Aftermath

by Ann McMan

  Charlie laughed. “I don’t suppose it would do any good to tell her that it would be kinda hard to blockade a land-locked town?”

  “Yeah. You try to explain that to her.”

  “She is quite a character,” Charlie agreed.

  “She’s nuts. Daddy says she’s one brick shy of a load.” Roma Jean fell quiet for a moment. “Sometimes I worry that I’m like her.”

  “What do you mean? Like her how?”

  Roma Jean shrugged. “You know, not quite right.”

  “Oh, come on, Roma Jean.” Charlie touched her hand again. “There’s nothing wrong with you.”

  “Yes, there is.” Roma Jean shifted on her seat, but she didn’t pull her hand away. “I don’t fit in. I never have.”

  Charlie just looked at her without speaking.

  “I’m not like other girls,” Roma Jean added. “And I won’t ever be.”

  When Charlie didn’t reply right away, Roma Jean knew she’d probably said too much. But she was tired of always feeling so anxious around Charlie, and she thought it was better just to get this over with. Charlie would realize that she was a freak, and that would be that. She wouldn’t have to work so hard to avoid her any more, and maybe she’d be able to quit tripping over things, too.

  “Roma Jean?” Charlie leaned across the table again.

  Roma Jean just stared into her bowl. It was starting to look like Bahama Mama soup.

  “Roma Jean. Please look at me.”

  Roma Jean looked up. Charlie had a strange little smile on her face. “I don’t exactly fit in, either, but I am like a lot of other girls.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that there are a lot of girls like us.”

  Roma Jean was confused. “Like us?”

  Charlie nodded. “Girls who like girls.”

  Roma Jean could feel herself starting to panic. She pulled her hand away from Charlie’s. “I can’t talk about this.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it’s—I just can’t.” She tucked her hands beneath her legs to keep them out of harm’s way.

  “Roma Jean, believe me—not talking about it doesn’t make it not real. I know. I tried that for a lot of years.”

  Roma Jean could feel her heart pounding. Why was Charlie doing this? Why did they have to talk about it?

  “What are you so afraid of?”

  Roma Jean looked at her. Charlie was so pretty. She had smiling eyes, but right now they looked serious. Everything, she wanted to say to her. I’m afraid of everything. Instead, she just shrugged.

  Charlie sighed. “Whenever you think you’re ready, we can talk about this, okay?”

  The little bell over the street door jingled. They both looked up in surprise and reflexively drew apart like they’d been caught red-handed at . . . something. Roma Jean stared in horror at who had just walked into the tiny ice cream shop.

  It was Dr. Stevenson.

  This was shaping up to be like a messed-up version of that George Clooney movie her mama loved so much . . . the one about that guy on the fishing boat.

  She closed her eyes in mortification. Somebody up there hates me.

  MADDIE NOTICED CHARLIE and Roma Jean right away.

  She had decided to pop into Foster’s on her way home for a quick bite of lunch since they served yogurt (which would satisfy Syd)—and she could get it with a topping of granola and sweet fruit (which would satisfy her). It was a win-win scenario. When it came to her diet, and what Syd chose to define as her “preteen palate,” compromises like this one were few and far between.

  Now that Sonny was safely en route to the hospital in Wytheville, she felt like she could allow herself this wicked indulgence. Besides, Foster’s was next door to the recently reopened Food Bonanza, and Syd had asked Maddie to stop in and pick up some anchovy paste and sesame oil.

  It was lucky for all of them that Food Bonanza didn’t carry . . . what was that Korean dish David was spelling?

  Mrs. Foster slapped a crimped paper boat that contained two hot dogs loaded with chili and slaw down onto the countertop. Maddie gazed at it wistfully. She thought about her bag of anchovy paste and wondered about what manner of epicurean feast they’d have to try and trick Henry into eating tonight. It would be good for all of them when Syd’s cast came off next week, and she could resume a more normal activity level. Maybe once she was less housebound she’d make fewer forays into the more exotic recesses of the cookbook shelf.

  When her yogurt parfait was ready, she picked it up and walked toward the table where Roma Jean sat with Charlie Davis. She didn’t want to intrude, but she was anxious to make certain that both had recovered from their adventure at the revival service. She was also interested to hear their version of how events unfolded once the rattlesnakes got loose.

  And, although it annoyed her to admit it, her curiosity about the pair had been piqued by Sonny Nicks’ covert suggestion that there was something more than friendship brewing between them.

  They were both nicely dressed, and Maddie was surprised to see how much smaller Charlie looked in street clothes. Charlie was a local girl and a recent graduate of the Criminal Justice Training Academy in Bristol. She came home to do her field training and, in Maddie’s opinion, was one of the best recruits Byron had.

  Charlie stood up when Maddie approached their table. “Hello, Dr. Stevenson.” She started to extend her hand but noticed that both of Maddie’s were full. She dropped her hand and tapped her fingers against the side of her trouser leg.

  “Hello, Charlie,” Maddie replied. “And hello, Roma Jean.” She looked down at Roma Jean and her bowl of melted ice cream. “Is there something wrong with your sundae?”

  Roma Jean shook her head. “No, ma’am. I’m just not very hungry.”

  “I don’t imagine you are.” Maddie smiled at her. “By accounts, it sounds like you two had a quite an ordeal.”

  “Not as bad as Sonny Nicks,” Roma Jean said.

  “That wasn’t her fault,” Charlie added. She looked at Roma Jean. “It was an accident. Nobody intended for those snakes to get loose.”

  “Sonny Nicks is an experienced animal trapper, and he’s going to be just fine.” Maddie set her parfait down on the tabletop. “But about that. Would you mind telling me just exactly what did happen out there? I didn’t quite get the full story.”

  Charlie glanced nervously at Roma Jean, who dropped her eyes and stared at something floating in her dish. “Would you like to sit down with us?” she asked Maddie. She pushed out their extra chair.

  “Sure, but only for a minute or two. I’ve got a hot dinner date with some kind of Korean dish I can’t even pronounce.”

  Charlie nodded and reclaimed her seat. “At least you can eat your ice cream before it looks like Roma Jean’s.”

  Maddie smiled as she sat down. “It’s yogurt, and, for the record, it’s the fat- and sugar-free variety and does not contain toppings of any kind.” She looked back and forth between them. “I want to make certain you’re both clear about that so you can tell the same story if you’re interrogated separately by Syd.”

  Roma Jean actually smiled at that. “Henry said she won’t let you eat sweet stuff.”

  Maddie rolled her eyes. “Henry should have his own talk show.”

  “He kind of does.”

  “What do you mean?” Maddie ate a big spoonful of the parfait. It was delicious. Mrs. Foster made the granola herself, and it had big chunks of almond in it.

  Roma Jean looked embarrassed, like she was afraid she’d said too much. She shrugged. “He likes to pretend he’s Dr. Oz.”

  “Dr. Oz?”

  Roma Jean nodded. “He likes to interview B4.”

  “Right.” Maddie laughed. “It’s widely known that Virginia has been struggling with a pandemic of bovine obesity.”

  “Well, she could always get a job, modeling for Chick-fil-A,” Charlie said.

  “That’s true,” Maddie said. “But until the protests die down, we’d h
ave to hire a security detail to escort her to and from work.”

  Maddie tried not to smile when Charlie and Roma Jean looked at each other, then quickly averted their gazes.

  “Is Sonny really going to be okay?” Charlie asked. “We were worried about him.”

  Maddie nodded. “I’m pretty certain that he won’t develop any complications other than the bruising and swelling at the site of the bite, but he’s going to spend the next eight to ten hours in the hospital as a precaution. He was very lucky.”

  “I’ll say,” Charlie added. “I’ve never seen anyone dare to stomp a rattler like that.”

  Roma Jean fidgeted in her seat. Maddie could tell that the conversation was making her uncomfortable. “I never should have gone there,” she muttered.

  Maddie took advantage of the opening. “Why were you there, Roma Jean?”

  “I invited her. It’s my grandma’s church.” Charlie rubbed her forehead. “Mrs. Black found that preacher. Nobody else knew who he was before today.”

  “Nelda Ray Black?” Maddie asked.

  Charlie nodded. “He’s supposed to be some relative of hers from Tennessee.” She shook her head. “They’re supposed to have services all week, but I don’t think they will after what happened today.”

  “At least he doesn’t have any more snakes,” Roma Jean added.

  “Well,” Charlie poked her straw into what was left of her milkshake, “not unless he packed a few spares.”

  “Spares?” Maddie didn’t like the sound of that.

  “Yes, ma’am. Gramma said he was on a revival circuit—visiting churches all across the state.”

  Great. “Do you know where he was staying?”

  Charlie shook her head. “He travels in one of those big motor coaches. It could be parked just about anyplace.”

  The bell over the front door jingled again. They all looked toward it. Byron Martin stood there, scanning the interior. He did not appear to be interested in ice cream. Maddie wondered how long it would take the news to reach him. Not long, apparently.

  Charlie sighed when Byron saw them and nodded at her. Then she stood up. “He wants to talk with me.” She looked down at Roma Jean. “I’m sorry about this. I hope it won’t take too long.”

  “It’s okay,” Roma Jean said. Maddie thought she sounded resigned. “I need to be getting home, anyway. I have to work tonight.”

  Charlie looked like she wanted to say something else, but Byron cleared his throat. She just took a deep breath and turned around to go and join him.

  Maddie watched Roma Jean watch Charlie as she walked away.

  “You know, Roma Jean,” she said. “If you ever want to talk about anything . . .” She hesitated. She wanted to say, you can always call Syd. It wasn’t her style to blunder into somebody else’s business like this, but she already had one foot in the water, and now Roma Jean was looking at her with an alarmed expression. “I mean about the incident today,” she added. Roma Jean seemed to relax. “What were you doing out there?”

  Roma Jean shrugged. “Charlie asked if I wanted to go with her to church.”

  Maddie raised an eyebrow.

  “It wasn’t like that,” Roma Jean explained. “Her grandma goes there, and is always bugging her to come to services. She only went because of that.”

  “You mean to keep peace in the family?”

  “I guess so.” Roma Jean looked at Maddie. “She didn’t know anything about those snakes, Dr. Stevenson. I promise.”

  Maddie nodded.

  “Nobody knew about them until I tripped and knocked their box over. That’s how they got loose.”

  “Did you see Mrs. Black?” Maddie asked.

  Roma Jean nodded. “She was sitting right up front with the Lear twins.”

  “Did she seem surprised or upset when the snakes got loose?”

  Roma Jean thought about that for a moment. “No, ma’am. She was pretty mad at Gramma Azalea for shooting one of them.”

  Maddie shook her head. “We’re just lucky that no one got caught in the crossfire.”

  “Oh, you don’t need to worry about that, Dr. Stevenson. Gramma never misses. Daddy says she could shoot a tick off a sleeping hound dog without waking it up.”

  “Jericho’s own Little Sure Shot.”

  “What?” Roma Jean looked confused.

  Maddie smiled at her. “Never mind.” She finished her yogurt. “Do you need a ride home?”

  “No, ma’am. I have Uncle Cletus’s car.”

  “Well, I’d better be on my way, or Syd will have a posse out looking for me.” She stood up. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  Roma Jean glanced toward the door where Charlie was still deep in conversation with the sheriff. She looked back at Maddie. Her brown eyes looked almost amber today—amber and terrified, Maddie thought.

  “I’m okay,” she said in a small voice.

  Maddie cursed herself for being so lousy at this sensitive chat stuff. She needed Syd.

  “You know you can always talk to us . . . to Syd and me,” she added. “To either of us—about anything.”

  Roma Jean nodded.

  “You’re only eighteen. You don’t have to figure everything out all at once.”

  Roma Jean opened her mouth to say something. Maddie’s cell phone started to ring.

  Maddie pulled it out of her pocket and glanced at the readout. It was a text from Syd.

  Where did you go for anchovy paste—the Black Sea?

  She rolled her eyes and stuck it back into her pocket.

  “I’m sorry. Syd’s wondering where I am.”

  Roma Jean looked embarrassed. “I have to get going, too.”

  “You aren’t going to wait on Charlie?” Maddie asked.

  Roma Jean shook her head. “It looks like she’s going to be a while, and I can’t be late for work again.”

  Maddie gave her a quick pat on the shoulder. “All right. But remember what I said, okay?”

  Roma Jean nodded and lowered her gaze.

  “See you around, kiddo.” Maddie turned away and started walking toward the entrance, where Charlie and Byron were still deep in conversation. Charlie was standing with her hands spread out, probably trying to show Byron the length of one of LeFevre’s “helpers.”

  She nearly reached the pair and heard a small voice behind her.

  “Dr. Stevenson?”

  It was Roma Jean. Maddie stopped and turned around.

  “Maybe I will come out and talk with you and Syd sometime—if that’s really okay?”

  Roma Jean was such a pretty girl, with her shiny red hair and big brown eyes, and right now, she looked so grown up. When did that happen? Maddie smiled. Maybe I don’t totally suck at these sensitive chats after all?

  She couldn’t wait to tell Syd.

  “It’s totally okay, Roma Jean. Any time you want. Just stop by.”

  “Okay.”

  Byron called out to her.

  Maddie sighed and closed her eyes before pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. Syd’s whatever-in-the-hell-it-was would just have to wait a bit longer for its final ingredient.

  Chapter 15

  “I STILL CAN’T believe we’re doing this.”

  Syd was looking out the window at Lake Norman as they inched past it on their way to Charlotte. It was a warm day, and the lake was clogged with boats—probably accounting for the traffic slowdown through this pretty stretch of interstate that provided main channel views on both sides of the highway.

  “Where are we, anyway?” she asked Maddie, who was busy drumming her fingers on the top of the steering wheel. They were driving Syd’s Volvo. Part of their stated reason for making this trip was to shop—finally—for a new car to replace Maddie’s Jeep.

  “We’re in Davidson,” Maddie said. “The traffic always slows down through here.”

  Syd looked at her. “It does?”

  Maddie sighed. “When the weather is nice, like today, there will invariably be a lot of boat traffic—and that mea
ns there’ll be a pretty good chance that someone will be sunbathing near the highway . . . topless.”

  Syd dropped her chin to her chest. “Did you just say, topless?”