Sisters, Ink

by Rebeca Seitz

  Daddy quirked an eyebrow. “You hear? From who?”

  “Whom, Daddy.”

  “From whom, Miss Grammar Queen?”

  “It doesn’t matter. I’ll meet you at the diner.” She pivoted on one heel and exited the sanctuary before he could nail her down about her feelings. Daddy had a way of peering into her soul that would make an amoeba on a microscope slide grateful for the glass.

  She went back out into the sunshine and spotted Kendra’s car idling by the front door. She slid in and flipped the visor down to check her makeup.

  “You look fine,” Kendra assured her. “He doesn’t see anything but stars when you’re around anyway.”

  “I could probably say the same about Darin when you’re in the room.”

  “You think so?” Kendra’s voice was hopeful.

  Tandy rolled her eyes. “Um, yeah. Me and every other person at Joe’s last night.”

  Kendra giggled and checked her own makeup in the rearview mirror. “You think he’ll be at Clay’s?”

  “No idea.”

  Tandy turned on the radio, and sounds of the Miles Davis Quintet flooded the car. Kendra shot her a guilty look. “I thought maybe some jazz on the way to church would get me in a worshipful mood?”

  Tandy burst out laughing. “You are the most transparent person on the planet, and I love you for that.”

  “I love you, too.”

  They rode the rest of the way to the diner nestled in the croon of John Coltrane’s sax.

  Kendra found a space on Lindell two doors down from Clay’s Diner and parked. Tandy reached over and put her hand on top of Kendra’s, stopping her. “Do you think we should go in there? I don’t want him to think I’m chasing him or anything.”

  “Tandy, get your big-city self into that diner.” Kendra shook her hand free, grabbed her purse from between the seats, and exited the vehicle.

  Tandy joined her on the sidewalk. “What? I’m not being unreasonable. You know how Momma was about us calling boys or chasing after them.”

  “I don’t think Momma would tell you not to eat in a diner owned by the man who goes gaga every time you walk in the room.”

  Now it was Tandy’s turn to giggle. “Really? He does that?”

  “You’re smart enough to not act like a crazed schoolgirl, and yet—” Kendra pulled open the glass door, and the smell of hot burgers and ice cream wafted out of the diner. “He’s into you, you’re into him, and both of you are too dumb to do the right thing about it.”

  “I thought I was smart.” She followed Kendra to a table on the far side of the room. People packed the diner, and the hubbub of conversation filled every nook and cranny. Tables full of well-dressed Stars Hill citizens fresh out of church gave a homey, community atmosphere. Tandy loved that Clay had created a place like this.

  “You are, but not when it comes to him.” Kendra pointed behind the counter to Clay, who was smiling at a little girl with a short black ponytail and polka-dot ribbon as he took her order. “When he’s in the room, your brain goes on hiatus faster than Lindsay Lohan from a movie set, and you start asking people if he’s into you.”

  Tandy didn’t have much to say to that since it was true. As soon as she believed Clay was as hip deep in this as she, reality intruded, and she flashed back to that little girl she’d been, living on the streets of Orlando. Too many nights in a cardboard box with stolen flashlight in hand to ward off monsters had made their mark on her heart, indelibly printing the word unworthy on it. Momma and Daddy had made enough marks of their own to cover it up most of the time, but not always.

  Clay caught her watching him and jerked his head up. He stood before their table in three seconds. “Tandy! Hey, how was church?”

  “Good. A little, um, perfumed.” She waved her hand in front of her face and wrinkled her nose.

  Clay looked to Kendra for explanation.

  “Mrs. Simmons.”

  “Ah.” Clay’s face relaxed. He tapped his pencil on a notepad in his other hand. “What can I get you ladies today?”

  “Burger and fries for me,” Tandy said. “I hear this place has the best in town.”

  Clay leaned down near her ear. “You better believe it. We’ve also got a few other things you might be interested in.” Tandy playfully shoved him away, and he beamed at her.

  “Before you two make me lose my appetite, I’ll have a burger and fries, too.”

  “Two burgers and fries, coming right up.” Clay shoved his pencil behind his ear and headed off toward the kitchen.

  Tandy and Kendra talked about the upcoming Iris Festival events until their orders arrived. Just as Tandy was about to take her first bite, in walked Daddy and Zelda.

  “What?” Kendra said, her mouth full of burger.

  Tandy wiped her face of reaction. “Nothing, nothing.” She went back to her food. “I’m still not used to seeing them together.”

  Kendra shifted in her seat to see the front door. “Oh, Daddy and Zelda?”

  “Who else?”

  “It doesn’t mean he’s replacing Mom, Tandy.”

  “I know that. But seeing him with another woman, laughing, putting his hand on her elbow like that, my brain can’t go there.”

  Kendra reached across the table and patted Tandy’s arm. “It wasn’t easy for me at first, either, but you get used to it.”

  “The day I get used to that will be the day I quit my job and move to Stars Hill.”

  “Stranger things have happened.” Kendra took her hand back.

  “Not many.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I wouldn’t rule anything out at this point.”

  “I thought we weren’t going to have this conversation again.”

  “You’re right. We weren’t. Let’s talk about something else. Me. Do you think Darin had fun last night?”

  “Hmm, let’s find out.” Before Kendra could stop her, Tandy jumped up from her chair and dashed behind the counter into the kitchen. Clay leaned against a counter cutting a tomato, his big hands moving like quicksilver.

  “Hey!” He nearly cut himself as his eyes moved from the tomato to Tandy. “Give a guy some warning.” He set the knife down on the counter and came over to her. “Something wrong with your lunch?”

  “Yes, something’s horribly wrong.”

  “What?” He moved to pass her and she grabbed the tie on his apron, pulling him back to her.

  “You weren’t sitting beside me while I ate it.”

  She would have sworn his smile lit up the room as his hands came around her waist. “I’m so sorry you’ve had a bad experience here.” His eyes were full of mock concern. “Let’s see what I can do to make it up to you.” He dipped his head and touched his lips to hers.

  Her world tilted. Here she was, standing in a public diner kissing Clay Kelner. Anybody in town could see them through the window if they were standing at the right angle. Shoot, one of the people out in the dining area could walk back here, wondering what the holdup was with their food.

  But the warmth of him, the rightness of his hands on either side of her face, fingers buried in her hair, his black curls brushing her forehead, outweighed her fear of being found out, and she kissed him back. If Daddy could have lunch with Zelda in front of God and country, then she could certainly kiss Clay Kelner in the back of his own diner.

  Clay eased away from her and took a deep breath. She looked up, her lids heavy with the haze of falling into him. “Something wrong?”

  Clay cleared his throat and went back around to the cutting board. Picking up the knife, he pointed it at her. “You are a dangerous woman, Tandy Ann Sinclair.”

  She tucked her chin and batted her lashes at him. “Little ol’ me? Surely not.”

  He shook his head, eyes on the knife now slicing through a tomato. “If I don’t watch out, you’ll have me closing this place up and heading to the beach for the rest of my days.”

  Her breath caught in her throat. Him moving to Florida hadn’t really seemed like an option. Was it
an option? Clay was Stars Hill. He just was.

  “You’d move to Florida after three days with me?” The people in her head stood up and cheered again. She shushed them.

  His eyes were serious as he looked up at her. “Three days? Tandy, I’ve known you forever. This—” he waved the knife between them—“is just a reminder, not a new thing.”

  Tandy bit her lip, needing time to think about this turn of events. “I should get back to Kendra. She’s going to wonder what I’m doing back here.”

  “So’s your dad. Scoot.”

  She left the kitchen and went back to her table.

  “You look like you’re in another world,” Kendra said. “Did he say something about Darin? What happened?”

  “Clay Kelner happened, that’s what.” She chomped down on a French fry.

  “Did he say something?”

  “Yeah. He said I could get him to move to Florida.”

  “What?!” Kendra’s yelp caused Daddy and Zelda to look their way.

  “Hush, hush.” Tandy patted the air. “Finish your burger, and we’ll talk about this somewhere else.”

  Kendra tossed her fry back onto the plate. “I’m done. Let’s go.” She dug around in her purse and tossed some money on the table.

  “Hey, I’ve still got some food here,” Tandy protested.

  “You know the owner; you can get more later.” Kendra stood up. “Let’s go.”

  Tandy sighed and followed her out of the diner, waving at Daddy as she left. He’d wonder why they had hurried out. Wonder what he’d say if she told him what had just happened in the kitchen?

  The doors were barely closed when Kendra turned on her, eyes blazing. “Spill.”

  “Nothing, nothing.”

  “Nothing doesn’t make you look like somebody promised you the Sears Tower.”

  “Is the Sears Tower even still standing?”

  “Tandy.” Kendra’s voice held a warning note.

  “What? I’m just saying you might need to update your references.”

  “Sister, you’ve got about five seconds to tell me what that man said to you, or so help me, I’ll tell Joy and Meg it was you that ruined their roller skates.”

  “You wouldn’t dare.”

  “Three seconds, two, one.” Kendra reached for her cell phone.

  “Clay offered to move to Florida.” It came out in one big rush.

  Kendra’s fingers stilled on her phone. “Come again?”

  “It’s true. He said if I didn’t watch out, I’d have him moving to the beach for the rest of his days.” Tandy still couldn’t believe it. Had he been serious?

  “Was he serious?”

  Tandy did a double take. “Get out of my head.”

  “So you don’t know? Didn’t you ask?”

  “No, he kissed me and then—” Tandy squirmed in her seat—“it seemed like a good time to exit the scene.”

  Kendra gave her a knowing look. “Wise move if you don’t want to know the answer.” She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms. “You’re going to have to ask. If he’s willing to move to Florida, then this thing just might work.”

  “Kendra! I am not asking that man to give up his business, his home, and move eight hundred miles away just for me.” Though I’d like to.

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s a selfish thing to do! He loves Stars Hill. And they love him, at least the him he’s become. I don’t want to ruin that.”

  They sat in silence for a second, then Kendra reached for the ignition and started the car. “Then you’re either going to be very alone in Orlando, or you’re moving here.”

  Tandy sighed and buckled her seat belt as Kendra maneuvered out of the parking space. “Knowing Momma, she knew all this would happen, and that’s why she decided on Orlando. It would keep me away from Clay.”

  “I thought you decided on Orlando?”

  “I did.” Tandy’s eyebrows scrunched as she fought to remember her conversations with Momma about the future. Exactly which of them had first said ‘Orlando’ wasn’t clear. “At least, I think I did. Or maybe it was Momma.” She threw up her hands. “Who knows? It doesn’t matter. All that matters is my dreams are there.”

  “Except for one tall diner owner with black hair, green eyes, and a mean two-step.”

  She sighed again. “Yeah. Except for that.”

  They rode the rest of the way to the farm in silence.

  Eighteen

  Tuesday morning’s skies held dark gray clouds swollen with rain. Tandy stood at the window in her bedroom, watching them build and shift, like orchestra members shifting in their seats before the conductor’s baton fell. Cooper lay curled under his chair, tail tucked, worried eyes on Tandy. Each time thunder rolled across the field, he whimpered.

  “I know, buddy. Storms are scary. But I won’t let anything happen to you. You’re safe.” She skirted the bed and knelt down in front of Cooper. His velvety ears felt soft under her fingertips, and she scratched until he finally laid his head on his paws in resignation. “Good idea. There’s no stopping the weather, so you might as well sleep through it.”

  She stood and stretched, checking the clock on the nightstand. Still a good hour before the art show would open. Kendra was a basket case, the same as every other time she’d unveiled one of her works for the public. Tandy didn’t know how she did it, baring her inner thoughts like that for all the world to see.

  Her own thoughts intensified in tandem with the tumult outside. It was growing harder to imagine her life without Clay Kelner in it. Two amazing nights of dancing close, whispering secrets, sharing their thoughts and feelings, awakening old memories and forming new ones, had gathered like rain in the cloud of her future. Sooner or later the cloud would either dissipate and move on or come crashing down in a deluge. She wasn’t sure anymore which result to wish for.

  Running her hand over the stitches of the Dutch doll quilt, she wondered if Clay would really move to Florida and if considering the option was a betrayal of Momma. They hadn’t mentioned Florida or the future at all yesterday when they’d met at the car show. Asking him to leave Stars Hill didn’t have the ring of rightness to it. Besides, even if they ended up in Orlando together, she’d still be leaving the sisters behind. And Daddy. And her faith.

  She cocked her head at that last one. Where had that come from?

  The sisters meant more to her after this trip. Playing with Meg’s kids, sitting at Joy’s beautifully laid-out table, going on double dates with Kendra, and hearing Daddy’s feet on the stairs gave her a surety of being, a solidness that was too elusive in Orlando. Here she belonged, had a history and identity that felt true. The idea of a God who gave her purpose and watched over her seemed more plausible. Odd, since this was the place from which he took Momma.

  Every day, walking into the BellSouth building and riding that brass-gilded elevator up to her office, a small part of Tandy knew she was playing at her life, filling a role carved out for her from the rocky stone of her childhood. Each time a hawk hit her window, she wondered if they knew how much she beat her head against the wall of her existence as well. Or worried about the silence of her faith.

  And yet the fighter in her, the part that would not let her beginnings dictate her endings, refused to back down. Life, dreams, becoming someone—these things required sacrifice and determination. Stars Hill couldn’t let her rise above the years on the streets. It would only be a small town she’d run to and hidden in for the rest of her life. Wouldn’t it?

  Momma, with her wisdom and vision, must have known that. Why else would she have told Tandy not to let fear dictate her future?

  Thunder rolled in the distance, making Cooper open his eyes and look to her.

  “It’s okay, boy. You’re safe.” Cooper closed his big basset eyes.

  She wandered back to the window, the gray gloom of the atmosphere a perfect nest for her bewildered thoughts. The clouds hung closer now, and sheets of rain were crossing the field. Pretty soon everyth
ing around them would be soaked through and through.

  Daddy’s footfalls on the stairs broke the oppressive silence. She turned as he entered her room.

  “Morning.” He was in a striped button-up shirt and khakis, the blues and greens of the shirt faded from years of wear. His sleeves had razor sharp creases, though, and Tandy knew he’d used heavy starch. Momma was not a fan of ironing and Daddy, believing the outside to be a reflection of the inside, had ironed their clothes instead. His loafers, which she knew were at least fifteen years old, shined with new polish. He rocked on his heels, hands in pockets. “I’ve got some waffle batter ready downstairs if you’re hungry.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.”

  “Why the long face?” He came into the room and sat down in the chair over Cooper. Reaching down, he patted the dog’s head.

  “Oh, I don’t know. Probably just the weather.” The bed creaked again as she sat back down in her spot.

  He chuckled. “You always were a gloomy Gus when storms rolled in.”

  “Was I?”

  “Oh yeah. Some mornings we’d wake up and see those clouds and your Momma would say, ‘Tandy’ll be a handful today.’ And she was nearly always right.”

  “Nearly?”

  “Okay, about that, maybe always right.”

  “She was right about a lot of things.” Her soft voice sent sad words into the gray air.

  “That she was.” Daddy nodded. “But not about everything.”

  She raised an eyebrow.

  “It’d be easy to remember her as perfect, Tandy. That’s a temptation when we lose someone as good as your momma. But she had her moments, same as the rest of us.”

  “Daddy, do you think I should have stayed in Stars Hill?”

  He sat back in the chair and thought for a second.

  “I can’t answer that, honey girl.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because your life is yours.” He spoke gently, trying to take the sting out of his words. “Not your momma’s or mine to decide. We tried to teach you about the important things—God, prayer, right from wrong, wise from foolish. You’ve got free will just like we do. And that means applying the knowledge you’ve got to the life you lead.”