Oven Baked Secrets (Eugeena Patterson Mysteries Book 2) (2 page)

I handed the photo back to Jocelyn. I couldn’t look at the young woman because my eyes were fixated on Louise.  Her luminous blue eyes blinked as she continued to wake up from her slumber. I was nervous, almost scared nervous.  Things were different now and the old Louise wasn’t totally there. The viciousness of her attack a few months ago, crossing over into her seventies, and losing her independence had taken a cruel bite.

What should I do? Should I make this woman leave the room?

From my side view, I could see Jocelyn standing with her hands stuffed in her pockets.  She’d noticed Louise was awake now. “Maybe she’ll give us answers now.” The girl looked at me hopefully.

My visit to the nursing home today was turning out to be crazier than an episode of
Days of Our Lives
. Mainly because somebody I knew, or didn’t know as well as I thought, had been
Young and Restless
.  I wasn’t here in judgment because I had my firstborn at age seventeen. That was something that Louise knew about me.

“Eugeena.” Louise blinked at me and rubbed her eyes. Her eyes were watery from being knocked out so long. “It sure is good to see you my friend.”

I went to the side of the bed and patted her hand. “You too, Louise.”

Louise grinned and asked, “How are you and Amos doing?”

Only Louise would wake up trying to be nosey about someone’s love life. Not that me and Amos Jones were being romantic or anything like that.

I crossed my arms. “Louise, there you go starting something. I told you, Amos and I are just friends.”  I did like cooking for Amos though. In fact, tonight was one of our supper nights. It was better than both of us eating alone.  I’m the first to admit I was pleasantly surprised how nice if was to have companionship, but he certainly was not my boyfriend. That stuff is for young folks.

I concentrated back on Louise’s face. “Where do you get all these ideas? You know I’m too old.”

“Eugeena, you are never too old for love.” Louise raised her head up and looked around the room. Her eyes focused on Jocelyn. The young woman had been standing, listening to our conversation. I’d almost forgotten she was there.

It struck me funny that all Louise had to do was mention Amos to me and my mind went in a whole new direction.

Louise smiled. “Honey, you are such a pretty girl. Isn’t she, Eugeena?”

I glanced at Jocelyn. “Yes, she is.” I wasn’t so sure if Jocelyn should be there. I had a growing suspicion in my gut. Jocelyn might have been sincere in her quest, but why now?

“Well, child, what can I do for you?” Louise coughed and tried to sit up.

I helped Louise get her pillows positioned behind her back. “Louise, maybe we should get Pat or one of the other nurses in here to check on you. You’ve been sleeping for a while.”

Louise waved her hand. “No, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?”  I really didn’t want the unexpected family reunion to happen, although in the back of my mind I sure wanted to know if Louise really had a long lost daughter.

Jocelyn walked closer to the bed.

I eyed her. I had no intentions of moving from Louise’s side.

Jocelyn glanced at me and then at Louise. “I have something to give you.” She extended her hand with the photo I had just seen towards Louise.

Louise asked, “What is it, child? You got the saddest eyes.”

“No.” I protested before I knew I was going to object. I didn’t feel right about this. Now wasn’t the time. Louise had made so much progress after getting bumped on the head this past summer.

Louise held out her right hand. She was studying Jocelyn’s face and maybe she saw something. I could see that similar heart-shaped feature in Jocelyn’s face now too.

My friend took the photo into her trembling hands. I looked around for the nurse’s buzzer. I certainly hoped I didn’t have to use it, but I wasn’t sure what was about to happen.

Louise stared at the photo for the longest time. I’m not used to that much silence from her, so I touched my friend’s shoulder. “Louise, are you okay?”

She just kept staring at the photo.

I looked over at Jocelyn. The poor woman had tears streaming down her face. She was doing one of those ugly cries, the kind where your face scrunches up in hope of pushing the tears back. It wasn’t working, but she still managed to look cute.

Right then, my nose started to run. That wasn’t a good sign for me. That meant my emotions were bubbling to the surface and my nose was the exit. The seriousness of this situation had officially shaken me up. There was no turning back.

I patted Louise’s left hand. “Louise, are you okay? Do I have to get a nurse for you?”

Louise whispered a response.

“What?” I leaned down. I thought I heard her say no, but her voice was hoarse and low. I watched as tears spilled down into the wrinkles on Louise’s face.

Lord Jesus, this is worse than a soap opera. I’ve been dropped into a Lifetime movie.

I grabbed several tissues from the table next to Louise’s bed. I shuffled over and pushed some into Jocelyn’s hands. I went to Louise and stuffed tissues in her free hand.

The tissue I had left in my hand I used to blow my own nose. While I honked my nose, I could hear voices approaching down the hallway.
Probably some of the residents.

A man’s voice exploded in anger as the voices approached closer to Louise’s room. Jocelyn wiped her face and turned to the door, looking confused. Louise stopped staring at the photo and turned her head towards the door.

That’s when I realized who was currently standing out in the hallway, and who I suspected was arguing with Pat about Louise. At that very moment, I also knew Jocelyn needed to leave and this conversation needed to happen some other time.

But before I could encourage Jocelyn to exit the room, William Hopkins entered the room. All six foot two of him seemed to take up the doorway, blocking the way of escape.

Poor Louise. I turned towards her and I noticed the hand that held the photo had gone limp. Louise’s eyes were closed. Was she faking like she just fainted or did her son’s sudden arrival knock her flat? Whatever just happened, my friend was going down fast. Before I addressed William and Pat, I reached over and snatched the photo out of Louise’s hand. Her only son certainly didn’t need to see it right then. I slipped the photo into my dress pocket as I turned to face William.

“Pat, I think you need to check on Louise. She woke up, but she doesn’t appear to be feeling well.”

“Oh my.” Pat gave William a withering look and pointed to Louise. “I told you she has not been doing well.” Pat rushed over to Louise’s side.

I stepped away from the bed to move out of Pat’s way and to examine William a little more closely. From the look of William’s face, he appeared flushed with anger from his conversation with Pat. Despite being a nurse, Pat had a good heart and didn’t mind speaking her mind about her patients.

I didn’t too much care for William’s hurt male pride, but I had a very distinct feeling he was up to something because his appearance was past odd to me. This was a man who most of his life didn’t have a problem looking unkempt. His usually wore his hair pulled back into a ratty long ponytail. Lord knows, he always managed to look like he needed a bath.

I looked William up and down from head to toe. I don’t know who knocked some sense into William and gave him a makeover, but it was long overdue.  The man actually had a real haircut that showed off his graying temples. He was no George Clooney, but he actually resembled a distinguished middle-aged man.  What was even more shocking was he was wearing a suit which I gathered was not cheap.

Now it was Sunday, but the last I heard William was very much against any kind of religious establishment, and was borderline atheist to the chagrin of his mother.

I crossed my arms. “William, Pat was just telling me they haven’t seen you in a while. I’m so glad to see you here today.”

William glared at me and then Jocelyn before responding. “I’ve been pretty busy. I just came by today to let my mother know I found a potential buyer for the house.” He frowned at me. “Mrs. Patterson, I told you, you don’t have to go out of your way to visit my mother.”

I about choked out a retort.
 I did not need a new neighbor and how dare you be that thoughtless.
  But there was a pretty volatile secret in the room, so I said a prayer to keep my thoughts to myself and responded as sweet as I could. “William, you know your mother and I have been friends a long time. I’m always going to be available when Louise needs me.  You’re looking mighty spiffy today. Did you make it to church?”

William grimaced. “I’m trying something a little different. Anyway if you’re finished visiting, I really need to talk to my mother.”

I watched as William’s eyes refocused like a slot machine as he looked in Jocelyn’s direction.

He inquired, “And who are you?”

I grabbed Jocelyn’s arm. This was not the time to be spouting the granddaughter claim. “Jocelyn and I were just leaving. We have a lot of catching up to do.”

Louise let out a moan that made me want to jump out of my skin. Yes indeed, there could be some catastrophic consequences in the room. William was an only child for as long as I had known. He wouldn’t be accepting of another sibling or any family coming out the woodwork at this point in his life.

I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t waiting for Louise to die and pass along all that money her husband had left her. Even before she married, Louise had already inherited family money and was quite the catch from younger photos I had seen. Louise had always led a simple life, but her roots in Charleston could be traced back to a plantation.

Jocelyn pulled her arm out of my grip and grabbed her backpack. “You’re right, Mrs. Patterson.  I need to go.”

Under the circumstances, I’m glad she agreed.

William narrowed his eyes and stepped towards Jocelyn. “I’ve seen you some place, haven’t I?”

Jocelyn slid a look at me and shook her head vehemently. “I doubt it. I really need to go.” Jocelyn sprinted from the room like someone was chasing her.

“Jocelyn.” I moved as fast as I could to the door, but she was halfway down the hallway by the time I stepped out of the room. I didn’t want her to leave like that. Besides I wanted to know why she showed up now.

Why did William think he’d seen her before? I would catch up with him later.

I moved down the hallway fast, thankful that most of the weight I’ve been trying to lose this year had been sliding off steadily.  I caught up to Jocelyn just as she was about to get into her car. Her bright red Honda Civic was parked right next to my Toyota Camry.  I made my body move faster and reached Jocelyn’s as she turned on the car’s ignition. I banged on the window on the driver’s side.

She looked at me like the crazy woman I probably appeared to be.

I shouted, “Can you please open the door? This isn’t over yet.”

Jocelyn rolled the window down and stared at me.

I was really too old to be chasing someone down. I gulped as I tried to catch my breath. “Look, I believe you are sincere in your efforts and I want to help.”

Jocelyn shook head and then stated, “Don’t worry about it.”

“What? Did you not come here for answers?”

Jocelyn gripped the steering wheel as if she wanted to tear it off. “This was a mistake. My mom didn’t even know I was doing this. When she told me about her past, she told me that she’d let it go. That it wasn’t worth knowing. I see what my mom was trying to tell me now.”

I shook my head.  I was really trying to understand, but was starting to feel a bit faint myself. It was past time for me to get some food in my system and today’s visit had been a bit too exciting. “Look, honey, that woman in there is one of my best friends. I know when she looked at the photo, she saw something. She was a little emotional, but I think she wanted to connect with you. Why don’t you give me a few days and maybe I can make it happen.”

Jocelyn sighed and looked over at me. “You’re really kind, Mrs. Patterson. I’m glad we met today, but please don’t worry. I can tell you there are some things from the past that shouldn’t be stirred up. Like I said, I should’ve listened to my mom.” With that Jocelyn pressed the button to raise up the window and placed the car in reverse.

I stepped away as she started to back out into the parking lot. It was really a shame that Jocelyn wanted to give up because my curiosity had just kicked in. I’d seen regret in Louise’s eyes a while ago. Losing one of my other best friends a few months back taught me a thing or two about regrets and dealing with the past.

I walked around to my car’s driver’s side, unlocked the door and climbed in.  Before I started the car, I reached into my purse and pulled out some crackers. The crackers would last me until I got a real meal. I munched and digested all that I had heard and seen in the last hour.

When I finished, I dusted the crumbs from my dress and reached to bring the seatbelt around my hips. I felt something in my pocket. I pulled out the photo that I had grabbed from Louise’s hands before her son entered the room. I looked closely at the woman who was Jocelyn’s mother.

She had to be Louise’s daughter.

Jocelyn said she was around sixteen in this picture. Seeing Jocelyn today, I would guess the photo was ten years old. Jocelyn’s mother was probably about a decade behind me.  She shared the same heart-shaped face as Louise, but the bridge of her nose was a bit wider and her lips were full.
Who was the father?

Louise was married briefly before she married William’s father, William Hopkins, Sr., better known to most people as Bill. She didn’t talk much about her first marriage, but I knew she’d lost a baby and a not too long after that her first husband asked for a divorce and ran off with another woman. I assumed Louise gave this baby up for adoption before she married the first husband.

How is it that all these years Louise never thought to confide in me? Oh yeah, I was preparing to stir up whatever I could from the past.