Lowcountry Stranger

by Ashley Farley

  “Dad kicked us out of the room,” Cooper said. “He seemed worried.”

  Jackie cut her eyes at her mother, signaling the boys to be careful not to upset their grandmother, but it was too late.

  “Oh dear.” Lovie’s hand flew to her mouth. “That doesn’t sound good.”

  “Okay, let’s try not to panic,” Jackie said, rubbing circles on her mother’s back. “Bill will be out in a minute to tell us what’s going on.” She gestured at the TV. “Why don’t you boys go watch the ball game while we wait?”

  Cooper and Sean lumbered across the room and made themselves comfortable on the sofa in front of the TV.

  Jackie’s attempts to placate Lovie met with little success. Her patience was wearing thin when Bill returned twenty minutes later.

  “Dad?” Cooper leapt to his feet. “Is everything okay?”

  Bill motioned him to sit back down. “Don’t get up, son. The doctor is in with Mack now. He promised to give us an update as soon as he knows something.”

  Lovie stared Bill down. “What do you know that you’re not telling me?”

  “I know nothing, Lovie. I promise,” Bill said. “There is no point in speculating about anything until we know something for sure.”

  “Is he conscious?” Lovie asked.

  “Not at the moment, no,” Bill said with a grave expression.

  “I need to be with him.” She slowly rose to her feet.

  “You can’t go back there, Lovie. I’m sorry. They won’t let you in his room.”

  “I can’t just sit here and twiddle my thumbs. I’m going to the chapel down the hall,” she said as she pushed past him.

  Bill waited until his mother-in-law was gone before he sat down by Jackie. “Be honest with me, Bill. I need to prepare myself so I can be strong for Mom.”

  Bill sighed. “It doesn’t look good, honey. It appears as though he’s suffered a stroke.” When tears filled Jackie’s eyes, Bill handed her his linen handkerchief.

  “I’ve known Mack all my life. I can’t imagine what it will be like without him.” She blew her nose into Bill’s handkerchief. “And poor Mom. He has kept her grounded this past year. They are practically living together, you know. I’m not sure she can handle it if he dies.”

  Bill patted her thigh. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, Jack. Mack is a tough old salt. Don’t give up on him yet.”

  She smiled, thinking about how Mack had seen her family through so many good and bad times in her life. “He is a tough old salt, isn’t he?”

  “Have you heard anything about Sam since we talked?”

  “Not a word.” She settled in closer to her husband, comforted by his presence. “Do you ever wish you worked for a big teaching hospital like this one?”

  He rested his arm on the back of the sofa behind her. “MUSC didn’t offer me the job when I interviewed here, remember?”

  “That was years ago.” Jackie tilted her head back to look at him. “Your reputation is solid now. I’m sure they’d love to have you.”

  “Where would I live? Unless you’re willing to share your carriage house with me?” He kissed the top of her head. “Our little love nest tucked away at the back of Clara’s property.”

  “Now who’s getting ahead of himself?”

  “Admit it.” He nuzzled her ear. “You’re giving in to my charms.”

  “You underestimate my willpower,” she said, laughing and pushing his face away from hers. “I’m serious, though. After living on three acres in a five–thousand-square-foot house, we wouldn’t survive a day together in the carriage house. If we bought Clara’s house, now that’s a different story.”

  “Actually, I’ve been giving it some thought since we talked about it the other day. I’m not ready for retirement, but working at MUSC might provide the midlife challenge I need.” He propped his elbow on the arm of the chair, sinking his chin into his palm in thinking mode. “What would we do with the farm?”

  “Keep it as our weekend retreat, of course,” she said, half joking. “Aside from the problems in our marriage, I’ve been happier this year than I’ve been in a long time. I really like working in Charleston during the week and coming home on the weekends.”

  “It’s certainly worth considering. A big change like this might be just what we need to survive our empty nest,” he said, his expression suddenly glum.

  Jackie glanced over at the twins, who were engrossed in the baseball game, their long legs stretched out with their feet propped up on the coffee table in front of them. “You’re going to miss them, aren’t you?”

  He looked at the boys with longing. “Very much. Aren’t you?”

  “Of course,” she replied, thinking about how Bill had always been more hands-on with their sons than she had. “But I’m excited about this next stage in life as well. I’m banking on them going to Georgia. I’m ready for football games and parents’ weekends.”

  “Who says they’re going to choose your alma mater over mine?”

  “Last time I heard, it snows a lot in Boston. I can barely get them to put on a coat during the winter as it is.”

  He laughed. “You’re probably right.”

  She dropped her smile. “Football weekends and spending the workweek in Charleston—none of that will be possible if Mack dies. I can’t expect my sisters to bear the responsibility of taking care of Mom alone.”

  “We aren’t talking about a cross-country move, Jack. Your sisters work with your mother. They can look out for her during the week, and we can pick up the slack on the weekends.” He crossed his arms and settled them atop his spare tire. “I’m not ready to start applying for jobs, but it’s definitely something to think about. We’re entering a new phase in life. We’ll once again be husband and wife, not mom and dad.” His lips curled into a mischievous grin. “Does this mean we can have sex soon?”

  “Typical man.” She play-slapped him on the chest. “All you ever think about is sex.”

  Twenty-Five

  Sam

  On the drive home from Charleston, Moses helped Sam get prepared for breaking the news to Jamie. But seeing Eli’s police cruiser parked on the curb in front of her house threatened what little composure she had left.

  “What’s he doing here?” she asked, as Moses whipped his sports car into the driveway behind Sam’s Jeep.

  “I assume he’s here to offer Jamie moral support.” Moses killed the engine and turned to Sam. “You need to stay focused on the job at hand. And remember, you haven’t done anything wrong aside from reacting poorly to some disturbing news.”

  Jamie and Eli were camped out in the sitting room, watching the Atlanta Braves on TV, the coffee table at their feet littered with foil wrappers from DoubleDees BBQ.

  Eli tipped his head in greeting. “We’ve been worried about you.”

  “I know, and I’m sorry for that,” she said.

  When Jamie got up from the sofa, she relished the warmth of his hug for longer than usual.

  Sam and Moses took seats—she, next to Jamie on the sofa, and Moses, opposite them in a club chair. She leaned forward and took a deep breath to compose herself.

  “I found out something today that upset me quite a bit. I’m ashamed to say, I let my emotions get the best of me. Moses came to my rescue, as always, and I’m on the road to straightening out my issues.”

  “What happened that made you so upset?” Jamie asked.

  When Sam looked at Eli and said, “Do you mind giving us a few minutes alone?” Jamie shot him a look that dared him to leave.

  “No, stay. I want you here, regardless of what my mom wants.”

  Eli waited for Sam to nod her approval before settling back in his seat.

  She took another deep breath to steady her nerves. “I saw your father today, Jamie. He’s at MUSC in Charleston in the Hollings Cancer Center.”

  Jamie’s body went stiff, and an awkward silence fell over the room. After several long minutes, Eli dared to ask, “What kind of cancer does he have?”


  “Liver.”

  “Well, that sucks for him,” Jamie said. “But as far as I’m concerned, that has nothing to do with us.”

  “There’s more.” Sam combed her fingers through her hair. “I learned today that Annie is Allen’s daughter.”

  Jamie’s head shot up. “You mean our Annie, as in Annie Dawn?”

  “Yes, except her name isn’t Annie Dawn. It’s Annie Bethune.” When her son’s brows knitted in confusion, Sam added, “I know. It’s difficult to wrap your mind around it.”

  Jamie’s eyes bounced all over the room, hitting on all of them but focusing on no one. “Are you suggesting that Annie is my stepsister?”

  “She’s more than your stepsister, sweetheart. She’s your half sister. Your blood.”

  Jamie’s face darkened as he considered the implications. “Then it’s not a coincidence that Annie showed up at Aunt Faith’s wedding. She wants something from us?”

  Sam reached for her son’s hand. “Your father needs a liver transplant. Annie is not a match, but there’s a good chance you might be.”

  Jamie stared down at their hands, clasped together. “So what you’re saying is this man—we’ll refer to him as my ‘sperm donor’ since I can’t bring myself to call him my father—has shown up after twenty years of radio silence asking for one of my vital organs. I might think it was funny if it wasn’t so damned pathetic.” He looked up at Sam. “That’s some fucked-up shit. No wonder you hit the bottle when you found out about all this.”

  “Watch it, Jamie,” Eli warned. “You’re way out of line. I know you’re upset, but your mom didn’t do this to you. She’s your biggest fan.”

  Moses leaned forward. “Eli is right, Jamie. Your mom has had a difficult day trying to cope with all this. You owe her some respect.”

  Jamie hung his head.

  “There are two separate issues on the table here, Jamie.” Moses placed his hands on the wooden coffee table in front of him. “The first is the matter of your liver, whether or not you’d be willing to donate part of it if it turns out you’re a match.”

  “But I—”

  Moses cut him off with a firm shake of his head. “You can’t make that decision until you’ve had some time to research the risks involved with surgery, and until you’ve had a chance to talk about it with each of the three of us individually. On the one hand, we want you to do what’s right for you, Jamie; after all, this is your body. On the other hand, your feelings for your father aside, we are talking about saving another human life. A decision made for the wrong reasons could come back to haunt you five or ten years down the road.”

  “How much time does Allen have? Does anyone know?” Eli asked.

  “Not much,” Sam answered. “He’s a very sick man. Jamie might be the only one who can save his life.”

  “That’s ironic,” Jamie said, “because I appear to be the only one who thinks his life isn’t worth saving.”

  “I don’t see any harm in getting tested,” Eli said. “If you’re not a match, it becomes a nonissue.”

  “Good point,” Moses said. “The second issue that needs to be decided is whether or not you want to meet your father.”

  A flash of anger raced across Jamie’s face. “No thanks. I have no interest in hearing his sorry excuses about why he missed the last nineteen years of my life. Unless he’s going to tell me that he joined the Marines, that he’s been off fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan. And we already know that’s not true. He’s been too busy parenting his daughter. His other child. The one he chose to acknowledge. Sorry, Moses, but no. I have zero interest in meeting him.”

  Sam stroked her son’s arm. “I know how much it hurts, honey. I feel the same way about Allen marrying someone else and not me. About him choosing another family over us. I think talking to him will help you understand why he made the choices he did.”

  Jamie shot to his feet. “All the alcohol you’ve been drinking has made you soft, Mom. I can’t believe this guy shows up out of the blue, with some sob story about having cancer, and just like that”— he snapped his fingers—“you forgive him for knocking you up and walking out on you.”

  Sam stood to face him. “I haven’t forgiven him for anything, Jamie. You and I toughed it out through some difficult times because of his choices, the decisions he made for us. But I’ve been carrying around a lot of misconceptions, unfortunately ones that I passed on to you, which turned out not to be true. Talking to Allen answered a lot of questions for me. He didn’t leave me because of anything I did. He didn’t love me any less than I thought he did. He let his own pride get in the way of doing the right thing. And that had nothing to do with me. Or you.”

  Jamie stared her down. “Nothing you can say or do will change my mind, Mom. I have no interest in meeting the sperm donor anymore than I have in giving him part of my liver.”

  “If you won’t talk to him, will you at least talk to Annie?” When Sam reached toward him to stroke his cheek, he brushed her hand a way.

  “Why would I do that? I don’t even like that girl.”

  “That’s not true and you know it,” Sam said. “We all like Annie. We may have had our suspicions about her in the beginning, but she has proven to be reliable and hardworking. None of this is her fault.”

  Moses stood and stretched. “I could use a cup of tea. Jamie, will you help me find a mug?”

  Hearing the stern tone in his voice, Jamie trailed after Moses.

  Sam left the room and went outside to the front porch. She hoped Eli wouldn’t follow her, but when he did, she was glad for his presence. She moved over to make room for him on the swing. “I’m exhausted. Can we please not talk?”

  “Of course. Just know that I’m here for you if you need me.” Their companionship was easy, like it’d always been, neither feeling the need to fill the silence with unnecessary chatter. The sound of a neighbor’s dog interrupted the quiet night, the bark becoming more urgent with each passing moment. Eli and Sam smiled at one another. They knew that bark well. They’d taken care of Belle several times while her owners were out of town. She was a sweet dog, but impatient and demanding.

  “With his busy schedule, Moses won’t always be around for you. Do you have someone you can call when you need to talk?”

  “Moses found a new sponsor for me. Her name is Megan Flanders. I’ve only met her once, before my meeting last night. That was right before Mack had his heart attack. I didn’t feel like I knew her well enough to call her today. My bad, I guess.”

  “Megan is a friend of mine. She’s the kind of person you can call anytime, night or day. She’s been through hell herself. Get her to tell you her story sometime.”

  “Thank you for being here for Jamie tonight. He really counts on you, you know. Just because you and I are no longer together doesn’t mean your relationship with him has to end.”

  “I love Jamie like a son. I’m going to miss him when I move to New York.”

  Sam stiffened. “If you’re trying to make me feel guilty, it’s not going to work.” She hopped off the swing. “You should probably leave now.” Turning her back on his baffled expression, she went inside and closed the door.

  Why do I always have to be such a bitch? She leaned back against the door, her heart pounding in her chest.

  She went to her room, waiting until she heard Moses’s car back out of the driveway before venturing to the kitchen for her own cup of Sleepytime tea. Mug in hand on her way back down the hall, she heard Jamie murmuring into the phone in his room. She pressed her ear against his door. She could only catch every third word, but his voice sounded serious. At first, she thought he might be talking to Sophia until she heard him say her name. Annie.

  Twenty-Six

  Sam

  In the premarket hours at Sweeney’s on Saturday morning, Sam noticed Jamie and Annie huddled together on several different occasions. Mostly, serious expressions on their young faces accompanied their whispers, but once or twice, she caught a flash of a smi
le and a playful gesture toward one another.

  While Sam was relieved to see her son accepting his new reality, she also felt a twinge of jealousy toward the girl. She’d never had to share Jamie’s affections with anyone before. With the exception of Sophia—but Sam had never seen them together and didn’t know how Jamie treated his new girlfriend—and with the exception of Eli, which wasn’t the same because her son’s relationship with him was all about guy stuff like baseball and fishing. Of course Sam enjoyed those activities as well, but Jamie didn’t look at Eli the way he was looking at Annie. With that special tenderness in his dark eyes that he once reserved only for Sam.

  As was typical of a Saturday, they were slammed with business from the moment they opened the door at ten. After the first wave of customers left, they had to scramble to restock.

  “Thank goodness Mike took the day off today,” Faith said in passing. “Last thing we need is Bitsy underfoot.”

  “Having your daughter here is never a problem for me. You know that. But it’s nice for you when you don’t have to worry about her while you work.” Sam squirted a green cleaner on the counter and wiped it down with a clean cloth. “Have you heard anything from Charleston? I’m a little worried. Neither Mom nor Jackie is answering my texts.”

  “Not since yesterday evening,” Faith said. “I assume no news is good news.”

  Sam hoped that was the case, but when Bill entered the showroom an hour later, she knew something was terribly wrong. She could count on one hand the number of times her brother-in-law had visited Sweeney’s in his lifetime. He stood off to the side, waiting for the customers to clear out before he approached the counter.

  “Jackie wanted me to tell you the bad news in person.” He coughed to clear his throat. “Mack died early this morning.”

  “No!” Faith cried. “How can that be?”

  Sam bit back a sob. “I don’t understand. He was doing so well,” she said, even though she knew Mack was less than well when she’d visited him the previous evening.