Queenie's Cafe (27 page)

Florence leaned back and sipped her drink. “I was just a kid, but I was runnin’ wild. My poor folks was goin’ crazy tryin’ to make me behave myself, but I wouldn’t listen. Then I met Hank. He was older and kinda wild himself. He talked to my daddy ’bout marryin’ me before he asked me. I think Daddy was glad to get me off his hands. Mama cried, but she went along with what Daddy wanted. She always did. I was so young, I had to have my folks sign for me.” Florence sipped her drink. “I thought my life was gonna be wonderful, but it wasn’t. Hank was lazy and real mean when he drank, which was most of the time. I grew up in a little town near Tallahassee, just a wide spot in the road, kinda like Kingston before they made it a town. First thing me and Hank did was leave there, so I didn’t have nobody around me I knew.”

“How did Hank know Earl?”

“They was buddies down in the Keys before I met Hank. They got in trouble together, spent time in jail, both of ’em.”

“For what?”

“Theft, pullin’ scams on old folks, takin’ their money, bait and switch, pickin’ pockets, whatever they thought they could get away with. Neither one of ’em would work if they could get money another way.”

“Did you know that when you married Hank?”

“Some of it. I thought Hank lived such an excitin’ life, but the excitement wore off real fast. He taught me how to pick pockets, but I wasn’t very good at it. Then he and Earl got drunk and suggested somethin’ else. Hank made me do it with Earl a couple times, when he lost at cards or somethin’ and couldn’t pay him. I didn’t want to have sex with other men, but they didn’t give me no choice. Hank hit me when I didn’t do what he said, and I knew Daddy wouldn’t let me come back home.”

Laura sighed deeply, saddened by her mother’s life. “Tell me about when you came to Kingston.”

“Hank and Earl done somethin’ wrong and the law was after ’em. They left the state for awhile. Went to Texas to work on an oilfield or somethin’. I never did know exactly what it was they did there. I was livin’ in Melbourne at the time. The rent was due and I was broke, so I packed what I could carry and took the first bus that come along. It stopped here, at Queenie’s Café. There was a help wanted sign in the window, so I asked Queenie for a job.” She sipped from the can. “Queenie seemed real glad to have me there, said she and Bruce was gonna try to have a baby and she didn’t want to work so many hours.”

“But Dad said—”

Florence flapped her hand, brushing away the thought. “She was dreamin’. I didn’t know it at first, but Bruce filled me in a few days later.”

“How long were you here before you and Dad—”

“Queenie was already living in that room behind the café, and Bruce was fixin’ to leave. He was sendin’ out resumes, tryin’ to find himself a job somewhere else. We’d sit and talk in the evenings when Queenie was doin’ the dinner shift. One thing led to another and things just happened. I didn’t mean to fall in love. I don’t think he did either, but it happened, and I got pregnant. I’d had one abortion, when I was fourteen, and didn’t want to have another one. Shoot, I didn’t want the first one, but my daddy insisted.”

Laura stared out the window at Jay and his men unloading lumber from the truck. “Queenie found out about you and Dad?”

Florence nodded. “At first, she told me I had to leave, then she tried to talk me into giving the baby to her. She wanted kids in the worst way. She said Hank would kill me if he found out, but he’d been gone for a year by then. I figured he was gone for good, and Bruce was real anxious to get away from this place. He was worried ’bout money, but I told him we’d find a way.”

Dad always worried about money. “You were both broke?”

“I was and he’d spent the last of his money buryin’ Queenie’s father. Queenie collected some life insurance, so we was gonna take that. Bruce said she owed it to him. He wanted enough to start over somewhere else, and we had a baby on the way.” Florence stopped talking and walked to the kitchen counter with her soft drink can.

Laura twisted to face her. “Don’t stop there. Tell me the rest of it.”

“I can’t, honey.”

“What did Queenie do to make you give me up?”

She shook her head. “I can’t tell you that part, honey. I want you to know I loved you even before you was born, and I wanted to keep you, but I couldn’t. Gettin’ pregnant was a surprise, but we never once considered gettin’ rid of you. I want you to know that.” Florence’s eyes filled with tears. “It nearly broke my heart to walk away, but I knew you’d have your daddy and he’d take good care of you. It was the best I could do for you.”

Laura walked to the counter beside Florence. “But you left me with Queenie.”

“No, honey, I left you with your daddy. He did his best to keep you away from her when you was little. You’re the one who insisted on helpin’ her in the café. Bruce never let you two get to know each other, or
bond
as they call it now. You went over after school one day, then purty soon it was ever’ day. Bruce didn’t like it, but he couldn’t make you understand why you should stay away.”

Laura leaned on her elbows on the counter. “I thought she was my mother. I wanted her to love me, but she didn’t even like me.”

“I don’t think it was that so much, honey. She wanted kids of her own. Bruce had you, but she didn’t have nobody.”

Queenie wasn’t mean, she just wasn’t friendly or even nice. “She never hugged me like other mothers hug their kids. She didn’t even touch me, Florence. I thought there was something wrong with me. No matter what I did for her, it wasn’t good enough. The older I got, the more demanding, the more critical she was.”

Sadness filled Florence’s eyes. “I’m so sorry, Laura.”

“I don’t blame you. I used to blame myself, then I blamed her.” Queenie’s life was as miserable as anyone’s, but she did it to herself. If Laura had known the truth, maybe things would have been different between them.

But Dad lied to her.

They sat quietly for several minutes. Florence wouldn’t tell her any more, not now anyway. Whatever happened back then, it shaped Laura’s life. She’d drop it for now, but they would talk again. And again. Until the whole story came out. Good or bad, she deserved to know the truth. The
whole
truth.

Laura turned the conversation to something more personal. She needed advice, and she couldn’t ask Barbara or Dad about this. “Florence, there are things I need to know about, but I don’t even know what to ask.”

“About what, honey?”

“I’ve never... you know... been with a man.”

“You’ve never had sex?”

“No.”

“And you’re askin’ me?”

“You’re the expert. And you’re my mother.”

“Oh, honey.” Florence rubbed Laura’s back. “I can’t believe you came to me.”

“Who else? Dad? He’d probably tell me to stay a virgin until my wedding night. I had those classes in school. It’s just...”

“Honey, do you love Luke?”

“I think so, but I’ve never been in love. I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel.”

“Do you want to be with him all the time and want him to touch you and kiss you?”

Laura felt a smile tug at her mouth. “I think about him constantly and I have these strange feelings inside me, like... like nothing I’ve ever felt before.”

Florence leaned back against the counter. “That’s the way I feel ’bout your daddy. Oh, I had sex with other men, but I never cared ’bout nobody else but him. I wish he’d been my first. I wish we’d met before he married Queenie, before I married Hank.”

Laura played with her empty cola can. “How old were you the first time?”

“I wasn’t more than nine or ten when my daddy’s friend touched me the first time. I didn’t know what he was doin’ at first, but he gave me presents and he didn’t hurt me. He just touched me and kissed me and made me feel special. Nobody ever made me feel that way before. He played with me off and on for several months before he told me I was big enough to be his woman. He hurt me then, the first time.”

“Did your mother know?”

“I told her, but she didn’t believe me. Honey, you just do what comes natural. The first time will seem kinda strange, and it may be a little uncomfortable, but it’ll get better the next time.”

“I don’t want to get pregnant.”

“Tell him to wear a condom. They’re not foolproof, but it’s better than nothin’. I assume he’s been with other women. Ask him if he’s been tested. He could give you somethin’ without even knowin’ it. I don’t care how nice a boy he is, you gotta protect yourself. You don’t know who else he’s been with or who they been with.”

“I can’t ask him that.”

Florence put her hand on Laura’s cheek and gazed into her eyes. “Honey, if you can’t ask, you shouldn’t have sex with him. You got your whole life ahead of you, Laura. Some of those diseases cause deformed babies and some can kill you. Don’t take any chances. Ask.”

“Is that why you never had more children?”

“No, I’ve always been real careful. I wanted more kids, but I couldn’t watch another baby grow up like you did, honey. I just couldn’t.”

“It must have been hard for you to see me all the time.”

“It was awful hard. I wanted to hug you and tell you how much I loved you, but Queenie wouldn’t let me.”

“You can hug me now.” Laura held out her arms. They both needed this. It wouldn’t make up for all the years they’d spent apart, wouldn’t wipe out all Queenie’s caustic remarks, and wouldn’t give her back the childhood she’d lost working in the café, but it didn’t matter at that moment.

It was the beginning of a warm friendship. For now, that was enough.

Chapter Fifteen

A
few days later, Laura put a sign in the window of the café. They’d be closed for at least a week while the roofers worked on the apartments and café. They were also having the old asphalt torn out and the parking lot repaved.

Luke took her to his beach house while the work was being done. The house was bigger than she expected, anchored by huge round pillars, and perched high on the dune overlooking the ocean. She couldn’t wait to see the inside.

She stepped out of the car and the ocean breeze ruffled her hair. Although she couldn’t see the ocean yet, she smelled it and heard the waves crashing on the beach.

Luke carried their bags up the steps and unlocked the front door. Laura stepped inside, her eyes drawn through the windows to the big deck on the back and the pool sparkling in the morning sunshine. Too bad she didn’t have a bathing suit. The deck had a privacy screen along both sides. It was tall by the house and tapered down toward the outside edge of the deck, allowing a good view of the beach.

She looked beyond the deck to the surf, where the blue-gray water glittered in the bright sunshine. Waves crested and crashed against the beach, swooshing softly as the foamy water receded. So big and open, the water seemed endless. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. The air smelled different here, fresher and cooler than inland.

Laura listened to the sensual rhythm of the waves, the sea birds calling, and the rustle of the wind through the sea grapes covering the dunes. It was a sensual, heady experience. “If I lived here, I’d never want to leave.”

The house was wonderful. The living, dining and kitchen areas were designed as an informal great room, with the kitchen on the street side and the living area on the ocean side. White wicker furniture with thick flowered cushions filled the living room. The wall across the back was mostly windows overlooking the beach and deck. The other walls were painted white and the tile floor was light tan, with a few colorful throw rugs here and there. Several white paddle fans hung from the high slat ceiling.

There were two large bedroom suites, one on either side of the great room, both with king-size beds and flowered bedspreads that matched the living room furniture. It was the perfect place to relax. “Did you and your mother design this place?”

“No, we bought it and added the pool. Mom bought most of the furniture from a friend who was getting divorced. She thought it would be perfect in here. Then she bought the rocking chairs and had new cushions made.”

“No carpet on the floor?”

“It’s too hard to keep clean with all the sand. Throw rugs are easy to shake out.”

Laura gazed longingly at the pool. “I wish I had a bathing suit.”

Luke grinned. “I never wear one in the pool.”