Choosing Charleston

by T. Lynn Ocean

  “Well, it could all work out for you, too, Honey,” she said. “I know Robert hasn’t treated you right, but you should think about giving him another chance.”

  I asked her to tell Patrick ‘hello’ for me and hung up without commenting on giving her son another chance. He’d already had enough chances from me.

  He watched me place the handset on a small table.

  “Satisfied?” he asked.

  I looked at the man sitting across from me, outlined by clusters of bright pink azalea blooms in Mamma’s garden, suddenly unsure if he was the villain I thought him to be. My arson evidence against him was circumstantial. He had been in town. And he had motive. But had he been the one to hit Jerry? Or light the match?

  “Congratulations on Vive Investments,” I said and his eyebrows shot up in surprise. “I’d like to hear more about it, but what I really want to know is what you’re going to do with the seven percent of retail gross. That’s a lot of money.”

  The eyebrows moved up another fraction of an inch and his head began to nod slowly up and down, as if confirming something to himself. “So you already know the name of my company. And the terms of the property sale.”

  “Tell me about the seven percent. Are you going to pass that along to Minnie Beth and Patrick, too?”

  Robert said he had to hand it to me and threw out a compliment about how smart I was and how my intelligence was one of the things that had initially drawn him to me.

  “New York women are all pretense, Carly, but you are so… real. You’ve got the beauty and the brains! And you’re going to make such a wonderful mother. I just know you are.”

  Ignoring the flattery, I repeated my question.

  “Since you asked, no, I’m not. The seven percent is my fee for handling the transaction and it’s the money to jumpstart my new business,” he reasoned. “Look, if I didn’t buy the land from them, I would have gotten it anyway. When they died. This way, they get enough money to live comfortably for the rest of their lives and I get the opportunity to make a good future for us!”

  I started to tell him there was no ‘us’ but he interrupted.

  “Yes, Carly,” he said. “For us. We can still have a good life together as husband and wife. I’m getting my act together. My business can be based anywhere. I’m even willing to move here. Move to Charleston, for us.”

  There it was again. For us.

  The second time the phrase rolled off his lips, it wasn’t any more appetizing than the first. There was no ‘us’. And looking back on the past year of my life, there never had been. I couldn’t believe I’d ever thought I loved him.

  “I want us to work things out,” he pleaded. “I want us back together. I won’t give you a divorce.”

  I just smiled. This wasn’t the 1800’s. He didn’t have the option of not giving me a divorce. In South Carolina, adultery was certainly grounds. And his mention of divorce reminded me I needed to do something. I excused myself, telling Robert I would get him that beer he wanted, after all.

  Once inside I called my attorney and asked if he could get a process server to Mamma and Daddy’s house immediately. Yes, I told him, Robert was there.

  “I don’t like this, Carly,” he whispered, as though Robert could hear our conversation. “You be careful. I’m going to tell Guy to hang around until Robert leaves. He’s a retired cop and one of the best process servers in the business.”

  I grabbed a beer and headed back outside. Still in his chair, Robert tried to get Taffy to play ball, but she kept her distance.

  I handed over the beer. “So then, why did you tell them Daddy didn’t want the land?”

  “You’re not having one with me?”

  “Maybe later,” I said, to appease him. I didn’t want him to leave before the divorce papers were served. It was a crucial part of the lawsuit process, and if we couldn’t find Robert to serve him, I’d be stuck in unwanted matrimony for longer than necessary.

  “Now, what about the land? You knew Daddy wanted the option,” I continued.

  Robert frowned, as though trying to think up a viable excuse.

  “I screwed up. I mean, I remember you saying something about it, but that was back when we were still in high school. When Minnie Beth mentioned to me that they needed to sell the property, I just figured out the best way to do it. I didn’t even think about calling your father. And as far as Patrick being sick? They never told me. I had no idea until just recently. Minnie Beth told me they wanted to sell the land because it was time for them to start traveling and enjoying their retirement. She never said anything about the cancer.”

  “That’s not what she told me and Mamma. About Daddy’s first option to buy, or about Patrick’s cancer.”

  “I told you, Carly. Her mind hasn’t been right. She’s confused.”

  Robert was full of explanations, yet something wasn’t quite right. He’d said Minnie Beth needed to sell the property, then seconds later that Minnie Beth told him they wanted to sell. A slight change in vernacular, but an inconsistency nonetheless. And Daddy always said that inconsistencies were like single edge razor blades. They would cut through a fabric of lies, one thread at a time, until the truth was revealed.

  I still had unanswered questions, like why Robert was in town the night of the fire. And why he had initially put the money in Belizean account. But my head was suddenly pounding and I needed some time to think. I wanted to ask him to leave, but I needed him to stay until Guy arrived with the divorce papers. Whether or not he was a criminal, I had no intention of remaining married to him.

  “So tell me about your new business,” I said. “It sounds really interesting.”

  He brightened and went into a thorough explanation of how his investment and financial planning agency would be different than all the others. How he envisioned managing portfolios of all sizes, and how he would have four or five branch offices open within two years. He droned on, finished his beer and asked for another.

  I went inside to get it and when I returned, another man strode through the yard. Dressed casually, he approached Robert in a friendly manner.

  “Robert Ellis?”

  Startled, Robert stood up. “Yes?”

  The man handed him a thick manila envelope. “You’ve been served.”

  “What the hell?”

  “The divorce papers,” I said smugly. “In case you forgot, I am suing you for divorce. But my lawyer had trouble tracking you down in New York to serve the papers, since you didn’t leave a forwarding address and you quit your job. So I’m glad you paid me a visit today.”

  “I told you, we’re not getting a divorce,” he said flatly. “You are going to make me some children and we are going to be a happy family.”

  I was going to make him some children? Maybe Lori Anne had been right when she surmised that Robert wanted to invent the childhood family he’d been cheated out of.

  “I think you should leave,” Guy said to Robert.

  Robert threw the envelope at Guy’s feet. “Get lost. And you can take your damn papers with you.”

  Guy didn’t care what Robert did with the envelope. Whether or not he actually opened and read the contents didn’t matter from a legal standpoint. He’d been served, and the divorce could proceed. But since my lawyer had asked him to look out for me, Guy wasn’t going to leave me alone with Robert, either.

  “I said, get lost,” Robert repeated.

  Guy let his sport coat fall open, revealing a shoulder holster and large caliber handgun. Robert looked from the weapon to Guy and back to the weapon before turning to me.

  “I’m going to stay in Charleston until you make up your mind, Carly. We can have a good life together. Think about it. I’m at the Days Inn on Meeting Street,” he said and walked back to his rental car.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  When the breeze shifted, it carried with it the fragrance of Mamma’s confederate jasmine vines. Dotted with small white blooms, they spiraled up the trunks of several trees in the b
ack yard. I took a sip of perfectly chilled Chardonnay and inhaled deeply. The light vanilla flavor of the wine complimented the perfume-like smell of the flowers. The combination elicited sensory bliss.

  Mamma, Granny, Lori Anne and I shared the bottle of Chardonnay for cocktail hour. Daddy enjoyed a lemonade and had begun the ritual of lighting his pipe. Taffy chewed on a peanut butter flavored dental bone. We talked about Robert and they let me call him as many disparaging names as I could think of. It made me feel a tiny bit better, so I spewed out a few more descriptive nouns for good measure.

  “Don’t hold back, Carly,” Lori Anne teased. “How do you really feel?”

  “Actually, I feel like a fool for marrying him,” I said.

  “He could be very charming when he wanted to be, and he conned a lot of people besides you.” She distributed the remaining wine evenly between our four glasses. “So quit blaming yourself.”

  “If it was me, I’d dirty up the sheets with that Trent boy,” Granny said, examining her nails. “Heck, if I was younger, I’d go for a roll with him myself.”

  “Good Lord.” Mamma shook her head.

  “Maybe I oughtta go to that spa of yours,” Granny told Lori Anne, pushing her cheeks up with her palms, “and get my face all lifted up.” She cupped her breasts and shook them. “Or get me one a those tube jobs. Men like the big titties.”

  Lori Anne burst out laughing. “My spa doesn’t do cosmetic surgery, but we sure can tighten you up!”

  “What needs winding up?” Granny asked.

  “Not your mouth,” Daddy said. “That’s for sure.”

  I passed around a bowl of pistachio nuts while he filled us in on the latest news from the fire chief. With still no solid leads in the investigation, progress had come to a standstill. They’d questioned all the workers on the construction site. They questioned past employees. They questioned contractors. They looked into Jerry’s background. They pursued the possibility that one of the Protters had planned the fire to eliminate the woodpecker habitat. And to be fair, they officially questioned me, Mamma and Daddy since we didn’t want to see the Handyman’s open. They’d even questioned Robert and the Carpenters, as the two prior owners of the property, to see if there had been any unusual occurrences on the land in the past. But for all their efforts, they had nothing.

  “This wine is right good,” Granny said. “I bet the dog might like a little nip.”

  “I don’t think Taffy likes wine,” Daddy said.

  Hearing her name, Taffy looked around but didn’t see any people food coming her way. She turned her full attention back to the half-eaten bone.

  Instinct told me that my soon-to-be ex-husband was involved with the fire, but I had no way to prove it. And hypothetically, even if Robert was guilty, it wouldn’t change the outcome of the shopping center. It looked like my stalling tactics had been in vain.

  Meanwhile, construction of Protter’s newest shopping center clipped along at a rapid pace. Most of the underground infrastructure was complete and soon buildings would emerge from the ground. Although I made periodic visits to satisfy my curiosity, Daddy was forced to view the progress every day as he went to and from work. Whether he wanted to or not.

  I asked him if he was still going to shut down the store.

  “I think so,” he said. “Yes.”

  “This wine is right good,” Granny said. “I bet the dog might like a little nip.”

  “I don’t think Taffy likes wine,” Mamma said.

  “I’m sorry my plan didn’t work. I figured Handyman’s Depot would get fed up with delays and find another site for their Charleston store,” I told them.

  “I think your plan was pretty ingenious,” Daddy said. “You certainly got their attention.”

  I nodded. I had done that. Lori Anne raised her glass to toast to me.

  “And, if it weren’t for you, that section of Charleston city wall would have been bulldozed!” Mamma said, trying to cheer me up. “Now, people can sit and look at it, and ruminate on Charleston’s past.” Her southern drawl gave ‘ruminate’ five, maybe six syllables. Each of them was soothing.

  “And as far as Robert goes,” Daddy said, “anybody can be fooled once. We’re just glad you got out of the marriage early on.”

  “Exactly,” Lori Anne said. “I mean, look at me. I was fooled once, too. I got married when I shouldn’t have. You live and learn.”

  “This wine is right good,” Granny said. “I bet the dog m--”

  “I don’t think Taffy likes wine,” Mamma and Daddy and Lori Anne cut her off in surround sound unison.

  Granny shrugged her shoulders and sipped.

  “I just feel foolish. And disappointed that things aren’t working out like I’d envisioned.”

  “Hey,” Daddy said. “Remember what I always told you and your sister about looking at the stained glass window from the end of the church pew?”

  I did, and smiled. As kids, Jenny and I loved to sit at the very end of the church pew, next to the wall, midway between the pulpit and the door. She liked the end of the row because she could stare at the handsome teenage usher-in-training whom she had a crush on. And I liked to sit there because all the freshly sharpened miniature pencils were there and I could draw on the back of Mamma’s Sunday program to my heart’s content. Plus, our pew was next to the very best window.

  In the historic district, the church had giant stained glass windows on both sides of the chapel. When I tired of drawing, I’d gaze through the colorful glass while the preacher’s booming voice rattled my ribcage. I could see all the intricate details of the handiwork and I’d pick out one single piece of uniquely shaped glass and play a game by imagining all the different animals that it resembled. But, as Daddy pointed out, sitting so close to the window prevented me from seeing the entire scene. To fully appreciate the artist’s vision, I had to view my favorite stained glass window from a distance.

  Growing up, if my focus on something became too narrow, Daddy would simply remind me of the stained glass window. It was his way of saying that I needed to take a few steps back and distance myself.

  “Okay,” I relented. “I probably do need to look at the bigger picture. But that won’t change that Stone Hardware and Home Supply is being forced out of business. What’s in the bigger picture I’m missing?”

  “Well, for one thing, you’re back home, in Charleston,” Lori Anne said.

  That was true.

  “For another thing, you’ve got a wonderful future ahead of you, loaded with options and opportunities. You can do anything you want to do,” Daddy said.

  “And besides that,” Mamma interjected, “your daddy has been thinking it just might be time for him to slow down a little.”

  I shot Daddy a look. You? Slow down?

  He finished packing his pipe and lit it with a wooden match, puffing a few times before answering my look.

  “We’ve paid a wonderful tribute to your great-grandfather Wade and your mamma’s side of the family by everything we’ve accomplished at the store. And by taking care of all the people we’ve served over the years.”

  “We’re going to buy a big motor home and do some traveling around the country,” Mamma said. “We’ve always said we’d do that someday.”

  “You have?” I was incredulous. It was the first I’d heard about it.

  “Sure. We just never got around to it,” Daddy said. “Owning a business, even with good people working for you, you can’t just up and go traveling whenever you want to.”

  I think my jaw dropped an inch or two because I felt my mouth open.

  “Oh, we’re not going to get one of those huge things that look like a giant luxury bus,” Mamma said with a dismissing wave and sipped some wine. “But something with a full size bed and a slide out. We’ll start with short trips here and there. Maybe just a weekend at a campground in Myrtle Beach. Then some week-long trips to state parks in Georgia. By next year, we might be ready to do a cross country loop.”

  I looke
d at Granny.

  “I’m going, too,” she said. “I like cookin’ weenies over a campfire.”

  I looked at Mamma.

  “Sure, your Granny can go with us when she wants to. Or she’ll stay next door with Miss Rose while we’re on the road. Even Taffy can travel with us in the motor home.”

  The way Mamma casually dropped the lingo, she already sounded like a seasoned RV’er.

  “Wow.” It’s all I could manage.

  “And the final part of the bigger picture is that you have met some interesting people since this whole mess started,” Lori Anne said. “One person in particular comes to mind.”

  “Really?”

  “You know who I’m talking about,” she said, knowing full well that I knew exactly who she referred to. Trent. My gorgeous, polite, compelling and infuriating construction worker.

  I almost reminded Lori Anne that he had a girlfriend, but decided it didn’t matter anyway. The idea of anything happening between Trent and me, after all that had happened at the construction site, was far-fetched.

  “If it was me, I’d dirty up the sheets with that Trent boy,” Granny repeated.

  Mamma rolled her eyes and went inside to fix supper. I told Daddy I felt a little guilty about letting Mamma do all the cooking.

  “Are you kidding?” he said. “She loves fussing over you. I haven’t eaten this good in a year. Heck, you ought to have come home sooner.”

  “I’ll second that,” Lori Anne agreed and drank some more wine.

  Watching the cherry tobacco smoke dance lazily around Daddy before escaping through the screens, it dawned on me that he looked relaxed. The panic attacks, or what he referred to as the ‘pulse thing’, had stopped. I asked him what had changed in a few weeks’ time. Why he was no longer upset at the prospect of closing the business.

  He smiled. “I made myself look at the bigger picture.”

  Daddy had taken his own advice. I laughed and drank some wine and laughed some more. It felt so good to in the company of my family and my best friend. Looking back, I couldn’t believe I’d left Charleston in the first place.