“Let her through,” Paula said behind Mitzi. “I’ll hear what she has to say.”
Mitzi stepped to the side, and Kayla stormed inside. “You are one hateful, unchristian, despicable woman. My poor Clinton told me that you’ve been comin’ on to him for months. Ever since his daddy took sick. He told me all about meetin’ you in the library over in Tulia and how you made advances. And since he wouldn’t be untrue to me, that you’ve been trying to ruin his life. Callin’ him at all hours and tryin’ to get him to come over here and sleep with you.”
“Oh, really?” Paula sat down on the sofa.
“You want to know the truth?” Jody’s eyes flashed pure anger.
“I don’t think she could handle it,” Mitzi said.
“I’m not here to listen to any of y’all’s lies. I came to tell Paula to stay away from my husband. No more calls. No more enticing him to cheat on me. We have an amazing marriage. No one will ever make me doubt Clinton again,” Kayla said.
“What about that woman in his hotel room yesterday?” Paula asked.
“How did you know about that?”
“Clinton called me,” Paula answered.
“She was a confidential informant who was there to talk to him about a case, and he told me that he only called you to tell you to stay away from him like he’s done dozens of times,” Kayla said.
“Was she fully clothed?” Jody asked.
“Yes, she was. When I arrived she was in the bathroom, and she came out with all her clothes on except her shoes.” Kayla sank down on a sofa.
“And was the bed made or unmade?” Mitzi asked.
“It was mussed up, but Clinton never makes his bed.” Kayla’s voice didn’t sound quite as defiant as it did before. “If he’d been doin’ something he shouldn’t, then he wouldn’t have been so happy to see me and Clay.”
“I promise”—Paula raised her hand as if she was being sworn to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth—“I will never call Clinton or have any dealings with him. I’ll be glad that he’s completely out of my life.”
Mitzi wanted so badly to open her mouth and tell the woman exactly what kind of man she was married to, but she clamped it shut tightly and kept her peace. It wasn’t her place, and if Paula chose to walk the high road, then Mitzi would respect that.
“Okay, then.” Kayla pushed up off the sofa. “That’s what I wanted to hear, and if I find out you’ve been callin’ him or sending him any more lewd pictures of you, I’ll figure out a way to sue you. I’m sure there’s something that’s illegal.”
“Did you see ugly pictures?” Jody asked.
“No, I did not, and I don’t want to, either. He’s deleted them all to spare me the hurt.” Kayla whipped around as fast as a pregnant woman possibly could and waddled out.
“You have a nice day, now.” Mitzi followed her and locked up behind her.
“Bless her little ignorant heart,” Jody said. “And I mean that in every sense of the word. But I would’ve probably been in the same frame of mind if Lyle’s woman would have showed up at my trailer tellin’ me she was pregnant. Lookin’ back, it’s probably best the way things happened, even if it did shock the crap out of me at the time.”
“I just want her, him, and their drama out of my life. I want to raise my daughter with y’all’s help and forget all about the man who got me pregnant,” Paula said. “Let’s go back to the kitchen and finish breakfast. I hope to hell that Mitzi’s fairy tale is better than this.”
“Oh, it is, trust me,” Mitzi assured them. “But before I get into it, I got to tell you that you are one classy woman.”
Paula raised an eyebrow. “Maybe I’m just protecting my future with my child.”
Jody laid a hand on Paula’s arm. “There’s that, but you could have told her what a scumbag she’s married to without even mentioning our baby girl.”
“Thank you both. Now we’d better get breakfast done, and Mitzi and I need to get ready for church before your Quincy shows up with Hazel. By the way, I really like that name, but maybe I’d better not name my daughter that, since yours already has it,” Paula said.
“My daughter? You’re crazy,” Jody said as she headed back to the kitchen.
“And time has run out for my fairy tale. Mind if we save it for tonight?” Mitzi asked.
“Not one bit. You can even add extra to it with whatever happens today,” Paula said. “This has been one weird summer, hasn’t it? I didn’t believe in fate before, but I’m sure starting to believe in it now.”
Three rows back from where she sat with Fanny Lou and Harry, Graham stared at Mitzi’s gorgeous red hair lit up by the morning sun filtering through the church windows that morning. By shutting his eyes he could imagine the full, voluptuous body that went right along with it.
Tabby poked him in the ribs with her elbow. “If you start snoring, I’m going to kick you in the shins.”
“I wasn’t asleep,” he said out of the corner of his mouth.
“Then don’t even rest your eyes,” Dixie said from his other side.
He took off his glasses and cleaned them with a handkerchief he took from his pocket. “You’re not listening, either.”
“No, but I’m not sleeping,” Dixie said.
He managed to pick up a few words of the sermon after that, but if there had been a test after church, he certainly would’ve failed it. His mind kept going back to Mitzi in his arms after making love. Feeding her strawberries while they watched a movie that he couldn’t even remember the name of. Brushing her hair and telling her how silky and soft it was.
Graham was jerked back to the present when the preacher asked Harry to deliver the benediction. As soon as everyone was on their feet, he made his way to Mitzi and whispered, “Want to go out on the boat again this afternoon? It’s not supposed to rain today.”
“I’d love to, but I still don’t have a bathing suit,” she said.
He leaned toward her and whispered, “Then we’ll find a little cove and do some skinny-dippin’.”
Mitzi’s cheeks turned scarlet. “You better be watchin’ for lightning bolts, talking like that in church.”
Graham chuckled. “It does sound like fun, though, doesn’t it? Maybe I’ll put a pool in my backyard and then you won’t ever need a swimming suit again.”
“Swimming?” Dixie overheard the last part of the conversation and almost squealed. “I love going to the lake.”
“I thought we might get a bucket of chicken and head that way soon as we change clothes,” Graham said.
Tabby peeked out from around her sister. “Yes,” she said as she raised a hand to high-five with Dixie.
“We’ll pick you up in twenty minutes.” Graham winked.
“I’ll be ready,” Mitzi said.
Mitzi hit the back door in a run and then took the stairs two at a time on her way up to her bedroom.
“Whoa!” Paula called out from the living room. “What’s the rush?”
“Graham invited me to go out on the boat again. I promise I’ll work right along with Jody to catch up on the orders in the evenings next week. Y’all want to go along?” Mitzi pulled her dress up over her head and tossed it toward the bed.
“No, thank you. Fanny Lou is coming over. We’re going to lunch in Greenville, and then we’re going to look at cribs. I saw two I liked yesterday, but I thought it would be fun if she helped pick it out since she’s volunteered to be the grandmother.” Paula followed Mitzi into her bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. “And then I do plan to put in a few hours in the sewing room this afternoon. Who would have ever thought one bridal fair would bring in a dozen orders, and that many more appointments?”
“I thought we might get a couple,” Mitzi said. “I’m blown away by it. And we’re already on the list for next year. We may have to hire more than one more seamstress if this keeps up.”
She stopped in her tracks and her chest tightened. “Something just dawned on me. I stopped taking birth control a
month after my last boyfriend, and we didn’t use a bit of protection yesterday.”
“So you did have sex?” Paula laughed. “Not that I’m surprised one little bit. You were glowing this morning at breakfast. Jody and I will expect the details on that when you tell us your fairy tale tonight.”
“The fairy tale might turn into something very different if I’m pregnant,” Mitzi said.
“I can tell you all about that.” Paula handed her a bottle of perfume from the dresser. “At least you’re not pregnant by a bastard like Clinton if you are, and, honey, I was on the pill. They’re only like 99.7 percent effective. You could be a fertile Myrtle like me and wind up with a baby even when you’re taking it.”
“Remind me to make an appointment with the doctor tomorrow. My prescription has run out, I’m sure.” When she finished jerking on a pair of khaki shorts and a cool cotton blouse, Mitzi sprayed a little perfume in the air and walked through it.
“You look great,” Paula said.
They were on their way down the stairs when Fanny Lou yelled from the kitchen, “I’m here. Is Mitzi going with us?”
“No, she’s got another date with Graham,” Paula called out as she and Mitzi made their way across the foyer. “Mitzi’s going to tell us everything this evening. Jody and I told her our stories from yesterday, but we ran out of time,” Paula answered. “I’ll tell you what happened to me over lunch. Jody can tell you about her new friend, Hazel, who happens to be Quincy Roberts’s four-year-old daughter, this evening. And if we have to stay up until midnight, Mitzi is going to give us all the details of her weekend.”
“Fair enough.” Fanny Lou held up her fingers. “Three, two, one. Yep, I hear him on the porch and the knock on the door should be coming . . . now. He was loading up stuff when I drove past his house. I figured he’d be right along.”
Mitzi opened the door and Graham stepped inside. “Hello, Fanny Lou and Paula. Y’all goin’ to join us?”
“Nope,” Fanny Lou said. “We’ve got plans. You kids just go on and have a good day with the girls. Be sure to keep this one lathered up with sunscreen. She can burn on a dark night. It’s that red hair and white skin.”
“I’ll take good care of her,” Graham promised.
“If I didn’t believe that, I wouldn’t let her go off with you,” Fanny Lou told him.
“Well, thank you for that,” he said.
He held Mitzi’s hand all the way to the vehicle and opened the door for her. “Maybe I’d better just buy this thing. I’m outgrowing my truck for anything but going to work.”
“Is that a bad thing?” Mitzi asked.
“Oh, darlin’, it’s a great thing,” he assured her.
“Did you bring a bathing suit this time?” Tabby asked.
“No, sweetie,” Mitzi answered. “But maybe one day next week, y’all can go with me to shop for one.”
“That would be like really great,” Dixie said.
Graham pulled the seat belt across her body and whispered, “I’d rather go skinny-dippin’ with you.”
“Shhh . . .” she shushed him and blushed at the same time.
“Drive fast, Daddy. We ain’t even goin’ to swim until we eat today. I’m hungry to death,” Tabby giggled.
“Well, that brings back memories.” Graham winked at Mitzi. “She used to say that when she was about three years old.”
“Speaking of little girls, y’all have to meet Hazel,” she said.
“Who’s that?” Dixie asked.
Mitzi told them about the little dark-haired girl with blue eyes who had completely stolen Jody’s heart. “I only got to see her for a minute this morning when Quincy came for Jody, but with her looks, she could be you girls’ younger sister.”
“We love little kids,” Dixie said. “If Quincy and Jody ever need a sitter, just call us.”
“I’ll remember that,” Mitzi said. “But I’ve got a feeling that Jody will cherish every minute she can spend with that child.”
“So she likes kids?” Graham asked.
“I’m not sure that she likes all kids, but that one has taken her fancy,” Mitzi said.
“Well, honey, you’ve taken my fancy,” Graham said for her ears only.
There was no sneaking up the stairs to her room that evening, not with Paula, Fanny Lou, and Jody all sitting around the table with the leftovers from a large pizza in the middle of them.
“We bought a baby bed and Fanny Lou and I put it together. The nursery doesn’t look so bare now,” Paula said.
“And Quincy asked me out to dinner on Wednesday, and I said yes,” Jody said.
Mitzi took the last chair and reached for a slice of pizza. “Graham and I are officially dating now.”
“That’s not enough detail,” Jody said.
“Hey, all I get from you two is that there’s a baby bed upstairs and you’ve been invited on a dinner date. I’ll talk when y’all do,” Mitzi said.
“We bought a white crib and the bumper pad is pink-and-white checks,” Paula said. “That’s all I’ve got except that Fanny Lou and I needed to go to church to pray for forgiveness for all the dirty words we said.”
Jody raised her hand. “Fanny Lou, you were right to tell me to go out with him. I had a great time.”
“And I like Graham a lot,” Mitzi said.
“That’s all?” Both of Fanny Lou’s eyebrows shot up. “Just that you like him. We want a hell of a lot more from the both of you.”
Paula focused on Jody. “We need to hear a little more about Jody’s new feller first. How does he make you feel?”
“Free is the best way I can describe it,” Jody admitted. “I’m at peace with everything when I’m with him. That sounds crazy, doesn’t it?”
“Okay, now you.” Paula turned back to Mitzi.
“Don’t leave out a single thing,” Fanny Lou said. “And you can start with yesterday and build up through today when you decided that y’all are dating.”
Mitzi went to the refrigerator, got out a root beer, and sat back down. “Well, as us southern girls say when we start to tell a fairy tale, ‘You ain’t goin’ to believe this shit.’”
Chapter Twenty-Five
The poor old air-conditioning system at the church could keep up with only so many bodies crammed into the pews like sardines. And now folks were being ushered into the fellowship hall, where a big-screen television had been set up for those who couldn’t be in the sanctuary.
In the original plan, the wedding was supposed to be in a barn, but at the last minute Ellie Mae had changed her mind. Luckily, Ellie Mae had Paula, Jody, and Mitzi on the list for reserved seats, right along with Graham and his daughters. They were all shoulder to shoulder on the third pew, listening to a mixed CD of country music love songs.
Every song seemed to speak to Mitzi, but then the past week had been a whirlwind of romance that she still couldn’t believe was real. In some ways, it seemed like it had been a month since she and Graham spent the day in the hotel room. In others, it was just yesterday. One thing was for sure: she loved him and was in love with him. When she’d told Paula and Jody that, they’d said it was the same thing, but it wasn’t. A person could love someone else, but to be in love with them sat up there on a whole new plane. To have both was one of those miracles that only comes along once in a lifetime.
“Do you want a big affair like this when you get married?” Graham whispered to Mitzi.
“Yes, she does.” Fanny Lou must’ve overheard, because she continued, “And I’m going to be the maid of honor. I’m already planning the bachelorette party. We’re going to Las Vegas and we’re going to paint the whole town red.”
Mitzi shook her head. “A few close friends is all I want.”
“Maybe a destination wedding with those friends?” he asked.
“Maybe.” Mitzi nodded.
The music changed to something more traditional when the back door opened and an usher brought in Ellie Mae’s mama, Iris. If there’d been a contest in the church
to match up Ellie Mae with her mother, Iris would have been the last choice. She was a little wisp just over five feet tall and had a neat gray bun at the nape of her neck. The usher returned and brought in Darrin’s mother. It wasn’t difficult to see where the groom got his size. His mother was as tall as his father and had dark hair like Darrin.
“Bet he loves his mama a lot,” Graham whispered.
“Why do you think that?” Mitzi asked.
“He likes bigger girls, like her.”
Mitzi shut her eyes and tried to picture Graham’s mother. As best she could remember, she’d looked a lot like Alice—not thin, but she probably shopped in the tall women’s section.
“What do you like?” Mitzi asked.
“You,” he answered without hesitation.
Darrin and his best man followed the preacher up the aisle to the pulpit and took their places. Ellie Mae’s sister strolled down the aisle in her pretty red-satin dress with a portrait collar, pivoted, and stood in her place. The preacher raised his arms, and everyone stood and turned to watch the bride come down the aisle on her father’s arm. She was a picture of beauty in her black dress and stylish hat, carrying the red-rose bouquet the girls had made. Several people gasped, but Ellie Mae was in her element, smiling and nodding to the folks as she passed by them. Instead of the traditional bridal music, “Marry Me” by Martina McBride began to play as Darrin started down the aisle to meet her halfway. He shook her father’s hand, tucked her arm into his, and escorted her the rest of the way to stand before the preacher.
“Wow!” Dixie muttered. “She’s gorgeous. Daddy, can I wear black to my wedding?”
“Of course, darlin’. By the time you’re forty, it’ll be the most popular color,” he whispered.
The song ended, and the preacher said, “You may be seated. Thank all y’all for joining us tonight to witness the union of Elvira Mavis Weston and Darrin Douglas Smith.”
“What if I sang ‘Marry Me’ to you at our wedding?” Graham asked.
The Perfect Dress Page 28
