He moved fast, catching Magda and placing her bottom in a chair. “You alright, Ma’am?”
“Ooh and a Southern, gentile accent to boot,” Magda said, waving one hand in the air. “Won’t He do it?”
Trevor smiled, showing off what seemed like all thirty-two of his teeth and the best of Dr. Milliand, DMD’s work. Evan came out of his office and saw Magda grinning like a fool. He stepped around the counter and saw why. Leta’s brother spoke of breeding, class, money and wore at least three thousand dollars’ worth of haberdashery.
“Evan, this is my brother Trevor. Trevor, this is my husband Evan Eaton, the Town Clerk for the City of Meredith,” Leta said, walking over and slipping her arms around his waist. “Honey, why are all these people here? Is it the last day for vehicle registrations or something?”
“No, these are the people trying to get an invite to the cookout tomorrow night,” Evan said, reaching for Trevor’s hand, which he shook, made eye contact, gave Trevor the once over, nodded, and went back to his focus on his wife. “Let me clear them out, and I’ll be home in a bit.”
“Okay,” she said, waiting for a kiss.
“You were supposed to call me when you made it to the airport and call me when you were headed back. I was worried,” Evan said, his eyes only on her.
“Brother and sister stuff, sorry,” she said. “Kiss me and tell me I’m pretty.”
“I’m pretty,” he said, kissing her softly on the lips then looking up at her brother. “Trevor, beer, wine, or spirits?”
“Hennessey or Courvoisier,” Trevor said.
“Straight, Coke, or a chaser?”
“Straight,” Trevor said.
“Cool, we’ll talk in a few,” Evan said, releasing Leta, but encouraging her to use the side door. “Welcome to Meredith Trevor.”
“Thanks,” he said, following his sister. Trevor remained quiet as they walked to the car, side by side, neither saying a word. She was waiting. Once she started the car and they headed to the house, she still sat waiting. It was unlike Trevor to not make an immediate assessment of his read on a man, especially since he was an attorney, but he remained solemn as they pulled up to the house.
She was grateful the dented-up car was gone, which made one less thing to explain. She’d barely gotten the car into park when Sandra rolled up on two wheels, anxious and excited. Leta offered her friend a smile and a warm hug.
“Girl, Virgil told me your car came and your POD. I am ready to get to work setting up this house...well, hello tall, dark, and well educated. I’m Sandra, your sister’s BFF,” she said, extending her hand for a Southern Belle shake. Her fingers were down with the wrist slightly bent, and Trevor knew the routine.
He bent slightly at the waist, taking the tips of her fingers into his hand, bowing over the wrist and offering a well-spoken, “Charmed to make your acquaintance Sandra. I am Trevor Feldman, Esquire.”
“I just bet you are a sight in the courtroom, hammering down the non-believers whose lips are dripping in speeches of 'interposition' and 'nullification,'” Sandra said, watching his face.
“You from Georgia?” Trevor asked, at her usage of Dr. King’s words.
“Kentucky girl, born and bred,” she told him turning quickly to Leta, acting like she had an adult case of ADHD. “Oh wait, Leta did I come too soon? You haven’t had a chance to show your brother the house. Heck, I haven’t seen the house. Are they all done?”
“Believe it or not, they are, and somehow, I have to get all of this stuff moved in before the party tomorrow night,” she said.
Trevor walked up the steps to the front porch and leaned against the railing looking out over the lake. It was easily one of the most beautiful things he’d seen in a long time. Boats skimmed the lake, rowing down the calm waters and reminding him of passages from Lake Wobegon Days. The tension he’d been holding in his shoulders eased as he took a seat on the porch, his luggage beside him as he inhaled the crisp, clean air.
He didn’t care anything about the house. It wsa the lake that stole his heart and he imagined his father would have the same reaction. The idea of sitting on the dock in a reclined chair, casting a line for the better part of the morning was a small feat, rarely accomplished by either him or his father. Trevor knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt that his father would be more interested in casting a line, than fighting with his daughter. Larone Feldman had trained his son well when it came to watching out for his sister. He would know that Trevor would have the hard conversations with Evan before he arrived. Trevor in turn could provide the cheat sheet of information on the new man and whether or not to like his son-in-law immediately or to give it time for the relationship to marinate. Her brother wasn’t concerned with the house.
It was a house that his sister lived in, and her chattering friend went to the POD, unlocking the door and peering inside. He heard his sister mention that the larger furniture pieces were in the back, and the kitchen and household goods were up front. They planned to start there. In the interim, he would rest his weary soul and soak in the ambiance of the lake and the calm of the water.
A few minutes later, Evan drove up. He held two brown bags in his hand. His gaze searched for his wife, and finding her and Sandra in the pod, he moved toward the porch. The first brown bag was handed to Trevor. Evan took the suitcase, rolling it inside to the guest bedroom and returning a minute later with a glass with two ice cubes. The glass was passed to Trevor, along with a bottle of water. Evan took a seat beside his brother-in-law.
“I used to think this was the most perfect sight that my eyes had ever beheld, until a week ago,” Evan said, opening the bottle of cognac. “I suggest you only take one sip of that since we have to unload that pod and carry out the stuff from the house she wants to hide from my parents who arrive on Saturday.”
“Between you, me and the wind, my parents are arriving tomorrow, but Leta doesn’t know it,” Trevor said, watching his face.
“That means we have more stuff to hide in that POD,” he told him, adding more liquor to the glass. “Plus, there is a cookout tomorrow.”
“Yeah, what is that about?”
“Hell, I don’t know,” Evan said. “Your sister flittered about town sprinkling pixie dust and now everybody wants to be her friend. I don’t like half of these damned people. I sure as hell don’t want them in my house, so I only invited six. I think it was six. I don’t even know anymore.”
Trevor took a sip of the brown liquid tongue loosener. He looked over at Evan, who was much taller, broader, and manlier than he’d imagined. The expectation of a squishy white guy who was the town clerk came to mind, but not the beefy white dude his sister had wed.
“Spit it out,” Evan said with his trademark town grump tone.
“Spit what out?”
“Your questions, comments, and concerns about me marrying your sister,” Evan said.
Trevor shrugged. “I don’t know what to say about any of this. I’m honestly at a loss for words, and I’m an attorney. I talk shit for a living, but I am curious. You have a thing for the brown honeys?”
“Nope, never dated a black woman in my life.”
“Yet you married my sister.”
“Your sister showed up last Friday to my office, looked at me, and said, ‘Let’s do it,’” Evan told Trevor. “I was like, okay. I think on Sunday night we made you an Uncle and somewhere along the way, I spent ten thousand dollars and bought half a house which they attached in less than four days to please your sister, so I don’t know what to say either. The plumbing, lights and everything in that half of a house works. They did that in four days, and did I mention I spent ten grand on half a house?”
Trevor turned his head slowly to look at Evan, “What?”
Evan pointed at the addition. Held up four fingers. Next he pointed at the front porch. “You met Mabel? Yeah, her son showed up on, hell, I don’t know when, I think Monday and built your sister this porch. He built that firepit, I think yesterday or Tuesday. I don’t know
how much that cost me,” Evan said with his mouth twisted.
“You seem to be going along with this pretty easily. Are you allowing her to run over you?” Trevor inquired.
“Run over me? Run over me? Shit, if this is what it feels like to get run over, don’t be surprised to find my butt naked ass laying in the hallway telling her to go for it,” Evan said and burst into laughter.
Trevor spat out his drink. He found himself laughing as well.
“Man, Trevor, I don’t know how any of this is going to work, but that is my wife. I will put a bullet or slice open the gullet of any man, woman, or beast that comes near her, our son Benji, or our daughter Jacketta,” Evan said with pride.
“Jacketta? What in the hell?”
“Well, Leta didn’t like Aimee, said it wasn’t right for a gorgeous black woman like our daughter.”
“And you think Jacketta is not going to get her college admissions and job applications added to the File 13?”
“Yeah, we’re going to work on that one, but Benjamin Edward Eaton is a nice name,” Evan said. “I’m going to give him about thirty-five hundred acres and the same for Aimee.”
“Damned, how many acres do you have?”
“This is about ten thousand, and my Aunt has another five,” he said.
“Whoa,” Trevor responded, staring out at the lake. He took a small sip, watching his sister pull box after box out of the POD, opening and peering inside of each, although she’d clearly marked them all with the contents. “Evan, what if love isn’t enough to make this work?”
“It has to be,” Evan said, adding nothing more.
“I don’t understand,” Trevor replied. “Everything in this country is set up for marriages and families to fail, especially ones of mixed races. Every day the media is feeding line after line of divisiveness to pull people apart. How do I know my sister is going to be safe here to raise this family you plan to have?”
“At the end of the night, when the lights go out, it’s not about color, it’s about Leta and me,” he said to his brother-in-law. “Those people in my office came to check on my wife today. Most of them have never met her but only heard of her and the car accident she had yesterday. Love has to be enough because it’s all I have left. I have given everything else of myself away to keep swimming in a lake that doesn’t belong to me. There are times when I wanted to walk away from this town and say goodbye, but I didn’t want to, and I still don’t. This is our home where we will make our life. Love is more than enough.”
Trevor sat watching his sister and wide butt friend pull out curtains and napkins and other items she didn’t need, and he knew beyond a reasonable doubt that she was about to put them to work. Her husband knew it as well. He turned up his drink and got to his feet.
“Come on. You know what time it is. If she has to ask us, then I may not hear the end of it, so let’s just start bringing in all of them goddamn boxes of frilly shit,” Evan said.
“Don’t sound so excited. You’re a married man now. Next, you’re going to have to learn the types of teacups, and the difference between spaghetti straps, halter straps, and one shoulder straps for dresses,” Trevor announced.
“Why the hell do I need to know that?”
“Because Jacketta is going to make you take her shopping for recital items and tea parties,” Trevor said, laughing. “I hope your first one is a girl.”
“See, I was just starting to like you, then you had to go and open your lawyer mouth and start talking fancy muddying my perfect plan,” Evan said, walking down the steps of the porch.
Trevor followed along, watching the interaction between his sister, her new husband, and a friend called Sandra. Leta promised Trevor that after dinner, they would have maple sundaes and cider donuts for dessert, and he would love them. Owing allegiance to Krispy Kreme, Trevor refuted the notion of enjoying such a blasphemous combination on his tongue and challenged both his sister and Evan to prove him wrong.
A glow that he’d never seen before encircled his sister, and he knew then, beyond a rational doubt that she had found her happy. He was happy for her, and just before sunset, he removed his shoes and sat on the end of the dock. Bare feet dangled in the water as he was joined by Evan and Leta.
“Perfect way to end the evening,” Evan said.
“Absolutely idyllic,” Leta replied.
“Can’t get any better than this,” Trevor commented.
The silence hovered between them when Evan looked at his wife. She’d mentioned a business idea that she never got around to discussing. Now would be a good time to get it out.
“Leta, you said something about a business idea,” Evan said.
“Puzzles, We can start a business making puzzles of images taken around town. We can branch out and take photos when we get out on the weekends and you show me New Hampshire,” she said, as a matter of fact. “The die cut machine isn’t that expensive. I create a website with a few images to start. Sandra has agreed to help me, and we can make money and I can stay home with Benji and Jacketta.”
“So, you’ve planned it all out,” Evan said. “Start up cost?”
“Don’t know yet, but this is my business, so let me play with the idea a bit and we go from there,” she said, pulling her foot through the cool water.
“I’ll give you five grand as a buy in,” Trevor said. “I’m sure Mom and Dad will toss just as much each for equipment. Let me know what you need.”
“Thanks Trevor,” she said leaning on him.
“Just like that, you came up with what twenty thousand for a business that doesn’t exist,” he said. “Oh, speaking of that, Rufus what’s his face wants to talk to you about working with him and Gerald on another business that doesn’t exist. I don’t know how you do it Leta. I just don’t know how you do it.”
“Easy husband, you step out on faith and the rest falls into place,” she said, smiling at him with a self-assurance in her voice that made him feel calm. He was calm, but more importantly he was happy. He didn’t even mind having a shitload of people coming to his house or having a shitload of people stay in the house.
He smiled and corrected himself mentally. Our home. They are coming to our home and I’m going to turn the light on for them.
“Yep, I’ll leave the light on,” he said, looking at her and laughing loudly. “This is gonna be good.”
Epilogue – Mellowness
Evan had little to say as he watched his childhood home transform from a place filled with sorrowful memories and morph into a space filled with bright paintings, lively curtains, and furniture that didn’t smell like old meat and piss poor attitudes. Trevor paid very close attention to his reactions to his living room furniture getting carried out to the front porch and Leta’s modern, stylish furniture entering the living room. A very large television came in next with a Daddy style reclining chair.
“Trevor, how big is that television?” Evan asked.
“I’d say maybe fifty inches,” Trevor said, “yeah and it’s 4K, Ultra HD.”
“I don’t know what that is, but I think I’m going like it,” Evan said, looking at Trevor with wide eyes.
As boxes were carried into the kitchen and emptied one by one, each cabinet was filled with shiny matching plates and cute colorful glasses and tumblers. The two coffee mugs were now met with friends, and a whole set of six cups was present, along with teacups and saucers and tiny plates he had no idea how to use. It all felt...nice.
The new bedroom set Leta purchased before leaving Atlanta went into the new guest room. The bedroom furniture Leta used in Atlanta went into the new master bedroom in the addition Jake added to the house. Heavy curtains which matched the bed linens were hung at the windows, wrapping up the visual picture of the happy home she had in mind. Colorful, durable rugs went under the new dining room table and the new coffee table in the living room. Well, it was all new to Evan, including the special tiny table which got placed beside the navy corduroy reclining chair.
“Evan, th
at’s your chair and table to hold your snacks and drinks,” Leta said, blowing him a kiss.
The television was connected with a Firestick, and Evan didn’t know what that was either, but the colors, channels, and television choices popped up on the giant television and he gasped and fell back in the chair. He had Netflix, but no cable television. Evan had no earthly idea that so many channels existed, and with his Prime Account, Evan could access movies and television shows. He gasped again seeing shows from his childhood he’d all but forgotten about.
“Man, what the hell is wrong with you?” Trevor asked.
“I’m just going to lay back right here and wait for Leta to run me the hell over,” he said, clapping happily about the chair and the television.
“Man, we have a schedule to keep. What time are the guests arriving?”
“Around six-thirty,” Evan said, looking at the house which was completely transformed. It was an amazing feeling to know that this was the house he would now come home to each day after work.
“On it,” Evan lied and tried the chair one more time. The recliner sat at a perfect angle to see everything on the television and he imagined himself getting a round belly from all the good cooking and yelling at the kids to find his remote. He chuckled as he got up to check on the steaks and to get the fire started on the grill.
A FEW MINUTES AFTER five p.m., Sandra and Virgil arrived ready to lend a hand. A large cooler was placed on the front porch, and canned beers and sodas were dumped inside. Sandra helped in the kitchen preparing side dishes or traditional Southern potato salad, baked beans, and deviled eggs.
“This is my Mamma’s deviled egg recipe,” Sandra said with pride.
Virgil pulled Evan to the side to try to fill him in on what was going on with his cousin Rick. Evan held up his hand. “that man is dead to me Virgil. I don’t need, want, or require an update. However, when my father arrives, if you’re so inclined, you can fill him in, since Rick’s mother is his sister. Other than that, he has no room in my head.”
Maple Sundaes & CIder Donuts Page 19
