Next stop, downtown, where they parked in front of the dress shop and left the car unlocked so Beanie could get more when she ran out. Sweet and B-Kay popped into the Emporium to say hello to Dottie, who had been forewarned and was thus not surprised. Sweet stood for a minute outside admiring the display Kenya had helped design. It was nothing Sweet might have ordered herself, but it looked fabulous. Like a big city window, Sweet thought. Beautiful.
But her reaction to the window was nothing compared to her stunned silence when she entered the store. It didn’t even look like the same place. There were rustic crates along one wall with stacks of jeans in each cubby they formed. Old pallets were suspended from the towering ceilings and fitted with mason jar lights that added a warm glow to the room. Another free-standing hutch held an array of homemade soaps and candles and lotions, which changed the entire smell of the place. All of the merchandise looked new and different somehow – softer and less, what was the word? Camouflage-y. No. Masculine? Maybe. Whatever, the effect was striking, but she was confused. It didn’t feel like hers anymore.
“Sweet!” Dottie wrapped her in a huge embrace. “I’m so happy to see you. How are you feeling? What do you think? Do you like it?”
Sweet laughed, but her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “Sensory overload! One question at a time, please.”
B-Kay whistled long and low. “Wow, Miss Dottie, you changed this place a lot.”
“Yeah, business has really picked up, too. Maybe it’s just the Christmas season, I don’t know,” Dottie said.
Sweet stood and took it all in.
“Are you okay?” Dottie asked. “You seem upset or something.”
“No, not upset, I don’t think,” Sweet moved slowly between the racks of clothes. “More confused than anything. How did you do all this?”
“Well, Bubba helped some, and those crates and pallets I got basically free from different places. I wired those lights myself. Otherwise, it was just a matter of ordering what we wanted to sell.”
“But how,” Sweet asked. “With what money?”
“I…don’t know, actually. But I know we’re in the black. We’ve made a profit for the past six weeks.” Dottie said. “I thought you’d be happy.”
Sweet could hear the disappointment in Dottie’s voice. “Oh, Dottie, I am happy. Really. I guess I’m just feeling like…a failure. Why couldn’t I do this? I worked here every day for five years and I couldn’t turn a profit. You’ve been here two months and—well—just look. No wonder Bubba John didn’t want me to see it.”
“Mama,” B-Kay stepped in front of her mother and stood face-to-face. “Stop it. You’re hurting Miss Dottie’s feelings.”
“Oh, gosh, no,” Dottie moved from behind the register and touched B-Kay on the arm. “My feelings are not hurt at all, Hon. Your mama’s just had a rough time.”
“I’m sorry, Dottie,” Sweet said, tears pooling in her eyes. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should be praising you for what you’ve done, and I’m making it all about me. The shop looks wonderful. You’ve done an amazing job and I… I’m just… I’m sorry.”
Sweet turned and fled the store, sobbing the entire way. Dottie started to follow and B-Kay stopped her. “Don’t Miss Dottie. She’ll be okay. I promise. In a couple of days, she’ll be fine.”
B-Kay knew she was right, but this whole surprise thing was just breaking everybody’s heart. She wished she’d never agreed to keep it a secret. Christmas could not get here fast enough.
***
After bolting from the store, Sweet sat in the car for ten minutes. B-Kay, unable to console her mother, joined Beanie in delivering gifts. When the girls returned to restock from the back of the van and hit the courthouse, Sweet dried her tears, blew her nose and grabbed a couple of boxes.
“Mom! Are you coming with us?” B-Kay held crossed fingers in the air.
“Yyyyyep,” Sweet nodded. “Pity party’s over. Time to do something for somebody else.”
“You sure you’re up to it?” Beanie remained terrified Sweet would relapse yet again.
“I feel great.” Sweet silently willed herself to believe her own words, and repeated them for good measure. “Absolutely great.”
By the time they were finished, all three were hungry and the lunch hour was long gone. They decided to stop by the café for a quick bite. Truth was, B-Kay wanted to go to the Big Pig, but Beanie couldn’t bear the thought of running into Suvi, so she lied and said she wasn’t in the mood for barbecue.
“Besides,” Beanie continued, “the café is faster. I gotta get home and start supper.”
Sweet took note of the word “home” and shuddered involuntarily.
“Where will you go when I’m back to myself,” Sweet asked.
B-Kay had just pulled the van into the parking lot of the Mayhew Café, and Beanie sat with her hand on the door handle. She turned to face Sweet in the back seat.
“Will said I can come back to The Château, and I think that’s prolly best. I’m plannin’ on lookin’ for a new house at some point, but you know—one thing at a time.”
“Oh, good. You need your own house for sure—not that you aren’t welcome at ours—but you know what I mean.”
At that, Beanie and B-Kay scooted out of the car and slammed the doors shut. It was all they could do not to burst out in nervous laughter.
Sweet extricated herself from the seatbelt and followed the girls inside. Sissy greeted them warmly and handed them three menus.
“We don’t need those,” Sweet said. “We’re all doing the buffet.”
They were just starting to eat when Eustace Falwell came in, and boy, did he find a smorgasbord at the café today.
“Ladies!” His eyes lit up like roman candles. “I haven’t seen y’all in a while. Who’s this pretty lady? That can’t be little B-Kay, can it?”
“Hey, Mr. Falwell,” B-Kay managed a tight-lipped smile and dropped both hands in her lap.
“Oh, I’m not that old now, you can call me Eustace, cain’t she, Sweet Lee?” He turned his attention to B-Kay’s mother. “Wow, you look better’n I expected, what with all’s been goin’ on. I heard you were in the hospital, and it does show, if you don’t mind me bein’ a bit personal. I don’t mean to offend you, but you do look a little peaked. You sure you’re okay?”
“I’m much better, thank you for asking.”
“Well, you’ve always been one of the prettiest gals in town, and that one don’t fall far from the tree, if you know what I mean.” Eustace jerked his head in B-Kay’s direction and winked.
“You got somethin’ in your eye, Useless?” Beanie nailed him without blinking.
He cackled at that, more amused than he should have been.
“You tickle me, Beanie.” he said, still snickering behind his hand. “I prob’ly deserved that, though. I got in trouble for winkin’ at a gal in church the other day. I don’t know what comes over me, it’s almost like it’s involuntary or somethin’. You know like one of them tics my cousin’s got?”
“You ain’t got Tourette’s, Eustace, you just cain’t control yourself. It’s two different things.” Beanie picked up a fried chicken wing and took a whopping bite.
“Well if that ain’t the truth!” he slapped his thigh and started toward the round table.
The girls breathed a sigh of relief, two seconds too soon. He wheeled back around, took his cap off, and scratched the top of his head before pulling the cap back down.
“I don’t mean to be nosy, but I been hearin’ all kinds of rumors about you gals and I sure don’t wanna be spreadin’ ‘em myself, so it just seems kinda like I oughta go ahead and clear things up. I reckon one of ‘em is pretty obvious – ain’t no way you’d be settin’ here with Bubba John’s mistress. Dottie tried to tell ‘em all it wadn’t true, but you cain’t stop some people from talkin’, you know what I mean? Anyway, I was curious about you and your husband, I mean, you know, they’s all kinda stories goin’ around about him workin’ on his
folks’s house, and why he was spendin’ so much time with…”
B-Kay rose from her chair so fast the table slid straight into Sweet’s chest. The plate B-Kay held flipped from her hands and ultimately landed on Eustace’s feet, but not before spreading pasta salad and collard greens down his already grease-laden jeans.
“Oh, I am so sorry, Mr. Falwell. You better go to the bathroom and get cleaned up. I’ll get this mess here,” B-Kay said, pushing him toward the restrooms none-too-gently with one hand.
“B-Kay, what in the world?” Sweet gasped.
“It was an accident, Mom,” B-Kay said. Her hands shook as she wiped up the food from the floor with napkins from the table.
Eustace stumbled into the bathroom, swiping at his pant legs with bare hands.
“That was no accident.” Sweet straightened the table out just as Sissy arrived with a wet towel.
“Nice shot, B,” Sissy said. “That’s one way to get rid of ‘im.”
“Well, for crying out loud,” B-Kay moaned. “He is so demeaning!”
“She just done us a great big ol’ favor,” Beanie offered. “Let’s hurry up and eat ‘fore he comes back.”
“I think I’ve lost my appetite,” Sweet said. “I’ll pay the bill and step outside so I can call Bubba. Y’all come on out when you’re done.”
Once she left, B-Kay and Beanie sat in stunned silence for a moment before Beanie said, “That was close.”
“I think we just need to go home and cook everything we can think of until Christmas arrives. I can’t take any more of this. And, for the record, I’m gonna kill my daddy, just as soon as it’s over.” B-Kay said.
“I’ll hold him for ya,” Beanie replied.
48
Just Friends
The day before Christmas, Gabe and her cousin Delia stopped by the Big Pig to eat lunch. Delia was surprised to learn that Gabe and Suvi had already been introduced, which was the real reason she brought Gabe there in the first place.
“Well, I knew we needed to catch up, but I didn’t know I was this far behind,” Delia said after Suvi greeted them both by name and told Gabe to call him later about some property they discussed.
“Yeah, I thought I mentioned that last time we talked,” Gabe lied.
“I’d have remembered that,” Delia said. “I’ve been busting my brain trying to come up with a way to get you two together. He’s perfect for you.”
“Oh, stop. Suvi and I have a friendly business relationship and nothing more.”
Kenya dropped off two waters and menus for them both. “I’ll be back to take your order in a minute.”
“Thanks, hon,” Delia said and waited for her to walk away before launching back into the interrupted discussion. “Business? Really? The man is the most eligible bachelor in the county. What’s wrong with you?”
“Delia, come on. Don’t make me spell it out for you.” Gabe made a point of looking at the menu, but Delia was staring at her across the table with her mouth hanging open. “Look, I’m just not interested, okay? And neither is he. That’s all there is to it.”
“I don’t get it. If I wasn’t married, I’d be all over that.”
“Bah!” Gabe laughed and covered her face with the menu. “I can’t believe you just said that out loud.”
“Girl, you better believe it, ‘cause I would.”
“Well, I wouldn’t, so stop it already. I like Suvi a lot. I think I would even go so far as to say we are friends, but there is simply nothing romantic going on at all. End of story. Can we change the subject now?”
“Sure,” said Delia. “What are you doing on Christmas Eve? You headed south to see your parents?”
“Lord, no, they’re on a cruise to the Bahamas.”
“Oh, good, I was going to invite you over for our annual open house, but I just assumed you’d be going to Tampa for the holiday.”
“I would love to come. Can I bring anything? Bottle of wine, maybe? ‘Cause you know I don’t cook.”
“That’ll work,” Delia said.
Suvi interrupted then, pulling up a chair to visit for a minute.
“I was just telling Gabe about the open house tomorrow, Suvi. You coming this year?” Delia asked.
“Always do,” Suvi said. Gabe rolled her eyes at Delia.
“Gabe’s coming, too. Maybe y’all could ride together.”
Suvi laughed. “I get the feeling she’s trying to set us up,” he said to Gabe.
“What gave it away?”
“Just trying to be helpful,” Delia smiled. “Excuse me a moment. I’ve got to run to the ladies’ room.”
When Delia left, Suvi and Gabe both looked down at the table and shook their heads.
“She is too much,” Gabe said.
“Always has been,” Suvi agreed. “Who needs matchmaker dot com?”
“I don’t think either one of us is looking for a match,” Gabe said.
“No…no, I’m not anyway. No offense.”
“None taken. I feel exactly the same way,” Gabe said. “So, now that we got that out of the way, you wanna talk about going to see that house you liked?”
“No, I think I’m going to hold off for a while. I just got a job offer of sorts in Gainesville. I want to weigh my options before I make a decision.”
“Really,” Gabe said, surprised to say the least.
“Yeah, I called some buddies of mine at UF about Kenya and one thing led to another. There’s a coaching position coming open in the spring. It’s worth looking into.” Suvi said.
“Interesting,” Gabe said. “Mind if I ask you a question?”
“Not at all.”
“What’s there to consider?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I kind of heard talk around town that maybe you’re dating someone. I mean, is that what might keep you from going? Because, the way I see it, anyone in your position would jump at the chance to coach at Florida. There has to be a reason you’re—what did you call it—weighing options?”
Suvi leaned back in his chair. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you knew, I mean, I wasn’t keeping it from you or anything. There’s just not much to say about it. The truth is, I’m not dating anyone right now.”
“But?” Gabe asked.
“There is someone I care very much about, but I honestly don’t see it working at all, much less in Gainesville. She’ll never leave this town, I know that much.
“Somehow, I got the impression that you wouldn’t leave it either.”
Suvi sighed. “I might – under the right circumstances – but I’m not in any hurry. This is my home.”
“So how much of that indecision has to do with the girl you’re not dating?”
Suvi laughed and shook his head. “I honestly think that ship has sailed. She doesn’t fit in my world, and I don’t fit in hers.”
“I hate that for you,” Gabe said.
“I hate it, too.”
Suvi stood then and patted the table twice.
“Good talkin’ to you, Gabe. Here comes Dee. I already told Kenya lunch is on me. I recommend the chicken today. I just took it off the grill a few minutes ago.”
“Sounds great, Suve. See you tomorrow?”
Suvi nodded. “You driving?”
“Yep,” Gabe said. “Beat you there.”
We’ll see about that, he thought as he walked away, but he couldn’t wipe the smile from his face for a long time afterwards.
49
Home Sweet Home
And arrive, Christmas did. There was a flurry of activity the day before Christmas Eve, when Beanie and B-Kay had to distract Sweet Lee to avoid her hearing phone calls and wondering too much about where her husband was.
On Christmas Eve, the Atwaters had their traditional Christmas dinner – pancakes for supper. They had started the tradition long ago, giving the kids the option of what to eat. After a few years of repetition, the menu stuck, even when the grandparents were still with them.
After dinner, ea
ch person got to choose one present from under the tree to open. Sweet knew exactly what she was looking for – something small. She wanted the surprise done, so all the whispering would finally stop.
Sweet and B-Kay made sure there were several presents for Beanie under the tree, but neither thought to ask if she wanted to invite anyone else, or if she had somewhere she wanted to go. Sweet thought of it when she saw Beanie sitting quietly off to the side.
“Beanie,” she said. “Is there someone you want to invite over? Do you have cousins or aunts and uncles? Anyone?”
“Not really,” Beanie said. “Will’s the closest thing I have to family anymore and I ain’t got a clue what he’s doin’ tonight. I got some cousins, but Lord you don’t want those people around your children, I can tell ya that.”
“Why don’t you call and see what Will is doing? Maybe he’ll want to come for coffee and dessert. B-Kay’s gonna read the Christmas story before the kids go to bed.”
“Oh, I don’t know, it’s kind’ly late now, ain’t it?”
“Call him, Bean,” Sweet said softly. “It can’t hurt.”
So she did, and the phone rang and rang and rang until the answering machine picked up.
Beanie left a short message. Hey, Will? It’s me, Beanie. Me and Sweet was wondering if you had anywhere to go tonight, and if you might wanna come out here for coffee. Just give me a call back. Okay. Bye.
But Will never called, and Beanie did her best to smile through the evening, though deep inside her heart was broken in more places than one.
The children were clamoring to open gifts after supper, but tradition held that the reading came first. Sweet was surprised when Bubba John pulled T-Ray to him, whispered something in his ear and they left together saying they had to run to the store and would be right back. B-Kay took up the family Bible and turned to the place they had marked long ago with a Christmas card. The little ones settled in to listen as their sister read:
What Matters in Mayhew (The Beanie Bradsher Series Book 1) Page 26