Broad Street Goddesses

by Williams, DeAnna

  “I know you’re working so hard to keep Jon safe, but Will, I’ve got so much to tell you. I started…”

  “Oh, the Baby’s up and he’s really crying.” Will dropped her hand to dangle by her side and ran back into the house.

  Etta let out several quick and jerky breaths deciding it was time to head home.

  With a kiss to Jon Jon’s head and a peck for Will and Mim, she left alone. Again.

  CHAPTER 26

  Etta contemplated the limp two day old salad in a bowl and cold congealed pizza in her hand. She stuffed the pizza into her mouth and tossed the salad into a compost container. The light was on in Paige’s library. Jake’s truck was not in the drive. Her gut told her Paige was alone. Wiping the pizza from her mouth, she headed over to the mansion for some girl chat with her soon-to-be sister in law.

  Paige’s conversation reverberated out to Etta. She stopped short of knocking on the kitchen door and listened. “I’m not kidding Georgia, come on. You gave Jon the key and Betty the journal. Why are you hiding this from me?”

  Etta laughed to herself and knocked lightly on the door before she entered, “Roommate quarrel?” Etta called into the kitchen.

  “Not exactly.” Paige leaned in to Kiss Etta’s cheek, “I’m just frustrated. I put things down where I know I’ll be able to find them and then they’re gone. Georgia is acting like a little child.”

  “Sounds like she’s bored now that the house is safe. Maybe it’s time to see if she wants to go.” Etta glanced up at the ceiling.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Paige said softly. “I’m used to having her around. It’s not so lonely when I know she’s lurking.” She shifted in her chair, “I’ve been fascinated with the journal of her life. Did you know her mother turned out to be a famous dancer? She danced for royalty in England and then she toured the country for decades. No one wanted to talk about it back then, it was scandalous. There were rumors that she was a woman of loose morals… and that she retired to run a brothel!”

  “I don’t think any city wanted to call attention to scandalous ties. Well, Virginia City pretty much had a devil-may-care attitude, but…”

  Something loud slammed in the library. They both jumped and ran through the foyer into the library to find Georgia’s journal in the middle of the floor.

  “Georgia, you know Paige loves having you here.” Etta looked at Paige to chime in, “We understand that you’ve been here for a long time. I can help you if you’d like to go see your family now. Would you like to move on?”

  The air was still. No response. Paige said, “I know how much you love this place, Georgia. I am honestly going to care for it and preserve it for another hundred years. It’s okay if you want to move on now.” Nothing.

  “She’ll let us know when she’s ready now that we’ve offered to help her.” Etta said.

  “You really can guide her to the ‘other side’?”

  “Yes, of course. It’s in the psychic training manual,” Etta responded dryly.

  “I’ve had dreams of this house during the gold rush days, Etta. I don’t think it was just a boarding house. I don’t know what to make of what I’ve seen. In my dreams, I’m here and…” she searched Etta’s face for how much farther to go and realized there was something on her mind that didn’t include walking a ghost to the great beyond. “So, tell me about Jon’s grandfather.”

  Etta recounted the meeting of the grandfather and Linda; The puppy bite and finally her disappointment of no time really spent with Will talking about their own relationship.

  “There’s certainly a lot going on, Etta. Are you okay?”

  “Sure, just let down I guess. I wasn’t even able to tell him about the money.”

  “He’ll calm down as soon as the dust settles.”

  “Miles made some pretty disturbing accusations toward Will about his daughter’s death.” Etta said.

  “What do you mean? Will had nothing to do with her death,” Paige remarked.

  “I mean, he dropped the bomb that he was going to file a civil suit against Will for the unlawful death of his daughter if Will didn’t pay up.”

  “What a mess.” Paige finally said.

  “Well, Tony’s on the ball. He recorded Miles trying to black mail Will in Mim’s kitchen.”

  “Good God,” Paige breathed out, “I wish there was something I could do for you two. I’m sure this is not the reunion you expected.”

  Etta quietly shook her head.

  “Tell me about your house!” Paige changed the subject, “What’s the progress. I wanted to come over today, but I knew you were tied up with the meeting.”

  “It’s messy. I didn’t know I would need to have a mask on just to walk through the place. But it’s going to be worth it when it’s done. I’m so close to having Will and Jon with me, Paige and then today happened and I’m so deflated. I feel like it’s farther away than ever.” Her eyes looked dull and drained.

  “How is Jon’s hand?”

  “Three stitches doesn’t sound like much until you’re looking at a little hand.” Etta said sadly, “I think it might scar.”

  “You’ll be amazed how resilient babies are and how quickly they heal.”Paige read that somewhere. “You wanna have a coke and play scrabble?” She changed the conversation again.

  “Sure. Where’s Jake?”

  “Busy with finishing touches on a project.” Paige smiled slyly, “So when will the downstairs bedrooms be done?”

  “Soon.” Etta answered, “Can we play dirty word scrabble, I need to do something ‘bad’. I’m telling you, Paige if Will doesn’t get close to me soon I’m going to explode!”

  CHAPTER 27

  “I’m going to take Jon and go over to Etta’s, Mom.” Will called out down the hallway.

  “Oh no you’re not,” Mim sassed him back, “I’ve got plans. We’re going to have our picture taken and then we’ve got a date with the park.” Mim walked out of her room with Jon in tow, “You two have a lot to talk about. Etta hasn’t had three minutes with you since you came home. Go see her, alone.”

  From his perch on Mim’s hip, Jon waved happily, “Bye Bye,” to his father.

  “A conspiracy I see,” Will picked up his little mister and kissed the top of his head.

  “Bye Bye,” Jon repeated.

  “Thanks mom, see you tonight.”

  “We’ll be fine if you want to stay longer…” Mim gave her son the ‘you know what you need to do look’.

  “It’s ok, baby boy, let’s take a walk and see what’s blooming in the back yard.” Mim felt the tiny hand grasp hers as they walked slowly though the front room. She didn’t have the patience to walk along at Will’s pace when he was a baby. She’d picked him up and carry him. Her life was in such a hurry back then. Right now she couldn’t think of anything she’d rather do than walk at the pace of Jon Jon.

  Mim’s rose garden was a carefully crafted winding path of blooms. From stark white blossoms fading into pink and the deepest burgundy, they carved out an enchanting niche in the landscape.

  “This is the rose of friendship,” Mim said to Jon as they examined a perfect yellow rose of Texas. “It has an entirely different smell from the red rose over here.” They moved to the next rose in the garden which was velvet blood red, “This is the Abe Lincoln rose, see how it smells?” She pulled the bloom down to Jon’s height and let him sniff the rose. Jon wrinkled up his face and giggled at a large yellow and black caterpillar crawling out of the flower.

  “No one answered the door, so I thought I’d come around back,” called Tony from the garden gate, “I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Of course not,” Mim said, glad to see him, “We’re having a lesson on roses.”

  “Hello, Jon,” Tony bent down and held out his hand to the toddler.

  “Woses!” Jon pointed to the flowers.

  “Aren’t they pretty?” Tony turned his undivided attention to Jon and pointed toward the fire and ice rose which had white petals fading into hot pink
and burgundy. “These are my personal favorites, they smell like raspberries!”

  “berries” Jon clapped his hand.

  Mim studied the two of them sniffing flowers together. Tony sat softly on the ground and held the caterpillar. His tenderness when he explained patiently to Jon about being gentle with the caterpillar was unexpected. Her appreciation turned to joy then curled into a great big grin.

  Swinging the sledge hammer at the wall of her bedroom gave Etta a rush of adrenaline. Bam, her frustration at being left alone for weeks. Bam, the tension of her unfulfilled desires for the man she loved and couldn’t quite seem to be alone with. BAM BAM, the way he didn’t confide anything to her. BAM BAM BAM, she hadn’t even told him her news yet. She’d become wealthy and focused. Damn, she choked on powdery drywall residue. She could hardly see through her protective goggles. Everything was covered in the dust of destruction. Etta smacked the goggles against the legs of her coveralls. Clouds of chalky dust billowed out from her pant leg. Stepping back, she took a deep breath to clear her lungs. Running her hand over her hair created a whirl of fallout and another round of coughing.

  She was laughing out loud to no one but herself, covered in filth when he walked in. Etta’s arms chilled even though it was hot outside, her gaze was drawn to see him grinning ear to ear in her foyer.

  “That’s about the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen.” He was wearing blue jeans and a black t-shirt, “I only have one question, Etta,” he smiled like he had a secret, “Need a hand?”

  The goggles dropped to the floor in a puff, “Hi,” she said, paralyzed at how good it felt to see him standing in her doorway. The heat in her cheeks flushed down to her belly and she still couldn’t move. She wasn’t expecting to see him. Her whole day was planned out so the demo would be done by Friday. Her feet might as well been nailed to the floor. Hell, yeah she could use a hand.

  He shuffled his feet with a look of complete bewilderment, “I would be happy to help,” he hesitated and looked around, “if I knew what you were doing.”

  “Right now I’m demoing the wall between these two rooms.” With hands on her hips she shot him a look that must have been received as bitchy.

  His ears pinned back a little and he looked weary. “Jon’s with Mom and I’m here for the day. You can put me to work or we can talk about what’s going on.”

  “There’s not a doubt in my mind that I need both.” She was tearing up. That was an unexpected turn in the conversation.

  “Don’t cry, Honey,” Will was at her side immediately, “You’ll make mud!”

  “Don’t be cute when I’m upset with you.” She let out great big sobs.

  Will took her hand and walked her out back to the patio, “I have a great idea.” He guided her to sit and ran back into the house returning with iced tea and a cool wet face cloth for her. “Now, here I am and let’s get to the bottom of this.”

  “Where would you like to start?” She said through a rack of sobbing, “Would you like to know how it felt to be left alone, again with no word from you about how it was going in San Francisco?” Her hands were wringing the cloth, “Or we can start with how I ended up with almost a million dollars in my bank account.” Her eyes shot sparks at him. Etta stood, because her anger was bigger than her body, “Or how I’ve started tearing the ass out of my house to accommodate a family.”

  Will slouched down and threw his head into his hands, “What a mess I’ve made.”

  “You are in a shitty situation, Will. You’ve made the best decisions for Jon. I know he’s your first priority. I do think we need to work on our communications though. You could have easily confided in me while you were in San Francisco… let me know how things were going. It’s what couples do!” She started to pace. This was her opportunity to tell him everything on her mind. “You did tell me that you wanted a life with me here in Nevada City. You did tell me that I was the love of your life… soul mate stuff. I didn’t make this up in my mind, Will… but I’m starting to feel like I did, because soul mates talk to each other.” She was flapping her arms around dramatically.

  “Wow…Okay,” he took in a deep breath and a drink of her tea. “Yes, I want a life with you in Nevada City. This is where I want my family to be raised. I just thought what was going on in San Francisco was all too much to share. I didn’t want to drag you into the pain of all of this. I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “Too late,” She said drawing her lips into a thin, strong frown.

  “Etta, do you have even the slightest idea what I’m going through here?” He raised his voice.

  “Well I can only imagine, Will, because you won’t talk about it,” she spat back at him.

  “You know what?” He stood quickly and started to walk toward the garden gate, “I’ll get back to you when it’s all over.”

  “Oh it’s over all right…” She stomped her foot so hard that the energy of the vibration rose to her neck.

  The gate slammed shut.

  “Shit.” She flopped down in tears, “That’s not how I wanted it to go.”

  With her anger and sadness channeled, Etta demoed three walls and was ahead of schedule by a day.

  ~

  Sitting in the shade of the mulberry tree, Tony and Mim were enjoying a simple summer salad.

  “I sure do miss my grandchildren,” Tony said as he watched Jon Jon play with his apples and yogurt in the high chair. “They’re in Pennsylvania with their mom.”

  “That must be hard. Are the parents divorced?” Mim asked.

  “My son screwed up his marriage… literally. He fooled around and I don’t blame Gilda for leaving him. Her family is back east, she needed the support.”

  “Hard to live with the decisions you don’t make for yourself when they affect everything you hold dear, I imagine.”

  “That’s why I’m so passionate about this case for Will. I will do whatever it takes to keep that money hungry creep from Jon.”

  “Oh Tony, I blame myself for this mess. I encouraged Miles to see the baby… if I’d just kept my mouth shut.”

  “Miles found out about the baby and he wasn’t going to be stopped. He knew Will was successful in the art world. But when he arrived and saw this beautiful place, his greed came out full force”.

  “I’d give it all up to keep Jon with us.” Mim misted up.

  “Miles is counting on that. But I have a plan,” Tony said, his eyes glimmered mischievously as he reached across to pat her hand. Unexpected chemistry jolted them to look into each other’s eyes. The gate slammed open and she quickly pulled her hand back.

  Will walked over to kiss Jon on the head, “I’m going to grab some gear and then Jon and I are going to go fishing.”

  “I thought you were going to spend the day with Etta.”

  “Complications I don’t want to talk about.” Will said flatly.

  Jon, flopped over from his father’s hip to kiss his grandmother as Will balanced his pole and baby paraphernalia in the other arm. The gate clunked shut and they were gone.

  Tony and Mim looked at each other shocked, but smiling “I wish he wasn’t such a hard head,” Mim said under her breath.

  “Well,” Tony started shyly, “I can’t imagine a more wonderful companion to spend my day with. I’d love to have a professionally guided tour of the area, if you would do me the honor.”

  ~

  After the day she’d had, Etta realized that nothing less than a shower and a wire brush would cut the crud off of her body. Her mind splintered in four different directions while she demolished the walls of her precious house. Why in the world was Will acting like she didn’t have the right to know about how things were going in San Francisco? He professed his undying love to her, he’d asked her to have a life with him in Nevada City. He had done everything but apologize and ask her to marry him, which was essentially all she wanted. It wasn’t that out of order. Why should her desires be ignored? And now that her future was obviously on the back burner how long would it remain there i
n William’s life? She’d been waiting for well over a year now. Her wandering mind went to the far extreme. She was furious, how dare he just walk out in a huff.

  The water blasted down from the shower head as Etta took all of her clothes off then stepped into the tiny shower stall. Stinging needles of hot water stripped away the residue of a truly wretched day. She inhaled the essence of lavender soap waiting for the calmness to sooth her raging emotions. The steam and the delicious scents did nothing to improve her distress. Then she did it; she closed her eyes, placed her palms on the tile walls, planted her feet firmly on the floor on either side of the drain and she opened her mouth under the pounding water and screamed. Her scream turned into a wale as she slid to the bottom of the shower stall racked with emotions that she could not turn off. She looked up at the shower head through her furious wrath and watched it come down to pelt her legs. Etta’s butt remained on the tile floor until the hot water turned tepid.

  Wrapped in a towel tucked above her bosoms, Etta, thoroughly drained of all emotion, slipped her feet into flip flops and shuffled out into the kitchen for a glass of wine. The wine opener wasn’t in the drawer it was supposed to live in. She looked through two other drawers and then slammed the last one shut out of sheer frustration. The pounding in her head was a sharp reminder of her emotional fit in the shower. She abandoned her search for wine and went for the aspirin on the shelf over the sink.

  With a finger of cranberry juice in a glass, Etta examined what was left in a vodka bottle. Why bother with a wine cork when her vodka had a screw off lid? Perfect. Looking out her kitchen window, Etta gazed at her magnificent garden and then her eyes wandered to the shack that she visulalized as Will’s art studio. She was creating it... not Will, how could she know what he even wanted when he didn’t talk to her about anything. Disgusted with herself, she threw on an old sun dress and put her hair in a clip. Pouring a second drink, she slammed it down quickly which drained her bottle empty.