“What?” she sputtered, her laughter dying so abruptly she choked on it.
“Just trying to see if you’re as cool a cucumber as you pretend to be. Seems to me like you’re not quite ready to be sliced and tossed into a salad.”
“That’s not funny.” But she laughed.
First John sighed and pushed himself to his feet. “I see your grandparents and the boys.” He looked over her head, waved his arm, and then pointed to the ground around them. “You stay here, Maxine. Looks like they need reinforcements.”
Maxine knew Mama Ruby and Granddaddy always brought lawn chairs, so she rose to redesign the space she’d saved. When she stretched her arms wide to move the blanket, the wind whipped it, and it knocked askew the hat on the head in front of her. “I’m sorry!” she exclaimed, though she hoped her mistake would prompt the woman to remove the offending accessory altogether.
The stranger didn’t move, so Maxine reached for her shoulder. “Excuse me.”
Tap, tap, tap. “Hey, Niece!”
Maxine turned at the touch to find Uncle Roy. She took a big whiff. “Ooh, you smell like baked beans!”
“Ha-ha. Eau de molasses?” He set down a food carrier and released the handle of a large cooler. “Your grandmother is trying out a new scent, too—fried chicken with honey.”
“What happened to your date? I’m not used to seeing you without a honey of your own.” Maxine nudged him with her elbow.
“Not today. Not for a while, actually. I’m trying out the single man thing and giving my heart and wallet a rest.” He crouched down on one knee and unzipped the bag he’d toted over.
Maxine laughed. “What does the Bible say? ‘Who can find a virtuous woman? For her worth is far above rubies.’”
Her uncle snorted. “Well, I’m not in the market for any woman, virtuous or otherwise. And speaking of rubies, there’s your grandma.”
Still chuckling, Maxine dove into her grandmother’s hug first and then her grandfather’s. “You do smell . . . I mean . . . look good! Let’s set you up there. Uncle Roy, you can stay here with Mother.” She pointed to the blanket where she’d been sitting. “And I’ll move over with the boys. Celeste will join us for the fireworks. What’d you bring us, Mama Ruby?”
“What I always do, plus some million dollar pies for dessert. Did your mama make the potato salad?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s in the cooler. Where are Zan, Robert, and Second John?” Maxine scanned the crowd for her brothers’ heads.
“They went with your dad to grab Viv. She was running her mouth, as usual.” Roy unfolded a chair.
My dad. Maxine slowly set up the second chair.
“But they’d best hurry back. The musicians are arriving.” Ruby nodded toward the stage.
“Hola, nieta!” Lerenzo waved at Celeste as she took her place behind her bass.
“The orchestra usually takes some time to warm up, and then they play while we eat. We’re okay, Mama Ruby,” Maxine reminded. “Look at her.” She smiled but didn’t wave at her sister, trying to keep her pride low-key. I should’ve focused more on my music when I was in high school, she thought. But then if I had, maybe Celeste wouldn’t be here.
Mama Ruby squeezed her hand. “God is our great Redeemer.”
She returned the squeeze. “You always know what I need to hear, even if it’s not what I want to hear.”
Roy shuffled around the group, unpacking paper goods and food storage containers. “Good, I see John. Viv’s with him. And she’s holding somebody’s ears hostage. Who’s that she’s talkin’ to—Lis Agnew?”
Maxine stood on tiptoe so she could see around the throng milling about, slowly making their way to their seats as the instruments launched into a scale. “You mean Lis Willis. And there’s Evelyn! I thought she was afraid the noise would scare Lauren. Oh, my goodness,” she gasped.
“What is it, child?” Sounding alarmed, Mama Ruby braced her hands on the arms of her seat and went to push herself to her feet, but Granddaddy and Maxine gently pressed her back down.
Roy moved closer to his niece. “Everybody calm down. It’s gonna be all right. It’s just Kevin and—”
“Geoff!” yelled the woman in front of them, clapping her hands. “I did it, honey. I did just what you told me. I sat here, and I didn’t move!”
“Geoff” strolled up with the rest of his entourage and gently took her hand. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Good job, Mother! I’m JD. James David. Dad isn’t here. Thanks for saving our seats.
“I’m sorry it took me so long to get back, but look who I brought—Kevin, Evelyn, and the baby. And this is Evelyn’s mom, Lis.” Then JD guided the wide-eyed woman to face the people behind her. “Mother, you remember—I mean, let me introduce you to Ruby and Lerenzo Tagle, Roy, and John and Vivienne and their sons. And their daughter Maxine. Y’all know my mother.”
Just then, the wind whisked away Annie Lester’s large straw hat and sent it sailing across the park—along with whatever Maxine could think to say.
________
“I can’t believe I’m sitting with that woman,” Vivienne hissed.
At least she’s taken your mind off “that boy.” Maxine tried not to smirk. Her head nearly touched her mother’s as they crouched together by the cooler. “It’s okay, Mother. Whatever it is between you and Annie, you need to let it go. She certainly won’t remember it now.”
Maxine had positioned herself on the large blanket with the boys. First John and Vivienne had squeezed onto it with them. Roy had turned his and his parents’ seats toward the group on the ground so they formed an enclave amid the other concertgoers, namely the Lester party chatting away by them. Yet her mother’s anxiety was as contagious as a yawn, and when Vivienne glanced over her shoulder, Maxine’s eyes followed. She forced herself to turn back to her family, inhale, and take the rest of the evening one forkful of potato salad at a time.
“Are you going to eat that?” Robert’s fork was poised over her strawberries and blueberries.
“Nope. They’re all yours. I just put them in the bowl to make it look festive. I’m saving my sugar fix for Mama Ruby’s pie.” Maxine scooped the fruit into her brother’s pool of whipped cream. Her head moved to the melody of “America the Beautiful.”
“Mom, okay if I sit with Jackson? I’m done. Y’all need me to take your plates?” Zan stood. He and Evelyn’s younger brother had become friends after spending years tagging along behind their older sisters.
“You should stay back here with us. Don’t bother those folks.”
“Vivienne, by ‘those folks,’ do you mean your good friend Lis and her family?” First John took a bite of his chicken wing.
Roy wiped his mouth and whispered, “And, Zan, if you’re going over there, I’m going, too. That Lis is lookin’ mighty fine today.”
Maxine shook her head. “Uncle Roy, didn’t you just tell me you were done with dating?”
“I didn’t say anything about dating, little girl. I need to talk to her about her birthday party. Nail down some of these plans.” He winked at her, then grabbed his nephews’ empty plates and took them to the large trash receptacles near the parking lot.
Maxine noticed Lis watching her uncle. She cupped a hand over her mouth and elbowed Vivienne. “I don’t know, Mother. Looks like Mrs. Willis might not be averse to discussing her ‘birthday party.’” She snorted.
Mama Ruby cackled. “Wouldn’t that be somethin’? Didn’t I tell you God would bring him the right woman someday?”
“Shh, Mama!” Vivienne looked stricken. “They’ll hear us!”
“They just gon’ hear you.” But Ruby silenced her laughter as her chest continued to heave with it.
First John tried to plug his grin with a chicken leg.
Maxine lowered her voice so her brothers wouldn’t kiss and tell. “How sweet that would be for Uncle Roy.”
Her uncle knelt on the ground near Lis, and Zan peered around Jackson to beckon his younger brothers. Aft
er their silent request and Vivienne’s stony nod, they ran over. Maxine wondered what JD was telling Kevin as the orchestra launched into “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
“Y’all are just determined to give me a heart attack, aren’t you? You won’t be keepin’ this from Celeste much longer, with all this fraternization,” Vivienne huffed.
“We’re not supposed to, remember?” Maxine waved her flag in the air with the rest of the audience. “Isn’t that what you said months ago? No more ‘family business.’”
“That child has a point, Vivienne. They’re part of our ‘family business,’ and Celeste has a right to know all her people. Isn’t that right, Lerenzo?”
Granddaddy nodded. “Así es.”
“You don’t count, Daddy. You always agree with Mama,” Vivienne growled, her eyes trained on the back of Annie Lester’s head.
“Isn’t he supposed to, honey?” First John stroked his wife’s hair.
Vivienne cut her eyes at her husband. “Then why aren’t you agreeing with me?”
“But I am. We talked about this, and we were all on the same page about the importance of telling the whole truth, not serving up bits and pieces that can’t fully satisfy. I’m glad that Maxine finally agreed to get this all out in the open.”
“There’s nuthin’ to be ashamed of. Not one thang,” Mama Ruby pronounced. “Mistake’s been made and paid for.”
“Mother, just what do you have against that woman? It can’t be solely because she’s JD’s mama. You’ve never liked her.” Maxine scooped out a wedge of million dollar pie. She knew it came with a million calories as well, with its mixture of sweetened condensed milk, whipped topping, crushed pineapple, and pecans served on a graham cracker crust. She closed her eyes as she savored the costly bite.
“You shouldn’t like her either, the way she treated you and Celeste. She thought you weren’t worth her precious son’s time of day.”
Vivienne’s bitter tone soured the sweetness of Maxine’s dessert. She dropped her fork. “But you’ve never liked her. Even before I met JD, you couldn’t stand her. And whatever you two had between you affected how she felt about me—and you about him, I suspect. Now it’s too late to change things with Mrs. Lester, but we can make a difference between Jay and Celeste.”
“But she has a father, Maxine!” Vivienne’s quiet voice had a steel beam running through it. “What about their relationship?”
“JD doesn’t threaten me. The lies do.”
Maxine wanted to hug First John. She settled for squeezing his arm as she turned to her mother. “So . . . ?”
Vivienne’s eyes tangoed with Ruby’s.
Maxine looked from one woman to the other. “What?”
“It’s time to sing.” Lerenzo cradled his wife’s elbow and helped her to her feet. He snapped a finger in his daughter’s direction and motioned for her and First John to rise. Then he placed his hand over his heart.
Starting just before dusk every year, the orchestra performed a repertoire that included patriotic favorites, breaks for readings, and choral accompaniments. The national anthem marked the end of the concert when the first star twinkled in the night sky. Then the fireworks commenced, instead of applause, and at that point, the musicians joined their families in the audience. As she awaited Celeste’s arrival, Maxine concentrated on the large flag waving over the orchestra, asking herself, Is this what a “perilous fight” feels like?
She jumped when she felt a weight settle around her shoulders.
“Estás bien?”
“Sí, abuelo.” She nodded as the crowd belted, “‘. . . and the home of the brave.’”
Boom! Whoosh! Zing!
“Aaaah!” Annie Lester screeched, covering her hands with her ears.
Gathering his mother close to his side didn’t seem to help much. JD murmured in her ear, but Annie pushed him away.
Maxine started toward mother and son, but then she took a half step back. “I feel like I should do something. I hope she’s okay.”
After patting her granddaughter’s arm, Ruby pointed out, “Just hopin’ won’t do no good. Prayer’s the most we can do right now.”
“Hey! Did y’all enjoy the concert? Could you hear me?” Celeste bounded up, out of breath. She threw her arms around First John’s waist.
“Yes, darlin’. You did beautifully.”
Sizzzzzle . . . pop-pop-pop-pop-pop!
Annie started beating at JD’s arms. Her protestations grew louder and more violent, drawing stares and murmurs from the people scattered about the park. Zan peeled away from the Lesters and returned to his family. Eyes wide, Robert and Second John trailed their older brother, followed by their friend Jackson.
Whirreee . . . pow! Each explosion lit up the darkening sky, sparking Annie Lester’s agitation.
“Y’all, shouldn’t we do something besides standing here, ogling like this is part of the show? Mama Ruby, I think we need to put some hands and feet to our prayers.” Maxine moved forward, but a restraining hand stopped her.
It was Vivienne. “Let them handle her, Maxine.”
“I’m through with running away from trouble, Mother.”
“But you don’t need to run to it either. They have enough family involved.”
Wheeee!
Though the fireworks seemed to be entertaining most of the crowd, Maxine only had eyes for the Lesters. Helplessly, she watched Kevin give Evelyn the baby, who passed Lauren to her mother. Cradling her granddaughter to her chest with one arm, Lis and her son stood back with Uncle Roy. Evelyn, JD, and Kevin encircled Annie.
Pop . . . pop . . . fsssss! The sky seemed to sizzle and catch fire.
“I remember her! And is that Mr. Lester and Auntie Evelyn?” Apparently the heavenly commotion didn’t hold a candle to the one on the ground as far as Celeste was concerned.
“Shh, shh. What I tell you about pointin’?” Vivienne put a finger to Celeste’s lips. “Yes, that’s Annie Lester, Evelyn’s mother-in-law.”
Maxine sighed. “Which makes her JD’s mother, too, right, Mother? Celeste, remember, we talked about her condition. I think all this activity and these loud noises are too much for her. I should help them pack up so they can get out of here before those cannons go off.”
“Poor woman,” Mama Ruby murmured. She entwined her fingers with Lerenzo’s and they both closed their eyes.
“Celeste, you stay here with me. Don’t involve yourself. Maxine!”
But Maxine ignored her mother. As she walked away, she heard First John hiss, “Viv, what’s wrong with you? Boys, come with me.”
Lis bounced and patted Lauren while Roy and Jackson stowed food and gathered blankets. They all looked relieved to see them walk over. First John whispered instructions to the twins and he and Zan folded the chairs.
Annie Lester continued to fight.
The fireworks whistled and sizzled around them as they worked. It seemed to Maxine that Evelyn had a way with her mother-in-law. Annie started to calm as she clutched the younger woman’s hand like a life raft.
As Maxine bent to retrieve the cooler, Celeste approached her.
“Need help?” the girl asked.
“Mother’s going to have a fit you’re here.” Maxine could feel the heat radiating from Vivienne.
“Mama will be fine. What can I do?”
“You! It’s you again!” growled a voice. Annie Lester was dragging Evelyn toward Celeste and Maxine.
“I’m not going to let you have him! Not this time. You took Henry away, but I won’t let you take Geoff. You can’t have him!” Annie Lester grabbed Maxine’s arm despite Evelyn’s efforts to restrain her. When JD tried to wrap his mother in a bear hug, she slapped him.
Celeste gasped.
Suddenly Vivienne was there, edging her daughters aside, out of harm’s way. “Annie, see here.”
Pow! Pow! Pow! Pow! Whizzzzzz!
When Annie faced Vivienne, her eyes narrowed and she cocked her head. She moved her mouth soundlessly as she stared at each
Owens woman. So intent, she didn’t seem to notice JD, holding his cheek.
“Annie Lester, nobody here wants your Geoff. Didn’t want him then, and don’t want him now. And my Henry’s long gone, so let’s calm down now.” Vivienne’s voice was low but loud enough to be heard as she raised her hands, palms up. “Just get ahold of yourself, and let them help you get situated. It’s going to be all right. Hush, now.”
Annie Lester squinted at Maxine and Celeste. She held up her right index finger and moved it side to side. “Taking Henry wasn’t enough for you. I see that now. You just had to have my Geoff, no-account man that he is.”
JD stroked his mother’s back. “Mother, let’s go. Dad—Geoff—isn’t here. I’m JD, okay? Not your ex-husband. I’m James David, your son. Everything will be better as soon as we get you back home.” He looked back at his brother, Kevin, as if for confirmation.
Tears snaked down Annie’s face. “No, it won’t! It will not be okay. It’s too late, Geoff. You know how I hate Vivienne, and you went and had a child with her.” Her mouth curled in disgust as she glanced at Maxine. Then she pointed at Celeste as she turned stricken eyes on JD. “Look at her. Try to deny it, Geoff. Anybody can see that child is yours!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
First John exhaled a shaky breath. “I guess we didn’t get out before the cannon fire.”
________
This must be how it feels to ride in a hearse, Maxine thought. The spirit of heaviness in the car seemed to have pressed Second John and Robert into silence. Refraining from their usual backseat tussling, they shrugged at Maxine when she glanced back. Beside them, Celeste stared out the window, her fist propping up her chin. In front of Celeste sat Zander. He’d braced his head against his window and closed his eyes the minute they’d loaded up. First John and Vivienne focused on the road ahead. Only their clasped hands resting on the armrest between them betrayed their inner turmoil, for her stepfather was a strict “ten-and-two, both hands on the steering wheel” guy.
Vivienne had hushed any and all talk after Annie Lester’s accusation and hustled everybody into operation recovery. Evelyn trusted Kevin to see to the baby, her own mother, and her baby brother because an inconsolable Annie resisted all other comfort but hers. When Roy offered an abandoned Lis and Jackson a ride, a shell-shocked JD offered to escort the Tagles. Before they dragged themselves to their SUV, First John, Vivienne, and the rest of the Owenses helped everyone pack, fold, and stow their belongings. Maxine figured she’d save her personal breakdown for later.
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