Sisters, Ink

by Rebeca Seitz

  She slid out of bed and headed for the shower. Maybe the hot water would wash away the cobwebs in her brain. “When the Roll Is Called Up Yonder” began to play and she hesitated. Had she accidentally picked up someone else’s cell phone at a rest area? Walking back into the bedroom, she remembered changing her ring tone last night just in time to snatch the phone up before it went to voice mail.

  “Hello?”

  “Oh, wonderful, you’re up.” Joy’s voice, as always, was too kind and chipper for morning.

  “That’s the rumor.” She made her way to the bathroom.

  “Breakfast will be served within an hour. Think you can be here in that time frame?”

  “If the knots in my neck untie themselves long enough to let me have a shower then, yeah, I’ll be there in an hour.”

  “Should I call Taylor for you?”

  “Who’s Taylor?”

  “He’s the amazing masseur I told you about over a year ago. The man has magical hands, Tandy. I had knots on top of knots in my neck before I went to see him.”

  “What in the world did you have to be so stressed about?” She turned on the shower, closing the curtain to let the space heat up.

  “Excuse me, Big City Sister, but maintaining crowns of glory in the perfect shade and style isn’t without its stresses.”

  “Oh, I’m sure. We can’t all be blessed with shining ebony hair and a porcelain complexion like some sisters I know. So Taylor’s a godsend, huh?”

  “Like you wouldn’t believe. Shall I call him and get you an appointment?”

  “I’d love you forever.”

  “You’re going to love me forever anyway, but this will ensure your undying gratitude, so I’ll make the call. Could you get something from Mother’s studio before you come over?”

  Tandy’s heart seized. She hadn’t planned on going into Momma’s scrapbooking studio so soon. “I guess. What do you need?”

  “I left my Simple Scrapbooks magazine over there when we were scrapping last week, and I’m dying to finish it. I think there’s a layout in there that would be perfect for pictures of the Iris Festival. I left it on the table.”

  “Sure, I’ll get it.”

  “Wonderful, thanks. See you in an hour!”

  “Bye.” Tandy flipped the phone closed and tossed it through the bathroom door and onto the bed. The prospect of a breakfast at Joy’s and magical hands being scheduled for her at this very moment made Tandy smile despite her dread. It was good to be home for a while. Maybe she and the sisters could spend some time scrapping together, just like they did when Momma was around.

  Twenty-five minutes later Tandy slid her feet into black slides and snapped a leash on the now-awake Cooper. The taste of Joy’s homemade waffles, piled high with cream and strawberries she’d almost certainly picked over at Flippen’s Orchard, was enough to make even the most confirmed night owl look forward to a morning. She tugged Cooper off the chair and all but skipped down the stairs. Daddy was sitting in his recliner when she bounced into the living room.

  “Hey, Daddy, can you give Coop a quick walk? I’ve got to grab something out of Momma’s studio for Joy, and then we can head on over there for breakfast. You’re coming to breakfast, right?”

  He put down his newspaper. “Of course I’m coming. You think I’d miss a breakfast by Joy?”

  She chuckled. “I doubt it.” She handed him the leash and bounded back up the steps. Walking to the end of the hallway, she opened a door and climbed another set of steps that led to the finished attic. They had all grumbled at one time or another about the long climb, but Momma said it showed their commitment to scrapping if they were willing to exert all that energy just to get to the studio.

  She snapped on the light via a switch at the top of the stairs, and the sight of the studio took her breath. A huge square oak table still sat in the middle, the perfect height for standing and working. Daddy and Momma built that table together, taking nearly a month to make it. Spotlights that she’d helped Daddy hang shone down on the workspace and on the Peg-Board that ran along one wall. Embellishments of every size and shape hung from silver hooks. Four paper stands were full of 12 x 12 and 8½ x 11 paper. Two large metal storage cabinets on either side of the studio held adhesive and tools.

  Tandy’s cramped scrapping space back in Orlando could never compare to this.

  Small, circular windows let in the glorious sunshine, and dust particles danced in its light. How many hours had been spent around that table cutting, gluing, distressing, inking, talking, and arguing? Any event of significance—from football games to homecoming week, from beauty pageants to parades—was scrapbooked right here. Even mundane, everyday existence on the farm was preserved for generations to come. A huge ear of corn that Daddy grew. One of the elm trees blazing with fall color. The four sisters jumping in a monstrous pile of leaves. It didn’t take much for Momma to break out her camera.

  Tandy walked over to the table, running a finger along its grain. Her throat cramped with longing for Momma, and she ground her teeth. Scrapping in this room, breathing in Momma’s scent and the memories they made, both hurt and pleased her. Scrapping in Orlando was dry and functional, a way to capture the continuation of her life. She stopped, staring at the wall as realization struck.

  She didn’t scrap there the way she did here.

  Dust motes danced along in the light, falling with an ease and grace that ignored the tumult in Tandy’s mind. She breathed deep and watched them fall.

  Shaking her head, Tandy noticed the magazine Joy had mentioned laying on top of the table. She picked it up and, not quite sure of the thoughts swirling in her mind, headed back down the stairs.

  “Hey, Daddy!” She made her way out into the sunshine. Tandy lifted her face to the sky and, arms outstretched, twirled in a circle just as she’d done as a child. Cooper barked at her strange behavior and began running in circles.

  “You’re gonna make the dog sick.” Daddy nodded at Cooper. “You look just like you did the day we brought you home from second grade.”

  “I remember that day. I was so happy that I’d never have to go back to school.”

  Daddy chuckled. “And I was stupefied trying to figure out how I’d make you go back.”

  “Well, you’d said if I didn’t like it I didn’t have to go back, and I took you at your word.”

  “Yes, but I never thought you’d hate it so much you would hold me to that. I thought you’d go, make some friends, and be excited about it.”

  “Please.” She stopped and looked at him. “Those kids had been in school together for two years. They’d decided who was who and what was what, and they didn’t need some homeless Florida kid coming in and messing things up.”

  “I suppose you’re right about that. But it all worked out, right?”

  “Hmm, I guess it did.” She walked toward the car. “But I’ll bet dollars to doughnuts no parent of any child in that class would have guessed I’d end up an attorney in a high-rise in Orlando.” She slid into the leather seat of her Beamer and watched as Daddy let Cooper into the back, then folded himself into the passenger seat.

  “Now don’t be judging people you haven’t seen for a while, Tandy. Some of those parents were nice to you.”

  “And others saw me for what I was: the daughter of a druggie homeless woman who couldn’t care enough about herself or her child to find shelter and food.”

  Daddy’s strong hand covered her own on the gearshift. “They saw a hurting child whom we loved. The smart ones, the ones who mattered. That’s what they saw.”

  She harrumphed. Enough with all this emotion. “Water under the bridge, Daddy.” The car slid a little as she turned and raced down the gravel drive. “So tell me what’s going on in Stars Hill.”

  “Well, we got some streetlights, but you probably saw those last night.”

  “Yeah, I heard Tanner held court for forty-five minutes.”

  “Seemed more like forty-five hours. By the time he finished, we were al
l derelict townsfolk who should have had the decency to raise streetlights decades ago.”

  She laughed. “What else?”

  “Emma finally passed her shop on down to Emmy.”

  “Saw that, too.” She saw his raised eyebrows and shrugged. “I may have stopped in town on the way in just to get a feel for the place again.”

  “Ahh, I see. Did you notice anything else?”

  No way was she mentioning Clay’s Diner. On the off chance—very, very off chance—that it was the Clay, that bit of information had no business floating around in her heart or her brain.

  “Nope, that’s about it.”

  Daddy let out a breath he’d been holding. “Good. Good. Well, I guess there’s nothing much new to report.”

  Did Daddy still have a thing against Clay, even after all these years? “Nice to know y’all kept things pretty much the same for me.”

  “We’re here to serve.”

  “Very funny.”

  “I guess it’s news that the Iris Festival is in two weeks.”

  “Y’all are still having the Iris Festival?” Visions of floats full of local beauty-pageant royalty, the fat mayor, Tanner, in all his glory, and the high-school marching band played through her mind. Oh, and funnel cake. Lots and lots of funnel cake.

  “Yep! This year will be the fiftieth Iris Festival parade in honor of our lovely state flower. You going to be around long enough to enjoy the festivities?”

  “More than likely. We’ll see how it goes.”

  “You know you don’t want to miss the funnel cake.”

  This man knew her too well. She grinned. “I’ll see if I can work it out so I can stay for the parade.”

  “I’m sure your sisters would love that.”

  “Though my waistline might hate me for it.”

  “Your waistline is a bit too much on the lean side as it is. Do they not have food down in Florida?”

  “Of course we do. We keep it in tiny one-ounce jars and only consume a full jar in a twenty-four-hour period. Keeps our bodies fit for bikinis.”

  “So long as you’re eating something, I guess that’s all that matters.”

  “Exactly. Why, I’ll probably be full after just one bite of Joy’s waffles.”

  “No room for muffins?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “Hmm. More for me, I suppose.”

  “I guess I should have grabbed my hollow leg before we left the house.”

  “Can’t believe you didn’t have the foresight to do such.”

  “Me, either.” She succumbed to a fit of giggles, and Daddy joined in the laughter. “Oh, Daddy, I’ve missed talking to you.”

  “Me, too, honey girl. Me, too.”

  “I’ve just been so busy with work and everything that I haven’t had time to call like I mean to.”

  He patted her knee. “I’d like to say it’s okay, but I’d be lying and we both know it. I miss you, too. Are you sure you’re happy down there in the big city?”

  “Aside from the one-ounce rationings, yeah, everything’s going well.” She wondered at the lack of truth in her words. Then again, everything was going well. This was a small hiccup in an otherwise perfect career path. Momma would be proud of all Tandy had accomplished.

  “So this is just a visit home?”

  “Of course.”

  “Tandy.”

  “Oh, good grief. What did Meg say to you?”

  “Meg didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. You coming home in the middle of the night with barely any notice spoke volumes. What’s going on? Can I help? Are you in some sort of trouble?”

  “No, not really.” Heaving a sigh, she told him what had happened back in Orlando, omitting Harry’s name, of course. “I thought I’d come up here and spend some time thinking, you know? Just a couple of weeks to clear my head and refocus on my job.”

  He nodded. “Okay, I’ll buy that for now. But I think you need to be thinking harder about whether you’re in the right job before you focus on it.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  They pulled into the creatively landscaped entrance of Joy’s subdivision, Sugar Valley. “I’m not sure, Tandy. You’ve been so distant since you moved down to Florida, and I worry about you, is all. You know me. I want you home in Stars Hill.”

  “Well, I can only sue Tanner on behalf of the townsfolk so many times before I’d be out of business, Daddy.” She swung the Beamer into Joy’s driveway. A stunning three-story home rose before them, its blonde bricks glowing in the morning sun like a dream, black shutters firmly anchoring it to reality. Gumdrop bushes rose from the earth as if sheltering the house from the wind, and a crepe myrtle’s long arms of just-blooming pink flowers swayed gently in the breeze. Tandy followed the circle of the driveway, coming to a stop in front of the sweeping staircase that led to a massive mahogany front door. She put the car in park and turned to Daddy.

  “I understand, Daddy, I do. But you know I’ve always dreamed of returning to the city, of making a name for myself there. Momma and I talked about it all the time.”

  “I know.” He sighed. “I guess I want to make sure you’re not in Orlando because you think that’s where your mother would want you to be.”

  “That’s ridiculous, Daddy. I’m there because it’s my dream to succeed there.”

  He held up his hands. “All right, all right. Just ignore the ramblings of an old man then.”

  “You’re not an old man.”

  “No, I’m a hungry man, and there are waffles in there—” he jerked his thumb over his shoulder and toward the front door—“like you can’t get in the city.”

  “You’re right. Let’s go.” She opened her door and heard the playful splashing of water over rocks coming from a fountain situated in the center of the circle drive. Pulling Cooper from the backseat, she took in the surroundings, appreciating anew Joy’s lovely home.

  “You’re here!” Tandy turned to see Kendra flying down the steps, her gold-and-black-striped caftan billowing out behind, along with a mane of dark-brown spiral curls. Her caramel-colored skin glowed with a health that can only be reached by consuming grains and figs and anything from a whole foods market. They met at the middle landing, and Kendra swept Tandy up into a perfumed embrace. “I can’t believe you’re here!” Kendra’s gold bangle bracelets clinked as she stepped back and held Tandy at arm’s length.

  “In the flesh.”

  “Well bring that flesh on inside. Joy’s made a feast to make Martha Stewart salivate.” They turned to walk up the rest of the steps. “Hey, Daddy,” Kendra tossed over her shoulder.

  “Hey yourself, kiddo. Why don’t I get hugs like that when I come over?”

  “’Cause I see you nearly every day. Tandy here I only see once in a blue moon.”

  Tandy ignored the dig and chose to feel special instead.

  They walked through the front door and into a marble-floored entryway. A grand staircase rose to the right, begging for comparisons to the grand homes Sherman razed on his trek through Georgia. Raising her gaze, Tandy saw light reflecting off the hundreds of glass teardrops suspended from a black iron chandelier. Small statues and busts graced the built-in nooks around the foyer.

  Kendra pulled her along through a hallway in which she could have fit her entire apartment and on whose walls were hung Jack Vettriano originals. Tandy remembered Joy loved the artist because he had risen from such humble beginnings to become the sought-after painter he was today. Cooper’s nails clicked on the hardwood floor as he followed them on to the back of the house and the kitchen.

  Meg looked up from her place on a stool at the kitchen island when they entered. “You’re here!” She flew around the island and gripped Tandy in a hug. “I thought Kendra was hearing things again. I mean, who can hear a car on the driveway all the way back here?” She tucked a long, blonde lock of hair behind her ear.

  “I have skills,” Kendra said.

  “Skills which seemed to have failed you the firs
t five times you were sure they’d driven up.” Joy came from the sink to give Tandy a hug as well.

  “I’m so glad you’re home,” Joy said in that graceful, soft voice that had served to break up more than one fight among the sisters over the years. Light from another wrought-iron chandelier reflected off of Joy’s shining hair. Her skin, no doubt a genetic gift from her birth mother in China, was flawless. Her blue eyes, so rare for those of Asian descent and possibly the reason her mother abandoned her, sparkled with restrained energy.

  “Me, too. And thanks for the sign.” Tandy looked at Meg.

  “You’re welcome. James and Savannah helped, I’ll have to admit.”

  “Speaking of which, where are my niece and nephew?

  And where’s Hannah? She has to have grown a foot by now.”

  “Oh, she has. They’re up in the playroom.” Meg pointed to the ceiling.

  “Ah, I see.” Tandy reached out and snagged a grape from a bowl in the center of a large kitchen island topped with black granite. “So, tell me, are things as dead here in Stars Hill as Daddy says, or is he holding out on me?”

  The sisters’ faces all froze as they turned to stare at Daddy.

  “You didn’t tell her?” Kendra’s voice boomed through the room. “Are you kidding me?”

  “Tell me what?” Tandy frowned.

  “I didn’t think it was worth mentioning.” Daddy shrugged his shoulders. “I think Cooper probably needs to go out.” He took the leash from Tandy’s hand and headed for the back door.

  “What wasn’t worth mentioning?” Tandy looked from sister to sister.

  “I can’t believe he didn’t tell her. Did I tell you he wouldn’t tell her? I told both of you he wouldn’t say anything.” Kendra waved her big hands toward the door, bracelets tinkling.

  “Kendra, maybe he just didn’t want to make waves or upset Tandy,” Meg said. “She hasn’t even been here twenty-four hours. It’s not like he’s going to announce it the second she drives up.”

  “Upset me about what?”

  “Or maybe it truly isn’t worth mentioning.” Joy took a basket of muffins from the island and gently placed it on the breakfast table that sat under a nearby bay window. “That’s my vote.”