, which is what they’ll act like if I’m as much as ten minutes late puttin’ it on the table.
I plan to discuss the situation with Digger after we finish eating, but Hallie brings it up. “I can’t believe Sara just up and married this guy. I didn’t even know they were dating.”
“Where did you hear about it?” I ask.
“Justin’s sister is a senior, and she’s bragging about having Sara for a sister-in-law.”
“Oh. I suppose word’s bound to get around in such a small town as Pinewood.”
Digger starts shoveling food in his face without saying a word. I fold my arms and glare at him.
He gives me a double take, swallows, and narrows his eyes. “What?”
“What do you think about Sara and Justin eloping?”
“I say they saved Sara’s mama and daddy a boatload of money. Weddings are expensive these days.”
“How would you know?”
“One of the guys at work was talking about how much his daughter’s wedding was costing him.” Digger turns toward Hallie. “When you start thinking about getting hitched, you might want to consider eloping. If you do that, I’ll give you the money to put down on a house. That way you’ll have something to show for it.”
“Digger!” I reach over and swat him on the arm with my napkin. “Don’t you say such a thing. I want to be there to witness the happiest day of Hallie’s life.”
Brett makes a gagging sound. “That’ll be the grossest day in some stupid guy’s life.”
Hallie’s eyes nearly bug out of her head, and I see her body jerk, indicating she has kicked her younger brother under the table. “Moron.”
His chin juts. “Ouch!”
She bobs her head and turns the corners of her lips downward in a mocking manner. “That’s what you get for saying such stupid stuff.”
“I don’t think anyone will ever want to marry you,” he says. “You’re too mean.”
“Stop it now.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath before turning to Hallie. “When you eventually fall in love and get married, your daddy and I want to share the moment with you.”
“Are you tryin’ to get rid of me or something?”
Digger laughs. “Maybe your mama is, but I’m not.”
I glare at him. I know he’s kidding, but I still don’t want him to plant those thoughts in our children’s minds. “Oh, come on, Digger, you know better than that. I’m not trying to get rid of anyone.”
“Certainly sounds like it.” Digger winks at me, then looks at Brett. “I used to think my sister was mean, too, until our daddy passed away. Then I realized how much I love everyone in my family. Including my sister.” He makes a face that has our young’uns laughing. “Except when she used to pinch me right here.” He points to the tender skin on the underside of his arm. “That used to hurt, but now she would never want to hurt me. We have a good relationship now, filled with trust, which is what y’all will have some day when you grow up and stop acting like—”
“That’s right, Brett,” I say, cutting Digger off. “Listen to your daddy.”
A surprised look covers Brett’s face. “You’re actually agreeing with Daddy?”
Before I have a chance to say a word, Hallie pipes up. “That’s a first. Sometimes I wonder how the two of you ever agreed to get married in the first place.”
My chin drops. How can she not see the love that flows between her daddy and me? I want to say something, but I’m speechless for the moment.
Digger steps up and responds. “Your mama and I might bicker every now and then, but we do it out of love.” He gives me a sideways grin as he reaches out, takes my hand, and kisses the back of it. “And I do love your mama more than you’ll ever know.”
“I can’t watch this.” Hallie gets up from the table and carries her plate to the sink. She turns around to face us. “I have tons of homework, so I’m going to my room now.”
&n
bsp; “Me, too.”
Brett tries to follow his sister, but Digger lets go of my hand and stops him. “Get back here, young man, and take your plate to the sink. We don’t have cleaning staff to pick up after messy kids.”
Since Trey is out with friends, the only child we have left in the kitchen is Jeremy, who is having fun playing with his food. That gives Digger and me a chance to talk.
“Do you think we need to stop bickering so much?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “We really don’t bicker all that much. You should hear some of my buddies from work. The way they tell it, most of them are only a few steps away from divorce court.”
I shudder to think of going through a divorce. Digger is my first and only love, and I don’t have any desire to change that.
He closes the distance between us and wraps his arms around me. “As long as we get along most of the time and we’re honest with each other, I don’t think we’ll ever have a serious problem. And truth be told, I enjoy a little squabble every now and then.”
A wave of guilt nearly knocks me off my feet. “Digger . . .”
He smiles and tilts my face up to his. “What is it, darlin’?”
“There’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”
“What’s that?”
I feel his breath as he holds me close, and it breaks my heart to let him know I’ve been lying to him all along—especially after what he just said about being honest with each other. “I have a—” I look down and cough.
He places his hands on my shoulders and holds me back to look at me. When I look up into his eyes, I see amusement.
“What’s so funny?” I ask.
“Are you about to tell me you have a job?”
Now I’m totally speechless.
“Puddin’, darling, I’m not stupid. I’ve known for quite some time that you’ve been working at that little dress shop in town.”
“You have?”
He continues to smile as he nods. “And I’ve been wondering when you were going to get around to telling me.”
“Are you . . . mad at me?”
“No, Puddin’. When I first found out, I was a little hurt that you didn’t bring it up, but then I realized it was important for you to have your own little thing on the side.” He chuckles. “I’m just glad it’s not another man.”
Someone could have knocked me over with a feather when I read that note Sara left on the console table in the foyer. She must have dropped it off when she knew no one would be home. She didn’t want to face us!
The whole idea of Sara running off with Justin is so disconcerting, but Sally needs me, so I have to pretend to be strong. She’s been walking around like a zombie ever since we got the news. “Sally, sweetie, you need to start making some bows. Those orders keep coming in, and I’m worried you’ll get behind.”
Her chin quivers, and her shoulders slump as she shakes her head. “I can’t do it without Sara.”
I plant my fists on my hips and give her the same look my own mama used to give me when I needed what she called an extra dose of some serious talkin’ to. “And why not?”
She lifts her arms in helplessness and drops them to her sides, slapping her thighs. “I don’t know. We’ve just always done everything together. We even shared a room until we moved out on our own—and that seemed weird at first.”
“Just like this seems weird now. But you’ll adjust, like you did before, and eventually you might even like being on your own.”
Sally shakes her head. “No way. I don’t think I’ll be able to function without her.” She lets out a dramatic cry. “How can I live without her? Our business needs both of us. I can’t do it all by myself.”
“Oh, come on, Sally. It’s not like you won’t see her. She’s on her honeymoon, but she’ll be back.” I give her what I hope is a reassuring smile, even though I’m not sure of anything I’m telling her. This blindsided me as much as it did Sally, but I can’t let her see that I’m anything less than confident that Sara will resume her position with their business.
“But what if she doesn’t want to make bows anymore? What will I do then?”
That isn’t something I considered. “Is Justin well-to-do?”
“Not really, but he does okay. He’s a mechanic down at Freddy’s Tire and Lube.”
“Oh.” I went to school with Freddy, and I just happen to know he’s doing quite well for himself, even though the biggest thing I remember about him is how dirty his fingernails used to be. His business is successful enough for him to have several commercials on TV every day during the early evening news, but I doubt he pays his hired help enough to live lavishly. “At least she won’t have to worry about her car not running.”
My feeble attempt at humor doesn’t go over very well. Sally’s lips tighten, and her chin quivers again.
“Everything will be fine.” The instant that comes out of my mouth, I regret it. That’s not what Sally wants to hear.
“No, it won’t. Everything is terrible, so don’t try to tell me otherwise.”
“Look, Sally, everyone has rocky times, and this is one of those curveballs life throws at us.” I close my eyes. Did I just say that?
“You’re kidding, right? This is not just a rocky time. It’s the end of life with my sister.”
Now I’m getting annoyed with her. I’ve never liked teenage drama, and she’s much too old to be displaying it. “Remember that you’re a smart woman, your sister is your business partner, and I live across the lake from you. Your mama and daddy love you, and you have lots of family nearby, so you have a pretty decent support system. You’ll never be alone, even if you want to be.”
She pouts and folds her arms, reminding me of my brother’s daughter Hallie when she doesn’t get her way. “But I want everything just like it was.”
One thing I’ve learned in life is that as soon as you like how things are going, they change. But fortunately, it works the other way, too.
“Trust me,” I say, hoping to end this conversation. “Things will get better. In the meantime, you have your own life to live.” I give her one of the looks Mama used to give me. “So pull on your big-girl panties and start livin’.”
I try to think of something different to talk about, but Sally’s phone rings, so she walks away to answer it. It’s Saturday, and we have church tomorrow. I wonder if Sara and her new husband will show up. I can’t remember seeing Justin at church, but I go to the early service, and there aren’t all that many people in the younger crowd there at that time.
Sally comes walking out of her bedroom, a hint of a smile playing on her lips. “That was Sara. She asked me if I still wanted to be her business partner.”
I smile. “And you said yes, right?”
“Of course I did.” Sally sighs. “Another thing she told me was that she can’t live in Justin’s apartment because he has a couple of roommates who are slobs, so she wants to bring him here to live.”
“Here? In this condo?” A mix of dizziness and nausea wash over me. The different dynamic of having a man in the house will throw everything off. For one thing, I won’t be able to come out to the kitchen for my morning coffee without a bathrobe. At least that’s temporary since I’ll be moving out soon, but I can’t see Sally being any happier about it than I am.
Sally nods. “I told her when you’ll be closing on your condo, so I think they’ll probably wait until then.”
“That’s probably a good idea. This is a good-sized condo, but having that extra person might be pushing it a tad.”
“I am so relieved I’m not losing my sister.” She blows out a breath of relief. “Everything will be just like it used to be.”
She can’t possibly believe that. Or can she? Surely Sally realizes that her married sister won’t have as much time for her as she once had. Or maybe she needs to hold on to this fantasy to keep from emotionally falling apart.
My phone rings and it’s Mama, so I go into my room to take the call. She starts
talking about Sara’s elopement without bothering to ask how I’m doing. “Do you have any idea how long Sara’s been dating that boy? I don’t remember anyone saying anything about him. How could she do something so impetuous?”
I know more than I’ll tell her in this conversation, so I try to think of a vague way to answer. “Well, she has known him most of her life. They went to school together, and according to Sally, she’s liked him for a long time.”
“But have they been dating long enough to get married?” The judgmental tone of Mama’s voice reminds me of my own when I first found out.
“That’s a very subjective thing, Mama. One of my classmates married her high school sweetheart after dating him for almost four years. They got divorced a year later.”
“You didn’t answer my question.”
“I’m not sure, but it hasn’t been long.”
Mama makes another one of her sounds of disapproval. I hate having conversations like this about things that are none of my business, so I decide to change the subject to something that is my business.
“I’m moving next week.”
“But I thought . . .” She sighs. “I don’t know what I thought. So what happened, and exactly when are you moving?”
“The owner doesn’t have to have surgery, so they’ll get their things out the day before closing. I’ll have the cleaning crew go in right away, and I can move right in after I sign the papers.”
“That’s a good thing, right?”
“It is. I’m looking forward to having my own space again.”
“After you move out, what will Sally do?”