Christmas Cake (17 page)

“It sounds like you were pretty resourceful as a child,” Charlotte noted.

“Oh yeah, my sister and me learned how to work the holidays.”

The two women were silent for a while as they drove along the highway.

“What about you?” Rachel asked. “What did you do for Christmas? Did you have a big family gathering and lots of presents?”

Charlotte began to think about her childhood holidays. She thought about her sister and how long it had been since she considered what it had been like growing up in her mother's house. Even though she had been the one to start the conversation, she hadn't thought that it would involve her own secrets.

“Well, if my mother was on the wagon, we could have a pretty good time,” she explained. “She'd cook and we'd have a nice dinner like normal families. We'd go to church on Christmas Eve and usually we'd get a present or two from Santa Claus.”

Rachel nodded. She was watching Charlotte closely. “And if she fell off of the wagon?” she asked.

“Then you just never knew what Christmas was going to be like.” Charlotte held the steering wheel with her right hand and then dropped her elbow against the car door and leaned into her left hand. These were the memories she hadn't considered in a long time. These were the memories she tried to forget.

“I guess everybody's recovering from one thing or another, huh?” Rachel asked.

And Charlotte glanced over at her passenger, who was looking at her as if she had made a new friend.

 

 

Chocolate Cookie Cake Sheet

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup water

2 tablespoons cocoa

½ cup oil

1 stick margarine

2 eggs, beaten

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

 

In a large bowl, sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking soda. In saucepan, combine and boil water, cocoa, oil, and margarine. Pour into dry ingredients. Add eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla. Pour into ungreased 15 x 10 x 1–inch pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes.

 

 

ICING

1 stick margarine

2 tablespoons cocoa

¹
/
₃
cup milk

1 box powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup pecans (optional)

 

Combine margarine, cocoa, and milk in saucepan. Heat until margarine melts, then add powdered sugar, vanilla, and nuts. Pour over hot cake.

I
s this the place?” Charlotte was getting out of her car. They had parked in front of the small RV park that was the designated spot to meet up with the women from Hope Springs. The sun was dropping and it had turned colder.

“This is it,” Rachel replied. She seemed a bit excited, and even though she still shifted carefully and slowly because of her recent injuries, Charlotte hadn't seen her move as quickly as she did as she emerged from the passenger side.

Charlotte noticed how much more energetic she seemed, and she stood watching the young woman.

“What?” Rachel asked, uncomfortable with the sudden attention.

“Why don't you go in and see if your friend is still around?” Charlotte asked.

Rachel started biting her lip and turned away. She glanced toward the RV office and small general store that was only a few hundred yards away.

“Well, it can't hurt just to go in and ask about the guy,” Charlotte said. She could tell that Rachel was very curious about her old boyfriend.

“I don't know,” she said, still biting her lip. She pushed her hair behind her ears and shifted her weight from side to side. She flinched when she leaned on the right side. She was still badly bruised from the broken bones she had suffered.

“Well, it can't hurt to go in and ask,” Charlotte repeated. “That's what you're doing here, right?”

The young woman didn't answer.

“Oh for heaven's sake,” Charlotte said. “Do you want me to go in there and ask?”

“No,” Rachel answered quickly. “I can do it myself.”

Charlotte waited. “Well,” she said.

“I'm going,” Rachel responded. And she headed toward the office.

Charlotte watched the young woman as she slowly moved away from the car and to the office door. She turned back to look at Charlotte, who waved her inside. Rachel wasn't looking when someone inside pulled open the door. Charlotte watched as Rachel almost fell. She started to move to the office to help but then she saw the young woman quickly recover and stand back up. Charlotte stayed at the car.

The sky was growing darker and the clouds were thickening. The temperature had kept dropping all afternoon ever since they left Amarillo. She knew that the storm that had caused Jessie and the others to leave a day early was now predicted to come across Texas sometime that night. She worried that it would include ice and that it could keep them from being able to visit the locations
that Margaret was eager to visit or that it might prevent them from returning to their homes.

She decided, however, not to worry about it. She knew there was nothing she could do about the weather anyway. She had passed several hotels in Childress, which was just fifteen miles up the road, so she figured they'd be fine even if they had to spend their Christmas in a highway motel. She knew that she would be with women she loved, and as long as Louise and Beatrice were along, she would find something to laugh about.

As she stood looking at the sky, she glanced up the highway and noticed a van coming very fast in her direction. It sped right past her, and when Charlotte saw the sign on the side, “Family Funeral Home, Hope Springs, North Carolina,” she blinked and rubbed her eyes. By the time she had taken in the information she had just encountered, the van had sped up to the next driveway, squealed the wheels, turned around, and was heading back in her direction.

When the van pulled into the RV park parking lot, Charlotte was shaking her head in disbelief. She knew that the women were traveling in a van but she had no idea that they were driving a vehicle from the funeral home. Since she knew about Dick's employment, she realized Beatrice was behind the selection. She looked more closely through the windshield as they pulled in beside her and saw that it was Bea driving.

“Nice wheels,” was all she could think of to say once the vehicle had parked and the women began piling out of the van.

“You know, actually it rides real smooth when me and Jessie are driving,” Louise responded. She was used to the idea of the funeral van by the time they had gotten to Texas but she still thought Beatrice
was a bad driver. “How are you, Preacher?” she asked with a big smile spreading across her face.

Charlotte smiled and gave Louise a big hug. “I'm great,” she replied.

Beatrice and Jessie then got out of the van and delivered their greetings as well. It was a sweet reunion for them all.

“You look skinny,” Beatrice said, sizing up the young woman. Beatrice was wearing a Santa hat. She had bought it back in Arkansas and had been wearing it for most of the trip. “You need something to eat,” she added.

Charlotte laughed. “I'm sure you'll figure out a way to fix me up before you leave,” she said.

“Turn around and let me get a good look at you.” Jessie had her hands up in the air. Charlotte ran over and gave her friend a huge embrace. She whispered in her ear, “I'm so glad you're here.”

“Help me! Jessie, somebody, get me out!”

All the women turned to look at the rear of the van. The side door was slid open but no one could see Margaret. Jessie walked to the rear of the van and opened the back doors. Margaret was lying on the backseat. There was a bungee cord wrapped around the end of the seat.

“Why is she strapped in?” Charlotte asked.

“She kept sliding off,” Beatrice replied. “So we put the cord over her legs.” She walked over to where Jessie was standing, holding open the door. “It's nice, isn't it?” She was quite proud of the vehicle and all its roominess. “You can take out the seats too. Plus look at all of this space for our bags.” She opened the door wider to show Charlotte.

“Yes, Bea, it's real nice, but I think Margaret wants to get up.”

“Oh, right.” Beatrice turned around and unhooked the bungee cord. “Do you want me to move all of the pillows?” she asked.

There were lots of pillows and blankets on the floor in front of the rear seat. Apparently, Charlotte thought, these were put in place in case Margaret did fall forward.

Margaret was huffing. “No, I can get out with them still there.” And she rolled over, pushing herself out of the seat. She crawled out the side door. “Whew, I can see why only dead people ride back there,” she said.

Beatrice was about to contradict her but then Margaret glanced over and saw Charlotte. “My Lord,” was all she said.

Charlotte smiled and ran over to hug her friend. The two stood in an embrace for a long time. Charlotte was trying not to cry, but she was so full of emotion that she couldn't help herself. She could feel how thin Margaret had gotten. She could sense her weakness.

“Okay, there, that's enough,” Margaret said as she pulled herself away from the young woman. “I'm glad to see you too,” she added.

Charlotte quickly wiped her eyes and stood away from Margaret.

“So, what is this place?” Louise asked, glancing around.

There were only a couple of motor homes parked in the RV spaces. The general store was the main part of an old mill and included a small sunroom on one side of the building that seemed to house a Jacuzzi as well as the restrooms. The women could see a pool just behind the office.

“It was the only landmark Rachel could remember in the town,” Charlotte replied. She wondered if the young woman had found her old boyfriend since she was taking such a long time inside.

“That the young girl you brought with you?” Beatrice asked.

Charlotte nodded. “She's from Childress, so I asked her if she wanted to ride along.” She looked over at Margaret again. She was so glad to see her friend. “It was nice to have some company for the trip.”

Margaret smiled and nodded.

“What's the weather report?” Jessie wanted to know.

“The storm is supposed to be on its way. It will probably bring some ice and snow with it, but hopefully it isn't supposed to last too long and it's supposed to move north instead of east or west; so that's good for our travels back home.”

Jessie nodded.

“You see any places to stay up the road?” Louise asked. She had made all the hotel reservations up until this part of the trip. She was counting on Charlotte to find them rooms now that they were in Texas.

“There are a few hotels in Childress. We shouldn't have any problem finding a place.”

It was then that Rachel came out of the office. She was moving slowly and the women watched as she approached.

“She's a little bitty thing, isn't she?” Beatrice asked. “I know that child needs some good cooking.”

“Rachel, these are my friends from North Carolina,” Charlotte began the introductions. “This is Jessie, Beatrice, Louise, and this is Margaret,” she said as she pointed to each woman.

Rachel smiled and said hello to each of them.

“And this is Rachel,” Charlotte said.

“It's very nice to meet you.” Margaret spoke first. “And I hear that you're from around here too?” she asked.

“Yes ma'am,” she replied. “Up the road about ten miles. You come from here?” she asked Margaret.

“No, my mother did,” she responded.

Rachel nodded. She remembered how Charlotte had explained the reason for the women traveling to Texas from North Carolina.

“What was her name?” Rachel asked.

“Elizabeth,” Margaret replied. “Elizabeth Hearnes.”

Rachel shook her head. “I didn't hear of her,” she said.

Margaret smiled. “What about your people, what are their names?”

“Lewiston,” she replied. “I come from the Lewiston family.”

Margaret nodded.

“You find out where your boyfriend is?” Charlotte asked.

“He ain't a boyfriend,” Rachel replied. She grinned. “It's his daddy still running the place though.” She looked over to the office. “Ricky is in Iraq,” she added. “Joined the army a couple of years back.”

Charlotte nodded. She wondered if the young woman was upset that her friend wasn't in Goodlett. She studied Rachel but didn't seem to notice any disappointment.

“They got a few of them little camping cabins behind the office. Mr. Workman said that we could stay in them if we didn't want to drive to Childress.” She looked around at the women. “I told him about ya'll coming from North Carolina to see your people,” she explained.

“That was very nice of you,” Jessie said. She tried to peer around the office but the cabins couldn't be seen from where they stood in the parking lot.

“That was lovely, Rachel,” Beatrice noted.

“He said that the storm was rolling in this evening and that he
didn't think we should be driving back and forth even if it is only a few miles.” Rachel was studying the women. She wasn't sure if they wanted to skip a hotel room for a camping cabin.

“Well, let's go take a look at the accommodations,” Margaret suggested. “I don't mind staying here in a cabin. In fact, I think that might be nice.”

Louise glanced around. She used to stay in quite a few campgrounds when she had been younger. She thought this one looked nice enough, even though she wasn't ready to commit until she had a better look at the facilities.

The women headed over to the office. The small building was decorated with red and green streamers. A Christmas tree was placed in the corner, next to a fireplace. A fire was burning, and the room smelled of wood. There were a couple of stockings hanging on the mantel and there was Christmas music playing.

“Merry Christmas,” the man behind the counter said as the women walked in.

“Merry Christmas to you.” Jessie spoke for the group.

The man was in his fifties, broad-chested, and was wearing a sweatshirt that read, “Santa's Back,” and had a picture of the back of Santa Claus underneath the words. He winked at Rachel. “Welcome to Goodlett,” he added.

“Thank you,” Charlotte responded. “We hear you have some cabins that we could rent for a night.”

“We got 'em,” the man answered. “Brand-new ones, just built. They got heat and two single beds in each of them. There's a small sink and a chest of drawers for your things.”

He glanced around at all the women. “I guess you'd need to rent
all three of them, which is fine because they're available.” He reached behind the counter and pulled out keys. “I'll give you the code to the restrooms but you don't need to worry. The only two units here for the week have their own toilets. So you'd have the facilities to yourselves.”

Charlotte smiled.

“Hot tub works. Just cleaned it out. Bathing suits are optional.” He grinned.

“I've been staying with these women for a couple of nights. You don't want to go there, trust me,” Louise responded.

The man winked again. “And I'll have doughnuts and coffee in the morning,” he added. “Will you be staying through Christmas?” he asked.

The women shrugged.

“Not sure,” Jessie answered.

“There any good place to eat in Goodlett?” Beatrice asked. It was getting time for supper and her stomach was starting to growl.

“You can get dinner over at Mac's Diner just up the road before you get to the Methodist church. He makes a good fish dinner or you can try his chicken fried steak. And since it's Christmas this week, he's got chocolate cake.” The man waited. “Ya'll like cake?” he asked.

The women all moaned at the same time. Clearly they had all had enough cake to last them an entire season.

“Well, dinner, cake, and a cabin sound perfect.” Jessie was the one to speak for the group again.

“Best place to stay in Goodlett,” the man responded. He grinned another wide grin at the women. “Which one of you got people here?” he asked.

The women all looked over at Margaret.

“That would be me,” she replied, stepping forward.

The man studied her. He could see that she wasn't well. “You a Richardson?” he asked.