02 - When Good Bras Go Bad

by Gayle Trent

  “I’m sorry. I just—” Sunny’s “just” hung there. She didn’t have anything to say. She didn’t have an excuse for her behavior.

  “Still,” I said, softly, “that didn’t give you the right to take those things and try to blame it on Sunny.”

  Claire whirled back around to me. “I wasn’t trying to pin the blame on Crimson! I was trying to pin it on Alicia! She’s into everything else, why wouldn’t she steal?”

  Alicia stepped forward. “Hey, I resent—”

  “You stay out of it,” Brody said.

  “I didn’t think Crimson would take the blame,” Claire said. “I thought she’d believe Alicia was taking the stuff and that she’d dump her. But she didn’t.”

  “No,” Sunny said, “I took a suspension for you.”

  “You didn’t take it for me! You took it for her! Admit it, you thought she was stealing and you didn’t care!”

  “I did care, I just.…” Sunny shrugged. “I just didn’t want her to stop being my friend.”

  “So if Crimson wouldn’t put the blame on Alicia, you decided to do it yourself?” Brody asked.

  Claire nodded. “When Ms. Anderson’s bracelet didn’t do the trick, I put the goblet in Alicia’s backpack to make people think she was the thief.”

  “Is that what you were planning to do with the necklace?” Brody asked. “Plant it in Alicia’s backpack?”

  “Yeah. Everybody heard her going on about it to Brandon today at lunch. They’d have believed she took it.”

  “Why didn’t you talk to me instead of doing all this?” Sunny asked. “Why didn’t you tell me how you felt?”

  “I tried,” Claire said. “You were too wrapped up in Alicia to listen to anything anybody said. You treated everybody else like dirt.”

  Al looked at her watch. “I really need to get to play practice. Can I take my necklace with me?”

  “I’d rather you didn’t,” I said. “The necklace is actually mine.” I took the black velvet box and put it in my pocketbook. “Your grandma will back me up on that, Brandon.”

  “Claire,” Brody said, “you and I need to go talk with the principal.”

  We all left Brody’s office. Brandon and Al headed for the auditorium, while Brody and Claire went to the principal’s office.

  “Want a ride home?” I asked Sunny.

  “Yeah,” she said. She stood there watching Brody and Claire walk down the hall.

  “What is it, angel?”

  “Just another good bra biting the dust.”

  “Well, you’ll always have at least one double-reinforced, lifetime-guaranteed brazier.” I reached in my pocketbook and took out the necklace. “Here. I didn’t know it meant so much to you.”

  “Thanks.” She gave me that devilish grin that reminds me so much of Crandall, God rest his soul. “And you didn’t have to die or anything.”

  “I ought to smack the fire out of that Bettie Easton.”

  We both laughed.

  “I’m sorry for the way I treated you, Mimi. You know…before.”

  “It’s okay. I told you I’m double-reinforced and lifetime-guaranteed. I’ll never let you down.”

  DIVIDER HERE

  It was a tough rest of the week. I went ahead and worked in the cafeteria so Jane Kershaw wouldn’t be shorthanded. She said she appreciated me and would call somebody on her volunteer list if they needed some extra help next week. Frankly, I was happy to be out of the cafeteria business. Not only was I not gettin’ a paycheck, I hadn’t seen “The Young and The Restless” for three weeks. It’s hard to tell what all had been happening since I’d been manning the chow line.

  But I had done what I’d set out to do. I’d proved Sunny wasn’t a thief, and I’d found out who the real thief was. It was almost as hard to believe Claire was the thief as it was to think Sunny was the crook. I was all ready to accuse Alicia Granger, but never Claire.

  Claire got a three-day suspension and came back to school on Friday. She seemed--subdued, I reckon is the word to describe it--when she came through the lunch line. Of course, Sunny did, too. She hadn’t got over the way Al had treated her that day at play practice, and she didn’t feel like she could trust Claire anymore either. The poor baby had moped around all week feeling like she didn’t have any friends at all. We’ve got us a spa day at my house planned for Saturday, though, and I believe it’ll do us both a world of good. Plus, I want to make sure I’ll look dazzling in my flapper costume for Coop Saturday night.

  I got in touch with Al’s mama, and she agreed to let me drive her to the play. Sunny seemed a little put out over that, but I reminded her I’d given Ms. Granger my word when she and Al were still friends. That and I felt guilty for being so willing to think ill of Al.

  Yes, she turned out to be an opportunistic little backstabber but not a crook. And even an opportunistic little backstabber ought to have her mama in the audience on the opening night of her play. She might not even be such an opportunistic little backstabber if her mama was more supportive of her.

  Anyhow, after I put Matlock in the laundry room (after all, it was Halloween and I didn’t want a booger or a young ‘un in a booger costume to get him), I went to pick up Al’s mama. I left early because you have to drive slower on Halloween, you know. You never can tell when some little hobgoblin is gonna run out in the street.

  I usually stay home on Halloween, and I felt bad about not being there to give out candy. Still, I left the porch light on and left a big plastic jack-o-lantern full of candy on the porch with a note to “please take one.” I figure parents with little kids would bring them by before the big young ‘uns hit the street. Maybe the candy bowl would last a little while.

  I was wearing my nice turquoise pantsuit with the shoes that match. Al’s mama had on dirty-looking jeans (now, they might not’ve been dirty—the style is for jeans to look dirty these days) and a sweatshirt with a beer slogan on the front. I thought she might’ve took a few more pains with her appearance, but at least she was going.

  It was a good play. If you’d have talked with Bettie Easton, you’d have thought the play was “Banquo” instead of “Macbeth.” I do have to admit, though, Brandon was fairly good. You should’ve seen his big death scene.

  “‘O, treachery!’” Brandon yelled. He grabbed his chest and staggered backward, and it reminded me of when Redd Foxx would holler, “I’m comin’ to join you, Elizabeth!”

  But Brandon didn’t say nothing about Elizabeth. He hollered, “‘Fly, good Fleance, fly, fly, fly!’” And with every “fly,” he appeared to get weaker. That last one brought him to his knees.

  By this time, Bettie was boo-hooing.

  Brandon threw his head back and said he hoped ol’ Fleance would get revenge on the whole bunch, and then he crumpled up in a heap. He went to gurgling and sputtering and finally he laid still.

  “Bravo!” Bettie yelled, clapping her hands like one of them monkeys with the cymbals.

  Then some woman behind us shushed her, and she and Betty came in a hair getting in a fight. Seems the other woman was Fleance’s mama, and Betty’d interrupted the play while her boy was escaping from them murderers. Thank goodness the curtain came down on that scene before Bettie and Fleance’s mama could come to blows.

  Which is a good thing for Bettie. I ain’t a betting woman, but if I was, I would’ve had to put my money on Fleance’s mama. She had at least twenty-five pounds on Bettie, and she was at least twenty-five years younger than Bettie…maybe thirty. I believe she’d have whipped Bettie all over that auditorium.

  Of course, I could be wrong. Them Eastons are all wiry, and they always have been a scrappin’ bunch. Fight at the drop of a hat.

  But back to the play. Al was a fine Lady Macbeth. She was as good in the crazy parts as she was in the mean parts, and I thought that showed a lot of versatility. And her mama clapped as hard or harder than anybody. She even out-clapped Bettie a few times. Of course, that was for scenes Brandon wasn’t in. If Brandon wasn’t in a scene,
Bettie just half-clapped. I didn’t think that was fair, so I tried to clap a tad louder when I caught Bettie laying down on the job. But, I can’t judge. I reckon I’d have clapped harder for Sunny’s scenes if she’d been in the play. Just human nature. Take care of your own.

  Al’s mama thanked me again and again for bringing her to see the play. I could tell Al was tickled to have her mama there, too. Ms. Granger wound up riding back to her house with Al and Al’s too-old-for-her boyfriend, and I was relieved I didn’t have to make that return trip. I was tired, and I was ready to be home in my pajamas watching television with Matlock.

  When I pulled into the driveway, I could see four big ol’ young ‘uns in the yard. I hoped there was still some candy in the jack-o-lantern. One, because I didn’t want them to get left out. Two, because I was afraid they’d soap my windows. I got out of the car and walked toward the house.

  One of the boys said, “Trick-or-treat, Granny.”

  I thought he was a rude little smart aleck, but I was feeling charitable so I said, “Trick-or-treat to you, Drac.” He had on a vampire false face. The other three were a Frankenstein’s monster, a wolf man, and an ape. I reckon he must’ve been King Kong.

  “It’s a trick,” the vampire said, “on you. Gimme that purse.”

  “What?” I asked. I guess I thought I’d misunderstood him or something. You don’t expect to get mugged in your own front yard.

  That made him mad and he ran at me. I was still closer to the car than I was to the house, so I turned to run back to my car. The goon tackled me.

  “Hey! Get off her!”

  I recognized that voice.

  “You said nobody’d get hurt!”

  Dracula had knocked the wind out of me, but as soon as I felt his weight off me, I rolled over. The wolf man had the vampire by the front of his shirt.

  “You all right?” the wolf man asked me.

  “Lenny,” I whispered.

  Just then Tansie ran into the yard with a cell phone in one hand and a black vial of something in the other. “I’ve got 9-1-1 on this phone! And I’ve got pepper spray, and I ain’t afraid to use it!”

  Monsters took off in every direction.

  Tansie came and bent down beside me. “You okay, Myrtle?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t say anything right then because my throat was closed tighter than a boxer’s fist, and I couldn’t quit crying.

  “Try not to move,” Tansie said. “The police and an ambulance are on their way.”

  “Thanks. You be careful with that pepper spray. You could hurt yourself with that.”

  “Oh, it ain’t really. It’s just a film canister. See?” She held it up where I could get a better look at it.

  I had to grin. Who else would come to my rescue wearing a blue velvet housecoat and wielding a film container?

  All of a sudden, a police car slid sideways into my driveway. The officer on the passenger side jumped out and ran over to me. It was Coop.

  “Myrtle, darlin’, you all right?” He grabbed up my hand. At first, I thought he was pitching woo, but he was actually taking my pulse.

  “Ya’ll, let’s go in the house,” I said.

  Coop shook his head. “You ain’t movin’ until the paramedics get here and check you out.” He kissed me on the forehead. Right there in front of Tansie and the other policeman and everything! “How’re you feeling?”

  “All right. I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, though. That boy that tackled me weighed a ton.”

  Coop asked what happened and together me and Tansie relayed all the details.

  “I don’t reckon we’ll make it to the M.E.L.O.N. dance tomorrow night,” Coop said.

  “If I can move, we will.” I grinned at Tansie. “And I’m gonna have the band play that song ‘Blue Velvet’ and dedicate it to you.”

  The ambulance came and, even though I argued with them over it, they took me to the hospital. I had Tansie call Faye to have her and Sunny go to the house and let Matlock out.

  At the hospital, I had to give another “official account” of what had happened to me. The police asked if I recognized any of the boys, and I said no. I said they all had on masks, and I described the masks.

  In my heart, I knew that wolf man was Lenny. I’d recognized his voice plain as day. But it’d be my word against his, and I didn’t want to go through that. I knew, and that was enough. The boys hadn’t got my pocketbook, but I’d been robbed of something way more precious tonight.

  Part of me wanted to go straight to Delphine’s and gather Lenny into my arms and hug him like the child he still was. He still needed to be protected and secure and accepted and loved. He needed guidance to stay away from them awful boys that’d talked him into this. He needed to know there was still plenty of time before he had to grow up and be a man…that he didn’t have anything to prove to anybody. He’d be a child for just a little while longer—no need to hurry that along—but he’d be a man the rest of his life. Now, what kind of man…well, he still had time to decide what kind of man he wanted to be.

  Part of me wanted to confront Lenny, ask him how he could have been part of this, ask him how he could’ve done this to me. He didn’t want me hurt, but he was gonna be part of taking my pocketbook. How could he turn on me like that? I felt like we were all but family. I love that young ‘un. First Sunny hangs me out to dry, and then Lenny does the same thing. Don’t young ‘uns have any sense of loyalty anymore?

  I wanted to fix everything and make it right. I wanted to fix Lenny. I wanted to fix his life. I understand he’s been going through a lot with his mama leaving and his daddy going into the nursing home, and my heart breaks for the tough times he’s been having. Still, times are gonna be even tougher for him if he don’t straighten up his act.

  But what I could do? I’m just a woman who lives nearby. A woman who suddenly feels every day of her age...a woman who feels tired and sad and even a little bit helpless…a woman whose underwire was poking a hole clean through her heart…a woman who was sure enough feeling sorry for herself.

  I had to shake myself out of that. I’d be like Scarlett O’Hara and think about Lenny tomorrow. Tonight I’d go not to Tara but to Matlock, whose loyalties are right there looking at you every time you see him. It might be all about “the land” to “Katie Scarlett” but to this old gal it was all about the dog, a warm blanket and a steaming mug of decaf with milk. That was my comfort.

  That and Coop. He stayed right outside the room while I was being examined. I do declare that man has fell for me some kinda hard.

  I was x-rayed and then sent home. They said I had “multiple contusions” which means I was bruised up. I could’ve told them that.

  Faye and Sunny were there at the house waiting for me, and I was glad. I was a little surprised…figured they had things to do on Halloween. But they stayed to make sure I was okay, and that warmed my heart. Took away a bit of the sting from all that other.

  Coop had driven me home, and when we stepped up on the porch, I glanced into the jack-o-lantern. There was still some candy in it.

  “Would you look at that?”

  “What?” Coop asked.

  I nodded at the jack-o-lantern. “That big goofy testament to the fact that there are still honest people in the world.”

  About the Author

  Gayle Trent is a full-time writer who lives with her husband, daughter and son in Southwest Virginia. If you enjoy Myrtle, please look for her seasonal newsletters at my Web site: http://gayle24202.tripod.com. Please visit me online or send me an e-mail at gd830@hotmail.com.

  Reading Group Guide/Discussion Questions

  1. Myrtle is quick to jump to conclusions about Alicia. She also makes snap judgments about Lenny and Claire. Why is she so willing to give these two the benefit of doubt and so unbending where Alicia is concerned? Would you feel the same way in Myrtle's shoes? Have you experienced any similar situations?

  2. The theme of betrayal is threaded throughout this book. In what ways are the betray
als similar and how are they different?

  3. In what ways did the conflict between Myrtle and Sunny help them grow, both as individuals and in their relationship?

  4. Why do you believe Myrtle chose to keep silent about Lenny's role in her assault and attempted robbery?

  5. How might WHEN GOOD BRAS GO BAD be different if told in third person rather than from Myrtle’s point of view? How might it differ if it was told from Sunny’s viewpoint?

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  THE PERFECT WOMAN centers around a group of ad executives who come up with the advertising scheme they hope will save their company – the “perfect woman.” In their endeavor to find this woman, they discretely interview a handful of women, promising the women a share of the ultimate Perfect Woman’s profits for their silence about ever being interviewed should they be turned down. Each woman interviewed has her own reasons for accepting the offer, and many think the offer is a godsend. But the godsend turns into a nightmare when a murderer begins to stalk the women, killing them one by one.

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  - Fallen Angel Reviews

  BETWEEN A CLUTCH AND A HARD PLACE

  Gayle Trent

  ISBN: 0-9741090-4-5 $8.95 Print Edition/$3.00 Electronic Download

  Nominated for 2004 Appalachian Book of the Year Award

  Myrtle Crumb goes to a consignment shop and comes home with a brand new (or would that be used?) mystery to solve. Based on the note she finds in a black clutch, she decides to find out what happened to the purse's previous owner. As she gets closer to learning the truth, she begins to better appreciate the old adage, "What you don't know, can't hurt you!"