by Sharon Sala
Rowan was beside herself. It was like Christmas, only better, and so she began.
By the time Bowie came home with their food, the show was over and she was wearing new shorts that fit and a pink cotton blouse that hung loosely around her waist.
“Look what they brought me from Savannah!” Rowan said. “This and so much more.”
Bowie forgot what he’d been going to say and just stood there, watching the joy on her face and the pleased looks from his girls.
“You look way too cute to take back to work,” he said as Ella took the food out of his hands.
Rowan laughed and did a little pirouette to give him the full effect.
Bowie gave Ella and Pearl two thumbs up. “You rock.”
“It was our pleasure,” Pearl said, then began looking through the food sacks. “What are we having?”
“Fried catfish dinner. I’m going to clean up real quick, but if you’re too hungry to wait, dig in.”
“I’ll always wait for you,” Rowan said.
Pearl and Ella glanced at each other and then grinned. They’d talked about Rowan and Bowie all day and the growing possibility that she was going to become a real part of the family. It was the best day they’d had since before Hurricane Fanny.
Chapter 20
The fried catfish was a hit. It came with pinto beans and coleslaw and hush puppies, and as they ate Pearl and Ella discussed the cars and the house.
“We found a car,” Pearl said. “We’re going back tomorrow and get it.”
“What did you choose?” Bowie asked.
“Well, I told you we had the insurance money from the one we lost, so we just shopped for cars within that amount and found a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox with only 45,000 miles on it. The dealer said the lady who owned it had passed away and her niece inherited it and the rest of her property. The niece used it as a trade-in on a new car, so it’s a one-owner. The dealer is holding it for us.”
“How are the tires?”
“Nearly new,” Ella said. “And it drives like a dream—quiet and a really smooth ride. It’s kind of a champagne color, so it won’t show dust easily, and Mama wants it, so there’s that.”
Pearl grinned, which made the rest of them laugh. “Pass the beans, please,” she said.
Rowan passed the container and popped another hush puppy in her mouth.
“Anyway, that’s our plan for tomorrow,” Pearl said. “And we’ll be gone pretty early in the morning.”
“One of you has to drive the rental car back,” Bowie said.
“We know,” Pearl said. “I don’t drive much anymore, but I still do okay. I’m sure we’ll be fine.”
“I’ll go with you tomorrow!” Rowan said. “I can drive the rental back, then call Bowie to pick me up there and take me home.”
Bowie looked relieved. “That’s a great idea, honey.”
Ella agreed. “It would really be appreciated! Thank you!”
“After all you’ve done for me, it’s the least I can do,” Rowan said. “It will feel good to get behind the wheel again.”
“Then it’s settled,” Pearl said. “On the home front, how’s the house going?”
“Ah…well, we began painting today and got the first coat on in all the rooms. Tomorrow, we’ll apply a second coat and do the trim. Cabinets arrive the day after, so we’ll be setting up the layout in the kitchen and the vanities in both bathrooms.”
“I can’t believe I am so excited about two bathrooms,” Pearl said. “When I grew up, we had one and it was outside.”
“I seem to remember a story about you and a raccoon in that outhouse,” Bowie said.
“Oh, tell me,” Rowan begged. “I’m the only one who doesn’t know this.”
Pearl rolled her eyes. “It’s nothing to brag about, but here goes. I was twelve, and sitting there doing my business when I heard scratching at the door. I grabbed a page out of the old Sears catalog (that’s what we used for toilet paper in those days) and then pulled up my drawers and got ready to run, then heard it again. I was scared to death. I didn’t know what it was and kept praying for it to go away, but it didn’t. Then I saw one black claw trying to dig underneath the door, and I guess I lost my mind.
“I start screaming my head off, and Daddy comes running with his hunting rifle. Opens the door, sees me all upset, and asks me what’s wrong. I told him there was something scratching at the door and I was afraid it was Old Nick, the devil that the preacher talked about in church. Daddy laughed, told me there wasn’t any devil at the door but he did see a raccoon waddling off as he was running to my aid.”
Rowan laughed. “Bless your heart.”
Pearl nodded. “I never did live that down.”
“Don’t feel bad. We women all have our breaking points. I was a teenager and got trapped in the chicken house once when a big snake dropped from the rafters. It landed between me and the door, and Daddy told me later that he thought I was being murdered. It was just a black snake, likely wanting eggs, but it might as well have been a dragon. I don’t do snakes. Daddy had to come rescue me as well.”
“If you run into any more critters, I’ll save you,” Bowie said.
Rowan blushed a little, knowing the girls were already reading between the lines of everything they said to each other, but it didn’t matter. They’d find out soon enough.
“Well, I cooked,” Bowie said. “So who’s doing dishes?”
Pearl threw what was left of her bread roll at him.
Ella wadded up her paper napkin and threw it at his head.
And Rowan just sat and watched, thinking of all the years she and her daddy sat at table. Those were somber years, years of everything but foolishness and laughter.
She couldn’t wait to belong—really belong—to these people.
* * *
There were only two patients in the ICU now—Junior Boone and a cancer patient.
Emmitt hated to see the gray color to the old man’s skin and his emaciated body. Of all the things Emmitt Boone feared in life, dying was the big one. But he had to pass the man to get to Junior, so he looked away and kept walking.
A nurse was at Junior’s bed when Emmitt arrived. “Everything okay?” he asked.
She nodded. “Just checking his IV.”
Emmitt waited until she was gone and then gently patted Junior’s shoulder.
“Hey, son. I’m here. They told us you are waking up, so I’m hoping you hear me, wherever you are. Mama and I love you. We can’t wait for you to come home.”
He waited a few seconds, then took Junior by the hand. “I dreamed you and I went fishing out at Gray Goose Lake. In the dream, I caught the biggest fish, but you know that’s never the case. You always beat me.”
And so it went, talking without response until his time was up. Then he told Junior goodbye and that he would see him again soon, and left the room.
But Junior had heard his daddy’s voice and was trying to figure out how to find him when the voice went silent. After that, it was too hard for Junior to focus, so he slid back into the dark.
He didn’t rouse again until sometime toward morning.
The nurse on duty heard what sounded like a moan. She glanced at the readouts on the monitors and took off down the aisle of beds to check on Junior Boone.
She turned on the light over his bed and saw his eyelids fluttering and his fingers moving against the sheets, as if he was trying to grasp something.
“Junior, can you hear me?” she asked.
He moaned again.
“Can you open your eyes for me? Open your eyes. Follow the sound of my voice, and open your eyes,” she said.
There was a hitch in his breath, and he muttered something unintelligible.
“That’s good. That’s the way. Open your eyes and tell me what’s wrong.”
His eyel
ashes fluttered like the wings on a resting butterfly, and then he uttered one single word.
“Hurt.”
“You hurt. Okay. I can fix that,” she said softly, and ran back to check his chart, then called Dr. Hastings at home.
He answered on the second ring. “Hello?”
“Dr. Hastings, this is Nina in the ICU. Junior Boone is on the verge of opening his eyes. He’s been twitching and mumbling, and he just now said one word. ‘Hurt.’” Then she reminded the doctor of the dosage Junior was getting through the IV and waited for instructions.
“Okay,” Dr. Hastings said. “I don’t want to dope him up so much that we keep putting him out, but at the same time, I certainly don’t want to stress his body any more than it already is by waking up to pain. How long until the next pain meds are due?”
“Less than thirty minutes.”
“Oh, then that’s not a problem. Give the regular dosage to him now, and I’ll be in shortly to check on him.”
“Yes, Doctor, thank you.”
Nina scrambled around to pull Junior’s med dosage, then hurried back. He was still trying to pick something up off the bed, which meant he hadn’t gone back to sleep. She injected the pain meds into the IV, then touched his arm.
“Junior, I just gave you something for the pain. You’ll feel better soon.”
His voice was barely above a whisper, but the message was the same. “Hurt.”
“I know, honey. I know.”
She stood by his bed until he quit digging on the sheet and watched the muscles in his body beginning to relax. Within minutes, she could tell that the meds had kicked in.
She checked his stats one last time, then stopped by her other patient before going back to her desk.
Dr. Hastings arrived an hour later and went straight to Junior’s bed. He wanted to look at the dressings over the incision and then studied the readouts for the past twenty-four hours.
“I’m pleased with his progress,”the doctor said. “Best-guess scenario, he’ll be awake sometime today. Is his dad still here?”
“Yes, Doctor. In the waiting room.”
“I’ll talk to him on my way out, and I’m leaving orders to adjust Junior’s meds.”
* * *
Emmitt had been awake for almost an hour and was on his second cup of vending-machine coffee when the doctor walked into the waiting room.
He jumped to his feet in panic, knowing they must have called him in because Hastings did not make rounds this early.
“What happened? Is my son worse?”
“No, on the contrary. He is waking up. He spoke to the nurse, and he has been exhibiting more motor function.”
“He spoke? What did he say?” Emmitt asked.
“He said ‘hurt.’ He’s been given pain meds and will likely not wake up again for a couple of hours.”
“That’s wonderful news, Dr. Hastings. Thank you!”
“Of course. We’ll talk again.”
Emmitt was already on the phone to Tiny as Hastings walked out the door. As predicted, Junior did wake up that afternoon. He opened his eyes for a brief time, saw his parents, heard what they were saying, and fell back asleep.
* * *
Early the next morning, Bowie saw the girls off to Savannah to pick up Pearl’s new car, then went back inside to finish getting ready for work. It was the first time he’d been alone since they’d come to stay with him, and the whole place felt empty. It had always been his place of refuge but nothing more. It had needed love to become a home.
He left early to eat breakfast at Granny’s and was still early getting to the jobsite. Today was the last day of painting and he was anxious to get started.
As soon as Ray and the rest of the crew arrived with the equipment, they began at the back of the house again and painted their way forward, while Samuel and Walter followed behind them, doing touch-ups and painting the trim.
It was ten minutes after ten when Rowan called. She’d made it back to Blessings and needed a ride.
Bowie took off his paint mask, handed the spray rig over to Joe, and headed out the door. Rowan was standing at the curb in front of the building, and when she saw him coming, she waved.
As Bowie pulled up, she hopped off the curb, got in, and started talking.
“I didn’t have any problems. I’m supposed to tell you that it’ll be at least a couple of hours before all the paperwork is done and the car is serviced for them to drive. But I saw it, and it’s really pretty. I think they did a good job.”
“Good to know,” Bowie said, and reached for her hand. “I want you to know that it is official. You are forever entrenched into my life. After all of you left this morning, my home felt empty. I can’t imagine how I would be feeling, leaving Blessings without you when this is all over. So this is me thanking you for loving me.”
“Oh, Bowie! That’s so beautiful. You say the sweetest things to me, and you are very welcome. Believe me, the pleasure is all mine.”
He winked and then backed away from the curb and drove to the trailer park.
He handed her the spare door key as he disarmed the alarm, then leaned over the console and kissed her.
“I’m not getting out, or we both know what will happen. We’re halfway through the house with painting, so I need to get back. See you this evening. I love you, and take care.”
“I love you more, and I will,” Rowan said and got out.
Bowie watched until she was inside and then left.
* * *
Peanut Butterman was back at the jail, this time accompanied by his secretary, Betty. He’d asked to be in the cell with his client, so Betty waited outside at the little table as Lon let Peanut in, then locked the door behind him. Peanut and Jud both sat on the cot while Peanut had him signing papers.
“This is paperwork from the bank, giving permission to withdraw this amount of money from your account each month and transfer it into both Emmitt and Melvin’s personal checking accounts. Sign here, and then here. You can use the top of my briefcase for a table.”
Jud signed all the copies and handed them to Peanut, who immediately handed them to Betty.
“Chief, are you signing as the witness?” she asked.
“I can. Show me where to sign.”
Afterward, Betty notarized the documents and waited for the will.
“This is your last will and testament,” Peanut said. “First read it over.”
Jud nodded and read the pages carefully, making sure every one of his wishes had properly been included, then looked up.
“Where do I sign?”
Again, Jud showed him and then passed the will to Betty.
As soon as all the papers were signed, Peanut stood and shook Judson’s hand.
“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,” he said, and turned around to be let out of the cell.
When the door slammed shut behind them, Jud flinched. It was symbolic of his situation. The door to his freedom was not only shut but locked, and he was alone.
All signs of their presence had been removed, right down to the little table in the aisle. And tomorrow he would be back in court to be sentenced. He thought about a cold beer and his recliner, and Cora cooking something good in the kitchen for them to eat, and cried. If he knew how to make himself stop breathing, he would do it.
* * *
The moment Pearl and Ella got back to Blessings, they drove straight to their home to see the progress. When they pulled up at the far end of the driveway, they were speechless, but the more they saw, the more they wanted to see.
“Well, are we getting out or are we just gonna sit here?” Pearl asked.
Ella turned off the motor and got out, dropped the car keys in her pocket, and met Pearl at the front of the car.
“Should we let Bowie know we’re here?” Ella a
sked.
“Why? It’s my house,” Pearl said and started walking.
Bowie just happened to glance out the front window, and when he saw them coming he grinned.
“Boys! Prepare yourselves. My girls are here,” he said, and went out to meet them. “Hi, Gran. Hi, Aunt Ella,” he said, gave them each a hug and then looked down the drive. “Nice car. Did you come to take me for a ride?”
Pearl grinned. “You know why we’re here. The last time I saw home, it was awful. I know you’re not through, but I need a different picture in my mind.”
“I’d love to show you,” he said. “Both of you grab an elbow and I’ll walk you in. There’s so much building stuff lying around that I don’t want you to fall.”
They each grabbed an arm, and in the door they went—to find all six of the men waiting.
“Gran, this is my crew, and none of this would have been possible without them.” He pointed them out, telling her their names, just like he’d done when he introduced them to Rowan. And then he introduced the women to the crew. “And these pretty ladies are my girls,” he said. “This is my gran, Pearl James, and this is my aunt, Ella James, who is Pearl’s daughter.”
Pearl was almost in tears. “I’m proud to meet all of you,” she said. “I can’t believe what a transformation this has become. What a wonderful, wonderful thing you are doing for me, Bowie. Show us around.”
“Glad to, but one warning. The paint isn’t quite dry, so don’t touch.”
He began where they were standing and went all the way through the house, pointing out the details and modifications. But it was the master bedroom with the bath en suite and walk-in closet that got the biggest reaction from Pearl.
“Imagine, Ella! We won’t have to share a bathroom again.”
“I know,” Ella said. “I don’t know how you did it, Bowie, but my closet is twice the size it was.”
“I said, ‘Alakazam,’ snapped my fingers, and there it was.”
Ella laughed. “I’m not buying that story, but it all looks wonderful, and we have lingered long enough. We’ll let you all get back to work.”
He walked them back to their car. “Rowan is home, so she’ll let you in, and I’ll see everyone later.”
