My Mother's Chamomile

by Susie Finkbeiner

  “Beverly, where are your manners?” Rosetta’s voice scolded. “You can’t walk into someone’s home without knocking first.”

  “You stormed into my apartment the other day.” Bev’s voice rumbled.

  “Well, you didn’t come to dinner. I thought you were dead.”

  “I wasn’t dead, for Pete’s sake.”

  “I know that now, don’t I?” Rosetta giggled.

  Gretchen and I shared a smile. My best friends sure made me laugh.

  “Come on in,” Gretchen called, standing.

  “I told you,” Bev said.

  They walked in, the warmth of cinnamon wafting in with them.

  “How nice of you both to stop over.” Gretchen wrapped her arms around Bev and then Rosie. “You just made my morning.”

  “Rosetta made coffee cake.” Bev crossed her arms. “I’ve had to smell it all the way over here.”

  “It’s only a five-minute drive.” Rosetta lowered the baking dish onto Gretchen’s table. “And I’m the one who had to smell it baking.”

  “Well, I’m sure it’s delicious.” Gretchen went into the kitchen for plates and forks. “Should I brew some coffee?”

  “What’s a coffee cake without coffee?” Bev asked.

  “A sad coffee cake, I guess.” Gretchen handed the dishes to me before setting up the coffee maker. “Mom, can you do me a favor and grab the creamer out of the fridge door?”

  After all the fuss over making coffee and setting the table, the four of us sat down.

  “How about we ask a blessing?” Rosetta asked, putting her hands on the table.

  “How’s about we skip it.” Bev picked up her fork. “You don’t think God can bless this mess without us asking Him every couple of hours? I’d be downright irritated if people kept coming to me, asking me to do things for them all the time. I’d set a once a day limit, if I were Him.”

  “Well, Beverly, we can all be glad that you are not.” Rosie folded her hands. “But I’m still going to give Him some thanks. You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

  “Nothing like sending me packing on a guilt trip.”

  Rosetta clenched her eyes. “Thank You, Jesus.” She opened them again. “That work for you?”

  Bev humphed as she sunk her fork into the coffee cake on her plate.

  “This is good, Rosie,” I said around a mouthful. “You sure know how to bake, honey. You’ll have to get me the recipe, if you don’t mind.”

  “I’d love to.” Rosetta nodded.

  Footsteps thudded from upstairs. I watched the stairs to see Donald coming down to the main floor. He must not have heard the bickering and chuckling. I knew because he only had on his boxer shorts. Other than that, he was just the way the Lord knit him together.

  “Gretchen,” I whispered, pointing my head in Donald’s direction.

  She slapped a hand over her mouth, silent laughter shaking her body and giggle tears filling her eyes. She watched him walk right past us and into the kitchen. Bev’s eyes grew even bulgier in her head than usual and Rosetta blushed, covering her face.

  “Who is that?” Bev hollered.

  Donald jumped, holding an empty mug in one hand. Good thing he hadn’t filled it with hot coffee yet. He would have singed his bare belly.

  “Gretchen?” He didn’t turn around. “I didn’t realize we had guests.”

  “Who is the naked man in your kitchen?” Bev yelled, picking up her fork and shoving more coffee cake in her mouth. She didn’t take her eyes off Donald for a second.

  “He’s not naked,” I said. “He’s got his knickers on.”

  “Don’t you think I’d know a naked man when I’m looking right at him?”

  I couldn’t see Donald’s face, but I was darn sure his cheeks were red. Seemed when that man got embarrassed, he blushed all over.

  Gretchen slipped over to the living room and snatched a nice, long afghan from the couch. She wrapped it around Donald’s waist like a sarong.

  “Sorry, babe,” he said. “I smelled the coffee and came down as I was.”

  “Oh, you provided a good bit of entertainment for our little breakfast party.” She gave his thick, bare arm a tiny kiss.

  “Would you like a piece of coffee cake?” Rosetta offered, eyes still covered. “Forgive me for not serving it. My hands are busy with more pressing work.”

  “Let me get back upstairs first.” My son-in-law held on to that blanket like it kept him connected to the world and rushed up the stairs. Quicker than a jackrabbit.

  Gretchen returned to her seat, hand on her stomach. She breathed out, making her mouth a circle.

  “What’s wrong, Gretchie?” I asked. “Is it the stomach again?”

  “Laughing hurts.” She shook her head. “This bug just isn’t letting go.”

  “Did you make an appointment?”

  “First thing, Monday.” Her breath wheezed going in. “I’ll probably be past it by then.”

  “I sure hope so.”

  That old pest called worry buzzed around in my head and in my heart. My intuition screamed. Just enough to make me batty.

  Chapter Nine

  Evelyn

  Cal picked me up the morning after the deer accident. Fortunately, I’d gotten the crying to stop early enough in the night so my eyes didn’t swell too much. And good makeup covered over the rest. I didn’t want my brother to know how hard I’d cried over an animal.

  “I saw your car at the body shop,” he said when I got into the passenger’s side. “It’s really bad.”

  “Is it totaled?” I buckled my belt.

  “Probably not. But it’s messy.”

  “Gross.”

  “So, speaking of deer guts, are you hungry?” He snickered, pulling away from my apartment building.

  “That was bad, Cal. But I guess I could eat.”

  “Let’s stop for doughnuts.” I hated the way he twitched his eyebrows at me.

  “No way. The bakery’s always packed on Saturdays.” The clock on his dashboard had to have been at least an hour behind. I checked my phone. “It’s not worth it. We’d be late. We’ll be cutting it close as it is.”

  “I can’t believe you would speak such heresy. Of course it’s worth it.”

  “Then you go in this time.”

  “See, here’s the thing. I don’t have any money.”

  “So, really, you just want me to buy you a doughnut. Right?”

  “Or two.” He stopped at the intersection. “At least two.”

  “How are you not a thousand pounds?” The fabric of my black jacket stretched to cover my tummy. “Fine. I’ll get the doughnuts. But if Deirdre starts in on her talking, I’m walking right out.”

  “Just make sure you get the doughnuts first.”

  Not only the owner of the bakery, Deirdre Sanchez also held the long undisputed title of Town Busybody. A stealthy, vicious one, at that. She possessed the ability to take something as small as a disagreement between friends and work to manipulated it into a full-on family feud. More than a few relationships busted up because of her. With a reputation like hers, I wondered how anybody could believe a single word that spewed from her mouth.

  Somehow, she got the whole town hooked on her cakes and cookies. She’d lull them with sugar before filling their heads with all the nasty gossip she could come up with.

  “Don’t worry, Ev,” Cal said. “She’ll be way too busy to talk to you.”

  He pulled up to the curb, happy to actually find a parking spot. The bakery, positioned between the police station and the beauty salon, ended up being the perfect place for Deirdre’s snooping ways. We used to joke that she had peepholes on either side to get all the news. As an adult, I didn’t think it was too far from the truth.

  “You’re coming in with me, at least, aren’t you?” Pushing my door open, I put my foot on the pavement.

  “Well, see, I have to go into the Beauty Hut for a few minutes.” He rolled his head on the back of the seat. “I’m out of hair gel.” />
  “I thought you didn’t have money.”

  “Just enough for some product. For my hair.”

  “You are something else.” I narrowed my eyes, glaring at him.

  “So, I’d like a couple jelly-filled doughnuts.” Checking himself in the rearview mirror, he straightened his tie. “Not lemon, though. That tastes like disinfectant.”

  “How do you know what disinfectant tastes like?” Then, on second thought. “Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

  Cal had been right. People packed into the bakery. Every seat had an occupant, shoving doughnuts or cinnamon rolls into their mouths. I saw them through the blue gingham curtained windows. When I opened the door, I couldn’t even hear the buzzer overhead. The pastry eating crowd muffled all sound with their munching.

  Even with the crowd, even with the noise, I’d been spotted as soon as I stepped inside.

  “Don’t move, Evelyn,” Deirdre called over the chaos. “I got to get me a hug.”

  Before I could consider a getaway, Deirdre had her doughy arms wrapped around me. That was when I knew. Cal’s stupid doughnuts wouldn’t be in my hands until the gossip monster’s appetite had been quenched. She wanted a scoop of something juicy. She had absolutely no other reason to hug me.

  “How are you doing?” Head tilting to the right, eyebrows raised in fake concern, she looked into my eyes. “How’s the family holding up?”

  One of her tricks. Pretending to know some deep, unspoken hurt in order to draw out something she could pass around town.

  “We’re good.” I took a step away from her. “Cal just wanted some doughnuts.”

  “Oh, is he here?” She glanced around the room.

  “No. He had to pick up something from the Beauty Hut.”

  “I see.” Her arms crossed, bunching up her apron that matched the curtains. “He’s still trying to get a date with Grace.”

  “Who’s Grace?” I bit on the bait. Doggone it.

  “He hasn’t talked to you about Grace? Goodness, he’s in here most every day telling me how it’s going with her.” She sunk the barbs in deep. “Grace is the new girl over at the Beauty Hut. And Cal is just beside himself over her.”

  “Well, I’m sure he’s mentioned her. We’ve been busy.” Unhooking myself from her line, I tried to act disinterested. “So, I’m just going to get the doughnuts real quick.”

  “Oh, Cal and his food. He sure can pack it away, can’t he?” She shook her head but didn’t budge from her spot. “I always make sure to have a couple extra raspberry on hand. You know, his favorite. Or maybe you didn’t know that about him either.”

  “No. I knew that one.” Keeping my face blank, I tried to ignore her lure.

  “How he stays so thin, I’ll never know. Do you think he could have gotten a tapeworm or something? From one of the bodies?”

  “No. That couldn’t happen,” I answered. But, secretly, I wondered.

  She pulled me toward the bakery case at the back of the dining room. Her clammy hand on my elbow, the moisture seeped through my sleeve. As we walked, she put her mouth close to my ear. Her breath hit me with the smell of sage and garlic.

  “You know, I’m worried to death about something right now, Evelyn.” She stopped us right at the counter. “I’ve been wanting to talk to you about it for a couple days now.”

  “Today might not be good.” I pulled money from my wallet. “How much are the doughnuts?”

  “Are you in a hurry?” She crossed her arms again.

  “Yes. A little.”

  “Mrs. Allen’s funeral today? You’ve got time.” When she cleared her throat, she pursed her lips together. “I made a cake for the luncheon, you know.”

  Keeping her arms crossed and her lips smushed together, she made her way around to the opposite side of the counter. Leaning forward, her round elbows rested on the glass top of the display case.

  “You know we’re getting a new pastor over at First Church.” She squinted, lifting one eyebrow. “He’s going to work under Old Buster.”

  “I heard about that already.” I tapped my fingernail against the counter. “How about I add a glazed doughnut to Cal’s jelly-filled.”

  “He’s single.” She nodded, smiling with all her corn colored teeth.

  “That’s nice.” I looked over her shoulder at the doughnuts. “And a chocolate cake one.”

  “He’s probably divorced, you know.” She licked her lips and nodded. “That’s what I heard, at least. Why Old Buster would put up with that is beyond me.”

  “Well, I don’t know anything about that. Add a couple powdered ones, too.” I pointed at the case. “I don’t know that it’s any of my business, you know. The new minister’s marital status.”

  “Really? You don’t?”

  “No. It’s not like I know him.”

  Straightening, she thrust a hand onto her hip. “Really. I could have sworn you went on a date with the man.”

  “Deirdre, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “I even seen you with him.” Turning, she used a small piece of waxed paper to pick out the doughnuts and place them in a box. “I hope you don’t mind, I gotta use this cake box. I’m out of the paper ones.”

  “I don’t care what they’re in.” I fidgeted with my wallet. “Listen, if you’re talking about Will, I have no idea what he does.”

  “I’m telling you,” she said, her back still to me. “He’s a pastor.”

  “Okay, fine.”

  “Are you telling me that you didn’t know that?” Deirdre snapped the clear, plastic top onto the box.

  “We didn’t talk about our jobs.”

  “So, he didn’t know what you do?” She lifted a hand to touch her lips.

  “It didn’t come up in conversation.”

  “Oops.” Her lips curled down in a fake frown. “Sorry.”

  “You told him. Didn’t you.” A flash of anger burned inside my chest. “Of course you did. You can’t keep anything to yourself.”

  “I thought he knew. I swear I did.” Her eyes twinkled. She loved the drama. “And I guess I thought it was common knowledge. I mean, everybody knows what you do.”

  “How much for the doughnuts?”

  “Five dollars, thirty-four cents.” She took the cash from me. “What? Are you afraid your job is going to scare him off?”

  “Keep the change.” When I pulled the box across the counter toward myself, the lid popped open. I held it closed with my hands.

  “You know, if he can’t handle your job, maybe I saved you a lot of time.” She dropped my bill into the cash register. “And some heartache, too. All that death all the time. You’ve got to understand how hard that is for some people.”

  Then she smirked all the way from her lips to her eyes.

  “What?” I could tell she had something else on her mind.

  “Some people are just meant to be alone, Evelyn.”

  “Really, Deirdre, you need to mind your own business.”

  She handed me the receipt. “I’m not trying to make anything my business. I’m just worried about you.”

  “Yup. Thanks so much. But you can stop talking about me to other people.” I turned fast, the doughnut box in my hand, the lid shifting again.

  “You sure you don’t want your change?” she called after me.

  I turned my head. “No.”

  Before looking back in the direction I was going, I fell into a table I would have sworn hadn’t been there minutes before. My box landed right on top of some kid’s doughnut, sending powdered sugar puffing into the air. He screamed and gave me a dirty look. In my effort to pick up the doughnuts, freeing his flattened pastry, the top of my box tumbled off and, somehow, I fell right into the contents. Glaze and sugar and raspberry jelly smeared across my white shirt.

  The kid stopped with his dirty look and started in with the most enraging laugh I’d ever heard.

  Leaving the box, what remained of it, at least, I rushed out the door. That time, I did hear t
he buzzer when the door opened. The buzzer and the kid’s laugh were the only sounds in the whole bakery.

  Walking down the sidewalk, or more like stomping, I just about rammed into Cal as he stepped out of The Beauty Hut, his arms loaded with hair products.

  “You stink,” I barked at him.

  “No, I smell like hair spray,” he answered, looking at my shirt. “Are you wearing my doughnuts?”

  The way his mouth fell open, I knew he had a laugh about to erupt.

  “Don’t you dare.” I stuck my finger in his face. “I will hurt you.”

  “It might be worth it.” Pushing the button on his key, he popped the trunk of his car. “Did you start a food fight in there or something?”

  “We will never talk about this again.”

  “Can we talk about it now, though?” He leaned an elbow on his car. “Just for a second?”

  “No.” I slammed his trunk before walking around to my side and getting in. “I need to change my clothes.”

  “What are you talking about?” Cal asked, sliding into his seat. “You look great. Absolutely delicious, one might say.”

  “As if I didn’t feel like enough of a freak in this town.” I rolled my eyes. “I’ve got to move far away from here.”

  “Oh, come on. You aren’t going to move.”

  When I didn’t say anything, he turned toward me. “Ev, you aren’t moving. Right?”

  “Well, sometimes I think it would be a good idea.”

  “Why? Because Deirdre upset you?” He pulled away from the curb. “That’s no reason to abandon your family.”

  “I mean, how would she feel if I denigrated her profession to the entire town?”

  “Whoa, too many big words.”

  “What if I ripped on her job to everybody?”

  “The woman supplies the town with baked goods, Ev.” Cal pushed his finger into a smear of jelly that had made its way to my shoulder. “Nobody’s going to believe a cross word about that.”

  “Where would they be without us, Cal?” I swatted his hand. “We do for them what they could never do for themselves. They’d be completely lost without us, you know. And they all think we’re creepy weirdos.”

  “I wonder if they also think we’re weird creeps?” He cleared his throat. “You didn’t happen to grab the doughnuts after you pulverized them?”