Pretty Is As Pretty Does

by Gen Griffin

  “Did you bring any extras?”

  “No.” David rolled his eyes. “Do you see me carrying around a suitcase?”

  “I'm going to go get the doctor.” The nurse spun on her heel and hurried out the door.

  “We're never going to get out of here if she brings the doctor back.”

  “We're leaving.” Addison pried the bed sheet loose from the bed and wrapped it around his hips. Several different machines were now squealing loudly. He stood unsteadily on bare feet, struggling to get his bearings.

  “Maybe you should just lay down,” Cal suggested.

  Addy took several unsteady steps towards the door. “Hell with this place. My mother won't leave me alone and I can't escape her as long as I'm tied down to this stupid bed.”

  David yawned. “I'd just as soon not have to drive all the way up here to visit you. If you're coming, come on.”

  “David, I kind of agree with Cal.” Trish cast a sideways glance at Cal. His broad face was creased with lines of disapproval, but he'd stood up.

  Addy narrowed his bright turquoise eyes at Trish. “Seriously babe? I got shot for you.”

  “Sorry.” Trish held her hands up in surrender. “My apologies. You're right.”

  “You look awful.” Cal scuffed his work boots against the tile floor.

  “Will you shut up and go get the truck already?” Addison glared at Cal. “Make sure you bring it around to the entrance furthest away from wherever my mother currently is in this hospital.”

  “Jane May is here?” David scowled.

  “She won't leave.” Addison was making slow and painful progress towards the door. He leaned against the frame. His skin had a sickly pallor, but he looked better than he had yesterday. “Damn, I'm weak.”

  Trish took a step backwards into the hallway as he approached the doorway. She glanced to her right and then to her left. “There's a wheelchair right here.” She gestured to the empty rolling chair.

  “That would make my life a lot easier right now.” Addy took three more steps into the hallway and sat down hard in the chair.

  “You need a more modest skirt.” Cal gestured at a gaping hole in the bed-sheet toga. They could hear people arguing from somewhere down the hall. One of the voices sounded like Jane May Malone's.

  Addy jerked the sheet over himself. “Damn it, y'all. Can we get out of here now?”

  David looked from Addison to Trish and then back towards the nurses desk. “Hell with it.”

  “I just want to go on record saying that I am completely against Addison breaking out of the hospital.” Cal sounded tired as he grabbed the handles of the wheelchair. “Completely against this. Its a bad idea.”

  “We hear you.” David looked back over his shoulder. “But if we're going to make this escape, we need to do it now. They're coming this way.”

  “Shit,” Addison said. “Run for it, Cal.”

  Cal sighed and began hurriedly pushing the wheelchair towards the far end of the hallway. David jogged ahead and mashed the down button to the elevator.

  “Hurry up,” Addy told the elevator. They could hear the voices of nurses, a doctor and the unmistakably shrill voice of Jane May. The stainless steel doors popped open. Cal practically threw the wheelchair into the elevator. Addison cursed as David shoved Trish quickly through the door and then mashed the close button repeatedly. Trish heard Jane May yell out that Addison was gone from his room right as the doors shut behind them.

  Chapter 24

  “Well, that was stupid.” Cal was gripping the steering wheel of his mother's SUV and trying very hard not to laugh. David was making no such effort. He was grinning from the backseat, twisting around to survey the rest of the parking lot.

  “I don't think they're chasing us,” David said.

  “God, I hope not.” Addison leaned back against the passenger's seat of Loretta's plush luxury SUV.

  “You do realize we left the other truck behind?” Trish asked.

  “Uh. Crud.”

  “Circle back,” David told Cal. “We forgot your truck.”

  “You forgot my truck?” Cal did a double take at David as he hit the brakes hard. The SUV came to a hard stop in the middle of the hospital driveway.

  “Jane May came bursting out of the stairwell two seconds after we got out of the elevator. I didn't even know she could move that fast. I got distracted.” David held out his arms in a broad shrug. “We can go back for the Chevy. I left it in a hospital parking lot. It will still be here tomorrow.”

  “Why not get it right now?”

  “Because my mother isn't a complete and total idiot,” Addison said. “She's not going to let that truck out of her sight if she realizes we left it behind.”

  “If she realizes we left it behind,” Cal repeated. “Key word being if.”

  “Circle back around. If she's not sitting on the hood, we can grab the truck and go.”

  Cal hesitated. Someone who had pulled up behind them honked loudly. He sighed. “Screw it. I'm not prying Jane May off of my truck. She'll probably leave her fingernails embedded in the paint. We can send Baker County Wrecker Service to come get the truck.”

  “Good idea,” Addison agreed.

  “Breedlove gets to pay the towing bill.” Cal finally cracked a smile as he eased off the brake and pressed down hard on the accelerator. They pulled out of the hospital parking lot with a squeal of tires.

  “That's harsh,” David muttered.

  “You want to go pry Jane May off the truck?”

  “You want me to write you a check or should I just make it out to Marty directly?” David replied.

  “Write it out to Marty directly. I want to see his face when a guy who owns his own tow truck pays someone else to tow a running vehicle just so we don't have to deal with my mother.” Addison sounded tired but he also sounded calmer than he had in the hospital. “Also, turn off the goddamned air conditioner. Its cold in here.”

  Cal reached across the dashboard and flicked off the air conditioner. “Its 105 degrees outside. If you're cold, you're sick.”

  “I'm cold because I'm naked,” Addison rubbed his hands across his broad arms. “This hospital gown isn't doing shit for me. Can we stop somewhere so I can grab some clothes?”

  “And where exactly do you want me to stop?” Cal flicked the blinker on the truck and turned towards Possum Creek.

  “Would the mall be too much to ask for?”

  “You couldn't even walk out of the hospital and you want me to take you to the mall?” Cal pushed the luxury SUV up to nearly 80 miles an hour on the long, straight stretch of highway.

  “The mall actually wouldn't be a bad idea,” David said. “I think you can rent those scooter things at the mall. The ones the old people use to get around Walmart in.”

  “You want to go to the mall?” Cal asked. “You hate the mall.”

  “I've been wearing Addy's jeans for a week and they really don't fit,” David pointed out. “Seeing as we're already halfway to the mall, it might not be a bad idea to just go ahead and burn a couple of hours pretending to be normal.”

  Cal cast a sideways glance at Trish in the rearview mirror. “How about you? You want to go to the mall?”

  “Not really,” Trish said.

  “Finally. Someone else besides me has some sense.” Cal didn't slow the truck down or turn it around.

  “Oh come on Trish, help me out.” Addison pouted at her from the the passenger's seat.

  Trish leaned tiredly against David's shoulder. His arm automatically went around her. “I don't feel like shopping, but I don't know what I'm going to wear to Grover's funeral in the morning.”

  “Ah shit.”

  “Grover's funeral is tomorrow morning?” Cal asked.

  “It is. The funeral home had an opening and mom didn't see the point in planning a large service. Mom said we were just going to have a small visiting hour followed by a no fuss 15 minute service and then the burial. I don't think anyone is going to come, but I probably st
ill shouldn't show up to it in blue jeans and one of Addy's t-shirts.”

  “My t-shirts?”

  “My shirts won't fit over my cast and David doesn't have any clothes,” Trish reminded him. She gestured down at the strapless dress she was wearing. “Not that this dress I have on isn't cute, but I can't show up at a funeral in a tube top.”

  Addy snorted and then immediately began coughing. It took him several minutes before he could breathe again. “Damn my chest hurts.”

  “We should probably skip the mall.” Cal had slowed the truck down.

  “We can't skip the mall,” David replied with a sigh. “I don't have a damn thing to wear to that funeral tomorrow morning. Hell, I'll bet $100 that no one in this car has a suit that fits.”

  “I have a suit.” Cal hit the brakes on the truck and brought it to a complete stop in the middle of the road. “You just lost that bet.”

  “Not one that fits you.”

  “How do you know whether or not my suit still fits?”

  “Because Momma bought your suit the same time she bought my last suit. We were both in high school.”

  “Its a classic black suit. Its not going to go out of style.”

  “You've gained 80 pounds since high school,” David said. “I'll bet you can't even get the jacket on.”

  “Y'all are worse than an old married couple,” Addy muttered.

  Cal forced the SUV into a tight u-turn. “I hate shopping.”

  “Y'all don't all have to go to Grover's funeral,” Trish said as they headed back towards Beauton, which was the largest city within 100 miles of Possum Creek. “I mean, I'll understand if you skip it. Grover wasn't exactly. Well. He wasn't a nice person.” She choked up on the last words.

  “We wouldn't do that to you,” Addison said. “The whole point of having friends is that they're there for you when you need them. Like when you need to be broken out of the hospital, you know?”

  Despite the urge to cry, Trish nearly smiled. “Y'all are probably the best friends I've ever had.”

  “Damn right we are,” David squeezed her tightly against his side. “Don't you ever forget that for a minute.”

  “I won't,” Trish promised.

  Cal tossed his cell phone to Addison as he hit the accelerator again. “Call your sister. Tell her what we've done and where we're headed. She can meet us at the mall.”

  Chapter 25

  The blue Chevy choked out a miserable puff of exhaust as Gracie cut the wheel hard and turned into the parking lot of Baker County Memorial Hospital.

  “You sure you want to do this?” Katie asked her from the passenger's seat. She was glad the Sheriff had sent her home from work early but she wasn't thrilled with the thought of having to spend half the afternoon listening to Gracie fight with her mother.

  “If we're lucky, she'll have given up by now.”

  Katie blinked at Gracie. “We're talking about your mother and Addison. She's never going to willingly take her claws out of that boy. Besides, her van's here. See it parked near the front entrance?” Katie pointed at the aged minivan.

  Gracie sighed as she turned down the nearest parking aisle. “Mom needs to get a life. I think she's one of the main reasons Addy won't keep a girlfriend. He's spent so much time trying to get rid of one woman, I don't think he wants to commit to another one.”

  “We're looking for the new Chevy, right?” Katie changed the topic completely.

  “Yeah. David somehow forgot the truck when they were breaking Addy out of the hospital.” Gracie's disbelief was clear in her voice as she drove slowly through the roads of cars, scanning the parking lot for the gold truck.

  “David forgot the truck?” Katie ran her hands through her honey-colored hair and adjusted her ponytail. Sweat was dripping down the back of her neck thanks to the blue truck's non-working air conditioner. “Our David forgot a truck?”

  “David hasn't been acting much like himself lately.” Gracie spun the wheel hard and turned into the next row. “I think he's a little bit preoccupied with Trish's boobs.”

  Katie laughed. “She's surprisingly hot.”

  “You noticed that too?” Gracie pushed her sunglasses back onto her head like a headband. “Never in a thousand years would I ever have pegged her as David's type.”

  “I don't think David even has a type,” Katie commented idly. “Not like Addy does. I swear every girl Addison has brought around in the last two years has been wearing so much make up that she could double as a rodeo clown.”

  “Too much make up and not enough clothes,” Gracie replied. “God knows that's the way my brother likes them.”

  “He's always been like that.” Katie stared out the passenger's side window. “Found it.”

  “Found what?” Gracie started to turn into the next aisle.

  “The truck. Go left. Its about three rows over on the end of the aisle.” Katie pointed across the parked cars.

  “Oh good.” Gracie cut her wheel to the left. “Do you see my mother?”

  “Not currently.”

  “Even better.”

  Gracie gunned the engine on the old truck and passed the keys to the Chevy across the cab to Katie. “Just get in it and drive.”

  “You want me to take the new truck?” Katie took the keys with a surprised look on her face. “I know y'all said I could borrow the truck if I helped you pick it up but I thought y'all meant the blue truck.”

  “No one likes driving the blue truck except me,” Gracie said. “I wouldn't do that to you. Besides, I don't think my mother will slap a preggo.”

  “Lovely.” Katie grabbed the door handle of the truck as Gracie came to an abrupt stop in front of Cal's truck. She opened the door and slid somewhat awkwardly out of the too tall truck. Jacked-up pick-up trucks were high on her list of short girl problems. Especially short pregnant girl problems. She hoped she would be able to get into the cab of Cal's new truck without looking like a walrus trying to climb a beach ball.

  “You can just go ahead and drive off,” she told Gracie as her feet hit the pavement. “We don't need any more drama with Jane May. Not if you're still hoping that she'll let your Dad come to your wedding.”

  Gracie hesitated. “Are you sure?”

  Katie nodded. “David's nearly a foot taller than I am and he's been the one driving that truck. Its going to take me a few minutes to get the seat and mirrors adjusted so that I can see over the dashboard.”

  “I don't mind waiting for you,” Gracie said. “I mean, I asked you to come help me pick up the truck. Its not fair of me to abandon you with the demon lady lurking somewhere nearby.”

  “Your mother doesn't scare me.” Katie waved Gracie away. “Go on. The boys and Trish are waiting for you at the mall.”

  “You sure you don't want to come with us?”

  Katie shook her head no. “My mom promised to make homemade lasagna for dinner if I would come over tonight. I said I would.”

  “How late is Ian planning on staying on the lake?” Gracie asked.

  “No telling. He really loves fishing.” Katie faked a smile at Gracie, hoping the other girl wouldn't be able to read the lie in her expression. “Don't worry about me. My plans for the evening are boring. I'm going to eat dinner, go home and go to bed. I wound up sleeping here last night. I need a shower and my own bed.”

  “You slept here?” Gracie blinked her wide turquoise eyes in surprise.

  “Cal didn't already tell you?” Katie was surprised.

  “Cal hasn't said anything about you to me today.”

  “Well, he was being really weird about it this morning.” Katie used the clicker to unlock the doors of Cal's truck. “I came up here last night because I've been having contractions for the last two days but the doctors said I'm still not actually in labor. I stopped in to visit Addy after they told me to go home. Your brother asked me to stay the night here with him. I don't think he wanted to be by himself.”

  “Addy hates being by himself. Cal knows that.”

  �
��Well, Cal acted like he'd caught us doing something we weren't supposed to be doing when he came into the room this morning.”

  “That's total bullshit,” Gracie said. “I'll talk to him about it.”

  “No. Don't. I shouldn't have said anything.” Katie closed her eyes and pulled open the door of the truck. Hot air blasted out towards her. “I can see where he was coming from. It was just awkward.”

  “Cal needs to mind his own business sometimes,” Gracie said. “Everyone knows you and Addy are good friends and nothing more. It's not like y'all would ever sleep together.”

  “Couldn't pay me enough money to sleep with Addison,” Katie said firmly. “And you probably couldn't pay him enough money to sleep with me. As we talked about earlier, I'm pretty much the opposite of his type.”

  “Exactly,” Gracie agreed. “You sure you don't want me to chew Cal's butt out?”

  “I'm sure,” Katie replied. She glanced back towards the doors of the hospital and caught sight of a familiar blonde figure emerging from the double doors. “But your mom just came out of the hospital. If you don't want to deal with her, you might want to fly on out of here.”

  Gracie looked over at the hospital and cursed. She shifted her truck into drive. “Are you sure you're okay?”

  “I'm fine. Go.” Katie waved her away again.

  “I owe you big time. Cal and I will come pick the truck up from you tomorrow.” Gracie hesitated for another half of a second and then peeled out, leaving the parking lot stinking of burned rubbed and filled with white smoke.

  Katie leaned back against the side of Cal's truck and waited for Jane May to finish huffing and puffing her way towards her. Gracie and Addison's mother looked terrible. Her dark blonde hair was tangled and frizzy, pulled back in a haphazard ponytail. Her scrub shirt was stained and wrinkled. Her normally clear skin was broken out with bright red splotches. Her bright turquoise eyes had dark blue-black circles underneath them. She'd attempted to cover the flaws with pancake foundation. The foundation had started to crack and flake in the summer heat.