Spring Fever (12 page)

Pokey fed coins into the soda machine and bought bottled water for both of them, then, moving over to the next machine, bought a packet of Aleve for Annajane.

“Let’s sit in here,” she said, gesturing to the half-darkened cafeteria.

They found a table near the door, and Annajane gratefully swallowed the pain medicine with a swig of water.

“Something I need to ask you,” Pokey said, leaning across the table. “And don’t bullshit me, okay? We’ve known each other too long for that.”

“Oh God,” Annajane said warily. “What is it now?”

“I saw the look on your face in church today, when Celia came down the aisle. I saw the look on Mason’s face, too. And I know him just as well as I know you.”

“And?” Annajane wished she had not followed her friend out of the waiting room. She’d walked right into Pokey’s trap.

“And I got the distinct feeling, right before Sophie got sick, that you were about to make a big move.”

“That’s crazy,” Annajane said, laughing uneasily. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you do,” Pokey said. “You shoved me into the aisle. I don’t care what you say. I know you, Annajane Hudgens. And I know you are not over him. You are still in love with my brother.”

“Absolutely not,” Annajane said automatically. “I’m in love with Shane. I’ve moved on.”

“You are
so
not over Mason. And I’ve got a news flash for you. He’s not over you, either.”

“You’re delusional,” Annajane said, taking another swig of water. “Either that, or smoking crack. Hey. What were
you
drinking before the wedding?”

“Skim milk. Straight up. Iron supplement chaser.” Pokey said. “I’m pregnant.”

Annajane nearly spit out her water. “Again! Oh my God, Pokey, are you sure?”

Pokey took a big bite of her Butterfinger and chewed for a moment. “The fourth time around, you tend to know these things. And the EPT test I took Monday confirmed it. Yup. Just call me Fertile Myrtle. Knocked up again.”

Annajane grasped both her friend’s hands in hers. “Oh honey, that’s great. I mean, I know Clayton isn’t even two, but you really were born for motherhood. Are you okay with it? What does Pete say?”

Pokey laughed. “I’m fine with popping ’em out one, two, three. And four. As for Pete, he did allow that he wouldn’t
mind
having a girl this time around. I pointed out to him that he’s the one shooting all the blue bullets so far. Anyway, don’t try to change the subject. We were talking about how you and my brother are still stupid in love with each other.”

Annajane sighed. “I’ll admit it was hard today, being in church, facing the reality of, well, everything. Mason truly was my first love. Yeah, I dated around in college, but nobody else ever came close. I guess I just had the world’s biggest, longest crush on him. But marriage is different. It’s real life, not a fairy tale. You can’t sustain a crush when bad things happen, when people hurt each other. When they
cheat
on each other and won’t even be honest enough to admit what they’ve done. If Mason had just apologized, if he’d just acknowledged what had happened, maybe things would have been different. But I’m not going to dwell on that anymore. I’ve found a man I can love as well as trust. Shane would never cheat on me. He just wouldn’t.”

“Stop!” Pokey exclaimed. “I will
never
believe Mason ever loved anybody but you. So maybe he screwed up, maybe he slipped up. He’s a man, and gawd knows none of ’em are perfect. Especially the
Bayless
men.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Annajane asked.

Pokey shrugged. “What it sounds like. Look at Davis. What a man whore! He sleeps with any and every girl that comes along, single or married, and he gets away with it because he’s Davis. He behaves like a goat in rut and we all just roll our eyes and laugh. And my daddy? Annajane, you know there was never a bigger daddy’s girl than me. I loved my daddy and I miss him every day, but I’m not dumb, and I’m not blind. I know he … fooled around on Mama.”

Annajane had heard rumors about her former father-in-law’s conquests over the years. After all, even in his sixties, Glenn Bayless was a startlingly handsome man, with a full head of hair that had turned silver in his early forties, piercing blue eyes, and a lean athlete’s build honed from hours in the gym he’d set up in the basement of Cherry Hill, not to mention twice-weekly games of cutthroat tennis with partners half his age.

Still, this was not a topic she had ever discussed with anybody in the family. “You really believe all those old stories?”

“I just know, okay?” Pokey said. “The crazy thing is, I don’t think it affected their marriage. Daddy worshipped the ground Mama walked on. I think he just, you know, liked the ladies. And they liked him back. But I am here to tell you that Mason isn’t like that.”

“And what makes Mason so different?” Annajane said flippantly.

“Because he knew Daddy screwed around on Mama,” Pokey said flatly. “And it wasn’t just a rumor. If you must know, Mason and I caught him at it. Red-handed. And Mason never forgave him for it.”

Caught off guard, Annajane sat back in her chair and regarded Pokey, who was calmly finishing off the last bite of her candy bar.

“Mason never said a word,” Annajane said.

“We swore to keep it a secret,” Pokey said. “We didn’t even tell Davis. It was awful. For both of us. You remember that summer Mason moved away? Right after graduation? The only summer he didn’t work at the plant?”

Annajane nodded. What she remembered most was the way her heart beat faster the first time she saw Mason Bayless roaring through town in the red convertible, headed for a summer job at the Outer Banks, and how her sixteen-year-old self pined for a man who barely knew she existed.

“Daddy said he was giving Mason the Chevelle as a birthday present. But really? It was a bribe. Or maybe a peace offering. Mason wasn’t even speaking to Daddy at that point. I don’t think he spoke to him that whole summer.”

“But Mason came back home in the fall. And he went back to work for Quixie,” Annajane pointed out. “And I never heard him say a single bad thing about your dad. I always thought it was so sweet, the way they worked together.”

“They patched things up,” Pokey agreed. “But they were never as close again as they were before that summer. Mason loved Daddy, but he didn’t respect him.”

Annajane shook her head. “I don’t even know why we are having this conversation. The past is past.” She held up her left hand, and wiggled her ring finger pointedly. “I’ve got a new life; Mason has a new life. It’s time, all right?”

Pokey rolled her eyes.

“I know you don’t like Celia,” Annajane went on. “And no, she’s not who I would have picked for Mason, but the important thing is, he picked her, and he apparently loves her, and I honestly think she’ll be good for him and for the company.”

“The company!” Pokey exclaimed. “Who gives a rat’s ass about Quixie? We are talking about my brother’s happiness. And yours. Celia is totally wrong for him. Did you notice he only asked the bitch to marry him
after
you announced your engagement? And don’t get me started on the topic of Celia as mommy material.”

“Sophie seems okay with Celia,” Annajane broke in.

“Sophie doesn’t know her like we do. But I don’t care what kind of show she puts on; Celia just barely tolerates Sophie. I mean, Sophie is another woman’s baby, not hers. Celia doesn’t have a maternal bone in her body. The woman is an ice queen. And as for her company—so what if she made money selling kids’ clothes? That doesn’t mean she can keep Quixie from going down the tubes. Soft drinks are an entirely different ball game. I don’t care if she is Miss Congeniality. I don’t like her and I don’t trust her. What do we really know about this woman, aside from what she’s told us?”

“We know Mason wants to marry her,” Annajane said softly. “Anyway, much as I love you and the rest of your crazy clan, Pokey, the company is no longer my problem. In case you forgot, I’m moving to Atlanta in five days. I have a new job, and I’m starting a new life. Going to the wedding was about closure. I’m engaged to Shane, remember?”

“Closure?” Pokey scoffed. “And you really intend to marry a guy named Shane? Really? Shane? What kind of name is that for a grown man? Is he a cowboy or something?”

It was Annajane’s turn for an eyeroll. “Hello, Pokey? May I remind you that you named your own sons Glenndenning, Peterson, and Clayton? And that you have brothers named Mason and Davis?”

“Those are family names, and you know it,” Pokey said.

“Fine. I think Shane is a perfectly nice name. And he’s a nice guy, and he loves me and I love him.”

A wicked, familiar glint shone in Pokey’s eyes. “How’s the sex?”

“None of your business.”

“I knew it,” Pokey crowed. “You’ve been dating, what, six months, and you haven’t fucked him?”

“I hate that word,” Annajane said irritably. “And our sex life is perfectly normal. Divine, if you must know. Although, remember, we do live four hours apart. And up until this week, I still had my job here.”

“If you were really attracted to him, you’d be screwing like a pair of jackrabbits,” Pokey said, “instead of hanging around here in Passcoe. You think I don’t know how you and Mason used to be when you were engaged? Jesus! We never once had Sunday dinner on time in the old days, because you two were always off over at the lake, getting it on.”

Despite herself, Annajane blushed. “You knew?”

“
Everybody
knew. Mama, Daddy, hell, I think even Nate the yard man knew what you two were up to, and he’s nearly senile. Those windows didn’t get steamed up by themselves. My point is, if you are really this hot for this Shane guy, nothing could keep you apart. Hey!” she said, brightening, “maybe he’s gay.”

Annajane stood up abruptly. “I think we’re done here. Nice talking to you.”

“You still can’t admit it, can you?” Pokey taunted.

“Admit what?”

“You can’t admit that you were wrong to end your marriage to Mason. That the divorce was a huge mistake. That you loved him then and you love him now, and you would take him back in a minute if you could.”

“But I can’t,” Annajane pointed out, gripping her water bottle so tightly she heard the plastic crumple. “I’m engaged to another man. To Shane. And Mason’s wedding was postponed, not called off. And as soon as Sophie is well again, this wedding is going to happen.”

“
Fuck
the wedding,” Pokey said fiercely. “You’re still not being honest with me. You’re still bullshitting me. Come off it, Annajane. We have been best friends since we were five years old. Just be straight with me. Will you?”

Annajane walked over to a trash bin and tossed in the water bottle.

“All right,” she said finally. “Okay, maybe there is still something there. It’s probably just jealousy, wanting what I can’t have. But yes, I had a twinge when I saw Mason standing there at the altar.”

She allowed herself a sad, lopsided smile. “Happy now?”

“Yesss!” Pokey said, fist-pumping.

“I don’t know what to do,” Annajane heard herself admitting. “I can’t believe I am saying this out loud.”

“Tell him,” Pokey advised. “It’s not too late. Just be straight with him. If not for yourself, then at least for Sophie’s sake.”

“I can’t,” Annajane said. “I am engaged to another man. He is engaged to Celia. This is hopeless. And pointless.”

“Then I will,” Pokey vowed.

“No!” Annajane clutched Pokey’s arm. “Don’t you dare. If you say a word about this to Mason, I swear, Pokey, I will never speak to you again. I mean it. Just stay out of it, please?”

“This is so stupid,” Pokey said stubbornly. “He will ruin his life, and Sophie’s if he goes through with this charade and marries Celia.”

“But it’s his life,” Annajane said. “Not yours.”

*   *   *

They heard the voice as they were rounding the corridor back to the waiting room.

“Now, darlin’, you’ve got to eat something,” Celia cooed. “I fixed up this basket just for you. Maybe just a ham biscuit, or some of the tenderloin. I had the waiter slice it from the rare end, just like you like it.”

Annajane felt her spine stiffen. Beside her, Pokey made a soft gagging noise.

She wanted to turn around and run out the door. Instead, she forced herself to keep walking back to the waiting room.

Celia had changed out of her wedding gown and was wearing an aqua velour tracksuit, with the jacket unzipped far enough to reveal a tantalizing amount of cleavage. A huge picnic basket sat by her feet, and she’d dragged a table over to the seating area, where she was unwrapping foil packages and plastic cartons.

“Hey there!” she said, as she saw the two women approaching. “I hope you’re still hungry, because Sallie had the catering people pack enough food for the Russian army.”

“I’ve eaten,” Pokey said bluntly.

“Annajane?” Celia held out a petite yeast roll stuffed with blood-red prime beef and a leaf of arugula.

“Oh, nothing for me,” Annajane said, as her stomach grumbled the message that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast. She looked at Mason, who’d removed his tux jacket and rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. “Any news about the patient?” she asked.

“The nurse just came out and said Sophie’s doing fine,” Celia volunteered. “So I was hoping maybe I could lure this crazy man of mine into finally relaxing and eating something.” She reached over and gave Mason’s knee an affectionate squeeze.

“And I was just trying to tell her that this hospital gives me the creeps, and I really don’t want to eat anything here,” Mason said, looking up at Annajane with an expression she couldn’t quite fathom.

“Well,” Annajane said brightly, looking from Mason to Celia to Pokey. “It’s been a long day. And if the nurse says Sophie’s all right, that’s a huge relief. Maybe I’ll go on home and check back here in the morning. I’ll get here early, hopefully before she wakes up.”

“I think that’s a very sensible idea,” Celia agreed, nodding her head vigorously. “There’s really nothing you can do here tonight, Annajane. The nurse said they’ll only let
family
back, once she’s in the recovery room. Mason and I will keep a vigil, won’t we, darlin’?”