Sweet Southern Hearts

by Susan Schild

  “He was a photographer and you ended up working with him, right?” Linny asked, remembering.

  “I did the advertising, the scheduling, and helped him with the shoots,” Dessie said, nodding. “We did a lot of wedding and family photographs, but his bread-and-butter work was taking photos for senior pictures and high school yearbooks.”

  “Nowadays people take pictures digitally of every little thing, but back then having your picture taken by a professional was a big deal.” Ruby nodded, getting a faraway look in her eye. “Girls would practice smiling in the bathroom mirror for weeks before the photographer came. They would roll their hair in giant hot rollers or iron it out with their mamas’ irons. It was a big to-do.”

  Linny glanced at Dottie. “Mama, did you practice smiling?” she asked in a teasing tone.

  “I didn’t have time for such foolishness,” Dottie said tartly.

  But Dessie whooped with laughter. “She was a hot-roller girl. She had the prettiest hair, all long and golden. And she was so cheerful, her nickname was sunny. The boys in the senior class were all in love with her.”

  Linny had to work to keep her mouth from dropping open. “Hunh.” With her ashy blond hair and her even features, her mother was an attractive woman, but she’d seemed so serious for much of Linny’s life. She couldn’t picture her as sunny whom the boys all loved.

  Her mother caught her gaze. “Good marriages make you happy. Bad ones wring the joy right out of you,” she said with a trace of sadness in her eyes.

  “But even in good marriages you have times when you want to wring his neck,” Ruby reminded them.

  “God’s own truth,” Dessie agreed. “Women don’t talk about the times you look at your own husband and just want to pinch him.”

  Dottie weighed in. “Boyd could snore loud as a freight train, act like I was a silly woman, and you didn’t want to see him eat a barbecue sandwich.” She shuddered.

  Linny listened, rapt. Mama and her girlfriends were just getting more and more interesting.

  “One time I wished Pete would drown,” Ruby said blithely. “When we had our little boat he would turn into Captain Bligh, yelling at me and telling me what to do even though I knew what to do. One time I couldn’t stand it anymore and just dove off the boat and swam all the way to shore. It was a good little ways, too. He putt-putted along behind me, begging me to get back on board but trying to keep his voice down so the other men in boats wouldn’t hear him. The thought of drowning him crossed my mind.” She chuckled, looking like she was recalling a fond memory. “You don’t read about that in Oprah’s magazine,” she said with a wry grin.

  “You sure you want a new husband?” Dottie asked.

  “I do,” said Ruby with a dreamy look.

  “Well, we’re going to find you one, shug.” Dessie patted her on the arm.

  “What’s Perry like, Dess?” Linny asked. Del would be a tough act to follow.

  “He’s awfully good to me,” she said, shaking her head in wonder at her good luck. “I said the RV didn’t have a television and that we’d be mostly watching movies on our iPads or reading. So he ordered me a whole box of movies and books I’d said I might like. He remembered that from when we were on the cruise and had one of those first-date conversations, when you talk about what kinds of books and movies you like. Thoughtful.” She pushed back her bangs. “He cares what happens in my life. He’s gruff, he’s a churchgoer but not a holier-than-thou type. But there is one problem. . . .” She drew in a breath and blew it out slowly.

  Ruby jumped in. “Perry was married to a Miss New Hanover County for thirty years,” she said to Linny, looking solemn. “She left him, but still . . .”

  Mama and her friends exchanged worried glances.

  Not sure what that meant, Linny must have looked baffled.

  Ruby explained. “They grow a lot of pretty women in the Wilmington area. All peaches-and-cream type beauty queens headed to medical school with talents like opera singing.”

  “Exactly.” Dessie’s face fell. “I’ve seen pictures. She was one of those very pretty, perfectly put-together wives. And look at me.” She turned up her hands and shook her head. “I hardly wear makeup. I play tennis and my hair stays a little green from my water aerobics classes. I do my PIing when Mary Catherine calls on me. I’m more of a plain Jane, wash-and-wear lady. When is he going to wake up and decide he needs more color and grace in his life?”

  “You’re perfect just the way you are,” Ruby said staunchly. “He sees that.”

  Linny gazed at her. Dessie was a wholesome kind of pretty. With her smattering of freckles, expressive brown eyes, and trim figure, she looked approachable, competent, kind. She added her two cents. “Jack’s ex-wife is a size two, white-blond beauty with one of those raspy, baby-girl voices that make men drool.” Editing out who is currently crying on my husband’s shoulder and may be trying to worm her way back closer to him, she blew out a breath.

  Ruby looked thoughtful. “Maybe some men want women who are kind and companionable instead of extra young and glamorous.”

  Dottie snorted. “They do not. They still want glamour.” She smoothed the poufy curls on the side of her head. “I try my best to be alluring for Mack, with the new clothes and the cheek-contouring and such.”

  Linny had to work to keep from rolling her eyes.

  Dottie examined Dessie. “Next time we get to a store, let’s buy you some new clothes and gussy you up. Let’s give Miss New Hanover County a run for her money.”

  The beauty queen had divorced Perry, so technically she wasn’t interested in a run for the money, but Linny decided not to quibble.

  But Ruby looked delighted at the prospect of helping with Dessie’s makeover. “Leopard print. Men love leopard print. And you need high heels and to start wearing more color.”

  Dessie nodded uncertainly. “Well, if you think it would help.”

  “It would,” Dottie said with all the authority of a woman who claimed she wasn’t dating.

  Linny crossed her arms and gave Dottie an appraising look. “How about you, Mama? You seem to be palling around an awful lot with Mack if he’s just a friend.”

  Her mother gave an exaggerated yawn. “I’m getting sleepy. I need to call Mack before it gets too late.” Phone in hand, she walked away from the others for some privacy.

  * * *

  Linny strolled to the vacant campsite beside theirs and made a FaceTime call to Jack, her heart beating double-time in anticipation of seeing his sweet face. The men had just arrived in Arizona. With their plans to camp in the hills to get the highest altitude and least light pollution for their stargazing, who knew when they’d get cell signal again. “Hey, sweets,” she said as he picked up. His face came into view and the background blurred, as if he was ducking into a quiet corner.

  Linny could hear airport noises of flights being called and travelers talking.

  “Hey, Lin,” he said with that long, slow smile. “How are you, honey?”

  “I’m good.” She smiled. “How was your flight?”

  “Long, but we’re finally in Tucson,” he said with a tired smile. “We’re at baggage claim and then we’ll pick up the rental car.” Jack paused and seemed to be listening to a murmuring. His mouth quirked in a smile and looked at Linny. “Neal wants to say hello.”

  Neal’s face came into view. Looking like a little professor in his horn-rimmed glasses, he spoke in a serious tone. “Hey. Snakes are out this time of year. Watch out for copperheads and the rattlers. Stay away from rotted stumps. Everybody says suck the venom out, but that’s just not true. Take a Benadryl and go to the emergency room if you get bitten.”

  Before she could thank him for the info, he swam out of view and Jack was back, his eyes twinkling. “You got another public service announcement. That was guy code for be careful, because I like you and might even love you.” Jack’s eyes twinkled.

  “I’m starting to get that,” she said, laughing softly, touched by Neal’s concern. Linny
heard a beep and then another. “Do you need to take that call?”

  His brows furrowed. “Nah. That’ll be Vera double-checking that we got here in one piece. She can call back.”

  The beeping started again. His ex-wife was simply redialing when Jack didn’t pick up. “Pretty anxious to talk to you all,” Linny observed.

  A look of annoyance flashed across Jack’s face. “She already called once as the plane taxied in. She’s nervous about Neal’s being so far away from home, and also about the rough camping.”

  Linny thought about it, feeling the prickle of irritation grow. “But Neal’s been away from home before. He flew to Florida to see his grandparents and he skied in Aspen. You two rough camped this spring.”

  Jack shook his head. “I know, I know, but . . .” He stopped as the phone beeped yet again.

  Unblinking, Linny just gazed at his image, not saying a word.

  “I probably need to take this, Lin,” Jack apologized. “Can I call you back in a minute?”

  “That’s okay,” Linny said with a cool nod. She wasn’t going to throw a hissy fit while she was almost two thousand miles away and they were about to be out of cell range for several days. “I probably need to get back.”

  Jack’s face fell. “I’m sorry, Lin. I don’t know why . . .”

  The phone beep interrupted them again and Linny made herself smile. “Call me when things settle down and you get a signal. You two have a great time.”

  Jack looked crestfallen as she ended the call.

  Good, Linny thought meanly. Let him have a long gabfest with his difficult ex-wife.

  The mosquitoes descended in squadrons and Linny, Dessie and Ruby retreated inside to the living room. Linny slid into her fold-down bed, feeling sorry for herself, when Dottie stalked into the RV after making her call to Mack. Her hands were bunched into fists at her side.

  “What’s going on, Mama?” Linny asked, sitting up straight in her alarm and bumping her head on the counter.

  “You won’t believe this. Mack has gotten casseroles from two different women since I’ve been away. Trina Baldwin sent him over that awful tuna fish, noodle, and potato chip dish she brought to Richmond Jenkins’s funeral. Martine Galax brought him that beef tostado and tomato deal that she brings to potlucks at the church. It is somewhat tasty but will cause his reflux to flame right up.” She flexed her fingers in the air to demonstrate the shooting flames, then shook her head, looking grim. “I just can’t believe the tackiness. I am out of state, not dead.” Dottie glared at each of the others, as though daring them to challenge her.

  “Maybe they thought they were doing you all a favor and making sure Mack didn’t starve while you were gone,” Linny said hurriedly, hoping her mother wasn’t reverting back into her old, grumpy church lady ways.

  “But they’re not really her friends, Linny. They’re more acquaintances,” Ruby explained. “And they’re widows, and you all know how widows can be.”

  All four had been widowed and not been man-chasing opportunists but nodded solemnly at the wisdom of that statement.

  Dessie leaned forward and gave Dottie a comforting pat. “I do think it’s tacky, but I’m sure you’re comforted by the fact that Mack is really just a pal.”

  Dottie glared at her friend, but Dessie just looked at her innocently. “Tacky,” she repeated and shook her head reprovingly.

  With a haughty sniff, Dottie swept back out of the RV, cell phone clutched in her hand. Linny was brushing her teeth when Mama clumped back up the stairs, the pep back in her step.

  Linny rinsed her mouth and looked at her inquiringly. “Anything new, Mama?”

  “I called Mack back and dropped a hint that he needed to stop acting so grateful for the casseroles and just eat frozen dinners or pick up meals at the drive through at Chick-fil-A like a grown man.” She nodded, looking proud of her tact.

  “How did he take that?” Linny asked.

  “Oh, he was grateful for the friendly suggestion,” Dottie said, looking bland as she smoothed her hairdo.

  * * *

  The next morning the women had a leisurely breakfast, having decided there was no need to race to leave. After the blueberry pancakes were gone Dessie cocked her head and looked at the others, a glint in her eye. “With all this talk about spreading our wings and flying, I want to take a bike ride before we go. They rent them at the office. Haven’t ridden one in years and I think it’d be fun to take a spin around the little lake.” She moved to the sofa, slipped off her sandals, and pulled on running shoes.

  Ruby smiled gamely. “I’ll come. The paths are paved and the ground is level.”

  Linny glanced out at the lake, glittering blue in the morning sun. “I’m up for it, too.”

  “Come on, then.” Dessie grinned and grabbed bottles of water from the fridge.

  “Wait for me,” Mama called, slipping on her fanny pack.

  Linny tried not to look shocked as she smoothed on sunscreen and pulled on a ball cap. Mama on a bike was something she had to see.

  After a few practice laps in a packed dirt driveway where the fall wouldn’t be so hard if they tipped over, the women began their lakefront ride looking wobbly. They all gained confidence and began to ride more steadily.

  “Whee,” Ruby called, picking up some speed. “When I was a girl we rode bikes everywhere.”

  The women gave and got friendly waves as they cruised by the campers at the sites right on the lakefront.

  The air smelled of cooking sausage and woodsmoke. Linny smiled at a couple sitting side by side in their camp chairs, sipping coffee and reading, their Chihuahua asleep at their feet. A young father helped his small son feed bread to a duck. A white-haired woman sat beside what could have been her gangly granddaughter and laughed as they pedaled a paddleboat around in a circle. A man as tall as a pro-basketball player walked a Pomeranian wearing a tiny plaid bow tie. Camping was peaceful, Linny decided. She liked it.

  “I wish we could wake up to this view every morning.” Dessie swept an arm toward the dancing waves and the cattails and the graceful grasses that rimmed the little lake.

  Linny felt the breeze caress her skin and her hair blow back. She grinned, thrilled at how little effort she had to expend pedaling to get the bike just whizzing along.

  Dottie rolled along as slowly, steadily, and grandly as a luxury liner leaving the New York docks for a transatlantic voyage.

  The sun was climbing in the sky by the time they dropped the bikes back at the office. Linny glanced at the others. All were pink-cheeked, windblown, and looking very pleased with themselves. Ruby, Dessie, and Mama lingered in the office to look at postcards and T-shirts, but Linny hoofed it back to the RV. She wanted to check messages before they packed up and left the Wi-Fi at the Breathtaking Vista.

  Pulling off the lanyard she’d looped around her neck, Linny held the door to insert the key in the lock, but the door just pushed open. She gasped. She could have sworn she locked it.

  But after one step inside Linny’s legs and arms turned to water. Drawers were pulled open halfway and clothes hung out the side of Ruby’s suitcase, but Dessie’s expensive camera was still on her bedside table. Linny’s eyes flew right to where they kept their valuables. Their purses were still tucked in the cubby where the women stowed them. Linny grabbed hers and checked, her mouth dry and her heart banging, but her wallet, credit cards, and cash were exactly where they belonged. She looked in the other purses and gasped. No money or credit cards in any of the wallets. Her friends had been robbed.

  Heart pounding, she looked around the room again. The dinette looked different. The smiling ceramic kitty that contained cash for their trip was missing.

  Linny’s head began to throb above her right temple. The sense of peace she’d come to feel in their little home was gone. She stalked around, her eyes sweeping the carpet and furnishings for clues. Their iPads and phones were lined up on the counter, charging.

  By the time the others trailed back inside, Linny had alre
ady made calls. The police and Mrs. Don Boyer were on their way.

  “Your money and credit cards are gone. The kitty’s gone. I’m so sorry.” Linny put her hands on her head. “I thought I locked the door, but the dead bolt must not have clicked.”

  “That just steams my grits that somebody just slipped in and helped himself to our kitty money.” Dottie’s mouth was a thin, straight line. “But honey, we didn’t lose anything in our wallets.”

  Linny stared at her uncomprehendingly.

  Dottie turned her fanny pack around front and patted it. “All my money and cards are in here.”

  Ruby reached down the front of her shirt, rummaged around, and pulled out a wad of cash and credit cards wrapped tidily in a rubber band. “My valuables stay in my bra for safekeeping.”

  Linny looked at Dessie, who lifted her shirt from her waistband and pointed to a tan money belt. “Old habits die hard. Had my purse stolen once and I decided never again.”

  Linny shook her head, her knees weak with relief. “So all we lost was what was in the kitty: a few hundred dollars.” Linny gave them a crooked smile. “You all are wily foxes.” But then her heart lurched. Her rings. She and Dessie had taken a late-night dip in the pool before bed last night. Afraid her rings might slip off her finger in the water, she’d removed them and put them in a glass dish on the kitchen counter. Scurrying over, her eyes darted around. The glass dish was empty. She moved the toaster, lifted the drain board, and reached down the sink. Nothing. Linny put her hands to her flaming cheeks. “They stole my rings!” she cried.

  CHAPTER 8

  Rolling on to Music City

  Linny’s wedding rings were made from the emeralds Jack and Neal had unearthed at a mine in Hiddenite, a small town in the North Carolina mountains. Linny thought about the hours the two of them had sifted through buckets of dirt, their thrill at finding the stones, and their excitement at working with the jeweler to fashion the rings. She remembered their barely concealed elation when she’d opened the box, and Jack’s tender look when he’d slipped the rings on her finger. She put her hands over her face and burst into tears.