Welcome to Last Chance

by Cathleen Armstrong

  “Can’t I even have a hint?”

  “Nope.” Ray dropped a kiss on her forehead and nose.

  “Will I be able to take it with me? Most of the paintings I’ve seen of yours are awfully big, and I’m guessing we’re talking about a painting.”

  “What about ‘wait and see’ don’t you get? When it’s done, I’ll bring it to you. And just where are you planning on going, anyway? I thought you had a diner to run.”

  “Well, yeah, I’m not going anywhere at least till Fayette gets back, but you know I’m not here forever.”

  “Aren’t you?” Ray’s voice was a murmur in her hair.

  Lainie pushed away and looked in his face. “No, I’m not. And from what I just heard, you aren’t either. Let’s get real. Whether or not Steven wants the bar, you’re out of here by the end of March. And your grandma treats me like family, but who are we kidding? I’m not. I’ll stay till Fayette gets back, but when summer rolls around again, I’ll be gone.”

  Ray was silent as he searched her face. “Really? Where will you go? Still headed to El Paso?”

  Lainie shook her head. “No, not there. I’m not sure where I’ll go. Someplace no one would ever think to look for me.”

  “Is someone looking for you, Lainie?” Rays voice was gentle and Lainie longed to lose herself in it, but she shook the feeling off.

  “I don’t know. I hope not.”

  “Would you tell me about it?”

  Lainie shook her head. “There’s nothing to tell. And I hope it stays that way.”

  Ray’s gaze held hers for so long that she finally looked away. He sounded sad when he spoke. “I wish things didn’t have to change.”

  Lainie turned her collar up to ward off a chill wind that gusted down the street, rattling the bare branches of the cottonwood trees. “But they always do, don’t they?”

  24

  Cold spring winds filled the air with dust and tore at the green-tipped branches of the old cottonwood trees before anyone heard anything definite about Fayette’s plans. She wasn’t coming back to Last Chance, not to stay anyway.

  “I just don’t believe it. What does she know about this so-called history teacher, anyway? She’s known him how long? Three months? And she’s going to chuck everything she’s got right here in Last Chance? Friends? A thriving business? A church family that stepped in and ran it for her? I think worry must have driven her completely out of her mind, that’s what I think.”

  The breakfast crowd had thinned, and Lurlene and Juanita were perched on stools at the counter having a cup of coffee. Despite three months of regular shifts, the volunteers still acted like they were serving guests in their own homes, but Lainie knew she never could have kept the diner open without them.

  “Well, I for one am glad she’s found a little happiness. If anyone deserves it, it’s Fayette.” Lurlene added another dollop of cream to her coffee and gave it a stir.

  “But who is he? Does anyone know him?” Juanita was not about to let some stranger waltz off with one of her friends without a good deal more scrutiny.

  “Brother Parker does.” Lainie hoisted a tray of dirty dishes from a booth by the window and walked past them on her way to the kitchen. “He said Ken—that’s his name, by the way—is a deacon in that church Brother Parker pastored in Albuquerque, and that he’s a fine man. His wife died about fifteen years ago, and he raised his two kids by himself. They’re both married now.”

  “He has married kids? How old is he, anyway? He sounds like some old coot looking for a sweet young thing to do his cooking for him, if you know what I mean.”

  “For Pete’s sake, Juanita, what is wrong with you?” Lurlene stared at her friend. “You don’t have to have one foot in the grave to have married kids, and Fayette isn’t a child. She’s what? Past forty for sure.”

  Juanita pursed her lips and stared out the window. She had clearly said all she intended to say on the subject, at least for the moment.

  “So do you have any idea what she’s planning on doing with the Dip ’n’ Dine?” Lurlene swiveled around on her stool so she could better talk to Lainie, who had returned from the kitchen and was washing down tables.

  Lainie shrugged. “Sell it, I guess. She can’t very well run it from Albuquerque.”

  “Well, who in the world would buy it? I can’t think of anyone around here in the market for a restaurant, can you, Juanita?”

  Juanita still wasn’t talking. Unmistakably miffed that Lurlene had summarily dismissed her concerns for Fayette’s happiness, she slid off her stool, brushed the donut crumbs off her slacks, and disappeared into the kitchen.

  “Good grief, Juanita, I didn’t mean for you to get in a huff. I’m sorry.” Lurlene waited a moment, but the only sound in the kitchen was Carlos banging on pots and talking to his nephew. She turned back to Lainie. “Well, I don’t know then. I’d hate to see this place close down. We’d have to go all the way to San Ramon every time we didn’t feel like cooking. What about Ray? What’s he going to do when he hands over the High Lonesome to Steven? Isn’t that supposed to happen in the next couple weeks?”

  Not only Juanita, who reappeared at the kitchen door, but also the couple in the last booth lingering over their coffee stopped to see how Lainie would answer Lurlene. Things even got quiet in the kitchen.

  Lainie raised one hand and shook her head. “I’m not even going there. That’s what the plan was, but I haven’t heard anything about it for a while, and if Steven and Ray are discussing it, it’s not when I’m around, thank goodness.”

  “Really? Is there some sort of problem?” Juanita apparently decided to break her silence and plopped herself back on the counter stool.

  “Steven still wants that place, doesn’t he?” Lurlene asked. “I can remember him talking about growing up to be his dad’s partner from the time he was a little guy. Steven just idolized that man. Cutest thing in the world to see him, not even as high as his daddy’s belt buckle and dressed just like him—hat to boots—marching along behind him like a little Bantam rooster.”

  Lurlene and Juanita fell into reflective silence and slowly stirred their coffee.

  Juanita slammed down her spoon and jumped off her stool. “That’s Fayette! I’d know that car anywhere.”

  Lainie looked up as the sun-faded red Dodge pulled off the highway and into the parking lot of the Dip ’n’ Dine. Just seeing the familiar face smiling through the windshield as Fayette parked her car eased the tightness Lainie hadn’t even realized she was carrying between her shoulders.

  Juanita headed for the door with Lurlene close behind. By the time Fayette climbed out, they were waiting by the car door, vying to see who could give her the first hug. Lainie couldn’t hear the words they said, but the squeals that came through the plate glass window left no doubt of their excitement that Fayette had come home. She watched Juanita grab Fayette’s left hand to examine the ring and Lurlene grab the hand from Juanita. They were still exclaiming over the ring when they ushered Fayette through the door and into the diner.

  Fayette gently pulled her hand from Lurlene’s grasp and opened her arms as Lainie crossed the room to meet her. She meet Lainie halfway and enveloped her in a tight embrace.

  “You can never know what you have done for me.” Lainie felt Fayette’s tears on her cheek as her friend whispered in her ear. “I can’t even begin to think what I would have done if you hadn’t been here for me. Matthew was hurt so bad, and if I had not been able to be with him, I would have died.”

  Lainie brushed her own hand across her eyes when Fayette released her and stepped back. “I had help, you know.” She gestured toward Juanita and Lurlene, who still stood beaming by the door. “The whole church pitched in. They’ve been here every day.”

  Fayette turned her damp face and open arms to the ladies at the door and hugged both of them in one embrace. “I know. And I love each and every one of you for it. If I had all the treasure in all the world, it wouldn’t make the tiniest dent in the debt I owe. Tha
nk you. Just thank you.”

  Juanita pulled a packet of tissues from her pants pocket, took one, and passed the packet to Lurlene. “Well, you’re welcome, I’m sure. We’re just glad we can help. Now, what brings you back home, and why didn’t you tell us you were coming?”

  Fayette took a tissue from the packet Lurlene proffered and wiped her nose. Her smile was a bit watery, but it was happy. In fact, Lainie had never seen Fayette look so relaxed, red nose and all. “It seemed like a good time. Matthew is doing well with his physical therapy. He’s got lots of company, thanks to the youth group at church. And there are some things I need to take care of here in Last Chance. I wanted to see how you all are doing, for one thing.”

  Carlos had come from the kitchen and gestured around the room with a grin. “Hey, we’re doing great. Business is good. These ladies keep things going smooth all the time. Maybe we even do better without you.”

  Fayette laughed and gave him a huge hug too. “Well, don’t make me feel too welcome, Carlos. I’d hate to feel needed or anything.”

  He shifted awkwardly and patted her back. “You hungry? I got a big pot of posole in there.”

  “You know, I haven’t had lunch. And it’s a perfect day for posole. That wind out there is cold.”

  “Well then, missy, you sit right here and we’ll serve you.” Lurlene pointed to a booth. “Now, what do you want to drink?”

  Fayette laughed. “I don’t think I know how to be a customer. In all the years I’ve owned this place, I don’t think I’ve ever been the one served.”

  “Well, it’s high time you were.” Juanita brought the diet soda Fayette ordered and slid in the booth across from her. “Now, tell us all about your fiancé. Why didn’t you bring him with you?”

  Color actually flushed across Fayette’s cheeks, and her shy smile made her look like a girl again. “His name is Ken Maxwell, and he’s a middle school teacher. That’s why he didn’t come this time. He’s teaching.”

  “Yes, we know that much. But what’s he like?” Lurlene scooted in next to Juanita. “Is he tall? Good looking? Do you have a picture?”

  “No, he’s not too tall. He’s a little taller than me, maybe. I think he’s nice looking, but more than that, he’s a good man. He’s kind. And he and Matthew get along so well.”

  “Have you set a date? You’re not getting married in Albuquerque, are you?”

  Fayette smiled her thanks when Lainie set the bowl of posole in front of her and returned her attention to her inquisitors. “That’s one of the reasons I came down. I want to talk to Brother Parker because we do want to get married here.”

  Lurlene and Juanita exchanged triumphant glances.

  “It wasn’t that easy a decision,” Fayette continued. “Everyone in that church just adores Ken and they’ve been so good to Matthew and me, but when it came down to it, I just couldn’t see getting married anyplace but the Church of Last Chance.”

  “So when?”

  “June, maybe. Ken gets out of school at the end of May.”

  “But that’s just three or four months. We’ll have to get crackin’.” Juanita grabbed a paper napkin and took a pencil from her apron pocket. “Now, do you have any idea what day in June you want to get married? It’ll be a Saturday, of course, so that’ll narrow it down some.”

  “And the music,” Lurlene chimed in. “Who’s going to sing? You know, I went to a wedding once where the whole choir sang the ‘Hallelujah Chorus,’ and it was just lovely.”

  Fayette put down her spoon and threw up both hands with a laugh. “Wait! I haven’t even talked to Brother Parker yet. And as lovely as that wedding must have been, Lurlene, I’ve been single too long to have the choir bust into the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ when I head down the aisle. I don’t think even I could keep a straight face.”

  Lurlene’s brow furrowed. “I think it was the recessional, but I see what you mean.”

  “Okay, ladies, coffee break’s over now.” Lainie came up to the table and put her hand on Lurlene’s shoulder. Lurlene, then Juanita scooted out of the booth, and Lainie picked up Fayette’s empty glass and set another diet soda in front of her. “I just called Elizabeth. She said you were to come to dinner. No argument.”

  Fayette smiled. “I learned better than to argue with Elizabeth a long time ago, and I’m not about to start now, especially over something like a dinner invitation.”

  “How long are you going to be in town?”

  “I’m thinking maybe a week, depending on how Matthew does. I want to go over everything here at the diner, just to see what’s going on. And I need to see to my house. It’s been empty for a while, and I need to see what I need to do to get it ready to sell.”

  Lainie shook her head. “I can’t believe you’re leaving Last Chance for good.”

  “I can’t either, now. When I’m in Albuquerque, it just seems natural, like that’s where home is, but driving back into town this afternoon, it’s like I became someone I used to be. The Last Chance Fayette, I guess.”

  “If you’re going to be around for a week, you should know that Les works here on Friday afternoons with Brother Parker. Are you going to be okay with that?”

  Fayette nodded. “I think so. I’ve had some time to think, and Ken and I have talked about it. I know that no one is responsible for Matthew’s actions but Matthew. But when I look my at my son in such pain and struggling so hard to walk and I think that maybe, just maybe, he could have been spared all that if only Les had said a word, something inside of me just gets so hard and angry.”

  “Well, I can either tell him not to come in Friday, or you can use that day to work on your house. If you’re not ready to see Les, there’s no reason why you need to. But you should also know he’s been coming to church.”

  Fayette looked skeptical. “Really? Well, good for him. I’m glad. But as for work, can we just play it by ear?”

  Lainie smiled. “Sure. You finish your lunch and I’ll go tell Elizabeth to count on you for dinner.”

  Lainie pulled Elizabeth’s pickup into its usual spot in the church parking lot and checked her watch. She knew she’d get a look from Lurlene for getting to the choir room late, but Elizabeth had insisted that Sunday lunch would be the perfect time for Fayette to talk to Brother Parker about the wedding plans, so this morning there was chicken to fry and cobbler to make.

  A crowd had gathered on the church steps, and she could see Fayette’s blonde topknot in the middle. Lainie couldn’t help remembering Brother Parker’s sermons on the lost lamb, and the lost son, and all the rejoicing that went on when they were found again. Fayette hadn’t exactly been lost. Everyone knew where she’d been, but she was home again, and if the fatted calf hadn’t been killed, a fatted chicken was waiting at home under a foil tent.

  Les’s battered old truck wasn’t there, though. Maybe Evelyn had talked him into staying home this morning. Since the accident, Les had never missed a shift at the diner and was, in fact, one of the hardest workers. Evelyn, on the other hand, wore shame like a clammy blanket and rarely ventured from home. “Poor Evelyn and the heavy burden she was called to bear” was often the subject of conversation when the church ladies got together, Lainie always wondered when Elizabeth, who had the kindest of hearts, never seemed to sympathize but always briskly changed the subject.

  She was right about the look Lurlene gave her when she shrugged into her robe and slipped into line just as the choir began filing into the choir loft. Juanita, just in front of her, turned her head and whispered, “Where were you?” Lurlene said, “Shhh!” and then they were in the sanctuary, and the service began.

  Elizabeth had claimed Fayette, and the two sat side by side in the third row. Steven was nowhere in sight. No surprise there. More and more, he evaded Elizabeth’s “everyone under my roof Saturday night goes to church Sunday” edict by not coming home Saturday night.

  The small congregation shuffled to its feet as the pianist played the introduction to the first hymn. The voices filling the church
covered the sound of the door in the back opening, and since everyone had their noses in the hymnbooks, almost no one but the choir knew that Les Watson had slipped in and was sitting alone in what was becoming his regular spot in the back row.

  Brother Parker gave Fayette a special welcome and gave her a minute to give an update on Matthew. Fayette blew a kiss to the choir as she mounted the few steps to the podium, and her smile as she turned to face the congregation was relaxed and filled with joy. Lainie couldn’t see her face as Fayette told of Matthew’s amazing progress and gave her thanks to the church for making it possible to stay in Albuquerque with him, so she didn’t know if Fayette’s expression changed when her eyes landed on Les, but if she was at all disturbed at finding him there, her voice gave no clue.

  The rest of the service went by in the usual order. Evelyn never did turn up, and Lainie half expected Les to slip out before the altar call, but he stood to his feet with the rest of the congregation and joined in the first verse of “Just as I Am.” By the second verse, he was no longer singing but shifting restlessly from foot to foot, and Lainie expected him to bolt for the door at any moment. Sure enough, when Brother Parker instructed the congregation to close their eyes and pray while the choir sang the third verse, he put his hymnal down and stepped out into the aisle. But instead of heading out the door, he walked down the aisle to the front of the church. Brother Parker took his right hand and placed his left arm across Les’s shoulders while they whispered their conversation.

  When Brother Parker finally nodded to Lurlene as a signal to end the altar call, most of the congregation had peeked and knew that Les was at the front of the church. You could have heard a bulletin float to the floor.

  Brother Parker stood with his hand on Les’s shoulder. His eyes swept the congregation for a long moment before he spoke.

  “Les Watson has come this morning to make a public profession of his faith in Jesus Christ. This moment has not come quickly or easily, but I’ve talked with Les at great length and prayed with him, and I believe in the sincerity of his confession. Will you join me in welcoming Les into the kingdom of God?”