“That’s how we like our women down in these parts,” Warren said.
“And what would you know about that?” Neil replied. “You got secrets I don’t know about?”
Jasper’s hand was back on her thigh. And this time there was no mistake. His thumb and forefinger made miniature circles over her skin and Addie was on fire with want.
“Well, I hope you saved room, honey,” Neil said, forcing Addie to concentrate, “because we haven’t even had dessert yet.”
Behind Neil, waiters were wheeling in a three-tiered cake with yellow frosting. The words HAPPY BIRTHDAY were painted across it in pink icing.
“Wow!” Addie exclaimed. “Neil, thank you so much. You didn’t have to do this!”
“Don’t thank me,” Neil replied. “All I did was place the order. It was Jasper’s idea.”
Addie looked up at Jasper, her face flushed with excitement. “Thank you, Jasper . . . it’s . . . it’s beautiful.”
“Happy birthday.” Jasper’s hand grasped hers underneath the table.
“I think it’s time to sing!” Neil raised his glass. He stood up and lit each one of the candles until all Addie could see were twenty-eight little flames blazing in front of her.
It was almost midnight by the time they spilled out onto the streets of Memphis, full of cake and liquor. Natalie and Dan said their good-byes while Warren and Neil debated the agenda for the rest of the night.
“I’m getting old,” Jasper declared, stretching his arms to the sky. “I’m ready to go home.”
“Hush up, Jasper Floyd,” Neil said. “I’m much older than you are. Why don’t we all just go back to your apartment? You’ve got plenty to drink and a great view.”
Jasper hesitated. “Okay, but when I say it’s time to go, it’s time to go. Got it?” He wagged his finger in front of Neil’s face.
“Got it,” Neil replied. “Homeward ho!”
“I think I’m going to go home, too.” Harper spoke up. “Jasper, could we talk for a second?”
“Why don’t you all start back to my place?” Jasper said, turning away from Harper. “Wanda has a key. I’ll catch up.”
As they trekked back to the loft, Addie tried not to think about what Harper and Jasper were talking about. She hadn’t seemed at all pleased with the birthday cake.
“Are you having a good time so far?” Wanda asked. “Because I think I might be having enough fun for the both of us!”
“Of course I’m having a good time,” Addie said. “This is the best birthday I’ve had in a long time. Although I have to admit—going back and falling into bed does sound pretty damn good right about now.”
“No talk of bed!” Warren called out from behind them. “Memphis never sleeps!”
Once inside, Addie took off her shoes and heaved herself down onto the white sofa. It looked more comfortable than it actually was.
Wanda handed her a glass of wine. “This room looks like a doctor’s office.”
“I wonder who decorated this place.”
“Maybe it was Harper.”
“You think?”
“I doubt it,” Wanda replied.
The front door opened and Jasper entered, followed by Harper. “Where are Warren and Neil?” he asked.
“I think they’re out on the balcony.” Wanda jerked her thumb toward the far end of the living room.
“Let’s get a drink before we join them,” Harper said.
“Go on ahead. I’ve got to get this tie off from around my neck. It’s strangling me.” Jasper tugged at the knot in his tie.
“Don’t do that!” Harper slapped at Jasper’s hands. “You’re going to ruin it doing that.” She reached up and expertly pulled the tie away from Jasper’s collar. “You’re the only man I know who can tie a tie but can’t seem to get one off.”
Jasper laughed, and for a moment his head was hunkered so close to Harper’s that Addie couldn’t hear what they were saying. Addie wasn’t sure how she could compete with someone whose legs were as long as her whole body. How could Jasper ever be interested in her next to a woman like that?
“Maybe he’s a boob man,” Wanda whispered to her. “What’s Harper doing here, anyway? I thought she was going home?”
“You just read my mind.”
Wanda patted her arm. “Sugar, you gotta be pretty on the inside and out. Something tells me Harper looks like she was born downwind from an outhouse on the inside.”
Addie giggled. “I have no idea what that means, but it sure does make me feel better.”
“What are you two laughing about over there?” Jasper asked. He looked up from his conversation with Harper.
“Nothing,” Wanda replied. “Just girl talk.” She set down her glass of wine on the coffee table. “If y’all will excuse me, I’ve got to use the powder room.” She wobbled off down the hall in search of the bedroom, leaving Addie alone with Jasper and Harper.
The two sat down on the couch. Harper was still holding Jasper’s tie in her hands. “So, Addie,” she began, “how do you like the Delta?”
“I like it just fine.”
“Must be quite a switch from Chicago.”
“It is,” Addie replied. “But I visited my aunt down here nearly every summer until I was twelve.”
“Jas and I always talked about moving the practice somewhere else, someplace exotic.” Harper scooted closer to Jasper. “But the Delta is home, I suppose.”
Addie cringed. She hated the way Harper said “Jas” like there was some kind of intimate connection between the two of them—a two-person club that Addie wasn’t allowed to join. She glanced around the room for an escape.
“Do you want another glass of wine, Addie?” Jasper stood up. “Addie?”
“Oh, yeah, sure.” Addie handed him her empty glass. His fingers clasped around hers, and her heart leapt into her throat. She wondered if he felt it, too. Surely he did—hadn’t he been the one to kiss her first? Hadn’t it been his hands on her hands . . . on her leg? She shook those thoughts from her head. She hadn’t come to Arkansas to meet a farmer. She was leaving, she reminded herself. Leaving. None of this was going to last.
“Let’s go outside with Warren and Neil,” Wanda hollered from the hallway. “I want to see that view!”
“Sounds great,” Addie said. She was relieved to have something to look at other than Harper’s legs.
“Wow,” Wanda said once they were outside.
“Jasper has one of the best views in Memphis,” Warren agreed.
“Kinda makes ya feel all kinds of Podunk, huh?” Wanda whispered. “Well, not y’all. Y’all are from a city.”
“Not everybody living in a city has a view like this,” Addie reminded her. “I’ll be right back. I don’t think I’ve been to the bathroom since before we left for dinner.” Addie slid the glass door open and stepped back inside the loft. She didn’t see Jasper following her until it was too late to turn back around.
“Hey,” he said. “Have you had a good birthday?”
“Yes. Thank you so much for everything.”
“I’m sorry you ended up spending your night with a bunch of people you didn’t know.”
“Don’t be sorry,” Addie replied. “I’ve had more fun tonight than I’ve had in a long time.”
“Good. I’m glad you liked the cake.”
Addie held her breath as she slid past him. Jasper stared down at her for a second and continued on his way toward the kitchen. Just before he disappeared out of view she said, “Hey, Jasper?”
“Yes?”
“Is something going on between you and Harper?”
Jasper turned around. His face was sullen. His shoulders tightened. With one question he’d turned back into the old Jasper. “The only thing that’s ever been between me and Harper is paperwork.”
“You couldn’t even fit paperwork between the two of you on that couch,” Addie replied. She instantly regretted what she’d just said. “Forget it. It’s none of my business.”
“Y
ou’re right; it is none of your business.” Jasper caught her by the shoulder as she turned away from him. “But for the record, I’m telling you the truth.”
“Why are you so angry?”
Jasper pressed himself farther into her until her back was flat against the wall. His fingers traced along the outline of her face, her neck, and her breasts, before planting his hands firmly on her waist. “This dress is a felony.”
The glass patio door opened and muffled voices began to fill the loft. “Jasper!” Warren called out. “I hope you don’t mind. I called a few friends to come over.”
“I’ve got to go,” Jasper said hoarsely, burying his head into the side of her neck. “Jesus Christ . . .”
Addie traced the stubble on his chin with her fingers, resting her thumb on his bottom lip. With a groan, Jasper pulled himself away from her. Taking her hand, he led her from the dimly lit hallway into the living room where their friends were eagerly waiting.
THE NEXT MORNING Addie awoke to a buzzing in her head like she’d had too many cups of coffee. Wanda was snoring next to her, one hand draped across Addie’s midsection. Gingerly, she picked up Wanda’s arm and slid out from underneath it.
The tile floor was cool beneath her feet and she shivered as she padded into the main part of the loft. She expected to see a disaster in the living room and kitchen—Warren’s friends had made quite a mess. Everything looked exactly the same as it had yesterday when they’d arrived. There were no dirty dishes or empty beer bottles. Even the trash had been taken out of the trash can.
On the island in the kitchen there were two cloth bags with the logo from the market Addie remembered seeing down the street. There was also a carafe of orange juice.
Addie plopped herself down onto one of the bar stools and began to riffle through one of the bags. It looked as if Jasper had bought every breakfast food in the entire store. There was fruit, muffins, bagels, cream cheese, and a plethora of other foods. She pulled out a muffin and poured herself some orange juice.
Jasper was sitting out on the balcony reading the newspaper. He didn’t look up when Addie slid open the door and stepped outside. “Good morning,” he said.
“The view is just as pretty in the daylight,” Addie said. She sat down in the chair beside him. “Memphis seems to be your element.”
“I love it here.”
“Is that why you’ve never sold your loft?”
“It may be one of the reasons.”
“I thought you were building a house in Eunice,” Addie said.
“I’m smart enough to know that I’ll likely be there for a while, and I want to have a place to come back to that doesn’t belong to my father. You aren’t the only one who doesn’t want to live in Eunice forever.”
“I don’t hate it there,” Addie replied. “I just never thought about making it my home.”
“Memphis is my home,” Jasper said. “Eunice . . . the farm . . . that’s where I was born. That’s likely where I’ll die. But it isn’t my home.”
Addie stared out into the abyss of city traffic. “I wish I felt that way about someplace.”
“You didn’t feel that way about Chicago?”
“I used to. I always thought that Chicago was the best city in the world,” Addie said. “But after Jonah died no place felt like home. I couldn’t go any of the places we used to go. I couldn’t see any of our friends. It was too painful.”
Jasper looked back down at the newspaper and didn’t say anything else. For once, Addie was grateful for his silence.
CHAPTER 24
AUGUSTUS SMOOT WAS SITTING ON ADDIE’S PORCH SWING, HIS bathrobe flapping in the early morning breeze, his bony feet tap, tap, tapping against the newly replaced floorboards. She stared at him through the curtains for ten minutes before she opened the front door and stepped outside. The old man didn’t speak, didn’t look at her, even after the screen door slammed shut.
“Mr. Smoot?” Addie sat down next to him. “You’re at the wrong house.”
No response.
“Your house is across the street.”
No response.
“Do you have someone I can call for you?”
No response.
“Maybe that lady with the nurse’s shoes?”
Augustus’s feet stopped tapping. “Your dog barks.”
“Most dogs do.”
“It keeps me awake.”
Addie shifted in the swing. “I’m sorry. He is scared a lot, so he barks.”
“What’s he got to be scared of?”
“I don’t know,” Addie replied, shrugging. “When I found him down by the levee, he’d been shot.”
Augustus turned to look at her for the first time. He raked a finger through his shock of white hair and said, “You went down to the levee?”
“I know, I know, it’s not a good place.”
“It’s my favorite place.”
A laugh escaped through Addie’s lips. “Well, everybody else says it’s a bad place, but my aunt used to take me there as a kid.”
“We had picnics there.”
“Who did?”
Augustus looked away from her. “Eleonora and I.”
“Was that your wife?” Addie didn’t want to pry. Then again, the man was half naked and on her porch.
“You shouldn’t go down to the levee.”
“But I thought you said it was your favorite place.”
“It’s not safe there now,” Augustus replied.
“Do you know what happened to make it that way?”
When he looked at her again, his expression was grim. “The factories left. The river wasn’t a means of transportation anymore. Families left their houses in the middle of the night.” Augustus pulled at the ties on his robe. “We lost half the town in a matter of a couple of years. The people left had to find another way to survive.”
“So they shoot dogs, stuff them in trash bags, and leave them at the riverbank?” Addie asked. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
“Sometimes what you see on the surface is just a scratch,” Augustus said. “What happened to your dog wasn’t the cause.” He stood up on his spindly legs. “It was the result.”
She watched him walk away. He didn’t look back, and he didn’t say another word to her. He didn’t even wait until he was inside to disrobe, and he strolled up his steps in nothing but his underwear. Addie wasn’t sure whether her neighbor was a genius or crazy, but somewhere deep down inside of her, she was dying to find out.
A week later Addie sat in the waiting room at the vet clinic, Felix sitting patiently beside her. She couldn’t wait to show Dr. Dixon how far he’d come since his last checkup.
“Addie!” Wanda came out from behind the reception desk to give Felix a pat. “What are you doing here?”
“I have an appointment,” Addie said. “I’ve had this appointment for two weeks.”
“I don’t have you written down.”
“I got the other lady when I called,” Addie replied. “I think her name was Mavis . . . or something like that?”
“Mable. She was terrible.” Wanda rolled her eyes. “She lasted about three weeks, because she never wrote anything down.”
“I thought you were the receptionist.”
“I’m the vet tech,” Wanda said. “And I would really like to get back to my job of being the vet tech. But we’ve had trouble finding decent help for the front ever since Mrs. Dixon retired. So I’ve been stuck answering phones since the beginning of August.”
“So does that mean I don’t really have an appointment today since Mavis didn’t write it down?”
“Mable.”
“Whatever.”
Wanda jogged back around behind the desk and glanced down at the appointment book. “What it means is that we’re overbooked. It’s you and Mr. LaFoy at nine thirty. Would you mind to wait until ten?”
“We don’t mind.” Addie scratched Felix underneath his chin.
“Thanks. Mr. LaFoy does not like to be kept
waiting.”
Dr. Dixon emerged from behind the double doors. “Wanda, I need you back here for a few minutes. We’ve got a cat with a toenail grown into its pad. I need your magical cat whispering skills.”
“Doc, the phone’s been ringing off the hook this morning,” Wanda replied. “People get mad when they have to leave a message.”
“I could answer the phones for a bit,” Addie offered. “Felix and I are just going to be sitting here, anyway.”
“Great.” Wanda rushed to join Dr. Dixon. “Just come find me if you have any questions.”
“Can Felix come back here with me?”
“Whatever you want!” Wanda called over her shoulder.
Addie sat down behind the desk and released Felix from his leash. Felix plopped himself on the floor next to her. Addie began an attempt to make sense of the mess. Six hours later, Addie was still there. “You know,” she said to Wanda and Dr. Dixon, “you could make all of this a lot easier if you’d keep track of your records on the computer. There are lots of easy programs that are cost-effective.”
“Sounds like you’ve done this before.” Wanda peered over Addie’s shoulder.
“I kept track of most of our contacts for the business,” Addie replied. “I didn’t handle any of the financing, but I did a lot of the PR work, which required me to keep accurate records. People don’t like it when they commission you to refinish their eighteenth-century china hutch and you forget they gave it to you.”
“We are in bad need of a part-time receptionist,” Dr. Dixon said. “Are you interested in coming in a few days a week?”
“I’d love to,” Addie began. “But I don’t know how long I’m going to be here . . . I mean, I could just help until the end of the summer.”
“You turn into a pumpkin at the end of August?” Wanda asked.
“That’s when I’ve planned to head back to Chicago.”
“Surely we’ll be able to find someone full-time before then.” Dr. Dixon shifted his attention to Addie’s dog, who was panting eagerly beneath them. “Felix is looking wonderful.”
“His mange is clearing up,” Addie said, beaming. “And he’s still scared of some things, like thunder and that blond guy from Kitchen Nightmares. But those are totally normal things to be scared of.”
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