Long Memory (9 page)

Beth sighed. James had dealt with Nonie and Jean pretty successfully so far. He’d also managed to evade Jean’s probing questions about what took them so long yesterday over her taxes.

James put his hands on her shoulders. “I can handle two old ladies for an hour or two while you go get groceries.”

Beth’s shoulders relaxed under the weight of his hands. He had been capable with them over the past couple of days. Nonie didn’t know who he was, but that didn’t seem to bother her. Jean could keep things together on her own, she just needed a reliable pair of eyes. If something really bad did happen, all he had to do was call 911. Everyone at the fire station knew who Nonie and Jean were. They could be here in five minutes. “Are you sure you know the address?”

James leaned his forehead against hers, familiar and tender. He was not staying in town. He was a visitor. A transient. Someone she didn’t have the spare energy to get involved with. No matter how nice he was. “I know the address.”

The front door opened. “Hello. Where is everyone?”

Beth stepped away from James. He quirked an eyebrow at her. “She’s blind,” he said.

“Not completely.”

“There you are.” Jean shuffled into the kitchen. “When is Laura coming over? I’m out of crackers.”

Beth made a note on the grocery list. “Laura’s not coming. She has to pick someone up at the bus station.”

“Airport,” James corrected. He must have been paying more attention than she had to the conversation.

“At the airport. James is going to stay with you.”

“James?” Jean appeared to focus on him. Beth knew she could see a tall green and blue blob at best. “Everything’s all blurry today. Don’t forget my crackers. The wheat ones. You know which ones I like. I’m going to listen to one of my books. Vi, are you coming to listen to a book with me?”

Nonie followed Jean into the living room where they heard Jean giving very specific directions on how to load the CD into the stereo. Every word was short and huffy. Then the soothing sound of James Earl Jones reading began.

“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning.” Beth had the list, and the canvas bags were in the car. Nonie’s turn to pay this week. Beth opened Nonie’s purse.

“What are you looking for?”

“Credit card.”

“Why?”

Beth pulled the card out of Nonie’s wallet. “Because it’s Nonie’s turn to pay for groceries. They both eat most of their meals here so I just alternate who pays each week. It seemed like the most fair solution.”

“And the grocery store lets you use Nonie’s card?” He shifted and ran a hand through his hair.

“Don’t start inventing a conspiracy theory. Everyone knows who the groceries are for. I keep mine separate.” Beth slid the card into her pocket with the list. “It was too hard to keep three sets of groceries straight.”

“How do you pay the credit card bill?”

“Online. If you want to audit that, I can show you all the records.” Beth grinned.

“I believe you.”

Beth felt a chill drip down her spine. His mouth said, Trust, trust, trust, but his eyes said, How much have you stolen? “I’m very careful. I’m not even shopping for myself today.”

“I believe you.”

He wasn’t staying around, and she had nothing to hide. Why did she want his approval so much? Why was she so afraid of losing it? “I’m sure it all works out in the end.”

“I’m sure it does.”

Beth felt like she’d been dipping into the church poor box. She wrapped her arms around her waist. Her cornflakes curdled in her stomach. “They both said it was fine with them. You can ask Jean.”

James put his hands on her shoulders again. “I believe you. Honestly. I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt Nonie and Jean. Calm down. I won’t call the cops. I won’t even call my mother.”

Beth tried to laugh, but it came out as a dry rattle. Her pulse jumped around like she’d had too much coffee today and she hadn’t made any. He stared into her eyes smiling, spilling warmth into her bones.

“Go do the shopping. In fact, take the morning off. You need a break. Everything will be fine here. It’s okay to ask for help once in a while.”

Beth felt her pocket to make sure she had her car keys. “I’m going to see what I can find out about Mr. McMannus for Jean. I should only be gone an hour.”

“Take your time. If James Earl Jones doesn’t make her happy, nothing will.”

Beth stopped at the top of the driveway and called Lily.

“What?” Lily snapped in lieu of greeting.

“If this grouchy mood is going around, I’m going back to bed,” Beth said. James hadn’t been in a bad mood. He’d volunteered to stay with the girls so she could go shopping.

“Oh, sorry. It hasn’t been a good day.”

“Why?” Beth glanced back at the house. So far it hadn’t exploded, nor was there smoke.

“Elaine is having some kind of nervous breakdown. Most of the time she doesn’t answer her phone, and when she does she’s either crying or pissed off. Mrs. Coin and Mrs. Vorac have the bake sale cookies ready, but there isn’t anyone to take them to the high school. One of the steam tables at the elementary school is broken. Mr. Wright doesn’t think he can get it fixed in time so that shoots our main food vendor in the foot. Two of the school buses are down for repairs so we don’t have enough buses to bring people in from satellite parking and run them back and forth to the berry farm. Mr. McMannus had a fucking heart attack and Mrs. McMannus closed the garage. I have no idea if it’s going to reopen in time. Beth, this thing is in two weeks and it’s totally–”

“All right,” Beth cut her off before she swore again. “Calm down. James is staying with the girls so I can do some grocery shopping. I’ll swing by on the way and see if I can help you out.”

“Thanks, Beth. We’ve always done this as a trio. I’m not ready to solo.”

“Don’t worry about it. As long as I’m not away too long, it should be okay. See you soon.”

“Bye.”

Beth snapped her phone shut and pulled out of the driveway trying to work out solutions to the problems Lily had listed. This kind of stuff happened every year. It was just a matter of being creative. Turning onto the main road, she ended up behind a sheriff’s car. Sheriff Daniel, as a matter of fact. He had a last name, but it was three feet long and composed entirely of consonants. When he came to town everyone started calling him Sheriff Daniel and so far he hadn’t objected. She flashed her lights at him until he pulled over.

Chapter 6

“So you asked the sheriff to pick up the cookies from Mrs. Coin’s,” Lily said. She sat down in the leather wingback chair in her living room and crossed her legs. If Beth couldn’t see that Lily was wearing jeans and a t-shirt, she’d assume her friend was dressed in formal attire.

“Yes. They’re on their way if they aren’t already there.” Beth nodded.

“And you picked up Elaine and brought her here.” Lily and Beth looked at Elaine, who slouched on the couch glaring back at them.

“Getting her in the car was the hardest part. Eventually her civic pride won out,” Beth explained.

“You promised I wouldn’t have to talk to anyone but you two. No phone calls, no visits,” Elaine insisted.

“I promised.” Beth folded her hands in her lap. Lily was right. Elaine was being weird. When she arrived at her door this morning, Elaine had been wearing a nightgown and her hair looked like it hadn’t been combed in days. Some cold water on her face had reduced the puffiness, but she’d insisted on wearing the grubbiest clothes she owned and wearing a huge sunhat and sunglasses for the drive over. Beth had hoped to have a long chat with her about James so her friend could smack some sense into her. That was not going to happen.

“And Chubby Hubby ice cream,” Elaine added.

“Bob is getting it as we speak.”

“That’s the other thing.” Lily broke in. “You got Bob to do your grocery shopping?”

“I gave him a detailed list. He’s going to be at the grocery store anyway.” Beth shrugged. “It’ll take him half the time it takes me.”

“You asked the manager of the grocery store to get your groceries for you.”

“Yes.”

“Bob.”

“Yes.”

“To put the groceries in the basket for you.”

“Yes.”

“And ring them up.”

“All right already!” Elaine shouted, leaping to her feet. “Lily, get it through your head. Bob is getting Beth’s groceries for her so all she has to do is pick everything up on the way home. How hard is it to understand?”

Lily stared at Elaine for a beat and turned back to Beth. “Michael’s father.”

Elaine stomped into the kitchen. “Christ. Lily, do you have any wine around here? Beer? Rum? Vodka? Rubbing alcohol?”

“Yes, Michael’s father, but they’re Nonie’s groceries. Elaine, don’t drink rubbing alcohol. It’ll make you blind.” Beth snatched a notebook out of Lily’s hands. “James told me this morning that I should ask for help once in a while and it occurred to me that I could. So I did.”

“So tell me about this James. He’s cropping up in conversations all over town.” Lily leaned forward, shedding her black tie tone.

Beth swallowed. “All over town?”

“I’m told he was quite popular as a young man when he visited Nonie, and he’s been in the news. Plus, you’re blushing.”

“I am not.” Beth put her hands over her cheeks.

“Yes, you are. Elaine’s sister said he’s quite a cutie.”

“Elaine’s sister thinks every single male in town is a cutie.”

Lily fluttered her eyelashes. “I tend to agree. I Googled him and the pictures on the Internet are very nice.”

Elaine walked back in, making a face as she swigged from a bottle of beer. “My God, this stuff is awful.”

“That is Guinness, you cretin.”

“It is the second worst thing I’ve ever had in my mouth,” Elaine quipped.

“What was the worst?” Lily shot back.

The room plunged into the Ice Age. Beth glanced from Elaine to Lily and back. Elaine stood at the edge of the room having lost all the color in her body. Lily froze in her chair, clutching the arms. Her pink fingernails sank into the leather. She looked like a display from a Ripley’s Museum. What the hell? Elaine was never like this. She was calm and reliable. The last time she'd been a raw nerve was high school and Lily wasn't going to be able to handle Elaine in that state. Beth stood up. “Now that that’s behind us, can we get down to work? Lily, why don’t you call George and see what he thinks about that steam table?”

“Why me?”

“Because you have a gift.” Beth grabbed Elaine by the arm and hauled her into the kitchen. “What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing.”

“And it shows. Come on, Elaine, we’ve been friends since we were kids. I’ve never seen you act like this.”

Elaine chewed her lips. She studied Beth’s eyes like she might be tested on the answer, and the score would determine her future. “I don’t want to add to your stress. Dealing with Nonie and Jean and having that guy visiting and watching you. Don’t worry about me. I can pull it together.” She set the beer on the table and took the notebook out of Beth’s hands. Her cloak of efficiency fell around her, changing her into the person Beth had always known. “I wonder if we could borrow a bus from Billingsville.” She sat down at the table and plucked a pen from the cup in the center.

Beth stepped back. Elaine had always been the good girl. She did everything right. That was why Beth became friends with her. Growing up, she hadn’t had any good role models, so she’d followed Elaine through life, copying her every move—right down to going to the same college and getting the same degree. Elaine always knew what to do.

And now that Beth needed advice, Elaine had lost her cotton-picking mind.

“I rock!” Lily shouted from the living room. “George said he thinks he can jerry rig it to work until after the festival is over, and he might know someone who can get those buses back on their feet for us. Who do you want me to call next?”

* * * *

James heard his phone ringing in the guest room. Nonie and Jean were playing checkers. Nonie seemed to have the capacity to follow the game, but Jean was still beating the socks off her. The audio book hadn’t improved Jean’s mood, but winning three games of checkers in a row made her happy.