by Kay Shostak
“Good morning,” Anna says coming into the kitchen. “Sorry to interrupt.”
I smile. “Anna, this is Brad and Deena from South Carolina.”
Anna pours herself some orange juice from the pitcher on the table. “Are there enough muffins for me to have one? I’m running a little late for class.”
“Oh, are you in college?” Deena asks. “Are you a freshman? You hardly look old enough to be out of high school.”
“Yes, I’m a freshman. Just taking some summer classes to get my feet wet.”
Deena laughs. “Enjoy every minute. Campus life is so much fun.” She nudges her husband who’s taken the seat beside her, facing the outside doors. “Even though we’re from the same town, we didn’t start dating until we ran into each other at a frat party when I was a sophomore, and now here we are about to be parents!”
My back is to the table where the three of them sit. I lift a wooden spoon out of the container beside the stove and pretend to stir the pot sitting and drying on the stove. Oh, and I listen.
Deena bubbles over. “We’re here this weekend to tell our families. They don’t know we’re even coming to Decoration. They are going to just die!”
Brad stands up. “But first, we’re going to explore around here and watch for trains. Miss Jessup, can we take our cups out to the front porch?”
“Sure,” I say as I turn around. “And congratulations on the baby! When are you due?”
“Around Christmas,” Deena glows. “Won’t that be fun? I’ll work until Thanksgiving, and then I’m quitting to work at home after the baby comes.” She smooths her shirt down. “Silly, isn’t it, but I can’t wait to start showing more.” She looks at Anna. “I know you think I’m more than silly. When I was young like you, I couldn’t even imagine wanting to be married, much less having a baby, and gaining all that weight. But, one day…” She beams at Anna. “Have a great day at class, hope we can talk more. College is a blast.”
Brad and Deena walk out the front door, and Anna stands up. “How old do you think she is?”
I bite my lip. “Deena? I’d think around twenty-seven, twenty-eight?”
Anna picks up her notebook and purse. She has only taken a bite of her muffin, but she walks away from the table and into the living room.
“Honey, don’t you want to take the rest of your muffin to eat on the way? You’re going to be hungry.”
She turns to look at me, and there are tears in her eyes. “I’ll have a ten-year-old when I’m her age. No fun college years, no fun job, no surprising family with the welcomed news. This really is a mistake.”
“No, honey,” I say as I head her direction. By time I get to her, she’s at the front door. Raising her shoulder, she keeps me from hugging her.
“I have to go. I’m late,” she says pushing open the front door.
The door closes, and I watch her get in her car, turn it around, and pull across the railroad tracks. Jackson will be home tonight, and we need to talk. Maybe he can get through to his son that Anna is really struggling here. I don’t know who can get through to Anna. I’m too close to this. Maybe Laney or Susan. Or wonder if she’d talk to Peter.
Poor thing.
Back through the quiet house, I go into the Orange Blossom Special room and take the sheets off the bed where Jordan and the girls slept. The room is at its best in the warm sunshine. All the white makes me cold in the winter, but as the days warm up, this room feels like a garden. The sunlight picks up the orange trim on the kitschy map blanket of Florida with its bunches of oranges and bright green leaves. The trellis of white silk orange blossoms around the window mix with the green outside and look like they’ve stolen in through the windows. The lime green rugs we only added last month are perfect in brightening up the dull wood floors. I pull the blinds all the way up and let light fill the room before picking up my armful of sheets and heading to the basement.
“Oh! I didn’t know you were down here.”
“Hey,” Bryan says as he twists back and forth helping his car on the screen do whatever it is he’s wanting it to do.
I know talking to a boy playing a video game is a sure waste of breath, so I just go to the washer and start putting the sheets in. Eventually he either wins or loses, not sure which, but he lays back on the old couch and tosses the controller beside him. “Hey Mom, those people. Brad and that girl?”
“Deena?”
“Yeah. They said they’re here to decorate? Our house?”
“What?” I pull the knob to start the washer and step over to the end of the couch. “They’re not decorating anything. Well, not that I know of. They have family here, and they’re going to tell them they’re expecting a baby. It’s a surprise.”
“Yeah, and they said they’re going to do it at the decorating thing.”
“Oh, Decoration. Um, it’s a thing where you go to where your family’s buried, and you clean the tombstones and pull any weeds, then put nice flowers or wreaths on the graves. I guess that’s why they call it Decoration. It’s a Southern thing. Memorial Day was the holiday for the North after the Civil War. The South decided to do it the next weekend. I grew up going to where my mother’s family is buried up near Chattanooga. Guess that’s why Deena and Brad know their families will be around.”
He picks up the controller. “Okay, just wondering.”
“You want some breakfast? There’s muffins left over, or you want some eggs?”
Shaking his head, he falls back into his game, and I’m dismissed. I can’t believe he’ll be in high school in the fall. I know how fast high school goes. With Will, I had trouble believing he’d actually been there for a full four years. It just flew. Savannah will be getting her senior pictures taken this summer, and all of her friends will be figuring out their next steps. Waiting for college acceptances, stressing out over grades, looking for real jobs.
Bryan—sprawled on the couch playing video games with his bedhead and sleepy eyes, wearing Atlanta Falcons pajama pants and no shirt—is an endangered species. Only found in this isolated habitat. Care and feeding provided by a specialized worker with a lifetime appointment.
My heart swells, and there’s a catch in my throat. How did I ever get so lucky to get this job?
Chapter 33
“When I left here back in the winter, I told my wife we were coming to stay some weekend.” The tall man speaking isn’t wearing his usual dark suit, but his shirt is still starched, his khakis aren’t wrinkled, and his shoes look dressy casual.
Jackson reaches out to shake his hand. “It’s a real pleasure to have you both here, Mr. Reynolds.”
“Oh, no. Call me Frank, and this is my wife Teresa.” His arm fits around her comfortably, and they look like they could do those ads where an older couple is sitting in a pair of bathtubs watching the sunset and, well, you know.
I shake their hands after Jackson. “Please have a seat while I get the wine and some snacks.”
Mr. Reynolds made this reservation at Crossings months ago, once the opening of the water park donated by Mountain Power was set for Memorial Day weekend. Apparently, everything to do with getting the power plant up and running went as smoothly as promised. Because it sits up on the bend of the river far from town, and with all the construction traffic using a road built just for it out along the railroad, folks in town haven’t seen much of the activity out at the power plant site. However, we have kept up with progress on the waterfront park, and the kids, especially, can’t wait for it to open. Mr. Reynolds, as president of Mountain Power, has overseen this project from Atlanta, only staying with us that initial weekend back in February.
“What can we carry out?” Brad and Deena step into the kitchen from the B&B hallway.
“Oh, thanks,” I say. “This tray is ready, glasses are already on the table, and that bowl of grapes can go. There’s a pitcher of cucumber water already out there. Is that okay with you, Deena?” It’s my first Friday Afternoon Wine and Cheese at Crossings. The evening shade on the deck make
s it possible to sit outside even if the day’s been warm. However, I’m imagining we’ll have to move our Friday Afternoons inside soon due to the coming heat.
Jackson holds the door for Brad and Deena to carry the tray and bowl out, then steps inside the kitchen. “What can I get?”
“Take the wine in the chiller, and I’ll bring out this one to open first.” I step up to the door he’s holding open, and he leans down to my ear.
“You look beautiful tonight. You’ve done magic with this place.”
When I smile up at him, I see he means it. He truly thinks I’m great. And beautiful. Heat flushes my face, and I roll my eyes and smile even more. “Come on, we have guests.”
The warm sky is a lavender backdrop to swallows and bats darting after bugs way above our heads. When the air stills, there’s a chill deep inside it. Then before it can settle, a warm May breeze blows it away. Like shooing a fly out an open car window, the heat is sending any lingering coolness back up north. The heat is king now, and there will be no more nights sleeping with windows open. No more grabbing a sweater on the way out the door. No more socks or hose or boots until September. Actually, in September it won’t be cold enough for socks or hose or boots, but Southerners feel the need to bend to fall fashion. And just sweat it out.
Gertie and Patty have gone back to South Georgia for the weekend for a wedding shower. Patty has never mentioned much of anything about back home, but apparently someone there wanted to throw a shower for her and Andrew. Gertie’s absence coinciding with my first Friday Afternoon Wine & Cheese at Crossings is a sign of how pleased God is with me. That can be the only explanation, right?
With the sky losing its last tinges of lavender to a darkening blue, our first Wine & Cheese Afternoon has faded to early evening. “This has been delightful, Carolina,” Teresa Reynolds says as she reaches for her husband’s hand. “However, we do have reservations for dinner. We don’t want to keep our guests waiting, so I believe it’s time for us to leave.”
Jackson stands. “Of course. And we’ll see you tomorrow at the opening.”
Frank shakes Brad and Deena’s hands, as they also come to their feet. “And even though you’re not from this area, hope you two will come tomorrow, too. Plenty of food to go around. A caterer is coming up from Roswell, I hear.”
“We just might,” Brad says. “The church we grew up over in Canton is having a big picnic tomorrow, but not until everyone has been to the cemetery to clean it up. That’s when we plan to show up and surprise everyone.”
As we all walk into the house, Will and Anna come down the stairs. Jackson introduces everyone, and Deena looks at me when she hears Anna is our daughter-in-law. Then when Jackson explains that they recently surprised us with their news of us being grandparents, Deena and Brad both look confused. Anna just stares at the floor.
Before I know what’s happened, Will has invited Deena and Brad to join him and Anna for dinner at the Chinese restaurant, then a walk downtown, and coffee at MoonShots. The four of them are out the door even before the Reynolds, and in a matter of moments, the house is quiet again.
Jackson has his arm around me and leans over like he’s looking down the front of my shirt. “So, Mrs. Jessup, what are the two of us doing for dinner?”
I grab hold of his hand and take him into the kitchen, where I open the refrigerator and pull out a small cutting board covered with plastic wrap.
Jackson takes it and starts reciting what it holds. “Salami, ham, turkey, and peppers. Looks delicious.”
“Can you also carry this?” I ask, holding out a loaf of fresh Italian bread. He takes it and then watches as I consolidate the cheese we had outside onto a plate with some grapes and sliced pears. Lifting that, I turn to face him. “We could eat this down here, but we have champagne upstairs on ice.”
He grins. “Upstairs? Like, in our bedroom?” His grin only grows when I nod.
Turning toward the living room and the stairs, he pronounces, “I’m a huge fan of Friday Afternoon Wine & Cheese at Crossings. I might even like this more than the trains.”
Chapter 34
While I’ve been keeping up with the progress of the waterfront park, Jackson hasn’t. He’s astonished. “Last time I was out here was for the Easter Egg hunt,” he says, climbing out of the car.
The morning sun slants across the parking lot, and the hair on my arms lifts, responding to the humidity. There isn’t a cloud or a breeze in the state today. “I’m glad they decided to do all this early. It’s going to be hot today.”
“I can’t wait to swim out to the docks!” Bryan says. “Wait’ll you see it all, Dad.”
Bryan has on his bathing trunks, waters shoes, and a tee shirt. We’re all dressed casual and comfortable. I have on a light blue sundress, and Jackson is wearing shorts and a knit golf shirt. He and I don’t plan on swimming today. Or maybe we’ll go home and come back in our swim suits.
“I smell bacon,” Jackson says. “Are we eating first?”
“I’m not sure. Susan has been pretty quiet about the whole thing. I think she’s preoccupied with Leslie going off to college in the fall. I’m not sure how she even got put in charge of this.”
“There’s Laney and Shaw,” Jackson says, and we turn to walk in their direction. Bryan has wandered off to where the teenagers are standing together. Leaving the parking area, we follow pine straw-laden paths through the shade of the woods. When the pine straw ends at an expanse of thick green grass, we stop to get the whole effect.
A pavilion spreads along the river bank. It’s open in the middle, and through it, we can see the water and swimming area. The grassy shore hosts picnic tables and grills. On the ends of the pavilion, there are closed-in areas for bathrooms on one side and a concession stand on the other. Over to our far right and left, there are smaller covered shelters with more picnic tables.
“Wow, you and Bryan were right!” Jackson says. “This is really something.” As we walk closer, we can see the wooden docks out in the water.
“And there’s a zipline out past that dock. See it?” Even though I’m pointing to my right, my eyes are searching the crowd. Laney and Shaw are no longer in front of us. Susan said something last week about Laney not looking good. She’s right. She looked disheveled, or maybe she really is sick. When I get a glimpse of her, I pull on Jackson’s arm and lead him into the pavilion.
The stone floor and high ceiling of the pavilion make the temperature drop as we enter, helped along by several ceiling fans. Now we can see the tables set up with chafing dishes, and lots of folks in white dart around setting things up. We can also see the area beside the lake where there is a microphone set up with a few chairs in the audience. As we say ‘hello’ to folks, steady tapping on the microphone gets our attention.
“Hello?” says the emcee, a representative from the power company. “Can you hear me? Good. We’ll begin the presentation in a few minutes and following that—yes, it will be short—we will eat. Have another cup of coffee and start gathering in this area so we can begin shortly. Thank you.”
I nudge Jackson. “Let’s go see how Savannah is doing with the coffee station. I could use another cup.”
At one end of the food tables, we see the familiar purple cups, and our daughter working along with a young man and Jordan. We pick up cups of black coffee, and then step to the area with the cream and sugar.
“Good morning. Things look busy here,” I say.
Savannah doesn’t even glance my way. “Coffee and morning. Who’d have thought we’d be busy?” Gotta love having a teenage daughter.
Jordan steps back from the counter. “It’s insane is what it is. I still can’t believe I agreed to it. What is it about that Missus woman that makes it impossible to say no to her?”
Jackson laughs as he stirs his coffee. “If you figure it out, let my wife know, won’t you?”
Jordan still wears the sheen of her mother-in-law’s visit. Her hair is perfect once again. She has on her black sleeveless turtlene
ck and long, tight black pants.
“We enjoyed having you stay at Crossings Wednesday. The girls are adorable,” I say.
Jordan doesn’t answer me, just goes back to work. Jackson raises his eyebrows at me, and we step away. He asks, “Did y’all ever figure out why her mother-in-law even came here? From what you said, it doesn’t sound like she felt bad about Jordan and her daughters being separated.”
“It had nothing to do with the girls. I really felt like nothing ever has to do with the girls with Jordan and Mrs. Sentora. Diego seemed to like Francie and Carly more than either woman does.”
Pausing at the edge of the crowd, we watch Mr. and Mrs. Reynolds make their way to the front. They got up and left early this morning, as he said they still had some things to work out for the grand opening. I’m not sure what they would’ve been working out, as it looks like everything was all taken care of. If Susan is in charge of something, there’s no need to worry about anything being left out.
Jackson bangs my arm with his elbow. “Is that Griffin and Susan up there with the Reynolds?”
“Yeah. Boy, they sure are dressed up! Even the kids.” Griffin and Grant both have on suits, and the girls are in Sunday dresses. Susan is wearing a black and white dress that looks very expensive. It also looks like a bit much for opening a park.
“Do you see Laney?” I ask.
Scanning the crowd, I finally see Laney toward the back. Now, I can see for sure that she doesn’t look good. She seems faded, like she doesn’t have on makeup, which we know is not a possibility. Her hair is flat, and her dress looks too big for her. Baggy even. “I see her,” I say to Jackson and head in her direction.
She’s too busy looking up front to notice me coming. But when she does see me, she turns to leave. I grab her arm. “Wait. Hey, I wanted to see you.”
“Well, now you’ve seen me,” she snaps. “Happy?”
My mouth falls open, and I’m brought up short by how mean she sounds. “Laney? What’s going on?”