What Matters in Mayhew (The Beanie Bradsher Series Book 1)

by Cassie Dandridge Selleck

  Bubba didn’t wait for an answer. Instead, he opened the back of Nonie’s Suburban, grabbed the box she requested and went back inside.

  “That felt good,” Bubba John said, putting the box down on the kitchen floor.

  “I’ll bet it did,” Nonie nodded. “Money talks.”

  “I’m guessing it’ll take a bit to learn the language, but my first lesson didn’t go too bad, did it?”

  For the next half hour Nonie and Bubba John made the final decisions on tile for the kitchen and bath, after which Bubba John went to see Jack about the drywall he needed. Nonie stayed for another hour taking measurements to make sure she ordered enough materials. The house was coming along nicely and she was pleased at the new layout which opened up rooms to give the old farmhouse a modern feel.

  Later, when Nonie was home with her husband, Jack laughed about Bubba John striding into the store like he owned the place. “I don’t know what you said to that boy, but he was on a mission when he got to the store. I think you may have created a monster.”

  “Sometimes it takes a monster to get things done around here,” Nonie said. “I thought he was crazy to even attempt this, but you know what? I think we can do it. I’d give a lot to see Sweet Atwater’s face when she gets her Christmas present. I sure would.”

  45

  Not Going Back

  For the next two weeks, it seemed that Mayhew Junction was a town in flux. Feelings were hurt and wounds were licked behind closed doors. Business at the café was slow for November, and Thanksgiving passed without fanfare. Bubba John and the kids all went to see Sweet at the rehabilitation center where she had been moved the day after B-Kay visited. They took her a full Thanksgiving meal, and proudly pointed out which child had helped prepare which food. T-Ray fixed a big pan of roasted root vegetables, most of which he peeled with a pocket knife, though no one admitted that to his mama. Bitty had helped crack pecans from the trees in their back yard for pie, and now knew exactly how many pecan halves fit into one cup. B-Kay did the turkey and dressing, and the two little ones helped make peanut butter cookies. Beanie mixed the cookie dough, then doled out a spoonful at a time to Tater and Daisy, which they rolled into balls with their hands, then flattened with a fork. While the cookies baked, they pulled the foil off the chocolate drops so they could place them in the center of each cookie while they were still warm. They made a mess of the entire affair and squabbled over who did the most cookies, but the task had kept them busy while the other dishes were prepared.

  As thrilled as Sweet was to spend time with her family, the visit made her miss them all the more. She willed herself stoic, however, and basked in the attention as long as it lasted. She couldn’t help wondering if they were all doing fine without her…they seemed so happy, like visiting your mama for Thanksgiving was the most normal thing in the world. And she chastised herself afterwards for even thinking like that when the departure was nothing short of traumatic for the little ones. B-Kay had to pull Daisy kicking and screaming from Sweet’s arms. Tater had a meltdown of epic proportions, which was completely unlike him, and Bitty went stone silent and refused to come out from under the hospital bed. Later, Bubba John called to tell her that Daisy and Tate had slept all the way home and were fine by the time they got them out of the car. Bitty, however, had remained silent until T-Ray offered to play Chutes and Ladders with her, which brought her back to herself in no time.

  Despite seasonal shoppers, downtown Mayhew was quieter than usual. Dottie Brentwood avoided the café for a while and kept to herself. She stayed busy with new inventory and increased sales. Bubba had been happy for Dottie to make changes at the shop, though he not-so-subtly suggested she not mention it to Sweet Lee just yet, if she did get a chance to talk to her, which was not often. Suvi did indeed hire Kenya next door, and she often popped into the shop to visit or look around a bit when it got slow. Kenya had a keen eye for fashion, suggesting outfits for display that Dottie would never have imagined. Business was booming and Dottie was fairly certain the store was turning a profit finally.

  Two weeks before Christmas, Dottie asked Kenya how it was going next door.

  “Great!” Kenya’s eyes lit up. “Mr. Jones is quiet, but nice. I think he’s happy with me. I heard him tell a customer he didn’t know what he’d do without me.”

  “Oh, yay,” Dottie said. “You hadn’t said anything, so I wondered.”

  “The best part is, he called some of his friends at U.F. and put in a good word for me. I guess it worked, ‘cause I got my acceptance letter yesterday!”

  “Congratulations! So what’s your major?”

  “Honestly, I don’t know yet. I’m not even sure what my options are, but I know I’ll figure it out.”

  Dottie gave her a quick hug. “Smart girl! But here’s a little unsolicited advice – don’t come back here after you graduate.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, Miss Dottie,” Kenya said. “Once I leave this town, I am never looking back.”

  “Ha!” Dottie laughed. “What does your gramma say about that?”

  “She’s the one said it in the first place, I’m not kidding. She’s always told me I had to get out of here when I could.”

  “That bad, huh?”

  “Aw, I don’t know – it’s not a bad town. There’s just nothing here for me. Never has been. When I get out of here, I’m gonna take voice lessons, and maybe do some theatre. All I’ve ever done is sing in church.”

  “I didn’t know you wanted to be a singer,” Dottie said. “Do you mind switching off the back lights for me? I need to close these windows before I leave. You working the supper crowd?”

  Kenya walked to the back and pulled the breaker switch down. “Yep, he fired Cherry, so I’m getting plenty of hours now.”

  Dottie walked Kenya out and locked up behind them. She looked up just in time to see LouWanda Crump heading her way. They hadn’t spoken since the last blow-up at the Café and Dottie had been laying low. The longer it went, the more awkward it became, but she was damned if she was going to deal with it now. She bid Kenya a quick farewell and rushed around the corner toward her car parked in back of the store.

  Had she turned to look back, she’d have seen her old friend stop in the middle of the street and drop her chin to her chest in utter defeat. Dottie had never seen her cry, not once, and she didn’t see it today, either. But, she would have. As it was, she had to hear about it later from Suvi Jones.

  ***

  LouWanda stood in the center of Main Street until an approaching truck forced her to make a decision one way or the other. She chose to go forward. She walked straight over to the Big Pig and entered without stopping to wipe her feet, which was utterly unlike her.

  She paused once inside, though, and grabbed a couple of napkins to dry her tears and blow her nose. Honestly, she never intended to call attention to herself, and that was the problem. Where other folks are hyper-aware of how they look and speak and who is listening, LouWanda Crump was just the opposite. She said whatever came to her mind and then, likely, never gave it another thought. She took care what she wore and how she looked, but she didn’t dress for anyone but herself. This had always worked for her before, but suddenly it seemed like the whole world had stopped talking to her, and more importantly, might possibly be, quite probably were talking about her, and she did not like that feeling at all. For the first time in her life, LouWanda Crump was ruminating about what she had said, and it was not sitting well, she could tell you that.

  She wadded up her snotty napkins and headed to the ladies’ room to throw them away and wash her hands. When she came back out, Suvi was going in—toward the men’s room—down a hallway that barely fit two people if one of them wasn’t the size of the mountain he was named after. LouWanda pressed herself back against the bathroom door and waited for him to pass. He nodded at her, but backed up into the dining room to allow her to come through. His upbringing simply wouldn’t allow him to do otherwise. She smiled meekly and came on out.

&
nbsp; “LouWanda,” Suvi nodded his acknowledgement.

  “Hey,” LouWanda turned sideways to pass between his gigantic frame and the cash register counter. Doing so, she came face to face with her own reflection in the mirror behind Suvi and it did not make her happy. Her nose was red, her eyes swollen, and on her face was the awful-est scowl she’d ever seen on a person, least of all herself.

  Well, she thought to herself, is that what people see? I look like a haint.

  “Are you meeting someone here?” Suvi asked.

  “No, no…I just...” LouWanda patted a section of her hair down on one side. “I don’t rightly know what I’m doin’ here, to tell the truth. I started over to say hey to Dorothy, but she apparently didn’t want to say hey back. She took off like a scalded dog.”

  “I see.” The fact that Suvi was not surprised was evident in the way he said, “I see.”

  “Do ya now?” LouWanda snorted.

  “I do,” Suvi nodded. “Nice to see you, LouWanda. Kenya should be right out, but you can sit anywhere you like. You know the routine.”

  “Well, I didn’t act-chally come here to eat. I reckon I came to apologize, ‘cause it don’t look like I’m ever gonna live it down if I don’t.”

  Suvi shook his head and winced. “So was that the apology?”

  “Well, of course not. I’m not the fool you all apparently think I am,” LouWanda snapped, then softened.

  “All-righty then,” Suvi said and turned to go down the narrow hallway. When he returned from the men’s room, LouWanda was still standing in the doorway, looking at the floor.

  “Excuse me,” Suvi said and tried to squeeze by her, but LouWanda put up one hand, which jingled with the mismatched slew of bracelets she wore.

  “Hang on a minute,” LouWanda took a deep breath and looked up at Suvi’s face, hand still in the air. “I am sorry if I offended you. I did not mean to run everybody off, nor make them all mad at me. You neither. So, I’m sorry, and I wish you’d forgive me and get it over with, ‘cause I’m ready for things to be back the way they was before.” Then she dropped both hands to her hips and waited.

  Suvi closed his eyes and said a silent little prayer. Help me, Lord. When he squeezed one eye open, he saw that LouWanda was still in front of him. He sighed, shook his head back and forth, almost imperceptibly, and stared at the ground. When he looked back up again, he said, “Honestly, LouWanda, I can forgive you all day long, but I don’t think I will ever wish for things to go back to the way they were. And if you were me, you’d understand.”

  He left her standing there, tears flowing unchecked down her marshmallow cheeks. She didn’t know why she was crying, or why she couldn’t move. She just stood there and cried until Kenya took her by the hand and walked her back across the street.

  46

  The Final Countdown

  Bubba John and Nonie Crawford worked feverishly to complete the renovations on Sweet’s “new” house. The hardwood floors were redone, two bathrooms sported all new fixtures and tile, and one bathroom was added on the second floor. Cabinets were installed in the kitchen and quartz countertops were due to arrive any day.

  Nonie took it upon herself to outfit the younger kids rooms, though B-Kay and T-Ray had a hand in designing their own. After all the years of the Atwater family barely scraping by, they were both trained to be frugal, which Nonie found thwarted her design ideas. She convinced Bubba John to let them in on the lottery secret as well. As it turned out, he was sorry he hadn’t done it sooner, since there was not another word of doubt from either of them from then on.

  Bubba was adamant that Sweet would get to decorate the master bedroom. Even he had sense enough to know when he had pushed his wife far enough. B-Kay saved the day, however, by suggesting that they replicate one room exactly as it was in the magazine pages Sweet clipped. There was one in particular that Sweet had scrawled across in Sharpie mark—LOVE THIS!! Nonie took B-Kay with her to shop for her mother, and they decorated the entire room together.

  One week before Christmas, Bubba John’s renovated family home was finished and ready for the entire family to move in. The two oldest Atwater kids were nearly bursting with nervous energy that threatened to spoil the whole surprise. They had to remember not to say anything in front of the youngest three, and not slip in front of their mother, who was due to come home any day now. Even Bubba John was nervous about sticking to his plan. As much as he wanted to take her straight out to the house, he decided it should be done as a proper Christmas present, under the tree on Christmas morning. And so he waited.

  ***

  Three days before Christmas, the entire Atwater family, plus Beanie Bradsher, ate dinner at the long pine table Sweet insisted on buying when she and Bubba John were first married. Sweet was there, too, having settled in a few days before. The doctor had pronounced her “yard well,” meaning she was healthy enough to be outdoors, maybe even go to the grocery store, as long as she didn’t lift anything heavier than an egg carton. After dinner the kids impressed the heck out of their mother by all clearing the table without being told, then settled themselves in the living room for a little TV before bedtime. The twins squabbled a bit over who would get to use the computer first, but all in all, the transition was incredibly peaceful.

  “I’m beginning to think you have brought me to the wrong house, Bubba John. Are these really our kids?”

  “Beanie runs a tight ship. What can I say? It sure isn’t my doing.”

  Sweet immediately felt a catch in her breath, then relaxed. She should be grateful, not angry, she reminded herself.

  “I don’t know how we’ll ever thank you, Beanie. Really, you’ve gone above and beyond and I hope you know that I’m truly grateful. And, I just want you to know that I’m just sorry as I can be that I thought the worst. I wasn’t my best self, and I hurt you. You didn’t deserve that.”

  Beanie was not at all accustomed to heartfelt apologies, having never experienced one that she could recall.

  “Oh, pooh, it was nothing. You was just sickly, that’s all. I didn’t pay it no mind.”

  “Well, it hasn’t been nothing. It’s been something special. I mean, just look at this house, and the decorations on the tree,” Sweet said. “And I don’t know what all you’ve been baking, but my house has never smelled so good. Even before I had boys.”

  In fact the whole house looked homey and sweet and smelled of holiday baking. Sweet didn’t know why Beanie wasn’t big as a barn, except that she mostly baked, rather than tasted. She liked to give her customers edible gifts each year.

  “I was hoping B-Kay could run me into town tomorrow. May take a while, ‘cause I got to deliver all these packages, and Lord, them people can talk, I’m tellin’ ya.”

  Sweet’s eyes lit up. “Oh, yes, and I’ll go with y’all. I’m dying to get down to the store and see how it’s going. I can’t imagine how Dottie has done this all by herself.”

  Bubba John was caught off guard. “I don’t think so, Sweet. That’s too much of a trip this soon.”

  Sweet squinted at Bubba across the table. “The doctor said I can do short trips into town.”

  “I know, but…” Bubba John began.

  “This is short,” Sweet cut him off with a wave of her hand. “I’m going.”

  Of all the bases Bubba thought to cover, this was one for which he was not prepared. What would she say when she saw the changes Dottie had made? The shop had never made enough money for Sweet to even take a real salary, much less provide for improvements.

  “Dottie’s been fixing it up as a surprise for you,” he blurted without thinking. “I don’t know if she’s done yet or not.”

  “We’ll see tomorrow,” Sweet said. “I’m dying to get down there and I’m not waiting another day. I don’t care if it’s finished or not, I’ll be tickled with whatever she’s done.”

  Bubba John excused himself from the table, walked outside and called Dottie Brentwood, who was excited for Sweet to see what she had done. So what if
Sweet got mad that he’d spent a little money. They were out of the red now, so the investment paid off. Bubba couldn’t tell her that Sweet would know they didn’t have that kind of money, nor could he tell her why they did. As far as he knew, only Beanie Bradsher knew they had won the lottery, and Bubba John wanted to keep it that way as long as possible.

  Bubba came back in looking dejected and worried.

  “What in the world is wrong with you, honey?” Sweet asked.

  “Oh, nothing,” Bubba said. “Just a problem on that job I’ve been working. No big deal.”

  Sweet wondered if his discomfort had anything to do with the ring she was sure he had bought. Maybe he hid it down at the store, who knows. Anyway, she made a mental note not to look anywhere at anything that might give it away. B-Kay said she would like it, so she was certain she would. But a diamond ring? Nothing could be farther down on her list of wants.

  “Whatcha thinkin’ about?” Bubba John asked.

  Sweet thought fast. “Just how lucky I am, that’s all. I missed you so much.”

  At that, Beanie excused herself and promised to come back to clean the kitchen.

  “I’ll get the dishes,” Bubba John said. “You get some rest.”

  “You sure? I don’t mind…”

  “Nope…go on. We’ll see you in the morning.”

  Sweet put one hand on top of Bubba John’s. “Looks like she trained you, too, Mister.”

  Bubba John laughed and scooted closer to his wife.

  “I’m so glad you’re home.” Bubba John had never meant anything more in his life.

  47

  A Trip to Town

  The next day, Beanie, B-Kay and Sweet headed for town with two dozen brightly wrapped boxes of candies and cookies Beanie had baked for her best customers. The first stop was The Château, of course, but Will was out and Beanie had to leave the package on the kitchen table with a note. On the way out, she noticed the Christmas tree in the formal living room. It was huge and lavishly decorated with Victorian ornaments and tons of ribbon. She wondered who had decorated it and couldn’t for the life of her imagine it was Will.