Twenty-Nine
Trudy
If Trudy was an expert on anything, it was surviving a reputation ruined by Barbara Beaumont.
She couldn’t let that happen to June Bug.
She had to put an end to this—whatever this was.
June Bug was about to destroy his family’s name and his uncle’s career.
She shuddered imagining what might appear in Barbara’s column if she had any idea June Bug was kissing Carter Sissoms.
She’d had little time to make sense of what she’d seen, and while her heart would normally side with love, especially the kind of love that stepped outside the bounds, she could not let June Bug continue down this path.
She didn’t know how, exactly, she was going to help him come to his senses, but she knew this: he needed to get away from Carter.
Friday morning, she longed for time to think it through, but she had to get to school early so the cheerleaders could decorate for the pep rally.
Carrying this secret felt like lead in her belly, especially with no one else to share it with.
Unless, of course, she confessed to Carter or June Bug that she’d seen them, an idea she dismissed immediately.
Surely, Dee Dee had at least a clue about June Bug.
She had to, right? She seemed to carry on, nonstop, about June Bug this and June Bug that .
Trudy didn’t know whether she was trumpeting more than usual, or if it just seemed that way because now Trudy knew way more than she should—most notably that June Bug had only gotten back together with Dee Dee to appease his father until after the election.
Honestly, it was both satisfying and brutal to watch Dee Dee boast in blissful ignorance.
The cheerleaders rolled out a huge sign Carter had painted on multiple sheets of butcher paper pieced together.
A bear in sunglasses rode a motorcycle and had a BS shoulder tattoo.
Beside the bear, it read, B-B-B-Bruins are B-B-B-Bad to the Bone!
Some girls gushed compliments in Carter’s direction.
Dee Dee changed the subject and bragged how she’d picked out her dress, finally , for homecoming.
“I’m so happy y’all got back together,” Nonnie said.
“I knew they would,” Vangie added.
Carter kept his head down, unrolling other signs, laying them face-down so that Rejoice could put tape on the backside. Trudy wondered whether Carter confided in anyone besides June Bug. Rejoice, perhaps?
“Y’all know how boys are,” Dee Dee said, tossing her hair like a Vidal Sasson model. “They get totally weird when things get serious, but I knew June Bug would come around. I was worried it wouldn’t be before homecoming, though. My dress is blue, by the way.”
“My dress is blue!” Nonnie blurted—then immediately froze, like she wished she could chase the words down and shove them back into her mouth.
Dee Dee turned, slow and deliberate, and pitched Nonnie a look that could remove wallpaper. “Well,” she said, voice syrupy with menace, “hopefully you didn’t cut the tags off.”
A petty part of Trudy wanted this bombshell dropped on Dee Dee just to watch the unraveling—how satisfying a Beaumont implosion would be! But Trudy reminded herself that her own future would come apart in any undoing and that snapping June Bug back to reason was best for everyone long-term.
“And I can’t wait for Tuscaloosa,” Dee Dee said.
“You should be a cheerleader for the Tide,” Elsie said.
“Oh, I don’t know.” Dee Dee placed a hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side as if the decision to be a Bama cheerleader weighed heavily. “I’ll be so busy planning the wedding.”
Now Trudy caught herself rolling her eyes too.
“Mama won’t stop about getting married at the house,” Dee Dee said. “But I want a church wedding.”
“But Beaumont Forks is so beautiful,” Sandy offered. “I’d love to get married there.”
“Not if you lived there,” Dee Dee said. “It’s so old. Plus, every single Beaumont woman since 1816 has gotten married on our porch, along with some of our barefooted cousins from Tupelo. I want something different .”
At least one of those Tupelo cousins had been Jimmie, and a memory flashed of the meager crowd that had shown up to Beaumont Forks, with its sprawling veranda (hardly a “porch”) overlooking acres of rolling hills, to witness Trudy’s vows to Jimmie, albeit everyone in attendance, including Jimmie, had worn shoes.
“A church wedding will be nice,” Milly said.
Dee Dee carried on. “My mother insists I register for Old Country Roses. She says it’ll make it easier when I inherit my Mamaw’s set, but I want modern china, something like Noritake with the gold trim.”
Carter remained cool as a snow cone, the look on his face, steel.
As difficult as it must have been to maintain the pretense, Trudy figured he’d likely had plenty of practice by now.
It was, after all, a matter of social survival.
Trudy didn’t realize she was staring until Carter glanced at her and lifted his brow, quizzically.
Trudy snapped her head in the other direction, but then, trying to recover the blunder, looked right back at him and smiled weakly.
“We can’t get June Bug fitted for his suit on Saturday,” Dee Dee said. “Because he’s going fishing with Sissoms.” She looked at Carter with contemptuous accusation.
Carter looked at Dee Dee. “Don’t call me Sissoms,” he said. “Debor ah .” He kept his mouth open with the shape of the “ah” in Deborah longer than necessary, a clear taunt.
“He only hangs out with you because Mayor Moody makes him,” Dee Dee said.
Carter shook his head and went back to taping signs with Rejoice.
The true gravity of this moment was missed by everyone in the room except for Trudy and Carter. Trudy steadied herself and focused on not visibly reacting. Dee Dee may not have known details but she obviously saw Carter as a threat. Boy, if she only knew how accurate she was.
Trudy wished she could side with Carter, but she needed to get him alone to go to work on him. When she saw a chance to help him hang a Wallop the Wildcats! sign, she jumped.
“Thanks, ma’am, but Rejoice and I can do it,” Carter said.
“Actually,” Trudy said, “I need Rejoice to go ask Miss Duffy what time the band is showing up. She should be arriving right about now. Rejoice, honey, do you mind?”
“Of course not,” Rejoice scooted out of the gym toward the office.
Carter looked around at the girls and back at Trudy as if to say, God. This woman again .
“There are no signs on that end of the gym,” Trudy said. “Let’s hang this one down there.”
Dee Dee spun around. “Nobody comes through those doors,” she said. “Duh.”
“Well, maybe that’s because there are no signs to welcome them,” Trudy replied. “Come on, Carter.”
Dee Dee and Vangie rolled their eyes at one another.
“So ...” Trudy began, softly. “How was the Booins Festival?”
“All right.” Carter shrugged.
“Just all right?” Trudy tittered. “Come on, you don’t have to poo-poo everything in Bailey Springs.”
“‘ Poo-poo ?’ What is this? 1950?”
“Fair enough. Diss perhaps? Anyway, as someone who’s seen her fair share of Booins Festivals, I have to say this year’s was pretty good.
” Trudy hated that she sounded like an old fogey, and that she didn’t have a plan, but she needed to find a way to plant a little seed of doubt that could grow between the boys.
“I guess Dee Dee’s not a fan of fishing trips.” Trudy smirked.
Carter sniggered and shrugged.
“I didn’t realize you and June Bug were so close.”
Carter shot Trudy a look. “What do you mean?”
“Oh ... I mean, I never knew you were fishing buddies. He’s almost my nephew, you know.” The comment sounded so incredibly stupid, even to Trudy.
“Maybe we should get you a coffee mug.”
Trudy willed the barb not to sting and played along instead. “World’s Greatest Aunt?”
Carter smiled.
“June Bug would die.” Trudy laughed. “I should do it just to mess with him.”
That remark garnered a chuckle from the boy.
“Seriously, though.” Trudy cleared her throat. “I’ve been a little concerned after that interaction y’all had the first week of school. So, what? Y’all are friends now?”
“I guess you could say that.”
Trudy nodded, hoping her silence would coax more information, but Carter remained silent too. “Like close friends?”
“I don’t have any close friends.”
“Oh, come on now, what about Rejoice? And Faye?”
He slapped the corner of the sign with his palm, ensuring the tape stuck to the cinder block wall. “Dad said I needed to be friends with the mayor’s son.” He smirked to himself. “Mission accomplished.”
Trudy barked a laugh then immediately turned it into a cough.
Carter gave her a puzzled look.
“Some unsolicited advice?” she asked.
It came across more serious than she intended because he stiffened, tugged at his collar, pinched his brows together before returning Trudy’s beholding stare.
“Be careful.” Planting doubt felt like a betrayal, but she was ultimately protecting them from the Beaumonts. Perhaps this would be her personal inauguration into Aunt Trudyhood.
Carter got tape tangled between his fingers and the sign. He jerked but the bottom corner of the sign ripped off in his hands. “Damnit!”
Poor Carter. Trudy liked him, she really did, but he was so young and misguided.
“Jesus. It’s like living under a microscope in this town.”
“You think you’re under a microscope now ?” Trudy said. “Trust me. The Moody family? Now that is a twenty-four-seven public game. And listen, anything that happens with June Bug Moody, happens on the front page of the newspaper because of You Know Who.” Trudy ticked her head in Dee Dee’s direction.
“So don’t be friends with June Bug,” Carter said. “Got it. Thanks for the tip.”
“Carter,” Trudy said. “It’s not like this is out of left field; a few weeks ago he was bullying you—”
“He wasn’t bullying —”
“—and now you’re suddenly fishing buddies?”
Carter opened his mouth to respond then just sighed and rolled his eyes and busied himself taping the torn corner of the sign back together.
“Look, June Bug Moody comes from a long line— five decades —of politicians.”
“You mean like your fiancé?” Carter said.
“Fair enough.” Trudy stepped a little closer to Carter and he stiffened. “I really don’t mean to pry—”
“So don’t pry,” he said. “Easy fix.”
“You’re so creative, Carter, and there are lots of friends out there who could be creative like you. You’re not stuck with June Bug Moody.”
“ Creative , huh?” He glared at her. “Don’t you mean flamboyant?” She’d hit a nerve. “Like Sissy Sissoms?”
“No, that’s not what I said.”
“Yes, it is!” Carter’s voice echoed across the gym, bouncing off the domed ceiling as if he’d hollered in his big orange megaphone.
The girls zipped their attention across the basketball court to Carter and Trudy who stood frozen looking back at them as if they’d been caught stealing hair bows.
Carter flashed a big smile and said, “ Yes, it is such an excellent sign, Miss Abernathy! Wallop the Wildcats! And so creative ! Dee Dee, did you paint this creative sign?”
“Yes,” said Dee Dee. “I did. Why?”
“Thought so,” Carter said. “So creative , ain’t it, Miss Abernathy?”
Vangie and Dee Dee gave each other a look as if someone had brought a muddy dog to a bridal tea.
“Carter,” Trudy whispered. “I’m only trying to help.”
“Really?” he said. “Like the way you helped when Rejoice didn’t have the right uniform? Who do you think they blamed for that? You ?”
“I was trying to—”
“Because I got spaghetti dumped on my head in front of the whole school after that.”
“Carter ...” Trudy reached to touch his arm, but he jerked away.
“All I wanted was an approximation of a senior year. Turns out, that’s spectacularly difficult in this redneck town.”
“Gather around everyone!” Dee Dee hollered, ending their conversation. “And bring your homemade treats.”
Trudy had failed. If anything, Carter had likely doubled down on this June Bug thing.
The girls and Carter scurried to get their treats in various states: pie trays wrapped in plastic wrap, old cookie tins, shoe boxes decorated orange and blue. It amazed Trudy, honestly, the lengths they went to fulfill Dee Dee’s game-day treats-for-players mandate.
Once they’d gathered, Dee Dee continued. “Okay, y’all. When Mr. Hendon says your name, you will simply smile and wave. Is everyone clear? Carter and Rejoice, do not do partner stunts like the last pep rally. It’s embarrassing.”
They all nodded, except for Carter and Rejoice.
“Now, hold out your treats while Vangie and I inspect them.” The two girls went around the circle. Dee Dee made checkmarks on her clipboard.
“Faye!” Vangie hollered. “Little Debbies? The rule is nothing store-bought.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Faye explained. “I stayed up last night baking pecan sandies, but my little brother ate ’em this morning.”
“Yeah right, your little brother,” Vangie said.
“They’re as good as homemade.” Faye pointed to her box of Swiss cake rolls. “It says so right here.”
“We’ll overlook it this time Faye,” Dee Dee said. “But only because we are playing the Whitsett Wildcats tonight, hardly a game we have any chance of losing.” She scribbled on her clipboard. “Next week, however, is homecoming, so only home-baked treats.”
Dee Dee looked at Carter’s pie tin and said, “Brownies. Fine.”
Before she moved on Carter said, “I made extra.”
Dee Dee whipped a sharp eye back to him.
“If you want to give some to June Bug.” Carter shrugged and then grinned smugly. “Brownies are his favorite.”
Dee Dee cocked her head. “Snickerdoodles are his favorite.”
Carter’s audacity scared Trudy. This was getting out of hand.