by Marin Thomas
“Shirley, sit down.” Katelyn pointed to the cushion on the chair. “I’m not contesting the divorce.”
“Talk sense into your daughter.” Shirley glared at Birdie. “You don’t want her to end up in your situation, do you?”
“Watch yourself, Ms. High Society.” Birdie glared back.
“I only meant look how hard you’ve had to work all your life. Mavis said you wished you could retire.”
Birdie cast a quick glance at Katelyn. “I was kidding.”
Katelyn couldn’t tell if her mother was being truthful or not. “Will you two stop bickering so I can make my announcement?” When she had their attention, she said, “I’ve decided to stay in Little Springs for the rest of the summer.”
Birdie clapped and Katelyn was glad the news pleased her mother. “And I intend to keep working at the grocery store.” Birdie wasn’t an emotional woman, but her eyes glowed as if Katelyn had given her a special gift.
“Why on earth would you want to be stranded here?” Shirley asked.
“The house in St. Louis has sold and the kids are gone for the summer. Why not stay?”
“But I don’t want to be here all summer,” Shirley said.
“You weren’t—” Birdie said.
“Mom . . . ,” Katelyn warned, then spoke to Shirley. “I’ll drive you back to St. Louis, and Don will help you get settled into your new apartment.”
“After all I’ve done for you through the years, you’re going to leave me at that awful apartment by myself?”
Birdie stamped her foot. “All you’ve done for my daughter, Shirley Pratt, is make her life miserable.”
Shirley ignored Birdie. “What am I supposed to do by myself?”
“Maybe Don’s new girlfriend will take you to get your hair done,” Katelyn said.
“I don’t want to get to know my son’s new girlfriend.” Shirley grasped Katelyn’s hand. “Can I stay here, too?”
Birdie’s eyes widened. “You hate Little Springs.”
“It’s not the worst place in the world.” Shirley glanced between Birdie and Katelyn. “And there is the ladies’ society.”
“Those are my friends, not yours,” Birdie said.
“You said they liked me.” Shirley stamped her foot and looked at Katelyn. “Tell your mother to let me stay.”
“It’s up to you, Mom. This is your home.”
Birdie propped her hands on her hips. “Will you keep your mouth shut at the supper table and not comment about the food I serve?”
“Yes.”
“And will you stop hiding my Birkenstocks?”
“What?” Katelyn asked.
Birdie looked at Katelyn. “She hides my sandals, because she thinks they’re ugly.”
“They’re hideous,” Shirley said. “Fine, you can wear your Birkenstocks. I don’t care.”
“You promise to stop criticizing my daughter and nagging her about her hair?” Birdie asked.
“If Katelyn hasn’t changed her hairstyle all these years, then nothing I say is going to convince her to do it now.”
“You step out of line once”—Birdie shook her finger at Shirley—“and I’ll drive you back to Missouri myself.”
Shirley crossed her heart. “I’ll be a model houseguest.”
“I’d better call Abby.” Birdie opened the screen door.
“What’s Abby got to do with Shirley and me staying?” Katelyn asked.
“She said she talked to you about her father and Shirley going out on a date and you thought it was a good idea.” Birdie looked at Shirley. “Maybe Vern thinks he can save your soul.”
“I can’t go out with him.”
“What’s wrong with the man?” Birdie asked. “He’s not fat, and he still has all his teeth.”
“I’m a widow.”
“Vern’s a widower.” Birdie raised her hands in the air. “I don’t see the problem.”
“Mom, maybe Shirley’s not ready to—”
“Abby said Vern’s picking you up at six o’clock and taking you into Odessa to that new steak house.”
“But I didn’t say yes to a date,” Shirley protested.
“I said yes for you.” Birdie stepped into the house.
“Wait!” Shirley went inside, her voice carrying through the screen. “Do you think Sadie would style my hair?”
“Get dressed and I’ll take you over to the salon.”
Good grief. Katelyn’s trip home was turning into a three-ring circus. She left the pile of weeds on the lawn and went inside to shower and change. She didn’t have to be at the Buy & Bag until noon, and she planned to use the time to work on a sketch.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“I’m off to the grocery store, Mom.” Katelyn slipped into her sandals and headed for the back door, stopping when her phone went off inside her purse.
It was Melissa. Katelyn took a deep breath and stepped onto the porch. “Hi, honey. How are you?”
“Oh my God, Mom! Dad called me and said you guys are getting divorced.”
Katelyn sat in the chair and closed her eyes. “I’m sorry you had to find out during your trip abroad.”
Birdie stepped onto the porch and Katelyn interrupted Melissa’s rant. “Grandma Chandler’s here. Did you want to wish her a happy birthday?” She handed the phone to her mother. While Birdie and Melissa chatted, Katelyn wished she could make things right for her daughter, but nothing she said or did would change the fact that Melissa’s parents were breaking up.
“Love you, too.” Birdie handed the phone to Katelyn and went back inside.
“Dad said the house already sold.”
“It did.”
“Where are you going to live?” That Melissa didn’t ask about her possessions surprised Katelyn.
“I’m not sure. Right now I plan to spend the summer in Little Springs with your grandmothers.”
“Grandma Pratt wants to stay there?”
“She does, and guess what?”
“What?”
“She went out on a date last night.”
“No way. With who?”
Katelyn laughed. “A widower named Vern. He’s a minister in town.”
“Did she have fun?”
“I don’t know. She’s still in bed.”
“I’m going to change my plans and fly to Texas when I return to the States. I don’t need to spend the summer with Sara. I can see her horses another time.”
“I love you for worrying about me, honey, but there’s nothing to do in Little Springs for a girl your age.” That was the truth.
“I can be with you.”
“I’m working Grandma’s shifts at the Buy & Bag, so I’m keeping busy.”
“Why would you want to work at a grocery store?”
“To give Grandma a break. I like having someplace to go every day and I’m becoming friends with the ladies at the store.”
“Mom?”
“What?”
“When I asked Dad why you guys were getting a divorce, he said he’d met someone else. Is it true?”
“Yes. Your father is having an affair.”
“What a jerk.”
Katelyn agreed.
“I’m so disappointed in him.”
The hurt in her daughter’s voice broke Katelyn’s heart, but she understood what it felt like to be let down by your parents. “Your father still loves you and Michael.”
“I know.” Melissa sighed. “Are you sure you don’t want me to fly to Texas?”
“Positive.”
“It’s been a while since you visited Grandma Chandler.”
“I should have come home a long time ago,” Katelyn said.
“Dad said he can’t make it to my move-in day at Stephens, because he’ll be out of town. Do you think you and Grandma Cha
ndler could help me move into my dorm?”
“We’d love to.” Birdie would enjoy tagging along for the trip and seeing her granddaughter’s college.
“Promise to call me if you need to talk or vent?” Melissa said.
“The same goes for you, honey.”
“You’re sure you’re okay, Mom?”
“I would tell you if I wasn’t.”
“Say hi to Grandma Pratt for me and make sure she practices safe sex.”
Katelyn laughed. “Maybe you should have that talk with her.”
“Love you, Mom.”
“Love you, too. Be careful and enjoy the rest of your trip.”
“I’ll text when I get settled at Sara’s house in a few weeks.”
“Sounds good.”
Melissa ended the call, and Katelyn dropped the phone into her purse.
The screen door squeaked open again. “Is Melissa going to be okay?” Birdie asked.
“She’s a tough girl.”
“Like her mother.”
“Like her grandmother, too.” Katelyn descended the steps. “What are your plans with Shirley today?”
“As soon as Prissy Pants hauls her butt out of bed, I’m taking her clothes shopping in Odessa.”
“Maybe you can talk her into buying something other than those silk blouses she wears all the time.”
“Can’t promise anything, but I’ll try.”
“You know, you might want to look at—”
“Don’t you start in on me about my capri pants and T-shirts.”
Katelyn raised her hands in defeat. “You girls have fun.” She cut through the yard and then trekked down the hill to the grocery store.
“You’re late,” Walter greeted her when she walked through the loading dock door.
“I got caught”—she didn’t want to tell him that her daughter had phoned, upset that her parents were divorcing—“refereeing an argument between my mother and Shirley.” That wasn’t too far from the truth—the older women were always bickering. She shoved her purse inside her locker and slipped on her smock, then headed to the front of the store, Walter trailing behind her.
“You can take a shorter lunch and make up the time,” he said, then escaped into his office.
“What was that all about?” Layla asked.
“He wanted to know why I clocked in a half hour late.” Katelyn waved off the topic and asked, “How was your date with Brian?”
“I found out his parents live in California and he has a brother in Iowa. He’s been to Hawaii and Alaska, too.” Layla patted Katelyn’s shoulder. “Thanks for covering for me the other night. I appreciate you helping Abby close.”
“No problem.”
“Was Birdie’s birthday bash a success?”
“I ended up enlisting Jackson and Vern’s help chauffeuring the group home after the party.”
“I heard about the pot brownies.”
“I saw the plants in coffee cans on her front porch. It looks like she’s growing her own cannabis.”
“Ginny said Doris became addicted to painkillers after falling down and fracturing her spine. Someone told her to switch to pot to help with the pain, and she was able to wean herself off the pills.”
A whooshing sound caught their attention. The front doors opened, and Layla’s son entered the store.
“Hey, Mom.” The boy stopped at the register. “Trevor can’t do anything today, and I’m bored.”
The doors opened again, and Brian walked in with his dolly of pastries. He parked the treats in front of the bread aisle and exchanged a private smile with Layla before looking at her son. “What are you up to, Gavin?”
“I’m bored.”
“I might be able to help with that,” Brian said. “I could use an extra hand with deliveries today. The job pays twenty-five bucks, plus lunch is on me.”
Gavin’s eyes lit up. “I can ride in the truck with you?”
“You’d have to help me stock shelves in the stores, but if you do a good job, you can tag along next week, too.”
Gavin looked at his mother. “Twenty-five dollars is a lot of money. I could buy the video game FlatOut: Ultimate Carnage after working only a couple of days.”
“Yes, you could.” Layla sent Brian a grateful look.
“Okay,” Gavin said. “I’ll help you make deliveries.”
“We’ll leave as soon as I unload this dolly.”
Gavin took off for the bathroom, and Layla said, “How can I repay you for keeping him entertained?”
“Have supper ready for us when I drop him off later.” Brian flashed a smile, then disappeared down the bread aisle.
“He’s really good with Gavin,” Katelyn said, amused that her coworker couldn’t take her eyes off the deliveryman.
“I know, but . . .”
“But what?”
“This is going to sound awful, but I wish he had money.”
“Money isn’t everything.”
Layla scoffed. “That’s easy for you to say. I heard your husband makes a fortune.”
“Soon-to-be ex-husband.”
“Still, when the dust settles from your divorce, you’ll have more cash than you’ll know what to do with.”
There was nothing Katelyn could say in her defense. Layla was a younger version of herself—more beautiful definitely—but her eyes shone with a yearning for something more than what life had shown her so far. The same anxious look that Katelyn had seen in her own reflection before she’d left for college.
“I buy lottery tickets,” Layla said.
“Have you had any luck?”
“I won five hundred dollars on a scratch-off two years ago.”
“That’s nothing to sneeze at.”
“I used the money to buy school clothes for Gavin. And I let him get an expensive pair of sneakers, which was stupid, because he grew out of them in six months.”
“Bye, Mom.” Gavin waved as he raced past the registers.
“Behave!”
When Brian met Gavin at the door, the preteen asked, “Are you my mom’s boyfriend?”
Brian locked gazes with Layla. “We’re friends . . . for right now.” He winked, then ushered Gavin outside.
“I can’t remember the last time Don looked at me like that,” Katelyn said.
“Like what?”
“Like I was his whole world.” Katelyn shrugged. “Money makes life easier but not always sweeter.”
“Sweetness is overrated. I’m taking my break.” Layla walked off.
Katelyn waved at a family of five who entered the store. It would be several minutes before they made it to her register, so she removed her cell phone from her jean pocket and texted Michael.
Everything going okay?
As soon as she put the phone back into her pocket, it vibrated.
Fine. Why?
Just wondering. I’ve decided to stay all summer in Little Springs. Grandma Pratt is staying, too.
You guys are gonna be bored out of your minds.
Maybe. How are classes going?
Got an A on a quiz. I’m playing hoops with some guys on Friday nights.
Stay out of trouble.
You, too.
Ha. Ha. Love you. XXOO
Me, too. Say hi to Grandma C and Grandma P.
OK. Katelyn put the phone away right as Walter emerged from his office.
“Your mother called and said she’s not returning to work until the end of August and that you’re staying on in her place.”
Birdie had wanted to be the one to tell her boss. “Is that okay?”
“Sure.” Walter lowered his voice. “Don’t tell Birdie I said this, but I think she should retire.”
“Is she making mistakes at the register?”
“No,
it’s her attitude.”
“What do you mean?”
“She bites my head off whenever I ask her to do something.”
“My mother’s not rude to customers, is she?”
“Only me.”
“I wouldn’t take it personally. Mom doesn’t like being told what to do.”
“But I’m the boss.”
“The trick is making her think she’s the boss.”
Walter grimaced. “I’ll enjoy the break from her over the next few weeks. Then when she returns, I’ll do what I always do.”
“Which is?”
“Steer clear of her.”
Katelyn’s laughter coaxed a smile out of him.
“If you’re staying the summer, does that mean you and Jackson are seeing each other?” he asked.
“There’s nothing going on between me and Jackson.”
Yet.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“If you keep this up, I won’t have one single weed in the whole yard.” Birdie knelt on the ground next to Katelyn in front of the azalea bushes by the side of the house.
“I woke early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Katelyn said. “I thought I’d make myself useful, since I have the day off from the Buy & Bag.” She tossed a dandelion into the pile of weeds behind her.
“Wouldn’t you rather sit in church than out here in the hot sun?”
Katelyn smiled. “No one’s stopping you from spending your Sunday praising God.”
“I usually skip the first service after one of our birthday parties. Better to wait until the gossip dies down.” Birdie squeezed Katelyn’s hand. “Are you sure you want to take over my job for the rest of the summer?”
“I haven’t done a lot for you through the years, Mom. Use the break to relax and catch up on sleep.” Katelyn sat back on her heels and removed a gift-wrapped package from her pocket. “I got you something else for your birthday.”
“The check was plenty.” Birdie tore at the paper. “Guitar picks?”
“If it’s not too late for me to start painting again, then it’s not too late for you to start playing your guitar.”
“Maybe I will.” Birdie set the picks aside. “Thank you.” She pointed at the ground beneath the shrubs. “I didn’t put mulch down last year.”
