CH 2 - #roots
Riley
Song: “Famous In A Small Town” by Miranda Lambert
“OUR GIRL FINALLY came back home!” my momma said, hugging me and kissing me on the cheek. My daddy had his turn next.
“It feels good to be back. I get nostalgic whenever I start seeing cypress and pine trees along the road and then the old railroad bridge over the bayou.”
“Are your suitcases in your trunk?” my daddy asked.
“They are, but I’ll get them later.”
“Give me your keys and go on inside the house with your momma.”
I chuckled. “Yes, sir.”
As he walked down the front porch steps, heading to my car, my momma and I went straight to the kitchen.
“Riley, I hope you’re hungry,” she said, pulling her homemade lasagna from the oven and setting it on the stove. It smelled delicious.
“I’m starving. Work was so busy today that I didn’t get a chance to eat lunch. I just snacked on some potato chips.”
“Come on and fix yourself a plate now.”
“I will in just a sec. Rachel and Macie wanted me to let them know when I got here.”
“Your sister told me that she’s spending the night. Do you know if Macie is planning to?”
“She is.”
“Just like old times.”
“The best times.”
My momma patted my arm, walked to the refrigerator, and pulled out a gallon pitcher of sweet tea. I didn’t have to say anything. She already knew I wanted a glass with a squeeze of lemon and brought it to me. I’d just finished texting my sister and Macie.
“The girls will be here shortly,” I said.
“Wonderful!”
My parents and I sat at the dining room table to eat and started catching up. The first thing my daddy asked me about was Chad. He wanted to know how he was doing.
“He’s fine,” I told him.
“How are you two doing?”
“We’re good. Why are you wondering?”
“Planning a wedding can be stressful for the bride and groom.”
“We’re not stressed about any of it. Just anxious for it to get here.”
“Your grandpa is so honored that you want him to marry you and Chad.”
“Of course I want him to! I’m the one who’s honored.”
My daddy smiled. “You need to visit with him while you’re in town and go see your grandma at the nursing home, too.”
“Absolutely. It’ll be good to see them, even though Grandma won’t know who I am. She didn’t the last time.”
“She doesn’t remember your sister or us any longer either. Only your grandpa.”
I snapped my head back in surprise. “When did that happen?”
“About a month ago.”
“Why didn’t y’all tell me?”
“We thought it would upset you.”
“I appreciate your worrying about that, but you don’t need to shield me from Grandma’s sad reality. I knew all of this was coming. It was only a matter of time.”
My parents gave me a backward smile, and then I heard, “Helloooo!” My sister and Macie had just arrived. I stood up and waited for them. When we saw each other, we squealed with excitement and group hugged.
“I can’t believe I’m actually looking at you in person, BFF,” Macie said. “You can’t go this long again without coming back to Cypress Hills to see us.”
“It was only two months.”
“Two months too long.”
I stuck out my tongue at her and kissed my sister on top of her head. She had it resting on my shoulder and her arms around my waist.
“Go get some of Momma’s lasagna while it’s still hot,” I said.
“You don’t have to tell me twice.”
“Me, neither,” Macie added.
While they fixed their plates, my momma poured them glasses of tea. And here I was, smiling and feeling nostalgic once again as I watched this all too familiar scene play out.
After my parents, Rachel, Macie, and I finished eating supper and Snickerdoodle cookies for dessert, we all got up from the table and began clearing it. When I started rinsing off the dishes and silverware to put into the dishwasher, my momma stopped me and shooed my girls and me away, telling us to go enjoy our girl-time. We hugged her and my daddy, and then the three of us began heading to the bedroom that used to be Rachel’s and mine.
When we reached the stairs, Macie grabbed the cooler bag she’d set next to them. She didn’t have to tell me what was in it because I already knew. She’d brought some wine like on the other occasions when I came into town.
My sister closed the bedroom door behind us, kicked off her flip-flops next to the wall, then walked over and stretched out across her bed. Macie got busy opening a bottle of wine while I checked to see if Chad had tried to contact me. Since I had my cellphone on silent, I wouldn’t have known.
When I saw the screen, I breathed a sigh of relief because there weren’t any missed phone calls or text notifications. Nothing against Chad. I knew he had the best intentions, checking on me so often. But this evening, I wanted my time with my family and Macie to be uninterrupted by him. Besides, I’d already let him know that I made it to Cypress Hills safe and sound. I called him as I was driving over the bayou.
“Here you go,” Macie said, handing me a stemless wine glass that looked like it had liquid sunshine in it.
“Wow. Thank you. I’ve never seen a sauvignon blanc this pretty.”
“It is pretty and it tastes fucking amazing. It’s my new favorite.”
I took a whiff and then a sip. “Jesus, it does taste amazing.” I took another sip. “It’s crisp like others that I’ve had, but this one has by far the most flavor.” Sip number three happened. “I taste lemon, kiwi, and…”
Macie side-eyed me. “Green apple?”
“Yes, that’s it! Tell me the name of this brand.”
“Josh Cellars. Cool story behind it. The owner, Joseph Carr, created it in 2007 as a tribute to his dad, Josh.”
“Aw, that’s precious!” Sip number four and then one more. “This wine is seriously delicious and may be dangerous for me,” I said, chuckling.
“I remember when we couldn’t stand the taste of dry wine. Red or white. We only wanted syrupy-sweet Moscato.”
Rachel cleared her throat. Loudly. “Excuse me. Where’s my seriously delicious and dangerous drink?”
“You don’t get one,” Macie teased.
“The hell I don’t!”
My BFF snorted and took my sister a glass of what was now my favorite wine, too. After the first taste, Rachel smiled and shook her head. Josh Cellars had just gained another fan.
“Are you ready to sit?” Macie asked me.
“Yep.”
After we plopped down onto the floor at the foot of Rachel’s bed, I looked at my girls. “It feels so good to be here. I really was gone for too long.”
Macie nodded. “Don’t let it happen again.”
“You know, both of you could come to see me. You’ve been to my duplex only once since I moved.”
They kept staring at me without saying anything. Then Macie finally spoke. “You have more reasons to come here than for us to go to Fort Worth.”
“Am I not a good enough reason?”
She waved me off. “Hush. You know what I mean.”
And I did.
I could see her and my family by coming here on a weekend, but that wouldn’t have been possible in the reverse. I didn’t have enough room at my duplex to accommodate everybody simultaneously.
Rachel pointed at my cellphone lying beside me on the floor. “I need to hear some music, sister. Be the D.J. this evening.”
“Country?” I joked. It was all she listened to, as well as Macie.
“Um, yessss. Has living in a big city changed your taste in music?”
“I still listen to country music, but thanks to Chad, I now enjoy other genres.”
Macie rolled her eyes. “Don’t tell me. He likes classical shit.”
“He certainly does. He also likes jazz, classic rock, and pop rock.”
“Gag. Play some George Strait.”
While his greatest hits were streaming on Pandora, my girls and I chatted about shopping for my wedding dress. They, my momma, and I had already been twice, but I didn’t care for any dresses I picked out after putting them on. They were gorgeous on the hanger but not on me, or so I thought. I concluded that I hadn’t found “the one” and would know when I did. It was out there in some store waiting for me to discover it.
“You’ve got three months to find a dress. Actually, you have less time than that because you’ve got to factor in the possibility of needing to have it altered,” Macie reminded me, although I didn’t need reminding.
“I know.”
“So, are we still going shopping for one tomorrow?”
I kept looking at her pretty aqua eyes, partially covered by her wispy blond bangs. Then I glanced over at my sister.
“No, I changed my mind,” I finally said. “I’m not in the mood to do anything other than stay here in Cypress Hills this weekend. I need to relax and enjoy being home.”
“I’m all for your doing that, but when do you see us going shopping again?” Macie asked.
“I’ll come back in two weeks. We’ll go to Shreveport and Bossier City, check out the bridal stores there, and then eat at Ralph and Kacoo’s.”
“Oh my gosh, yes! I can already taste their boudin balls with that jalapeno-ranch dip.”
“And I can already taste their Shrimp St. Charles dish.”
Macie pointed at me. “I’m holding you to this plan, BFF.”
“That’s fine.”
My sister tipped her almost empty wine glass at me. She liked the plan and would hold me to it, too.
“Back to the wedding stuff. Are you still set on having a daisy bouquet?” Macie asked.
“I am. I think it’s the perfect way to honor my grandma since daisies are her favorite.”
“Yours, too.”
I nodded and faked a smile while thinking about all the beautiful bouquets of them that I’d been given in the past. I kept a daisy from each one, dried it on a flat surface, and then sprayed it with clear paint to preserve it. Those delicate white and yellow flowers were tucked away in a box I kept in my bedroom closet. Not the one at my duplex. The one here, at my momma and daddy’s. When I moved to Fort Worth, I couldn’t take the box with me because I knew how tempting it’d be to repeatedly open it and look at the daisies and the pictures and letters I’d placed alongside them.
Feeling the sting in my eyes, I looked down at my cellphone and forwarded to the next George Strait song, trying to play it cool. That was when my sister brought up my agreement with Chad to have macaroons at our wedding.
“I still can’t believe you did that. I wouldn’t have,” she said.
“Yes, you would, to make Jackson happy. That’s what I’m doing for Chad since he dislikes the taste of a traditional wedding cake. And you know, it’s not all about me.”
“It most certainly is! The wedding is always about the bride. Hundred percent. Besides, Chad is going to have a groom’s cake.”
I raised an eyebrow. “I’m good with him having macaroons too.”
“Freakin’ peppermint ones.”
“Peppermint is his favorite.”
“That’s just gross.”
I shook my head about how my sister and Macie were toward Chad. He couldn’t win with them no matter what he said or did. It’d been that way from the start because my girls believed I was meant to be with somebody else.
“When are you going to ask me how Rhys is doing?” Rachel said, giving me a sly grin.
“I wasn’t going to.”
“Bullshit. You always get around to asking at some point.”
“Fine,” I sighed, acting annoyed. “How is he doing?”
“He’s single again.”
“What?”
“He’s single again.”
“Yeah, I heard you. I’m just…shocked. He and Trisha were supposed to marry at the end of the month.”
“He called off the wedding a week ago after finding out that Trisha lied about being pregnant.”
My stomach sank. “My God, she tried to trap Rhys.”
“Uh-huh.”
“That is beyond pathetic.”
“But that’s Trisha for you. She’s always been a manipulator and user.”
“How did Rhys find out that she lied?”
“Shelby told him after she finished cutting his hair.”
“So Trisha told her about her little secret?”
Rachel nodded. “Yeah, while getting her hair highlighted the day before Rhys’s appointment.”
“Shelby’s never been one to talk about her clients to others, but I’m glad she did this time.”
“The situation warranted it.”
“Without question.” I took a deep breath while looking back and forth at my girls in disbelief. “I am sitting here trying to picture how things went down between Rhys and Trisha.”
Macie huffed. “I’ll tell you how they went. Rhys bowed out like the gentleman that he’s always been. Trisha, though? She started screaming at Rhys and hitting him after he told her that they were over and why. She spit in his face, too, and threw her engagement ring at him as he was walking out her front door.”
“Screamed at him, hit him, spit in his face, and threw the ring. Jesus.”
“She also called him a sorry son of a bitch.”
“All of this makes me feel sick to my stomach.”
“It did the same to us.”
“What would Trisha have done if Rhys hadn’t found out she wasn’t pregnant? Act like she miscarried after she got his last name?”
“We all think that was her exact plan.”
“You know, I never understood what Rhys saw in Trisha. They’re nothing alike, plus he’s way out of her league.”
“She was a rebound relationship for him. Caught him when he was weak. You know that.”
I stared at Macie but didn’t acknowledge knowing those two things because saying it aloud would’ve hurt even more. “Do you think Rhys loved Trisha at all?” I finally asked.
“No. He’s still in love with you, Riley.”
“Just like you are with him,” my sister added.
“I fell out of love with him last year.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Look, I will always care about Rhys. We were high school sweethearts. He was my first love.”
“And the first and only guy to fuck you until Chad ,” Macie said, grabbing my attention.
“Why do you always say his name nasally like that?”
“Because I don’t like it. It’s a prick-name.”
“Whatever,” I mumbled.
“I’m curious about something, BFF. Have you ever compared Chad to Rhys?”
“In which way?”
“His ability underneath the sheets.”
I dipped my fingertips into my wine and flung the drops at Macie. She tried to shield herself, but I still got her.
“You’re blushing,” she continued.
“So.”
“Answer my question.”
I glanced at my sister. She appeared just as anxious as Macie to hear what I had to say.
“Yes—I’ve compared Chad to Rhys,” I admitted. “Happy now?”
“No. Tell me who fucks better.”
“Why are you doing this to me?”
“I’m trying to get you to see things clearly.”
“See what clearly?”
“Where you’re headed. Where you could be.”
I scoffed. “You mean with Rhys again?”
“Yep. He’d get back together with you in a heartbeat.”
“No, he wouldn’t. We grew apart, so there’s nothing to go back to.”
“Excuse me, but you grew apart from him.”
“I’m in love with Chad, and I’m marrying him. He’s good to me.”
“So was Rhys. Correction. He was great to you.”
Macie and I were in a stare-down. We’d had them before. This time, she looked away before I did, sipped her wine, and then focused back on me.
“Let’s do something that we haven’t done in a long while,” she said, her eyes serious now.
“Such as?”
“Go see Ms. Lenora.”
I looked at Rachel, and she wiggled her perfectly arched brows at me. She wanted to visit the local mystic, too.
The three of us last saw her a week before I moved to Fort Worth. I hadn’t forgotten what she told me, either. She said, “Life takes all of us to unexpected places. It is love that brings us home.”