As the room emptied, Cooper released a mouthful of air that she hadn't realized she had been holding in. She laid her cheek against her pillow and thought she could smell traces of gunpowder in her hair. Envisioning Cindi's demented smile as she ordered Cooper to pray, tears sprung into her eyes and trickled down onto the pillowcase. She could still taste the fear in her mouth. It was an acid, metallic taste and she longed to wash it away with something wholesome, like a glass of milk and a few of her mother's cookies.
Magically, Cooper's nurse bustled into the room carrying a small tray. "All your visitors gone?" she asked as she placed the tray next to Cooper's bed and gave her patient a brief examination. "Oh, honey, you're shakin' like a leaf! Are you cold?"
Cooper looked down at the goose bumps on her unbandaged arm in surprise. The nurse examined her patient's tear-streaked cheeks.
"Sweetheart, you've had a right awful shock. Now, you just tell me what to do to make you feel better and I'll do it."
"Thank you. There is something that would make me feel better. I'd really, really like to take a shower." Cooper sniffed the ends of her hair again. "Everything that's hahappened today ..." She choked back a sob. "I just want to wash it all away."
The nurse took Cooper's hand. "Your mama brought a pair of your pajamas along with a bag of those cookies with the jelly in the middle. My nana used to call them thimble cookies and you've got enough here to feed the whole ward. Why don't you take a nice, hot shower--but you keep that left arm from gettin' wet, ya hear?--and then have yourself some milk and cookies. I'll bet you'll be asleep before the mac and cheese even gets here. You look like laundry that's been wrung out and hung to dry."
The nurse was right. Every inch of Cooper's body felt exhausted and she longed to be able to focus her thoughts on something other than the day's events. She stood under a scalding stream of water for a long time, dried her hair, and then put on her pajamas. After hungrily eating five of her mother's thimble cookies, she phoned her parents to tell them that she would be home in the morning and thanked her mother for her foresight.
"Baby," Maggie's voice quivered and Cooper knew she had been crying. "You just sleep tight. Just let your body and your mind shut down for a while and when you come on home tomorrow I'll fix you a brunch that'll make you feel like a new woman." She sniffed back tears. "After that, your daddy wants you to sit awhile with him in the garden. He says lookin' at the new crop of Better Boy tomatoes will heal you better than any medicine."
Cooper said good night, eased her bed to a flat position, and pictured her father's vegetable garden. She could see the sun shining on the red curves of the tomatoes and the glossy surfaces of the cucumbers slick with dew. In her vision, bean plants were tickled by a breeze and bumblebees hovered over the bed of coneflowers that bordered the garden. Cooper could almost smell the fragrant honeysuckle, which grew in a tangled mass across the length of the back fence. The last thing that passed through her mind as she sank toward sleep was an image of herself at home, leaning against the fence as Columbus soared overhead, circling ever higher toward the comforting expanse of sky.
The congregation filed into Hope Street's chapel. Chatter buzzed around the room, punctuated by laughter and the hungry cries of several infants. Soon, the opening praise hymn boomed joyfully throughout the large space and the worshipers leapt to their feet, singing and clapping in harmony with the drummer up on stage. Two more songs followed, before the offertory was given and several announcements were made. Then, as it was the first Sunday of a new month, it was time for Communion.
As the minister prepared the table with the bread and wine he and the elders would give to the congregation, the side door to the auditorium opened and a middle-aged man entered the room. His arms were wrapped around the shoulders of a handsome young man and the two walked confidently to a pair of empty seats in the front row.
Behind them, people began to mumble. Toward the back of the room, parishioners craned their necks to see what the fuss was about and when they recognized their fellow worshipers, their faces broke into wide smiles.
The minister welcomed his flock to come forward, and as each man, woman, and child came to partake of communion, they paused before approaching the altar in order to hug, kiss, or shake hands with Wesley and Caleb Hughes.
Father and son had been overwhelmed by the letters of encouragement in the mailbox, the piles of food delivered regularly by women of all ages, and the hundreds of phone calls and emails offering help and comfort. Now, sitting among their friends, they received whispers of sympathy, gracious prayers, and the physical touches and tearful smiles of every single person in the room. Young or old, close friend or distant acquaintance, each churchgoer made it a point to reach out to the two men and bless them.
When the minister stood to offer a Communion prayer, he did so with his hands resting on the crowns of the Hughes men's heads. Tears wet his cheeks but his voice was made powerful with joy.
"Thank you, Lord!" He lifted his face as he began his prayer. "For bringing these men home to us."
Outside Gold's Gym, Cooper's coworker, Ben, slung his workout bag onto the passenger seat and sank down into the driver's seat with a heavy sigh. He placed the keys in the ignition, but did not start his car. He just sat there, weary in mind and body, as the sun winked off his plastic water bottle and scattered star-shaped rainbows across the backs of his hands. Ben stared at them, and then lifted the bottle to his lips, drinking deeply. After wiping his lips onto his right shoulder, he held the bottle against his heart. The rainbows fluttered, shifted, and came to rest on the corner of the alcoholism brochure someone had placed inside his locker.
Ben withdrew the paper from his bag, powered up his cell phone, and dialed. When the sound of a woman's voice answered, he didn't know what to say. He cradled the phone against his ear, but couldn't begin to say the words he needed to say. The woman prodded him gently, reassuringly, until at last, he began to speak. Suddenly, it all came pouring out of him, in a rapid tumble of pain and grief.
The stranger listened and in her compassionate silence, Ben distinctly heard the sound of hope.
Ashley arrived at the hospital at the same time the Hope Street service was being held and Ben was dialing the hotline number. Dressed in jeans and a T-shirt instead of one of her chic Sunday suits, she entered the room just as Cooper's doctor departed, saying that she had no sign of a concussion and was free to leave.
"We're having a family day at home. Mama's making one of her famous million-calorie brunches," Ashley informed Cooper after hugging her gently. "I brought you a change of clothes. Mama says your shirt was fairly ruined." She dumped a shopping bag on the bed. "I simply cannot believe that Vance Maynard's girlfriend is a murderer! And how greedy could Vance be? He had plenty of money already!"
"From the photos I saw in Cindi's bedroom, Vance and Cindi have been together for a long time." Cooper fastened her watchband and dusted some dirt from the glass face. "They've been putting on an act that they were simply acquaintances. I bet they've used that act a lot."
Ashley handed Cooper a set of clothes. "As in, like, when Vance was still with his wife?"
Cooper nodded, sadly. "I'm afraid so."
"Do you think he had anything to do with his wife's death?" Ashley whispered dramatically.
Tired of the subject of murder, Cooper only answered by saying, "The police are looking into all of that." As she headed off to the bathroom to change, she added, "Can we talk about other things, Ashley?"
"Sure! How about my idea to throw you a
fabulous
birthday bash?"
"I don't like the sound of
bash
. Reminds me of your country club parties. How about something small, like a barbeque at home?" Cooper shouted through the closed door as she ran a brush through her hair.
Ashley's voice grew closer. "Not what I had in mind, but okay. A party will take your mind off all the
nasty
stuff you've been through and it would be a great way for the family to meet all your Bible study friends and especially Nathan."
Cooper emerged from the bathroom. "I'm ready to go home," she stated firmly. "This whole mess has taught me a thing or two. I've been sitting back too much, letting life happen to me instead of
making
things happen. If I can give up cigarettes, charging things on my Visa, and pining away for Drew, then I can do a lot of things."
Eyeing her reflection in the mirrored closet door, Cooper squared her shoulders and adopted an expression of determination. "I've got a busy summer ahead of me, Ashley, starting with that barbeque. After that, I'm going to start a new exercise routine, like running or biking, and I'm going to grow bushels of vegetables for the Food Bank.
And
, most importantly, I'm going to make sure Nathan Dexter takes me to that movie he owes me. Shoot, I might even get my hair highlighted." Cooper gestured impatiently at her startled sister. "Are you coming?" she asked and then marched purposefully down the hall, forcing Ashley to carry her bag.
Ashley spent the drive home casting sidelong glances at her sister, marveling at how different Cooper had become since the morning she had stumbled into the Sunrise Bible Study. Pleased that her older sister seemed to have discovered a new inner strength, Ashley relaxed at the wheel and launched into feverish chatter about an upcoming benefit while Cooper leaned against the passenger window and delighted in the sunlight falling upon her face.
As soon as Cooper got out of Ashley's convertible, her parents ran out of the house and welcomed her with cautious hugs and kisses on the cheek. Even Grammy was careful when she planted a dry kiss on her granddaughter's neck.
"I'm not going to break, y'all!" Cooper chided them happily. It had never felt so good to be embraced by her loved ones.
The tension from yesterday's events drained steadily away as Cooper sat at her parent's kitchen table, drinking Southern pecan coffee and watching her mother fry bacon. Grammy began to nag Ashley about producing great-grandchildren while Earl unfolded the Sunday paper. He filled in a Jumble word puzzle with one hand while holding Cooper's uninjured hand possessively in the other.
"Oh, a friend of yours dropped a box off here early this morning," Maggie said casually as she transferred six strips of bacon to a stack of paper towels. "It's on the hall table."
Cooper finished her coffee and retrieved the shoebox. Pushing the top off with her right hand, she picked up the note sitting on top of a pile of tissue and read:
Dear Cooper,
I truly hope you got some rest and are feeling better today. I got up early to spend the day with my sister. I am bringing her to Hope Street Church this morning and her boyfriend actually wants to come too!
Your shirt from yesterday was pretty ruined so your nurse put it in a bag in the closet of your hospital room. I was afraid something might happen to your pin and as I know how much it means to you, I removed it from the shirt and brought it home. It was a little bent, so I hammered out the dings (very gently, I promise) and polished it. It looks good as new.
When you've recovered, I hope you'll put your pin on and join me for a movie. Here's a gift certificate to the theater on Broad Street--just to show you that I haven't forgotten about that matinee I owe you. Give me a call when you're ready to eat a very large tub of buttered popcorn and one of those giant boxes of Milk Duds. 'Cause I like sugar too.
Yours,
Nathan
Cooper reread the note and then quickly unfolded the tissue. There was her butterfly pin, carefully nestled in a single sheet of bubble wrap. Cooper held it to the light and it shimmered as though the wings were moving and it was poised to lift in flight.
She turned back toward the kitchen and saw her mother removing a pan of cinnamon rolls from the oven. Grammy hastily identified the roll with the most icing and directed that it be put on her plate while Earl helped himself to a pile of crisp bacon. Ashley refilled her sister's coffee cup before pouring more into her own. Encased by the comforting warmth of this scene, Cooper's heart swelled. She glanced at Nathan's words once more and then tucked the note and the gift certificate into the pocket of her pants.
"Thank you for all of these gifts," she said in a whispered prayer as she gazed lovingly into the kitchen. Caressing the butterfly pin in her right hand, Cooper rejoined her family as they sat down to say grace.
Magnolia's Marvels:
Butterscotch Cheesecake Squares
Crust:
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 can sweetened condensed milk (14 oz.)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Drizzle: (optional)
1/4 cup semi-sweet morsels
2 teaspoons shortening
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan.
2. Crust: Combine butter and butterscotch morsels in a saucepan and, stirring constantly, cook over low heat. Once blended, add graham cracker crumbs.
3. Pack crust evenly onto bottom of baking pan.
4. Filling: Beat cream cheese and condensed milk in a small bowl. Beat in egg and vanilla extract. (Maggie likes to use an electric mixer on medium for 2 minutes. Make sure all the chunks of cream cheese have been beaten smooth). Pour over crust.
