Music City (24 page)

Brandy’s mother loved the photo, “Tracy, you’re a very talented photographer, that picture is absolutely breathtaking.”

Tracy smiled, “I just pushed the button, the camera did all the work.”

Guy spoke up, “Even so, you have to have an eye for great shots like that, Tracy, and that is a great shot.”

Brandy hugged Tracy,  “Thank you so much!  What a great birthday this has been!”

“October first has always been the best day of the year in my book, ever since you were born.  You were so little and so fragile looking, I was afraid I was going to break you when the doctor put you in my arms.”  Guy smiled at the memory.

Tracy smiled
realizing his chance for more evidence that Brandy indeed, belonged to her parents,  “Where was she born?” He asked her father.

Guy smiled at the memory, “I was
actually still in the service when she was born, so she was born at the Navy Hospital at Camp Pendleton.”

Tracy smiled, “That’s in California, right?”

Brandy nodded, “Didn’t know I was a California girl, did ya, Tracy?”

Tracy’s smile grew bigger, “Nope, I sure didn’t.”  Relief washed over Tracy as the knowledge that Brandy was not one of Maye’s switched babies settled in.  You couldn’t get much further from North Carolina than California, that’s for sure.  He’d have to check the book again, he must have read something wrong, or maybe his mother was just right in that there were two Brandy’s out there with the same last name.

Brandy suddenly remembered the photo of Aunt Pauline, “Momma, do we still have that self-portrait that Aunt Pauline did?” She asked.

Her mother smiled, “I think I know right where it is, I’ll be right back.” She said as she dashed out of the room.

When she returned, she was holding the portrait like a trophy, “I knew that photo you took of Brandy reminded me of something,” she smiled as she held it up for them to see. “I didn’t realize until I saw the photo you took, Tracy, how very much Brandy resembles her, especially now that Brandy is older.”

She was correct, the portrait she held looked like it
was painted of Brandy, the resemblance was uncanny.  It was Tracy’s turn to be speechless. 

Brandy was as giddy as a child, “Oh, I’m so glad you saved that, Momma!
We were actually talking about Aunt Paulina before we came over here, Mila noticed the resemblance I have to her when we were looking at my photo album.  Tell me about her, I don’t remember much of what y’all have told me through the years about her.”

Greta
looked to Guy, Pauline was his Aunt, after all.

“I never knew her, Brandy, but I’ve heard stories. She was my grandfather’s sister,
so that would make her your Great aunt. I know that the family said she was very different.  She never married, she was content to live her entire life with her parents, in their later years taking care of them, for which I think all of the family was grateful.

When she wasn’t taking care of her parents, she painted.  And she painted, and she painted some more.  People in the family were a little scared of her, I think because she painted people and scenes that there is no way she could have seen before.”

Brandy’s mother cut in, “One story in the family said that a wealthy man from Ireland came to visit the town where they lived, somehow someone told him to go and see Pauline’s work.  He did, and bought several of her paintings of his little town in
Ireland
.  She had never been to Ireland, but she painted it perfectly, at least according to family legend.”

Brandy felt chills dance along her spine, “That is the coolest story.  I wish I could have met her.” 

Her father smiled, “I’m sure she would have adored you.  I think she was just born in the wrong place at the wrong time, she just didn’t fit into the era in which she lived.  If she were of my generation, she would fit in just fine, still be considered a little quirky, but she wouldn’t be ostracized.”

“But she looks like me, doesn’t she?” Brandy said quietly.

“That she does, little one, that she does,” said Brandy’s father.

Later that evening when Tracy took Brandy back to her apartment, he got her and her new gifts settled, then took her in his arms and hugged her, “Happy Birthday Brandy.  I want you to know, I think I’m falling for you.”  He felt Brandy stiffen in his arms, “You don’t have to say a word, I just wanted to let you know.”

He leaned down and kissed her softly on the lips and then turned and left leaving Brandy standing there
feeling dazed, confused, and more than a little giddy.

Walking to his car, he realized the
burden he was carrying around was gone.  Brandy wasn’t in Maye’s book.  He knew he had read a name very similar to hers, but, it wasn’t her!  There was no way it was her.  She was born in California!

It was closing time at the office and Derek was the last to leave. Just as he walked towards the door, the phone rang. Thinking it might be important, he turned back to answer.

“Mr. Howard?” asked an unfamiliar male voice.

“Uh, no, Mr. Howard has left for the day. This is Derek Stewart, I’m his partner in this firm.”

“Well then, Mr. Stewart. You are aware of the Harris case?”

“We are currently working on a Harris case, may I ask who is calling please?”

“This is Lieutenant Kirk of the Raleigh Police Department, sir. We’ve come across some more
personal effects of Ms. Harris, I wondered if you would like me to send them on to you as well?”

“
Yes, Lieutenant, that would be very much appreciated by the family.  Could you tell me what to expect?”

“I don’t know if there’s a thing here that you can use, but there’s another
diary, and a newspaper clipping or two, some old pictures, not much, really. It might not be anything important, but you never know. I can get them in the mail to you in the morning. You should have them in your hands by Monday. Is that all right with you?”

“Absolutely,” said Derek. “Thank you, Lieutenant, you’ve been a big help.”

“Glad to help. I’ll take care of the mailing.”

The conversation ended and Derek sat at his desk, deep in thought.

“Another diary. Dear God in Heaven, what kind of madness was in that woman’s mind?” he wondered.

Early Saturday morning, Tracy handed Derek his mail, on the top was a letter from the Tennessee State Bar Association. Tracy looked at Derek expectantly, “Well, open it already.”

Derek laughed, “Is that why you’re working on a Saturday morning, to make sure I open my mail?” Derek opened the letter, read it and then folded it and stuck it back in the envelope. He turned back to his computer and resumed typing.

Tracy couldn’t believe it, “Well?” he asked.

With his back still to him, Derek returned his question, “Well what?”

Tracy was exasperated, “What was the letter from the bar association about?”

Derek shrugged, “Oh that? They approved my request to practice law in the State of Tennessee.”

“We need to celebrate!” Tracy gushed.

“It’s not that big of a deal, I simply filled out the forms and sent them in. Honestly, I’d forgotten about it,” Derek lied, still grinning ear to ear.

“No, this is a very big deal, Derek! It’s been a good weekend, and it’s barely started. We’ll celebrate this tonight at Momma’s too.”

***

Shelly yawned as she waited on the coffee to percolate. Vani padded into the kitchen, in her fleece
Hello Kitty pajama pants and pink t-shirt, went to the sink, drew a glass of water from the tap and drank deeply.

Shelly smiled at the sight of her. “Did you have a good evening with Derek?”

Vani nodded as she took a bagel from the bag on the counter and popped it into the toaster. “He made dinner for me, Lasagna, it was pretty good, too. Tracy called when I was leaving, Brandy isn’t in Maye’s book after all.”

Shelly smiled, “She’s not? That explains why he was so happy when he got home last night.”

Vani shook her head as she spread her bagel liberally with cinnamon cream cheese, “No, turns out that Brandy was born in California on a naval base.  Not sure why Tracy thought she was in the diary.” 

Shelly sighed, “What a relief, I think Tracy really likes her, and…” Shelly was interrupted by her cell phone ringing.

Shelly hung up the phone. Vani asked, “Who in the world is calling at seven in the morning on a Saturday?”

S
helly turned to Vani, “That was Noel Bradshaw, she wanted to let me know that Thomas isn’t doing very well at all. They think he had a stroke last night, he’s in the hospital, she won’t know anything until they run some more tests.”

“Oh no, Momma, I really like him and Noel.” Vani said.

“Me too. Do I have anything pressing going on for the next few days?”

Vani shook her head, “I don’t think so, but I’ll double check.” Vani pulled her blackberry out of the pocket of the pajama pants and consulted it. “Except for getting together tonight with everyone, you’re clear until Wednesday next week, when we have that meeting with Darren McLuhan. Which, I must say, I am
really looking forward to.”

Shelly laughed, “I remember how much you loved his band when you were little.” She smiled at the memory. “You drove your Daddy crazy on the bus playing ‘
Shake Me Up’
over and over!”

Vani smiled at the memory too, “I still play it over and over sometimes,” she admitted with a shy smile as she popped a bite of bagel in her mouth. “I just love that song.”

Shelly straightened and took a big drink of her coffee. “It’s a great song, he’s a very talented man. I’m excited he wants to talk to us. I will make sure I’m back by Tuesday morning at the latest. As for tonight, y’all can get together without me, or we can cancel it altogether, entirely up to you.”

Vani was confused, “Where are you going?”

Shelly shrugged, “Alabama. I’m going to go down and see Thomas and Noel. I feel like I should be there. I think Noel needs someone right now.”

“Do you want me to go with you?” Vani asked.

“No, it’s fine, I can go alone.”

Vani knew she would be fine, she had made several trips down to see Thomas and Noel in the months since they made that initial visit. Shelly had promised Thomas she would visit often and she
had. Usually, Shelly just made a quick trip down in a private plane, landing at Auburn Air Park, and since it was only about three hundred miles, she was rarely gone more than five or six hours.

Vani was relieved actually, though she would never tell her Momma that. She and Derek had plans this afternoon, and now, with the
get together canceled, she could make plans for the evening as well. Vani was looking forward to spending more time with him. Maybe she’d cook for him. “I’ll take care of everything here Momma, don’t worry.”

***

Shelly arrived at Auburn Air Park a few minutes before noon. Her car was ready for her, and she drove the now familiar route to Noel’s home, where, as they had arranged, Noel would be waiting on Shelly to accompany her to the hospital.

Thomas was lucid, but in and out of consciousness during their visit. He seemed to recognize Shelly, he squeezed her hand several times while they were visiting
.  That small gesture made Shelly feel better, even though he couldn’t speak with the tubes in his mouth and nose.  After they were there for several hours, the nurses finally came in and shooed Shelly and Noel out, telling them to return after they’d had a bit of a break.

There was a little diner just down from the hospital and they decided to have a bite to eat there. They walked the short distance in a comfortable silence. The diner wasn’t crowded at all
, the smell of bacon still permeated the air, left over from the morning rush. They easily found an empty booth in the back and slid into the red vinyl seats across from each other.

Shelly looked around, “This place reminds me a lot of where I worked when I first got to Nashville.”

Noel was interested, “Murphy’s? Really?”

Shelly nodded, “Yes, I worked there for three years, it’s where I discovered that not everyone in my life was going to hurt me... I’m not sure if I’ve told you this yet or not, but it’s also where I met Trent.”

“It’s nice that you have such fond memories, I’ve worked as a waitress before, the work isn’t easy by any means.” Noel replied.

Shelly laughed, “No, it wasn’t easy, but it was heaven to me, compared to where I
was.”

“You can’t know how much I appreciate you coming today.” Noel said as a tear rolled down her cheek. “Not just today either, all the times you’ve come to visit Daddy… he’s cherished every single visit. He
talked about them for days and days afterward. It’s meant a lot to him and to me that you have taken so much time out of your life to spend with us.”