Southern Comfort

by ANDREA SMITH

  Chapter 47

  June 30th

  I’d taken my GED test two weeks ago, and I was still waiting for the results, which were due in the mail anytime now. I was just a little nervous not knowing, although I felt like I had done well. I just wasn’t one to get my hopes up until I knew for sure.

  Melissa and I were sprawled out on the sofa in our apartment. Jamie was out on maneuvers for the whole weekend, so we’d decided to make it a “girls weekend.”

  School was out so Melissa had more time to hang with me, which I loved.

  “Pizza’s here!” she called out jumping up from the couch seconds after the doorbell rang.

  “Here, let me give you half,” I called out reaching for my purse.

  “Shut up. No, you’re not. I got this.”

  “Next one’s mine,” I replied, knowing damn well that I’d never win that fight. That was just how Melissa rolled. So freaking generous and always preaching to me about saving my money, which I was, but I wasn’t quite sure what I was supposed to be saving it for. Jamie didn’t charge me rent, and I had no car expense, so my savings was growing leaps and bounds and I was clueless as to what I would do with it.

  She returned to the living room with the pizza box and our six-pack of Pepsi. “You’re saving your money, remember?”

  “Yeah, I know. With you and Jamie forever preaching that to me how can I possibly forget?”

  She laughed, and opened the lid of the box, peeled off a pepperoni slice and popped it into her mouth. “Ooh, ooh, hot,” she croaked, waving her hand frantically in front of her mouth.

  I opened a Pepsi and handed it over. She took a quick drink, and sighed. “Thank you.”

  “The thing is,” I started, as I pulled a napkin out and placed a slice on it, “I’m starting to think you guys might want me to find my own place with all the lectures I’m getting about saving money.”

  She immediately placed her pop can on the coffee table. “So not true, Sunny. Why the hell would you even say something like that? We love you and you damn well know it.”

  I shrugged, taking a bite. “Well then, what exactly am I supposed to be saving for? I just figured that maybe my being here was putting a damper on your lives.”

  “Oh,” she half-screeched, “that is so much bullshit and you know it! We’re all family here, girl. And if you want to know the truth, the only reason Jamie and I have been encouraging you to save money is because one of these days you’re going to get tired of taking a bus everywhere and want wheels of your own, that’s all.”

  “Ah, I see,” I replied with a smile. “Well, it just so happens I might be doing just that pretty soon.”

  “Yeah? Want me to go with you to pick one out? I love car shopping, negotiating with the car salesmen. You know, you have to be totally prepared to walk off the lot if you want to get the best deal,” she finished, pointing her finger at me to drive home the point.

  I giggled at her obvious enthusiasm over car shopping. I had no doubt Melissa could hold her own with any used car salesman one might put in front of her.

  “Sorry to disappoint you, but no, I won’t be shopping for one. Dad mentioned he wanted to buy one for me once I get my GED.”

  “Aha,” she crooned, chewing a bite of her pizza thoughtfully, “that explains it.”

  “Explains what?” I asked, quirking a brow.

  “Your obsession with checking the mailbox three times a day. You realize they only deliver once each day, right?”

  “Shut up,” I said, laughing out loud. “But, you’re right. Only it’s not because of the car, although I sure as hell could use one. No, this is something I wanted for myself.”

  “I get that. So, what then, babe? What are your plans? You know, you have so much potential. Jamie and I both think you should go to college. You know, in Cali, you can go to college for free being you’re officially a resident now.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I know. Jamie’s mentioned that to me about fifty million times. But, I’m just not sure. I feel like…well, like maybe I have some unfinished business.”

  “Not following.”

  I took a deep breath. Melissa knew the basics of what my life had been like back in Layton, but I’ve never shared the gritty details with her or Jamie for that matter. All they knew was that Mama had basically discarded me as her daughter as soon as Avery came into our lives, and that he was a sick, nasty bastard I couldn’t stand.

  Since reading all of Gina’s letters, I had become unsettled again and, for whatever reason, I felt emboldened and pissed that he’d gotten away with his immoral actions.

  “Can I show you something?” I asked.

  She nodded. “Sure.”

  I left and returned momentarily with the stack of Gina’s letters. “Would you read these, please? They’re from my best friend back in Layton. I hadn’t read any of them until just recently. After you read them, I’m ready to fill in the blanks for you, and then maybe you can help me decide where I go next.”

  Melissa took the letters from me.

  “I put them in order, so start from the top.”

  And she did.

  An hour later, I was filling in the blanks, and watched as her expression changed from disgust to utter horror as I unraveled every last detail of why I had fled Layton in shame.

  Chapter 48

  Avery Dawson crumpled up the letter in his fist and hurled it into the metal trashcan next to his desk. He’d known as soon as he saw the SBC gothic script logo on the upper left corner of the envelope that Monsignor Donahue had carried through with his pledge to notify the Southern Baptist Council.

  The letter hadn’t been accusatory in nature, of course. It merely stated that a concern had been filed, and that one of the executive council members would be making a visit to Layton within the next sixty days, once the convention had concluded.

  Avery scoffed at the fact that as the presiding minister at Briar Ridge Southern Baptist Church he’d been overlooked on their invitation list.

  Again.

  It was probably a result of having such a small congregation, but then again, how could he grow his flock when he was repeatedly bypassed when the invitations went out for the annual convention?

  It was certainly a no-win situation, which left him increasingly frustrated. There was a soft tap on his office door.

  “Yes?” he called out. “Come in.”

  The door opened quietly and Bonnie poked her head inside. “Just letting you know I’m leaving now, Reverend. I’ll be back in tomorrow to get the roster for the youth group finalized.”

  “Thank you, Bonnie. How many enrollees do we have thus far?”

  “Fourteen,” she replied, smiling. As if that were a monumental number. He had anticipated more than twice that number if the group was going to bring in the much-needed funds.

  “Have you ordered the candy bars for the first fundraiser?” he asked.

  “Yes, Reverend, twenty dozen as you requested. They’ll be here by Monday when the group meets for the first time.

  “Yes, well I hoped we’d have more members by now,” Avery grumbled. “At $3.00 profit per bar, that only comes to a little over $700, and we need $1500 to sponsor the youth church camp in August.”

  “Well, how about my idea of having a bake sale after every Sunday service and the Wednesday prayer meetings?” Bonnie asked. “You know someone told me that Stella Martin bakes a mean Nesselrode pie. Secret is her pie crust. She uses pig lard you know?”

  Avery sighed. “Stella hasn’t been very active in the church for a while, Bonnie.”

  “Oh, yes. Well—how about I call and ask her, Reverend? I’d be happy to donate the ingredients for as many pies as she’s willing to make.”

  Avery was silent. The truth was, he’d only seen Stella in passing a few times and she’d made it a point to avoid looking his way. He wasn’t sure whether she’d come clean to her husband or not about her seeking counseling with him for their marital issues. “No, Bonnie, that’s quite alright. I’ll
pay a visit to Stella myself. I’ve been meaning to go out there and let her know she’s been missed at services. I’ve just been remiss in doing so, I’m afraid.”

  “Oh Reverend, you’ve been so busy with everything else, I don’t see how you have the time for half of what you do for the church,” she finished, shaking her head. “But my offer to supply ingredients for any of the ladies who wish to join this project holds. I’d bake them myself but I’ve never quite mastered the art of baking,” she finished, chuckling.

  “Thank you, Bonnie. That certainly is a generous offer. I’ll see to it that Donna bakes some things to cover this Wednesday’s prayer meeting. Can you make some sign-up sheets to distribute for others to do their part?”

  “I sure will, Reverend. Don’t you worry, we’ll get the money in no time. You have a great evening, and send my best to Donna.”

  “Thank you, Bonnie.”

  Donna Dawson had just put supper on the table when Avery came in. She quickly called out to him that dinner was ready and, by his expression, she knew something was bothering him.

  “I need you to bake a few dozen cookies, and maybe a few batches of cupcakes for tomorrow evening’s meeting,” he said, taking a bite of the casserole she’d made.

  “I usually bring a day-old cake home from the Piggly Wiggly for that,” she replied.

  “This has to be freshly homemade, Donna,” he snapped. “Bonnie’s come up with a fundraising idea, and we’re starting it tomorrow evening. Selling fresh baked goods after services. We need to bring more money in for youth camp.”

  “But Avery, I work tomorrow from ten to four.”

  “Then I suppose you’ll need to start on it tonight. You can finish up in the morning before you leave for work.”

  Donna’s fork clattered loudly against her dinner plate. She tossed her napkin on the table, and her chair scraped loudly against the linoleum floor as she pushed away from the table.

  “I won’t have you treating me like some…some slave to you, Avery! I work full-time, keep house, cook your meals, and now you have me baking for some fundraiser?”

  He raised his eyes to meet hers where she stood above him. Donna didn’t miss the twitch in his jaw that meant he was trying to keep his temper in check.

  Finally, he spoke using measured control. “Donna, may I remind you of Luke, Chapter 6, Verse 30? ‘Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.’”

  She turned from him and immediately, with as much noise as possible, pulled out the metal cookie pans, cupcake pans, and mixer from the cupboard and slammed them onto the kitchen counter.

  An hour later, as Avery sat in his den, the smell of fresh baked cookies permeated throughout the house.

  He smiled.

  Chapter 49

  July 4th

  I watched as Jamie flipped the hamburgers over, hearing the sizzle as the grease dripped onto the hot coals as he pressed them down with his metal spatula.

  “Smells so good,” I said as my stomach growled louder. “Are they almost finished?’”

  “Sure, if you like them dripping blood in the center,” he joked. “Damn girl, haven’t you eaten yet today?”

  “No smartass, I haven’t” I replied. “I just got off work a couple hours ago and I’m tired of the food at work. Especially when I see how it’s made,” I finish with a shudder. “And I thought we were going to eat like an hour ago.”

  “Waiting on Mel,” he answered slyly.

  What was with the look I wondered. “Speaking of which, where is Mel?”

  He grinned. “She’ll be here in about ten minutes. She’s been waiting on her guest to arrive.”

  “Guest?” I asked, pouring a glass of lemonade from the pitcher on the table into a paper cup. “What guest?”

  Again, I get a shit-eating grin from my brother.

  “Oh no—no,” I ground out. “You two are trying to fix me up again, are you? I mean, we all know how that worked out last week, right?”

  Melissa and my brother had asked me to go bowling with them a week ago Saturday. What they failed to tell me was that Melissa had invited her younger brother’s friend, Gregory, to meet us there. As soon as I laid eyes on him, I recognized the fix-up.

  It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate the thought, but hells-bells this dude was weird—even for California! He was on some fast that allowed him exactly ten ounces per day of kiwi juice for five days. Nothing else. Just the juice. Apparently it cleansed and detoxified his body of every impurity imaginable to mankind. Then, between frames, he talked incessantly about some dude named Graham Greene, and his award-winning novels criticizing American Imperialism.

  He was way too deep for me. I made sure to stuff myself with a couple of chili dogs, hoping it might scare him off, but no such luck. He lectured me on eating meat, telling me it was bad for my health, and for my spiritual well-being. Apparently, when one consumes red meat, they are also ingesting the fear of the animal slaughtered for said meat.

  “And here I thought I only had to be concerned with rodent hairs and Sodium Erythorbate,” I replied, trying to outlast him in the gross conversation topics.

  “Sodium what?”

  “Erythorbate, you know, earthworms used as a binder for hot dogs, bologna, that sort of thing.”

  Well, that had done it.

  Gregory had trotted off to the Men’s Room where I could only imagine he tossed his ten ounces of kiwi juice. He missed two frames.

  “No way,” Jamie answered, laughing. “We learned our lesson on that one, believe me. This is a surprise, so just hang tight. I promise, you’ll like it.”

  To say I liked my surprise was a total understatement. My brother had downplayed that so well. Ten minutes after he made that statement, Mel and my father traipsed out onto the patio and I was literally speechless, but the best was yet to come.

  “Dad? You’re here!”

  “No duh,” Jamie said with a chuckle. “Surprised?”

  I quickly closed the distance between my dad and me. For the first time since I was nine, I hugged my dad with all my heart. “But you didn’t say anything about coming out the last time we talked?”

  He squeezed me tightly, “Well darlin’, that would’ve spoiled the surprise now, wouldn’t it?”

  “There’s more!’ Melissa squealed, clapping her hands together. “He drove out, but he’s flying back.”

  I pulled back, studying my father’s face. “What?”

  He laughed, and put his arm around my shoulders. “Come see your graduation present, honey.”

  I allowed him to lead me to the parking lot in front of our apartment, and my mouth dropped open when I saw the shiny new red Mustang parked there, with a huge white bow wrapped around the hood.

  “Oh my God!” I screamed as it sunk in. “Mine?” I whirled around to face the smiling faces of my family.

  Yes, my family. The one I finally had after damn near eighteen years. The ones in my life who I knew would always be there for me no matter what.

  My dad stepped forward, dangling a set of car keys from his finger. “Well, I guess that depends,” he teased with a wide grin. “Go on and see if the key fits, darlin’.”

  He didn’t have to say it twice. I swiped the keys from his finger and hurried over to the shiny car and, sure enough, that key fit. I started it up, revved the engine a few times and then rolled the window down. “Who wants a ride?” I asked.

  Later, as Dad and I were standing in the driveway, saying our ‘goodbyes’ for now, he pulled an envelope from his pocket. “Happy Early Birthday, sweetie.”

  I took it from him, clearly puzzled since it wasn’t my birthday. “Thanks for the card and of course, for the wheels, Dad,” I said, giving him another hug.

  “Open it,” he instructed, smiling mischievously.

  I peeled the envelope open, and my surprise was evident when I pulled out not a card, but a check for ten thousand dollars made out to me. I was speechless.

  “Wel
l?”

  “Oh, Dad, I don’t understand. This is too much. Way too much.”

  “Nonsense, daughter. This is your incentive to enroll in college. I don’t care what college, but you are too damn smart to sling hash the rest of your life, baby.”

  “I don’t know what to say, Dad. I mean I haven’t even looked into college yet.”

  “All the more reason to do so now,” he replied. “Listen Sunny, look at it his way. This is the child support I should’ve been paying after I left. You are my daughter. It doesn’t matter if my blood doesn’t course through your veins because honey, my love sure as hell does. Now, will you do me proud?”

  Tears welled up in my eyes, and I couldn’t speak. I croaked a lame ‘uh huh’ and stood on my tiptoes to give him another hug and kiss.

  “Thanks, Dad. I promise I will make you so damn proud.”

  Chapter 50

  It’d been four weeks since the arrival of my new car and, unfortunately, the departure of my dad back to Chicago. It was funny how close we’d become over the past several months. More so than we had been when we were both under the impression we were related. But then again, I was a little girl and he was on the road a lot in those days. Still, there was a lot to be said for the fact we’d both overcome the hurdle called Donna Gardner Dawson. It was nice to have a parent, blood or otherwise, who wasn’t completely crazy.

  I still hadn’t done a thing about school, but I was determined to start looking into my options soon. It wouldn’t hurt to take the summer off and then look into my options for winter quarter somewhere.

  I’d just finished pulling a double, seven to seven, when the phone in the apartment rang. The only people that ever called here were Mel for Jamie, Jamie for me, and Dad for me. Since I’d passed Mel and Jamie when I came in by way of the patio, it wasn’t either one of them. My watch read ten past ten, so Dad was likely asleep. I don’t know why I was obsessing over it, maybe it was just a feeling of dread that it could be Donna.