Shem Creek

by Dorothea Benton Frank

And that Lindsey. I would have bet that she was as mad as a hornet for being left behind to return to school on her own, not being here, not seeing what was really going on.

  First, Linda had been assaulted and now Gracie had this accident. I would ask Linda if she wanted to fly Lindsey home next weekend. I would pay for it. No problem. No, they were too close a family to be separated at a time like this. At the very least I would make a video of Gracie first thing and send it to Lindsey FedEx. Then she could see her sister and hear her sassy mouth. Yes, that was a good idea. I would do it.

  The doors behind me opened and Robert appeared.

  “Hey, Robert? Do you have a video camera?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  I told him my plan and he laughed at me.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Ahem, Bradford. Do you think that your thoughts are the ordinary thoughts of an ordinary employer? You’re gonna fly her daughter in. No, wait! First, you’re gonna make a video and FedEx it to her and then you’re gonna fly her in—I mean, come on!”

  “No, I mean, it’s just that . . .”

  “Right! You kill me!”

  “What?”

  “Remember the old story about the guy rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic?”

  “Yeah, so?”

  “Well, you’re going down! Ah ha ha! You’re going down!”

  “I’m sinking? You know what? You and Louise drive me crazy sometimes.”

  “Hey! Say whatever you want! It doesn’t matter. The truth is the truth.” He began walking toward his car and then stopped. “Things will happen as they should, when they are supposed to happen. I’m going to go grab a couple of hours of sleep and I’ll be back to look over the mess later on.”

  “Give Susan my love,” I said. “Call me when you get up.”

  “Okay. And, call me when Gracie wakes up.”

  I nodded, watched him go and thought it was probably time to go back inside. Maybe Louise was right. If I was already in love as Louise said, it was certainly powerful stuff. I couldn’t remember caring so much about another woman. I was very worried about how she was handling it and I was not going to be happy until I knew she was all right. I had to have a part in it.

  Linda wasn’t like Loretta. I didn’t feel about her like I ever had about Loretta—at all. Linda was kind. That’s a commonly used description of someone but boy, the world could use more kindness. And, in her way, she was very pretty. In fact, she was really beautiful. And she was funny as hell and as smart as anyone I had ever known. No, she was amazing.

  God knows, the thought of my world without Linda and her girls in it was very damn depressing. I hadn’t even seen it coming but I knew then that I was fully immersed in her family.

  Let’s be serious. What did I know about love anyway? Obviously, not much. Linda Breland was right under my nose and I had not even realized until that moment that I was, yes, damnit, I was completely captivated by her. How funny! When I thought about it further, looking back on conversations we’d had about the garage, our children or the restaurant, I could see that we talked to each other like an old married couple anyway. And as these thoughts have a tendency to lead to others, naturally I wondered what it would be like to kiss her. Probably . . . well, let’s see? If the energy she exerted for the everyday mundane business of living translated its way into the sack, she could be hot like all hell! I’ll bet she was!

  Maybe it was time for me to do something brave, like step up to the plate and see what it felt like to really be in love. Let myself go. Really be Italian and enjoy life and truly fall in love. We were already committed to each other. We respected each other too. What would I say to her? I would just tell her the truth. I would tell her how frightened I had been when I saw the fire, and feared for Gracie and Alex’s lives and how I just realized I didn’t want to live without her. Or Lindsey. Or Gracie.

  TWENTY - THREE

  LOVE IS ALL THERE IS

  LINDSEY had promised to close up the house, call Gretchen to enlist her help with the distribution of the boxes, and get herself back to school on the train. I knew that I could depend on Lindsey and that if there was a way Gretchen could help, she would.

  I was coming undone. I knew it. I was close to screaming. No one understood the importance of my daughters to me. They were an extension of the very kernel of flickering light that kept me alive and wanting to live the days left to me. If anything were to happen to either one of them, my own life would have fallen into peril.

  There was never a slower plane in Christendom than the one I boarded to return to Charleston. I prayed the entire way. The Lord’s Prayer. Hail Marys. Any prayer I could recall. Mostly they went like this—Dear God, please. And then through God’s mercy, I slept a little as the plane bounced and rolled its way down through the clouds.

  The airport at Charleston was already filled with the life of another day’s beginnings. I wondered in my panic if anyone else here was rushing to the side of a loved one because of an emergency like mine. No, there could be no one else who felt as I did that morning. My heart was so heavy and my mind so worried that I cannot recall how I found the wherewithal to continue the simple motion of one foot in front of the other. The same force of fear that held me back was counterbalanced by the overwhelming pressure to get to my child as quickly as humanly possible. It would only have taken the slightest brush of another traveler or one question of inquiry from a security guard for me to lash out and wail my story without a breath until I had unburdened myself.

  I came through the terminal without incident and Louise was waiting in the baggage claim area. I was so relieved to see her face. I had thought that I would just grab a taxi, but you know Louise by now. She would never have stood for a friend of hers arriving alone, especially one carrying a sack of trouble the size of mine.

  “She’s all right, Linda,” she said. That was all she said.

  I burst into tears. Then Louise burst into tears. People passing us probably thought we had no self-control or that we were grieving the loss of a friend or family member. In reality, we cried because we were frightened and because we could console each other in small measures as the magnitude of reality set in.

  “Let’s go. We’re just wasting time here watering this cheap carpet.”

  We began our way to her car and she updated me on everything.

  “Gracie is still unconscious, but they expect her to wake up and fully recover. Kids heal fast, you know. And, she’s on oxygen because of the smoke to get some clean air in her lungs. So don’t be upset when you see that. And she’s got an IV, but they always give you an IV. Now, they put a pin in her ankle because she really cracked the hell out of it, so she ain’t gonna be dancing for a while.”

  “My poor child!”

  “She’s okay. It will heal beautifully they said because she didn’t walk on it. Alex went in to get her and found her unconscious and carried her out. Something must’ve fallen and hit her on the head. They gave him a big oxygen mask last night and he’s fine but he’s been sitting by Gracie’s bed with Brad and Mimi and he’s awfully upset. They all are.”

  “I just want to put my arms around her,” I said.

  “Well, in about five minutes you can do just that. I called my church and we got the prayer circle going.”

  “Thanks, Louise. Seriously. Thank you.”

  I could see her smile and I knew we were both thinking that we hoped the prayer circle worked as fast as heaven could bring it about. We were quiet then, just remarking on Alex’s bravery, the loss of the restaurant next door in addition to ours, the shock and surprise of it all and of course, how the sinister hand of the devil himself was all over the disaster.

  “You think the devil ain’t got himself all wrapped up in Jason Miller’s mind? Honey, that’s possession if I ever saw it!”

  “You’re right, sister.”

  “Yeah, but you know what? The scuttlebutt is that the other people he had with him didn’t know he had brought gasoline in his car
and they said that when they saw him pouring it all around the foundation, that they tried to stop him.”

  “He’s a total lunatic.”

  “Well, that’s what the Post and Courier said this morning.”

  “That’s some pretty fast reporting, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah, but by coincidence, this reporter named Bill Thompson who usually covers other stuff was at a friend’s house until late and on his way back to Charleston when he saw the flames and stopped. He was there and saw the whole thing.”

  “Well, that’s pretty crazy.”

  “That’s how life is though, ’eah?”

  “Yep. That’s how life is.”

  It seemed that an eternity had passed between the airport terminal and the moment when we pulled up in front of the East Cooper Community Hospital Emergency Room entrance.

  I ran in the door and saw Brad in the hall outside of what I assumed was Gracie’s room. He waved me over, as though it was necessary, and I hurried so that I don’t even remember going from the door to Gracie’s side, except that Brad’s face was the first one I saw.

  Mimi was there, washing Gracie’s hands and face, removing the remains of soot and talking to her.

  “Your momma’s here, Gracie. Do you want to say hello to her?”

  I was so startled by the sight of my beautiful daughter, unconscious and in a hospital gown, that I had to hold on to the foot of her bed to steady myself. My beautiful Gracie, damaged and battered and her mind only who knew where. What was she hearing? I think I may have pushed Mimi aside when I climbed on the bed and kissed Gracie on her forehead.

  “I’m here, baby. It’s Momma. Please open your eyes for me, okay? Please open your eyes! Tell me how you feel? Everything’s okay. You’re going to be fine. You have to be fine.” My tears began to flow and then choking sobs. I just couldn’t help it. I took her hand, IV and all, and kissed it all over the palm and held it to my cheek. I felt Brad’s arm around my shoulder and when I looked up I could see that he was crying too. So was Alex and Mimi and of course, Louise.

  “I should have stopped her, Ms. Breland,” Alex said. “This is all my fault. I am so sorry. I don’t even know what to say.”

  “Stop it, Alex,” I said, “you saved Gracie’s life! Do you understand that I wouldn’t have my daughter if you had not been there?”

  “I know, but I shouldn’t have let her go in there in the first place.”

  “No, son,” I said, “you did a very brave thing and we are all so proud of you, you don’t know. And grateful.”

  “I don’t know,” he said, “it just shouldn’t have happened, that’s all.”

  “Alex?” Brad said. “There’s a lot of wickedness in this whole episode, but none of it is laid at your feet. I don’t want to hear you say again that this is your fault. You listen to Linda. That’s her child lying in this bed and if she doesn’t blame you then you most certainly should not blame yourself.”

  “Your daddy’s right,” Mimi said.

  “Amen,” said Louise.

  There was a little knock on the door and Alex opened it. It was O’Malley with a small vase of Gerber daisies.

  “Hey,” he said, in a whisper. “How’s she doing?”

  “I just wish she would wake up,” I said and started to cry again. Brad put his arm around me and I put my face into his chest and just sobbed. He rubbed the center of my back, around and around, and I could tell by the way his body shook that he was crying again too.

  “Oh, God,” O’Malley said. “She broke her leg?”

  “Ankle,” said Mimi.

  “Listen, Linda,” Brad said, and handed me a tissue, “as soon as we got here, I called a top neurologist from the Medical University, this guy Philip Ragone, and he examined her. He’s the best in the entire southeast. He said she’s absolutely fine. He assured me and Mimi and Louise that she would regain consciousness. We have to trust that he knows what he’s talking about. Right? So, come on now.”

  “It’s just terrifying, you know?”

  “Of course it is. This is a damnable thing.”

  The door opened again and in came Duane with a tray of coffee and a box of Krispy Kremes.

  “Well, we have to eat, don’t we?” Duane said and put everything down. He came to my side, and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “The Breland ladies sure have had one hell of a time lately!” He reached in the box of doughnuts and took one. “Move over, and y’all help yourselves.” He passed the doughnut under Gracie’s nose and said, “Gracie, Gracie, Gracie, it’s Doo-wayne bringing you a dough-nut. Glazed with chocolate? Come on, girlie-whirlie! Duane’s gonna take you shopping! We’re going to the new Arden B! You can have anything you want! There’s a shoe sale at Bob Ellis!”

  There was a distinct fluttering of her eyes.

  “Look!” Duane said.

  We all stared at Gracie and began calling her name.

  “Gracie? Gracie?” I said and shook her arm. “Come on, baby, wake up!”

  Duane went around to the end of the bed and tickled the bottom of her elevated foot. When there was no reaction, he reached under the sheets and pulled out her other leg and began tickling her other foot.

  “Maybe she ain’t ticklish,” Louise said, pushing by him. She went up to Gracie’s head on the other side of her bed and whispered in her ear, “Gracie? It’s Louise, baby. It’s time to wake up now. Come on. Let’s wake up like a good girl.”

  “What?” Gracie said. “Lemme sleep.”

  A cry of relief went up in the room, prayers of thanksgiving and even a little applause. Gracie was awake and I was grateful to God. We couldn’t know what had brought her back to us—prayer, our voices, the promise of a shopping trip or a Krispy Kreme doughnut. If I had been in Gracie’s position, it probably would have been the smell of sugar and chocolate.

  Later on, after all of us took Gracie home and she hobbled up the steps on Alex’s arm, after we had settled her on the couch and elevated her ankle to reduce swelling, after we gave her a Diet Coke with a straw, the channel changer and the latest issue of InStyle, bought on the way out of the hospital at the last minute, only then did we begin to talk about the restaurant. Of course, the plan was to rebuild as soon as possible. They were discussing possible contractors and Duane and Louise were arguing about the dimensions and layout of the new kitchen. Mimi, who knew nothing about construction or anything remotely connected to running a business, was correcting them left and right. Even Gracie was a part of it, saying they should set the new restaurant back from the water a little and provide drainage on both sides of the building. Considering that she had nearly lost her life, I knew her input would be taken seriously.

  I took my bag into my bedroom and tossed it on the bed to unpack later. Brad was right behind me.

  “Want to go see the mess?”

  “I don’t know if I should leave. . . .”

  “Don’t worry, Lupe’s on her way over here and she said she wants to take care of Gracie.”

  “Lupe’s coming? I’m going!”

  “Nice,” he said.

  “I’m just kidding! Jeesch!”

  “Hey! Did you see the garage?”

  “No! Did the guy come?”

  “Yep, come on, I’ll show you!”

  I told Mimi, Louise, Duane and O’Malley I would be back and bring sandwiches, if anybody wanted anything.

  “Wait a minute! Let me get a pencil!”

  You would think that all we ever did was eat but then, our world did revolve around food.

  I wrote down what everyone wanted and then because their orders were so varied and complicated I finally told them, “Look, I’m going to Bessinger’s. You’ll get what I bring back. End of story.”

  “Oh, barbecue!” Louise said. “I haven’t had barbecue in ages!”

  “No onion rings!” Mimi said.

  “Yes! Onion rings!” Duane said.

  “I’ll go out and get beer,” O’Malley said.

  “Bud Light!” Duane said.

 
; “Corona Light!” Mimi said.

  “Make that two,” Louise said and patted Mimi on the arm.

  “Heineken,” Gracie said. When the whole room stopped and stared at her she said, “God, can’t anybody take a joke around here?”

  Brad pulled me out the door. On the way out I hollered back, “Somebody call Lindsey, okay? She’s probably worried half sick to death.”

  “Isn’t she in class?” Mimi said.

  “I don’t know. Just dial your cell number. I left your phone in New Jersey.”

  “Oh! Well! Oh! Well? There went my cell phone! I’ll just let her keep it!”

  I closed the door and followed Brad down the steps. When he pulled open the big doors, I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was empty, except for one box, but it had been swept clean. It seemed enormous.

  “What do you think?” he said, smiling.

  “I think you are incredible. How can I thank you?”

  “I’ll think of something,” he said, with the most mysterious expression on his face.

  “Brad Jackson? Is that a wicked grin I see?” Was I dreaming?

  “Yes. It is a wicked grin, Linda Breland.”

  “What brought this on?” I started to back away from him, unsure if what I was thinking was the same thing he was thinking.

  “What’s the difference?” He took a step toward me.

  “I want to know what your intentions are!”

  “I cleaned your garage. My intentions are honorable.”

  “What’s in that box?”

  “Stuff for Lowell. Don’t change the subject. Stop moving around. I’m not going to hurt you!”

  “No, you don’t understand! You’re not going to do anything to me, Brad Jackson! I saw how you treated Amy.” I knelt down and opened the box. I closed it and picked it up, attempting to avoid the very person I had been dreaming about since we had met.

  “And, I saw how she treated you. She drove me crazy; you drive me wild.”

  “Yeah, sure. You’re an ass.”

  “No, I am not an ass. Do you have any idea how long it takes to rebuild a restaurant? Put the box down.”

  The box landed with a thud on the floor.