Lulu's Café

by T. I. Lowe

  Lulu visited every day with three prepared meals, one hot and two cold. The meals always included spinach, blueberries, and something citrusy. Lulu explained these food items were said to promote healing, so she continuously forced them on Leah. She would also send up a freshly baked treat and a fruit smoothie once a day. Leah was astonished at how quickly she began feeling stronger, and the debilitating aches considerably receded.

  Leah grew restless by midweek, so Lulu tried to talk her into going to the town’s fall fair with her and Crowley. Leah, remembering how Crowley had unpleasantly reacted to her arrival, declined. She knew he wasn’t thrilled with her presence, so she decided to avoid him. She enjoyed hearing all about Lulu’s night out the next afternoon. Lulu went on and on about the pie contest and how she selected a coconut custard pie as the winner. She also talked about how Crowley tried eating his weight in pie and declared all the pies winners, to the delight of the contestants. Twenty blue ribbons were ordered and paid for by Crowley himself.

  Lulu laughed her way through telling Leah how the fool got sick and nearly returned all the pie he devoured at the fair when he agreed to a marathon of rides with a few of the local teenage boys. Leah had to hold her side as she tried to subdue her own laughter at Lulu’s telling of the story. She could sit and listen to the little lady for hours. The soft yet strong Southern twang of Lulu’s voice was pure comfort.

  Lulu tried to give Leah her space, but still enough attention to not let the young lady get lonely. She tried talking Ana and Crowley into visiting Leah, too, but both were hesitant.

  “You’ll warm up to her eventually. I don’t see why you don’t go ahead and get started with it now.” Leah needed some younger company.

  With Sunday approaching, Lulu put together a plan of introducing Leah. She invited her to attend church and then have a Sunday feast at her home. Leah finally agreed after the fourth time Lulu hounded her about it on Friday afternoon.

  “I need some makeup or a brown bag to go over my head before I completely agree.”

  “I’m fresh out of paper bags, but the drugstore has a great makeup counter with all kinds of brands. Get ready and we’ll go,” Lulu said.

  As they made their way past Ana’s boutique, Ana was locking up. Lulu stopped so that she could introduce the two women.

  “Ana, this is my new friend Leah.” Lulu gestured toward the incredibly tall Leah before gesturing to the incredibly short Ana. “This is Ana, and she owns this fine boutique. She is an absolute expert when it comes to all things fashion.”

  Leah studied the building and noticed it to be quite similar to the café—two stories of red brick. She looked at the building’s owner. “You’re perfectly styled. It’s evident you know what you’re doing,” Leah said. “Fashion doesn’t come easy to me.”

  Lulu smiled, knowing the compliments would boost the tiny brunette’s confidence.

  Ana struck a pose and stood a little straighter. “It’s nice to meet you, Leah. What are you two ladies up to?” Ana hitched her designer bag onto her shoulder.

  “Heading over to the drugstore to pick out some cosmetics for Leah,” Lulu said.

  “I told her a brown bag over my head would work better,” Leah said while staring at her shoes.

  Lulu knew how much Ana hated to hear any woman demean herself. She smiled proudly as she watched Ana hook her arm through Leah’s.

  “Come on. Let’s go get you fixed up. I won’t have any more of that self-degrading mess. It’s not very ladylike. If you are going to be living in the South, you need to learn how to hold your head up and be proud of what God blessed you with,” Ana said, full of prissy sass.

  Lulu walked behind the two young ladies and whispered, “Thank you, Lord.” She had a feeling that things were going to be just fine. If she could only get Crowley on board, that is. The stubborn boy had kept to himself all week.

  Lulu watched as Ana pampered Leah for a good two hours at the cosmetics counter. Ana took her time picking out the right shade of concealer and foundation, and then she showed Leah how to properly apply it. Leah didn’t seem to mind letting Ana take charge. Lulu’s only contribution was to the conversation. She thought it probably felt good to Leah to be social after acting like a hermit for the past week.

  After Leah purchased all of Ana’s recommendations, which included a full line of facial care products, Lulu suggested that they swing into the bookstore to pick up a copy of the book club read. Leah was excited to discover that the small bookstore also housed a coffee bar. Lulu and Ana purchased small nonfat lattes with low sugar, and Leah reluctantly followed suit. The trio sat outside at a small table and enjoyed their coffee.

  As they sat in the fading sun, Ana chatted away about some jackets she was busy designing for a company in Atlanta and how excited she was about the handbag sketches she was working on. Lulu was glad to see Leah listening with apparent interest.

  “The entire top floor of my building houses my studio. You have to come up and check out what I’m working on,” Ana said to Leah.

  Lulu seconded the idea. Then she told Ana, “Leah is going to church with me on Sunday. Do you want to join us for dinner afterward?”

  “Sure,” said Ana.

  “Won’t you be going to church too?” Leah asked.

  “No. I go to Mass with my parents,” Ana said.

  Lulu took a sip of her latte. “They’re Catholic.”

  “What are you?” Leah looked to Lulu, but Ana answered instead.

  “She’s Baptist, which she thinks is the only fitting religion,” Ana said.

  “I told you before that being Catholic is better than nothing.” Lulu and Ana laughed together. “But being Baptist is the best,” Lulu said.

  “What religion are you, Leah?” Ana asked.

  “Surviving.” The young woman looked as if she wished she could bite back the brutally honest answer. “I mean . . . I guess I don’t belong to one.”

  “I wonder if I could talk Crowley into converting to Catholicism if he ever decided to marry me,” Ana wondered aloud.

  “You would have to convert on over to good old Baptist, honey. You know that stubborn boy ain’t changing his mind,” Lulu said. She caught on to Ana trying to discreetly lay claim to Crowley in front of Leah. Ana knows quite well that ship done sailed. Lulu was beginning to worry that Crowley would never settle down. That boy was thirty-five and seemed to have no desire to move past bachelorhood.

  “Is Crowley joining us for dinner too?” Ana took the last sip of her latte.

  Lulu was hesitant to answer. “I don’t think he is going to be able to make it. Looks like it’s going to be just us girls. Do you have any meal requests?”

  “Crowley eats Sunday dinner with you almost religiously,” Ana said.

  “Not every Sunday. You know sometimes he sneaks off to go fishing.”

  “I think fishing is his religion,” Ana said. “Some of your shrimp and grits sure would be good.”

  “That would be a perfect Southern welcome dinner for Leah. Good suggestion, Ana.” Lulu was already making a mental grocery list as they tossed their empty coffee cups.

  “Sounds different.” Leah’s expression caused the other two women to laugh.

  They gathered their books and cosmetics bags and headed up to Ana’s studio to see what she was working on. By the time they finished going through it all, the sun had clocked out for the day and the moon’s shift had peacefully begun.

  Sunday came and went, with the women growing quickly in their new friendships, without an appearance from Crowley. That boy sure can be stubborn, Lulu thought. She had asked him to please be kind enough to join them, but he had refused. “I’m just not comfortable jumping on the welcoming bandwagon yet.”

  Crowley had been keeping busy with his project of finding out some information on their new neighbor, which had been quite frustrating. With help from some connections he had, Crowley was able to find out that she was an orphan from Chicago who spent her childhood in the foster care sys
tem. She received a Nevada driver’s license at age eighteen and had drawn a paycheck from a casino in Las Vegas for four months. That was where he had hit a wall. It was like she had dropped off the face of the earth and just returned, beaten and bruised, a few weeks ago, he told Lulu. She could tell he was warning her about the mysterious young woman, but she told him everyone had a past and it wasn’t polite for him to be nosing around in Leah’s. “Fruitless . . . the search was fruitless,” he had said.

  10

  THE WEEKS BEFORE THANKSGIVING had rolled along at a pleasant pace. Leah started out slowly at the café by helping Lulu with food prep, and then Lulu gradually trained her to work out front. The town folks seemed to take to her pretty easily, except for Crowley. He came in every day at closing and checked in on Lulu, or so he said. Leah wasn’t dumb. She knew he was there to make sure she was doing right by Lulu and not taking advantage of the kind lady. Leah couldn’t blame him. She was already developing a protective nature over Lulu herself.

  Leah had grown more agitated with his presence and almost came unglued one afternoon while he sat at the counter after closing, watching her like a hawk, as she counted the day’s earnings and made out the deposit slip. She had a hard time keeping a stern look due to his appearance, but it seemed not to bother him at all to sit there with speckles of dried mud all over him. His tattered hat, worn backward, gave him the appearance of a filthy little boy. Leah rolled her eyes as she listened to him tell Lulu all about spending the day mud bogging with a group of his buddies on four-wheelers.

  “I have a pie to make,” Lulu stated and wandered into the kitchen to start gathering ingredients.

  “Looks like Lulu had a prosperous day,” Crowley said as he scraped a dried splatter of mud off his earlobe.

  Leah kept at her task. “Yep.”

  “How much did she make today?” he asked.

  Leah frowned. “I don’t think that is any of your business.” She stomped off to the kitchen to hand Lulu the completed deposit slip with the money. Loud enough for Crowley to hear, Leah asked, “Doesn’t he ever have anything better to do?”

  Lulu laughed. “Apparently not.” She looked over at Crowley, who was giving her a huge grin from his perch at the counter. Lulu shook her head and set the deposit to the side.

  Crowley quickly wiped the grin off his face when Leah turned back to him. He kept his eyes on her as he asked Lulu, “Don’t you think it ain’t very wise to allow new help to handle your money, Lulu?” He dislodged another drop of dried mud from above his eyebrow.

  “I think it ain’t wise for you to keep running off at the mouth like you’re doing,” Lulu said, causing Leah to turn her attention back to her and the grin to return to Crowley’s face. “And you gonna find yourself cleaning these floors if you don’t keep that mud to yourself, young man.”

  The following week welcomed Thanksgiving, and the café was congested with customers. Leah was amazed at how many cake and pie orders Lulu prepared in addition to the usual demands. The pace helped Leah keep her mind off things and had been great at aiding her to sleep soundly at night.

  Lulu had insisted on Leah joining her for Thanksgiving, but Leah politely declined. She knew if she agreed, then Crowley wouldn’t show up. She had no desire to put a kink in any of their holiday traditions. The Wednesday before, Leah made a point to wish both Lulu and Crowley a happy Thanksgiving. Before heading upstairs, she told Lulu she would see her bright and early Friday morning. She wanted to reassure Crowley she would not be barging in on his holiday.

  Late Thanksgiving afternoon, Lulu showed up at Leah’s door with two generous plates of leftovers, and the two new friends had their very own Thanksgiving holiday.

  “It’s tradition to share something you are thankful for before we eat,” Lulu said. “I’m thankful that God sent you to me.” She smiled warmly as she squeezed Leah’s hand.

  Leah’s throat tightened with emotion. She wondered how this woman could really feel this way about such a mess as herself. “That’s the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me, Lulu,” Leah whispered. She wiped away a tear. “I’m thankful you took me in.”

  The ladies enjoyed their meal, and Leah admitted to Lulu that it had been the best Thanksgiving she’d ever had.

  “Good. You can walk me home and help do all the dishes I abandoned earlier to come see you, since you declined to come see me.” Lulu winked. Leah gladly walked her home.

  Leah believed Lulu’s cozy river cottage was just as charming as Lulu herself. It was a two-story house, painted in pale yellow, with an inviting wraparound porch. Entering the front door, Leah admired the homey den that was anchored by a large brick fireplace that seemed to warm the room even when it wasn’t lit.

  After the dishes were cleaned, the two ladies lingered over a cup of coffee and a slice of pumpkin pie on Lulu’s back deck, which faced the river.

  As Leah readied to walk back home before dark, Lulu tried handing her an uncut pecan pie. “Drop this off to Crowley, please. He forgot it earlier.”

  “I don’t even know where he lives.” Uncomfortable with this request, Leah rubbed the side of her neck.

  “No? Well, I guess you wouldn’t, would you? You’ll find him at the first brick town house across the street from the café, to the left of the park.”

  “Maybe you should just call him to come get it.” Leah wanted nothing to do with the task of delivering anything to that man.

  “I’m pooped, and I don’t feel like any more company today. Do me this favor, please.” Lulu pushed the pie into Leah’s hands.

  Feeling as though she had no other choice, Leah walked the three blocks to the town house. A small sign, which advertised Mason Law Office, hung from the porch. Leah paused to study it. Surely that bum isn’t a lawyer. Must be his dad.

  Taking a deep breath, Leah climbed the brick steps and rang the doorbell. She waited only a few seconds before deciding to place the pie on the welcome mat and make a run for it. As she bent down, the door sprang open suddenly and her eyes landed on bare feet. She stood slowly, her gaze traveling up long tanned legs, clad in the usual ratty cargo shorts, and continuing upward until it landed on Crowley’s questioning gaze. He looked surprised to find her standing there.

  Leah felt her cheeks grow warm at being caught staring. Unable to look away, she shoved the pie into his hands. “Lulu said to give you this.”

  “Lulu pie! Yum!” Leah heard Ana shout from somewhere inside, as other guests laughed at her enthusiasm. From the sound of it, they were watching football.

  Crowley rolled his eyes, which were nearly hidden under the brim of his tattered ball cap. “Great, now I guess I have to share my pie.”

  His oddly colored eyes held Leah’s captive for a few seconds before she lowered her head. They stood in silence until she couldn’t bear the tension any longer.

  The young woman turned on her heel and left without another word. Crowley let her. He knew, without any doubt, Lulu would have hit him over the head with that pie, if she knew how rude he had been. He was a Southern gentleman by nature, but something came over him when Leah was around. He didn’t trust her, and he couldn’t let his guard down.

  11

  IT WAS THE FIRST SATURDAY after Thanksgiving, and the café was packed. Leah was refilling Ana’s glass of tea when she glanced out the window and noticed a grungy little man pedaling what looked like a giant child’s tricycle. A misshapen trucker hat sat lopsided on top of his greasy brown hair. He pedaled up on the sidewalk and nearly took out one of the round planter boxes.

  “What in the world is that?” Leah pointed at him.

  “That is Jessup Barns. He’s our little town’s drunk,” Ana said.

  Leah fidgeted at the word drunk.

  Ana sensed the change in Leah’s demeanor. “Don’t worry ’bout ole Jessup, honey. He’s harmless. Well . . . to everyone but himself, that is.”

  They watched as Jessup struggled to dismount the bike. His leg got caught on the seat, making him face-plant into a
container of mums.

  Ana let out a terse laugh. “That contraption he rode up on, which seems to be beating him up at the moment, is his liquor-cycle.”

  “His what?” Leah continued to watch the train wreck on the sidewalk. She just couldn’t look away.

  “Jessup can’t have a driver’s license on account he can’t keep from getting DUIs. The sheriff permanently suspended it. Jessup tried to get around on a regular bike but had a pretty hard time keeping it upright. So one night he raided Crowley’s barn and came strolling up on that thing the next day. You have to give it to him, it’s fairly creative.” They watched him finally get up from the sidewalk.

  “He’s got a cooler strapped on the back, and the metal basket mounted on the front is for whatever he sees fit,” Ana pointed out as Jessup began pulling beer cans out of it into Lulu’s sidewalk trash bin. “At the moment, it’s his trash can. But after visiting Lulu, it will become his grocery cart. He’s a pet project of Lulu’s. She thinks she can save him. I hate to break her heart, but that poor thing is just too far gone.” Ana concluded her commentary on Jessup and returned her attention to her salad.

  Leah moved back to the counter and mumbled to herself, “Aren’t we all a Lulu pet project?”

  Moments later, Jessup stumbled through the door, bringing along with him a stench of body odor and stale beer. Before Leah could figure out what to do about him, Lulu rushed out of the kitchen and made a beeline over to him.

  “Good afternoon, Jessup. I got your food right here.” Lulu handed him the white bag as she moved him in the direction of the exit.

  He mumbled a thank-you and handed her a crumpled dollar bill.

  “Jessup, the drugstore had a huge buy-one-get-one-free sale. Now I’m stuck with all this free mess that I don’t need. You think you could help me out by taking it off my hands?”