by Debby Mayne
41
Laura
I’m barely in the house Saturday mornin’ after gettin’ my hair done when Renee walks right up to me. “Where you been?”
“I had to get my hair done for the reunion.”
She looks at my hair and does a double take. “Looks nice.”
“Thanks.” She continues to look at me, so I know something’s up. “What?”
“Mama, I’ve decided it’s time I get a job so I can move out on my own.”
I stare at my daughter and wonder why I let her graduate early since she still has so much growin’ up to do. “You can’t move out, Renee. It’s expensive livin’ on your own.”
“I’ll get a roommate.” She frowns. “And I’ll need a car, but maybe Grandma will get Randy to help me find a good deal.”
“He better.” I grab a bowl and start mixin’ the batter for some muffins. “What kinda job you plannin’ on gettin’?”
“One of my friends just got a job at the bank. Maybe I can do that.”
“You’re only seventeen, Renee. What makes you think they’d hire someone your age?”
“I don’t know. Maybe I’ll do somethin’ else, like work at the Dairy Curl.”
The last thing I wanna do is tromp on my daughter’s ambition, so I change my tune. “The bank might hire you after you turn eighteen next month. If that’s what you really wanna do, I think you should walk right in there and fill out an application.”
“That’s not how it works, Mama. They only take applications online these days.”
“Then start gettin’ your résumé together so you can apply the day you turn eighteen.”
She gives me a puzzled look. I grin, and she smiles back. “Okay.”
Life has taken so many turns lately I don’t always know which way is up. Ten years ago, if someone had said my husband would be sober, my firstborn would be fightin’ for our country, and my second-born child would want to be a banker, I woulda told ’em they were crazy. Now I know anything’s possible, thank ya, Lord. I mean, folks kept sayin’ they were prayin’ for us, and I believed them, but now I see how the impossible can actually happen. I need to stop missin’ church so much, with all these miracles happenin’. It just doesn’t seem right not to give credit to God when he’s blessin’ my socks off.
I go to the bottom of the stairs and holler up. “Breakfast is ready. If you’re hungry, y’all better come on down, or there won’t be anything left.”
You’d think a herd of elephants lived here by the sound of feet scramblin’ to get to the kitchen. With a family like ours, though, if you’re the last one at the table, you’re likely not to get one of my hot, delicious blueberry muffins I like to fix on Saturday mornin’.
Pete starts to stab a sausage, when I cut him a look. “Why don’t you say the blessin’, Pete?”
“Oh . . . yeah.” Pete puts down his fork, looks around at everyone, and bows his head. “Lord, we come before you with thanks for our family and for this food . . . ”
He pauses, so I take up the slack and finish the blessin’. As soon as I say Amen, everyone echoes me.
The sound of forks clinkin’ on the plates lets me know everything is okay and somewhat normal in my life . . . at least at ten o’clock on Saturday mornin’. I’ve decided to turn over a new leaf, and instead of fussin’ at someone, I’ll start a pleasant conversation and hope it stays that way.
“So Renee, why don’t you tell everyone what you been thinkin’ about doin’?”
She pauses, her fork halfway to her mouth, and gives me a strange look, like I done lost my mind or somethin’. I nod to encourage her to talk.
“Okay.” Renee puts down her fork and folds her arms on the table in front of her plate. “I think I’d like to be a bank teller.”
Bonnie Sue snorts and rolls her eyes. “Why would any bank hire you?”
Renee scowls at her younger sister, and I can tell she’s ready for a fight. I hold up my hands and get everyone’s attention. “I think Renee would make a fine bank teller, and I plan to support her on this.”
I turn to Pete, hoping for his encouragement, and he doesn’t let me down. “I’d be mighty proud for my daughter to become a bank teller.”
Jack nods. “Yeah, that’ll be cool. Maybe I can stop by every now and then for some samples.”
Bonnie Sue gives her little brother one of her bratty looks. “You’re such a dweeb.”
I smile as my children do their normal Saturday mornin’ bickerin’. Pete and I exchange a look, and his lips twitch as he tries hard not to laugh. All is right in our world . . . at least at this moment. That is likely to change at any moment.
Pete sticks around the kitchen and nibbles off the plates as I clean up. Ever since he stopped drinkin’, he’s done stuff like this. I’m not so sure I would’ve appreciated havin’ him underfoot all the time when we first got married, but now, even though he’s in the way more than he’s not, I’m happy to have him sober. So I don’t even fuss at him about droppin’ crumbs all over the place.
“Whatcha got on your agenda this afternoon?” I ask as I close the dishwasher door.
“I thought I’d go over to the Community Center and make sure all the equipment works.”
“Did you get the extension cords from the guy at work?”
“Yeah. And I promised Zeke I’d help him set up the band’s equipment.”
“They sounded pretty bad last night.” I lean against the counter and fold my arms. “I wish we had a backup plan.”
“I think it might’ve been the acoustics. Music don’t sound the same outdoors as it does inside.”
“It’ll just be louder.” I stop myself before getting too negative. “But that’s okay. We have a full program, so there won’t be as much time for the music.”
“Have you told Priscilla what you got planned?”
I shake my head. “No, and I don’t want you to either. It’s s’posed to be a surprise.”
“I hope it don’t tick her off.”
“Why would it?”
Pete shakes his head. “Ya never know about women. Sometimes the very thing I think they’ll like gets me in all kinda trouble.”
“You’re just bein’ silly, Pete. Now run along and make sure everything is workin’ at the Community Center, and don’t forget to check for the screen. We’ll need it for the PowerPoint presentation. I’ll be over there shortly.”
Pete leaves, and I holler up for Jack. “What?” he yells.
“C’mere.”
He comes to the top of the stairs and looks down at me. “Whatcha want, Mama?”
“Don’t forget you’re runnin’ the PowerPoint show for the reunion tonight.”
“I know.”
“I want you to do a trial run for me in a few minutes.”
“We don’t hafta do that. It’s just fine.”
I fold my arms and give him my “mama look.” “It very well may be just fine, but I still wanna see it.”
He lifts both hands in surrender. “Okay, okay, just give me a few minutes to get it ready.”
I sweep the kitchen and mop up the spots to give him time to do whatever he needs to do. When I arrive at the door of his bedroom, I notice the worried look on his face.
“What’s wrong?” I walk up behind him and see that everything is out of order. “That’s not the way it’s s’posed to go.”
“Okay.” The tension in his voice catches me off guard, letting me know that somewhere along the way my happy-go-lucky child has started to care about somethin’. Even though the PowerPoint presentation is a hot mess, I’m happy he cares enough to be worried.
It takes him the better part of the day to get things like I want ’em. He lost a coupla the pictures, but it still looks good. I’m most impressed by the music he matched to the show.
“You’re pretty good at this, Jack. Maybe you can think about doin’ presentations for a livin’ when you grow up.”
“Nah, I still wanna be a game tester.”
; “Then that’s exactly what you should do, as long as you go to college.” Of all my children, Jack is the most scholarly. I would’ve thought Renee would go to college, until her combination junior-senior year of high school. The last good grade she made was in her summer-school English class that enabled her to graduate early. After she met Wilson, she forgot how to study.
“Can I go over to Bryce’s house?”
Normally, I’d be happy to have Jack outta the house on a Saturday, but too many things can go wrong . . . like he’ll take off without tellin’ me and lose track of time. This reunion is important, and I’m countin’ on him.
“Not today, sweetie.”
He scowls. “Stop callin’ me sweetie.”
“Okay, Jack. Tell you what. I know this is a sacrifice for you, so I’ll even pay you for your time on this PowerPoint presentation.”
His eyes light up, lettin’ me know I hit the jackpot to his heart. “Cool. My first payin’ gig.”
“Maybe you can have your pals over here tomorrow afternoon . . . after church.”
“Church? We just went last month.”
I nod. “Yes, church. I’ve decided that we need to get in the habit of goin’ every Sunday and not just once in a while.”
“Can Bryce spend the night and go with us?”
Normally, I don’t encourage the young’uns to have overnight guests, but how can I say no to invitin’ a friend to church? “Sure, that sounds fine.”
“That means he’ll be goin’ to your party with us.”
“I know, and I think it’ll be good for you to have someone your age to talk to.”
Jack grins. “Thanks, Mama.”
42
Priscilla
I’m between two of my morning appointments when Sheila tells me Mandy needs to talk. I take the phone from her. “Hey, Mandy, what’s up?”
“Beth Fay did really well in her print ads . . . at least after we got her to calm down and quit being such a ham.”
I laugh. “Why am I not surprised?”
“She actually came right out and asked if she’d ever be able to go on air with you.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said she needs to talk to you about it. So brace yourself. I won’t be surprised if she pounces on you as soon as you return to Jackson. But she looks awesome in the ads.”
“Is she still in Jackson?”
“No, I sent her back to Raleigh. That woman drives me crazy.”
I laugh and get off the phone. Sheila gives me a questioning look, and I just shrug. No point in talking too much about something I’m not sure of.
Trudy is my last appointment for the day before I go to Mother’s house to get ready. She walks in and smiles directly at me. “Hey, there, Priscilla. You’re lookin’ really good these days.”
“Why, thank you. So are you.” And I mean that. Now that Trudy has given up on trying to recapture her beauty-pageant looks, she has a more natural, approachable quality that I find very pretty.
“I think it must be love.” She sits down in my chair and lifts her head while I fasten the cape around her neck. “I used to think I was in love with Michael, but now that I’ve met Darryl, I know what I used to feel was something different . . . more like desperation.”
“Perhaps it was wanting to live up to expectations?” I challenge.
She narrows her eyes and actually allows her forehead to crinkle, something I’ve never seen her do before. Then slowly she nods. “Yes, totally.”
I brush her hair back from her face. “I think a lot of us have had to deal with that.”
“Oh, I can imagine you did. But you’ve far exceeded what anyone thought you’d do.”
“In some ways you’re right.” I motion toward the sink area. “Let’s go wash your hair so I can cut it wet.”
Once we’re back in the chair at my station, Trudy picks right up where we left off. “Mama still doesn’t know what to think about me working so many hours and moving up with the store, but I’ve decided it’s not about her.”
“You’re right.” I section off the sides of her hair and clip them. “I’ve heard you’re doing quite well at your job.”
“Oh, I am, but that’s because I love what I do.” She sighs and smiles. “And Darryl thinks it’s cool that I have a career. He and I have such a great relationship, and I never feel like he’s looking over my shoulder for something . . . or someone better. For the first time in my life, I’m very happy.” She holds my gaze in the mirror and pats her chest over hear heart. “I mean truly happy, deep down.”
“Good for you, Trudy. Every woman deserves a chance at happiness.”
“How about you?” She levels me with another reflected gaze in the mirror. “Are you happy?”
I shift from one foot to the other. “Well . . . I suppose I am . . . most of the time anyway.”
“But other times?”
I laugh. “You’re the first person who has asked me so many questions.”
“That’s too bad.” She purses her lips. “Ya know, Priscilla, I think you and I are more alike than we ever knew.”
“Why’s that?”
“I was always the beauty queen, and you were the brainiac. People had in their minds what we were supposed to do with those gifts, and we tried as hard as we could to meet their expectations.”
“But I didn’t—” I stop when I see her raised eyebrows. She’s absolutely right.
“Think about it. You didn’t want to finish college because you wanted to do hair, but once you started working here, you felt like you let folks down. So what did you do then?” She lifts her hands out from beneath the cape and gestures around to make her point.
“True.”
“Just because I’ve always been beautiful doesn’t mean I don’t have smarts. And I’ve gotten pretty good at reading people, which is why I think I’m so successful at my job. Back when I was still on the sales floor, my customers used to call ahead to make sure I was working before coming in to shop for clothes. They knew I would level with them and send them home with outfits that really did flatter their figures . . . not just a bunch of pieces I could sell just to make my quota.”
As Trudy talks, I ponder what she’s saying. I really enjoy doing hair, but hearing Mother go on and on about not fulfilling my potential altered my thinking. I’m pleased with my accomplishments, but now I have no doubt they’re not making me happy.
“So do you think you and Darryl might . . . well, you know . . . get married?”
Her eyes twinkle. “Don’t tell anyone, but I think we might be headed in that direction.”
“That’s awesome.” I start snipping small sections of her hair to add texture. “How about I try out my newest products in your hair?”
“Are you talkin’ about the Ms. Prissy Big Hair everyone’s ravin’ about on TVNS?”
I laugh at how quickly she falls right back into her old accent. “That’s exactly what I’m talking about.”
Her smile gets even bigger. “I would absolutely love it!”
“Good! I can’t think of a better model than you, Trudy.”
When Trudy gets up from my chair, her hair is layered on the sides, with height at the crown, and it looks natural. “Wow! You really are gifted at making a woman look utterly feminine and glamorous.” She leans toward me and gives me a gentle hug. “Let’s keep in touch and maybe get together sometime. I know you have some salons in Atlanta, so maybe you can let me know when you’re in town, and I can have you over.”
“Sounds wonderful.”
She starts walking toward the front then stops and turns to face me. “One more thing, Priscilla. If you like Tim as much as I think you do, don’t wait around forever, or you might lose him. And if you don’t think there’s any hope for the relationship, let him know so he can move on.” She gives me a softer smile. “How much do I owe you?”
After Trudy leaves, I’m emotionally drained. In the hour she spent in my station, I spent more time examining my deepes
t thoughts and feelings than I have in my entire life with anyone else. If Trudy ever decides to get out of retail, she might want to consider counseling.
Sheila tilts her head as she joins me in the back room. “Something seems different.”
I nod. “You’re right. I’m not quite sure what it is, but I think there’ll be some changes coming down the pike soon.”
A look of concern flashes in her eyes. “Don’t make it too drastic.”
“Don’t worry, Sheila. I don’t think you’ll be affected in a bad way.”
“I certainly hope not ’cause I’m real happy right now, and that hasn’t always been the case.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and squeeze. “I want what you have, and I’m going to get it as soon as I figure out what it is.”
“Other folks might say you’re not makin’ a lick of sense, Priscilla”—she looks at me for a few seconds before she grins. —“but I know exactly what you’re sayin’.”
43
Tim
I walk into the Community Center multipurpose room and spot Laura and her youngest kid over in the corner, hunched over a laptop computer. And they don’t seem to be arguin’. Do wonders never cease?
“Hey, there.” Their heads pop up, and I wave.
“Oh, hi, Tim.” Laura flips the computer shut. “What’re you doin’ here so early?”
She’s obviously hidin’ somethin’ from me. “Settin’ up. I thought that’s what you wanted me to do.”
“I do, but not now. Me and Jack are busy. Can you come back in about an hour?”
“I reckon I can.” I turn to leave but stop when I get to the door. “If you need help with whatever you’re doin’, I might can do that. I know my way around computers pretty good.”
“No.” Now I know how her young’uns feel.
“All righty then. I’m outta here.”
My next stop is the Cut ’n Curl. “Hey, Tim. If you’re lookin’ for Priscilla, she’s not here. She wanted more time to get ready for tonight.” Sheila looks me up and down. “Lookin’ good, Tim. You wearin’ that?”