Hummingbird Lane

by Brown, Carolyn

  Emma shook her head even though she was aware that Sophie couldn’t see her. “And what would I drive? I don’t have a vehicle anymore, and unless your lawyer can figure out a way to get Mother to unfreeze my accounts, it will be a long time before I have one again.”

  “Honey, pretty soon you will be able to buy any type of car you want,” Sophie said. “Leo knows paintings, and those two you sent with him are going to sell high, believe me. Then when we open this place in the fall, you’ll be raking in the money.”

  Sophie was a lot more confident than Emma could ever be. She wouldn’t let herself think in terms like that. She just hoped that she could make enough money that she would never have to leave Hummingbird Lane, and that Josh would rent the trailer to her on a permanent basis.

  “Are you still there?” Sophie asked.

  “I’m here, but I think I must be having a dream. This can’t all be real. My heart is thumping around in my chest like a bass drum,” Emma said. “To think that only a little while ago I was trying to figure out what exactly I was repressing and how to remember so I could stop going to institutions.”

  “Stick with me, my friend, and there might be more on the way,” Sophie said.

  “Can I tell the rest of the family?” Emma asked.

  “Of course, and ask Filly to tell you even more about jumping the broom,” Sophie said. “Em, I’m so happy and so excited that I think I’m the one having the dream.”

  “We have to have a cake and wine, and . . .”

  “Nothing big or fancy,” Sophie laughed.

  “And a dress,” Emma finished.

  “We’ll talk about all that when I get home,” Sophie said. “Right now, they’re calling us to board the plane. See you later.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And if you’ve got a hotline to heaven, pray that this fear that I’m rushing into this will go away.”

  “You got my prayers, my positive thoughts, and love. See you later.” Emma held the phone in her hands for a few minutes before she stood up and put it back on the base. When she and Sophie were little girls, neither of them liked to say goodbye, so they just said see you later.

  “Hey! You ready for supper?” Josh’s voice floated through the open back door.

  “Be right there.” She slipped on a pair of flip-flops and went out the front door.

  Josh met her halfway across the lawn. They fell into step together, and her hand brushed against his. A strange feeling wrapped itself around her at just that simple gesture. Was that what Sophie had been talking about in college, one of the last times they had met for ice cream? She had said that there were sparks or vibes between her and her newest boyfriend, some substitute professor. Emma stole a few glances at Josh. He was handsome, and kind, and funny, and she was comfortable with him, but what they had was friendship—not unlike what she had with Filly and Arty.

  Did touching Arty’s hand when he passed the biscuits at the supper table ever give you a little jolt? Sophie’s voice was in her head.

  Of course not! Emma pushed the crazy thought aside.

  “I’ve got news from Sophie,” she said when she took her seat across the table from Josh and Filly.

  “Arty, hurry up and say grace,” Filly said. “And make it a short one, because I want to hear what Sophie said. It must be good news, since Emma looks like she’s about to dance a jig.”

  Arty bowed his head and said, “Lord, thank you for this food. Amen.” Then he looked over at Filly. “That short enough?”

  “It’ll do.” Filly nodded. “Now pass the potpie, and, Em, you start talking.”

  Emma wasn’t sure where to begin, but the most important thing in her mind was Sophie’s happiness, so she said, “Teddy and Sophie want to have a commitment ceremony right here in the park on July Fourth, and they want to know more about how to jump the broom, so, Filly, what can you tell me that you haven’t already?”

  “Are you serious? That’s fantastic,” Josh said.

  Emma almost reached across the table and laid her hand on his. Just that thought shocked her. She hadn’t even wanted to be in the presence of a man after the rape. She could tolerate her father, though he’d never visited to test that point. She wondered if him not coming to see her was due to something her mother had said—or threatened.

  Good God, you aren’t a child, girl. You can have friends, both male and female. Sophie scolded her in her thoughts.

  “Well, now, that’s good news, but this is a long way from anywhere for the guests,” Arty said.

  “Don’t be a killjoy,” Filly fussed. “Folks have cars. We can have an early evening ceremony and hang twinkle lights in this tree. I’ll make the cake, and we’ll fix up this old table with a pretty white cloth. How many folks will be attending?”

  “No more than ten, I would guess.” Emma noticed that Josh finally smiled. “The bride and groom, Rebel, Teddy’s father, and us. Now, about that broom thing?”

  “Rebel could stay in one of the empty trailers, and Teddy’s dad could stay in the other one,” Josh offered. “Rebel has been down here before, so we know her.”

  “I’ve told you everything I know about the ceremony. The bride and groom say their vows, give each other a ring if they want to, and then they join hands and jump over the broom. And that’s that. We’ll decorate it up real pretty,” Filly gushed. “I’m so dang happy, I could dance around a bonfire.”

  “Please don’t.” Arty dipped deep into the chicken potpie and put several spoonfuls onto his plate. “I don’t have enough burn medicine to cover your body if that big floppy skirt of yours went up in flames.”

  “Oh, hush!” Filly slapped him on the arm. “We’ve got time to plan the ceremony and think about an appropriate wedding gift. Do you think they’ll come back here every year once they’re married?”

  “There’s more,” Emma said. “They’re going to buy a house in Del Rio and live there permanently. This trip to Europe will be Sophie’s last big gallery showing.”

  Filly threw a hand over her heart. “She’s not going to stop painting, is she?”

  “I asked her the same thing, and she says she’ll never quit painting,” Emma said. “But there’s still more.”

  “She’s pregnant?” Filly clamped a hand over her mouth. “Are we going to be grandparents?”

  Emma shook her head. “No, but it’s almost as big as that. She and Teddy are buying an old store building with a big loft. He’s going to run a gallery, and she’ll use the loft for painting. And . . .” She still had trouble believing the rest herself. “And she wants all of us to let her put our work in the gallery. They’ll open in the fall, and she asked me for my work exclusively at that time. You all can talk to her about that part when she gets home, but she wants some of your work to go in the gallery, too. I’ll sell some stuff to Leo until then, but—”

  “That’s huge!” Josh said. “But we can’t cut Leo out altogether. He’s been too good to us through the years.”

  “We can sell to both places,” Filly said, “but you make a good point. Leo depends on us, so we’ll need to share between the two.”

  “Sophie will come up here once a month to get whatever we’ve got for her, so we’ll get to see her pretty often.” Emma didn’t realize that she’d included herself in the future plans until the words were out of her mouth.

  “We?” Arty raised an eyebrow.

  Emma frowned. “About that? I know I’ve only been here a few weeks, but I love this place and . . .” She paused, trying to figure out a way to ask to rent Sophie’s trailer on a permanent basis. “I’d like to stay on after July.”

  “You don’t want to move to Del Rio to be closer to Sophie?” Josh locked gazes with her across the table.

  She felt like his eyes could see right into her soul, but it didn’t make her uncomfortable. Instead there was something exciting about sharing the moment with him.

  “She offered to let me move into the house with her and Teddy, but they need their time to be together,” she said, “and
I’m”—she blinked and looked down at her plate—“I know in my heart that I may never be ready to live in a big city. So, Josh”—she raised her face—“can I rent Sophie’s trailer, or will you sell me a little land when I can afford it to build a tiny house on? I prefer having the trailer because it’s home now, but I understand if you don’t want to tell the snowbirds that rent it that it’s taken on a permanent basis.”

  “You can have the trailer for as long as you want it,” Josh said without hesitation.

  To Emma, that was even better news than having her paintings displayed in Sophie and Teddy’s gallery. Tears dammed up in her eyes, but she refused to even shed happy tears. Sophie said that she was strong and could make her own decisions, and she’d just managed to do both. She didn’t have to leave Hummingbird Lane. If she could only make enough money with her artwork to pay the rent and feed herself, she could be happy there forever with her little newly found family.

  “Well, hot damn!” Arty clapped his hands. “Every bit of this is the best news ever. If we had a bottle of champagne, we could celebrate.”

  Emma shuddered at the thought of champagne. She filled her mouth with potpie to quash the memory of the taste.

  “I’ve got some beers in my fridge,” Josh offered. “After we finish supper, maybe we could raise a bottle and have a game of cards.”

  “Yes!” Filly said. “Em, I was going to tell you that you could live with me if Josh wasn’t comfortable telling the folks they couldn’t rent the trailer. We just love having you here with us.”

  Emma couldn’t help but compare their enthusiasm with the blunt statement her mother had made that day when Victoria told her she had never wanted children.

  Chapter Fourteen

  For the next week, Emma and Josh spent almost every evening on his back porch listening to his records. She painted through the day and had supper with the folks in the evenings. Filly ran in and out of the trailer throughout the days to show Emma the jewelry she had made, to check on her progress with her pictures, and to write down plans for Teddy and Sophie’s marriage ceremony.

  Emma could hardly believe it when she looked at the calendar that morning. It seemed like she had lived at the trailer forever, and now could live there as long as she wanted. She had finished five paintings for Leo since Sophie had left. She had even caught herself humming and singing while she worked. But that day was going to be a test for her. She would be left alone at the park for most of the day. The last time she talked to Sophie, she had said that her lawyer had checked into the money situation and was thinking that he might be able to settle things with Victoria.

  Emma wasn’t holding her breath. She’d even considered calling her father to see if he could talk sense into her mother, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it—not yet, anyway.

  “I’m going to be alone today,” she whispered, “and I’m not even scared. Is that stupid or am I making more progress?”

  Filly had asked her to go along with them, but she had a couple of ideas for the last things she wanted to do for Leo, and then she would work the rest of the summer on pictures for the new gallery. The quiet would be nice.

  Emma had slept through the nights without nightmares, but she did lock the doors. That morning, she had forgotten about the locked door until someone knocked, and she had to run from the back porch to open it for Filly.

  “Sorry about that,” Emma said.

  “Honey, if it makes you sleep better, then it’s no big thing. We’re about ready to leave. Have you thought of anything else you might need this next week? Need me to pick you up any feminine products?” Filly asked.

  Emma hadn’t thought of that in months. With her depression and the medicine, she had a period about every three to six months, but she was happy these days, so maybe her body would begin to work like it should. “Yes, please,” she said as she grabbed a notepad and wrote down what she needed.

  “You sure you’ll be all right here by yourself until midafternoon?” Filly asked. “I can stay home if you’re not comfortable with us all going.”

  “I’ll be just fine,” Emma replied. “I’ve got lots of work to do, and the time will go by fast.”

  “All right, then, we’ll see you later.” Filly gave her a quick hug. “I know you and Josh have been spending a lot of time together, but if you ever want to talk about anything, I’m just across the yard. My door is always open.”

  “Thank you.” Emma nodded. “You’ll never know how much I appreciate that.”

  Emma followed her outside and waved from the porch as they drove away in Josh’s black SUV. She popped a breakfast pastry into the toaster and poured herself a glass of milk. She’d just put the steaming-hot tart onto a paper towel and taken the first bite when she heard the crunch of tires on gravel outside. Thinking that Filly had forgotten something, she didn’t even go to the door to check on things. Then she heard a faint pounding on a door, and then another one. She took a drink of the milk and tiptoed to look out the storm door. She had to blink a dozen times to be sure that what was in front of her wasn’t a figment of her imagination.

  “Jeffrey?” she whispered as she squinted against the morning sun.

  There was no doubt that was her mother’s driver out there pounding on trailer house doors. Then he was coming up on her porch and knocking on her own door.

  Emma stepped out onto the porch wearing a pair of Sophie’s bibbed overalls with the legs cut off to make shorts, a bright-turquoise tank top with paint stains scattered over it, and no shoes on her feet. “Are you looking for me, Jeffrey?” she asked.

  “Your mother has sent me to bring you home,” he said. “Go get in the car. It’s time for you to end this folly and come home. Those are her words exactly.”

  Emma opened the door. “Come inside, Jeffrey. Would you like some breakfast? I was just having a Pop-Tart and some milk. I’m sure you’ll find it delicious.”

  Jeffrey crossed his arms. “I do not want food. You’ve had your fun. Now you will be going home and getting the help you need at a center where they know how to treat your problems. Again, I’m delivering Victoria’s words.”

  “Do you ever have a thought of your own, or are you just Mother’s little lapdog?” she asked. That wasn’t very nice of her, but it felt damn good to say it.

  That seemed to strike him speechless, and he blinked several times. His mouth opened, but no words came out.

  “Either come in or leave.” Emma’s hands shook as she held the door open. “But I’m not going anywhere with you, no matter what Mother says.” She had never been afraid of Jeffrey, but he was a big guy, and she wasn’t sure she would come out on the winning end if he decided to manhandle her into the vehicle.

  “All right, I’ll give you ten minutes, but then you will be leaving,” Jeffrey said. “I can’t believe that you are living in a place like this. Your mother has your best interests at heart. You should be in a place that would care for a person like you properly, not living out here in the slums.”

  “One man’s slum is another man’s castle,” Emma said.

  With his head held high, and his back ramrod straight, Jeffrey marched across the porch and into the trailer. “This place smells awful and looks even worse.”

  Emma swept a hand around the room to take in the sofa, the barstools, and the rocking chair. “Have a seat, Jeffrey.”

  His nostril twitched, and he shook his head. “I’m not sitting anywhere in this place.”

  “Have it your way.” Emma sat down on the sofa. “You know, I used to feel sorry for you. Mother has always talked down to you like you were something she tracked in on her shoe, but the way you’re acting now, I think you’re on her side. Are you in love with her or something?”

  His jaw dropped, and he glared at her. “You aren’t worthy to be her daughter,” he hissed.

  “I always liked you, Jeffrey, but you’re just like her.” Emma sighed.

  Coco came through the open back door and jumped up in Emma’s lap. “This is C
oco. She’s kind of the trailer park community cat.”

  “I hate cats and so does your mother.” He checked his watch. “Your time is running out.”

  “No, your time is running out,” Emma said as she stood up and crossed the room. She picked up the house phone and dialed her mother at the office.

  “Is Jeffrey there?” Victoria asked without saying hello, how are you, or kiss my ass.

  “Yes, he is, and I’ve got something to say that should have been said when I came home from college. You never even asked me why I was a wreck. You just put me in that first miserable therapy center and forgot about me. I was raped, and I couldn’t tell you because—”

  “What did you do?” Victoria’s tone turned as cold as ice. “Go out to a bar and go home with the wrong guy?”

  “That’s exactly why I couldn’t tell you,” Emma said. “I knew you’d blame me and call me stupid, which I was for trusting my friend.” She went on to tell her the whole story. “Trusting him is on me. But you let me think I was delicate and hid the way the world worked from me, so that’s on you. I was raped and humiliated, and I repressed the memories rather than tell you, and now I’m not leaving this trailer park. I intend to live here the rest of my life.”

  “You’ve always been a weakling like your father, who, by the way, has filed for a divorce from me, and just so you know, my lawyers will be crushing that lawyer that Sophie hired. I’ll fight you to the end for the money. If you want to be your own boss, then you can find your own money,” Victoria hissed into the phone.

  “Frankly, I don’t know why Daddy has stayed with you as long as he has. Did you finally drive him as crazy as you tried to do with me?” Emma could hardly believe that she was standing up to her mother, but it felt damn fine.

  “Don’t be curt with me.” Victoria had gone from cold to demanding. “I took him out of the gutter and gave him a good life, but I’m glad he’s filed. I would have done it right after my mother died, but well”—she paused—“I wanted you to have a father.”