The Space Between (3 page)

“And go where exactly?” Georgia finished her latest beer and tossed the cup in the corner of the truck bed. She’d lost count hours ago. The party numbers were dwindling, but she found herself not wanting to go home. It may have had something to do with her charming companion, who proved to be a very handsome diversion.

“Just a few miles from here there’s the perfect spot to see the sunrise.”
 

She tilted her head back, noticing the night sky wasn’t as black as it was the last time she took notice. She’d stayed out this late, might as well go the distance.

“Luring a girl away from the party with promises of sunrise, huh? Well, lucky for you I’m a sucker for sunrises, sunsets too, as a matter of fact.”
 

She let him take her hand, and hopped off the back end of his truck. She lost her balance, but righted herself against his chest. Her nose brushed his shirt. He gripped the fabric at her waist, his nose against her temple. Her eyes closed for a second…he smelled really good. She decided she’d go with him because she trusted him for some reason. He was a good guy, she could tell. Watching the sunrise with him, what could it hurt?

She huffed and grabbed a piece of grass, placing it under a ladybug’s legs. The red shell made it’s way up the blade and onto Georgia’s finger. Her mouth lifted.Weren’t ladybugs supposed to be good luck?

“Where were you a month ago, huh?”

It flew across the yard, taking with it Georgia’s smile. She heard the screen door open and then her mother’s voice. “Dinner’s ready. Come wash up.”

“Coming.” There’d be no eating for her tonight. And wash up? Nothing would wash away the filth she felt. She supposed there was nothing to be done but to go inside. The longer she waited, the harder this would be to get off her chest. And she had to, it was killing her.

Georgia walked into her house, thinking for the millionth time that she wished her dad would replace the tile. It was a mustard yellow, which may have been en vogue in the seventies, but had long since become an eyesore. That jutting against the brown shag carpet was an added bonus. Grumbling about her parents’ lack of interior design skills did little to distract her for what came next.
 

Her mom and dad were sitting at the table holding hands, preparing to say a prayer. Her mom gave her a look, letting her know that she better sit her butt down in the next thirty seconds or there’d be hell to pay. Oh, if her mom only knew.

Georgia sat down, but didn’t take their hands. Her parents unbowed their heads and looked at their daughter, who now had tears on her cheeks.

“Gelly, what is it?” her dad asked.

She’d gone over the delivery time and time again, each time taking a different approach, but for the life of her she couldn’t remember a one.

“Daddy…Momma…I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just say it.” They waited. She wiped her face.
 

“You’re going to be grandparents.”

She let out a breath, bracing herself. People talk about the wrath of God, it was nothing compared to her momma.

~Chapter Three~

Georgia faced the window. The grass stood yellow and dry below a cloudless sky. It was a hot day, without a stitch of wind, confirmed by the flags lying limp on the pole outside. Lucy pulled the zipper up the back of Georgia’s dress. It was simple and unadorned, falling to her mid-calf. Satin slippered feet, for comfort, and so she didn’t tower over Nate. She fingered the small strip of cream colored lace just below her breasts, then smoothed the material over her still flat stomach. Her mom placed a dainty sprig of delicate white flowers into the bun at the nape of her neck.
 

“Can you at least pretend this isn’t the worst day of your life? Damn, Georgia…sorry, Mrs. Abernathy…but for Pete’s sake, fake a smile or something.”

Georgia shook herself and threw her shoulders back. “Sorry, Luce, I was just lost in my thoughts. I
am
happy, or at least I’m getting there.”

“I’m gonna see how much time we have ’til the ceremony. You look beautiful, Georgia Beth.” Georgia’s mom kissed her on the cheek, leaving them alone in the small, shabby room behind the sanctuary. Her mom’s attitude had warmed to the idea of a baby once Georgia told her there’d be a wedding. Her parents had also married young, but didn’t have Georgia until much later. They’d had difficulties conceiving, a proclivity she obviously hadn’t inherited.
 

It was a far cry from the humiliating conversation at her parent’s dinner table a few months back.

“Didn’t I tell you, you mess with boys, you’d get pregnant. Didn’t I?”

“Yes, Momma.”

“Guess you’re not half as smart as you thought you were after all.”

“No, Momma.”

“Well, Miss High and Mighty, looks like you’re just white trash like the rest of us.”
 

The words stung worse than the cigarette smoke that pulsed and swayed above her mother’s dark bouffant.

“Yes, Momma.”

“Go easy on the girl, Bette. Can’t ya see she feels low enough without you makin’ her feel worse?” Georgia gave her dad an anemic grin, grateful for any help, no matter how small. But there was no standing up to Bette Abernathy. Her daddy knew it as well as she did.
 

So, she sat stoic and resigned.
 

“No, Vernon. I’ll do no such thing. I haven’t even begun to give this girl a what for…laying with a man before marriage. It’s a sin. You’d think she never listened to a sermon.”
 

On and on it went. The extreme disappointment was expected and deserved…And she could deal with it, because there was no way their disappointment was greater than her own.

“Shit. I thought she’d never leave. Sorry, but your mom makes me nervous as hell.”

“She has that affect on people,” Georgia said over her shoulder, managing a wry smile. She smoothed the sides of her hair, then pressed in the backs of her nana’s pearl earrings.
 

“G, please, cheer up. It’s not the end of the world. Try to look at it as less shot gun, and more…serendipitous.” Georgia raised her eyebrow at her friend. “What? You’re not the only one with a few brain cells, ya know.”

“I’m well aware of your brain cells, my friend. I’m just not used to you displaying them with such…alacrity.”

“Okay, ya got me, I don’t know that one. You’re still brain supreme, but I’m hotter.”
 

“Agreed.” Georgia couldn’t beat Lucy’s olive skin that never paled.

“All I’m saying is, you could do way worse than Nate Bristol…Half the girls in town are pissed that you took the most eligible bachelor out of the marriage pool.”
 

Georgia nodded in agreement, not mentioning the fact that most of this pool was made up of high school dropouts, druggies, and a not all there boy they called Binky.
 
He lived on the edge of town with his grandmother. He liked to wear capes.

She knew she was being dramatic, and that Nate was indeed a catch. If the past month had proved anything it was that Nate was a great guy. He’d taken the news of her pregnancy with grace, dropping to one knee with confidence after several minutes of contemplation, leaving Georgia to chew the side of her mouth in a quiet state of panic. She wasn’t sure what she expected of him, but it wasn’t a marriage proposal. She’d refused at first, saying it wasn’t necessary. She’d already messed up her future, she didn’t want to do the same to him. He let her ramble and just smiled, never leaving the ground. When she lost steam, he said, “I hope my words are enough until I can get a ring.”
 

And with that, she nodded.
 

She was surprised to discover that he not only was handsome, but that he was also not unfortunate in the brains department. In fact, he’d surprised her on many levels. She smiled to herself remembering
 
two nights before.

“Come on, Georgie, I need to show you something.”
 

He pulled her hand toward the large storage shed at the edge of his parents’ land. They had two acres of pasture land with nothing to speak of but grass, a small pond, and a few mesquite trees.

They’d just had dinner with his parents, both of which were excited about the upcoming nuptials and eventual birth of their first grandchild. Rachel and Ned Bristol were both warm and loving, salt of the earth kind of folks. They welcomed Georgia with open arms. That had helped immeasurably, and convinced her that maybe it wouldn’t be as bad as she first thought.

“Nate, not so fast. I’m in sandals!” She laughed as he practically dragged her.
 

He finally stopped in front of the silver door made of sheet metal with a rusted iron frame. It had a three foot tall B surrounded by the same rusty colored iron.

He paused with his hand on the handle. “What I’m about to show you is not something I let people see, but seeing as how you’re about to be my wife, you’ll have to be privy to all my dark little secrets.” He grinned and planted a smacking kiss on her cheek. He’d been doing that a lot, kissing her. But that was it. They’d both agreed against heavy physical activity until they got married. The hypocrisy of their unborn child growing in her tummy during that conversation was not lost on either of them.
 

She nodded and crossed her heart. He seemed satisfied and raised the lock. The metal reverberated and scraped when he pulled the large sliding door. It was dark inside—the now open door didn’t offer much light since it was dusk. The buzz and pop of the lights being turned on revealed a cavernous interior, much larger than she’d expected. The ceiling was vaulted with large wooden beams. Her eyes took in the rest of the space and a sound of surprise slipped from her now gaping mouth. Dozens of canvases filled the room—on the floor, on easels, hanging from metal cables suspended from the ceiling.

“Nate, are these yours?”

“Did I paint them? Yeah.”

“Oh my god, they’re fantastic. I had no idea you were—”

“More than just a dumb hick working in his dad’s garage?” He meant it to sound teasing, but she could hear the underlying accusation.

“Yes, I mean, no.” She puffed out a frustrated breath. “I don’t think you’re a dumb hick, but I am surprised you’re so artistic.” There were paintings and sketches in every size—landscapes, cities, native American women weaving baskets. The subjects were varied, but she noticed most looked to be inspired by the country terrain surrounding their town.

“Well, while you were waxing poetic in your AP English class, I was in the art wing of the school. I did all the sets for the school plays.” He said it like she should have known. It proved how narrow her focus was in school. Study, Brady, Lucy, Study, Brady, Study.

“Sorry, I guess I didn’t pay much attention. It’s funny how you can go through life with tunnel vision. I’m starting to see the error of my ways…Anyway, these are amazing. Why aren’t you going to art school or something like that? You’ve got real talent.”

“What? Pay thousands of dollars so someone can tell me what to paint and what dead guy to copy? No, thanks. Here I can paint what I want, for free.”
 

“But you could really make something of yourself, be something more.” The minute she said it she regretted the words.

“See, that’s the difference between you and me. I believe I’m somebody no matter what I do. And I choose to stay in my hometown, where the people are honest and friendly, and the streets are safe. Where I can get my momma’s chicken fried steak whenever I want.”
 

He grabbed her hand. “I like workin’ for my dad, and someday the shop will be mine. It’s enough for me, Georgia. And now that I have you and a baby on the way…I don’t know, it just feels like I’ve got everything I’ll ever need.”
 

She smiled and turned towards a large painting of
 
what looked to be the back of his property, two tawny colored horses in the distance. He came behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist, hands on her stomach.
 

“I guess you have to decide if it’s enough for you.”

Georgia shook herself out of the memory and turned to smile at Lucy.

“I know I’ve said this a million times, but you don’t have to do this, ya know,” Lucy said, as she tightened the ribbon on the small bouquet she was to carry. Her own thick, dark hair was in a French twist. Her bangs swept to the side, covering one of her big brown eyes.

“I know that, but it’s the right thing to do.” She said it with conviction and ran the tube of pale gloss across her puckered lips. She put one last coat of mascara on her long lashes, hoping it made her almond shaped eyes seem bigger. She brushed her finger on her eyelid approving, of the eye shadow she’d picked. It brought out the green in her hazel eyes.
 

She’d gone over it a thousand times. Being an unwed, single mom in a small town wasn’t an option for her. She didn’t want that stigma placed on her child. It shouldn’t matter in this day and age, but it did, at least around these parts. If she could give her baby two parents under the same roof she was going to do it.
 

“I guess Nate wouldn’t have asked you to marry him if he didn’t think it was the right thing to do, too. He seems to really care about you.”
 

“I know. I’m sure this isn’t how he planned things out, either. And I care about him too, Luce, I really do. The more I know him, the more I like him. I know it’ll be okay. Brady…and college, well, that’s just not my reality anymore.”

“You can still go to school. Maybe it won’t be the way you envisioned, but that’s okay. You can stray from your master plan, ya know.”
 

Georgia pulled her friend into a tight hug. “I know. I know. You’ve said that a million times, too.”

“You
do
look beautiful…And I know you’re disappointed about not going away to school, but I sure am glad you’ll be around. I didn’t know what I was gonna do without my partner in crime.” Their eyes were misty as they hugged again.