The boy most likely to succeed polished off her sandwich and took a swig of beer. “Did you think about Parrish after you left?”
“I tried my best not to.”
“Remember how we were going to leave here? Go to the big city and make our mark?”
“You were going to make your mark. I was mainly going to shop.”
Colin would have enjoyed that, but Ryan barely seemed to hear her. Even as kids, they hadn’t shared the same sense of humor. His had always been more literal. Like Winnie’s. He peeled up the edge of the beer label with his thumb. “Did you ever think about me?”
Weariness from a long day caught up with her, and she sighed. “Go home, Ryan. Better yet, I’ll go.”
She tossed down her napkin and started to rise, but his hand shot across the table and grabbed her wrist. “Did you?” he said fiercely.
She was in no mood for this, and as she fell back in her chair, she jerked her hand away. “I thought about you all the time,” she retorted. “When Darren Tharp slapped me across the room, I thought of you. When he screwed around on me, I thought of you. And the night I staggered into a Vegas wedding chapel with Cy, both of us so drunk we could barely say our vows, I thought of you then, too. One morning— And this happened after my divorce, mind you, because, unlike my loser husbands, I didn’t screw around. One morning I woke up in a seedy motel with a man I could have sworn I’d never seen before, and, baby, you’d better believe I thought of you then.”
A mixture of emotions played across his face: shock, pity, and the faintest trace of satisfaction that came from knowing she’d been punished for what she’d done to him. His all-too-human reaction quenched her anger, and she gave him a rueful smile. “Before you get too smug, I’d better tell you that I stopped thinking about you the day I met Emmett Hooper. I loved that man from the bottom of my heart.”
Ryan’s satisfaction faded, and she knew what was coming next. She held out her hand to put a stop it. “Don’t bother jumpin’ on the pity train for me. Emmett and I had more happiness in our short marriage than most couples have in a lifetime. I was very lucky.”
He surprised her by going all starchy. “Winnie and I’ve been very happy.”
“I wasn’t making comparisons.”
“All couples hit rough patches now and then.”
She and Emmett hadn’t. He’d died too soon.
“Anything I can get you, Mr. Galantine?” The waitress’s eyes were bright with curiosity as she sidled up to the table. “Anything else, miss?”
“I’ll have another beer,” Ryan said, “and bring her some of that chocolate pie.”
“Just my check,” Sugar Beth said.
“Make it two pies,” he said.
“Sure enough.”
“I don’t want pie,” Sugar Beth told him, as the waitress left. “I want to go home. And since you’re such a saint, apparently it hasn’t occurred to you that Winnie’s going to hear all about our little tête-à-tête here, and I’m guessing she won’t take it well, so this might not be the best way to patch up your differences.”
“I have nothing to feel guilty about.”
He’d answered too carefully, and Sugar Beth studied him. “You want Winnie to hear about this.”
“Hand me those fries if you’re not going to finish them.”
“I don’t appreciate being used.”
“You owe me.”
“Not after Sunday.”
He studied the ring his bottle left on the table. “You’re talking about Gigi.”
“Still as sharp as ever.”
“I’m not apologizing for being upset.”
“Then you’re an idiot. You and Winnie managed to turn me into forbidden fruit, and you can bet that Gigi’s already figured out a way to see me again.”
Instead of an angry rejoinder, he traced the water ring with his finger. “You’re probably right.”
The waitress returned with the beer, two pieces of pie, and Sugar Beth’s check. As she left, Sugar Beth stirred the last bits of ice in her Coke with her straw. “She’s a great kid, Ryan. Right now, she’s asking the questions that most of us don’t get around to until we’re older.”
“She hasn’t asked me anything.”
She arched an eyebrow.
“We have a great relationship,” he said defensively. “We’ve always talked.”
“Before she turned into a teenager.”
“That shouldn’t make any difference.”
“You sound like you’re ninety. You remember what it was like. I’m not her parent, and I’m also notorious, which makes me an irresistible confidante.”
“What kind of questions is she asking?”
“Privileged information. You’ll have to trust me.”
He gazed at her for a long moment. She waited for him to say she was the last person he’d trust, but he didn’t. “Colin’s right. You have changed.”
She shrugged. He fiddled with his beer bottle again. “Do you ever wonder what would have happened if we’d stayed together?”
“We wouldn’t have. My self-destructive streak was a mile wide. If I hadn’t left you for Darren Tharp, I’d have left you for somebody else.”
“I guess you couldn’t help it.”
“Wait a minute. You’re not going to wave the olive branch that easily, are you?”
“Your father was an insensitive son of a bitch. If he’d given you a little affection, maybe you wouldn’t have adopted your scorched-earth policy with men.”
“Girls and their daddies.”
He flinched.
“Ryan, it’s not going to be that way with Gigi. She knows you love her. She’ll come through. Just give her some room to make a few mistakes.”
He switched directions before she could see it coming. “Don’t zero in on Colin, Sugar Beth. He bleeds like the rest of us, and he still has a lot of wounds from his wife’s suicide.”
“Worry about yourself.” She pushed her pie across the table. “And don’t use me again as a pawn in your problems with Winnie.”
“Is that what you think I’m doing?”
“Yes.”
He leaned back in his chair, looking her square in the eye. “What if I said I still thought about you?”
“I’d believe you, but I wouldn’t attach any importance to it. There’s not a single spark left between us.”
“You’re still a beautiful woman.”
“And you’re a gorgeous man. Ken and Barbie all grown up. We look real good together, but we don’t have a lot to say to each other.”
That made him smile, and she thought she felt something ease between them. Before it went away, she gathered up her purse and pushed her check across the table. “Thanks for dinner. And good luck explaining this to Winnie.”
The house felt abandoned as Ryan entered. No wife waiting for him with a glass of wine and a smile. No rock music blaring from the upstairs bedroom. He tossed his suit coat over the back of a kitchen chair, on top of the sweater he’d left there yesterday. His Sports Illustrated lay open on the table. The counter held a litter of advertising flyers mixed in with bills and brokerage statements he hadn’t taken the time to sort through. He’d always thought of himself as being well organized, but when he’d gotten dressed this morning, he couldn’t find either his good black belt or his nail clippers. He tried to imagine Winnie’s reaction when she heard he’d been with Sugar Beth. Maybe this would finally shake enough sense into her to bring her home.
The front door banged.
“Dad!”
Gigi sounded frantic. He dropped the newspaper. She’d eaten dinner tonight with Winnie at the Inn, and as he rushed into the foyer, images of disaster flashed through his head.
She stood just inside the front door, her eyes pools of misery, her chest quivering. She looked so young and forlorn. He pulled her into his arms. “Honey? What’s wrong?”
“Dad?” She shuddered against him. “Dad, Mom’s left us.”
Winnie gripped the steeri
ng wheel. She hadn’t been able to keep Gigi in the dark any longer. Maybe she and Ryan should have told her together, but that would have made it seem too serious, and she hadn’t wanted to scare her. Besides, she doubted Ryan would have agreed to talk to Gigi with her. He was too angry.
When she’d spoken with him a few hours ago on the phone, he’d been hostile and sarcastic, playing the long-suffering husband saddled with a crazy wife. And maybe he was right. What sane woman walked out on her husband because he didn’t love her enough? Still, she wasn’t sorry she hadn’t let him come up last night.
Ironically, she and Gigi had been having a good time at dinner once Winnie had gotten over the shock of her daughter’s hair. Not only had she added red streaks, but she’d also chopped chunks in it around her face, cutting too far in on one side. Still, she’d seemed happy with it, so Winnie had managed a compliment. And she hadn’t uttered a word about Gigi’s eye makeup or too-tight black outfit. After some initial awkwardness, Gigi had started to chatter away about how girls gave up their power, a topic that had first reared its ugly head after her clandestine meeting with Sugar Beth.
“…like when a girl does something goofy in class just to make some stupid boy she likes laugh. Or when the girls let teachers ignore them, even the women teachers. Mrs. Kirkpatrick calls on the boys a lot more than she calls on the girls because the boys are always jumping out of their seats, and she wants to keep them quiet. Today I raised my hand about six thousand times, but she still wouldn’t call on me. Finally, I jumped out of my seat, too, and started waving my arms until she got the point.”
“I remember getting passed over, too.”
“Because you were quiet.”
Winnie had nodded. “Not by Colin, though. He was the worst teacher in some ways, the best in others.” She’d put on her fake British accent. “Jasper, keep your bum in that bloody chair till I call on you. Winnie, speak up! I was terrified of him.”
Gigi had giggled, and for a few moments, it felt like old times. Then Gigi’s strawberry shortcake had arrived, and Winnie had known she couldn’t postpone telling her any longer.
“There’s something I wanted to mention before you hear it from someone else and get the wrong impression.” She’d made herself smile a little, as if what she was about to announce were no more unpleasant than a dental appointment. “I’ve decided I need a little time to myself. No big deal, and definitely nothing for you to worry about. But I’m going to stay at the store awhile longer.”
At first, Gigi hadn’t understood. “This is so lame! It’s not fair. You’re at the store even more now than before you hired Donna.”
Winnie’d tried again, speaking carefully. “It’s not entirely about work. There are some things I need to sort out. Dad and I got married when we were very young, but as people grow older they change a little. I want to think some things through. A few weeks maybe. A month. It’s nothing serious—I don’t want you to think that—but you’re also getting older, and it’s not fair to keep you in the dark.”
The petulance in her daughter’s expression had been replaced by dawning realization and then horror. Within seconds, Gigi made the leap to the ultimate disaster. “You and Dad are getting a divorce!”
“No! No, sweetheart, nothing like that.” Winnie hoped her own creeping doubts didn’t show. “Dad and I aren’t getting a divorce. I just need some time away, so I can figure a few things out.”
A vulnerable little girl replaced the sullen teenager, and Gigi began to cry. “You’re getting a divorce.”
Winnie knew then that she shouldn’t have chosen the Inn’s dining room to break the news, but she’d thought a public setting would make it seem less important. Once again, she’d been wrong.
“It’s me, isn’t it?” Gigi’s nose had started to run. “Because I’ve been such a bitch.”
“No, sweetie. No. This doesn’t have anything to do with you.” She didn’t add that Gigi’s behavior hadn’t helped. Instead, Winnie hustled her into the ladies’ room, where she’d hugged her, cleaned up the smeared eye makeup, and done her best to reassure both of them that this was only temporary.
She was still shaking as she climbed the stairs and let herself into the dingy apartment that had become the living quarters of the richest woman in Parrish, Mississippi. After she’d slipped into a T-shirt and her new blue-and-white-checked pajama bottoms, she settled down to do some paperwork, but she couldn’t concentrate. She picked up Southern Living and thumbed through the recipes, only to realize she had no idea who she might be cooking them for. The phone rang. She knew it would be Ryan. By now, Gigi had told him about their conversation, and he’d be furious. If she ignored his call as she wanted to, she’d only make things worse. “Hello.”
“Winnie, we’re all in the alley.” It wasn’t Ryan, but Merylinn. “Come down right now and unlock this door.”
She’d hoped a few more days would pass before the Seawillows learned that she’d moved out. “I’ll be there in a minute.” As she made her way downstairs, she considered the odds of convincing them she was only staying here so she could get an early start on inventory. Not good at all.
They looked as though they were dressed for a come-as-you-are party: Leeann in faded capris and a man’s work shirt, Merylinn in yellow J-Lo sweatpants with a matching tank and zipper jacket, Heidi in jeans. Amy must have gone to church that evening, because she wore a rose-colored suit with a white shell. They swarmed upstairs, bringing with them the scent of strong perfume and interference.
“We have sustenance.” Merylinn pulled a bottle of vodka from her tropical tote along with a silver cocktail shaker. “Thank God for Amy’s bladder infections. You always know where you can find cranberry juice.”
“I’ve been doing better with them.” Amy took the Ocean Spray from a sack and a couple cans of Coke, because she didn’t drink alcohol.
“If you’d pee right after you and Clint have sex, you wouldn’t get so many.” Heidi headed for the kitchen and began opening the cupboards, looking for glasses.
“I do pee,” Amy retorted. “It doesn’t help.”
Heidi waved a tumbler at her. “Right after? Or do you mess around some more first.”
“Depends.”
“I pee,” Merylinn said, “and I still get ’em sometimes.”
Trying to stop the Seawillows once they’d set themselves in motion was like trying to stop kudzu. Winnie sank down on the room’s saggy couch and let them do their work. Leeann pulled a box of Cocoa Puffs from a Radio Shack sack. “This was the only chocolate I had in the house. The kids got into my Hershey’s.”
The last time there’d been a Seawillows emergency involving vodka, cranberry juice, and chocolate, Leeann had ended up divorced. Winnie crossed her legs. “What’s all this about?”
“Sue Covner, among other people.” Leeann dumped the Cocoa Puffs in the bowl Heidi passed over. Sue was a notorious busybody and the wife of the owner of Covner’s Dry Cleaners across the street from Yesterday’s Treasures.
Merylinn headed for the kitchen. “Don’t anybody say another word till I get our drinks ready.”
The Seawillows were used to working together, and it didn’t take long for them to settle around the couch, glasses in hand, the French café table moved closer to hold the Cocoa Puffs, accompanied by some Skittles Heidi dredged from the bottom of her purse.
“Y’all can tease me if you want,” Amy said, “but this is serious business, and we’re startin’ off in prayer.” She grabbed Winnie’s and Leeann’s hands. “Lord Jesus, we’re here in the spirit of friendship to help Winnie and Ryan in their time of trouble. We ask you to give them forgiving hearts, so they can deal with their problems, whatever they might be. Remind them how much they love each other. And what you’ve joined together, Lord Jesus, don’t let anybody, and we mean anybody, pull apart. We pray in your name. Amen.”
“Amen,” they all replied.
Winnie took a sip of the cranberry juicelaced vodka—lots of vodka, very little
cranberry juice—and watched as Merylinn sat forward in her seat. “All right, everybody, let’s get down to business.” Her forehead crumpled. She reached over to touch Winnie’s knee. “Honey, Sue Covner called me this afternoon. She said the lights have been on over your store for the past two nights, and that she thinks you’re sleeping here.” She took in Winnie’s sleepwear. “I told her she was surely mistaken, but apparently she was right.”
“Sue Covner should mind her own business,” Winnie retorted.
“She’s too busy minding everybody else’s.” Leeann grabbed a handful of Cocoa Puffs and tucked her feet under her on the couch.
“Deke called Ryan at work today,” Merylinn continued. “He said Ryan sounded awful.”
“Good,” Winnie retorted, surprising herself almost as much as she surprised them.
Heidi cradled her glass and looked at the others. “Y’all know how intuitive I am. I said I thought they might be having problems.”
Over the years, Heidi’s intuition had proved even less reliable than the local weather forecasters, and Winnie wished she could have found another time to get it right. “We’re going through a bumpy patch,” Winnie said carefully. “It’s nothing serious, I don’t want to talk about it, and this is just a waste of good vodka.”
Merylinn gazed at the others, and Winnie felt a stir of uneasiness as she watched some kind of silent communication pass among them. Amy picked up Leeann’s glass and stole a sip. Leeann turned to Winnie. “Honey, we’re thinkin’ it might be more than a bumpy patch. That’s why we’re here.”
“What makes you think that?” Winnie said slowly.
“Sue called me twice, the second time not much more than an hour ago.” Merylinn waved a helpless hand in the air. “Oh, shit, I’m gonna cry.”