“I’m getting your mama a house for Christmas.”
“A house?”
“Yep, a house.”
“A real house. Not a doll house, right?”
“A real house. With two stories and a porch and a foundation that doesn’t roll.”
“Wait, what does Beanie Bradsher have to do with building a house?” B-Kay was confused.
“One thing at a time, B…” Bubba John said. “She’s helping me and that’s really all you need to know for now.”
“Okay, that’s fine, Dad, but it is almost October already. How the heck are you going to build a house by Christmas?”
“Well, it’s not like I have to start from scratch; I’m remodeling Mam-maw and Pap’s old house. I wanted to build a brand new house, but something tells me your mama’s gonna want the old home place instead.”
“Can we afford that?”
“You let me worry about whether or not we can afford it. I have it all figured out, you can trust me on that.”
“Hey, wait…does T-Ray know?”
”No, and don’t you dare tell him, either. There’s no way he could keep a secret this big.”
By the time they climbed down from the treehouse and headed in for supper, B-Kay knew about everything but the lottery part. Bubba John was glad he’d gotten her in on the secret. B-Kay would be good at the smaller details, and would help keep Sweet occupied while he worked on the house.
Sweet watched them come in together, both grinning like Cheshire cats. Apparently, he’d smoothed things over with her. B-Kay obviously knew what the surprise was and she was happy about it, from the looks of things.
Good Lord, Sweet thought, I hope Bubba John isn’t doing anything stupid like buying me a ring. The more she thought about it, the more she was convinced that’s what it was. Bubba John was taking out a loan from Beanie Bradsher’s lotto winnings to buy her a ring. That had to be it. That’s why someone saw them at the lawyer’s office together. He was probably getting her to help him pick it out, too.
Lord, help, there is no telling what kind of tacky thing I will end up with if Beanie Bradsher is in on this.
11
Tallahassee or Bust
On Tuesday morning, Beanie was quiet most of the way to Tallahassee.
“What are you thinking about, Bean?” Will asked when the silence became overwhelming.
“I was thinkin’ about the money, I guess. I figure I ought to either start paying you some rent or find another place to live.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Well, I don’t want to overstay my welcome, for one. Plus things is getting’ a little awkward if you know what I mean. I should have enough left over to get me a little trailer or somethin’. Mommer and Diddy’s house ain’t worth fixin’ up, but I still got the land. I can put me a single-wide up on stilts, or better yet, get me a big ol’ camper and pull it out ever’time it floods.”
“Bean… I want you to do what is right for you, but you don’t have to be in any hurry to leave. You’ve been a big help to me and there is plenty of room at The Château, however long you want to stay. And as for things being awkward, they don’t have to be. Really. They don’t.”
“I know, Will, but it ain’t the same anymore.”
“Something else is bothering you, I can tell. What is it?”
Beanie took off her lime-green hat and placed it carefully on her lap, but it teetered precariously on the mountain of fabric that was her matching dirndl skirt. The seatbelt across her legs made the crinoline petticoat tilt upwards, so she adjusted by poking the fabric between her knees to make a flatter surface.
“I don’t rightly know if I wanna talk about it, to tell the truth. Might make things even more unsettled between us.”
“Is it something I’ve done?”
“No, no…nothing like that. I mean, other than that one thing, but we done hashed that out. Anyways, it’s nothing to do with you at all.”
“Is it someone else? I heard you talking on the phone the other night. I mean, I didn’t hear what you said. I heard your voice and it was late and I just wondered… Oh, shoot, it’s none of my business. I’m sorry.”
Beanie was more than a little surprised by his admission and cocked her head sideways to look at him.
“I thought you was asleep!”
“I was reading, and I heard the phone dialing. You know it beeps a little on the phone in my room…”
“How would I know that?”
“Oh, right, well it does. Anyway, I heard your voice and just wondered.”
“Did you listen on the phone?” Beanie’s voice rose incredulously.
“No! Oh, no! Beanie - seriously, I would never do that. I just poked my head out to see who was dialing. I didn’t hear what you said.”
Will watched as Beanie’s hands began to shake and her breathing got shallow.
“Whoa, Bean…what is it? I’m telling you, I didn’t hear what you said. Wait, wait…I’m pulling over.”
Will pulled his car into the gravel parking lot of a vacant fruit stand and slid to a stop. Placing the car in park, he turned to face Beanie.
“Tell me what is going on. Bean. Look at me. What is it?”
“I been seein’ him for a while. I just couldn’t tell anyone.”
“Who? Bubba John?”
“Dammit, Will! No! I done told you it wadn’t Bubba John.” Beanie was not yet recovered from Will’s wrongful accusation of an affair with a married man. “Why you wanna think the worst of me is beyond my ken. I ain’t talkin’ to you if you’re gonna insult me.”
Beanie crossed her arms and huffed. Will leaned forward and bumped his forehead against the steering wheel.
“I give up, Bean. I just give up. I can’t do anything right. Can’t say anything right. I’m trying to help, really I am, but you are the most confusing person I have ever met, and that’s the truth.”
They sat in silence for a minute or two, then Will sighed, put the car into drive and started to pull forward. When Beanie spoke, Will could barely hear her.
“It’s Suvi Jones.”
Will stopped and put the car back into park.
“Oh,” said Will. “Suvi?”
“You can’t tell nobody, Will. Folks’d run us outta town.”
“Why in the world would they do that?”
“Cause he’s black, that’s why.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake, Bean, this is the twenty-first century.”
“Maybe so, but some things never change in this town.”
“How long have you been…I don’t even know what to call it…dating? Are you dating him?”
“Not really. Just talkin’ is all. We slip away sometimes…go fishin’ out on the old rail trestle or something like that. He took me to Valdosta once, but we was nervous the whole time, worried who else’d be there from Mayhew Junction.”
“Beanie…there is nothing wrong with you dating a man you like. It’s kind of sad, when you think about it.”
“I’ve tried to talk to him about it, but he has a name in this community, a standing, you know? Folks wouldn’t like him crossin’ a line like that. He’s prolly right.”
Will raked a hand through his hair, shifted gears again and slowly eased back onto the roadway. Beanie was quiet for several minutes.
“I don’t rightly know if it’s even worth the effort. Cain’t never see him when I want.”
“Well, that’s a reasonable observation. Are you in love with him?”
“I don’t reckon I’ve spent enough time with him to know the answer. He’s good to me.”
“When?”
“What do you mean, ‘when’?”
“When is he good to you?” Will asked, a little more sharply than he intended. “Seriously, Beanie. When is he good to you? You don’t see each other in the daylight. You don’t go on dates. He obviously isn’t giving you rides anywhere, because last time I looked, I was your chauffeur.”
Beanie was horrified. She had never se
en Will angry, nor heard him use that tone.
“Do you see him at night? Is that it? Do you call and he comes to pick you up? Because that is not a relationship, Beanie. That is not seeing someone. That is sleeping with someone. That’s what that is.”
“Will?”
“Are you sleeping with him?”
“I really don’t think that’s none of your business, but if’n I don’t say something, you’re gonna go off half-cocked and think the worst of me again.”
“I guess I’m…I’m just surprised, Beanie. No, not surprised, if I’m honest.”
“For cryin’ out loud, Will…wouldja stop insulting me?”
“Let me finish. I mean surprised is not the emotion I’m feeling, and the truth is, I’m surprised I’m feeling these emotions at all. Does that make sense?”
“Not particularly,” Beanie mumbled.
“Well, I’m angry. And hurt. And I know I have no right to be either, but there you have it.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Beanie said.
“You don’t have to say anything. It is what it is. I’m sorry I put you in an awkward position. Maybe it is too awkward. Maybe you should think about moving.”
“If that’s what you want…”
“No, I don’t want that. But I can’t make myself happy about you sleeping with a man who won’t be seen in public with you. Gosh, Beanie, I don’t want you to be hurt.”
“First of all, I am not sleeping with Suvi Jones. Truth of the matter is, I ain’t never slept in a bed with another human being in my life. Not that I know of, anyways.”
“You know what I mean,” Will said, petulant now.
“Well, I’m not doin’ that either. I’m not the fool you think I am, Will Thaxton. Hard as it is to believe, you’re lookin’ at a forty-two year old virgin.”
Will said the first thing that came to mind.
“How is that possible?”
Beanie, embarrassed now, pulled her hat down over her face and spoke from behind the rim.
“Do you really want me to answer?”
“No…I don’t know, do you want to?”
Uncovering her face, Beanie turned to face Will, her crinolines crackling under the strain of the seatbelt.
“Listen, Will, I don’t want you thinkin’ they’s anything wrong or peculiar about me; it just ain’t never happened and I’m not even sure I care. If Suvi wadn’t so goll-darned upright, I probably wouldn’t be where I am now. But Lord knows I ain’t never wanted children, so I guess it’s all for the best.”
Will stopped to think for a moment. He hadn’t spoken to his daughter for a couple of weeks, but that wasn’t unusual. Natalie used to call Marie almost every day and they would talk for hours, but somehow, when Will got on the phone the conversation dwindled quickly. On the other hand, he couldn’t imagine not having the relationship at all. What would it be like not to have children? He found the idea rather sad.
“You didn’t want children?” Will asked.
“Well, first off, I never had a husband, so it was kind’ly out of the question from the get-go. But no, I never pictured hitchin’ my horse to that wagon.”
“It can be a heavy load, that’s for sure,” Will said, “but I wouldn’t trade it.”
Will flipped on his turn signal and guided his car onto Capital Circle.
“I think we’re almost there,” Will said, “Can you hand me those directions I printed out?”
Beanie didn’t respond; she was squinting at the traffic down the road.
“Oh, look, there’s Bubba John’s truck up ahead. He knows where he’s goin’. You can just follow him the rest of the way to the Lotto Headquarters.”
Two hours later, the paperwork was done, and the requisite photos were taken with the assurance their names would not be published for at least six months. Afterwards, Will took Beanie to the Cracker Barrel out on the interstate for a late lunch. All the awkwardness seemed to dissipate over fried chicken livers and meatloaf and they chatted non-stop all the way home.
As they came back through town, Will suggested they stop by the bank and deposit Beanie’s check.
“Oh, Lord, Will… I never even thought of that. Now everybody’s gonna know how much I won.”
“We can do this discreetly, Bean. It’s a bank…they have to keep it confidential.”
Beanie looked at Will like he had two heads.
“It don’t work that way here. Oh, they mean well…but if I hand them a check this big, somebody in bookkeeping is bound to tell her husband, and then he’ll tell his best friend and within a week or two, it’ll be on prayer chains across the county.”
“Prayer chains?”
“Why, yeah…
“Well, that’s ridiculous -” Will began.
“Of course, it’s ridiculous, but that don’t make no difference to them church ladies. First they’ll calc-a-late how much is ten percent of a hun’erd and ninety-seven thousand dollars, and then they’ll pray for my discernment about tithes.”
“Are you serious?”
“As a heart attack. It’ll be printed in church bulletins across the county under Prayers and Praises. Cross my heart and hope to die!” Beanie drew an emphatic X across her chest and ended with one hand raised in a four-fingered salute.
“So what do you want to do?”
“Reckon I’ll hang onto this check ‘til I figure that out.”
12
All is Not Well
Sweet and Bubba John woke early on Tuesday for the trip to Tallahassee. After calming a minor row between B-Kay and T-Ray over who would be driving the van, the kids were packed off to school in good order. Sweet was hesitant to let either of them drive with the other children in the car, but B-Kay was by far the cooler head of the two. T-Ray would sulk for days, but he would “live and not die,” as Sweet’s mama used to say.
It wasn’t often Sweet and Bubba John took time away together. Even the looming doctor’s appointment didn’t spoil the hour-long ride. Sweet was staring quietly out the window when Bubba John spoke.
“Whatcha thinkin’ about?”
“Nothing really. Just realizing I’d forgotten how beautiful it is here. Hard to enjoy the scenery when you’re hauling five kids around.”
“I’ve always loved this land. Been thinking about Mama and Daddy’s place settin’ there decaying. You think you might want to live out on the river someday?”
Sweet sighed. “Always been my dream, you know that.”
“I been thinkin’ about cleaning it up a little, you know, just in case.”
“Just in case what…we win the lottery or something?” Sweet laughed.
Bubba John choked, but recovered quickly.
“Yeah, right. Kinda hard to win the lotto when you’re not allowed to play.”
“I never said you weren’t allowed to play, Bubba. If you want to gamble what little money we have, I can’t stop you. But I think it’s silly. What are the odds of us winning anything?”
“Pretty slim,” Bubba John said. “Kinda fun to dream, though. You ever thought about what you’d do if we struck it rich?”
“Not really,” Sweet said. “Well, maybe every once in a while, I do. When the mini-van farts in the school pick-up line, or the pipes bust at the shop. But, on the whole, I wouldn’t change much.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. Would you?”
“Well, yeah,” Bubba John said. “I’d change lots of things.”
“Like what?” Sweet asked, a knot forming in the pit of her stomach.
“Like the farting car, for starters,” Bubba John laughed and reached for the radio dial. Sweet caught his hand and squeezed gently.
“I’m kind of enjoying the quiet, if you don’t mind.” Sweet smiled at him before turning her attention back to the landscape.
Bubba John glanced over at his wife, her head resting against the side window as she gazed at the endless rows of piney woods whizzing past. Sometimes she took his breath away. Her hair, long a
nd naturally wavy, was always pulled back. He’d watched her do it a million times. As soon as breakfast was in front of the kids, she dashed to the bathroom, washed her face, brushed her teeth, threw on lipstick, blush and mascara and tied her hair back with one rubber band. Brush, brush, pull, twist, wrap twice and he swore it looked like she just came from a salon. But she hadn’t seen the inside of a hair salon since the day they were married. He wondered if that would change now. God, she was beautiful.
“I love you, Sweet Lee Atwater.”
Sweet turned her head without removing it from the window.
“I love you, too, honey,” she grinned.
“Hey, we have about an hour before your appointment. Wanna go look at new cars? You know, just for fun…”
“Oh, that’s a great idea – show me something I can’t have and then I’ll walk away wanting it.”
“I knew you’d say that, but listen - I picked up a side job and I think we might be able to handle a new car payment. The van is falling apart, Sweet. I want you to have something nice.”
“Is this the surprise, Bubba? A side job?”
“Well, kind of... Boy, I am not good at this at all.”
Bubba John swallowed hard and reminded himself he wasn’t actually lying. He did pick up a side job of sorts. He’d be working closely with the contractor to get the house done by Christmas, which was a job in itself. He didn’t have to tell Sweet whose house he was working on. He didn’t plan on buying a car yet, but now that Sweet brought it up, and now that he was actually collecting the money – well, it seemed dumb to wait for the house to be built to make his wife’s life easier.
“Honey,” Sweet said, “I appreciate the thought, but honestly, if we have a little extra income, I have an entire list of things that need to happen before a new car. I have to say, I’m a little relieved. I thought you were in cahoots with Beanie Bradsher to buy me a ring or something. And, speaking of which, what does Beanie have to do with the surprise, if it’s not a ring?”
“Oh, well,” Bubba John stammered, “Beanie helped me get the job, that’s all.”
“You’re right. You are not good at this.”
What Matters in Mayhew (The Beanie Bradsher Series Book 1) Page 7