Sullivans Island-Lowcountry 1 (19 page)

and practically ran from the bird and found ourselves back out-

side.We laughed at ourselves.

“You should’ve seen your face!” Beth said. “Like the thing

was a gorilla or something!”

“Did you think it would bite you?” I teased.“Oh, gosh! That

was funny. Come on, let’s go up to the house.”

“Yeah, I love the house. Can you imagine what it must’ve

been like to live here during the Civil War?”

“You wouldn’t have been too happy. The Yankees torched

the original manor house.This one’s a replacement.”

“So what do I do?”

“About what?”

“Jonathan. If he asks me can I go?”

“If he asks you? Of course you can!” There. I cleared the

hurdle like an Olympian. Piece of cake. She grabbed me around

the neck and started hugging me.

“Oh, Mom, I love you so much! Thank you, thank you,

thank you!”

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119

“Wait now! Listen, it depends on a few things, like who are

you going with, who’s driving and when you are to be home . . .

we are going to have to establish some ground rules here, okay?”

“Okay! No problem! Oh, God!”

“Don’t say God, please.”

“Don’t worry! Oh! I’m so happy! Wait till I tell Lucy! What

am I gonna wear?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll arm-wrestle your father for a new dress.”

We walked along the path toward the main house, with her

arm around my waist and mine looped over her shoulder. Such

small shoulders, I thought, so far to go yet.

As we passed the slave quarters, their ghosts seemed to stop

their work and wave at me. I looked at the brochure.
Antebellum

cabin
. Indeed, I said to myself.
Slave shack
is more like it. I couldn’t

help but think for a moment about Livvie’s family and wondered

if they had ever lived in such a hovel. They must have at some

point.

“Hey, Beth, see that little building? That was a slave house.”

“Yeah, I know, come on, we’ve seen it a million times. I

want to go to the gift shop.”

“Livvie’s family probably lived in one of those.”

“Really? Gee, I never thought of it that way. That’s totally

amazing. I mean, that somebody with her character could be

born in a dump like that, that’s incredible!”

“Child? Whoever said that character and integrity had a sin-

gle, solitary thing to do with money?”

In minutes we had joined a group of tourists on the porch

and soon we were walking through the rooms, oohing and aahing

over the antiques, the art collection and the proportion of the

rooms.

“I love this little bedroom,” Beth said.“When I get married

I’m gonna have a room like this for my daughter.And a fireplace

in mine!”

I smiled at her. Nothing like a dream, I thought.

“I love the quilts,” I said.

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“Yeah, me too.”

When the tour was over we decided we’d had enough history

for one day and agreed to go home and take it easy for a while.

Later we’d figure out supper and what to do for the evening.

Maybe we’d see a movie or maybe we’d drive over to Maggie’s. It

was only three o’clock. Too late to see another plantation, too early

to decide what to do about the evening.We were quiet in the car.

It had been a good outing. The difficult task of telling her about

retaining a lawyer was done. I thought we both had handled it

pretty well, given the gravity of it.And she had secured permission

for her first date, should she get the invitation. She probably would.

We turned left from Lockwood Boulevard onto Beaufain

Street and then right on Rutledge Avenue.

“So, you got a lawyer?” she said.

“Yep, and you got a boyfriend?”

“Yep.”

“Don’t worry, sugar, Momma can handle it. Someday, I’ll tell

you about my first romance. It was pretty hot.”

“Tell me now.”

“No, I’m pooped, another time.”

We w e r e c u r l e d up on the couch watching an old Fred Astaire

movie when the phone rang. Beth ran to the kitchen like her

hair was in flames to answer it. I couldn’t help thinking that she

should try out for the track team. After all, there was definitely

scholarship money in sports.

“Mom!” Beth’s voice called from the kitchen. “Can Lucy

and Charlene spend the night?”

Well, there goes another Saturday night, I thought.“Yes! Just

tell them they have to go home early in the morning! I prom-

ised Aunt Maggie we’d go to church with her.”

Silence, then giggling, then whispering, then giggling fol-

lowed by two shrieks of joy and then silence again. She returned

to the room and pounced on me.

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121

“God in heaven, girl! You’re gonna kill me one of these days!

Who’s Charlene?”

“New talent. Moved here from Atlanta. I love you, Momma,”

she said.

“Me too, baby.”

The phone rang again.

“I’ll get it!”

She always shouted like there were thirty other people who

were going to block her path to the phone. She got it on the

second ring. Must’ve been a world record. I needed to buy a

stopwatch.

“It’s for you! Aunt Maggie wants you.”

“Okay, tell her I’ll be right there.” I picked my purse up from

the hall floor and dug out my cigarettes and lighter.Any conver-

sation with Maggie was call for a smoke. “What’s up?” I said to

my sister.

“Susan, what are you doing tonight?”

“Beth has two friends sleeping over.Why?”

“Well, Grant has a new doctor from the hospital coming for

dinner. Precious! I’ve seen him! Can you come for dinner?”

“No way! No blind dates.”

“Come on, it’s not a date! I’m your sister, for heaven’s sake,

and this guy is a very nice, very successful, very cute, very eligible

bachelor.”

I thought for half a second and took a major drag on my

cigarette.

“I don’t think so,” I said,“but thanks for thinking of me.”

“Look, I’ve seen him. He is very cool.”

“What constitutes cool these days?”

“He walks with, I don’t know, a swagger or something. I’m

telling you, Susan, this would be a major mistake to pass this by.

You need to get out!”

“How old?” She had me.

“I hear you smoking. Fifty-four. Divorced. Two boys in

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college. Ex-wife remarried, and
lives in Europe,
I might add.

Bring your stuff and stay over!”

“Wait a minute, what about Beth? And her friends?”

“Bring them! Heck, I have room!”

“What time?”

“Seven-thirty.”

“What are you wearing?”

“Black tissue linen pants and a tunic top. Sandals. Come on,

Susan, you need some fun. Where were you all day? I’ve been

calling since noon!”

“Magnolia Gardens with Beth.”

“See what I mean? How many times are you gonna go back

to that place? Good grief ! You could’ve been getting your hair

blown out!”

“Right.” She was annoyingly correct as usual. “Let me talk

to Beth and I’ll call you back. Okay?”

“Make it fast or Grant’s gonna find him another dinner

partner.”

My first date in Life After Tom. I hung up the phone and

called Beth to come into the kitchen.

“Guess what?” I said.

“What?”

“I have a date.”

“Oh, my God! Oh, my God!”

“
Oh, my God
is right. Now what are we gonna do about

you and your friends?”

“Don’t worry! We’ll go to Charlene’s or Lucy’s! Here, quick!

Let me use the phone.”

She called them and the news was grim. They couldn’t

stay at Lucy’s because her mother was having company and

they couldn’t stay at Charlene’s because her little brothers had

chicken pox.

“Well, you’ll all have to come with me then! Aunt Maggie

said you could all stay over.You can order pizza or something.”

“No way. I’m not going.”

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123

“Why not?”

“This is about trust.You don’t trust me and this just proves it.”

One drawback of living with a volcano is that you never

knew when it would erupt. She had quite clearly inherited my

father’s temper and showcased it at the worst possible time.

“Of course I trust you! Good grief, Beth, this isn’t about

you! It’s about leaving three girls, underage, in my house all

night! There’s no way! So, get packed and call your friends and

give them the drill! We’re going to Maggie’s!”

“Mom! Please don’t make me go to Aunt Maggie’s house! I

don’t feel like doing that! I just want to rent some movies and

eat popcorn and gossip with my friends! I mean, look at me!

Am I the kind of girl who’d do something stupid? I’m on the

honor roll, for Pete’s sake!”

She ran upstairs and slammed the door. Against my better

judgment, I was going to give in. For once, I put myself first and

justified my decision by adding to my list of excuses that show-

ing up with three teenage girls couldn’t make me look any

younger to Dr.Wonderful.

“Beth?” No answer.“I want to talk to you.”

I went upstairs and opened her door. She was finally clean-

ing up after a week of throwing her clothes on the floor.

“Good idea,” I said, “don’t want the girls to see this mess,

right?”

“Oh, Momma, everybody’s a slob at my age.”

“Right. Listen, I’ve been thinking. I’ll go to Aunt Maggie’s

early and come home early. Just remember to keep all the doors

locked and I’ll be home by nine. Okay?”

“Thanks, Mom.You can trust me, I swear.”

“Don’t swear, help me find something to wear.”

We dug through my closets trying to find something to

make me look independent and reluctant but highly desirable.

This was a problem, as I had to be there in less than three hours

and had no time for liposuction. We finally settled on a long,

crinkled, pleated burgundy gauze skirt and a V-necked black silk

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sweater. I thought I looked like a gypsy but Beth told me I

looked hip and thin.
Hip and thin
. That was the exact phrase I

needed to hear.

“Okay, get out of here. I’m getting in the shower.Thanks.”

It had been decades since I’d dressed for a date. I washed

my hair and wrapped myself up in a huge towel. I looked in the

mirror. Contact lenses, I thought, don’t wear your glasses. I

pulled out a trial pack of extended-wear lenses and carefully

put them in, blinking like mad until they settled into place.

Slowly, I applied my makeup, taking each part of my face one

step at a time. I blew out my hair, thinking I needed a haircut.

I sprayed Chanel No. 5 all over myself. I got dressed and slipped

on a pair of sandals. Then I did the serious hair ritual: round

brush, spray with heat, flip it over the head, backcomb a little

and spray again. I sort of arranged it with my fingers and

sprayed it again.

Downstairs I rummaged through the refrigerator to find

something to take to Maggie’s for an hors d’oeuvre, remember-

ing I had cream cheese and green pepper jelly somewhere in the

jumble of plastic containers and cartons. All true Charlestonians

serve green pepper jelly on cream cheese on little crackers.

I went to the living room to turn off the television and caught

my reflection in the huge gilt mirror. I gave myself a good look. I

hadn’t worn makeup in a year and I was a little worried about how

I’d renovate. Not a Bond girl, but not a librarian either. In fact,

pretty cool for forty-whatever, I thought. I sure liked my body bet-

ter than I had six months ago.

Suddenly, I had second thoughts about leaving Beth here,

but quickly pushed them away. Maybe I’ll come home earlier

than I told her, I said to myself.That felt better. “Beth!” I called

out.“Come give me a kiss! I gotta go!”

I threw the cheese and jelly into a plastic grocery bag with a

box of water crackers and waited for her by the back door.

“Mom! You look totally awesome!”

“Thanks, honey! Now remember, no funny business!”

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125

“Don’t worry! Just have fun!”

I closed the door behind me and crossed the yard to my car.

It occurred to me that when your children told you not to

worry, that would be the perfect time to start worrying. All the

way to the beach I worried, first about Beth and her friends and

then about just what the hell I was doing rushing out to meet

some jackass I’d probably hate on sight anyhow.

“You’re early! Good! You can help me make salad!” Maggie

said when I came through the back door, giving me a peck on

the cheek. “Look at you, honey chile! You look ten years

younger!”

“Thanks! I’m a wreck! I can’t believe I came. I must’ve been

crazy. I’m so nervous I don’t even remember driving here.

Where’s Grant?”

“In the shower. Honey, just relax and let Roger talk about

himself. Men love to do that.You’re gonna like him, I swear, he’s

funny as a rip. Go look at my table and tell me what you think.”

“Okay, I brought pepper jelly in here.” I handed her the bag.