“Hi, Shelby, what are you doing here?”
“You’ve gone and stolen Zach from me,” she accuses.
“I’ve done no such thing. Zach was never yours to steal. You were just using him to get to Beau.”
“But now I’ll never make Beau jealous, and it’s all your fault.”
“Why do you need to make him jealous?” I ask. “Why can’t he just like you on your own merit?”
The concept seems to confound her. She finally says, “He didn’t like me enough on my own merit to stay with me.”
“The way I hear it, he just didn’t want to make a declaration of undying love after only three dates,” I tell her.
I’m not sure what I expect Shelby to do, but I do not expect her to break down and start crying. And she’s no delicate crier, either. She’s snuffling and snorting and carrying on like she’s at the funeral of everybody she loves.
“Oh, dear,” Mama says. She’s not big on uncomfortable emotional scenes. She runs off to get a box of tissue and for some reason brings along a bottle of wine when she returns.
“Who’s the wine for, Mama?” I ask her.
“Me. If this girl doesn’t settle down, I’m gonna need a little something.”
Shelby takes the tissues and grabs a handful before blowing her nose. She wilts in the middle of the floor instead of moving a few steps to a chair. “I don’t know what to do,” she says between hiccups.
Mama pulls the cork out of the wine and very uncharacteristically swigs from the bottle. I take it out of her hands and replace it with the baby. “Why don’t you go put Faye down in her crib? I’ll take over here.”
She happily takes the baby and exits the room. I reach my hand out to Shelby. “Get up,” I order. I pull her up to her feet then lead her over to the couch. Once she’s settled, I add, “You gotta pull yourself together, girl.” But from her quivering chin to her pained eyes, it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen anytime soon.
I try to divert her from her own concerns by asking, “What kind of gossip does your mama think she has on my family?”
Shelby cries even harder. She finally says, “I can’t tell you.”
“Why?”
“I just can’t. Mama would kill me dead. But I promise I’m doing everything I can to keep her quiet. Although, I’m just not sure why I should bother now that Beau’s gonna know there was nothing going on between me and Zach.”
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, Shelby, but he’s known from the start.”
The look on her face is priceless, part deer in the headlights and part slug in her salad. “How do you know that?”
“He told me when I moved home.”
“Oh, my god! What do I do now?” She starts bawling all over again.
I’m not sure how to handle this situation. I can’t call Cootie, that’s for sure. So, I do the next best thing, I pick up the phone and call Beau.
Chapter Forty-Four
“Hello?” Beau answers the phone.
“It’s me, Emmie,” I tell him by way of greeting.
“Zach Grant, huh?” he asks. Someone must have added Beau to the family text regarding the details of my love life.
“Yes, now shut up. I need you to do me a favor. Can you be over at Filene’s at six o’clock tonight?”
“Sure. But why? If you want to chat about something, we can do it now.”
“I don’t need anything. I want you to meet a friend of mine. She needs some help and I think you might have the information she’s looking for.”
He asks, “You got a friend moving to town looking for real-estate?”
“Something like that,” I reply. Shelby already lives here, but she is looking to acquire something, just not a house. “Give the hostess my name. I’ll make the reservation.”
“Thanks, cuz,” Beau says. Of course, he may not be thanking me when the night is over, but there’s only one way to clear the air between him and Shelby and that’s for them to talk. We hang up before I share any of that with him, though.
Shelby has stopped crying and is now looking at me with wild-eyed fear. “What was that all about?”
“That was about you and Beau finally sitting down like adults and clearing the air,” I tell her.
“We can’t do that!” she practically yells.
“Why not?”
“Because, because, I don’t know why, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. We already broke up once.”
I remind her, “You broke up with him because you let your mama interfere and tell you to break up with him. Why don’t you just explain that to Beau, and let him know that you want to date him, and you don’t need him to pledge to forever just yet?”
“But Mama will freak out if I start dating him again and he hasn’t committed to me exclusively.”
“Why is it her business?” I ask.
She looks confused by my question. “Because she’s my mama?”
“Look, Shelby, it’s okay to have your own life and not share everything with your family.” I know I’m pie-in-the-sky dreaming. But who knows, it might be possible to keep some things from them.
She eyes me dubiously, so I add, “You’re a grown woman. Your mama already made her choice. She doesn’t get to make yours as well.” It’s like I’m speaking Swahili or something.
She finally answers, “I’ve never thought about it like that. Mama’s always made the decisions for our family.”
“Because you’ve let her. Take back control of your life.”
Shelby startles like a full-grown yeti has just walked into the room. “I look like heck in a hurricane. I can’t meet Beau looking like this.”
I pick up my phone and tell Siri to connect me to Filene’s. After making a reservation for Shelby and Beau under my name, I say, “Come on into the bathroom with me. I’ll help make you look presentable.”
“Why would you do that?” she asks cautiously. “I mean, it’s not like we’re exactly friends.”
“No, we’re not,” I confirm. “But Beau’s my cousin and I love him. For some reason he’s drawn to you. I’m doing this so he can either find some closure or get on with dating you, already. Limbo is no place for anyone to live.”
“But you’re still helping me,” she says.
“You can’t be all bad if Beau likes you,” I tell her. “My cousin has good taste, but he’s not one to suffer fools.” I reach out to take her hand and pull her off the couch. She puts up as much resistance as a rag doll that’s lost all of its stuffing.
I lead her into my bathroom and hand her a washcloth. “Splash some cool water on your face. I’ll be right back.”
I hurry into Mama’s room to let her know what’s up. There’s no way I can involve myself in this without her knowing. She’s lying on the bed playing with Faye. “Shelby’s still here.”
Mama looks up. “Show that girl the door, honey. We don’t need one of Cootie’s kind over here.”
I ignore her and say, “I’m helping her get ready to meet Beau tonight at Filene’s. Those two need to get a few things straight.”
“Why in the world?” she demands. “As far as I can see, Shelby’s digging her own grave with Beau and that’s for the best. We don’t want to help them reconcile,” she reminds me as if I could’ve somehow forgotten where she stands on the issue.
“I think we want two different things, Mama. I want Beau to be happy. For some reason he thinks Shelby makes him happy. I want to make sure he really wants to walk away before whatever is between them ends for good.”
“But Cootie …” Mama starts to say.
“Cootie nothing, Mama. I don’t want that woman in our lives any more than you do. But maybe she’ll give up targeting us if she’s one of us.”
“Do not underestimate that woman’s degree of danger, honey,” Mama says.
“I’m not,” I assure her. “But the bottom line is that Beau is an adult and he should make his own choice without any interference from us.”
Mam
a shakes her head. “Auntie Lee is going to scream the house down when she hears this.”
“Then don’t tell her. This isn’t her business just as it isn’t yours or mine. Stay quiet and let things unfold without trying to control the situation. And no gossiping about this, either.”
“I am not a gossip,” Mama defends. “I love my family and want to do right by them, is all.”
“I know. But sometimes you and Auntie Lee get a little too involved. You can love and support us without steering the ship. You know what I’m saying?”
She cocks one eyebrow in response. She knows exactly what I’m saying. Now, she just needs to trust that the world will work out as it should without her interference. I’m so not holding my breath.
Chapter Forty-Five
By the time Shelby leaves to meet Beau, Mama’s barely speaking to me. She walks into the kitchen while I’m washing lettuce. I ask, “Is Faye asleep?”
She shrugs her shoulders and answers, “Maybe.”
“Maybe? What kind of answer is that?” I demand.
“I don’t want to gossip about the people I love. She’s either asleep or not. I guess you’ll have to figure that out for yourself.”
“Mama, you’re being childish,” I tell her. She’s wearing a fresh dress and her makeup has been touched up, so I ask, “Where are you going?”
“Out.” That’s all she says.
“You aren’t by any chance going out to dinner with Auntie Lee?” I ask.
“We have to eat,” she declares defensively.
“Then eat here,” I tell her. “I’m going to make you that salad I had at Filene’s the other night.”
“Sorry, we already have reservations. Lee’s picking me up.”
There are only two places in town that require dinner reservations. One is at the club, the other is Filene’s. “Mama,” I warn, “stay out of this. It’s none of your affair.”
She huffs dramatically, “My dinner is most certainly my affair.” Then she grabs her purse and is out the door before I can respond. I do the only thing I can think of. I find my phone and call Beau. When his voicemail picks up, I say, “Change of plans, Beau. My friend will meet you at Mama’s house. Come on over here instead of Filene’s.” Then I call Shelby to share the news.
She says, “But I just sat down.”
“Get right back up,” I tell her. “My mama and Beau’s mama are on their way over there. I’m pretty sure they’re looking to cause trouble.”
Shelby sighs. “Maybe we shouldn’t even bother. With all of our mamas against us, it’d be easier to ride a horse all the way to Paris, France.”
“Give up if you want,” I tell. “But I think Beau’s worth fighting for.”
After several beats, she says, “I’m on my way.”
I hurry to set the table for two, going so far as lighting candles. I put the steaks I defrosted under the broiler and throw the salad together. By the time the doorbell rings, I have the baby in her car seat and I’m ready to walk out the door.
My cousin greets, “Hey, Emmie, where are you going? I thought you told me to come over here.”
“I did,” I tell him. “I just have to run to the store real quick. Watch the steaks under the broiler and take them out when the timer rings.” I’ve got the baby in Mama’s car and I’m pulled out of the driveway before he knows what’s hit him.
I drive over to Zach’s and lay on the horn as soon I see his car out front. He opens the door and waves. “Come on in. I was just going to put on some dinner.”
I hang my head out the window and reply, “No, sir, dinner’s on me. I got us reservations at Filene’s.”
I fill him in on what’s going on as soon as he gets in the car. He asks, “Why are you helping them? I thought you didn’t like Shelby.”
“I don’t,” I tell him. “But I love Beau and he needs to make a decision about what he’s going to do. He can’t keep leading Shelby on, for her sake as well as the family’s.”
“What about us? If your mama and auntie Lee are at Filene’s, surely they’re going to be watching us like hawks out for a fresh kill.”
“I’m counting on it,” I say. “If we can keep them entertained enough, then hopefully they’ll forget about Beau and Shelby.”
Zach smiles brightly and declares, “I’m pleased to do my part.”
I smile back. “Good. But just be warned, now that you’ve outed us to my family, they’re going to get themselves involved in every little thing we do.”
“Hopefully, not everything,” he teases. My body gets all hot at the implication that we have some fun times in our future.
I warn, “I’m not the one who kissed you in front of them. Just so you know, they’re going to consider anything we do fair game until we declare ourselves before the preacher.” The words are out of my mouth before I can pull them back. What have I just said? No man wants his dating yacking about matrimony their first real time out. I figure our first trip to Filene’s doesn’t count and while we left last night’s fish fry together, we sure didn’t arrive that way.
But instead of getting twitchy at my words, Zach jokes, “Then we’d best schedule the wedding now.”
I try to laugh that off, but the sound comes out as more of a groan of longing. When I moved home, I thought it would be ages, if ever, before I found a man I wanted to date. But I ran into Zach, and our encounters have been building to the point where I’m full-on longing for his companionship. Either I’ve crossed the line and have become easy since Faye’s conception, or there’s something special going on here. I guess only time will tell.
I pull into the parking lot at Filene’s and park in a spot right next to Auntie Lee. Those ladies don’t know who they’re messing with. But I’m about to show them.
Chapter Forty-Six
The hostess who greets us is the same one that flirted with Zach the night of our non-date. She doesn’t look overly thrilled to see us.
Zach puts his arms around my waist with one hand while carrying the baby carrier in the other. “Frothingham, party of two,” he tells her. She looks at her book for a moment too long, so he adds, “My girlfriend made the reservation earlier today.”
Little earthquakes erupt all over my body. I’m not going to tell you where the epicenter is, but I’m pretty sure you can guess.
The hostess glares at us both before looking back at her book. “I’m sorry I don’t see it and we don’t have an opening until eight.”
I tell her. “My reservation was for two at six o’clock.”
She looks down again and says, “That table has already been seated.”
“Who’s sitting there?” I ask, although I’m pretty sure she means Shelby. But Shelby should be on the way to Mama’s house.
The hostess says, “Two ladies who I happen to know are Frothinghams,” she says.
Ah, so Mama and Auntie Lee have taken my table. Zach says, “They’re expecting us.”
I look at him like he’s just decided to take a stroll through an active mine field. I lean in and whisper, “Do you have any idea what you’re doing?”
He replies, “I think I do.” Then he smiles at the hostess and adds, “Should we follow you or would you like us to find our own way?”
She grabs two more menus while muttering, “I’m not sure there’s room for four at that table.”
Zach assures her, “’Course there is. We like each other enough to be in close quarters.” That woman is going spit in his drink if he doesn’t calm down.
It appears she’s decided to do her job even though she looks none too happy about it. “Follow me.”
And we do. We walk straight through the dining room to the doors that lead outside. She takes us to the table I requested and drops the menus unceremoniously. “Here you go.”
Mama and Auntie Lee look up, astonished. “What are you doing here?” Mama demands.
“Having dinner. Imagine my surprise when we got here and found our table had been taken.”
Zach ad
ds, “I hope you don’t mind if we join you.” He pulls out a chair for me next to Mama.
Auntie Lee seems to be at a loss for words. Then she finds some. “What about Beau and Shelby? I thought they were eating here.”
“Really? Wherever did you get that idea?” I glare at Mama.
“Where are they?” Mama wants to know. “Did you send them over to the club?” She moves as if to push her chair out so she can stand up.
Zach takes that as his cue to lean over me and lay one on me. It’s not a chaste kiss either. It’s hot and steamy and very thorough. Heavens. This man is like a drug. Even though I know he’s kissing me to distract our audience, he’s doing a number diverting me as well.
Auntie Lee interrupts us by saying, “I understand you two are an item now.”
I’m about to tell her that we’ve just started to date, when Zach says, “Yes, ma’am, we sure are.”
I want to laugh at this whole crazy situation. The mamas are torn between tearing out of here to find Beau and Shelby and staying right where they are to witness whatever is going on between me and Zach.
Mama asks again, “Are you going to tell us where Beau and Shelby are?”
“No, ma’am,” I tell her.
Auntie Lee decides, “Then we’re going to stay here and have our dinner with you.”
Zach throws his hands up in the air like an overly excited cheerleader. “How wonderful! I’ll order us a nice bottle of wine and we can settle in.” When the server comes over, he asks for a highchair and bottle of Merlot, then he orders the sautéed mushrooms as an appetizer.
I excuse myself to use the ladies’ room. But instead of powdering my nose, I walk outside and pull out my phone. The call is answered after only one ring.
“Emmie, what are you up to?” Beau demands.
I ignore his question. “The steak should be nice and rested. Go ahead and serve it with the salad on the counter. The dressing is in a Mason jar in the fridge.”
“Emmie,” he warns.
“Beau, I love you,” I tell him. “You told me there was something about Shelby that called to you. Find out what that is and either get on with it or let her know you’re serious about things being over. No more games.”
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