by Debby Mayne
Jack’s sittin’ at the table in the back of the room runnin’ the PowerPoint presentation about Priscilla’s life. This mornin’, I started doubtin’ he could pull it off, but once again, he’s pulled a rabbit outta the hat and made me proud. He still doesn’t know what he wants to do, but I realize now that doesn’t matter. Whatever he gets into he’ll do well ’cause that’s just who Jack is.
Everyone in the room gazes up at the screen . . . well, everyone but Didi, who keeps cuttin’ looks over at Priscilla. I have no doubt that if murder was legal, there would be no Priscilla Slater. But Didi doesn’t wanna go to jail, so the only killin’ she does is in her mind and with her eyes.
“Hey, look at Tim.” Pete nudges me in the side. “He looks like he done seen a ghost.”
I pull myself from my own thoughts and turn to see Tim starin’ down at Priscilla, no longer payin’ a bit of attention to the presentation. “Must be somethin’ Priscilla said. That’s just like her to turn a happy moment into somethin’ awful.”
“I’m not so sure it’s awful.” Pete points to Tim, and I swat at his hand, so he lowers it. “But he’s clearly surprised about somethin’.”
I shake my head and cluck my tongue but stop when I remember that’s somethin’ my mama does. Seems like ever’day, I get more and more like her. “I hope she lets him down easy. That boy puts up with a lot from her.”
Pete grins. “He puts up with a lot from all of us. I wonder why he does that.”
“You can’t be blind. He’s so in love with Priscilla he doesn’t know what to do with himself.”
46
Priscilla
My heart practically stops as Tim stares at me without speaking then looks down. “Priscilla . . .”
“What?” I wish I’d kept my big fat mouth shut. It’s so not me to share my feelings, and the one time I do it, I wish I hadn’t.
He gives me a glance of something that resembles sympathy before turning back to the screen with a still shot of one of my TVNS presentations. “You look mighty good up there.”
I bite my bottom lip to keep from crying. Finally, my classmates have recognized me for all the hard work I’ve put into my career. I try to focus on the fact that this is what I’ve always wanted, but it’s hard to override the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach . . . and my heart.
Occasionally, someone will turn around and smile at me. I force myself to smile back, even though it takes every ounce of energy I have.
“I don’t know for sure, but they’re prob’ly gonna want you to make a speech when this show is over,” Tim whispers. “You might wanna start thinkin’ of somethin’ to say.”
Yes, that’ll give me something to think about besides Tim’s rejection. Ironic how I’ve been putting him off for thirteen years, while he pursued me with kindness, and now that I’m ready to be in love, he wants . . . well, I’m not sure what, but it’s obviously not what I want.
Years of thinking on my feet for TVNS presentations give me what I need to stand up in front of my graduating class. It’s the feelings I’m having a problem with.
The show about my life finally comes to an end, and Laura goes right up on the stage, clapping her hands and encouraging everyone else in the room to stand. I’m used to attention, but when the man sitting next to me smiles my knees grow weak, and my heart wants to reach out and grab him.
Laura finally quits clapping and lifts her hands as she leans toward the microphone. “I’d like y’all’s attention, please. This reunion is very special because we have someone here who has made a name for herself and put Piney Point on the map. I think we all agree that Priscilla Slater is one of a kind, and we have the honor of knowing someone like her. She makes women beautiful . . . I mean, look around, y’all. Most of us ladies are stylin’ with Ms. Prissy Big Hair. Thanks to Priscilla, we know how to make our hair big without losing softness.” A few people chuckle. “And women all over the TVNS viewing area can be almost as beautiful as us women from Piney Point.”
Some guy I can’t see hollers, “No way! We got the most beautiful women in the world!”
Laura laughs. “Honey, I said almost.” More laughter erupts until she gestures to quiet down. “I’m tickled pink to have Priscilla among us.”
I’ve known Laura most of my life, and I’ve never heard anything even remotely like this coming from her. She’s either had a change of heart, or she’s the best actress I’ve ever seen.
Laura points toward the back of the room. “Now I want to give credit to someone who has worked hard for y’all tonight. The person who is most likely to be the next celebrity from Piney Point is Pete’s and my son Jack. He brilliantly put this presentation together, and I don’t think anyone will disagree that he did a real bang-up job. Stand up, Jack.” She starts clapping again, so everyone in the room—including me—follows suit. Jack stands up and sits down very quickly. “Now it’s time for me to bring Priscilla Slater up to the stage to give her our coveted award, the statue for bein’ Most Successful. This is fittin’ on account of she was voted most likely to succeed our senior year. Come on up here, Priscilla.”
As I walk up to the stage to accept my award, my knees start to weaken, and a flutter of nerves courses through my body. After dozens of aired Ms. Prissy Big Hair shows on TVNS, even I’m surprised at my case of nerves.
“Speech! Speech!” I’m not positive, but I think Tim might have started the chant that now echoes through the room.
I step up to the microphone and smile, a trick I learned when I first started speaking in public. After the chanting ends, I look around the room. “I’m honored and privileged to accept this award.” Then I turn to Laura and wink. “In fact, like you, Laura, I’m tickled pink. You must be very proud of your son Jack. I know I would be. He made me look much better than I really am. Thank you, Jack.” I clap, but only a few people join me, so I stop and continue speaking. “Now I want to thank all my classmates from Piney Point High School, particularly you, Laura, for all the hard work you’ve put into bringing our group together every five years. I know this has been a monumental task, but you’ve risen to the occasion every time. Thank you, Pete, Celeste, Jimmy, and Tim”—I lock gazes with him before continuing—“Tim, who went to a different school at a different time but has managed to join our class and make us forget he didn’t go to school with us. And I thank all of you for coming.”
Laura steps back up to the microphone and chatters about some things I don’t pay attention to as I walk back toward my spot with Tim. He winks and leans forward. “Good job, Priscilla, but you didn’t have to say nothin’ about me. I’m just happy to be here.”
“I meant every word I said.”
His hand brushes my shoulder as he places his arm around my chair, and I tingle at his touch. For the first time in my life, I feel as though I’m free-falling.
Zeke and the Geeks return to the stage after Laura finishes her speech. Tim and I sit there and chat with people who come up to congratulate me. The rest of the night goes by in a blur as I realize how Tim is trying to avoid discussing my revelation.
Since Tim is here to help, we wait until all but the reunion committee has left the Community Center. Tim immediately springs to action, folding chairs, putting them into the racks at the back of the room, and doing whatever else Laura tells him to do. I fold tablecloths, pick up trash, and try hard not to berate myself for blurting my feelings. So what if I told Tim I love him? Is that so bad, or should it even be a surprise? After all, he’s been in my life for thirteen years—with me from my earliest days in the salon to my current celebrity status. I’ve never doubted his motives either. Sure, Tim met me when he was trying to sell me products from his uncle’s company, but there’s no doubt in my mind that he’d be right there beside me, even if I stopped purchasing anything. At least, he would have been there before. I’m not so sure about the future. I might have ruined everything.
Once the last chair is stacked and all the crumbs have been swept, Tim turns to me. “Ready to
go now?”
We ride to my mother’s house in silence, but once he parks at the curb, he doesn’t make a move to get out. “Priscilla . . .” He looks down, sighs, and then meets my gaze. “About what you said earlier. It’s not that I . . . well, you know how I’ve always felt about you—at least before—”
I can’t stand to listen to any more. In fact, he’s already said enough to let me know it’s too late for us. “Stop.” I clear my throat. “Tim, I really shouldn’t have said what I did. I mean, this whole experience has been such a roller-coaster ride, and my emotions have really gotten the best of me.”
He blinks and stares into my eyes for a few seconds. “So you were just talkin’ out of emotion.”
I nod. “Yes, pretty much.”
“I never seen you do that before.”
“A lot of things have happened that are new to me, so I’m sure I’ve been acting out of character quite a bit lately. Besides, you’re in New York now running your uncle’s company, and I have to spend quite a bit of time in Jackson, so it wouldn’t work out anyway.”
“Yeah, you got a good point.”
“So . . .” I reach for his hand and hold it in both of mine. “Are we still friends?”
“If that’s what you want, I reckon I can’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be.”
My heart is starting to ache so badly I can’t go on any longer. “I need to go in, or Mother will worry.”
“Hang tight, Priscilla.” He opens his car door, takes one more glance in my direction and smiles. “I’ll be right there.”
He gives me a hand to help me out of the car. “Whatcha doin’ after church tomorrow?”
“I got a call from Beth Fay. Felicity at TVNS contacted her and said one of the other vendors canceled at the last minute. We need to clear some of the Ms. Prissy Big Hair kits out of the warehouse, so she wanted to know if I was free to go on air first thing Monday morning. I’m flying out of Jackson late Sunday, so I have to leave in the morning. Beth Fay’s meeting me in New York Sunday night.”
“Oh. I reckon we can’t get together then.”
We stand there in my mother’s front yard gazing into each other’s eyes, until I slowly shake my head. “I’m afraid not.”
He walks me to the door and places both hands on my shoulders. “Priscilla, I’m sure once upon a time, me and you woulda made a—”
I place my finger on his lips to shush him. “Thank you for all the wonderful things you’ve done for me, Tim. You’re the best friend a girl can have.”
47
Tim
I wanna kick myself all the way to New York and back after tonight. My timin’ couldn’t be worse, and there’s not a single solitary thing I can do about it.
Or maybe there is and I can’t figure it out. One person who can, though, is my uncle. No matter what kinda fool I make of myself in front of him, he’s proved many times over he’ll still be there for me. It’s past ten o’clock, but they’ve lived up in New York long enough to think it’s still early.
Uncle Hugh answers his cell phone. As he listens to me talk about what happened this evenin’, I hear him gaspin’, but he don’t say nothin’ right away. Finally, when I run outta steam, he clears his throat. “I was afraid something like this might happen.”
“So what do I do about it?”
“Timothy, you know good ’n well I don’t know much about women. If Tammy didn’t come right out and tell me what she’s thinkin’, she and I would never have gotten together. I’m the most clueless man on the planet.” He laughs softly. “So why don’t you give Tammy a call?”
“Isn’t she there with you?”
“Nah, she went back to Vancleave early. I told her I’d join her as soon as you got back to run the office.”
“Think she’ll still be up?”
“Even if she’s not, she’ll wanna talk to you about this. Timothy, one thing I will tell you is that when it comes to matters of the heart, you hafta speak your mind and not leave anything unsaid. Women might like the strong silent type, but they still want us to tell them the important stuff.”
“Okay, I’ll call Aunt Tammy now.” After we hang up, I pause to ponder how to tell her what’s going on. Before I have a chance to punch in her number, my phone rings.
“Hey, Timothy, this is Aunt Tammy. Hugh just called and said you need me. So tell me all about your problems.”
I give her a quick rundown about my feelings for Priscilla. “Tonight she told me she loves me, but later on she said it was on account of all the emotion. Things has been crazy for her lately.”
“Timothy, are you listening to yourself?”
“Uh—”
“Things have been crazy for both of you.”
“So what’re you sayin’, Aunt Tammy?”
“Bless your heart, Timothy, you take after your uncle on matters of the heart, so I’ll spell it out for you. You need to put a stop to all this silliness and get a commitment from her. You’ve gone on long enough without one.”
“So how do I get this . . . commitment? She ain’t exactly easy to hold still.”
Aunt Tammy laughs. “You’ve known her long enough, so why don’t you propose?”
I ’bout near choke. “Propose?”
“That’s what I said. You love her, and she said she loves you, so why not?” The tone of her voice dips lower. “Unless you just want to let things continue as they have and risk her finding someone else to marry.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
Aunt Tammy makes a tsking sound. “She might. When a girl’s emotions get the best of her, no matter how smart or successful she is, she’s likely to react when the opportunity shows itself.”
I can’t think of anything worse than Priscilla marryin’ someone else. “I reckon she’d be a might surprised.”
“Good. Catch her off guard.”
“I can’t do that. Me and Priscilla . . . well, it just won’t work out. She even said that. If we’d done it five years ago, maybe, but not now.”
“And why not?”
“Well, for one thing, we’re both set in our ways.”
Aunt Tammy laughs. “Bad reason.”
“Bad or not, it’s still a reason.” I stop and try to remember what she told me, and then I remember. “Oh, and don’t forget that I live in New York City now, and she don’t.”
“How do you feel about moving back to Mississippi?”
“Huh?”
Aunt Tammy laughs. “Don’t tell Hugh I told you this, but he’s missin’ New York City somethin’ awful. Said the crickets are near ’bout driving him batty.”
“So . . . are you demotin’ or firin’ me?”
“I’m not firin’ or demotin’ you, Timothy, honey. I’m just tryin’ to save you from a lifetime of loneliness.”
“Well . . .” I have no idea what to say to that.
“What are you doing tomorrow afternoon?”
“Nothin’. I booked my flight back to New York on Tuesday, thinkin’ I’d need to help clean up after the reunion and return some of the things we borrowed, but Laura told me she don’t need me.”
“Good. Why don’t I come up to Hattiesburg, and we can have a nice little chat. I might even book a hotel room and stay overnight so we can watch Priscilla on TVNS.”
48
Priscilla
Mother gives me a good-bye hug on my way out the door. I have to hurry to catch a plane to New York. I’m coming out with a new Ms. Prissy Big Hair line with some additional products in the fall, so this is the perfect opportunity—at least for business.
As I drive to the airport, I reflect on what has happened over the past week. All my friends whose lives were way more messed up than mine have found their grooves, and here I am, wishing I could have a piece of what they have. I want to be in love and know that someone will always be there for me. I want someone to share my thoughts with at the end of the day. I want a man who will look at me first thing in the morning and not mention the fact that one side of
my face is smashed with wrinkles from my pillowcase and that my hair is lopsided. I want a man I can laugh and cry with. And I don’t want just anyone. I want Tim.
My flight is uneventful, so my thoughts go back to what I’m missing in life by getting everything I’ve worked for. The irony of success is that it’s the price we sometimes have to pay that can lead to failure in every other aspect of life. And I’m paying that price.
Beth Fay’s flight arrived an hour before mine, but she said she’d wait for me at baggage claim. And she’s right there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other, checking her watch, and looking around. When she spots me, she smiles and waves.
“An hour seems like forever,” she says. “Let’s get to the hotel so we can have some dinner and go over your itinerary.”
Even though Beth Fay drives me a bit batty when she travels with me, she handles enough of the minute details that I can kick back and simply do my job. And I know better than to even try to share a room with her. At first she balked when I said to book two rooms, but when I reminded her she’d have her own bathroom, she said she thought that would be an excellent idea.
“I hope you don’t mind staying at the Marriott this time.” Beth Fay looks at me and waits for a response. When I just shrug, she continues. “I called the Waldorf, and all they had vacant were their two smallest rooms, which won’t be big enough for all our stuff.”
That would’ve been okay with me, but I know how persnickety Beth Fay can be. “The Marriott’s fine.”
She breaks into a smile. “I love the Marriott. It’s so close to the theaters.”
“Beth Fay, we’re not going to have time to go to the theater. This is all work for me, and I want to get back to Jackson as soon as possible.”