Sullivans Island-Lowcountry 1 (61 page)

fools. I mean, he couldn’t even take me to the movies. I was too

young to date! Well, maybe I wasn’t really, but nobody in my

class dated, and in my family you didn’t date until everyone was

sure you weren’t convent material.

Simon was my first and only love. But I admitted to myself

that Fat Albert showing up had probably been a blessing in dis-

guise. I understood now why Maggie was so hot for Lucius.This

make-out stuff was pretty fabulous fun, but dangerous too. I

could just see both of us winding up pregnant. Good Lord.

May came and Dr. Send Her to School was coming for a

weekend. When Momma and he weren’t writing each other,

they were calling each other. Momma may have been crazy but

she was different, stronger. Suddenly she had opinions and she

talked about things like a happy person, instead of one who lived

on the edge of Armageddon. Love did that to you, I thought. She

was sitting in the kitchen with Aunt Carol, talking about him. I

was snapping five pounds of green beans on the back steps with

Livvie. I guess they forgot we were there, like usual.

“What’s wrong, Carol?” my momma asked.

“Oh, nothing. It’s just that ever since Easter a person can’t

talk to you about anything except Stan. It’s getting kind of bor-

ing to be around you, MC. I’m sorry to say that to you, but it’s

the truth.”

Livvie and I looked at each other, smelling trouble.

“Jealous,” I whispered to Livvie.

“Humph,” she whispered back.

“Well, you don’t have to be around me if you don’t want to,

Carol Asalit.”

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“What? Well, I never! Fine. That’s fine with me! I’m going

home to my husband, who appreciates me.”

“My husband appreciated you too, I hear.”

“Well! I never!” Silence for a moment, except for my aunt’s

gasping and clucking noises. “I don’t need to stay here and be

insulted and falsely accused this way!”

“If you don’t behave—if you look so much as sideways at

Stan—I’ll tell my brother everything I know!”

“You! You think you’re such a saint!”

“Ha! And you think you’re the only woman in the world!

You’re getting old, Carol! Your varicose veins are showing and

when you get angry all the little lines around your lips show.”

“I am never stepping foot in this house again!”

“Fine!” my mother said.“Then I don’t have to worry where

your feet are during dinner!”

Holy moly, I thought, how did Momma know all this? And,

more importantly, was that
my
momma talking like that?

I looked up at Livvie. She was a little sheepish. “I only told

her about the feet after she tell me Miss Simpson tell she about

the storm!”

Alice Simpson had spilled the beans on Aunt Carol and

Daddy in their episode of “The Secret Storm.” And Livvie had

iced the cake! Good!

Aunt Carol slammed out the door and raced down the steps

to her car, face red as a beet. Our dog ran barking behind her.

She reached her foot out to kick him and he jumped away and

then lunged at her. She tore out of the yard in reverse, the dust

kicking up under her car. Rascal chased her, barking his brains

out, until his voice tapered off in the distance. The back door

opened again and Momma came out and stood on the steps.

She looked down at us and smiled.

“Do Lawd, Miss MC, what bee got in your bonnet?” Livvie

was grinning from ear to ear. So was I.

“No bee, Livvie, I’m just not afraid of her anymore. In fact,

I’ve never felt quite so good. Lord! What a beautiful afternoon!”

S u l l i v a n ’ s I s l a n d

417

“If it makes any difference to anybody around here,” I said,

“I never really liked her much and I ain’t gone miss her!”

Momma looked at me as if she were surprised all at once to

see me so much older.We started to laugh.

“Did you see her swishing her butt down the steps?” I said

to Livvie and Momma.

“You should’ve seen her face when I told her I knew!”

Momma said. “She makes me so mad, that woman! I hope she

does
tell Louis and then I can tell him what I know!”

“Yeah, Momma! You were great!”

“You know, I’ve been wanting to give that you-know-what

a piece of my mind for twenty years!”

“Well, ya done good, Momma,” I said. “Come on, let’s take

the twins for a walk.”

And we did.

L i v v i e a n d i

were sweeping the porch together. Dr.

Divorced, Rich and Jewish was coming in soon to spend the

Memorial Day weekend, and Momma wanted everything

just so. The twins were in the playpen, gurgling like babies

do. They played so well and hardly ever fussed unless they

were tired or hungry. Of course, with all of us to play with

them, they never lacked attention. They would have their

first birthday soon.

Dr. Stanley Rifkin arrived in a red convertible rental car and

parked in front of the house. I heard Simon coming down the

steps to greet him. Stanley got out and waved hello to us.

“Hi!” I said.“How was your flight?”

“Oh, just fine, Susan! Thank you for asking! Such a nice girl

you are!”

“Jeesch,” I said under my breath and Livvie giggled, knowing

that this man got on my nerves. He wasn’t like Simon, who was

a wise guy like me. No, Simon’s father was slow and deliberate,

his manners from another time. Everything about his demeanor

spoke of his intelligence. I just couldn’t believe that a powerful,

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D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k

educated man like him would want to get mixed up with a crazy

widow and her six children.

Livvie went to the door and held it open for him so he

could put his luggage inside on the porch. It had
L
s and
V
s all

over it. If he was supposed to have so much money, couldn’t he

have afforded his own initials?

“I’m glad you’re both here,” he said. “Oh. Simon, my boy!

Come here, all of you. Got something I want to show you.”

“Hey, Dad!” Simon kissed his father on the cheek.

Stanley was clearly nervous and excited. He dug around in

his jacket pockets for something, eventually producing a little

velvet box. He opened it for all of us to see. It was a beautiful,

big, and I mean big, door knocker of a round white diamond

ring. It could’ve been the night lights at the ball field. It had

smaller, round rubies on either side. My jaw dropped. Simon’s

jaw dropped and Livvie started to laugh.

“Oh, Lawd have mercy! Lawd have mercy!” She was slap-

ping her thighs and doing a little dance.

“Is this good?” Stanley asked, smiling widely. He pointed to

Livvie.“Does this mean she approves?”

“Mr. Doctor? You don’t need me to say it’s okay, but I tell

you what, you just what this family need! Yes, sir! You just the

medicine they all need! Yeah, Gawd! That’s the biggest diamond

I ever did see! Wait till I tell Harriet ’bout this!”

“My brother!” I said and hugged Simon.

“My sister!” He laughed and hugged me back.

“Well, Miss Susan, I want to tell you this,” Stanley said.

“First, I’m going around to see Louis and ask for your mother’s

hand.With his approval and, of course, MC’s, I’d like to marry

your mother in the fall. Now, I want you to understand that I

know I can’t replace your father, you’re too old for that. But, I

would
like to be your friend. If you ever need anything, you

come to me, all right? And call me Stan. I always wanted a

daughter, now I could have four! If Marie Catherine says yes, I

swear I’ll be the happiest man in the world!”

S u l l i v a n ’ s I s l a n d

419

“Oh, Stan,” I said, giving the old goat a good hug, “I’m so

happy for both of you. I really mean it. Please make sure Aunt

Carol gets a good look at the ring, okay?”

“I understand completely,” he said and winked at me.

I h a d k i s s e d the twins and everybody else twice or three times.

Even though Momma was engaged and they could now afford

Livvie, I was still very nervous about leaving. Everything would

be different for Timmy, Henry and Maggie when Momma mar-

ried Stanley Rifkin. But at least they would all have each other.

I would be alone.

Maggie and I had had long talks, late at night, all summer

long. I would miss her so much. She was considering breaking

up with Lucius for the same reasons I had cooled things with

Simon. Even though she was older than I was, she was begin-

ning to realize that Lucius would never marry her. His mother

and her Virginia Tidewater family would never accept a girl

from Sullivan’s Island, even though our family had fought in

every war in America for the past two hundred years.

Simon and I were just friends by that point. Momma and

Stanley getting engaged made our love feel too weird. Anyway,

Simon had promised to write me and he was going to drive me

to St. Anne’s. I had given him a picture of myself that I had had

taken at Furchgott’ s Studio in Charleston. I looked pretty good

in the white cotton lace drape. I signed the back before I put it in

a frame.
To the only man I’ll ever really love, Susan.
I was counting

on him never opening the frame and seeing it.

Timmy started to cry when he saw my bags all packed.

Then Henry started to cry. I took care of that by kicking them

in the shins as hard as I could.

“Remember that this is how life here can be,” I said, “and

write to me every week, okay? Look after Maggie and the twins

and if they get into trouble, call me. Swear it.”

We made pinky oaths and then we hugged.They would be

all right and I would be home in three weeks for the wedding.

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D o r o t h e a B e n t o n F r a n k

They weren’t getting rid of me quite yet. I scratched Rascal

behind the ears.

The hardest person to leave was Livvie. She was waiting for

me in the kitchen.

“So now what?” I said.“If it weren’t for you, I’d probably be

going to jail instead of boarding school.”

“That’s true enough,” she said.

“I can’t tell you good-bye, Livvie.”

“You never have to, Susan.”

“What? What do you mean?”

“The mirror. Even when I gone to glory and my Nelson, I

still come to you.”

“Yeah, but Livvie, I can’t see
anything
in that mirror.”

“Someday you will. And don’t you ever forget, this old col-

ored woman loves this Geechee girl so.”

“Oh, God, Livvie, and how I love you. I always will.”

Twenty

Lowcountry Magic

}

1999

AGGIE?” I was on the phone with my sister.

“Guess what I found?”

M I told her about the pictures of Fat Albert’s

and Marvin Struthers’s feet in the photo at the Klan rally. She

was stunned.

“Well, I’ll be darned. It wasn’t enough for old Marvin to be

mayor? He had to be the Grand Dragon too?”

“I know. I mean, Maggie, it makes perfect sense. Albert

probably ran Daddy off the road and Marvin Struthers and him

probably pushed Daddy’s car into the marsh. I have to think this

all through and I’m sure if I kept digging I could find the evi-

dence, but I swear I am so relieved just to know. No wonder

Marvin headed up the investigation with Albert! No wonder no

one was blamed! Pity that old Marvin and Albert have been fer-

tilizer for years.”

“You’re right. I mean, what would you do with the proof

anyway? Can’t put a dead man in jail.”

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“Exactly. And it wouldn’t be worth embarrassing their

families.”

“Yeah, but at the same time, it’s good that you can finally

put your mind to rest.”

“Yeah. Maggie, did you ever think of Daddy as a hero?” We

were quiet for a moment, numbed by the news and the sugges-

tion that he was.

“Never even considered it. Until now, that is.”

“God almighty. Life is so weird.”

I t wa s t h e Wednesday before Christmas. I had been working late

at the library every day and at the same time trying to prepare for

the holiday.We had been blessed with perfect springlike weather

all week, which made gathering greens from the yard a very

pleasant task. I had finally put the last of our decorations on the

tree and around our house. I arranged some of the smaller

branches of magnolia in a glass bowl in the middle of the dining

room table, and put red glass balls on florist’s sticks in between

them. I polished the magnolia leaves with Wesson Oil—a trick

Maggie taught me—and I thought you could part your hair in

their reflection. Speaking of hair, I was pleased that I remem-

bered to send a card to Kim. He was turning out to be a good

friend and I was grateful to have him in my life. I needed some-

one besides Maggie and Beth.

I had hardly heard from Tom since he had left my house

after his surgery except to discuss money and visitation, which

led me to believe that Karen was firmly in his life. Occasionally,

we’d discuss the treatments he was having and he seemed to be