Sisters in Paradise

Chapter 21

“Do I stay, or do I go?” Ophelia asked her reflection in the mirror that Sunday morning as she got ready for church. She had tamed her hair somewhat, and big bouncy curls floated down her back. For church that morning, she had chosen a straight denim skirt that came down to her ankles with a side slit up to her knee and a shirt printed with tiny little shamrocks. Green inlays were cut into her white cowgirl boots.

Tertia came into the bathroom and went straight to the sink and started putting on her makeup. “Go or stay where? Church or the winery? Do you think that shirt will bring you good luck?”

“I’m going to church, but things have been so very businesslike at work for the past three days that sometimes I consider putting in my notice.” Ophelia answered. “Then I rethink the whole thing, and I’m determined that I’m not going to lose this battle even if I feel like I’m leaving a funeral every day when I walk out of the place. And yes, I wore this shirt special today in hopes it will bring me good luck.”

“What would good luck look like?” Tertia asked as she leaned into her mirror and applied lipstick. She wore a multicolored gauze skirt with a bright-orange tank top and matching sandals. “If Jake sells the winery, and you move on to find someone else, is that good luck? Or is it good luck if you and Jake make up and go on to have great-grandkids together?”

“Is that my only two options?” Ophelia turned around and leaned against the long vanity.

“One never knows until it happens, and then it takes us ten years to figure out if it was good or bad luck,” Tertia answered. “Has Jake said anything about his plans?”

Ophelia raised one shoulder in half a shrug. “Nope, we are professionally polite. ‘Good morning,’ and ‘Have a nice evening,’ are basically what conversations we have each day.”

Tertia twisted her curly brown hair up off her neck and held it there with a large clamp. “Are you ever going to talk about it?”

“The ball is in his court,” Ophelia replied. “How about you and Noah? Any communication?”

“Nope, not a word, zilch, nada, nothing,” Tertia answered. “How long are you going to work at the winery if things don’t change this next week?”

“I’m determined to outlast Jake Brennan,” Ophelia answered and took a step toward the door. “And, Sister, your skirt is tucked up in your panties.”

“Are you teasing me?” Tertia whipped around and checked her backside in the long mirror on the back of the door to find the hem of her dress tucked into her bright-red lacy bikini underwear.

“I wouldn’t joke about something like that,” Ophelia said and then pulled her sister’s dress free. “But if you got all the way to church without anyone noticing, and Noah was there…” She giggled.

Tertia followed her sister out of the bathroom. “I’m not sure he would even be kind enough to say anything about something like that. Thanks for not letting me embarrass myself. Are you ready for the family’s questions when Noah and Jake don’t show up for Sunday dinner?”

“Nope, I’m not, but today won’t be a big problem. Remember that we’re having a potluck to welcome our new preacher. Everyone will be so busy that they won’t even realize we aren’t sitting with Noah and Jake,” Ophelia answered.

“Saved by a slow cooker of baked beans,” Tertia smiled. “And a blackberry cobbler for Daddy. Maybe if we are ‘lucky’”—she air quoted the last word—“neither of them will show up today, and we’ll get another week’s reprieve.”

Ophelia crossed the long hallway and started down the stairs. “That would fall under the miracle category.” She came to a dead stop on the third step from the bottom and realized that Jake was standing there, staring right into her eyes with his cowboy hat in his hand.

She felt Tertia’s hand land on her shoulder, probably more for balance than for support, but it helped all the same.

“Good morning,” Ophelia said.

“Good morning to you. Endora told me to wait right here, and you would be down in a few minutes,” Jake said. “I should have called first, but I was afraid you would say no. Would you go to church with me this morning, and then out to dinner so we can talk?”

“Say yes,” Tertia whispered.

Ophelia shook her head.

“I understand,” Jake said.

Tertia gave her shoulder a hard squeeze. “Get it over with.”

“All right,” Ophelia said, “but we have a potluck after church today to welcome Parker to the church and our town. I need to be there and help with that.”

“I had forgotten that was planned. I could go to the potluck, and then maybe talk afterward?” Jake looked so miserable that Ophelia wanted to hug him—until she remembered the argument.

“That might work.” Ophelia finally nodded.

Jake held out a hand, and she put hers in it. The chemistry was still there, to her surprise. She figured that the chill of the previous couple of days would have frozen any future vibes.

“Thank you,” he said, but his eyes still looked sad. Did that mean he had sold the winery and was going to tell her not to come to work on Tuesday?

He held the truck door open for her without saying a word, and they rode in silence to the end of the lane. “Conor and his girlfriend, Lucy, will be here in time to help me harvest the crop in a few weeks. Until then, it will just be the two of us. I’ve been on pins and needles that you will turn in your notice or simply not show up for work.”

The thought was crazy, but all Ophelia could think at that moment was that Bernie was going to be disappointed that Conor wouldn’t be up for grabs in her matchmaking schemes. Then that idea vanished, and she figured that Jake was about to tell her that she’d better look for another job pretty soon.

“Lucy’s father works for Grandpa in his wine-making business, and she knows quite a bit about the business. They’ll be moving in the trailer with me,” he said.

“That’s great news.” Ophelia’s tone sounded hollow even in her own ears. Did that mean Lucy would take over the front of the winery when she arrived? “Does that mean he’s buying the business from you?”

“That’s a fair question after the way things have been the past few days,” Jake answered. “But no, the winery is not for sale. However…”

Ophelia was ready for him to say that she wouldn’t be needed anymore when Lucy and Conor arrived. “However, what?”

“However, Conor would like to invest in the winery and make it even bigger—be a partner so to speak. He would put up the money for more grape arbors and an addition onto the warehouse part of the business so we can store more barrels. And Lucy wants to expand to include white grapes.” He pulled into the church lot and nosed into one of the few parking spots left. “What do you think?”

“I told you the first day I walked into your winery that I don’t know jack squat about making wine.” Ophelia wondered exactly why he was even asking her opinion. “We should go on inside. Services begin in five minutes, and we can talk about this later.”

Jake nodded, got out of the truck, and like always, opened the door for her. He did not try to hold her hand as they crossed the gravel parking lot, but he did guide her down the center aisle with his hand on her lower back. The church was so full that there were only places to sit left on the front pew. Parker took his place behind the lectern at the same time Noah entered the sanctuary.

“Looks like we’ve got a full house today, Noah, but if everyone on the front pew scooted down just a little, there would be room for one more. The scripture tells us it will be a tight squeeze by the time Tertia gets here. There she is now. Come on down to the front, Tertia,” Parker said. “Noah is waiting for you.”

Ophelia’s heart went out to her sister. Poor Tertia had no option other than escaping back to the fellowship hall and leaving the door open so she could hear the sermon. When everyone scooted down, Jake’s shoulder was pressed firmly against Ophelia’s, and he held the hymnal they would have to share.

“Welcome to everyone this fine, sunny morning,” Parker said. “I don’t know all of you yet, but I’m so glad to see a full church this morning. Before I deliver my message, I’m going to turn this over to our song leader, Miz Dolly Devlin. Let’s lift our voices so that everyone in Spanish Fort can hear us.” He sat down on the deacon’s bench to his right, and Dolly marched up the aisle to take her place. “Let’s have a congregational singing this morning with hymn number 63.”

Jake had picked up one of the two hymnals lying on the pew when he sat down, so he opened it to the right page and shared the book with Ophelia. Noah did the same with the one he had in his hands and held it over toward Tertia. Ophelia couldn’t have cut the tension swarming around the four of them with a machete. Several elderly folks, mostly with hearing problems, sat on the pew with the four of them and had no idea that the world wasn’t perfect between the two couples.

God has got a sense of humor almost as big as my Universe does.Bernie’s voice popped into Ophelia’s head.

This is not funny by any standard—in heaven, on earth, or anywhere in between,Ophelia argued silently.

The song ended. Noah and Jake held the hymnals in their laps since there was no place to put them. Parker stepped up to the old oak lectern and smiled. Ophelia could almost read Bernie’s thoughts, even though she was sitting several rows back with the rest of the family.

“I’d like to say welcome again, and to tell you that I’m grateful to be here in Spanish Fort. As some of you know, this is my first position as a full-time preacher, but I’m a lot like Paul in the Bible. When he went to a new place, he worked to earn his keep, and I will be helping a local carpenter”—he waved at Henry—“here in town. But my congregation comes first, so when and if any of you need me, I’m just a phone call away. That said, open your Bibles to the fifth chapter of Matthew, and let’s visit a while about forgiveness.”

I agree, Aunt Bernie.Ophelia rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. God does have a sense of humor, or else He is speaking loudly to all four of us this morning.

Ophelia leaned forward just enough to catch Tertia’s attention and winked. Tertia barely shook her head, but the meaning was clear. Parker could preach until eternity dawned without his message getting through to Tertia. She had not forgotten Noah’s bullying when they were kids, and she might never forgive him for the way he talked to her a few days ago. Of all seven sisters, Tertia was the funny one, but she could also hold a grudge forever.

Tertia set her jaw, clenched her teeth, and swore she would freeze the vibes she felt at the touch of Noah’s shoulder pressing against hers. Sure, sitting beside Noah and sharing a hymnal with him would convince folks that they were a couple, and that would keep the questions at bay for a while longer. But if he was feeling the same chemistry that she was—which she doubted from the way he held himself so stiffly—he could just take a flying leap at a rolling doughnut in a blizzard.

Parker’s soft southern accent was very different from the big booming voice that the old preacher had. Even though Tertia wasn’t listening to a word Parker said, his southern tone had a soothing effect on her thoughts as she wrote out several recipes in her mind. She was going to publish a cookbook by Christmas, even if she had to self-pub it and sell her wares out of the trunk of her car.

She was jerked back to the present when Parker said, “I’ll ask Joe Clay Carter to give the benediction and say grace for the meal we are about to partake of, and then we’ll sit still just a minute or two to allow the ladies who are preparing our potluck dinner to leave first.”

When she saw her dad stand up to pray, Tertia bowed her head and reined in her thoughts even further. His prayer was short, and the amen came before Parker reached the back of the sanctuary to shake hands with all his congregation. Tertia had never been so glad to stand up and head to the fellowship hall with the ladies who would be helping with the dinner. But the heat from Noah’s shoulder didn’t disappear just because she was away from it.

Ophelia looped her arm in Tertia’s and whispered, “We survived, but I could hear Aunt Bernie giggling because we had to sit on the front pew.”

“I love Jesus for not letting me go up in flames—both from the heat I felt sitting so close to Noah, and for my wandering thoughts. I got to admit I didn’t hear a lot of the sermon,” Tertia said out of the side of her mouth. “But I did hear that he was preaching on forgiveness, and I’m not buying into that—not even if Noah Wilson walks through a bed of hot coals to bring me a box of chocolates and a dozen red roses.”

Ophelia was the first one to the double doors into the fellowship hall, so she opened both of them wide. “Not even if he dropped down on his knees and begged?”

Tertia removed her sister’s arm from hers and went straight to the kitchen, where she took two bibbed aprons from a hook. She handed one to Ophelia and put the other one over her neck, then tied the waist strings in the back. “He was too proud to apologize as a kid. You don’t change the stripes on a zebra.”

Ophelia took the apron that Tertia handed to her and slipped it over her head. “I believe that’s spots on a leopard.”

“What…ever!” Tertia did a head wiggle.

Endora walked past them and slipped an apron over her outfit—a red-and-white-polka-dotted dress with a white collar. “Wasn’t that a lovely sermon?”

“Are you ready to forgive your two exes?” Tertia asked.

Endora frowned. “Two? There was only Kevin.”

“And Krystal. She is now your ex-friend, but she had an ongoing affair with him,” Ophelia reminded her.

“I’m working on it. The forgiveness is a lot easier than the forgetting, isn’t it?” Endora said with a nod.

“Yes, it is,” Tertia agreed, “but you’ve come a long way in the past six months.”

“I’ve had a lot of help from my family,” Endora said with a smile. “Now, we better get busy. We’ve got a bunch of folks to feed today.”

“Amazing how the mention of a potluck brings more folks to church,” Ophelia whispered.

“Feed ’em naturally and spiritually.” Endora went around the end of the long row of tables and began to take lids off of the casserole dishes and slow cookers. “And besides, if the church grows, then maybe the community will too. Wouldn’t it be something if we got a post office again?”

“It could happen.” Tertia tried to keep an upbeat tone, but it wasn’t easy. Still, there was no need to spoil Endora’s positivity—especially after all the negativity she had overcome. “Looks they’re fixin’ to start coming in, and Parker is leading the parade.” She nodded toward all the folks starting to come into the fellowship hall.

“I just love gatherings like this.” Endora’s bright smile was met with one from Parker as he entered the room before any of the congregation.

Ophelia nudged Tertia on the shoulder. “Think there might be a possibility there between those two?”

“Not if Aunt Bernie has her way,” Tertia answered. “She’s got him earmarked for Bo.”

“We are living proof that she’s been wrong before,” Ophelia said.

Parker went to a table right inside the room and picked up a microphone. “Thank you to all the ladies who did this so I could get to know more of the church family. Thank you to everyone who insisted that I was first in line today since this was done to welcome me to Spanish Fort. I have to admit, I never expected such a warm welcome. Now, let’s dig into all this good food and enjoy the fellowship amongst ourselves.”

Tertia scanned the folks waiting at the door for Parker to finish and caught sight of Noah. He looked miserable, but she didn’t feel sorry for him. His attitude had caused him to be unhappy, so he could deal with it.

“Okay, girls,” Mary Jane said, “Ophelia, you are on tea duty. Tertia, you can take care of water. Endora, grab a pitcher of lemonade. Ursula and Luna can stay behind the tables with me to help however we are needed.”

“I’ll go to the kitchen with Dolly as soon as we eat and help wash up the casserole dishes as they are emptied,” Bernie offered.

Tertia waited until a few people were seated to pick up a pitcher of water and begin her rounds. When she reached Noah, he held his red disposable glass full of ice over his shoulder for her to fill. She fought the urge to miss the glass and pour water down the back of his neck, but then he looked up at her with sad eyes.

“Can we talk?” he asked.

“What good would it do?” she whispered and went to the next table.

Bernie shook her head when Tertia offered to fill her glass. “I’m waiting for tea, but what was that all about? Are you and Noah fighting? You should have listened to me. I told you that a skunk can’t ever get rid of the stink on him.”

Dolly clucked like an old mother hen gathering in her chicks. “Poor old Noah. I feel sorry for him.”

“Why?” Tertia asked.

“He’s had a whole streak of bad luck ever since he was in school, and the first thing was Wanette,” Dolly whispered. “Now, he’ll most likely have to go back to coaching. I was sure looking forward to having a restaurant right here in Spanish Fort.”

“That’s what he gets for being a bully,” Bernie said out the corner of her mouth.

“What was Aunt Bernie telling you?” Ophelia asked when she and Tertia met in the kitchen to refill their pitchers.

“She’s figured out something is going on with me and Noah. Dolly says he’s had some bad luck as far as the café goes and may have to keep his coaching job,” Tertia answered. “Good thing I hadn’t made up my mind about working with him, isn’t it?”

“Disappointed?” Ophelia asked.

Tertia nodded. “Got to be honest and admit that I am disappointed. That was my dream job, and making the cookbook was important to me. Both have been dashed, but hey, I didn’t have my life all lined out when I left coaching and came back here. I’ve still got a year to get things figured out.”

“You can always sub, like I did,” Ophelia suggested.

Tertia shook her head. “I’m done with teaching in any form or fashion. I’m going to follow in Endora’s footsteps.”

“And write children’s books all summer?” Ophelia asked.

“No, I’m going to invent recipes, test them, and write a cookbook.” Tertia picked up her pitcher of water and headed back out of the kitchen. “One more round and then Mama says we can eat.”

“I’m so ready. Do you think you might talk a few of the church women to share their recipes with you?” Ophelia asked.

“Hey, that’s a great idea. We could make a Spanish Fort church cookbook and sell it as a fundraiser for the church. We could title it Famous Funeral Dinners.” Tertia was excited just thinking about it. “I’ll volunteer to be the head of the committee and get the cookbook all ready for publication.”

“Sounds like a plan, and you can work on your personal one at the same time. That should keep you busy when we’re not working on Luna’s wedding,” Ophelia said and carried her pitcher of tea out of the room.

“Wedding plans are usually only on Sunday evenings, so I’ll have plenty of time through the week.” Tertia was already planning several alternatives to the title as she made a final round to see if anyone needed a water refill.

Ophelia expected Jake to take her home after the potluck, but he made a right out of the church parking lot and drove straight ahead. “Luna and Shane are at the Paradise, so why are we going to their house?”

“Shane said we could borrow his willow tree down by the river,” Jake explained. “He said that’s where he and Luna made up after a big fight that they had back before Christmas.”

“Why did you tell Shane about it?”

“Because he came in to buy a bottle of wine and asked me if someone died,” Jake answered. “When I told him about the review and everything else, he said I should talk you into coming down here with me to talk things through.”

“Well,” Ophelia crossed her arms over her chest. “We didn’t actually have a fight, just a difference of opinion.”

The road to the river was two bumpy ruts with knee-high grass and weeds growing up in the middle. Jake had to slow down to let a couple of bunnies cross from one side to the other. “Then why does it feel like we are about to break up?”

“One date doesn’t mean we were a couple. It means that we figured out we are not compatible,” she said.

He braked at the end of the road, got out of the truck, and opened the door for her. “Maybe not, but it was beginning to feel like we might be—at least, to me.”

She slid off the seat and planted her feet on the ground. She had already lost one pair of expensive high heels to the tornado, and the ground was soft around the river, so she was glad that she’d worn her boots that day.

He laced his fingers with hers and nodded toward a huge weeping willow tree. “That’s where we are going.”

Dammit! I don’t want just holding his hand to affect me this way,she thought. Why can’t my heart want someone else?

Maybe Parker?Aunt Bernie’s voice was back in her head.

Ophelia set her jaw in a firm line. She was not one bit interested in a man who barely came up to her shoulder, and besides all that, she couldn’t see herself as a preacher’s wife.

Jake let go of her hand and parted the long, drooping limbs as if they were curtains. “Ladies first.”

Luna had told her the story of how she and Shane had settled their argument under the old willow tree. Ophelia could understand where two people could settle their differences when she stepped into an area that was so ethereal that it took her breath away. The massive tree grew right up in the middle of a wide circle of ground packed down as hard as concrete. The only sounds were tree frogs and birds blending their voices like a church choir and the occasional splash out in the river when a catfish flopped up out of the water.

Ophelia sat down and braced her back against the massive tree trunk. “I can see why Shane and Luna like this place. It’s like the rest of the world has disappeared with all its cares and problems.”

Jake eased down close enough that he could share the tree trunk with her. “It’s sure peaceful, isn’t it? It’s a perfect place for us to clear the air.”

He waited so long to say another word that Ophelia thought maybe he’d changed his mind. “Do you want to go first, or should I?”

“This is your party, so have at it,” she said.

“I’m not a quitter, never have been,” Jake declared, “but when all that came crashing down on me at the same time, I wanted to throw up my hands and give up. I’m sure we’ve all been in that place a time or two. I thought I needed your support that day, but after a couple of days of stewing about the situation”—he paused—“and listening to Lester, Frankie, and even Rodney fuss at me, I realize you were right to lower the boom on me.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but he shook his head. “I’m not finished. I’m not a mama’s boy, but I did call her last night after I talked to Conor and asked him if he could move up here before we harvest the grapes. She really let me have it over that review and reminded me that the next one might be a five-star. She also told me that if I really liked you, I was foolish not to apologize for the way I have acted these past few days.”

“And,” Ophelia finally said.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Does that mean you really like me?” she asked.

“It does,” Jake admitted.

Ophelia slipped her hand into his. “Okay, then, apology accepted. I’m not sorry for the way I behaved, Jake. I’m a strong woman, but I’m not going to continue to go out with a man who might live in phases.”

“Phases?” he asked.

“That’s someone who lives in six-week or even six-year phases and then moves on to another one. I want someone in my life who is steady. I can support a dream, but I’m not going to be in a relationship that is constantly changing. That would be like starting to build a house, only to get it halfway finished and move away to start another dream. Does that make sense?” she asked.

He gave her hand a gentle squeeze and moved over closer to her. “Yes, it makes a lot of sense, and I agree with you. I remember an old song my granny used to listen to back when she had cassettes. Have you heard ‘My Elusive Dreams’?”

“Aunt Bernie likes that song, and yes, the lyrics exactly match what I was thinking that day. I like you. I might even fall in love with you, but I’m not willing to follow your whims all over the world.”

“I understand,” Jake agreed with a nod, “and any man worth his salt wouldn’t ask a woman to do that.”

“Next time you have a bad day, I promise that I will give you ideas on how to fix it rather than exploding,” Ophelia said. “And speaking of that, I think that Shane would be glad to sell your wine in his new store, and I bet that Noah would let you put a display in his café. Once folks catch on, they’ll start asking for it in other places. So, who needs a vendor? We can do our own marketing and not have to give up a percentage of the profits to a third party.”

She didn’t want to talk about wine or arguments. As if he read her mind, Jake turned to face her and smiled, right before his mouth landed on hers in a long, lingering, hot kiss. The idea of vendors, grape harvests, people moving in with Jake, and every other idea in her head disappeared. She and Jake were the only people in the world and were living in a little bubble surrounded by limber willow limbs and a pair of doves cooing somewhere close by.