Chancey Jobs (Chancey Books Book 4)

by Kay Shostak

  And she’s not there.

  The life of a mom. Unheard or ignored, it’s all the same.

  Chapter 43

  “Maybe this means next weekend will be nice for the wedding,” FM says, looking out the front windows as folks come scurrying across Crossing’s front lawn, bowed under umbrellas and carrying assorted dishes and bags.

  We woke up this morning to steady rain. The kind that doesn’t blow or drown, just doesn’t stop. The skies are heavy gray, and the Decoration picnic has moved inside. Food sits on every available flat surface. Will and Bryan put up the beach canopy on the back deck, so we could put the coolers of ice and gallon jugs of iced tea out there. Jackson went with some of the other men to at least unload the new pea gravel to put on the family plot. It’s a raised area in the cemetery where all of Missus’ family is buried. The entire area is covered in small white pea gravel and Decoration Day is mostly made up of putting that down and raking it around the head stones, then setting out new plastic flower arrangements. They won’t be raking the gravel today, but the truck the gravel is in needs to be emptied out, so they’ll dump it and folks will come back later in the week with rakes and the flowers.

  FM rocks back and forth a bit. “So, what do ya think about Anna moving in with us until the wedding?”

  “Really, I think it’s a good idea. This whole thing has been so off-kilter from the beginning. They need some time apart.” I look around to make sure no one is in hearing. “But you do think there’ll be a wedding?”

  He shrugs. “Anna came back with this real determined streak. More like her grandmother than ever, and she won’t say a word. Missus is right put out. Not happy at all. But no one’s told me there won’t be a wedding. What’s Will think?”

  “Psh, he doesn’t want to stir the pot, so he’s not even asked what’s going on. Just says that Anna’s back, and since they’re already married, it doesn’t bother him if there’s another wedding or not. Gertie may kill all of them, and then we can just do a big ol’ funeral.”

  “You two might want to help out instead of standing there watching it rain,” Missus demands from the dining room.

  FM cuts his eyes at me. “Think she means us?”

  With a giggle, I turn around and curtsey to Missus. “Yes, ma’am.” Of course, like with Savannah, I assume people remain around to hear me, but I’m mistaken. She’s already turned back to the table, directing placement of, well, of everything.

  Missus was an only child, but her parents both came from large families, so most of the people are her cousins and their families. Everyone is excited to meet me and Jackson and Will, but Anna is the star. I wonder how many are here just to see the unknown grandchild of the family’s matriarch. Anna found a backbone in Athens, along with a pregnancy glow. Her tummy is rounding, but she’s also standing taller so, she looks much bigger than before. While in many ways she’s prettier than before, I miss the softness. It’s like she came back girded for battle and hardened. But maybe that’s just me. And, honestly, armor isn’t a bad idea if you’re going to move in with Missus. She moved in there last night and told Will to stay here with us until the wedding. Yeah, you know as much as I do.

  When Jackson comes in, he motions to me that he’s going upstairs to change out of his wet clothes, and with everything in the hands of the ladies who’ve been doing this dinner for decades, I follow him.

  “Hey there,” I say as I close the bedroom door behind me. “I bet you’re drenched.”

  He’s in the bathroom, and he sticks his head out. “Yeah, but we got it unloaded. Me and Peter did most of it since we lived close enough to go home and change. Things good here?”

  I sit on the bed. “I think so. Missus is large and in charge. Will and Bryan have been huge helps. Set up the canopy on the deck and put up the card tables and little side tables in the basement, too. Figure mostly the kids will eat down there. Stinks about the rain.”

  “Wasn’t it weird in church this morning with everyone sitting with their families?” he asks as he takes a golf shirt off the hanger in the closet. “I mean, there were a lot not with family there, but interesting to see the different groups of people.”

  “Well and even the dinner downstairs. Strange to not have Grant running around with Bryan, and Savannah not having a friend, or Ricky, in tow.”

  “He leaves tonight, you know.”

  “Crazy how things change so fast. This time next year Savannah will be getting stuff ready to move off to college herself.”

  Socks in hand, my husband comes to sit beside me on the bed. “And we’ll be down to only one kid.” He pulls on his socks as he shakes his head.

  “Did you ever think about how we would be a part of a new family when the kids got married? I know I didn’t.”

  “It happened so fast with Will and Anna. Maybe if we’d had more time we would’ve thought about it. But yeah, all of them downstairs. And church, being told by Missus we were to sit with them.”

  “And whenever Savannah and Bryan get married, that’s more new family. Guess with us never living near our families, it just didn’t dawn on me. Speaking of which, have you heard from your mom about the wedding?”

  He nods. “Yep, she’s coming. Glad we saved the B&B room for her. Shame your folks had the cruise booked this month. But not a shame Dad and Shelby had the book tour already scheduled. I never heard from Colt, but that’s not surprising.”

  Colt is Jackson’s younger brother who has never married. It’s hard to nail down where he’ll be—unless it’s football season. Since he’s a high school coach we can look at the team’s schedule and know where he is every Friday night. Now that Etta’s coming, he may actually show up. Jackson’s other brother Emerson with his wife and their three daughters are going to be here for the wedding and then continue down to the Gulf Coast for vacation. They live in Virginia, and we don’t see them often. They have hotel reservations in Atlanta the night of the wedding, so no worries on putting them up.

  “If Colt shows up, we can put him in Bryan’s room. Gertie is in her room, your mom in the Orange Blossom Special room, and Anna’s friend from Athens, Miss Linda, in the Southern Crescent room.”

  Jackson lays his hand on top of mine. “Enough stalling. Time to go downstairs. Besides, I’m starving, and I can smell the food all the way up here.” He starts to stand up, but I pull him back with a tug on his hand.

  “Do you think Anna’s happy? She seems different since she came back.”

  He sighs and looks at me with one side of his mouth tightened. “I honestly don’t know. Peter asked me the same thing. He thinks she’s different, too. He says it’s like an armed camp over at his folks’ house. No fighting, but Anna and Missus at odds.”

  “But I don’t want my son to live like that,” blurts out of my mouth before I can stop it. “He doesn’t deserve that. Not to mention the baby. The baby definitely doesn’t deserve to live in an ‘armed camp.’ I’m having real trouble being happy about this wedding. Everyone at church and downstairs congratulating me and smiling and I’m heartsick. Plain old heartsick.”

  Jackson wraps his arms around me and lays his head on my shoulder so that I can lay my head against his. When he pulls away after a minute or two, he smiles at me. “But, honey, there’s nothing we can do. Will is a grown man. A grown, married man.” He stands up and pulls me up beside him.

  Thinking of my son living with Missus makes me cringe and lean in for another hug. Against my husband’s chest, I say, “Well, I just want you to know. If in the next few months Missus gets pushed down her staircase, I’ll swear on a stack of Bibles it was a ghost. A very friendly ghost.”

  Chapter 44

  “They didn’t want a rehearsal dinner. Said it repeatedly. No, we don’t need anything like that. Just a small wedding, just for the memories.” My muttering to myself almost keeps me from hearing the phone answered on the other end.

  “Hello? Hi, my name is Caroline Jessup, and I’m trying to find a venue for a rehearsal dinner t
his coming Friday night. Yes, I know it’s last minute. Do you have something or know of a place that might?

  “I have no idea how many. You tell me how many you can fit in and that will be the number we have. Sure, I can hold.” Closing my eyes, I stretch my neck and try to slow my breathing. All that calmness is for naught when the memory of Anna asking me about the rehearsal dinner last night pops up. Again.

  Everyone was pretty much gone from the Decoration Day stuff, and those of us left in the house were busy washing and putting away dishes or picking up stray napkins and cups. The guys were out back taking down the canopy and putting the coolers away. The rain had kept right on up throughout the day and was still doing its thing. The sun never made an appearance and it got dark early for a late spring day. As the house got darker, the house got quieter, until it was only me and Missus in the kitchen. Anna had been upstairs taking a nap, and the first we knew she was downstairs was when she called to ask one of us to bring her some iced tea. Did I say, “Ask”? Okay, good.

  Missus ignored her, but I pulled out one of the glasses I had just dried and filled it with ice and tea, then carried it into the living room. She was on the couch, wearing her gray dress from church and the dinner. In the gray light, she looked so peaceful with her shiny hair laying on her shoulders, rested eyes, and a pearl necklace adding to her own glow. I sat the glass down and then took a step back. “You look beautiful today. That gray is a good color on you, especially with your eyes.”

  “Thank you,” she said. “It’s been a long day. So many people to meet. I wanted to ask you about the rehearsal dinner. Will is hopeless, he said he didn’t know anything and keeps forgetting to ask you.”

  I paused. “I thought you didn’t want one.”

  She laughed. “Wasn’t that silly of me? Of course we should have one, don’t you think? A chance to be with just the family. Andy’s family is having theirs in his father’s church fellowship hall. I think a restaurant would be more fun, don’t you? Would be nice to have some wine for everyone, and good food. But I don’t want to keep you from your cleaning in the kitchen. Wherever you decide will be fine. The rehearsal is at six.” She laid her head back and closed her eyes, without ever taking even a sip of her tea.

  Heart racing, I walked back into the kitchen and leaned against the counter. Missus dried the plate in her hands and put it away. Then handing the damp dishtowel to me, she looked in my eyes and said, “Welcome to my world.”

  “Mrs. Jessup?” The voice on the phone brought me back to reality. “Yes, our upstairs private rooms is available for this Friday evening. It only holds up to forty people. I can send you an email with our contract, menu, and other information. We need a credit card number to reserve it. We can do that now, or would you like to look at the contract first?”

  “Let me take a quick look at the contract, and I’ll call you right back, okay?”

  I unplug my phone and rush downstairs to the B&B office and computer. Gertie is sitting at the kitchen table and waves at me as I pass. “I need to talk to you, Carolina.”

  “In a minute. I need to do something first.” In the office, I take care of everything for the rehearsal dinner. Missus suggested this restaurant, and I’ve heard Peter rave about it so I’m sure it’s suitable, and the contract looks fine. Luckily, the Italian Bistro can handle everything we might need or want. Of course, what can’t you get handled with a good credit card number?

  Back in the kitchen, I pour a cup of coffee, offer a warm up to Gertie, then sit down across from her.

  “Didn’t think y’all were doing a rehearsal dinner,” she says.

  “Yeah, me either. Up until Anna decided she wanted one last night.”

  “You think it’s being pregnant that has turned her into Miss High & Mighty?”

  I shrug and shake my head as Gertie continues, “Or do you think she’s just like her grandmother and been hiding it all this time?”

  My only response to that is to take a sip of coffee and scream in my head, “Please, God, No!”

  “Anyway, wanted to talk to you about what all you said about the bookstore when you came in, and wanted to talk about Andy.”

  I remember being in the bookstore, but that seems like a million years ago now. “What exactly did I say about the bookstore? I mostly remember telling you about Andy’s parents and the picketing.”

  She shifts herself around and rests more fully on her arms. “Yeah, there was all that, and believe me, I’m not looking forward to the rehearsal dinner at their church. I’m afraid they’re going to turn it into a church service. His dad is already not happy about the ceremony being over here in your church. We pretty much just said Missus made us do it. Surprising how that stops people from complaining.”

  That makes me grin. “I’ll have to remember that.”

  “Shoot, you’re the one I learned it from. Seems nothing ‘round here’s your fault. Anyway, you made me see the light about how Andy boy was turning your bookstore into a junk shop. Lord knows, Patty will let him do whatever he wants… and no comment on that being how she got a marriage proposal so fast… I’m talking about the business here. You know, I am a businesswoman first and foremost.”

  Like a kid trying to figure out which present to open first on his birthday, my mind dashes between all she said. I do not blame everyone else! My bookstore? Patty letting Andy do whatever he wants. No, never mind, that one I don’t want to unwrap. Okay, picked one. “My bookstore? You kicked me out, remember?”

  “So you never wanted to run the bookstore?”

  “Of course, I did. I started it, didn’t I? You—”

  She eases back in her chair, moving her folded arms from the table to her chest. “There you go. Wasn’t your fault at all, was it? You know, you could’ve told me to go jump in the lake.”

  “It’s your business. You pay the rent. You get to decide who works there,” I argue as I stand up and walk to the sink to set my coffee cup in it.

  “But you sure didn’t fight me about it, did you? Girl, you need to decide what you want and then go get it. Don’t believe I’ve ever seen the likes of someone with more opportunity and less gumption in my life. Makes you think God’s surrounded you with pushy people just a-hoping you might one day push back. Well, I gotta go get dressed and get down to my bookstore.” She stands up then pushes her chair up to the table.

  I keep my eyes focused out the window over the sink and wait to hear her door close down the hall.

  How ridiculous. God surrounding me with pushy people, so I’ll push back. For crying out loud, that’s crazy. With a tilt upward of my head, I stare at the light blue morning sky until a sigh escapes. “And just when I was beginning to like you.”

  Chapter 45

  “Well, at least now we know there’s going to be a wedding,” I say with a sigh. It’s Wednesday morning, the week of the wedding. Finally, the rain has ended, and after cleaning all day yesterday, Crossings is ready for Jackson’s mom, Etta, and Miss Linda from UGA.

  “That’s true,” Laney says. “So, tell me what’s going on with Anna staying at Missus’? Aren’t they already married? Why would she move in there earlier than need be?”

  “Laney, come down to Ruby’s. I’ve been sitting out here on the steps of the gazebo talking to you for fifteen minutes already. I’m starving and want to go inside. You can’t be that busy if you can talk to me all this time.”

  “Then never mind. I’ll talk to you later. I have work to do.” And she hangs up on me.

  Susan is busy with her new job, and Laney says she is, too. But I’m not quite buying that Laney was at work. She seemed more than ready to chat on the phone forever. Oh well, there’ll be someone to sit with in Ruby’s. At the very least, I can sit at the back counter and talk to Ruby and Libby.

  Whoa. In the middle of the street that thought stops me. Why do I want someone to sit with?

  Back in the suburbs, I used to eat alone a lot. Take a book or a magazine and never have any fear of anyone bothering me.
People don’t bother you if they don’t know you. Here? Everybody knows you. And they don’t think twice about sitting right down at your table. How have I come to expect, and maybe, maybe, even enjoy that?

  My steps are slower and I consider not going into Ruby’s, but going down to MoonShots. It’s a different crowd there (if you can call empty a crowd), and Jordan doesn’t do idle chatter. But I didn’t even bring a book with me. Wait, when did I start going out without a book in my purse?

  The bells overhead laugh at me as I push open Ruby’s door. MoonShots coffee may be better, and soft music can be heard due to less talking, but have you noticed how many skinny people are usually there?

  “Hey, Carolina. Ruby was just asking if I’d seen you,” Libby says as I enter.

  Scooting around Libby, I spot the mayor’s wife and a couple other moms of young kids. “Looks like y’all have a morning off.”

  Betty smiles and takes a deep breath. “The Presbyterian church is continuing their Mother’s Morning Out this summer. Just one day a week, but that’s better than nothing. Carolina, do you know Jenny and Tara?”

  “Just from when I worked at the library. Good to see you again. You too, Betty. Enjoy the rest of your morning off.”

  At the next table there are more familiar faces who smile and say “hi,” but I don’t stop to talk as Ruby is at the back counter making a big “come here” sign with her arm. She has a cup of coffee poured and a muffin sitting on a green plate in front of her. With the hand she’s not waving me in for landing with, she’s pointing at the muffin and coffee.