House Divided (4 page)

Once we were left alone, I sat at her side
and held her hand.

“Don’t look at me like that, Ella Lu, this
was just an episode.”

I grinned. “Yes, I’m sure, but humor me
and behave yourself; and let the doctors run their tests.”

“Just as long as they aren’t from that
forsaken school. No Alabama graduate will be touching me.”

I just nodded my head and went out and
talked to all the nurses, basically bribing them all to lie and to put a note
in her chart for all Alabama graduates to do the same. I had a feeling I would
be buying lots of pastries and rounds of coffee on a daily basis for those
taking caring of my aunt. They had no idea what they were in store for.

While Aunt Lu was out for testing, I sent
an email to my office and agent and told them I would be out for a few days, at
least, and that we may have to reschedule some bookstore signings we had set
up. I hated to do that during the holiday season, but family comes first, and
Aunt Lu was the only family I had. I tried to catch a few winks now that the
adrenaline had worn off from my early morning call. I was beginning to feel the
effects of a just a few hours of sleep. Unfortunately, hospitals are the worst
places to sleep. I’d just started to nod off when they wheeled my aunt back in.
I sat up and sleepily smiled at the cantankerous old bird.

“You look like hell, Ella Lu. Go to the
house and get some rest,” she said lovingly.

“I love you too, Aunt Lu. I’m fine, and
I’ll just get a hotel room nearby tonight.”

“That’s nonsense, child. You can just stay
at the house.”

I was surprised she wanted me to go to her
house. I hadn’t been there since I was eighteen-years-old, and I wasn’t sure if
that was a good idea.

“We’ll see,” is all I committed to.

I sat next to her again. “So, tell me what
happened.”

“Doris just overreacted is all. I had a
little pain and some shortness of breath and the next thing I know I’m being
whisked away in an ambulance against my wishes, and the fools wouldn’t even
take me to Kaysville General.”

I knew I shouldn’t be laughing, but she
was a riot. I’m sure those paramedics got an earful.

“Well, you have to be tired too. Why don’t
you try and get some rest until we get your results back. Do you want me to get
you anything?” I asked.

“Yes, I need you to send for my cosmetics
and my satin pajamas. If they think I’m wearing this ridiculous article of
clothing during my stay here, they have another thing coming.”

I smirked. “Anything else?”

She grabbed my hand. “Yes, I want you to
call my lawyer.”

“Why?”

She squeezed my hand and looked at me with
those eyes of hers. “Because it’s time.”

I knew what she meant. She’d been trying
for years to place me on her accounts and to sign over a large portion of her
wealth to me, including the house. I never wanted her money. It never brought
her any happiness, except that it meant she could give me anything I ever
wanted and then some. I had my own money anyway. But more importantly, she
wanted me to have power of attorney, just in case. I didn’t want to think about
the just in case.

I called Doris and had her bring my Aunt
Lu’s “necessities” to the hospital. And, begrudgingly, I called Mr. Howard, my aunt’s
attorney. Apparently he made hospital room calls.

By late afternoon, we got some test
results back. She did indeed have a heart attack, and she had two blocked
arteries that would require angioplasty. She wasn’t happy about that. She
wanted second and third opinions. I eventually got her to listen to reason, but
she refused to have any procedures done until we had met with Mr. Howard and I
was on her accounts and the power of attorney was in place. I couldn’t get her
to budge on that, so I agreed. She was blackmailing me with her health.

I was exhausted by the time evening rolled
around. I couldn’t keep from yawning.

“Ella Lu, go to the house and get some
sleep.”

“I’m just going to get a hotel room.”

“Ella Lu, it’s time to face your past,
sugar.”

“You told me to leave and never come
back.” That came out more childish than I intended.

She touched my face with her hand that was
hooked to an I.V. “Ella Lu, don’t you ever tell anyone I said this, but I was
wrong. I thought you would be able to move on and be happy.”

“I’m happy, Aunt Lu.”

“For the most part you are, but I don’t
think you’ll ever be truly happy until you move on from that Jackson boy.”

“I’ve moved on, Aunt Lu!”

“No sugar, you moved away.”

I didn’t want to talk about this, and I
wanted to say, “Just like you moved on from his daddy?” but I wouldn’t sass my aunt
like that, especially in her condition. It was my own dang fault anyway. If I
would have just followed the rules, I wouldn’t have anybody I needed to get
over.

“Fine, I’ll go to the house. Do you want
me to bring anything back with me in the morning?”

“No, just make sure you dress up for our
meeting with my lawyer here in the afternoon.”

“Yes, Aunt Lu.”

Aunt Lu had all sorts of fashion rules,
and if you were transacting business, you better be dressed up. Thankfully, I
knew her all too well, and I had packed a business suit and heels. Heels were a
must in her book.

I drove the thirty minutes it takes to get
to Kaysville. The whole time I felt all sorts of uncomfortable. It had been nine
and half years since I had been home. It was dark, but it looked like not much
had changed as I drove through Main Street. It was decorated for Christmas. If
there had been snow, it would have looked like a scene from a snow globe, but
thankfully we rarely got snow there. I saw a couple of people I recognized
leaving the hardware store. I was just hoping I didn’t see any Jacksons.
I had no idea where Brady lived now that he was out of the limelight. I just
hoped it wasn’t in Kaysville. He probably married another beauty queen and had
two kids by now. Aunt Lu and I made it a point never to talk about Kaysville or
its inhabitants. It was easier that way, or at least I thought so. Now that I
was driving through town, the thought occurred to me that I should have
probably asked her about Brady’s whereabouts, just in case.

Our home was in the middle of town. It was
a large, stately antebellum style home with white pillars to match. It was an
ostentatious home, but it matched my Aunt Lu perfectly. It was beautiful and
larger than life, just like her. As I pulled through the gate, I had to hold
back the tears. It was silly to cry over coming home, but it had been a very
long time, and along with the bitter memories, there had been some very sweet
ones. I drove around the circular drive and parked right in front of the house.
My aunt hated that, but she wasn’t home. I didn’t even get to the front door
before Doris came running out, practically in tears that I had come home. She
was all a dither as she hugged me and helped me with my suitcase.

My aunt had let her know I was coming, so
she had prepared a light dinner for the two of us, and she readied my old room.
Walking into that old room was like stepping into the past. My aunt hadn’t
touched a thing in my absence. The four poster bed still had my pink ruffled
comforter, and my trophies and ribbons from various events like piano recitals
and debate teams were still displayed on the shelves above my old desk. My high
school diploma and valedictorian award and sash were still proudly placed on my
desk too. The room was a time capsule.

“I placed fresh linens on your bed, Miss
Ella.”

“Thank you, Doris.”

She hugged me again. “I’m just so happy
you’re home.”

I wished I could say I was too, but I
squeezed her back. “Goodnight, Doris.”

As soon as she left, I headed straight for
my old bathroom. It had been the perfect bathroom for a teenage girl. It had a
large, well-lit vanity and seat, a claw foot tub, and a separate shower. I
started the shower and climbed in and tried to unwind from my long day, and I
tried to keep the memories at bay, but this old place was making it difficult.
Everything reminded me of Brady, even the vanity. How many times had I sat
there getting ready for a date with him? And many times there had been fresh
flowers there from him. He hadn’t been allowed to come here, but he’d had
flowers delivered regularly with the sweetest notes.

I stayed in the shower until I pruned. I
got out to find towels and a silk robe waiting for me. Doris was the best. I
had forgotten how nice it was to have a housekeeper. I sat at the vanity and
went through my nightly beauty regimen, taught to me by Aunt Lu. I masked and
moisturized and hydrated. It had worked well for her over the years. I was
hoping I had inherited those youthful genes, but only time would tell, I guess.

After drying my hair, I climbed into my
old bed and tried to settle in for the night. I was exhausted, but sleep didn’t
want to come. After an hour I gave up and turned on my bedside lamp. I pulled
out my phone and checked email and then wasted time looking on Pinterest. I
knew what was bugging me, but I was fighting it. I kept looking at the hope
chest across the room. I was determined not to open it and go down memory lane,
but it was like it was taunting me and daring me to open it. It’s not like I
didn’t know what was in it (well mostly).

I finally gave in and threw off the
covers. I sat crossed legged in front of it. I took a deep breath and carefully
lifted the lid of the old cedar chest. I inhaled the scent of the wood and of
days that had long gone by. My white cap and gown sat on the top, but my gown
looked crinkled up like someone had gone through the chest and hastily laid the
gown back in; that was odd. I gently removed them and placed them on the floor
near me. It was what was under those that I was in search of. Next was Brady’s
Lettermen jacket. I took it out and smelled it. It still faintly smelled like
him, it was a musky masculine scent. I put it on. It was still way too big on
me. Next was the state football championship game ball. He had signed it, “With
all my love, Brady.” Next up was the thing that taunted me the most. It was a
small burgundy velvet box. It was what he left on the sofa table that Christmas
he broke up with me. I’d never had the courage to look to see what was in the
little box. All I ever did was unwrap it. On many occasions I tried to open it,
but I could never bring myself to do it. I tried to send everything back to him
by courier, but he just sent it right back with a note that read. “These don’t
belong to me.”

I held the little box in my hand and just
looked at it. Tears started to trail down my cheeks. I began to peek at the
contents and the hinge on the box creaked. I snapped it shut before I could
look inside. This was stupid. I took off his dumb jacket and threw it and the
ball back in the “hopeless” chest. I took the stupid box back to bed with me
and I threw it in my nightstand drawer. I turned off the light and cried myself
to sleep.

I woke early and dressed carefully for
Aunt Lu’s sake. I felt a little silly getting dressed up to sit in a hospital
room all day, but I was used to doing things that didn’t make sense for Aunt
Lu. That was basically my life in a nutshell. I had brought a black Calvin
Klein pantsuit that fit the bill. It fit me well and showed off my curves and
slender figure. I matched it with pointed black stiletto heels. I even took the
time to curl my now shoulder-length hair.

Doris
was waiting for me down
in the kitchen, she had even made me breakfast. Bless her. I usually just
grabbed a piece of fruit in the morning. I had never really learned to cook. My
Aunt Lu hadn’t either, because we always had Doris, and if Doris wasn’t there,
we had takeout. My cooking skills were limited to toast (but I even seemed to
burn that frequently), smoothies and salads. Doris set my breakfast in front of
me: blueberry pancakes, bacon and fresh squeezed orange juice. I needed a Doris
in Atlanta.

I made small talk with Doris while I ate.
It was nice to have someone to talk to in the morning. It reminded me of how
lonely my life was in Atlanta. Sure, I had business associates and employees
and even a few people I would consider friends, like my agent, Olivia, but I
lived a pretty solitary existence by choice. I dated on occasion, but no one
seriously, even though a few of them would have liked to. I spent most of my
spare time answering fan mail. I made it a point to answer each one personally.
My agent said I was nuts to do that, but when a little girl (and occasionally a
little boy) took the time to write me, it was the least I could do. I loved
hearing about how they loved my books and how they wanted to visit the places
in my books and about how much they learned about a particular place. Sometimes
I even got heart wrenching stories from sick children or those that just needed
to know that someone cared about them.

I tried to help Doris clean up before I
left, but she shooed me out the door. I made my way through town again. Yep,
not much had changed. I don’t know if that was comforting or discouraging to
me. Either way, I was just happy to get back on to the highway without anyone
noticing me.

I walked into my aunt’s new room, she had
been moved out of the ICU. I found her giving beauty and fashion tips to the
nurse, who was taking it like a champ. As soon as she noticed me, she turned my
way. “Now look at my beautiful Ella Lu here, this is how a proper southern lady
dresses and puts herself together. You would do well to follow her example.”

I just shook my head and looked at the
sweet little nurse. “Don’t worry; tomorrow I’ll be here in jeans and a
t-shirt.”

“You will do no such thing, Ella Lu
Eaton.”

I just winked at the nurse. She smiled and
happily exited.

I walked over to my aunt’s bed and kissed
her on the cheek. “How did you sleep last night?”

She waved over all her wires and tubes.
“How can anyone sleep with these on? I told them it was unnecessary, but they
refused to take them off.”

I didn’t even try and argue with her. I
just sat down. She immediately handed me a list. I took it from her, and I
began to read its contents. It was a list of all the things she wanted me to do
for her. It included everything from gifts to buy to decorating her Christmas
trees.

I looked over to her in confusion. “Can’t
all of this wait? We still have three weeks until Christmas, and you’ll be home
well before that.”

“No, Ella Lu, I’m already behind and you
know what is expected.”

“What about Doris, can’t she do some of
this? I want to spend as much time as I can with you.”

“Ella Lu, you know I love Doris,
but this is not her forte. I will not trust this to anyone else, do you
understand?”

I saluted her. “Yes, ma’am.”

“Do not sass and ma’am me, Ella Lu.”

“I love you, Aunt Lu.”

“I love you more than air, Ella Lu.”

I spent the rest of the morning watching
her horrible soap operas. I rarely watched T.V., so I was surprised these shows
still existed. Thankfully her lawyer, Mr. Howard, saved me early in the
afternoon. He brought lots of paperwork for us to sign, so much so my hand
began to cramp up. In a matter of an hour, I had become a very wealthy woman. I
had no idea how wealthy my aunt truly was. She always used to tell me people
were nice to her because she had more money than the Queen of England; I
realized now she wasn’t joking.

After the marathon signing session, Mr.
Howard clapped his hands. “All that’s left to do is to take you to Kaysville
First National to sign their paperwork that adds you as a cosigner to your
aunt’s accounts. And we need to file the power of attorney with them.”

I looked at Aunt Lu with wide eyes. Going
to the bank was not part of the deal. I knew why she kept her money there. It
was a reminder to the Jacksons of the power she held, but I didn’t want any
part of that.