Chapter 11 #2
The little girl’s face was framed with blond ringlets. She smiled a gapped-tooth smile at me and held up her hand, all five fingers extended. “Hi, Cousin Brooklyn. I’m five years old. I’m gonna be an actress when I grow up.”
Della looked over at me. “We’re going to need your prayers with this one. She’s the spittin’ likeness of Zephyra. Lord help us.” She chuckled and then raised her voice. “Blaire! Blaire, can you come in here a minute?”
After a few seconds, a thin, lanky little girl came through the kitchen door, holding a puppy.
“Blaire, I’d like you to meet your cousin Brooke. Can you tell him hi?” Della smiled at her daughter and stroked the back of her hair.
The little girl looked up at me with wide brown eyes. “Hi.”
I squatted down to be more on her level. “Hi, Blaire. It’s great to meet you. How old are you?”
“Seven.” Her cheeks flushed. She seemed to have inherited her daddy’s disposition.
“Wow, you’re tall for seven. I’m jealous!” I smiled at her again, trying to not scare her. “Who’s your little friend there?”
She held the puppy out so I could pat his head. “This is Duncan. He’s a corgi. He’s only ten weeks old. I got him yesterday.”
“Well, Blaire, he is the cutest dog I think I’ve ever seen. I love his big pointy ears.” I stood back up after petting Duncan again. “Wow, Della, your daughters are beautiful. I can’t believe it. I’ve missed so much.”
“You’re here now. That’s all that matters.” Della gave me a quick hug and then stepped away.
Soon after, we were all sitting around the table eating homemade fried chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, and biscuits.
Everyone fell silent as the meal began, for which I was thankful.
My mind was reeling with all that had changed.
I found myself wishing once again that I had been born into this family, and wondering how my life would have been different.
Sue’s older brother, Rob, had married my mom right out of high school.
After several years of unsuccessfully trying to convince him to have a child, my mom went off of birth control without telling him.
When she told him she was pregnant, he demanded she get an abortion.
In Sue’s version, my mom loved me too much to have me aborted, so she refused to do what my dad told her to do.
Knowing my mom as I do, I’m sure the real reason was that she refused to do anything someone told her to do unless it was her idea first. All Mom got for her stubbornness was a husband who left in the middle of the night and never contacted anyone again, and a child she resented.
Sue always seemed to feel somewhat guilty for her brother’s actions.
He had been a troublemaker when he was growing up, always getting into one scrape or another, even getting in trouble with the law on a few occasions.
Their mother and father always remedied the situation, saying that he was just being a boy, and he would grow out of it.
He never did. Grandma and Grandpa had been more than willing to accept me as the replacement for their lost son.
Like my mother’s obsession for New York, Sue was fascinated by Greek and Roman mythology, an interest that was not seen as very appropriate by the older church folk of the town.
She picked names directly from Greek mythology or ones she felt were worthy of Greek gods and goddesses for her children.
Their first child, Xanthus, died in his sleep at only a few months old.
Some of the people in the church said it was because Sue had picked such a blasphemous name.
Sue, confident in her faith in God, refused to accept that God would kill her child because of his name.
To show her faith, she continued the name trend with the rest of her children.
Even as little kids, Dionysus and Delphina both hated their given names and would only respond to their nicknames.
Only Zephyra relished her name. She refused to let anyone shorten it or call her anything else.
Sure enough, the rest of Sue’s children had lived and were Sue’s validation that she had not caused her eldest son’s death.
I think, in some way, having me around helped replace the loss of her son and her brother.
My mouth was full of mashed potatoes when Zephyra squeezed my leg under the table.
“Well, Brooklyn, I know Donnie has got to spend time with you and catch up, but that isn’t really fair for the rest of us.
You know how Donnie is—‘If it ain’t my story to tell, it ain’t right that I tell it.
’” Her accurate imitation of Donnie’s slow drawl earned her a biscuit smacking her on her check.
She yelped in vivacious delight, picked the biscuit up off the table, and threw it back at Donnie.
He was about to throw it back when Sue interrupted. “Come on, you two, behave, at least when we have guests.”
Donnie winked at her. “Mom, Brooke’s not a guest. He’s family.” Without looking away from his mom, he flicked his wrist, and the biscuit smacked Zephyra square on the forehead, this time crumbling into pieces over her plate.
“Not fair, Donnie! I wasn’t ready!” Zephyra leaned forward to grab another biscuit off the platter, when Della reached over and lifted the biscuits off the table and began passing them around the table in a show of offering them to everyone.
Her eyes sparkled as they met mine. “I think Zephyra’s right, if the children would stop fooling around for a moment.
It is time for all of us to get caught up.
And as I don’t want to interrupt you getting properly nourished with Southern food again, I think we can fill you in on our lives first. Dinner and a show. ”
I swallowed another forkful of mashed potatoes. “That sounds great. I would love to know what all I’ve missed.” I glanced over at Sue. “I can’t believe how much I have missed your cooking, Sue. I hadn’t even realized. I feel like I haven’t really eaten in years.”
Sue smiled at the compliment. “You’ve just missed fried food and butter. That’s all.”
Della shook her head. “It’s true. Your heart probably was just starting to get healthy after all those years living in Denver, and now we’re gonna mess it all up again.
You’re gonna love it!” She dunked her chunk of fried chicken into her gravy for emphasis.
“Do you think Jed will be able to handle Southern cooking?”
I felt my body tense in spite of myself. Why did people keep bringing up Jed without warning? I guess I should have assumed that they all knew about Jed, since Donnie and Maudra had both known before I told them.
Zephyra cocked her head at me. “Who’s Jed?”
So much for everyone knowing. “Jed is my, uh….” I glanced over at Chuck and Nolan, trying to gauge their reaction. I cleared my throat tentatively. “Jedediah is my… husband.”
If there was any tension, it was shattered by another of Zephyra’s squeals. She smacked the top of my arm. “Your husband! No way!” She let her head fall back, laughing at the top of her lungs. “That is priceless! I never would have guessed!”
Donnie smirked. “Then you’re the only one.”
“Donnie, stop it.”
“Oh, Della, come on. It ain’t a big deal.”
“I didn’t say it was, but you don’t need to be crass.” I was pretty sure she was trying to keep herself from grinning right along with Donnie.
As Zephyra continued to giggle, I again glanced back and forth between Chuck and Nolan.
Chuck smiled a tired smile at me. “I can’t say I understand or approve of it, Brooke, and it is most definitely not what I hoped for you, but it doesn’t change anything. Sue and I love you like one of our own.”
Sue nodded and tears filled her eyes. “Yes, dear. We love you completely. I worry about it. I always have. I hoped it would be something you could overcome one day. The Bible is very clear about this issue, and it makes me scared for you, but nothing could make me love you any less.”
I just looked at them. I wasn’t sure what to say. They handled it better than I was afraid they would. Of course, it seemed like they had known when I was a kid too. “Thanks, guys. I love you too. And I’m sorry to cause you worry, Sue.”
“Oh, Mom. You don’t need to worry. How could God ever not love Brooke? He’s too wonderful not to love!” Zephyra beamed at me. “So. How hot is this Jedediah?”
I could feel my face redden as I again glanced over at Nolan.
He shifted uncomfortably but met my gaze after a nudge from Della.
He took a deep breath. “My little brother is gay too. So I’ve been around it for quite a while.
He came out about five or six years ago.
It was hard for all of us at first. Kevin wouldn’t let any of us ignore it, though.
He kept it right in our faces. Now, we just see Kevin.
No different than he used to be, only an endless string of boyfriends that changes every few months for us to meet.
” He looked like saying so much at once was an extreme effort.
“I think it’s cool that you have found someone to build a life with.
I hope that for Kevin one day too. Life is better when you can share it with one person. ”
“Thanks, Nolan.” My throat was tight. “That means a lot to me.”
Della gently interrupted again. “Here I said that I was going to let you eat while we fill you in, and now you’re the center of attention again.
You go back to eating, and we will take the lead now.
My dear husband gave me a perfect segue.
” She patted him on the chest. “I will tell you about how Nolan and I began to ‘build a life’ together.” She ended quoting with her fingers.
“As you may remember, after Donnie and I graduated high school, I started working at the nursing home.”
I nodded. She had still been working there when I graduated a year later and moved away.