Appointment at Christmas Bay

by Chase, Diane

  The girl looked down at her feet and nodded. “An hour. I just want to go back to this shop Lauren and I like.”

  “Do you have money?”

  “I have three credit cards from Mom, Dad, and Mai.” The scorn had smoothed from Lexi’s features.

  “Good. And I have an extra twenty dollars if you’ll do me a favor.” Juliette ignored the cereal and sat back.

  Lexi’s face brightened. “Did you want me to clean something? I’ll do it for free. I already cleaned up Mom’s room yesterday.”

  Even though her heart sank for the kid, Juliette smiled. “That’s great, but your task is to come to Bible study with me tonight. You can’t stay here alone.”

  Lexi shrugged. “Okay, twenty dollars is enough for that.”

  “I’ll pay you after services are rendered.” She loaded a spoonful of soggy flakes. “We need to leave no later than 6:40.”

  Lexi agreed and lit off to the front door. Juliette slurped the mushy breakfast and thought about the Bible study. She hadn’t seen Trina since their lunch last week. With any luck, she wouldn’t be there tonight.

  ****

  During the Bible study, Juliette tried to ignore Lexi’s constantly moving fingers on her cell phone, her head lying on the table for fifteen minutes, and the crunching noises she made when she returned from the vending machine with potato chips.

  What had been worse was the constant whispering and soft laughter of Trina and Minh during the Bible study. Neither one looked her way. She really wanted this place to be an oasis, but brushing off Trina’s rude comments from that day at lunch wasn’t as easy as she wished. She hardly knew Minh and yet that girl seemed against her as well.

  Why? What had she done to either of them?

  “Great comments tonight, guys,” Kathy Dalton, the facilitator, said. “I’ve always loved the Book of Ruth, but I’m seeing all sorts of good stuff.”

  Agreement went around the room.

  “Okay, well, let’s take prayer requests and then, Jerry, why don’t you close us in prayer,” Kathy said.

  Trina’s cackle broke the silence, and she said, “Oh, Kathy, I was thinking we could take a few minutes for Juliette.”

  Juliette’s blood went cold. She shot a glance at Trina, but the woman didn’t look over. Lexi put her cell phone on the table and seemed interested for the first time.

  “What’s that, Juliette?” Kathy smiled warmly.

  Before she could answer, Trina intervened. “Well, she’s got the most remarkable story.”

  “This isn’t the place.” Juliette cleared her throat. “Or the time.” She stared at Trina and noticed the smug look on Minh’s face.

  Heat radiated in Juliette’s cheeks, and her hands trembled as she wrote down the prayer requests. Was she downplaying God’s healing by not speaking, cowering, even?

  Trina and Minh flew out right after the closing prayer. The sting of humiliation hadn’t subsided even as she and Lexi strolled to the car.

  Juliette stowed her purse and books in the backseat. “Need anything while we’re out?”

  “No.” Lexi slid in the car and wasn’t fiddling with the phone for once. “Why doesn’t that lady like you?”

  Juliette pulled out of the parking space struck by the question. “She doesn’t, does she?”

  “Uh, ye-ah. I think not. ”

  “We had lunch last week. I told her about the accident. Remember? The act of God that no one believes.” Juliette huffed as she turned left on the street. “I don’t get it.”

  “She’s rude.”

  “Very.” The confirmation felt good even from a twelve-year-old. “Why purposefully put someone on the spot like that?”

  “That’s what those people do. Try to embarrass you.”

  “Those people?”

  “Yeah, bullies.”

  Juliette choked back a laugh. “Well, Trina’s a little old to be a bully. And I’m not sure who in the world I’d report it to.” She hit the remote to the gate and waited while it opened.

  “You could report it to God,” Lexi said, taking off her seatbelt.

  “Hum, good idea. Hey, it’s not like you’re buying my story either. What made you say that?”

  “I don’t know. You said you believe in him. I gotta go. Lauren wants me to call her. Oh, and you can pay me later.” She opened the car door before the engine was off and raced for the backdoor.

  Juliette got her things and went inside. Sadness was creeping into her thoughts. If Bible study wasn’t a safe port, then where?

  Chapter Thirteen

  Wednesday morning, her creativity dry as driftwood, Juliette stared at the blank Word document on the computer. Somehow the ideas in her heart, the ones to knock Dr. Cabot’s gray bob out of place or be chased out of the art history department, didn’t translate on the page.

  Her thoughts might have spiraled downward, except dishes clattered from the kitchen. Lexi was awake and at work.

  Dressed in denim shorts and a surfer t-shirt, the girl glanced up from the dishwasher when Juliette entered the kitchen. “Hi,” she mumbled.

  “Hey, there.” The kid looked like she needed a hug, but Juliette knew better. She sat down at the breakfast table. “I had an idea if you’re not busy today. How about going to Moody Gardens?”

  Lexi shrugged. “Lauren’s aunt already took us there.”

  “Well, what if you tagged along to keep me company?”

  “Sure, I liked it. I’ll go with you.” Lexi closed the dishwasher and slumped against the counter. “Since you don’t really have anyone else to go with.”

  Juliette absorbed the dig uncomfortably close to the truth. “Okay, how about we leave in an hour. We could stop for lunch at this little seafood place on the way.”

  The kid nixed that idea right way. They stopped at Burger King instead and spent a nice afternoon touring the gardens. In the evening, they grilled chicken and vegetables and walked to the Strand for ice-cream.

  The next morning, they went to the Schlitterbahn waterpark. Juliette found a shady spot under a thatched cabana and ignored her magazine to keep tabs on the girl among the screaming kids.

  The next day, Friday, she and Lexi saw a 3D, animated movie at the matinee, browsed for shells in a souvenir shop, and early evening, watched old movies in her parents’ bedroom as they snacked on delivered pizza.

  During the several days, which were as close to a vacation as she had in months, guilt occasionally leached into her temporary freedom. She should be working, of course. Summary of the Problem was due in exactly a week, but tapped out and teetering on depression, she needed the break to regain perspective. Monday she could get back to killing herself.

  Saturday morning, Juliette woke refreshed and with the itch to sew, a luxury reserved for long vacations and between semesters. She coaxed Lexi into a quick trip to Houston to get the machine and fabric from her parents’ house. In the back of her mind, she also thought about snagging Harry for lunch. The traffic was light, and in less than an hour, Houston’s skyline loomed ahead.

  Lexi, who’d been quiet most of the way, finally said, “Do you know where the hospital is?”

  “Shady Acres?” Hopefully that’s what she meant.

  “Yeah, isn’t it by downtown?”

  “Yes.” She left out the part that it wasn’t far from her parents’ place.

  In a few minutes, they hooked into another freeway and poked along the road that led to her family’s historic neighborhood. A few blocks away, Juliette worried about the unannounced visit.

  “Lexi, I’m not sure if Mother and Daddy are in. If they are…well, I haven’t mentioned your mom’s in a…um—”

  “In a psych hospital?” Lexi’s voice oozed with exasperation.

  “Right. So, I’d like to wait to mention it.”

  “I don’t care what you tell them.”

  Juliette turned on a street lined with huge live oaks. A couple of blocks down, they arrived at her parents’ tidy bungalow painted in earth tones and wrappe
d in a virulent garden. Their sedan was parked in the driveway. Intending to get what she needed and go, she pulled to the curb.

  When they strolled up the cracked sidewalk, her mother opened the front door. Dressed in a crisp, white tunic, and navy slacks, she pulled Juliette into a hug. “We were just heading out, darling. Daddy and I are meeting…oh…you know.” She called out, “Louis, guess who’s here.”

  Juliette’s father emerged from the hallway. “My lands, Evelyn. Why didn’t you tell me Juliette was coming? And Lexi, too. We’ll call Bert Lawson and cancel this lunch.” He embraced Juliette lightly.

  “No, no, Daddy. That’s exactly why I didn’t call. I knew you’d rearrange your entire day. We’re just here a few minutes to pick up some sewing stuff.” She watched with discomfort as their smiles hardened into frowns. “What’s wrong?”

  Her parents seemed to communicate telepathically instead of answering. “We just thought you’d be busy with your studies,” her father said.

  Guilt rushed in like a tsunami. Normally, they rented the Galveston home during the summer and agreed to an exception for a single reason: her dissertation proposal. They rarely mentioned her expensive education, until recently when her father said she’d wrap up her degree about the same time the funding ran out.

  “It’s under control.” Her face flushed thinking how much longer it’d take if she changed her topic.

  “Okay, darling,” her mother said. “Lexi, give our best to your mother.”

  The kid looked Mrs. Prescott in the eye and said, “I will when I see her.”

  “Which will be this afternoon.” Juliette’s neck muscles locked, but she forced a smile.

  “If you say so.” Lexi shrugged and studied a still-life painting on the foyer wall.

  “Tell the Lawsons hi,” Juliette said quickly. She hugged both parents. “I’ll call you tomorrow. Lexi, how about helping me with a few things.” She headed down the hallway hoping the kid followed.

  “Be careful driving back to Galveston, darling,” her mother called out.

  “I will,” Juliette yelled from her bedroom.

  After the front door shut, she pulled back one of the lace panels on the bedroom window as her parents loaded in the car. Lexi wandered into the adjoining study where moving boxes and wedding presents were piled up.

  The sewing machine was in the closet, and on the top shelf sat a box marked fabrics. Buried somewhere were more supplies, but she just wanted to leave. While Lexi looked things over, Juliette carted the portable machine and fabric to the car. Back inside, she found the girl in the den studying family pictures on a built-in bookshelf.

  “Ready to go?” Her clothes damp with sweat, she joined Lexi.

  The girl pointed at one large photo. “Who’s this?”

  “It’s Gwyneth, my sister.” Juliette folded her arms to her chest and leaned in. “I was eight, and she was ten. Beautiful, isn’t she?”

  “Sort of. Where is she?” the kid asked tentatively.

  “She died in a motorcycle accident.” The photo she’d seen for years struck a nerve. Her parents sat on either side of Gwyneth on a sofa, and Juliette stood behind them peering over her sister’s shoulder.

  “Was she riding the motorcycle by herself?”

  “No, her boyfriend was driving.”

  “Well, what happened? Was it raining?” Lexi’s voice sounded shrill and full of genuine concern.

  Juliette sighed and rubbed her temples. “He was on drugs; so was she.”

  “Drugs?”

  “Yes, heroin.”

  “That is so bad.”

  “Yes, it is. Come on. Let’s go.” Juliette strolled to the front door and waited.

  Lexi straggled along. “Did her boyfriend die, too?”

  “Not then, but a few years later in prison.” She left Lexi behind and hurried toward the car.

  “Why did she take heroin?” Lexi asked when she caught up.

  “You know what, I’m really not sure. We weren’t close.”

  When the annoying questions finally ceased, the photo stayed in Juliette’s thoughts. Her parents doted on her troubled sister, doled out time and money and rehab. They endured violent arguments, bad company, and police visits. Juliette pictured the years spent in her room, the public library, and friends’ houses. After Gwyneth’s death, her parents woke up to the realization they had another daughter. She’d never realized it before.

  Didn’t they begin calling her darling a few months after the funeral?

  She drove absently a few minutes in the direction of Harry’s townhouse when Lexi piped up again. “Did Gwyneth go to Galveston?”

  “Sure, we both did our whole lives.” Juliette swiped her perspiring forehead and omitted the part about Connie camping out in Gwyneth’s old room.

  With relief, she pulled up to a plain stucco townhouse with sad-looking azaleas along the front window. Harry’s car wasn’t in the driveway.

  “Can we go in?” Lexi cracked her door.

  “Hold up a minute. He might be at the office.” Juliette punched in a few buttons on the phone. Given his lax housekeeping, she decided not to use her key.

  A few drops of rain splat on the windshield while the phone rang. Harry finally answered.

  “Hey, babe,” he said rather softly. Voices or a television sounded in the background.

  “Hi, there. Guess where we are.” She rolled down the window, and the mist coated her arm.

  “You got me. Where?” His light tone sounded forced.

  Maybe she shouldn’t have bugged him. “Well, Lexi and I dropped by Mother and Daddy’s, and now we’re at your place. Can we take you to lunch? We could wait if you’re close by.”

  “I’m not, actually.”

  “Okay,” she waited a second. When he didn’t offer more information, she asked, “Where are you, then?”

  The background noises stopped followed by a long pause. “San Fernando.”

  “California?” She bolted out of the car and strolled down the street, the sprinkle like needles against her hot skin. “You said you had to work, Harry. In Houston.”

  “I never said where, Juliette.”

  “You did. You said you wanted to stay home and work.” She glanced back at her car and kept walking. Tears budded in her eyes.

  “I’m sorry. Look, we don’t have reasonable discussions about my job these days. I had to be here, and frankly I didn’t want the heat about it.”

  Frantic thoughts raced through her head. He’d never done anything like this as far as she knew. Tears blinded her vision. “Harry, you lied. Don’t try to pin it on me because I don’t understand or I’m unreasonable or anything else that takes the responsibility off you.”

  With Harry continuing to excuse himself, she returned to the car and fired up the engine. “I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Juliette, don’t hang up.” His voice had its usual controlled force, the restraint she lacked in turmoil.

  Shaking, she turned off the phone and put it in the cup holder. “We’re not meeting Harry for lunch. Do you need a drive-thru something?”

  “Yeah, can we get tacos?” Lexi occupied herself with her phone.

  Fury had Juliette’s stomach in a vise, but she drove a few blocks to a fast food Mexican place. The idea of Harry lying made her pulse race. She squealed to release her pent up rage.

  “Is everything okay? Where’s Harry?”

  Juliette huffed and tried to restrain the urge to pass on the drama. “Working. Oh, in San Fernando.” She sighed loudly. “Not Houston, like he said. I guess I would have never known. Unbelievable. Oh, sorry.” At least the kid’s fingers still moved across the phone keyboard. Maybe she wasn’t interested.

  “Hum,” Lexi said, surprising her. “If I tell you something, will you promise not to get mad?”

  “I have a feeling I know what you’re going to say.” She studied the menu, placed the girl’s order, and at the last minute decided on a taco and lemonade for herself.


  Lexi sorted through the bags as they drove off.

  “Okay, I’m curious now. What were you going to say?” Juliette sipped the cold drink and felt some relief.

  “Nothing.”

  “No, really. I bet it’s about me telling my parents we’d see your mom this afternoon. I lied, too. Is that it?” She waited at the intersection light to enter the freeway.

  “Well, it is the same thing.” The kid’s arms flew up. “It’s lying.”

  “It’s different.”

  “You think you’re right about everything, Juliette.” Lexi crumbled her taco bag and tossed it to the floorboard.

  “Are you saying I shouldn’t have lied? Then let’s make it so I didn’t.” Juliette whipped the wheel onto the side street and flew to the next light.

  “The freeway’s back there. Where are you going? You better slow down.”

  The entire day was about to burst inside her. Juliette took a few turns heading closer to downtown and screeched onto a road that wove through a thin forest and expansive lawn.

  Shady Acres, although no sign marked the spot.

  “Don’t go in there!”

  The kid’s high-pitched warning sounded like someone screaming from the bottom of a well. Her fingers gripped Juliette’s forearm, and her pleading sobs echoed in the small car.

  Juliette hit the brakes. The sprawling facility loomed in the distance.

  “Please.” Lexi covered her face and cried her eyes out.

  Shivering, Juliette gasped at the pastoral surroundings. “Oh, no.” Her fingers clutched the steering wheel, and she dropped her head, not daring to look at the girl choking on tears.

  Oh, God, what’s wrong with me? Help, please, help.

  She turned on the narrow road and proceeded back to the entrance, her vision blurred with tears. She’d lost it. Should have driven straight to the check-in desk.

  An instant headache throbbed against her temples on the way to the freeway. Vehicles zoomed past while she wondered about returning to her parents. When the traffic slowed close to downtown, it seemed safe enough to continue. It’d be stop and go most of the way to Galveston.

  The sobs ceased. Juliette peered from the corner of her eye, but the girl gazed out her window. “I’m sorry, no, mortified.”