NOT What I Was Expecting

by Tallulah Anne Scott

  “I don’t want to tell you. I don’t want you to think I’m weird or anything.” I whined.

  CeCe quietly picked up her coffee mug and left the room.

  “I’m afraid that ship has already sailed. I do think you’re weird, but not in a bad way,” Luke explained, using what he probably thought of as charm as he tried not to laugh.

  “If you must know,” I said with huge sigh to remind him he tires me, “I need some emotional preparation time before you and my mother are in the same room. CeCe wasn’t the only one I drunk texted, and now I have to explain myself. Although, my mother did think I was all loopy from the medicine I was taking, because I was supposed to be sick. I don’t want her thinking you and I are — well — I don’t want her thinking anything. I need to explain before she assumes anything and starts asking you embarrassing questions. In the process, I have to find a way to reassure her that I did turn out okay, and she didn’t waste her time trying to raise me right, so she doesn’t need to ask herself where she went wrong. Okay? Are you happy?”

  “So what I’m hearing,” Luke began after he adopted an expression of pure innocence, “is that you would rather I didn’t slip and mention to your mother that you wanted to have wild, crazy, voodoo sex with me in the French Quarter?”

  “I’m glad you think you’re funny,” I stated flatly.

  “Huh, huh, huh, huh,” muffled, but unmistakable chuckling came from the next room.

  “DO NOT encourage him, CeCe!” I yelled. I felt woefully outnumbered. I might chuckle later.

  CHAPTER 19

  CeCe had already called the sisters at the shop when it became clear she and Fry would not return after an hour. She’d told the sisters something unavoidable had come up that she and Fry needed to take care of immediately. CeCe asked them to put the closed sign in the window and leave the shop locked up for the rest of the day. The sisters argued that they were enjoying their visit down memory lane by waiting on customers again – since they didn’t have to do it every day. They insisted that CeCe and Fry take care of whatever they needed and not worry about the shop. The sisters would lock up at closing time, then stop by our house to drop off the keys. They informed CeCe it had been long enough, and they would check on me whether I was still contagious or not.

  Luke wanted to take a quick run over to Barney’s house and see if he had any luck finding the painting the murderers broke in to search for but couldn’t find. He said CeCe and I didn’t have to come with him. He might have been naïve enough to think he had a chance of that working. He’ll learn someday.

  When we got to the house and saw the carnage, he decided the painting was probably not in the house. Nevertheless, we each took a section of the house and searched as thoroughly as possible without doing more damage than had already been done. Nothing.

  With the afternoon winding down and easing into evening, we returned to our house to wait for the sisters to arrive. We were anxious to get it over with and set the record straight. Since lying to the sisters was supposed to be a temporary thing, we agreed we could justify our fibs as necessary for keeping them out of it. To add more fabrications after Fry was grabbed and I returned home would likely cause more problems than we could ever explain away. It was time to come clean and let them know exactly what was going on. CeCe, Luke, and I were in the living room once again when the doorbell rang. Luke went to check it out and came back with the sisters.

  “Maggie,” my mother came over and gave me a big hug as she said, “you must be feeling much better since you’re up and around. You do look wonderful, doesn’t she, Shirley?”

  “Hello, dear,” Aunt Shirley greeted as she delivered her big hug. “Your mother’s right. Maybe a little pale, but other than that you look great.”

  “We were just telling Luke at the door how nice it is to see him again,” my mother interjected as she looked from Luke to CeCe to me. “We saw Fry’s car in the driveway, so where is he? We can’t leave without saying hello to our Fritz.”

  “Mother,” I said gently, “would you and Aunt Shirley sit down for a few minutes? We need to talk.”

  “Sure we will, dear, if you sit down as well,” Mother suggested with a look of concern on her face. “You just lost all that beautiful color you had a minute ago, and Shirley’s right. You’re looking a little pasty. See, I knew it was probably too soon for you to be up and about.”

  CeCe led the sisters over to the sofa where they all three sat down. Luke and I took our respective seats in the recliners, and everyone looked at me expectantly.

  I started with how I’d left town to make sure Luke was aware the direction the investigation was taking, which turned into the idea that Fry should stay with Luke for Luke’s credibility. I went on to explain how Luke’s eye was injured which meant I couldn’t let him drive to New Orleans with one functioning eye. I stressed the fact that the police investigation was focusing on him, and he needed time to think. I pointed out the importance of taking a few days to check into some information in an effort to shift the investigation toward the actual murderer or murderers, and that’s what he and Fry were going to be doing in New Orleans. So it was really all the sheriff’s fault, because if he hadn’t been periodically monitoring Fry’s movements, I wouldn’t have needed to be the one in New Orleans corroborating Luke’s whereabouts and activities.

  I told them what we discovered about the missing painting and the implication by Mr. Parker that his youngest brother’s family might be involved. I described the news we got from Fry’s friend Stubby, as well as the break-in at Barney and Luke’s house. I concluded with what happened outside Barney’s house that day when CeCe and Fry went to clean up but ended up with Fry being nabbed by the men we suspected had murdered Eliza and Barney. I emphasized the kidnappers demand that we not involve the police, or Fry would be killed. Not that it made any difference now, but I pointed out the unfortunate timing that Fry’s movements weren’t being monitored by the sheriff’s department at the moment that he was snatched from Luke’s driveway.

  When I finished the overview of the last few days, I pleaded our case for the lies we told them, along with my heart-felt apology. I explained that we did what we felt was best to help Luke and protect them as much as possible. CeCe chimed in at that point and assured the sisters we had the best intentions throughout the entire deception.

  When CeCe and I finished talking, I noticed I had scooted to the edge of my seat as I explained. At that point, I sat back and waited for the sisters to unleash their disappointment in us, and their displeasure with the lies we had told. The longer the silence went on, the more I dreaded the eruption that was imminent from Mt. Sisters.

  Finally, Aunt Shirley broke the standoff with a heavy sigh. “Well,” she began, “I don’t smell anything cooking, so I’m going to start some dinner. You kids need to eat. You’re all looking a little washed our right now, and if you don’t eat you’re going to get sick.” With that announcement, she stood and headed for the kitchen.

  “I’ll help you, Mother,” CeCe said as she scrambled to her feet and took off to follow Shirley.

  My mother sat for another minute or two, as she stared at me and occasionally cast a glance at Luke. Several times she opened her mouth to speak, but promptly shut it again without uttering a word.

  When neither Luke nor I added anything to my original story or apology, she let out her breath very slowly, gave her head a slight shake, rose from the sofa, and said, “I’ll open a bottle of wine.” She paused just before reaching the entryway, turned back to look from me to Luke and back to me again, and added, “Or two, perhaps two bottles would be better.”

  “I don’t know why you and CeCe were so worried,” Luke remarked softly once my mother was out of earshot. “They seemed to take that exceptionally well.”

  “I can honestly say I’ve never met those two women we just encountered,” I assured him. “It’s bad enough that we lied to them, which would normally bring on a lecture of how we weren’t raised that way. But
to keep them out of the loop, have issues going on that we neglected to include them in – well, that was the unforgivable sin. At least, that’s the case with the two women who raised us. I have no idea who those women in the kitchen with CeCe are, since I don’t believe we’ve been introduced. The only possible explanation I can come up with is that they are so worried about Fry they aren’t thinking like themselves.”

  While I sat there, stared into space, and tried to figure out the sisters’ unprecedented reactions, Luke stood and said, “I’m going to go see if your mother needs any help with the wine.”

  I nodded my head to acknowledge I’d heard him, but was not ready to move. In true fight or flight response mode, I had been prepared to fight. Now it seemed my mind and body needed a moment to adjust to the peaceful reactions the sisters had chosen in response to my confession. I thanked my moon for being in the proper alignment or whatever. I have no idea how long I’d been sitting there contemplating the cosmos, when my mother walked back into the room carrying two glasses of wine.

  She handed one of the glasses to me, walked to the sofa, carefully sat down, and said, “Maggie.”

  Oops, I thanked my moon too soon. I was about to get chewed out in the way I so completely deserved.

  Although she’d paused for a second after she said my name, she seemed to have collected her thoughts now and was ready to give it another try. “Maggie,” she repeated before she went on. “I don’t want to give the impression that I condone the type of fabrication you and CeCe felt it was necessary to use on me and Shirley. You could have simply told us the truth. It’s not like we would have narced on you and Luke.”

  I must have looked slightly taken aback at that statement, because Mother added, “What? We watch television, you know. Now what was I saying? Oh yes, I was telling you that while I understand what you did, I do not feel you were right to keep the truth from us because we wouldn’t have ratted you out.”

  The last of my fight response mode left me when I saw the wounded look on my mother’s face. I couldn’t believe this. She wasn’t angry, she was hurt?

  “Mother,” I began as I walked over to the couch and put my around her. “CeCe and I didn’t keep all of this from you guys because we didn’t trust you. We kept it from you because of your position on the city council. I would have felt awful if the unthinkable happened, and they had issued an arrest warrant for Luke. There I was helping him, and I was going to keep on helping him, because I was completely convinced he had nothing to do with either murder. Making you aware of what I was doing could have put you in an awkward position. I wanted to make sure you had plausible deniability. I’m a grown woman, and I’ll take responsibility for my actions, but I don’t have the right to put you in a position that might jeopardize your place on the council.”

  “Well, young lady,” Mother began, still staring into her untouched wine, “let me tell you something.” As I braced myself, she went on, “I’m very proud of you.”

  As Mother turned to look me in the eye, she continued, “You’re right, you are an adult. Shirley and I raised you girls to be strong, take charge, independent thinkers, and that is what we got, so how can we fault you for that. Although I appreciate your efforts to keep my council seat untainted, make no mistake about this. I would step down from my seat in a heartbeat should it be necessary to protect either of you girls. So you don’t ever have to worry about putting me in a position where I might have to choose between protecting you girls and lying to the council. I wouldn’t lie to the council, but I would protect either of you girls, even if it meant no more council position for me. You girls come first with Shirley and me. You always have, and you always will.”

  “Now I know how you got elected,” I said as I jostled my mother’s shoulder. “You make great speeches,” and with that I gave her a big hug.

  “Dinner’s ready you two,” CeCe called as she put several bowls on the dining room table. The places had all been set with paper plates and plastic utensils.

  Luke entered the dining room as my mother and I arrived from the other entrance. He was carrying ketchup, mustard, mayo, and pickles. “Ladies,” he greeted us with a big smile and quickly cast a glance at the untouched wine glass in my hand.

  I met his eyes as he approached me and whispered, “Yeah, I know. I haven’t eaten much of anything, so I’m waiting until I do.”

  “Shirley, this looks delicious, and I’m starved,” Mother announced when Aunt Shirley came in with a plate of hamburgers.

  “It’s just hamburgers and french fries, I’m afraid,” Aunt Shirley apologized. “You girls need to do some grocery shopping.” She turned to direct her next comment to my mother. “Pearl, do you know they had lettuce but no tomatoes, and frozen fries but no potatoes.”

  Although Aunt Shirley was slightly scandalized by our skimpy pantry (she was the main cook at their house), my mother didn’t see it as a problem. “Well, Shirley, you know the girls have been kind of distracted, what with everything going on.”

  “Oh, heavens, Pearl, you’re right. We will just have to go get your groceries for you tomorrow morning, that’s all.” Aunt Shirley announced to CeCe and I, very proud of herself for figuring out a solution to our pantry problem. “Now, do you girls have something for breakfast, because we can go get some things as soon as we eat if need be?”

  “Yes, ma’am!” CeCe said a little too quickly. “I mean we have eggs, bagels, and coffee. That’s all we need.”

  “Orange juice?” Aunt Shirley challenged. “Do you have orange juice?”

  “Well, no ma’am,” CeCe answered. “But we don’t really need orange juice. We’ll be in kind of a hurry in the morning anyway. We have to be at Luke’s house when the kidnappers call.” That statement directed the conversation to the sensitive topic of Fry’s kidnapping.

  “I hope you know what you’re doing with this drop-off-the-print-copy plan to get Fry back,” Mother remarked. “Although I understand your hesitancy to call the police, Luke, I’m worried about what could happen to Fry and you if things go wrong.” My mother directed her comment at Luke, which led me to believe they had discussed his plan when he assisted her with the wine.

  “What about us, Aunt Pearl?” CeCe asked teasingly, “Aren’t you worried about Maggie and me, too?” She chuckled at the fact that she had to remind my mother to be concerned about us as well, until Pearl’s response quieted her down.

  “Oh, no, dear,” Mother told CeCe. “I’m not worried about you two at all, because Luke has already assured me you won’t be there.”

  I looked across the table at Luke and raised one eyebrow in a silent question.

  Luke never stopped chewing, but when his eyes met mine a small smile crept across his face, and he gave me a wink.

  Ah-ha, I thought. He told my mother what she wanted to hear so she wouldn’t give us or him a hard time. He’s actually brilliant, but I’ll never tell him I think that.

  I glanced over at CeCe, who looked bewildered and disappointed at my mother’s announcement. I smiled and gave her a single knowing nod to reassure her that all was not as it seemed and not to worry.

  After dinner, we insisted the sisters go home and get some rest. They coerced a promise that we would keep them informed by threatening to call the police if they hadn’t heard from us by 9:30 tomorrow morning. They assured us that as long as things were following the plan to get Fry back, they wouldn’t interfere.

  Once the sisters headed home, Luke turned to CeCe and me to ask, “Hey, what happened to Peso and Sassy Cat? I don’t think I’ve seen them since before your mothers arrived.”

  CeCe and I looked around, muttered agreement noises, and began to search throughout the house. Luke and I were still in mid search when CeCe came up behind us and whispered, “I found them. Follow me, but be quiet,” she warned.

  We followed CeCe through her bedroom and into her bathroom. There, curled up on her super-plush bath mat, Sassy Cat slept quietly. Lying alongside her with his nose tucked carefully into
her long fur for warmth was Peso. We all suppressed our desire to laugh, and in the silence heard Peso’s soft snores (mainly because they were muffled by Sassy Cat’s fur). We eased back out into the hall before we spoke.

  “Do you think she knows he’s there?” CeCe asked, amazed that out socially inhibited cat would allow such liberties from the tiny, big-eared interloper.

  “Not necessarily,” Luke and I responded at the same time.

  “Maggie and I have already experienced how sneaky he can be when he switches to stealth mode,” Luke explained. “I don’t think the little guy likes being alone, and since we were preoccupied, maybe he transferred his affections from us to the cat.”

  “Oh, I hope not,” I interjected. “I mean, yes, I want him to like Sassy Cat, but I’ll also miss him if he isn’t in bed with me tonight.”

  Luke raised his eyebrows, smiled and asked, “I’m sorry, I missed that first part. Were you talking about me?”

  CeCe giggled and slapped her hand over her mouth.

  “What did I say about encouraging him, CeCe? Don’t do it,” I ranted and then turned my attention to Luke. “You can sleep in CeCe’s room tonight, and she’ll sleep in my room with me. Does that answer your question, Slick?”

  “No problem,” Luke said with his smile losing none of its wattage.

  “Wait a minute. Why is he sleeping in my room?” CeCe wanted to know. “Why can’t he sleep in your room and you can sleep in with me?”

  “CeCe, can I speak to you in the kitchen for a minute,” I asked physically hauling CeCe behind me down the hall.

  “I’ll go get our bags out of the car,” Luke said as he headed toward the door, “but she’s going to tell you she doesn’t want me going through her drawers, CeCe. Which, by the way, I would never do,” Luke added over his shoulder just before he was out of shouting distance.