Chapter 14 #2
“I didn’t say you disturbed me. Quit puttin’ words in my mouth, boy.” It was good to hear her teasing tone. “’Sides, it’s nice to hear another person’s voice in this house beside my own. Ray’s been gone so long, you’d think I would’ve gotten used to this house being so empty, jist never have.”
“I’m sorry, Maudra. You didn’t deserve to be alone.” I was starting to feel guilty for all my complaining. I wouldn’t trade places with Maudra for anything.
She shook her long wooden spoon at me. “Now don’t you go feelin’ all sorry fer me.
I won’t have it. I like my life. Nobody made me stay ’ere in this house, not that they could make me leave, even if they wanted to.
As long as I’m here, Ray’s not completely gone.
’Sides, Donnie’s here all the time, and Sue ’n’ Chuck have me over fer dinner ever’ so of’n.
I wouldn’t leave the church fer nuthin’ either. ”
She got out a cookie sheet and poured some sugar in a saucer and began to roll out the cookies in her palms. It was comforting to watch her skilled hands, and I let my mind get lost in her actions. I missed cooking. I needed to start again soon.
She hadn’t used a third of the cookie dough and had already filled up two cookie sheets when she turned her attention on me again. “So, you gonna ask what Donnie wanted, or you jist plannin’ sittin’ there droolin’?”
“Oh, sorry, Maudra, I’d forgotten.” Changing my mind, I reached out and snagged a small mound of cookie dough.
“Yer lucky I like ya so much, boy. Last person ta reach into my bowl without warnin’ lost an arm.
” She shook her spoon at me again. “Donnie wanted you ta go ta dinner with him. He wants ya to meet his girl, Mandy. She’s a cherub, that girl.
I don’t think I’d seen Donnie so happy in years.
She’s good fer ’im. Makes him actually spend time fer himself.
Well, he thinks he does it fer her, but it makes him jist as happy. ”
“Oh.” I did want to meet her, sometime. “I’ll call him in a few minutes, see if we can do tomorrow or Monday or something.”
“Now, you listen up. You and Jed are welcome ta stay here s’long as you like, but there ain’t gonna be no mopin’ around like a dejected school girl.
Least as long as nobody died, and even then it’d better not take too long.
” By this point she had both of her hands on her hips, and in her old-fashioned dress and full-length ruffled apron, she looked like she had just stepped out of an old movie, calling the cowhands to dinner.
I struggled not to snigger. “I already told him that you would meet them at the restaurant. Six thirty.”
My jaw dropped.
“Now, don’t ya look at me like ’at. You need to get out there and do somethin’. Quit wanderin’ ’round feelin’ sorry fer yerself.”
I cocked my head at her. “You sure you didn’t catch the details of my phone call last night?”
“Brooke Morrison, I am about to whup ya. I don’t go ’round eavesdroppin’ on other people’s private conversations.
” This time when she shook her spoon at me, cookie dough flew off the tip and splattered on the baseboard behind my chair.
Thurston hurried over and began to pick it off the wall, his sullen mood forgotten.
We both laughed. Thurston glanced over at us, then returned to his feast. “Fine, Maudra. Fine.” I raised my hands in surrender. “Where am I supposed to meet them?”
“Gringos. They have real fine Mexican food.”
“Gringos? I don’t remember that place.”
“It’s where Birchtree used to be. ’Member?”
“Yeah. Although Birchtree went out of business when I was a little kid, but I remember their fritters. Peppers, the place with the buffet, went in there after Birchtree closed.”
“Oh, that’s right. Well, now it’s Gringos. Order the four cheese enchiladas. They put bleu cheese in it. Couldn’t make ’em better maself.”
“You’ve got my whole night planned, don’t ya, Maudra?” I smiled at her. It was ridiculous how much I loved this woman. “Anything else about my life I need to be told about?”
“Don’t you be gettin’ smart with me, child.
I’ll use this spoon fer more than shakin’ and stirrin’.
” She opened the oven door and put the first two trays of cookies inside.
“But, s’long as we’re on the subject, there is another thing.
Yer goin’ to church with me tomorra. We got three mornin’ services now, so I’ll let ya choose the time, but I’d rather go to the late service, as we’re havin’ a potluck directly after the last morning service.
I’m not makin’ a ton a cookies jist fer you, ya know. ”
I shook my head emphatically. “No way, Maudra. Don’t even think about it. The last thing I want to do is go somewhere I have to see a ton of people and answer a ton of questions. Especially if y’all are having a dinner afterward. I’d be trapped there for hours.”
Maudra looked like her feelings had been stung.
She returned to stirring before she looked back at me.
“Okay, then. I’ll let ya slide, this time.
I’ve never believed in forcin’ someone through the doors of a church.
” I thought she was finished, but her voice took on new strength.
“But you need to figure this out. Yer gonna have ta face these people sooner ’r later.
Might as well be sooner. You know better ’n ta think that jist cus you don’t show yer face that they ain’t talkin’ ’bout ya. ”
I just sat there. She was right. I hated to think about what they were already saying.
She motioned to the door with her spoon. “You’ve got a couple hours till yer ta meet Donnie and Mandy. Go take a nap and a bath. You don’t wanta meet a pretty girl lookin’ as bad as you do, even if ya are a fairy.” Her eyes looked moist, but they twinkled with affection.