The next morning, he woke with his head feeling fuzzy and only the vaguest recollection of where he was. He sat up, caught the scent of bacon, and followed it into the kitchen. The table was set, and Iris was standing at the stove.
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” She poured a cup of coffee and handed it to him.
“Morning,” he said and dropped into the chair. For a few moments, he sat there trying to recall what happened, and once he did he mumbled, “Sorry about last night.”
“Forget about it,” she said and laughed. “We had fun, didn’t we?”
“Yeah, we had fun but—”
“Well, today’s another day. Let’s have breakfast and then—”
“I gotta get going,” Earl cut in. “I should’ve been on the road by now.”
“Aw, that’s a shame. I was kinda hoping…”
Earl was already thinking about Suzanna and was anxious to make up for lost time. He folded three strips of bacon into a slice of bread, wolfed it down, then swiped the back of his hand across his mouth. “Thanks. That was good. Real good.”
“I was gonna make French toast or an omelet.” Iris gave a wistful smile. “Maybe next time, huh? If you’re coming this way, give me a call.” She jotted her number on a piece of note paper and handed it to him.
Earl folded the paper and slid it into his pocket. “I don’t expect it to be anytime soon, but when I’m back here I’ll call.”
As he turned on to Route 75, Earl thought about the night he’d spent with Iris and began to wish he’d stayed the extra day. She wasn’t bad looking and had a nice way about her. She made a man feel good about himself, which was more than he could say about Suzanna.
He could’ve delayed going to Atlanta for a day. What would have been the harm? It wasn’t like Suzanna was waiting for him or had even done anything to deserve his loyalty. But after eight years of being together, he wasn’t ready to give up. Yeah, Iris was fun, but for all he knew she took up with every trucker who passed her way. Suzanna was different. She was the kind of woman who made a man want to settle down.
It was almost nine o’clock when Earl reached the outskirts of Atlanta. His first stop was a roadside pub where he ordered whiskey with a beer chaser. After a long day of driving, he needed to relax. He downed the whiskey then went to the phone booth and searched the directory for the law firm of Greene & Garrett. The bold face listing all but jumped out at him. He tore the page from the book, tucked it into his pocket, then returned to the bar and ordered another whiskey. He made quick work of that one then sat savoring his beer and thinking over the possibilities that lay ahead.
When the beer glass was empty, he ordered another one and asked the bartender where Mitchell Street was.
“Downtown. A block over from City Hall.”
“Any motels down there?”
The bartender shook his head. “No motels, but plenty of good hotels. Thing is, they’re pricey. Some of them high as thirty to forty dollars a night.”
“For one night?”
The bartender nodded, then handed Earl another whiskey. “On the house.”
Earl grinned. “Well, then, gimme a beer to go with it.”
He drank until almost midnight, then checked into the Lucky Motel two doors down from the bar. He’d planned to be standing in front of Greene & Garrett when Bobby arrived, but he slept until noon and woke up with his head feeling like he’d been kicked by a mule. Believing he’d be in better shape after some coffee and a bite, he headed out in search of a place to eat.
With getting a late start and needing a bit of time to pull himself together, Earl didn’t arrive at the Greene & Garrett building until after four o’clock. He’d expected the building to be small, a two-story or private house maybe, but confronted with a 14-story glass structure he began to feel intimidated. He couldn’t just walk in and demand to speak to Bobby Doherty. That was too risky. A place like this had security guards. Doherty could have him thrown out then call Suzanna and warn her to keep the doors locked. If something like that happened, it would be a cat-and-mouse game with Suzanna always one step ahead. No, the best way was to come at her with no warning. Catch her unaware with her defenses down; then she’d be more willing to listen, easier to convince.
After thinking it through, Earl decided to wait until Bobby Doherty left the office then follow him home. That way he’d find out where Suzanna was without Doherty being any the wiser. Instead of barging in, he’d wait until the next morning then talk to Suzanna after Doherty was gone from the house. Pleased with his plan, Earl chuckled. Sometimes he was so clever, he amazed himself.
He parked his car a short distance from the building entrance and waited.
At 5:15 p.m. Doherty came out. He was heavier than he’d been in high school, and his hair was a bit darker, but other than that he looked the same. Earl watched as he rounded the corner and headed for the parking lot. When Bobby climbed into the car, Earl eased his foot down on the gas pedal and pulled out. He followed one or two cars behind, always keeping Bobby’s Lincoln in sight.
After they’d left most of the traffic behind, Doherty turned onto a tree-lined street and pulled into the driveway of a white colonial. Earl drove to the end of the street, rounded the corner, and parked. He got out of the car and walked back, passing Bobby’s house so slowly a turtle could have outpaced him. Through the front window he saw a man and a woman moving about, but they were too far away for him to recognize the figures.
The street was quiet; too quiet. It was the kind of neighborhood where a stranger stuck out like a sore thumb. Wary of setting off alarms before he was ready to make his move, Earl walked by a second time, then left. He’d learned all he was going to learn tonight. Tomorrow morning, when Doherty left the house, he’d get his chance to talk to Suzanna.
With an evening to kill and nothing else to do, Earl returned to the bar where he’d spent the night before. He had two beers and a burger, then left and went back to the motel. He snapped on the TV, then stretched out on the bed and tried to relax but it was impossible. His thoughts kept jumping over to Suzanna. He could picture her a dozen different ways, feel the weight of her lying in the bed beside him. He could even hear her laugh, but the one thing he couldn’t quite catch hold of was her face. It seemed blurry, out of focus maybe.
It’s been too long, he told himself. Once they were together, everything would fall into place, for both him and her.
Throughout most of the night, he tossed and turned, and finally when the first light of morning was in the sky he climbed from the bed, showered, and dressed. He pulled a clean shirt from his bag, slicked his hair back, and checked himself in the mirror. Satisfied with what he saw, he got in his car and drove to Doherty’s house. Most lawyers didn’t start work until nine and it was not yet eight, so he had plenty of time. He parked three doors down and waited.
At 8:40 the Lincoln backed out of the driveway and drove off. As soon as the taillights were gone from sight, Earl got out of his car, walked up to the front door, and rang the bell. He’d expected Suzanna to answer, but when the door swung open it was a dark-haired woman who looked nothing like Suzanna. He stood there, his eyes wide and his mouth hanging open.
She was first to speak. “Were you looking for my husband?”
Earl shook his head. “Suzanna Duff. I’m looking for Suzanna Duff.”
“Duff.” The woman hesitated a moment then said, “Sorry, I don’t think anyone by that name lives on this block.”
“Tall, blond hair. She’s got a daughter name of Annie.”
The woman smiled. “No, now I’m certain. No one of that description lives anywhere in this neighborhood.”
“Maybe I got the name wrong. She would’ve come here about nine months ago…”
“Sorry, I can’t help you. If anyone like that moved into the neighborhood, I’d know. My husband and I are chairing this year’s Welcome Wagon.”
“What’s your name?” Earl asked.
“Brenda. Brenda Doherty.”
“And Bobby’s your husband?”
A look of surprise lit Brenda’s eyes. “Why, yes, he is. Do you know Bobby?”
“Not actually know him but know of him.”
She laughed. “That’s Bobby. I guess most everyone in town knows him.”
“Further even,” Earl muttered; then he thanked her for her time and left.
Feeling a bit flabbergasted, he got back in his car and sat there for several minutes. That’s when it dawned on him. Bobby was seeing Suzanna on the side, hiding her from his wife. The thought of it made Earl’s blood boil.
“Well, you’re not getting away with it this time,” he grumbled. He gunned the motor and headed back to the Greene & Garrett building.
This time he had no reservations about walking into Doherty’s office and confronting him face to face. There’d be no more sneaking around. He’d come right out and ask, Where’s Suzanna, and he’d demand an answer.
Earl parked the car, stepped into the lobby, and looked up at the directory. There it was: Greene & Garrett, 3rd Floor. He walked over to the elevator, pressed the UP button, and waited. Lost in his thoughts of what he was going to say, Earl almost missed seeing Bobby step out when the elevator doors opened.
He did a double take, then turned and yelled, “Hey, Doherty!”
Bobby looked back. “Are you talking to me?”
“You bet your sweet ass I am! I wanna know where Suzanna is!”
Bobby’s eyes widened. He hurried across the lobby and spoke to Earl in a hushed tone.
“Suzanna who?” he asked.
Earl didn’t lower his voice one iota. “You know who! Suzanna Duff.”
He moved in and stood nose to nose with Bobby. Earl wasn’t any taller than Bobby, but he was half again as wide, red-faced, and fuming. “I know you’re the daddy of her kid, and she came here to be with you. Now either you start talking to me, or I start talking to your wife!”
“Who the hell…” Bobby suddenly smacked his hand to his forehead. “Oh, I get it. You’re Earl, right? Suzanna told me about you.”
“Yeah, I’m Earl. She tell you I been taking care of her and the kid ever since she was born? Suzanna owes me; she owes me big time.”
With a sly grin creeping onto his face, Bobby gave a knowing nod. “I hear you, pal, loud and clear. I’ve had dealings with Suzanna too.” He wrapped an arm around Earl’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go someplace and talk.”
They went to a gin mill several blocks away and sat side by side at the bar. It wasn’t yet noon, but Bobby ordered a martini straight up. Earl, who was beginning to feel wary of the whole situation, ordered a double whiskey and beer chaser.
“So, Suzanna told you about me, huh? What’d she say?”
“She told me how you’d been so good to her and Annie. Said she felt guilty running off the way she did.”
“So why’d she do it? To come here and be with you?”
With an almost forced look of sorrow stuck to his face, Bobby shook his head. “Sorry, pal, it wasn’t me. Sure, I’m the kid’s daddy, but Suzanna didn’t come here looking for me. I saw her and wanted to get back together, but she turned me down flat. Said she had something better lined up. She left me, the same as she did you.”
Earl eyed him suspiciously. “I don’t get it. Why would she do that? She was always talking about how you were Annie’s daddy and ought to take responsibility for her.”
Bobby shrugged. “Search me. The more I got to know Suzanna, the more I realized I never knew her at all.”
“Me too,” Earl said, then he ordered a second double and downed it. “You said you talked to Suzanna; when was that?”
“A month ago, maybe two.”
“Was she here in Atlanta?”
Bobby hesitated a moment then nodded. “Passing through on her way to New York.”
“New York? Why would she be going—”
“You didn’t know? She married some guy with a ton of money, said they were going to spend the next few years touring Europe.”
Earl’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding.”
“Not at all. The only reason she came here was so I’d sign a paper letting her take Annie out of the country.”
“Did you sign it?”
“I didn’t have much choice. She said it was either that, or she’d tell my wife I was having an affair with her.”
“Damn, that stinks.” Earl emptied his beer glass, then sat there shaking his head. “So if you wanna get in touch with your kid, how you gonna do it?”
“I can’t. You know how Suzanna is; if she decides to disappear, that’s it. You’re never going to find her.”
“And you’ve got no problem with that?”
Bobby gave another of those one-shouldered shrugs, then climbed down from the bar stool and stood. “At first I did, but now I’m doing the only thing I can do. Move on and forget about her.”
“It ain’t that easy,” Earl said.
“It is if you put your mind to it. A nice guy like you deserves a good woman, not someone who treats you like Suzanna.”
“Yeah, maybe.” Earl swung himself down from the stool, and together they started to leave. They were almost out the door when he stopped and grabbed hold of Bobby’s arm.
“Wait a minute,” he said suspiciously. “How come you’re telling me all this?”
Bobby grinned. “I owe Suzanna, and I figure this is the one way I can pay her back.”
“Yeah,” Earl chuckled. “Payback; that’s exactly what she deserves.”
Earl left Atlanta that same afternoon, and before he’d gone fifty miles he started thinking about Iris.
Good thing I hung onto that number, he laughed. Good thing.
Wishes Come True
Spring 1961
A WEEK AFTER GREGG SLIPPED an engagement ring on her finger, Suzanna filed the papers to legally change her name. She answered all of the questions honestly and accurately. When asked “Reason for Name Change”, she wrote, New start.
Both Ida and Gregg were sitting in the front row on the day she stood before a judge to legalize her new name. Suzanna swore there were no pending bankruptcies or criminal intent involved then answered “yes” when he asked if she had met the publishing requirement for the intended change. By then most everyone in town was already calling her Darla Sue, and there was never any question that she was a true Parker. Ida claimed you had only to look at the girl’s eyes to know that.
“Why, they’re as much Bill as Bill himself,” she said, and nobody argued the point.
The judge studied her application for a few moments then leaned forward and eyed her over the top of his wire-rimmed spectacles.
“New start is rather vague,” he said. “Since Darla Sue Parker appears to have no relevance or connection to your given name, can you tell me why you decided to take it?”
Before Suzanna could answer, Ida stood up. “She didn’t just take it, I gave it to her!”
The judge lowered his glasses and glared over at Ida. “And who are you?”
“Ida Parker, her grandmother.”
He glanced down at the application, studied it a moment longer, then looked at Suzanna. “This says your grandparents are deceased.”
“Those are my birth grandparents,” she said. “Mrs. Parker is my adoptive grandmother.”
“If this proceeding is intended to legalize a familial relationship, it needs to be refiled as an adoption. Simply taking the Parker name could imply fraudulent intent and—”
“Nonsense,” Ida said. “Darla Sue doesn’t need a piece of paper to make us family. We’re already family. Not because of some piece of paper. We’re family because we love one another. That’s the true measure of what being a family means, and there’s no court in the world that—”
The judge banged his gavel. “Mrs. Parker, this is a court of law. Sit down unless you’re asked to provide relevant testimony.” Once Ida sat, he looked back to Suzanna. “By changing your name, do you stand to gain something of valu
e from the Parker family?”
“I already have, your honor. Ida Parker has given me a belief in myself, a place to call home, and her love. There is nothing of greater value.”
The judge smiled and turned back to Ida. “Mrs. Parker, do you understand that even after I approve this name change, Darla Sue Parker will not actually be your granddaughter, that she has no claim on your assets, and you bear no responsibility for her upkeep?”
“Of course I do,” Ida replied. “But what a person has to do and wants to do are not necessarily the same thing. I’ve lived long enough to both know and appreciate the difference, and as far as I’m concerned—”
“That’s enough,” the judge said and motioned for Ida to sit. “It seems apparent there is no malicious intent here. Darla Sue Parker, your request is approved.”
——————
THAT APRIL, WHEN THE SWEET scent of the magnolia trees filled the air, the azaleas were starting to flower, and people had pushed their heavy coats to the back of the closet, they celebrated Ida’s seventy-fifth birthday. The party was a surprise Darla Sue and Gregg had spent over a month planning. They’d hired a band, ordered the biggest birthday cake the caterer could make, and told him it had to have seventy-five candles on it.
“A cake like that is gonna cost a pretty penny,” he’d said, but neither of them flinched.
“We want the best,” Gregg replied, and Darla Sue nodded her agreement.
Knowing full well that once a secret is out it can spread like wildfire, they waited until two weeks before the party to start inviting people.
On a balmy evening, when Ida was sitting in front of the television laughing at The Real McCoys with Annie, Gregg and Darla Sue strolled up and down the street, sliding invitations under the neighbor’s doors. In bold strokes she’d written, The party is a surprise, so don’t breathe a word of it to Ida. To make certain her message wasn’t missed, she’d underlined the words.
Once the invitations were sent, she began telling the ladies who came to the shop and the merchants that lined the streets. On her lunch hour she went from shop to shop saying,
A Million Little Lies Page 26
