“I’m relieved to hear he’s all right. I didn’t cause that heart attack, Stella,” Manny said. “I’m sorry he had it, but it wasn’t my fault. I swear I was gentle as I could be with him.”
“Then why do you figure they thought you roughed him up?”
“Probably because he got so agitated when I brought up his war record.”
“A lot of men who served in Vietnam—and other wars, too, for that matter—don’t like talkin’ about it.”
“I know. Yesterday I was looking deeper into his record. I found out that when he was a Green Beret, he had some special training. Chemical warfare.”
“Chemical warfare? Like mustard gas and such?”
“No. Not things that kill human beings. Stuff like Agent Orange that was used as a defoliant, to cause the leaves to fall off the trees the enemy soldiers were hiding under.”
“But he might have learned some other things, too,” Stella suggested.
“He certainly might have. The fact that he got so upset about the topic makes me wonder.”
Stella sat quietly as they passed through the countryside, which was mostly farmland. Many of the spring crops had sprouted and taken hold, bright green against the red Georgia clay earth.
Already, she could feel a hint of the summer heat and humidity that was to come.
She thought of the baby, who would be arriving at the height of that hot weather. She had no air-conditioning in her house or her old truck, and sometimes it was hard to keep little ones comfortable at a time like that.
But she’d done it before. She could do it again.
Somehow.
Manny glanced up at his rearview mirror, at the sleeping child in the back seat. He whispered, “You’re thinking about the baby, aren’t you?”
“I am. Never far away in my thoughts, as you can imagine.”
“Have you told the kids yet?”
“No. I was waiting to find out for sure what’s gonna happen to the little one. For all we know it might have to go to a—”
“Your house, Stella. Not a foster home. As soon as it’s born, they’re going to give it directly to you.”
Stella gasped. “How do you know this, Manny Gilford?”
“I know it because I had a long sit-down with Judge Patterson yesterday, and it didn’t take much arm-twisting at all to get him to agree that would be best for everyone concerned. I mean, it’ll be hard for you, providing the caretaking for a newborn, but—”
“But that’s what I want, hard or not!”
“Then that’s what you’ll get. He told me to tell you it’s a done deal. Get out those old baby clothes and dust off the cradle.”
Stella could hardly contain her excitement. Now that it was settled, she found the mixed feelings had disappeared. Only joy remained.
“Oh, thank you, Manny! Thank you, thank you!” She heard Alma stir behind her and lowered her voice. “Since it’s decided, I’m going to tell the kids today. I’d planned to invite Elsie and Dolly over and have a little welcome home party for Alma. It’s the perfect time to announce it.”
She tried to stick yet another balloon under her legs, but only succeeded in releasing two more. “We got the decorations already, thanks to you. Might as well put ’em to good use.”
In the distance she could see her tiny, humble house, and a wave of contentment swept over her. Home. It had only been three days since she’d left it, but oh, how she’d missed it.
“I’ll be baking brownies again,” she said. “Alma never tires of ’em. We’d be happy to have you celebrate with us, if you’ve a mind to.”
“I believe I will,” he said. “The day I turn down something that you baked, Stella, is the day you’d better check my pulse.”
Chapter 25
Stella looked around her living room and thought she couldn’t recall when it had appeared so festive. Not even at Christmas, when she and the children went all out and decorated everything from the tree, to the doorknobs, table lamps, and tissue dispensers. All sparkled with gobs of glitter, ornaments made of Popsicle sticks, and gold and silver tinsel, which she bought on sale at the end of each holiday season.
The Reids knew how to celebrate.
No doubt about it.
Long ago, Stella had decided that no holiday or special occasion would pass without her making it memorable for her grandkids. You only had one chance to create childhood memories, a limited window of time when the human heart was still young enough, trusting enough, to believe in magic.
But tonight, she’d had help with the decorations, thanks to Manny, her son, and Dolly Browning.
Earlier, she had called Dolly Browning and invited her to their little “shindig.” But Dolly had graciously declined, saying she had an errand to run. Stella thanked Dolly for all she had done and promised to invite her again soon so she could see how well her special patient was doing.
But Elsie had jumped at her invitation and had shown up with one of her famous gumdrop coconut cakes in hand. As if they needed any more sweets, considering the plethora of brownies adorning Stella’s company platter on the kitchen table.
Now, as Stella looked around her crowded living room, she realized it contained the people she loved most in the world. Elsie was sitting on the end of the sofa with Alma’s head in her lap. She was winding Alma’s curls around her fingers, and in her soft, sweet voice, she was telling Alma what a brave girl she had been.
Manny was sitting in the rocking chair, having a deep, man-toman conversation with Waycross about school bullies and how to handle them. From his seat on the floor next to Manny’s chair, Stella could see Waycross was drinking in every word.
She smiled, blessing Manny for helping a little boy who, due to his bright red curls, copious freckles, and feisty disposition, knew far more than his share about bullies and being teased.
“Come by the station after school sometime,” she heard Manny tell him. “I’ll show you some special moves I’ve got for handling situations like that. But you’ve gotta keep what you learn to yourself.”
Waycross nodded vigorously. “Sure! I won’t tell nobody. We don’t want it gettin’ back to the bullies. They’d use them moves on me!”
“Exactly, and we sure don’t want that!”
The other children were scattered around the room. Jesup and Cordele were in the middle of the floor, playing a fierce game of jacks.
At Marietta’s insistence, Vidalia was ratting, spraying, and spiking her sister’s hair in an attempt to make Marietta look like her latest celebrity idol, Cyndi Lauper. As long as Marietta didn’t attempt to color it bright pink, Stella decided she’d just let it happen.
With seven children in the household, Stella knew she was severely outnumbered. For the moment, she had her bluff in on all of them. But the tide could turn at any time. So, one had to pick their battles.
Only Savannah was alone, sitting in the corner, propped up on one of Stella’s big floor cushions that was pressed into service when all the chairs were taken. She had been absorbed in a certain book for days now.
When Stella and Manny brought Alma into the house, Savannah set her reading aside and helped them get her little sister situated. But once Alma was settled in, Savannah had instantly returned to her book.
It must be a good ’un, Stella told herself. She’s sure got her nose buried deep in it.
But the girl’s reading had to be interrupted for a bit, and Stella suspected that, once she had delivered her news, neither Savannah nor any other child in this room would be able to concentrate on anything else.
Stella clapped her hands to get their attention, which they reluctantly gave. “I have an announcement,” she said. “A very, very important one. So y’all listen up.”
One by one, with great reluctance, they set aside their various forms of entertainment and turned to Stella, their expressions only mildly interested at best.
Elsie gave her a brief smile, but her attention was still on Alma as she continued to stroke her hair.
Only Manny showed any genuine concern, and Stella knew that was because he was aware what was coming.
The children’s lives would be changing in the next moment, and they had no idea and no control over it.
“What’s up, Granny?” Waycross asked in his typical, little smarty-pants way that she found most endearing.
“Something big. Something important.” She paused, steeled herself, and added, “Something miraculous and wonderful.”
“You won the lottery!” Marietta shouted. “Buy me a Glitter and Gold Jem doll!” With her hair standing on end and bigger that the width of her shoulders, she looked more like a giant dandelion in full bloom than Cyndi Lauper.
“I want a Teddy Ruxpin!” Jesup announced.
In seconds, other dream toy orders were pouring in.
“I need a Rainbow Brite doll!”
“I want Cabbage Patch twins, a boy and a girl!”
“I already got my present,” Alma said, hugging her Care Bear to her chest. “Miss Dolly took good care of me already.”
Waycross added his request to his sisters’. “If you’ve got any money left after buyin’ all that sissy, girl junk,” he said, “I’d like to have a G. I. Joe Attack Tank.”
Stella sighed. “I didn’t win the lottery. What I have to tell you is much better than that.”
“Nothin’s better than winning a ton of money!” Marietta said with great authority.
“Hush up, everybody,” Savannah said in a quiet voice from her seat in the corner. “Can’t you see that Granny’s got something important to tell us? Be quiet and let her say what it is.”
“Thank you, Savannah girl,” Stella said. Her eyes met her granddaughter’s and Stella could see that Savannah sensed this “good news” might not be 100 percent sunlight and roses.
Stella glanced over at Manny and saw him give her a loving, understanding look and a subtle thumbs-up.
Elsie had stopped fiddling with Alma’s curls and was watching Stella with concern and curiosity registering on her pretty face.
“We’re going to be blessed with a miracle,” Stella began, “a miracle that the Lord above must’ve wanted us to have, ’cause He’s the one who brings such things to pass.”
She paused and looked around at the blank faces. So far, the kids didn’t seem particularly impressed. Elsie looked downright worried.
“Someone gave me some news, and I wanna share it with y’all. It’s about your momma.”
The faces went from blank to frowning in a heartbeat, and Stella couldn’t blame them. Since when was Shirley the source of any news to celebrate?
“I don’t wanna hear about Momma,” Jesup said. “Stuff about her makes me feel sad, and I wanna be happy that Alma’s home.”
“I’d rather have my Cabbage Patch twins than hear about Momma,” Cordele added.
“No more about toys, Cordele,” Elsie said softly. “Be quiet and listen to your grandma. This is important.”
“We’re all gonna be gettin’ a doll, all right,” Stella said, forcing a smile. This wasn’t going at all the way she had envisioned it. “In just a few months, we’re fixin’ to get us a real live dolly!”
“A live dolly?” Vidalia said, looking highly suspicious and sounding somewhat alarmed. “You don’t mean, like a real baby, do you?”
A calm, quiet voice from the corner said, “Gran, is Momma pregnant again?”
“Yes, Savannah,” Stella told her. “Come mid-August, you’re going to have another sister or brother. Isn’t that wonderful?”
Instead of cheering, there was silence. The ominous quiet stretched on and on, growing more uncomfortable by the second.
Stella saw tears in Elsie’s eyes. She couldn’t tell if they were from joy or sadness.
Then Marietta said with a completely sarcastic and deadpan delivery, “Well, that would be a miracle, since she’s locked up in a prison with just women. Too bad it won’t be born in December. We could name it Jesus. Even if it’s a girl.”
“Marietta Reid, that’s durned near blasphemous,” Stella told her. “I’ll ask you to watch what you say.”
“I don’t wanna change dirty diapers,” Vidalia piped up. “I had to do enough of that with Jesup. I hate diaper duty.”
“We’ll all have duties, and we’ll divvy them up when the time comes. But mostly, it’ll be me taking care of the baby, and I’m happy about it, so y’all try to be, too.”
“You know I’ll be helping you,” Elsie said. “I’m happy about it. I’m quite partial to infants.”
“I know you are, Elsie. Thank you, darlin’.”
“Me too,” Manny added. “Count me in.”
Stella gave both him and Elsie loving, grateful smiles.
“Will it be a boy or a girl?” Alma wanted to know.
“We don’t know yet. That’ll be part of the surprise on the day it’s born.”
“I hope it’s a boy,” Waycross added. “We got girls to spare around here, and I need somebody to play with.”
“Whatever it is, girl or boy, it’s exactly the one we want, ’cause it’s ours.”
Marietta sniffed. “Well, it’s half ours anyway. It’s Momma’s, to be sure. Are there any boy guards at that prison?”
Again, Stella shuddered to think an eleven-year-old knew this much about adult matters.
She was debating what to say when Savannah spoke up. “Did Daddy visit Momma in jail? Alone?”
“Seems so,” Stella said. “A short visit, I hear.”
“A minute and a half is long enough for them,” she heard Savannah mumble under her breath.
Stella hated to admit that she agreed with the child’s assessment. Even knuckleheads like Shirley and Macon had something they were good at.
Looking around the room at the faces that varied from Savannah’s somber expression, to Marietta’s indignant puss, to Elsie’s and Manny’s sympathetic but concerned half-smiles, Stella felt she should end the announcement on a happy note if possible.
“Listen, kiddos,” she said. “Every little baby that comes into this world deserves to be wanted. I want this one. Just like I wanted each and every one of you when I found out you were on your way into my life. This child will need each and every one of you, your love, and acceptance. I’m asking you to be happy with me, to celebrate our Alma’s homecomin’ and the little one who’s on the way.”
A couple of the faces softened, a few semi-grins appeared, and Marietta seemed a tad less disgruntled.
“Okay,” Stella said, deciding to settle with what she had. “Should we tie into Elsie’s gumdrop cake and the brownies?”
That did it. Yells of delight and screams of anticipated pleasure filled the room.
The Reid young’uns might not be excited about the new life soon to join their midst, but they went crazy at the mention of dessert.
Stella sighed and shook her head. At least they had their priorities in order.
Chapter 26
Once the party had ended, the dishes were done, and all of the younger children put to bed, Stella, Manny, Elsie, and Savannah sat around the kitchen table. The adults were enjoying a last cup of Stella’s strong, after-supper brew, while Savannah sipped her cocoa with marshmallows and continued to read her book.
“I think you did a fine job, informing the children,” Manny told Stella. “I figured you’d have some mixed reviews, but you handled the opposition well.”
“I don’t know about that. One of these days when this new baby’s a child and old enough to understand such things, I won’t be telling it that their siblings would have preferred toys to their company.”
“Probably best not to write that in the baby book,” Elsie said, reaching for another sliver of leftover cake. After enjoying a mouthful of her own artistry, she said, “They’re little. They don’t know any better. They’d fight tooth and nail to keep every one of their siblings if push came to shove. They might quarrel amongst themselves, but thanks to you and your good teachin’s, there’s a heap of love
between ’em, too.”
“I tell myself that a lot.” Stella sighed. “I can believe it most times, unless blood’s been spilt.”
“We love each other even then,” Savannah said, her eyes still on her book. “If I make somebody bleed, I always fetch them a Band-Aid and some antiseptic ointment. It’s just common courtesy.”
“See?” Elsie said. “Proof of a child raised with love.”
Everyone snickered, then Elsie reached over and patted Stella’s hand. “I hope you know that I’m so happy for you, Stella, and, like I said before, I’ll be right here, front and center, to help you with the new one, too.”
“I know you will, Elsie,” Stella said. “You’re the best friend in the world. I’ll never be able to repay you for what you’ve done for me and these kids.”
“Oh, I love it! Every minute of it!” Elsie said. “I’m lookin’ forward to this new baby as much—well, almost as much—as you are. I was just thinkin’ the other day that I miss them bein’ babies. Now we get to go through it again. Baby shampoo and lotion, cute little outfits, the sweet little googly sounds they make, the wonderful way they smell . . .”
“Only when their diaper’s clean,” Savannah added, turning a page.
“It’s going to be so much fun,” Elsie said with a degree of enthusiasm that Stella wished she could feel. But she was too tired. The past couple of days had taken too much out of her.
“You look exhausted, Stella,” Manny said. “I’ll leave and let you get some rest.”
“You don’t have to go on account of me,” she said. “I’m too wound up and excited to sleep anyway.”
He walked over to the stove, got the coffeepot, and refilled her cup.
“Don’t wait on me, Manny Gilford,” she said, playfully swatting his hand. “This is my house and that’s my job.”
“This is your first night home from the hospital,” he told her, moving the sugar bowl closer to her. “You could use a bit of pampering. Lord knows, you’ve helped me plenty in the past week. I owe you more than a coffee refill.”
He topped off Elsie’s cup and replaced the pot on the stove. Turning to Savannah, he said, “You’ve barely looked up from that book all night, kiddo. What is it? A whodunit? One of those mushy romances?”
Murder at Mabel's Motel Page 20
