Ivy in the Shadows (3 page)

“Last year there were no cute boys at all. Just the same ones we've known since preschool. This year we have a whole building full of cute, older boys!”

I looked at her real close and wondered why, all of a sudden, boys mattered to her.

“Ellen, we're twelve. I mean, let's just say for one minute that cute boys were something we were interested in. We're not even teenagers.”

“What's that got to do with anything?”

I raised my hands to explain. “Who cares about this stuff? I've got lots more important things to think about. And even if I did care, the point I'm trying to make is that no cute high school boy wants to date a twelve-year-old girl!”

She shrugged one shoulder. Then she nudged me and said, “Look! She's here. I didn't think she'd make it.”

Alexa Ray was leaning against the front of the ice cream stand, one foot on a nearby bench. I had to do a double take.

“When did she start wearing makeup?” I asked.

Ellen shrugged again. “She looks great.” And I could actually hear Ellen breathing hard, like she was so excited to see Alexa she couldn't control herself. But when we got up to her, Ellen looked just as bored as Alexa.

“Heya,” she said.

“Hi,” Alexa answered, looking just past us.

“I thought you were grounded,” I said.

Ellen shot a look meant to kill me.

“Mom can't stay home all the time,” Alexa said. She looked at Ellen. “Did you bring it?”

“Yeah.” And despite Ellen acting like it was nothing, I could see her hand tremble as she reached into her purse. She palmed something too flat for me to make out to Alexa, who looked at it, smiled, and handed it back to Ellen.

“Let's go.” She started walking away, expecting Ellen to follow her like a puppy. And this is the part that really stung. That's exactly what Ellen did. She just scampered after Alexa, leaving me alone at the ice cream stand. Like we hadn't already made plans.

Ellen was my best friend. She knew more about me than anyone, including my own mother. And she just blew me off like I wasn't even a person she knew. It hurt. I wondered what she'd shown Alexa. She'd never kept secrets from me before.

And you know what made it stink all the more? Remember how I said we'd been standing in front of the ice cream stand? The girl at the counter said, “You know what you want yet?”

“Uh, me? No,” I said, because how could I say that I'd just been dumped by my best friend and I didn't even have enough money for a ten-cent cup of ice.

“Then move. You're blocking the customers.”

*   *   *

I ran in the back door at exactly the wrong time. If you're me, that is. It was exactly the right time for Mama to go screaming toward the kitchen sink with a smoking pan. She turned the water on, and there was so much steam and noise rising from the pot you'd almost expect a mad genie to come out of it. Instead, Mama was the one who was mad—meaning angry or crazy. You pick.

“Just look at this mess!” she wailed. “I turn my back on it for five minutes and the meat is ruined!”

JJ came in with a fork and poked at the brick-hard black chunk that used to be some kind of beef.

“Can I have it?” he asked.

“No!” Then Mama started bawling her eyes out. “What am I gonna do? I don't have time to get anything new. I was trying to make a good impression on the Bennetts.”

But Mama didn't really want an answer from us. She punched in Aunt Maureen's phone number and didn't even say hello, just “What am I gonna do?” and you know the rest.

I reached under the sink for the Palmolive and went about cleaning the pan. This wasn't the first time she'd flubbed up in the kitchen since her divorce.

Pretty soon Mama's wails to Aunt Maureen became sniffles and then she was laughing as she looked through the cupboards, saying what was on each shelf. I wished I could bottle up Aunt Maureen and give Mama a dose of her every day.

She got off the phone and said, “Okay, this is doable.” She cranked open a can of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom soup and poured it in a pan.

“
That's
what you're gonna serve company?”

Mama tasted it and made a face. “No. Not like it is. But we'll fix that.”

She pulled a chunk of hamburger out of the freezer and threw it into the microwave. She spun her spice rack around on its pedestal and pulled out bottles, sprinkling dried flakes onto the soup and stirring them in. It reminded me of when she and Jack Henry were first married and how happy she'd been trying new recipes for him. I didn't miss him, but I missed the way Mama used to be. For a minute the disappointment of how things were made me hurt so much I had to look away.

Mama pulled me back to the present, though. “Tear that lettuce. Make sure the pieces are nice and small. No one wants to put a lettuce leaf as big as a fist into their mouth.”

So we worked like that, side by side, until close to six o'clock. Mama dragged JJ into the bathroom. She made him wash his hands and face as well as comb his hair. Then she ran up to change clothes. I must have been presentable because she looked at me from feet to head but all she said was, “You got that table set yet?”

Then we sat in the living room. JJ and I were afraid to move because Mama had that “You muss up your hair and I'll cut off your head” look on her face. It was the first time I'd had a chance to think since this afternoon. I thought about how it felt when Ellen had walked away from me with Alexa and it made my eyes burn. I would not cry, I told myself. I mean, come on! Maybe Ellen had said she had to meet Alexa and my mind had been somewhere else and I didn't hear her.

To keep myself from thinking about it, I tried to envision eating with the Bennetts tonight. What would they think of Mama's soup concoction? Maybe it would be bad enough that Caleb wouldn't want to stay here. Would they bring Caleb with them or were they coming to work out the details with Mama? I wondered when he'd be moving in. Maybe it wouldn't be for a few weeks. Mama had been applying for jobs. Maybe she'd get one somewhere first. Then she'd have money and wouldn't need to take him in. I started to relax a little because that would solve a lot of problems.

The doorbell rang. Mama stood and nervously smoothed her skirt. Then she pulled open the door with a mile-wide smile on her lips. “Good evening!” she said. I swear, I'd never heard my mother say “good evening” in my life. “Won't you come in?”

She stepped back to let the Bennetts through. Mr. Bennett came in first with a suitcase. Mrs. Bennett followed with two shopping bags and Caleb brought up the rear holding a big box.

Mr. Bennett had kind of a sheepish smile, like he knew Mama wasn't expecting Caleb to stay, yet here he was all the same.

“It was so good of you to have us over,” he said. “But we've had an unfortunate change of plans.”

“Our daughter was in a car accident today!” Mrs. Bennett said. “We just found out.”

“Goodness!” Mama seemed to be at a loss for words. She put her hand on her throat and turned to us.

“It sounds like she's more bruised than anything but she did break her arm. They're keeping her at the hospital overnight,” he said.

“She has a baby and a four-year-old,” Mrs. Bennett said. “I just have to be there. Not only to make sure that she's all right but to help with the grandchildren. I hope it won't inconvenience you that we brought Caleb earlier than planned.”

“Well, what kind of person would I be if I couldn't understand that? Of course you need to be with your daughter! And, as luck would have it, I have Caleb's room all ready for him,” Mama said. “I've already made dinner. Can't you stay for just a bite before your journey?”

“Thanks all the same but we need to be going.”

“Oh! Well.” I felt sorry for Mama when I thought about how hard she had worked on the dinner that Mr. and Mrs. Bennett weren't even going to eat. I'd hate them just a little, if it weren't for their daughter and all. But Mama recovered enough to say, “Ivy, JJ, please show Caleb to his room.”

Mr. Bennett handed a shopping bag to JJ and the suitcase to me, which, in my opinion, was a little heavy, but I was bound and determined not to stagger. If Mama wasn't going to act blown away by their behavior, then I wasn't, either.

“Come on, Caleb!” JJ said. “I'll show you your room!” He ran like a rag doll, the shopping bag slapping against his body as he beat it up the stairs. Caleb followed, carrying the box. Me, I stood there because, as you already know, I wanted to hear what was going on.

“I'm sure it's lovely,” Mrs. Bennett said. “But I'd like to see it, too, if you don't mind.”

“Oh, by all means!” Mama said.

Mrs. Bennett went upstairs while her husband reached into his pocket and withdrew an envelope. In it he showed Mama a signed paper giving her permission for medical treatment if Caleb got sick. There was also a list of phone numbers to reach him and “the missus.” Then he handed Mama an envelope of money with “a little extra for this sudden inconvenience,” was how he put it. When he handed her the money, Mama's shoulders went from being all stiff and high around her neck to settling where they belonged.

When Mrs. Bennett and Caleb came back into the room, Mama said, “We'll let you say goodbye to Caleb alone.”

She put one arm on my shoulder and one on JJ's to lead us out of the room. But when I looked back, Mrs. Bennett was patting Caleb on the head and Mr. Bennett didn't even touch him.

I understood the whole thing about their daughter needing them now, but I couldn't help wondering how they could just leave their own son. I mean, sure, Caleb was no prize, but I can tell you this, if anyone ever tried to pry me or JJ away from Cass Henry, well, I can only say God help that person.

3

Caleb kept his head bent over the soup. Rising steam made his glasses slide so much he pushed them up on his nose about every third sip. JJ was beside himself with joy to have another guy in the house.

“And when we get done eating, we'll go into my room and I'll show you my LEGOs. I made a dog and a cat and a fish out of LEGOs on account of we don't have real pets.”

“LEGO pets don't eat as much as real ones,” Caleb said, smiling.

“We want real ones but my daddy is 'lergic.” JJ's face scrunched up. “Hey, Mama, since Daddy's not here, why can't we have real pets now?”

Mama fidgeted in her chair. “Well, as Caleb pointed out, real pets need food and care. It's just not in our budget now.”

Then she reached across and smoothed JJ's hair from his forehead. “But one of these days we'll have lots.”

“Do you have pets, Caleb?” JJ asked.

“No,” he said. “But I like them.”

“Me, too, Caleb,” Mama said. “I'd have a dozen pets if I could. All kinds of creatures. They don't harm you without good reason.”

“Unlike some people,” Caleb said.

Mama looked at him, her voice softening. “How are you being treated here in Hickory, Caleb?”

“It's a nice town. I feel fortunate to live here. Thank you, ma'am, for the delicious dinner,” Caleb said like a big suck-up. Then, “May I be excused?”

“Of course!” Mama said, just the picture of cheerfulness. Caleb put his dirty dishes in the sink, which probably made her day.

JJ set his dishes there, too, like it was something he always did, which left Mama glaring at me until I did the same.

After the boys left the room, Mama scraped the rest of the soup down the garbage disposal. That did a little to lift my spirits because I didn't want to have to eat thrown-together soup as leftovers.

“I think tonight went pretty well,” she said when she finished. “Even if it didn't go according to plan.”

“I suppose,” I mumbled. “Hey, Mama, what did you think of Caleb's folks?”

“I thought they were very nice. I wasn't expecting him to stay tonight, but I knew he would come in a day or two so it wasn't really an inconvenience, just a surprise. Plus they gave me an extra hundred dollars! They must be very generous people.”

“But a little odd, right? I mean, nobody just drops off their kid with strangers like that, do they?”

“Odd? No, I wouldn't say that. They were just in a hurry. Besides, we're not strangers, Ivy! Pastor Harold recommended me.”

“But he doesn't know you that well, does he? I mean, we've only gone to church a few Sundays.”

“It's a small town. We've been to church there before. Remember just last Easter we went.”

“Yeah, but wasn't there a different pastor then?”

Mama frowned. “Yes … I guess now that you mention it, he was an older man. Oh, well. The people there have seen us before, is what I'm trying to say. It's not like we've never gone.”

“It's just that Caleb, he's … a little different.” I knew how important it was to Mama that he stay, so I made sure to tread carefully.

“Yes, he is. He's so polite! I wish you had more friends like him.”

Great.

“Ivy, you were a big help to me today. You don't have to help with the dishes, too. You run on.”

“Really?”

“Really, darlin'.”

“Well, okay.” I wiped my hands on the dishtowel. I looked at Mama and saw fine lines on the skin beside her eyes, sort of like a spider's legs. Those lines weren't there the last time I really looked at her and it made me feel sad, so I said, “Mama, dinner was good. You really pulled off a miracle.”

She laughed a little and said, “Thanks, baby.”

I started up the stairs but didn't want to face Caleb yet. I didn't even want to hang out in my own bedroom with him on the same floor. I should have checked to see if the old lock on my door worked. Not that Caleb was dangerous. I mean, as scrawny as he was, I thought I could take him. I just didn't like the idea that he might get up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night and accidentally come into my room.