The Sassy Belles (23 page)

Harry broke in. “Blake, you know I have always supported
you.”

“Yes, as long as it didn’t mean I would be in front, doing
something amazing, like saving the Brooks Mansion. What in the world would you
do if I ever decided to run for office? Would you campaign for me, be the
political husband?”

“Oh, Blake, like you could ever hold an office. Come on, we all
have the things we are good at.”

“So, we can’t both be good at the same thing?”

Silence. Harry had been pushed into a corner.

“Thanks for making my point. We’re not really partners, then,
in your mind. That’s why you think you can do things like this. You truly
believe I come second, behind the almighty Harry. You are the biggest ass I have
ever known.” I swallowed hard and choked back the lump in my throat. I didn’t
recognize the man in front of me. Or maybe I had just removed my rose-colored
glasses.

“Just so I understand the
Harry Rules of
Marriage,
I can do or be whatever I want as long as I stay in my box
and never be good at anything
you
are also good
at—especially if I might be better than you at it? Is that right? Do I have it
straight?”

In that second, he looked at me, knowing I had uncovered the
deadly fissure in our marriage, the kernel that had led to the destruction of
us. I was married to an egomaniac. And my place would always be behind him,
nodding like a bobblehead. How could I ever reach my own potential as a woman,
as a lawyer, when my husband would only be able to cheer for me until I caught
up to him? Then, in order to make sure he stayed ahead, he would do whatever it
took to hold me back, including selling out on my dream for the beloved Brooks
Mansion. I knew I could never be his bobblehead wife. No way. Not me.

Although I was exhausted from fighting with a husband who had
betrayed me so deeply, I actually felt stronger. I had realized a truth and it
felt like a cleansing. Harry would never be my partner, not in anything. His ego
wouldn’t let him. It was time to acknowledge and accept that fact.

“I want you out tonight,” I told him calmly. “I’ll stay at
Mother’s while you get out of here. And Harry, I hope you’re happy. You’ve
traded in our happily-ever-after for your own selfish political dreams, for your
own ego. You’re just out to see what favors you can cash in, from Dallas to
Judge Shamblin, regardless of who you hurt in the process. You really are a
piece of work. You disappoint me.” With that, I headed back to my car and called
Vivi and Sonny to meet me at Mother’s.

* * *

Everyone was sitting at the yellow table when I walked
in through the back door. Even Kitty was there. I got everyone up to speed and
Meridee served us coffee and made us spaghetti.

“We still have two weeks,” Sonny said.

“Yeah,” Vivi jumped in. “The deal isn’t final with the Myrnas
yet, so maybe we can come up with something to stop them in time. We’ll need
money. A lot of money—then we could buy it ourselves.”

“That’s a brilliant idea,” Kitty said. “The only problem with
that is it’s been zoned commercial now and so in order to finalize a purchase,
even to make a bid, we’d need to be a commercial entity.” Kitty did know her
stuff.

“Well, we’ve got to think of something. I can’t imagine the
place being torn down,” I said.

“Blake, I’m sure nobody else can, either,” Vivi agreed. “We’ll
put our heads together and come up with something. Tonight I think we all need
some rest. It’s been a crazy week. Don’t worry. You never go down without a
fight and you’ve got the cavalry behind you here.”

Meridee looked up from her supper and said, “Look, I am not the
least bit worried about this. When you get to be my age, you know everything’s
gonna be just fine. Things have a way of taking care of themselves. It always
works out like it’s s’pose to.”

“Hey, that reminds me,” Kitty said, “your big day is this
weekend. Are you ready?”

“Ready as I can be,” Meridee said with a smile. “It’s gonna be
a big party, so y’all hold on to your hats.”

Meridee’s birthday was the upcoming weekend, just a couple of
days away and she had already booked the place and done the preliminary
planning. She didn’t want any of us in charge. She made it clear it was her damn
party, as she liked to say, and she would be running the show. It was time to
think about something happy.

I had known my marriage was over weeks ago. It was true. The
minute Sonny kissed me that night right here in this kitchen, I had no idea how
I would ever manage to stay married to Harry. But between my feelings for Sonny,
his escapades with Dallas and now the zoning vote, we had nothing left. It
seemed crazy, but I felt lighter. As though a burden had been lifted and now I
could move on to the next chapter in my life. I had dreaded the big separation
talk with Harry, but now it was over. It was
all
over. All in one swoop.

There was an easiness about this night at Meridee’s supper
table with Sonny there and Vivi and Kitty. It felt good between all of us. I
relaxed into it and let the night wash over me. Meridee was right. Things do
have a way of working out.

We finished supper and Kitty said good-night first and then
Vivi went up the hall to her room at Meridee’s. She and I planned to stay with
Meridee until the party that weekend was over. Sonny and I cleaned up the dishes
after we told Meridee good-night.

“Blake,” he said, handing me a dish from the table, “I know
you. And you’ll figure something out. I have never seen you take no for an
answer.”

“This one is beyond me, Sonny. I have no idea what to do. I
guess I could launch a fundraiser and try to outbid the Myrnas, but I don’t
think I have enough time.”

“No matter what, I’m right here. Just use me as you see fit.”
He smiled—hoping I would.

“Go home, big boy. I’m so tired tonight, I would fall asleep
before we even got started.”

“Sounds good,” he said, “you sleepin’ on me.” He leaned down
and kissed me good-night, long and soft and tender. He felt good all the way
down to my soul.
This is what the real thing feels like,
I thought.

My sleep that night was restless as I tried to come up with
ways to stop the Myrnas. When I finally did fall into a deep slumber, the ghosts
of the Brooks Mansion invaded my dreams.

23

I
spent the next couple of days at
Mother’s. All of the women kinda moved in till the big party was over. It just
seemed right for us to stick close together while we waited out this storm of
events. Apart from everything else, I wanted to make sure Harry got himself well
and truly out of our house before returning.

Meridee cooked for us. She loved to make a big breakfast with
biscuits and gravy and grits. I could hear her deep, rolling laughter all over
the house. The scent of her perfume, the smell of coffee and bacon, it all made
me feel so warm. We were safe here, no matter what was going on in our world. It
kept me from having to deal with my own reality. I never wanted to leave the
safety of those walls.

The plans were under way now for Meridee’s big birthday party,
and the phone rang off the hook all day long. She was loving it. The party would
be her celebration, with her signature all over it. Meridee might have been
turning eighty, but in her mind she was about to be twenty-one and Prohibition
had just been lifted.

She wanted to have her party at the local karaoke bar, though
Kitty had argued for the much tamer and more dignified Cypress Inn.

“A sunset ride down the river on the
Bama
Belle,
followed by dinner on the banks of the Cypress Inn. That would
be lovely,” Kitty kept saying.

Meridee would answer in her truest voice, putting Kitty in her
place. “Lovely for who? Queen Elizabeth? Or maybe you, for that matter? It’s my
damn party and I wanna dance and sing and throw back a few. No. The Catfish
Bayou is my kinda place. I’m catering us a feast! Fried green tomatoes, fried
okra, corn bread, turnip greens, boiled cabbage, black-eyed peas and lots of
fried catfish! And I expect to dance all night! Now that’s my kinda party!”

“Okay, Mother,” Kitty would say, always pulling at her
too-tight suit of the day. “Have it your way.”

“Why, thank you so much. I believe I will,” Meridee would
answer. And she’d Charleston off.

The morning of the party, I awoke to what sounded like a
circus. The phone ringing, Meridee and Kitty laughing, bacon frying and Meridee
singing and dancing her way over to answer the phone. “Fletcher’s Madhouse. May
I help you?” I heard Meridee say into the phone from the other room. Vivi and I
hadn’t even left our beds yet, but Meridee seemed wide awake. “Great, Clara!
Yes, you are RSVP’d, my dear. See you tonight!” She hung up. “Okay. That’s
102!”

Vivi opened her eyes and looked over at me.

“I hope I can be like her when I’m eighty. I sure as hell don’t
have that kinda energy now.” She laughed.

I rolled out of bed. We walked down to the kitchen and Meridee
was sitting at the table holding the newspaper. Lewis wasn’t back yet, but
Meridee seemed relaxed about it. Excited even. Maybe because her big day was
finally here. Maybe because she knew things we didn’t—which seemed to be par for
the course these days. She turned the paper around, laid it down and pushed it
across the table under my nose in front of me just as I sat down. There it was,
the headline: BROOKS MANSION SAVED! WEALTHY ANNONYMOUS BUYER SAYS THEY WILL
RESTORE IT AND NOT TEAR IT DOWN.

“Oh, my God!” I felt the weight of the world lift from my
shoulders. I felt like I was floating.

“I thought that might make your day,” she said. “See, it all
works itself out in the end.” Meridee was smiling as she reached over and patted
my hand. “Quite a birthday present, don’t cha think?”

“Vivi!” I yelled down the hall. “Come here quick! The Brooks
Mansion is saved!” Vivi was in the bathroom and stepped out with a toothbrush in
her hand just as I called her name.

“What a miracle!” She was as excited as I was.

My cell was ringing in the bedroom. I ran down the hall and
grabbed it. It was Sonny.

“Mornin’, beautiful. See the paper? What about that?”

“Oh, Sonny! I am thrilled. Any word on who it is and what
they’re gonna do with it?”

“I guess it must be a business since the property is
commercial, but no one’s breathin’ a peep about it. Guess it’ll be a
surprise.”

“Oh, my Lord, it’s the best surprise I’ve had in a while. The
weight is off me and—oh, I’ve gotta call Ms. Crabtree! She’s gotta be crazy with
excitement.”

“Talk to you in a few, baby.” And he hung up.

I immediately called Ms. Crabtree. She said she was at the
Preservation Society with the morning paper in hand. She said they were just
thrilled that whoever it was wasn’t planning to tear it down but to restore
it.

“It’s right here in the paper, Blake. It says
restore.
Oh, thank God for whoever it is. They are
tuned in to Tuscaloosa and doin’ the right thing. I am gonna personally hug
whoever it is, that’s for sure!”

“I’m so happy, Ms. Crabtree,” I said. “Now I’ve gotta go help
my grandmother turn eighty today and I couldn’t be in a better mood to
celebrate.”

“Blake,” she said, “thanks again for all your hard work. We are
proud you are one of our members.”

“Thanks, Ms. Crabtree, talk to you soon.” I hung up and was
literally skipping back to the kitchen where Vivi and Meridee were eating
breakfast.

“I wonder who it is,” I said as I sat down at the table.

“Whoever it is, it is an angel in disguise,” Vivi said.

We finished up and cleared the table and made our plans for the
day. We decided to start with shopping for gifts.

“C’mon, let’s get going. Meridee’s gonna need us. We’ll be her
assistants.”

“Yes, the Assistants to the Queen!” Vivi said with a laugh.

“You need anything?” Vivi asked Meridee as we were stepping out
the door. “We’ll be right near the Piggly Wiggly.”

“No, but if y’all are near Winn Dixie, I can use some more
silver streamers. It’s where I got all my decorations for the party,” Meridee
answered.

“Will do,” Vivi said.

While we were out we bought Vivi a fantastic new maternity
outfit, a really sexy, clingy little navy pantsuit and new flat shoes. Her feet
were already swelling.

We arrived back at the house in the early afternoon to find
Kitty and Meridee visiting with the boys—Jack, Jim and Mr. Bailey for the
dessert chaser.

“You girls don’t get too sauced before the cake cuttin’,” Vivi
said playfully to them as we walked in the back door.

They sat at the kitchen table laughing and drinking their
whisky. I had to stop a minute and just take this in. I wanted to remember them
just like this: the clank of the glasses, the sound of their laughter and the
smell of their perfume and alcohol floating throughout the house.

* * *

We got to the Catfish Bayou around five. The catering
trucks were already there. Meridee had rented the karaoke bar out and it was
being fully decked out in a “Hollywood Nights” theme from the disco years.

“She is so crazy!” Vivi said as we arrived. “This is gonna be
awesome. This baby better be ready to dance the night away.”

Kitty and Meridee got out of Kitty’s white Lexus and walked
across the parking lot to the entrance. A red carpet had been rolled out and red
velvet ropes lined each side. A banner swung over the door. It read, WELCOME
MISS MEREDITH, OUR STAR, ON YOUR 21ST BIRTHDAY. Meridee was so excited.

“Mother, I am assuming that you were in charge of signage?”
Kitty said, full of sarcasm and a little laughter.

“Why, yes, is something wrong with it? I’ll be over at the bar
directing traffic if y’all need me. I’ll be making a grand entrance, so somebody
come get me when it’s time.”

Meridee walked over to the outdoor bar set up in the parking
lot for the pre-party reception.

Vivi walked over to the table full of appetizers and I
followed. There was really nothing left for us to do but greet everyone. Meridee
had ordered all the food and decorations. The place was buzzing with workers and
excitement inside and out.

The party would start at seven, with drinks, and hors d’oeuvres
were beginning in just a few minutes. I pulled a chair over for Vivi and she sat
down. I stood next to her, greeting and hugging everyone as they began to
arrive.

Meridee’s guest list was long and filled with memories held
warmly in her heart. Seeing everyone reminded me of who I was and where I had
come from.

Until guest #74 walked in.

“Hi, Harry,” I said politely, “glad you could come.” It wasn’t
public knowledge that we were breaking up so Dan thought it would be best if he
at least made an appearance. Dan, the man, was right next to him— If he was
going to get Harry to the Senate, he needed to protect his assets, so to speak.
Babysit
is the word that popped into my head,
but I kept it to myself. Harry really had no idea how terrible he had been. He
was blinded by his political ambitions and thought it was just all in a day’s
work. Politics was his new world, but I knew it wouldn’t be mine. I was content
to stay right here in Tuscaloosa taking care of my family and friends and being
part of a community that I cared so much about. I certainly couldn’t imagine a
life anywhere else but here. I suddenly realized I was the happiest I had been
in years.

I smiled at Harry and bumped Vivi on the shoulder. She glanced
up at him.

“Hey.” That’s all she could muster. Vivi was never good at
hiding her feelings and Harry had been awful to the two people she loved the
most: me and Lewis.

He tried to compliment her. “You look nice,” he said. But his
comments hit like a rubber ball on glass. He walked on by.

“Hey, Blake, Vivi.” Dan leaned in and hugged us and we both
shot him air kisses.

“Good to see you, Dan. Harry’s keeping you busy, I hear,” Vivi
said as I shoved her on the shoulder. It was so hard for her to keep it quiet.
Especially when she really wanted to let it all out.

“I do love my job.” Dan kept it going with a smile.

“Good thing,” I said. He was smooth, there was no denying that.
He walked on into the party, shaking hands with everyone and following closely
behind Harry.

Not too far behind, I caught a glimpse of the bottle-blonde
mouth of the South.

“Heads up,” Vivi warned. “The entertainment has arrived.”

Oh, God. How to greet her?
“Thanks
for coming.”
No, that’s not quite it. She may take that as
an invitation to come again. What do I say?
“Nice to see you without
your breast in my husband’s mouth.”
No, that wouldn’t be
right. Get a hold of yourself, this is Meridee’s party.
So I simply
said, “Dallas,” as I nodded. Vivi did exactly the same.

She barely stopped to acknowledge us, and she said nothing.
Finally, near the end of the line, as I was hugging an old judge friend of
Meridee, my eye caught on a welcome sight and I felt my shoulders literally drop
in relief. Like the knight riding in on the white horse—well, maybe the cowboy
sheriff on his stallion.

“Sonny,” I said when he approached, and I reached out my hand
to his. He grabbed it and I pulled him to me.

“Hey, beautiful.” He kissed my cheek. “And Miss Vivi, you look
stunning and you do have that glow.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek, too.

“Save me all the slow dances, baby, that’s why I’m here,” he
said to me and winked.

I glanced over my shoulder and saw Arthur and Bonita arriving
in style, both of them dressed up and stunning. Bonita was smiling like it was
her party instead of Meridee’s.

“Hey, darlin’. You and Vivi look maaavelous,” she said in a
playful tone. “I told you all of this would get solved before we knew it. I had
every confidence in Sonny and myself. Now, we will see you all later. Arthur
owes me a dance.”

“Ain’t she just something?” Arthur said, smiling ear to
ear.

Sonny made his way up to the front near the door to the
restaurant. People were already gathering around the open bar Meridee had
ordered. When most everyone had arrived, Vivi and I left our posts near the
door. Meridee had asked Sonny to announce her arrival. The guests, all milling
around in the parking lot, were instructed to take their places for the grand
entrance on either side of the long red carpet that stretched from the entryway
to the dance floor. Sonny grabbed the karaoke mic, and we all gathered around
the red carpet. The bar was darkened and someone turned on the spotlights and
disco ball, lighting the place up like a movie premier. One spotlight was aimed
at the center of the red carpet and my Stetson man stepped right into it.

“Ladies and gentlemen, tonight is like no other. We are here
not only as guests, but as witnesses to a fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime event.
May I present to you the woman of the hour, on the occasion of her twenty-first
birthday, Miss Meredith Fletcher!”

All of a sudden, the spotlight swung around toward the end of
the red carpet, and there in its glow was Meridee, perched upon a Persian cot
held up by four shirtless men of pure muscle who were squeezed into tight
Wranglers and cowboy boots.

Meridee had a drink with an umbrella in one hand and a fan in
the other. She waved and blew kisses at the crowd. She had even hired a
photographer.

The DJ started the song “It’s Raining Men,” and it could
probably be heard for miles. Everyone along the velvet ropes was toasting her
and laughing. And Meridee just kept waving to her adoring public and blowing
kisses.

Kitty came over and stood next to me as she cried and laughed
at the same time.

“God, I love that old woman,” she said. “My birthday’s next
month, remember? There’s still time to throw me a shindig like this.”

“I thought you wanted a classier affair at the Cypress Inn,” I
reminded her.

“I do, but I just love the idea of being the center of
attention with all these gorgeous men and their washboard abs. Delicious!” She
was smiling and picturing herself in the middle of it all.