Lowcountry Summer (40 page)

“Darlin’! You’re home!” I gave him the biggest hug. “What’s going on?”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” he said, passing through the room en route to his. He stopped, sighed, and turned to face me. “I mean, I’ll talk about it but just not now. Okay? Hey, Millie.”

“Uh-huh,” Millie said, and watched him pass.

The swinging door closed behind him.

“What do you think?” I asked her.

“I think Trip just got himself the fishing buddy he sorely needs.”

“Think he broke up with that woman?”

Yes, I had confided in Millie. Who else did I have to talk to? Matthew? Oh, sure. Men like Matthew just love to talk about young people’s love affairs. So, I had spilled the beans to Millie. She probably knew anyway. Who was I kidding?

“Excuse me, but am I baking his favorite cookies or what?”

Of course! See what I mean? Millie knew he was coming.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you’d start wringing your hands and worrying about him until he got here and I don’t need no more trouble to contend with for a while, iffin that’s all right with you. We still got a full plate with your brother, ’eah?”

I looked her in the face and thought I was so mad with her that I was going to stamp my feet, just the way my mother used to do. But then I realized she was absolutely right. If I had expected anything was wrong in Eric’s world, I would have been a complete wreck, fretting more than I was fretting about him being
with
Erica, whom I fully intended to murder or not, depending on the depth of Eric’s despair.

“Don’t you know I haven’t had a decent night’s sleep since he left?”

“Don’t you think it’s time to let him grow up? There’s young men dying in Afghanistan and you’re worried about this kinda fool?”

She had me.

“Well, what am I supposed to say to that?”

“Nothing, ’cause you know I’m right. You needs to take a big
chill pill,
like them girls say, and let him come to you. He will, by and by.”

She
was
always
right and I just hated her for it then.

But on to other issues, Millie and I were deeply concerned about Trip. He was so broken and morose. He wasn’t shaving. He wasn’t working. His appetite was terrible and he wasn’t even
fishing,
for heaven’s sake. I also suspected he wasn’t sleeping during the night. But he sure was sleeping in his clothes on the sofa in his den, all day long. And, perhaps worst of all, he wasn’t bringing me the morning papers. I’m just kidding about that, okay? I had to wonder, was he even aware that Frances Mae was in the wings?

“Oh, fine. Millie, I think Trip’s mourning has gone on long enough, don’t you? I mean, he’s got to shake himself out of this horrible wallowing misery and get back to work. I think I’m going to have another talk with him this afternoon.”

“Yeah? What you gone say?”

“I’m going to tell him that Rusty would not want him to act like this. That’s what. And I’m going to send Eric over there, too. Maybe Trip can make himself useful and give Eric some advice on women or something. Maybe Eric can get him to go out in the boat.”

“Right time for Frances Mae to come home,” Millie said, dropping spoonfuls of dough on the cookie sheet.

“What? Excuse me, but didn’t you just say we had enough trouble to contend with for a while? And I know it’s time, but what makes you think it’s the
right
time for her to come back?”

“ ’Cause I been working my roots to bring her home.”

“What? Why in the world would you do that?”

Millie turned around to me and put her hands on her hips. I was about to get a lecture.

“Because it’s enough! You can’t keep on running back and forth to Trip’s house. You need to get your own life back, too. And them girls ain’t got the supervision they needs and you can’t give it to them nohow. And they don’t need to be living with his misery all the day long and then all through the night, too. He crying for his dead lover all over the house and they don’t need to hear all that. It’s too confusing for them. Children need they own, even if she is Frances Mae. She’s the evil that they know and it’s always better to stay with the evil that you know.” She slipped the cookie sheet into the hot oven and closed the door with a slam.

“Wait a minute, Millie. Are you gonna stand there and tell me that the girls are better off with Frances Mae? I mean, haven’t you seen a vast improvement in Amelia? And Belle? I’ll admit, Linnie is something of a challenge, but she has a job! Even Chloe has straightened up. And all the girls are eating better, are they not? They’re not as wired.”

“Caroline? You ain’t they momma and that ain’t
never
gone come to pass nohow, ’eah? They daddy ain’t worth two cents right now. I don’t know how long he plans to carry on like this and that’s his business. I’m just saying, it’s time for Frances Mae to come home and see about her girls. You see about your boy and she needs to see about her girls. Amen.”

“Amen, huh? Well, fine. I’m going over there right now and taking that chili we made for them.”

“Humph. Chili. Chili ain’t gone change the fact that it’s time for her to come home.”

I took the plastic container out of the refrigerator and picked up my purse.

“I’ll be on my cell.”

I let the door close in what might be called an adult slam, just loud enough to show I meant business, too. I got in the golf cart and pressed the gas pedal to the floor, charging across the yard at perhaps five miles an hour. Not a very dramatic getaway, I’ll admit, but it was the best I could do. Millie was telling me that I had failed to transform the girls and she was right. I had failed. And they were wearing me out.

Well, as soon as Trip’s house came into view, my heart took a lurch to my throat. Frances Mae’s SUV was in the yard. Oh, please, Lord! Not today! I had not had the time to figure out how I would deal with her.

Amelia and Belle were outside watching Chloe swim. Amelia waved to me and I waved back. I knew then why Amelia had not come into the house. Millie and I would’ve seen Frances Mae’s return all over her face. And Belle wouldn’t squeal if she knew. Linnie had started a new job that week, working in Miss Sweetie’s test kitchen. Believe it or not, she was reasonably happy. I know, that’s a hard one to swallow, but even Miss Sweetie said Linnie was a natural for the food industry.

I went right into the house. There, in the kitchen, wiping down the counters with a spray bottle and a roll of paper towels, was the odious Frances Mae.

“Don’t you know how to knock on a door?” she said.

“Well, look who’s here.” I put the chili on the table. “Where’s my brother?” The Loathsome One. I had to say, she’d lost a lot of her baby fat. She actually looked pretty good for someone with lips like tires.

“Trying to get some rest. We’d appreciate it if you’d lower your voice.”

“We?”
I said. “Who is this
we
?” What did she mean?

“Boy, for somebody who thinks she’s so smart, you sure do have a bad memory.”

“Come on, Frances Mae, pull your claws in. I just walked in the door with a meal for your children. Can’t you say thank you?”

“We don’t need
nothing
from you, thank you.”

“Really? Fine. What’s going on?”

“Well? First, I hear that Rusty’s dead and I thought, ‘Wow, that’s too bad.’ Linnie sent me a message, which is how I found out, in case you want to know.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet the news about killed you.”

“Look, Caroline, you know how I felt about her, but I
never
wished anybody dead. Not even
you
.”

She was lying through her teeth, according to my bones.

“Oh, thanks. Thanks a lot. I really believe
that
.”

“I couldn’t care less what you believe or not, okay? And then my time was just about up in my program anyway, so I started making my plans to come back. So, I get back here to my house in Walterboro two days ago and call my girls to see if they’re still alive and they say they are
so, so
glad I’m back because everything is
terrible
!”

“What’s so terrible?” Not one of them had said a word to me! Not one word! The treachery!

“That their daddy can’t even hardly speak more than two words. Talking to him is like talking to a
goll-dang
zombie
! And he’s laying around all day—”

“Chickens lay eggs, Frances Mae. People
lie
in bed.”

“Oh, my! You’re
right
! Thank you, Queen of Nothing, for correcting my English.”

I just stared at her. She was so disgustingly vulgar. I felt like I must have been running a fever of about 110 degrees.

“I mean, Caroline, if I learned anything in California this time, it’s that sometimes people really
do
need professional help! If you love Trip so daggum much, why couldn’t you see how depressed he is and do something about it?”

“Of course I saw! We all did!”

“So you made him a pot of chili. Isn’t that precious? Chili’s a big help. Whoop-de-do! I made arrangements through Promises for a good therapist and we start seeing her tomorrow.”

“Well, that’s good!
You’ll
probably need one for the rest of your pitiful life!”

“Oh, go blow it out your ass, missy! I ain’t got time for you.”

Who did she think she was talking to? Dismissing me like that?

“Frances Mae? Why don’t you . . . why don’t you just go blow it out of yours?”

“Ooooh! Scaaary!”

“Let me tell you something, you ungrateful piece of rubbish. I made a pot of chili, but I also made three meals a day for your girls for the
whole time
you’ve been gone.
And
I saw to it that Belle had a wonderful graduation party for her entire class.
And
I listened to your girls when they needed to talk, corrected them when they needed it, and I dried an ocean of their tears.
And
I cleaned your filthy dirty house in Walterboro. You’ve got
some
nerve to come back here with this kind of attitude. You ought to be on your
knees
thanking me instead of acting like
this
. Just
who
do you think you are?”

“I’m Trip’s wife, honey, and I’m back. Just like I said I would be. I’m back for my family
and
Trip. Trip and I stayed up all night talking. I’m taking my family back. I put the house in Walterboro on the market yesterday and I’m moved in here as of today—well, as soon as the truck arrives. So, Caroline? This
is
my
house and
you’re
no longer needed. So, why don’t you just trot your bony ass right back out the door?”

“This is
not
your house! This is my
brother’s
house! And I don’t believe a word you’re saying!”

“You can believe whatever you want! It don’t make no never mind to me! And, you dumb bitch, fifty percent of every single thing he owns is mine anyway! You really
are
stupid, aren’t you?”

“Millie knew you were coming. I should’ve warned my brother.”

“Honey? It was
Millie
who told me to get back here and rescue my family!”

What? WHAT DID SHE SAY?

“Okay,
that’s
it. You listen to me, Frances Mae
Litchfield
! You can tell your lies to everyone else, but don’t you ever,
ever
lie to me about Millie Smoak!”

She got really quiet and looked at me. Then she had the crust, the freaking
audacity,
to actually smile at me.

“Then why don’t you just go ask her, Caroline?”

I was beyond furious then. There was probably a cloud of steam all around me.

“I will!
Right now!
”

I turned around and marched out of the door and then I stopped and went back inside, where she was still standing. Quintuple hairy eyeball billowing smoke and shooting fire doesn’t begin to describe the look I gave her. I picked up the chili and left.

Okay, it was probably childish to take the chili back, but bump her! Seriously! And I didn’t believe a word about Millie talking to her! Millie would’ve told me! I couldn’t make my stupid golf cart go fast enough. I began to perspire. What if Millie
had
talked to her? Why wouldn’t she have
told
me? Did Millie just let me walk into a nest of snakes? No! Millie wouldn’t do that to me! There had to be an explanation!