Chapter 25
“Wow.” I walk up to the gate of the festival with Pearl on my arm. ”How much of the budget would you say they spent on that sign?”
Pearl gazes up at the big neon sign announcing that we are entering the Tri-City Interdependence Jamboree. Each letter is sculpted from a local source of agriculture income. Pecans, fish, sorghum, blueberries, cotton, peaches, and a weird white substance that I would guess is milk.
”It”s definitely festive.” Pearl tugs my arm, pointing toward the Ferris wheel. ”I don”t get why they won”t just call it a carnival.”
I point to a small cluster of educational booths sit near the front of the event. ”That”s why. I think the whole shebang is funded by lobbyists.”
Pearl looks around at all the rides and food booths scattered between them. Almost everyone we know is here, and those people brought their relatives. The jamboree is pretty crowded for an early Saturday afternoon. The screams of excited kids on a neon green inversion ride cut through the babble of the crowd.
I slip my arm around Pearl”s waist and pull her hip against mine. She gives me a wry smile. I can”t suppress the desire to kiss her, tenderly and with plenty of lip smacking.
Pearl whispers to me. ”Laying it on thick, aren”t you?”
I squeeze her hip. ”Whatever it takes.”
Her eyes narrow on my face. ”Everyone except you.” She pauses. ”Right?
Something dark deep in my core bares its teeth at her question. Just because it”s true doesn”t mean she needs to keep rubbing it in.
”Yeah, darlin’.” I release her, keeping a smile on my face. ”Not me. Just everyone else.”
Pearl nods and looks away, clearing her throat. She”s quick to change the subject. ”Should we make a lap first? See who”s here before we pick what to do?”
”Yup. You lead the way.”
Pearl breaks away and heads off, elbowing her way through a group of teens. We check out the lines at the Scrambler and the Gravitron before I see my brother wave to me from a picnic table. ”There”s Rex. Let”s go say hi.”
Pearl takes my hand as I edge through the crowd. She”s trusting me to lead her. Even though the stakes are not very high, it feels good. My ego purrs like a happy kitten every time independent, strong Pearl leans on me for support.
I make it to the picnic table and survey the scene. Rex is standing with one foot on the table, staking his claim. Several of Rex”s fans hover around the table. By fans, I mean women who unabashedly think Rex is the hottest thing to walk on two legs. They fawn and simper over Rex in his blue jeans and tight white Atlanta Kings T-shirt. And sitting at the table to Rex”s right, is a curvy blonde in jeans and a black tee, with a badge hanging from a lanyard that reads ”PRESS”. She”s jotting something in a tiny notebook as I approach.
”What”s going on here?” I ask. I wait for Pearl to join me and then usher her forward with my arm around her shoulders.
”I was just telling...” Rex pauses and turns back to a pretty young Latina wearing an Atlanta Kings jersey. Her eyes never leave Rex”s face. ”What was your name again, sweetheart?”
The girl flushes and smiles hopefully at Rex. ”Elaina.”
”Right. Uh, I was just telling Elaina here about the time I hit the winning homerun in the championship game.”
The blonde sitting next to him snorts softly but doesn”t interrupt. Rex glares at her then clears his throat. ”Elaina, honey. Why don”t you find me later? Give River and his fiancée a little room.” He looks around, smiling benevolently as if all these women exist solely for him. ”I”ll see you all later.”
Elaina and the other fans move away. Elaina blows a kiss, which Rex pretends to catch. I can”t roll my eyes hard enough.
Rex catches my eye roll and shrugs in response. ”What are you going to do? They asked for autographs.” The blonde coughs. Rex glares at her. ”What? They did!” he insists.
”Uh huh.”
Pearl leans forward. ”Aren”t you Savannah”s sister?”
The blonde straightens and beams. ”I am! Do you know her?”
“I’ve heard about you!” Pearl clutches her hands to her heart. ”Sav’s one of my favorite people. I”m Pearl.”
”Birdie.” They shake hands and Birdie offers Pearl a seat. ”Please! Any friend of Sav”s is a friend of mine.”
”Thanks.” Pearl turns to me. ”This is River. My fiancé.”
”And my brother,” Rex adds.
”Hi.” I look her up and down. ”Are you actually a reporter?”
She gives me a strained grin. ”Yup. I work for The Island Daily. I”m doing an in-depth piece about Rex Bennett”s life. People want to know where he hangs out, what he eats, who he spends time with.”
”I can answer that. He hangs out at home. He eats nothing but egg whites, spinach, chicken breast, sweet potatoes, and brown rice. And he hangs out with...” I cut Rex a look. He glowers at me, making me grin. ”His family, mostly.”
Birdie is jotting down more notes. She pauses and gives me a blunt look. ”Uh huh.”
”Enough about me,” Rex says, eager to change the subject. ”What about you? Have you guys picked a wedding date yet?”
”Nope. We”re... uh... trying to pick.” I raise my brows at Pearl. ”Isn”t that right, darlin’?”
”Yep.” Pearl bobs her head. ”There are a lot of schedules to take into account.”
Rex frowns. ”No one asked for my schedule.”
I resist the urge to roll my eyes so far back in my head that I go blind. ”We already got your schedule from Mom.”
”Oh.” He nods, seeming satisfied with that answer. ”Okay.”
”Scuse me,” a little boy says, approaching our group shyly. ”Could I take a selfie with you, Mr. Rex?”
I didn”t think it was possible for his smile to grow any bigger. But Rex grins as he leans down. ”Of course. What”s your name, kid?”
I look at Birdie. ”Tell Rex we will swing back by. We”re going to look for the best ride and eat some fair corn dogs.”
Birdie gives me a firm smile. ”Do I look like his secretary?”
Raising my hands, I shake my head. ”Fair point.”
”It was really nice to meet you, Birdie. I”m sure I”ll see you around.” Pearl clasps her hands, giving Birdie a warm smile.
It”s like Pearl has flipped Birdie’s switch. Sav’s sister is suddenly all platitudes. ”So nice to meet you. I”ll tell Sav I ran into you. She”s supposed to meet me here at some point. She”s watching my son Dex for the afternoon.”
”Please do.”
With that, we step back, allowing the crowd to swallow us up. I let out a long sigh.
”What?” Pearl asks. She starts heading toward the back of the carnival. I follow her, rubbing my neck.
I shrug. ”Rex just gets to me sometimes.”
She slows down, peering at me. ”What do you mean?”
”Ah.” I scrunch my face up. ”He”s just hard to be around when he”s around anyone outside our family. It”s like he has to turn on the charm or something. It”s exhausting just to watch.”
”Yeah? Has he always been like that?”
”Yep. Pretty much. There is a huge people pleaser inside that mountain of smarmy good looks. I love him, and he”ll always be my brother. But he”s so incredibly tightly wound. He”s going to explode one of these days.”
Pearl takes my elbow as we give a couple with their toddler in full meltdown mode a wide berth. She puts her head on my shoulder and hugs my arm in a comforting gesture. ”That must be hard.”
I snort. In a sarcastic, singsong-y voice, I say, ”It”s just part of being one of the Billion Dollar Bennetts.”
”Yeah? I have to imagine that growing up in Rex”s shadow made you feel... less visible.”
I make a face. ”That”s one way to put it.”
”How would you say it, then?”
I look down at her, a trace of a smile on my face. ”It wasn”t that bad. I”ve lived a privileged life.”
She pats my arm and purses her lips. ”Just because Rex is too nice to be mad at doesn”t mean that you”re not still mad all the same. Like... when I was a kid, my dad died in a work accident. He was a firefighter and he died fighting a house fire.”
”Whoa.” I pull her to the side of the bumper cars, out of the relentless foot traffic. ”Are you for real?”
She nods. ”Yep. My dad died a hero. But just because he died heroically doesn”t mean he didn”t leave us behind. It didn”t help me to know that he died saving lives. Just because you understand, or champion, someone”s reasons for doing something, does not mean that action can”t still hurt you.”
I stare down at Pearl. Her brown eyes probe mine.
”Shit.” I shake my head. ”I”m sorry I even complained. My petty jealousy is dwarfed by your... your catastrophic loss.
She wrinkles her nose. ”Thanks, I guess. But that”s not really the point I was making.”
I cup her face. ”I feel sorry for your dad.”
Her brows knit. ”I”ve never heard anyone say it quite like that.”
”Really? He didn”t get to see you grow up into an independent, smart young woman. I think that merits some pity.”
Pearl”s look of shock would be comical if the moment weren”t so serious. She looks away, clearing her throat. Tears shine in her eyes, but they don”t dare fall. She has her emotions too well-controlled for that.
She clears her throat. ”Uh, thanks. Though I”m not sure your opinion counts here.”
”My opinion? Darlin’, it”s a fact. You are a beautiful, stubborn woman with an iron will.”
She laughs, patting at the corners of her eyes. ”I”m not sure if you”re trying to make me laugh or cry.”
”Either? Both?” I joke. ”Just making conversation at this point.”
Pearl points toward the Gravitron. ”Should we take a gamble on that ride? It looks dangerous as hell, but we should at least try one of the rides first. You know, before I fill my stomach with carnival food.”
My lips twitch. She just said gamble. And I love to roll the dice. ”Lead the way, darlin’.”
She grabs my hand and starts pulling me toward the ride. I follow her to the ticket window, getting a couple of tickets.
As we stand in line, I purse my lips. Something occurred to me late last night when I was thinking about my role in Pearl’s life.
Am I just a baby maker to her? Or something more?
”Can I ask you something that you might potentially take the wrong way?”
Pearl pulls a face. ”I guess?”
”You said you lost your dad when you were a kid. And I would guess that you really missed having him around for a lot of things. I mean like... holidays, birthdays, graduation, whatever.”
She hesitates, then answers. ”Yeah...”
”I guess I”m just wondering why you, a person who knows how hard not having a dad can be, are willing to sign away your future child”s chance at having a dad.”
Her eyes go wide. Her nostrils flare. My point is made, but I don’t feel any satisfaction about it.
”I”m proof that a kid can turn out perfectly well without a father around to raise them. Unless you”re saying I”m somehow deficient?”
I put a calming hand on her wrist, which she shakes off. She glares at me, but I press on. ”The thought hadn”t occurred to you that you were... maybe repeating the cycle?”
”No.” Pearl”s cheeks flush. ”And unless you really want to offend me, you”ll stop asking me these questions.”
”You know you”ve got me in the palm of your hand, Pearl. Your wish is my command, darlin’.”
She plucks the twenty-dollar bill from my hand and moves ahead to the window, not saying a word. The whole time we stand in line, and even while riding the Gravitron, Pearl is silent. I let her stew for a little while.
Truth be told, I kind of thought that would be her reaction to my question. I guess we have reached the point where I”m able to predict her reactions.
Too bad that doesn’t stop me from blurting out questions about her dad. I feel like an ass for even asking the question.
“I’m sorry,” I say as we slow to a stop. “I shouldn’t have asked you that.”
She sighs. “No, you shouldn’t have.”
As we clank down the metal stairs off the ride, I offer Pearl my hand. ”Friends?”
She rolls her eyes but takes my hand. ”I guess.”
That”s the second reaction that I correctly guessed. ”Let”s go get corn dogs.”
She holds up a finger. ”Corn dogs, elephant ears, and deep-fried pickles.”
I cock my head. ”Are you sure you”re not already pregnant?”
She elbows me in the ribs. ”Deep fried pickles or no deal. I can go back to being mad at you.”
I grab her, playfully pulling her in for a kiss. ”Please, darlin’. Have mercy. I”ll get you all the pickles you want.”
While we wait in line for food, she checks her phone. Then she sighs, as if aggravated, and puts it away. ”What?”
Pearl makes a face. ”Aunt Delta.”
”Oh yeah? What”s she up to now?”
”She told me yesterday that the IRS is threatening a lien on our property for fifty thousand dollars. She also filled in some backstory.” She screws her face up. ”Apparently my mom and my aunt Glory have already bailed Aunt Delta out before this. She said they were unlikely to do it a third time.”
”Bailed her out?”
”Gave her a bunch of money to pay taxes and upkeep on the land. We”re talking about thirty or forty thousand dollars. Basically, Aunt Delta told me that she can”t afford to keep the property. She just doesn”t see it yet.”
”Shit.” I cringe. But inside, my heart rate picks up.
Delta can”t afford the land. That means that I could swoop in and save everything. I”d be a hero.
Especially to Pearl. Suddenly, being her hero feels more important than anything.
And then maybe we could talk about me maintaining some kind of non-custodial relationship with my kid. You know, for my family’s sake. My mom and Sam will go crazy if they find out I had a kid in secret and signed away my parental rights.
It’s one hundred percent that and not at all because I’m starting to grow attached to Pearl and having a hard time imagining my future without her in it…