by Linda Apple
Like good children, we obeyed. When Felix, Jema, and Levi arrived, we assembled together and enjoyed the time-honored love of food and conversation. Felix reached for more mashed potatoes and said, “Miss Cladie, I saw this catalog with a hydroponic set up. They had tomatoes and cucumbers growing in buckets and lettuce on a table-like thing. And you don’t use dirt. Just water with the nutrients mixed right in. I’m thinking that you and Miss Avalee ought to look into it.”
“What a great idea, Felix.” I turned to Mom. “We could buy a large polycarbonate greenhouse. I’ve toured through a lot of them. I hear they are great for growing year around.”
Momma pulled a potato roll apart and smeared it with fig preserves. “I don’t know. Those things are expensive, and truth be told, I like having a break from the garden. Besides, what would we grow?”
Jema jumped in the conversation. “I’d love to have vine-ripe tomatoes in January instead of those cardboard tasting things. And I’ll bet the produce manager at the store would jump at the chance to buy your veggies.”
“You mean Walter at Pigg’s?” Momma bit into the roll and thought a minute. She pointed her finger at Jema, then at me. “Y’all might be on to something.”
Levi spoke up. “And Miss Cladie, since you have Felix and me to do the work, you could still have that break.”
“I talked to Mom and Felix the other day about growing edible flowers.”
Jema stopped her fork in front of her mouth and looked at me. “Edible flowers?”
“Yes. They are the thing on the west coast and in New York. Chefs put them on salads and use them as garnish, bakers candy them and decorate with them, and bartenders use them in their specialty drinks.”
A spark shown in Levi’s eyes. “But is there a market for all of this in Moonlight? This needs to be considered before investing in expensive hydroponic systems.”
Levi surprised me. I guess I supposed he was uneducated since he was homeless. A pathetic, ignorant and prejudiced supposition on my part, I’ll admit. Obviously he had business sense.
Ty piped up. “We could develop an Internet business.”
“That would work.” Levi looked at me. “You say there is a good market?”
“Yes. Just look online.”
Momma clapped her hands together. “Well then, let’s do it.” She pushed away from the table. “But for now, let’s have dessert. How many for eight-layer-butter cake with chocolate frosting?”
The guys waved their hands.
I stood. “I’ll help you, Momma.” I had other motives besides being helpful. I wanted to slice my own piece. Momma’s cooking had made it darned near impossible to snap my jeans, and I absolutely refused to buy a larger pair.
In the kitchen, she cut five huge wedges and was about to cut another.
“Wait.” I held up my hand. “I’ll cut my own piece.” I took the knife and sliced off a piece.
“Lord’ve mercy, Avalee. You sliced it so thin it will disintegrate before you get back to the table.”
“It’s just right.” Still, with a longing eye, I coveted everyone else’s slices and sighed.
****
Monday morning I woke at daybreak. I don’t think I’ve ever looked so forward to a Monday in my entire life. The day absolutely crawled. I was dying to know what happened between Molly Kate and Colin. She didn’t get home until late Sunday night after I’d gone to bed and left before sunrise to get the baking done. One thing for sure, not a single one of us would be late tonight for Martini Monday. I grabbed the cheese balls Mom had made, a box of crackers, and a bottle of citrus flavored gin.
“I’m gone, Mom. Sure you don’t want to join us?”
Momma called from the den, “No, I’m watching Wheel. Tell me all about it when you get home. Wake me up if I’m asleep, okay?”
That’s my mother. She was a faithful fan of Wheel of Fortune. I don’t think she had missed an episode since it began as an afternoon game show. Sometimes she recorded them, but sooner or later, she watched every one.
“Okay. I’m gone.”
I put my goodies in my trusty little wagon and hurried to Lexi’s. When I reached her screen door, I tried knocking, but music blared on her CD player and drowned me out. “Hey, Lex. Some help please.”
Her feet pounded toward the door, and in a flash she threw open the screen. Her eyes were wide with anticipation. “Have you heard anything yet?” She took one of my trays.
“Nope. Take my word for it. MK will stretch this thing out as long as she can. I’m sure of it.”
“Not if I can help it. Put those cheese balls by the chicken wings. I picked them up on the way home.”
While we hung around the snack table, Jema tapped on the door.
“Knock, knock.” A sack hung from each arm and she held a tray of California rolls. With her foot she cracked the door ajar, then bumped it wide open with her hip. “Is Molly Kate here yet? Has she told you anything?”
“No and no.” I took her tray and the sack containing the vodka. “What’s in the other bag?”
“Wasabi and soy sauce. We have a sushi chef in the deli now. Those California rolls are to die for.” She looked at the table. “Did anyone make anything sweet?”
“I did.” Molly Kate sashayed in the room.
We stampeded her.
“Whoa, girls. I know you want to hear about my date with Colin.” Her smile confirmed my prediction. The hateful thing was going to drag this story out. “But you will just have to wait.”
She set the platters on the table and took off the foil. “Turtle cheesecake bites and chocolate chunk brownies.”
If she thought for one minute this would placate us she was wrong. Well, mostly wrong.
Lexi whipped up the martinis and practically threw them in our hands. We rushed to the living room and flopped on the nearest pieces of furniture.
“Okay spill,” said Lexi. “Or I may have to hurt you.”
Molly sipped her gin martini, nibbled a bit of olive, and said, “Okay. But girls, you won’t believe it. I’ve learned truth is truly stranger than fiction.”
We all leaned forward. A slight irritation tinged Lexi’s voice. “Try us. What?”
“Well, we met at Bouré. I recognized him right away. And he recognized me, which was surprising, considering I sent him the most awful photographs and then y’all made me look like a glamour model.”
She took another sip and held up a finger. “Right off he confessed he’d been lying to me about who he was all the time.”
Lexi jumped up. “I knew it. I just knew it. He’s married, isn’t he?”
Molly wore her maddening I have a secret and I’m enjoying this look. “Hold on and I’ll tell you. And don’t forget, I’ve done some lying myself.”
Lexi stirred her drink with her finger. “That’s different.” She sucked the vodka off her fake nail.
“The answer to your question is no. He isn’t married. He’s a widower like me.”
“Then what did he lie about?” asked Jema.
“His name. It isn’t Colin. It’s...” She looked at Lexi and me. “Are you ready for this?”
I couldn’t stand it. “For crying out loud. What?”
A smile crept over her face. “His name is Stan Montgomery.”
Stunned silence filled the space between Molly, Lexi, and me. Jema sat there clueless.
Lexi bellowed out, “STAN? The Stan Montgomery? The one you married in high school?”
Now Jema’s expression was just as astonished. Apparently Momma had filled her in.
My voice pitched. “How on earth could you not have known that?”
“People age.” Molly smirked. “Except for you Avalee.”
“Cladie Mae told me something about your marrying,” said Jema. “But I want to hear the whole story.”
Molly held up her glass. “I’ll explain after a refill.”
Never in the history of bartending had four martinis been mixed faster. We all settled in and anticipated Molly’
s retelling of the long ago marriage. She snuggled against the couch pillows. “You see, I’m the middle child in our family. I have an older sister and a younger sister. Before my little sister was born, in my child-mind, things were great. My older sister got plenty of attention as the oldest child and me as the baby. But when my little sister came along, I was stuck in the middle. It was as if I’d been demoted. At least that was how I felt. So, in order to be noticed, I became an overachiever. I was on the honor roll and the captain of the cheering squad, but nothing ever seemed to lift the middle child veil off me. So, in high school, I got this great idea to get my parents’ attention. I decided to run away and get married.”
“To Stan?” asked Jema.
“Yep. The idea came from a conversation I had with this nerdy boy named Stan. We had study hall and science together. He was always a good listener and understood my frustration. He was pretty frustrated, too. The poor guy couldn’t get the attention of a girl even if he waved a hundred dollar bill. He wasn’t bad looking, just a bit too quiet and waaaay too intelligent. And what made matters worse; he didn’t have an athletic bone in his body.”
Lexi made a face. “Truer words were never spoken.”
“Anyway, one day we came up with this idea to run away together. For the next several weeks we made our plans. Being the genius he was, he came up with a fake marriage permit and where we could go to find a clueless justice of the peace.”
Jema walked to the snack table and got a couple of California rolls. “Did you go in the middle of the night? Wake the poor JP up?”
“No. We went on a school day so the office would be sure to call our parents. And when our parents found out we had skipped, they would be at home burning up the telephone lines looking for us. It all went beautifully. I told the JP this sob story about me being pregnant and our parents kicking us out of the house. Stan gave him the license and letters of permission from our parents. Stan told the JP our parents were so ashamed of us and they didn’t care what we did. Y’all would have been proud of my acting skills. When Stan said that, I burst out crying.” Molly Kate chuckled. “That poor justice is probably still talking about those poor kids and their horrible parents.”
“Did y’all...” Jema flushed. “Honeymoon?”
“Heavens no.” Molly dipped her roll in the wasabi sauce. “We never intended to stay married. We went straight to my house and told my parents and braced for the fallout.” She put the roll in her mouth. Instantly her eyes started watering. “Wow. If my nose is ever stuffed up, I’m eating this wasabi stuff.”
Jema handed her a tissue. “Miss Cladie said your trick worked, and you got plenty of attention.”
Molly wiped her eyes and blew her nose. “It worked all right. The first question Dad asked was if we had consummated our marriage. I didn’t know what he was talking about, and Stan whispered it in my ear. I can still remember how hot my face got. I blurted out ‘Of course not. We didn’t have time.’”
Lexi threw back her head and laughed. “What a hoot.”
“It was.” Molly Kate’s eyes danced with merriment. “Our dads didn’t waste any time making sure our illegal marriage was annulled. And from that day on, I got plenty of attention. More than I wanted. On the other hand, Stan was the big man on campus. After all, he’d seduced the captain of the cheerleading team. The jocks were sure we’d had sex. We didn’t see much of each other after our little escapade since the school staff and our parents watched us like cats watch mice.”
Lexi finished her martini. “Well, now that I think about it. It does make sense why you two didn’t recognize each other after all these years. You really didn’t know each other very well.”
“Precisely,” said Molly Kate. “Who knew we would be so compatible? We had a great weekend.”
Lexi’s eyebrows went straight to her hairline. “Did you have sex?”
“No.” Molly took a cheesecake bite. “It’s too early for that. We want to get to know each other first. I don’t want everything we do to become a means to an end—the bed. Unfortunately, I know by experience how easy that is. Not going there anymore.”
I thought I knew Marc too, only to find out I really didn’t. My voice swelled with sorrow and guilt. “I believe that.”
Molly Kate nodded at me and got another cheesecake. “We spent the weekend at his house talking. Getting reacquainted. He’s a retired pharmacist and loves to cook. He has a real nice home in the country. Sort of a gentleman’s farm with a few cows, a dozen or so chickens, and some goats.” She peered at me. “And he has a beautiful vegetable garden.”
“Well, he sounds okay, I guess. Maybe even pretty good.” I gave in and reached for a brownie. “But just in case, we’ve got your back.”
****
It was around eleven when I left Lexi’s. Jema walked with me. When I was younger, I felt safe walking alone on the streets of Moonlight after dark. But Moonlight was growing up and embracing vacationing strangers. I felt better having someone with me. When we reached her house we hugged, and I crossed the street and sauntered home.
Momma was asleep, and I didn’t have the heart to wake her. Besides, Molly Kate’s bit of news would make good coffee talk. Even though it was late, I wasn’t the slightest bit sleepy. I sat on the swing and thought over the past few weeks. Jema and Levi. Molly Kate and Stan. And if I knew Nathan at all, I could predict an interesting relationship just might develop between him and Lexi. And then there was Ty. I knew the real reason why our relationship could never work. It wasn’t because of the age difference. My being older didn’t matter a smidge to Ty. He’d thoroughly convinced me he considered my age a plus. The problem was the secret I’d buried deep inside years ago, and the guilt from that secret killed every relationship I’d ever tried to enter. I knew it would happen with Ty, too. Especially Ty.
I laid my head back and let my tears flow. It was time to be honest with him before this relationship went any further. I needed to finally confess what I’d hidden all these years. But how? How would I ever be able to find the courage to tell him I was the one responsible for his brother’s death?
Chapter 14
JEMA
Questions
A cold November breeze fluttered through the brown leaves still clinging to the trees outside my window. I loved the changing seasons. Autumn always made me feel reborn after a sweltering summer. I enjoyed October’s pleasant seventy degrees. Now I looked forward to winter. This morning’s frosty air felt delicious and reminded me the holiday season had begun. For the first time in years, I looked forward to them. And I knew why. Levi Smith.
In a few days the first annual Moonlight Fall Festival would be held. It was the brainchild of our mayor to raise money for the revitalization project. Those who wanted to sell their crafts and wares could rent booth space around the town square. The monies from the rental went to the project. There would also be a revitalization donation box at each booth. Of course the money made through sales would be the vendor’s to keep. Several church and civic groups knew of Lifesource’s increased financial needs. Therefore, as a way to help, they rented booth spaces and pledged to donate all the proceeds from their sales to the shelter. Bless them.
Ricki and I also rented a spot. She volunteered to bake pies and cookies since those items are always in demand this time of year. Since I loved crafts, I decided to find a holiday themed knick-knack for my contribution. While trying to figure out what to do, I went to my favorite Internet idea place, Pinterest, and found just the thing—a pumpkin with silk flowers arranged around the stem area and topped off with a raffia bow. Cladie said I could rob her pumpkin patch, calling it her contribution. She even volunteered Levi to help me. Bless her.
Even though I’d be rummaging around in a pumpkin patch, I worried over what to wear. Of course, if Levi weren’t around, I’d wear grubbies. Since he was, I wanted to look nice. Maybe even kinda sexy. Silly? Sure. Adolescent. Absolutely. But I didn’t care.
I chose slim jeans and a long-sleeved
black tee shirt with a scooped neck. When I finished dressing, I stood in front of the mirror. Not bad.
I may not have Molly Kate’s confidence, but I felt I looked pretty good. After a quick makeup check, I left and tromped to the side of the house to get the wheelbarrow. The cold air nipped my neck and ears making me wish I’d worn a jacket, but that would have ruined the effect of my ensemble. Again, ridiculous. And again, I didn’t care.
My plan was to get several small to medium-sized pumpkins, as well as two large ones. One would be for my porch, the other for Cladie’s. We both loved decorating for fall and between us, we always held the proud distinction of making our end of Washington Avenue the gaudiest.
I passed the new high tunnel, poly-whatever-you call-it greenhouse where Levi and Felix worked. Avalee hadn’t wasted a minute in purchasing one after our talk over supper several weeks back. Even better, Levi hadn’t missed a night at my house since then either. It’s funny. He never talked about himself or his past and yet, I felt like I knew him. But I really didn’t know him at all. That used to bother me, but not anymore. My intuition told me he was a good man.
On the other hand, while he didn’t talk about himself, he had a way of getting me to tell everything about myself. I kept saying things I never intended to say. He knew practically everything about me except my weight. That bit of information I would keep to myself. I think. I hope.
When I came close to the greenhouse Levi met me. “Need some help?”
“Sure. I’ll never pass up an offer like that.” I noticed he had rolled up his shirtsleeves. “But you’d better put on a jacket.” By now I wished I hadn’t been so vain and put one on myself.
“It is rather chilly. I think I will. It’s so warm in the greenhouse, I forget how cold it is outside.” He trotted back inside and returned, pulling on a red flannel jacket and tossing a blue flannel one to me. “Noticed you forgot yours.”
Like I said, a good man.
He eyed the wheelbarrow. “Looks like you are planning on quite a haul. Mind if I push?”
