A Piece of My Heart

by Sharon Sala

  The biscuits went up. The hot pan fell down, right on top of Ruthie’s left arm as she landed on the other. She screamed. The snap was loud enough that Chester, the kid washing dishes, heard it break, and quickly ran to her aid. But Ruthie hadn’t finished falling. The last body part to hit the floor was Ruthie’s head, and now she was unconscious and bleeding.

  Chester shoved the hot pan off her arm and yelled for the cook to call 911.

  Lovey was manning the front register when she heard the commotion in the kitchen. She waved down a waitress to take over as she ran to see what was wrong. The entire dining area and the customers went silent. One of their own had been hurt.

  They heard a siren, and then Peanut Butterman, who was having another breakfast meeting about the Peachy Keen Queen contest with Ruby Dye, because Mike Dalton wouldn’t take the job of emcee, took it upon himself to go see what had happened.

  He came back, white-faced and shaky. “It’s Ruthie!” he said. “She took a bad fall. She has a serious burn on her left arm, broke her right arm, and hit her head. It’s bleeding all over the place.”

  “I call this meeting canceled,” Ruby said, and raced back to the kitchen to help her friend, Lovey.

  Back in the dining area, George Franklin was the first to say what everyone else was thinking. “This is awful. What a disaster. Who’s gonna make breakfast biscuits at Granny’s?”

  His wife Myra frowned. “Well, poor Ruthie. You’re all worried about your belly when you should be worried about her. If you want biscuits, I reckon I can make you some.”

  George rolled his eyes. “I’ll just say prayers for Ruthie.”

  The EMTs rolled Ruthie out through the back door as Chief Pittman came into the kitchen past them. Lovey was on her hands and knees, picking up the biscuits, with Ruby at her side.

  Lon saw Ruthie on the gurney, then Ruby and Lovey cleaning up the mess on the floor, and knew this was going to put a big kink in Lovey’s world. He hurried over to where they were working, and squatted down beside them. “Lovey, I just heard the call go out when the ambulance was dispatched. What happened?”

  “Ruthie fell,” Lovey said, and then sat down on the floor with broken biscuits in her lap and started crying. “Ruthie’s been with me from the first day I opened. I don’t know how I’m going to get all this baking done without her.”

  “Is Ruthie going to be okay?” Lon asked.

  “I think so, but I won’t. I never was any good at baking.”

  The news that a baker was needed at Granny’s gave Lon an idea. “I might know someone who could help you out. She’s looking for a permanent job here in Blessings, but—”

  “If she can do the job, it’s likely to be a permanent one. Ruthie is pushing seventy. Who is it?”

  “I’ll make a call first. If she can come, you’ll find out soon enough for yourself.”

  Ruby patted Lovey on the back as the chief left. “Come on, honey, let’s finish cleaning all this up.”

  * * *

  Mercy woke to the smell of fresh coffee and the low rumble of voices. She rolled over to check the time and groaned. She’d been asleep a little over four hours, but she’d gotten through a day on less. It wouldn’t kill her.

  She quickly showered and dressed in old jeans and an even older sweatshirt, then put on some tennis shoes, brushed the tangles out of her hair, and pulled it back with an elastic hair band as she went downstairs.

  She noticed they had the television on in the kitchen and immediately thought of that news van, hoping whatever aired about the attempted robbery had nothing to do with them. “Morning, everybody,” she said, and headed straight for the coffee.

  “What time did you get home?” Duke asked.

  “Well, gee, Daddy, I’m not sure. I didn’t know there was a curfew.”

  Jack snorted. Duke glared.

  “Is everything alright?” Hope asked.

  Mercy grabbed a piece of toast and took it to the table with her coffee. “Finally, a sensible question I’d be happy to answer.” She plopped down in a chair with a groan. “Everything went well with the runaway. We found her. She’s safe. And I suspect the shit’s going to hit the fan with Mr. and Mrs. Rogers.”

  “Why?” Hope asked.

  “Please…don’t any of you repeat what I’m about to say, but the reason Kelly ran away is because she was physically abused by her parents, actually her grandparents, and the same people were once a foster family to me. They did the same thing to all of us. They did it to their own daughter, Paula. It’s a long, ugly story, but I don’t think they’ll ever be free to do it again.”

  “Good lord!” Jack said. “Who would have thought? Kelly was a baby when they moved here, and we all assumed she was theirs.”

  “Technically, they moved away from Savannah while caring for her, and when the daughter came home to get her baby, they were gone. Like I said, it’s a long story.”

  “Wow. I see why you were so late,” Hope said.

  Mercy took a bite of toast and then pointed toward the middle of the table. “Hey Duke, would you please pass the honey?”

  He did as she asked, and then handed her a napkin. “Since you decided to eat sans plate, I thought you might need one.”

  She squeezed honey on the toast and then took another bite. “Much better. Now where were we? Oh yes, why we were late coming home.”

  “You mean there’s more?” Hope asked.

  “We were on our way out of Savannah when Lon stopped to refuel. I went inside to use the ladies room while he was getting gas, and to make a long story short, we walked in on a robbery in progress. The unfortunate part was that one of the thieves was a regular at the place where I used to work, and when I recognized him, he ran after me. Lucky for me, Lon had already seen what had happened and came in to save me. But the two other thieves came out of the office just as he ran in. One had a gun, the other a knife. Lon shot them.”

  Hope’s hand was over her mouth because she was afraid to say what she was thinking.

  Duke, however, was not. “What happened to you? I mean, you said that man was after you.”

  “Oh, I grabbed a big jug of that granulated de-icer from a shelf just before he grabbed me by the hair. I swung the jug backward into his balls. After that, he was toast.” She grinned and took a big bite, chewed, and swallowed before finishing the story. “I had to whack him a couple more times on the head with it before he’d stay down, and once he settled, I rolled him on his belly, duct-taped his wrists together, and that ended that.”

  Hope laid her head down on the table and moaned.

  Duke stared at Mercy as if she’d suddenly manifested horns.

  Jack was in awe. “Damn, little sister. You rock! Is the chief okay?”

  “Yes, but the clerk was stabbed and in bad condition when the ambulances came.”

  “Ambulances?” Duke asked.

  “You weren’t paying attention,” Mercy said, took another bite of honey toast, and then held up one hand and began counting off fingers. “One for the clerk who was stabbed. One for each thief Lon shot. And then one for the guy who grabbed me. He’ll be riding sidesaddle for months and seeing double. It was the best I could do with eight pounds of salt.”

  Hope raised her head, stared at her sister for a minute as if she were a stranger, and then threw her head back and laughed. “Oh my lord. Mama would have been so proud!”

  “What? Why? What do you mean?” Mercy said.

  “Oh, it was all before I was born, but the family always laughed about it when they got together and started reminiscing. The story was, when Mama was only fifteen years old, a boy took her out on a date then tried to mess with her. When she told him to stop, he didn’t listen. She told him again, and he still ignored her. They said at that point, she doubled up her fist and broke his nose. While he was moaning and bleeding all over the place, she kicked
him between the legs and pushed him out of his own car, leaving him stranded on some bayou road. Then she drove it back into town, parked it in front of the police station, and walked home. So then the kid comes into town beat all to hell. No way is he telling anyone a girl did it, so he says someone stole his car. Then the cops smell liquor on his breath, assume he got drunk and parked it there himself. He gets fined for underage drinking and for leaving it in a no-parking zone, and his daddy had to pay more to get it out of impound.”

  For the first time in Mercy’s life, she felt a connection to the mother she couldn’t remember. “I like knowing that,” she said. “It makes me feel like I belong.”

  Hope reached for Mercy’s hand. “Jack’s right. You do rock, little sister, and you’ve always belonged. You just didn’t know it.”

  Before she could ask about the trip into Blessings, Duke pointed at the television mounted on the wall behind the table and yelled, “Look! They’re talking about that robbery now.”

  Jack grabbed the remote to up the volume, as they all turned to watch.

  “That’s Chief Pittman,” Duke said as the camera swept the exterior of the station, catching Lon in a moment with Savannah cops.

  The next shot was of Mercy inside the station in full view as she looked out the window. The journalist had identified her to the public and now extolled her virtues. She could gladly have done without this. And then it occurred to her that her friends at the Road Warrior Bar would find out she’d taken Big Boy down. She’d gotten even for all of them.

  And then she keyed in on what the journalist was saying and sighed.

  …took him down with an eight-pound jug of granulated de-icer. Once in the groin, twice on the head, and then rolled him on his belly in a move any Savannah policeman would appreciate, and in lieu of handcuffs, duct-taped her assailant’s wrists.

  “Lord,” Mercy muttered.

  “You are freaking amazing,” Jack said.

  Hope was still in shock. Her lips parted as she watched the piece end with Lon and Mercy leaving the scene of the robbery together.

  “So, are we still going to Blessings?” Mercy asked.

  “You’re not afraid that you’ll run into those women again?” Jack asked.

  “I didn’t run the first time because they scared me. I left because I didn’t want them to see me cry. And, after everyone sees that piece, I doubt I’ll be challenged again. Besides, the cop says there won’t be a next time.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Duke asked.

  “Because Lon said, and he always keeps his word.”

  Duke snorted. “He’s a nice guy, and I know you said you two had met, but that’s hardly a personality assessment.”

  “That’s not entirely true,” Mercy said. “The first time we met, we were living across the hall from each other in a Savannah apartment building. I was nineteen and he was twenty-two.”

  “Are you serious?” Hope asked.

  “As a heart attack,” Mercy said, and stuffed the last bite of toast into her mouth and chewed.

  “Did you date?” Hope asked.

  “Ummm, not exactly, but I never forgot him, and that’s the end of my story.”

  Then her phone began to ring. She recognized Moose’s number and grinned. “It’s my old boss from the bar. Probably saw the news.”

  “Go ahead and answer, sweetie, unless you need privacy.”

  “No privacy needed with Moose.”

  Duke’s eyebrows arched at the name. Jack glared.

  Mercy answered the phone. “Good morning, Moose. I’m here with my family, and I have you on speakerphone, is that okay?”

  “It’s fine with me. I just called because I saw the morning news! Are you alright? Scared the fire out of me, seeing you on the screen like that.”

  “I’m fine, and thank you for caring,” she said.

  “Aww, honey. You know we all care about you. We love you, and we miss you. Is everything okay there? If people aren’t treating you right, I’ll be happy to get Charlie and come bang some heads.”

  She smiled at the thought. “You leave that bat beneath the bar for someone who needs your help. You know me. I can take care of myself.”

  Moose laughed. “I know that for sure. Is everything good with you and your sister?”

  “It couldn’t be better,” Mercy said.

  “Hello, Moose! I’m Hope, Mercy’s sister. I can tell you that having her back in my life is wonderful. I’m glad to know Mercy has such good friends.”

  “Well, now! Hello to you too, ma’am. Hope you’re healing from the wreck.”

  “Yes, very well, thank you.”

  At that point, Mercy’s phone signaled an incoming call, and she saw it was Lon. “Hey, Moose. Got another call I need to take. Tell everyone hi. First chance I get, I’ll come back for a visit.”

  “If you do, bring cookies,” he said. “We love you, girl. Have a great life.”

  Mercy hung up and took the phone off speakerphone. “It’s Lon. I need to take this.” She walked out of the room with the phone at her ear, leaving the trio in a burst of chatter. “Hello. So, you missed me so much you already had to call? Oh…and we made the morning news, so be prepared for all kinds of remarks. They had one shot with a great view of your butt.”

  Lon chuckled. “I wouldn’t be calling this early because I hoped you were still sleeping, but this is sort of an emergency, and maybe that job you’ve been talking about.”

  “I’m listening,” she said as she flopped down onto the sofa.

  “The emergency is that the baker at Granny’s Country Kitchen had a really bad fall about thirty minutes ago. She won’t be coming back soon, and maybe not at all. Lovey Cooper, the lady who owns Granny’s, is all upset because she doesn’t have a baker. I don’t know if it’s anything you would—”

  “Today? Does she want one today?” Mercy asked.

  “She needs one now. If you do what she needs done, she’ll hire you on the spot. I don’t know what the pay is, but—”

  “I’ll be there in less than thirty minutes. Tell her I’m on my way.”

  She came up from the sofa and went back into the kitchen on the run. “I have a lead on a job in Blessings.”

  Hope groaned. “Already? I knew—”

  “The baker at Granny’s fell. She won’t be coming back to work for a long time, maybe never, Lon said.”

  “Ruthie? Oh my lord, who’ll make the biscuits?” Jack said. “Her biscuits were so good.”

  “My biscuits are good too,” Mercy said. “Hope, I’m sorry, but you’re going to have to do Ruby’s without me.”

  She ran from the kitchen and then upstairs. A few minutes later, she came running back down. She was out the door before any of them thought, and then Hope remembered. “She forgot to get the truck keys.”

  At that moment, they heard the motorcycle start, and when they did, Hope was up. “She’s going to ride that into town?” she cried, and rushed to the front door and opened it wide, just in time to see Mercy fly past the house, her ponytail flying out behind the silver helmet like a flag in the wind. “Oh, dear lord! Here I thought we were getting to know her and find out we haven’t even scratched the surface.”

  “Something tells me she’ll be fine,” Jack said.

  Duke shuddered. “I just missed that bullet, didn’t I? Thank goodness I never asked her out. That relationship would never have worked.”

  Hope and Jack burst into laughter.

  Chapter 21

  Lovey cleaned up the floor around the baking station. The kid who washed the dishes was back at the sink. The cook on day shift was still frying bacon and hash browns and cooking up eggs. They were down to less than twenty servings of biscuits when they all heard the roar of a motorcycle, and then the low, rumbling sound as it idled to a stop.

  “What on earth?” Lovey sa
id as she stopped mopping.

  The steady chatter of diners was always present from anywhere in the cafe, so when the dining room suddenly went quiet, and footsteps could be heard coming toward the kitchen in a long, hurried stride, she turned to face the door.

  She wasn’t prepared for the beauty who walked in, or the biker jacket, or the helmet, but she knew immediately who she was. What she didn’t know was why she was there. “Can I help you, honey?” Lovey said.

  “No, ma’am. Your cop called me. My name is Mercy Dane. He said you needed help, and now I’m here.”

  The dishwasher dropped a cup. The day cook dropped a spatula.

  Lovey dropped the mop. “But we needed a baker.”

  “Yes, ma’am. I can bake. Where do your employees leave their coats and stuff?”

  Lovey pointed at a door.

  Mercy was in and out in seconds, tying an apron around her waist as she walked.

  “I understand the need for urgency. Just show me where everything is kept. I see you have a commercial mixer, which is good. It’s a pain to stir that much dough on your own. Do you have a particular recipe you want me to use…you know…a standard for the cafe?”

  Lovey groaned. “No. Ruthie had one in her head.”

  “No matter,” Mercy said. “I have one of my own. I’ll get started, but if you wouldn’t mind staying close for a bit to show me where things are, we can get caught up a lot faster, okay?”

  “Just for the record, did you just hire yourself, or are you on a trial run?” Lovey asked.

  Mercy frowned. “Oh, no, ma’am. Lon said you’d need to try me out.”

  “Well, then,” Lovey said. “Proceed. The situation can’t get much worse. And you two…get back to work!”

  The cook got a clean spatula, the kid swept up the broken cup, and Mercy started to measure flour then stopped. “Do you have self-rising and all-purpose, or just all-purpose flour?” she asked.

  “All-purpose,” Lovey said.

  “Then would you please show me where the salt, baking powder, and baking soda are kept?”