Sissy

by Madelyn Bennett Edwards

  We didn't talk about the shooting any more. We talked about Marianne and her relationship with Dr. Warner. Marianne told us that it was getting serious.

  "At least on his part." She laughed and blushed. "I mean, he says he's crazy about me."

  "Have you told him how you feel?" I looked at the grin on her face and could tell she was ate up with the man.

  "I'm not sure how I feel." She blushed.

  "How will you know?" Lilly stared at Marianne as though she were trying to figure out how a person might know if she’s in love with someone.

  "I'm not sure. They say you just know." Marianne laughed, which made us all laugh.

  "Well, I'll say this: if I ever think I love a guy, I'm just going to tell him. Playing games is too stressful." I giggled, but I meant what I said.

  *

  Dr. Warner was examining Rod when I walked into his room at Ochsner Monday afternoon. His head was no longer wrapped in gauze; instead, there was a big white pad taped on the side of his shaved head, above his ear.

  "Another week in here and we'll have you off all these tubes and IVs," Warner said as he pulled the sheet off Rodney's legs. "Then we can talk about moving you to Rehab."

  Warner ran a pin up and down the soles of Rod's feet. I didn't see a reaction and looked at Susie, who knew exactly what was wrong. She shrugged as if to say, "At least he's alive." I agreed, but I wouldn't be the one married to a man who couldn't walk.

  Warner turned around and saw Marianne standing with Lilly and me in the doorway. A smile spread across his face as though he'd opened a Christmas present with his dream toy inside. I pushed my elbow into Marianne's side and laughed under my breath.

  "Hi." Warner walked up to Marianne and ignored the rest of us. "Want to grab a glass of wine?"

  "I have to get Susie and Lilly home…"

  "I'll take care of them, Mari." I patted her shoulder and winked.

  "I can take Susie home in my new car." Lilly dangled the keys to her Mustang in front of Marianne.

  "Lilly and Sissy are right, Mari." Susie slid off Rodney's bed and walked without help to the wall where her walker was parked. We'll be fine. Go on."

  Lilly smiled at me as though she knew some secret I didn't.

  "It's settled, then." Dr. Warner took Marianne's hand and pulled her out of the room. I looked over my shoulder at Susie, and she and Lilly were laughing, so was Rodney. I obviously had a lot to catch up on.

  *

  I retrieved the Times Picayune from the front yard Sunday morning and was sorting through the sections, looking for the comics, when I saw the headline on the front page of Section D. "Two Arrested in Wedding Shooting."

  Pictures of Keith Rousseau and the scraggly-looking dude, Thevenot, whom I'd seen on James's front porch, were plastered across the top of the page. They wore orange jumpsuits, and neither had shaved in days. The article said that the state police had been looking for the pair for several days and the accused had eluded the officers by going into the woods north of the Guillot Community on a four-wheeled all terrain vehicle. It said state troopers went up Red River in two speedboats while several other cops scaled the woods on the four-wheelers and in jeeps until they flushed out Thevenot and Rousseau.

  They'd been charged with resisting arrest, aggravated flight from an officer, and two counts of attempted first degree murder.

  "Investigators say the attorney general's office will prosecute the case and has asked the Judge for six weeks to prepare evidence, which District Judge Edward DeYoung granted," the article stated. "Should the attorney general charge the accused through a bill of information, they will stand trial sometime next year." I kept reading the article, which mentioned Susie and Rodney's names and said that Susie was the daughter of retired State Senator, Bob Burton.

  The end of the article said that more charges were pending against Thevenot and Rousseau related to other cases as far back as the 1970s.

  I stared at the newspaper as though it had appeared out of nowhere. I wanted to pick up the phone and call Robert Morris, but I figured if I were supposed to be in-the-know he'd have told me that the arrests would be made this weekend. As I thought about it, I realized they must have had warrants for the men before they grilled me, which made me angry all over again. I wondered why they felt they had to put me through the wringer when they had all the information they needed for the arrests.

  Susie staggered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, her hair in tangles as though she'd slept upside down. She sat at the table, and I poured her a cup of coffee and put the newspaper in front of her. She sipped her coffee and thumbed through the paper. When I was sure she was awake, I slid Section D over the part she was reading.

  "Oh. My. God!" She looked up at me and back at the paper. I sat still while she read it. "What happens next?"

  "I'm not sure. I think I'll go to Baton Rouge tomorrow and speak with Robert Morris." I twisted my hair and stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.

  "I can call Rob Morris." She kept staring at the newspaper as if it could magically erase itself and create a new story.

  "Brenda is coming to New Orleans to see you and Rodney today. Let's see what she has to say first, okay?" I reached for Susie's hand to get her attention.

  "Okay. But I'm going to show this article to Rodney when I get to the hospital this morning." Susie's brow was furrowed, and her eyes squinted.

  Lilly skipped into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, her hair brushed and lip gloss on her mouth.

  "I'm going with you to see Dad this morning. I'll bet he missed us last night." Lilly was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She kissed her mom on the top of her head, hugged me, and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "I don't see how you can drink that awful black liquid. It looks like muddy water from Bayou Noir."

  "When you drink too many glasses of wine one night, you're glad to have bayou water in the morning." I hugged her and laughed. She sat at the table with Susie, who was still staring at the newspaper.

  "What is it, Susie?" Lilly watched her mom's eyes go back and forth across the page, reading it for the umpteenth time.

  "They arrested the guys they think shot Rodney." Susie held the paper so tightly that it wrinkled in her hands.

  "Let me see." Lilly tried to take the paper from Susie, but it began to tear. "Susie. Can I read the article?"

  "I'll read it to you." Susie was acting strange, and Lilly looked at me with a questioning expression. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.

  "Two Arrested in Wedding Shooting." Susie started to read, stuttered, then continued. "After a chase of almost three days on the Red River and through the wooded area north of the Guillot Community of Jean Ville, police finally captured two suspects in the June 30 shooting of Rodney Thibault which occurred in front of St. Alphonse's Catholic Church on Jefferson Street. Captain Roger Lamoré served Tucker Thevenot and Keith Rousseau with arrest warrants that had been signed by Judge Edward DeYoung Friday morning. Louisiana law states that, to obtain an arrest warrant, police must provide the judge with information that establishes probable cause, by the named person(s) who committed a particular crime.

  "Thevenot and Rousseau have been charged with resisting arrest, aggravated flight from an officer, and two counts of attempted first degree murder.

  "Investigators say the attorney general's office will prosecute the case and has asked the Judge for six weeks to prepare evidence, which District Judge Edward DeYoung granted. Should the attorney general charge the accused through a bill of information, they will stand trial sometime next year.

  "Thibault is a retired army major and JAG officer who graduated valedictorian from Adams High School in 1967. He walked out of the church with his bride, Susanna Burton, and was shot twice with a 45-caliber pistol. Doctors removed two projectiles from Thibault; one from his head, the other near his right lung. He remains in Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans where he has been a patient since the incident. Burton-Th
ibault is the daughter of former mayor and retired State Senator, Robert Burton.

  "Thevenot and Rousseau were booked into the Toussaint Parish jail where they will remain pending a bond hearing on Monday morning and arraignment sometime Tuesday. No information about which attorney or attorneys will represent the accused has been released."

  Susie looked up at Lilly, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They stared at each other but didn't speak.

  "Look. You girls run off to the hospital. I'm going to straighten up around here before Brenda Morris arrives. I'll bring her to the hospital so she can visit with you and Rodney. It'll probably be after lunch."

  "Are Jessie and Bobby coming with her?" Lilly pushed her chair back from the table and stood up.

  "I'm not sure. If they do, would you like for me to call you at the hospital?" I picked up plates and cups from the table and took them to the sink.

  "Yes, please. I'll come back here, and the three of us can go to the lake or something while you adults visit." Lilly was sort of bouncing up and down, excited, happy.

  "I hope she brings them, Lilly. But when I asked her, she said it was up to them, that they stay pretty busy on weekends." I didn't want Lilly to be disappointed.

  "Oh, if she gives them a choice, they'll come." Lilly walked out of the kitchen, her shoulders squared in a confident manner.

  "I think she's kind of sweet on Robert's son." Susie looked at me and winked.

  "Really? I thought she and Jessica really hit it off." I was at the sink with my back to Susie. "I didn't notice any chemistry with Bobby."

  "You know Lilly." Susie got up from the table and joined me at the sink. She put her coffee cup and plate in the sudsy water and flopped her arm over my shoulder. "She'd never let on that she liked a boy. I just picked up on it in a couple of our conversations. Let's see if he shows up with Brenda. That will be telling."

  I sat at the kitchen table after they left, and thought about the arrests. I wondered whether Thevenot and Rousseau had hired lawyers or would use public defenders. I also wondered how much their bail would be and whether they would be able to bond out while they awaited trial.

  *

  Brenda Morris arrived just before noon with Bobby, who was driving a black Volvo sedan that looked brand new. He got out and went around to open the door for his mother. She stepped out of the car dressed in jeans, a lavender silk blouse, and low-heeled pumps. She carried a Coach handbag and pulled her Prada sunglasses off and put them on top of her head, pulling her hair back from her face. Her hoop earrings almost touched her shoulders, and her golden Breck hair hung in waves down her back. She was a gorgeous woman, who walked with the confidence of a corporate executive. I stood on the front porch and watched her strut up the sidewalk with Bobby behind her.

  "Hi, Sissy." Brenda extended both arms and folded me into a bear hug when she got to the porch.

  "I'm so glad you're here. Rodney and Susie are excited to see you." I hugged her and reached for Bobby. "Hi, big boy." I grabbed his shoulders and embarrassed him by planting a big kiss on his cheek. "Lilly asked me to call her if you came with your mom. Come on in, you two."

  We went into the living room, and Brenda asked for the bathroom, which I pointed to, then I headed to the phone on the table behind the sofa.

  "Have a seat, Bobby." I picked up the receiver.

  "I've been sitting for over an hour. I think I'll stand if you don't mind." He put his hands behind his back and stood in front of the unlit fireplace as though warming his tush.

  "Lilly's at the hospital with her dad and will come right over." I dialed the number and asked for Rodney's room. Lilly answered the phone.

  "Hi. Bobby's here." I spoke in a normal tone because he could hear what I said.

  "Just Bobby? Or did Jessie come, too." Lilly sounded breathless, as though she'd been running.

  "Yes." I didn't want to say, "Just Bobby," because he was standing there and would know she asked.

  "Yes, what?" She was confused.

  "Yes, you should come home. I'm sure the two of you can find something to do this afternoon." I hoped she understood my hint that it was just Bobby.

  "I'll be right there." She hung up.

  "She'll be here in a few. She drove her mom to the hospital this morning." I asked Bobby if he'd like something to drink, and he declined. Brenda walked into the room, and I showed her around the house. Bobby said he'd stay in the living room and wait for Lilly.

  "Brenda, it's a small house. We rented it so Susie has a place to live while Rodney is still in the hospital." I showed her the three bedrooms and two bathrooms, the dining room and kitchen, and we ended up on the back porch that Susie had paid to have enlarged. It now spanned the entire back of the house, complete with a swing and four rocking chairs. She'd also had a landscape company spruce up the yard so that it resembled a park, with thick, green grass and dogwood and magnolia trees that Susie said made her place "feel southern." Brenda pronounced the house, "charming," and we both laughed.

  We returned to the living room just as Lilly and Bobby were saying hello to each other, shyly, but it was obvious there was something special between them. Lilly hugged Brenda and asked whether it would be okay if she took Bobby to see Lake Pontchartrain.

  "Sure. That sounds like fun." Brenda had her arm around Lilly's waist. "Bobby hasn't had lunch, have you?"

  "No, ma'am. We can grab something at one of the marinas if that's okay with you." Lilly looked at Bobby, and he nodded.

  "Sounds good. Sure." Bobby kissed his mom on the cheek, told me goodbye, and took Lilly's hand. The last I saw of them, they were walking towards her Mustang, hand-in-hand, talking a mile a minute.

  "Well, I guess you haven't had lunch, either?" I turned towards Brenda, who was staring out the front door as Lilly backed out the driveway and drove down Jules Avenue.

  "I'm sorry. What did you say, Sissy?" She turned towards me then looked back at the front door with a look of confusion. "I'm really sorry. It's just that I've never seen Bobby so, well, so… I'm not sure what."

  "It looks like he and Lilly like each other. I mean, as friends, of course." I couldn't get her attention; she was creeped out about something.

  "Bobby has never had a girlfriend." She stared at the front door as though viewing an apparition. "I mean, he's never been interested in girls. They like him, but he's always said girls are stupid."

  "Lilly's not stupid. That's for sure." I started to pace a little, uncomfortable for some reason.

  "Well. I'm glad." She finally turned to look at me. "I'm famished. Want to have lunch before we go to the hospital?"

  "Sure. There's a great little seafood place about a mile from here." I grabbed my purse, and we drove to the restaurant in Brenda's new car.

  *

  "Rod. Susie. I'm so happy to see you both." Brenda strolled into the hospital room on the Rehab floor like an angel floating down from heaven. They all hugged and sat around to talk. Susie brought up the article in the newspaper almost immediately. Rodney seemed a bit agitated, although he tried to hide his emotions. I stood near the door and watched the three of them.

  "Robert told me they arrested a couple of suspects." Brenda held Susie's hand, and Rodney sat in his wheelchair, facing the two girls.

  "Rodney told the detective that Thevenot shot him," Susie said. Everyone looked at Rodney. His brow was furrowed, and he rubbed it with his thumb and forefinger. "I hope he was right. He's worried he might have been wrong and, well you know how Rod is. He wouldn't want to make someone suffer unduly."

  "I believe the detectives have evidence to back up your testimony, Rodney." Brenda reached over and patted his knee. "They wouldn't arrest someone with only one person's supposition."

  "I guess not," Susie said. "We just hope he didn't go to all this trouble and they both get off. Or worse. That they aren't the ones who did it."

  "You can't worry about it, Rod." Brenda patted Rodney's hand, and he stopped rub
bing his brow.

  "That's right, baby," Susie looked at Rodney, then winked at Brenda. "Our job is to get you well and out of here. Can you believe how good he looks, Brenda?"

  "I'm amazed at both of you." She winked at Susie. "I remember how dire it was in the beginning. Robert came to see you a few days after Greg was here because Greg was so upset about the state you both were in. But look at you now."

  "Better," Rodney stuttered. "Suse. Ty-rant." He winked at Susie, who blushed. I was amazed that he could still make her turn pink around the gills. "Won't let me out—hos-tal… walk."

  "I'm not the one keeping you in here. Talk to Dr. Warner." She laughed at him. "Rodney still doesn't have all the feeling in his legs and feet, but it's returning, and every day there's a little more reflex, right Rod?"

  "Riiiii. Wahh." Rodney put both hands under his his right knee, lifted his leg, and put his foot back down on the wheelchair footrest. He repeated his new trick, several times. Next, he did it with his left knee.

  "He doesn't feel the bottoms of his feet, yet," Susie said. "But he's learning to recognize the pressure when he puts weight on them." Susie patted his knee. "He'll walk out of here. I'm sure of it."

  "I'm sure of it, too." Brenda patted his other knee. Rodney seemed a bit put-off by the two women patronizing him.

  "Let's get out of here so he can get some rest." Susie got up, pushed Rodney's wheelchair towards the bed, and pressed the nurse's call button for an orderly to help Rod into bed.

  Brenda kissed him on both cheeks and walked over to where I stood by the door. Susie kissed Rodney on the lips, and we girls went to the cafeteria for a couple hours.

  Brenda told Susie that she and Robert would be happy to have Lilly stay with them.

  "We have lots of room, and our kids love Lilly." Brenda got a shadowed look on her face for a few seconds.

  "Sissy is looking for an apartment in Baton Rouge, and I think that's the best thing for Lilly. I don't want to impose on you and Robert." Susie fiddled with her tea bag, as though not sure about her decision.