Chapter Three
Chapter
Three
Beulah
Once a week, Portia would give me the day off to visit with Heidi. Among the Spanish Moss, the place where Portia paid for Heidi to stay, had family day every Sunday, and I looked forward to it all week.
We would eat outside under the oak trees with the picnic I would make and bring with me. There was also May, Heidi’s friend. May also had Down Syndrome, and they were always together. May didn’t have family that came to see her, and when I realized this, I began to take May special treats, just like I did Heidi, and included her in all that we did. I loved Sundays and being with both of them.
However, today, I wouldn’t be able to go. I would miss visiting for the first time since Portia had moved Heidi into the special care home. When I called Heidi to explain, she’d been sad and didn’t understand. She didn’t voice this, but her responses were quieter, which hurt my heart. I hated letting her down.
It made me loathe the people outside at the pool keeping me from visiting my sister. The four guys had multiplied. As the music got louder, the pool area, in general, became busy with Jasper’s guests.
I’d been running in and out, keeping the ice buckets full, the booze dwindling where I’d fully stocked it, when a blonde girl asked me to “fetch” her a sparkling water but make sure the bubbles were tiny. She didn’t drink water with “large bubbles.” I almost shoved her into the pool. How was one supposed to make bubbles tiny? Do I blow on it a specific way? Maybe I could spit in the glass? I liked the idea of that.
Hurrying back inside, I almost collided with Portia, who once again had a whiskey in her hand. It was just after two in the afternoon, and although I wasn’t judging, I did wonder if this was going to drive the woman past alcoholism straight into alcohol poisoning.
“You can go in the morning,” she said. “Not all day, of course. I will tell you when.”
I hadn’t expected her to even remember that I was missing my Sunday with Heidi.
“Thank you,” I replied.
She grimaced as if my words were distasteful. “Don’t. . .I’m just saying. . .you can go for a couple of hours. They’ll call if you don’t, and personally, I’d rather not deal with the drama.” With a flouncing spin of her skirt, she then walked away. The way her blonde hair hung suspended in the air, floating then twisting with her spinning, reminded me of my mother. I missed her, she was nothing like Portia, though that singular movement made me remember a happier time in my life. Even if it was attached to a woman like Portia, that didn’t matter to me. The memory would suffice.
The ache in my chest then eased somewhat, knowing that tomorrow, I would get to see Heidi and take her cupcakes because she adored them. It wouldn’t make up for today, but at least she’d feel special and loved. I never wanted her to feel forgotten. Momma never made Heidi feel different. Never set her apart. I had worried this home she lived in now would make her feel different, but her bright smile eased that fear every time I visited. Portia hadn’t wanted her in the house, so I’d had no other choice. Thankfully it had been a good thing for Heidi.
“Do you know the difference in sparkling waters?” a deep voice asked from behind me. Startled, I turned to see Winston standing there. He was only wearing a pair of shorts. They hung on his hips below a muscular V cut. His defined chest was also very appealing, but I disliked him enough to ignore it.
“Why?” I asked, walking away as I said it. He wasn’t my boss, he was just the rude friend, I didn’t feel the need to be advised, nor to listen to him, make fun of my lack of sparkling water knowledge or a subject I didn’t care about.
I could feel him following behind me. I wished he wouldn’t, but other than turning to tell him to go the hell away, I didn’t have a choice. Jasper didn’t much care for me—at least, that was my guess. He wanted Ms. Charlotte, but she was gone, and I was here. If I was rude to his friends he’d only dislike me more.
The fridge contained ridiculous amounts of water. Opening the doors, I found sparkling, mineral, spring, etc. I reached for the Perrier. Bubble size made no sense. Why would someone care?
“La Croix, not the Perrier,” Winston said, firmly fixed behind me. “Smaller bubbles. It’s a fresher taste. Not that I actually think Isla knows the difference.”
I wanted to act like he wasn’t there, but I didn’t want to deal with this Isla if I got her order wrong. I put the Perrier back and grabbed the La Croix, saying “thanks,” begrudgingly responding, acid in my mouth as I closed the fridge and started to leave.
“You’ll need a glass of ice with that.”
He was right, but his presence was annoying me, so I hadn’t thought of that. Without looking at him, I grabbed the glass and ice while he stood there and watched me. Was he waiting to see if there was something else that needed to be corrected?
“He’ll begin flirting but it won’t mean anything. It’s Jasper. That’s what he does. If you flirt back, you’ll be gone. You’re the help. He understands that,” he told me.
There were a lot of things I wanted to say at that moment. After I threw ice in his face. For example, tell him that I didn’t flirt but if I did it wouldn’t be with guys like them. But I bit my tongue because tomorrow I had plans with Heidi. I would take whatever they hit me with, if that meant I got to go see her.
I began to walk away again, hoping to avoid hearing his deep southern drawl, packed tight with demeaning words, annihilating what otherwise would’ve been an attractive sound.
“I didn’t mean to offend you. But girls like you get that look in your eyes. You see a fairytale. One that won’t be given to you. A thing that will use you up. Spit you out and leave you lost. Thought I’d stop it before you made a mistake.”
It seemed each time he opened his mouth, his words were more offensive. Yet he doesn’t mean to offend me? Seriously?
Walking away quietly was what I should’ve done. But my temper flared. Unfortunately, it did that time to time. “You don’t know me,” I snapped. I then stopped myself. Heidi. I had to remember Heidi. Holding my head high, I left him there.
The music was almost deafening. I had no idea how these people were talking. I couldn’t hear myself think. Two girls had decided to go topless and were sitting on the edge of the pool, splashing with a new guy and Tate. I scanned the crowd to find Isla, who had moved from her spot and was now wrapped around Jasper. She was still in her tiny bikini, but I figured she’d drop her top soon. Especially if Jasper’s attention remained on the topless blonde.
“Your sparkling water,” I said, not wanting Jasper to see me and think I was there to ask him anything else.
“Oh,” she replied, taking it from me, not appearing thrilled about unhanding Jasper, his gaze now frozen on me, though I didn’t look his way.
“Thank you, Beulah.” His words surprised me.
I glanced at him and quickly nodded before turning away from the pair. He wasn’t flirting. He was just being nice. Winston’s words rang in my head. I’d be careful in case there was truth to them. I didn’t want to be accused of anything.
“We need more ice on the beer!” someone called. I hurried to do just that. I then made a grilled cheese sandwich for some guy and added some chips on the side. When I delivered that, more orders were barked, and others placed similar requests. The day went on, and a caterer suddenly appeared at four to handle dinner. I served with them and prayed this party ended soon; very few girls had tops on now, and some were missing bottoms. Three guys were going bare. I’d never seen so many naked bodies in my life.
“I wanna see that one’s tits,” a drunk guy yelled out as I placed another tray of shrimp and sauce on crackers near the cabana. I glanced up to see him pointing at me.
“She’s the help, dumbass,” a girl responded.
“I wanna know where the fuck Jasper hired help that looks like that,” he said. “I’ll take a dozen!”
“Auden, you’re cut off!” Jasper’s voice came from my left. Much closer than I expected. He was lounging with Isla at his side. Like I predicted, she was topless. They both had drinks, and his hand was slid inside her bottoms, covering and squeezing her butt.
“Don’t tell me you don’t want to see her tits,” Auden said, laughing then winking at me.
“Beulah, that’ll be all for tonight. Go to your room.” Jasper sounded as if he were talking to a child. I, however, nodded my agreement, trying to maintain some self-respect as I walked back into the house, my back straight, shoulders squared, chin up, and head held high. I’d cry a little, but I’d do it in the shower. Alone, where they couldn’t see.