Chapter 38
Fifteen Years Earlier
I was home for the annual end-of-summer bonanza on the Beaufort Green, a well-manicured lawn surrounded by live oak trees
draped in Spanish moss. Round wooden tables were set up across the area, and a stage, quiet for now, would come to life with
a band later this evening. It had been less than two weeks since Lincoln and I broke up, and the event was a welcome distraction.
Magnolia and I approached the crowd, both dressed in A-line summer dresses and large brimmed hats to save our skin from sun
damage.
“The Suffolks are right over there at our table,” she said.
Every year Mama sponsored a table together with Delta Suffolk.
We reached them, and I pulled a wooden folding chair out for myself and sat. “Hi, Delta, you look lovely.”
Ned came around the table and dropped a kiss on top of my head. “Good to see you, sport,” he said, then took off in the direction
of the stage where equipment was being carried up.
Magnolia began to settle beside Delta when a friend from the flower guild jogged up.
“Magnolia Bishop, if you don’t look like salvation come to life,” her friend announced. “We’ve hit a snag with a couple of auction items. Would you mind taking a look?”
Magnolia smiled wide, just like I knew she would at being referenced as salvation itself . “I’d be happy to lend my expertise,” she said. “Dee, Magnolia, I’ll be back in a few moments.”
I paused in the quiet she left behind, and as I looked around, it was easy to appreciate the beauty of the place I called
home. It helped that I was actually glad, for once, to be away from Charleston. There, I’d been spending the majority of my
time moping around my apartment, mostly after Lincoln, but partially for my own naivety. Really, what had I been thinking?
A summer fling rarely ended well for anyone, and it was also the last thing appropriate for the offspring of Magnolia Bishop. I should’ve kept things buttoned up, like Magnolia had always taught
me, and getting upset over things like this would only bring me further heartache—and probably embarrassment.
If I wanted to be my best self, I had to stifle the ugly emotions before they tarnished my shiny appearance. Apparently, that
was the way to a good life, at least according to Magnolia.
“When do classes start for the fall, honey?” Delta asked me over the rim of an icy cocktail. “Can’t be long.”
“Two weeks,” I said. “Although it kind of feels like they never actually ended for me, since I’ve been staying busy with my
internship.”
Delta beamed. “You really are quite the go-getter, Mack. I know your mother is so proud.”
I shrugged. This was what Delta was supposed to say about her friend, but I suspected she and I both knew it was a mixed bag when it came to Magnolia’s opinions of my studies. “We both know her primary concern is that I marry well.” I laughed through a smile to soften the comment.
Delta grinned. “Well, I can’t fault her there, because she and I share the same hopes in that department.”
The chair beside me slid out, and I looked up to see Grady making himself comfortable in the spot.
“Speaking of which,” Delta said. “Let me give y’all a moment.”
I stifled a groan. I might’ve made my peace with Grady being part of the evening, but that didn’t mean I wanted painfully
orchestrated moments alone .
Grady slung his arm over the back of my chair. “Hey, pretty lady.”
I smiled back, wondering if there was any hint of me baring my teeth like the cornered animal I felt like. “Hey back.”
“I tell you what, Clemson’s great and all, but I can’t wait to get back here to Beaufort,” Grady said, looking out across
the party. “The Clemson football scene is a blast, but otherwise, it’s all a bit... agricultural... for my tastes.”
“Huh,” I said. “Family traditions, I guess.”
All of the Suffolk men had attended Clemson, so Grady didn’t have much choice. Still, he never seemed bothered about college,
as long as he was guaranteed some good times. On the other hand, my college choice was the one place I felt like I had elbow
room, since Magnolia never went herself and held no dying allegiance to any institution.
“How about you? I miss you, Mack.” Grady put on that smile I used to love. He really could be charming when he tried.
I shuffled the auction booklet in the place setting in front of me. “Charleston is amazing. I’m excited about my major, and
I’ve made a couple friends. So it’s not too bad—and certainly no farm vibes.”
Grady laughed, and I smiled at him reflexively. In that small flash of a moment, I remembered how I fell in love with him.
“I know it made sense to break up when we left for school,” Grady said. “But I need you to know that I really will be waiting
for you. Honestly, I’m ready to start winning you back now.”
He’d always bought into the Bishop-Suffolk plan dreamed up by our mothers. Then again, he never seemed stifled and clipped
by the Suffolk ways like I was by my mother. That was one very big way in which he and I were different.
“That’s sweet,” I said. “But I really am focused on school right now. I want to get a good start on my career, and honestly,
I can’t see myself leaving Charleston after graduation. It’s where the work I want to do lives.”
“So it’s not a no thanks .”
I scoffed. “Nice try, Casanova. How about we start by getting a drink before you put the moves on.”
Grady stood and pulled my chair out in the precise way he’d learned in cotillion class. I took the elbow he held out for me,
and arm in arm we strode to the bar. We reached the small crowd, and many faces were familiar. We broke off and greeted neighbors
and business owners who lunched and brunched and golfed with our parents. More than one lady mentioned their delight at seeing
the two of us together. Maybe Magnolia wasn’t entirely off base when she mentioned how much the community loved us as a duo.
Finally we got to the front of the line, all hands shaken and necks hugged, and took our cold glasses beyond the tree-lined
green to the waterfront.
“We’re not bad as a team, huh?” Grady said, leaning on the thick metal rails over the sloshing water.
“Can’t argue with you there,” I said.
Because in these settings Grady and I worked. We were both from this place and had been groomed in the social niceties, the small talk, the common references. But beyond this place, I was a different person. In Charleston I spent my time in art and design, thinking about creating. Physically I looked like someone else. Here, it all felt like a bit of a show. Here, I felt like it was my job to be perceived, to play the friendly face of the next generation, to wait in line to take the place of the Magnolia Bishops and the Delta Suffolks, and that didn’t feel like me.
It was a nice life, but it never did have space for all the parts of me.
“Honestly, I have a whole lot of other stuff on my mind,” I said. I stood upright and turned to face him.
“Yeah? Don’t tell me it’s boy trouble.”
He laughed like it was an impossibility, and inside I cringed at how close to the target he’d come. Yes, Lincoln was a sore
spot, but it was his leaving that highlighted my greatest need.
“Can I ask you a favor?” I said.
Lincoln’s leaving wounded my heart and my pride, but the part that hit me hardest was that he wasn’t the first man to walk
out on me. His departure felt like confirmation that I was impossible to stick around for.
Grady smiled. “Anything I can do to earn some brownie points.”
“Great,” I said. “I need you to talk to your mother for me.”
“All riiight.” He drew out the last word.
“I need you to ask her about my dad. I need his name.”
Grady’s eyebrows jumped. “What? You know she’d cut off a limb before she broke your mama’s trust.” He let out a breath. “It’s
a long shot.”
“But your mother is my last lifeline. She and Magnolia have been best friends since before they could walk. There’s no way she doesn’t know who he was. There’s no way she wasn’t around when Magnolia was pregnant, when she had me, when I was a baby. But in my history, it’s all a shadow. Delta knows , Grady. And she’s right there, chatting with those women.”
Grady cracked his knuckles as he eyed the crowd. “I’ll try, but not tonight. She’s certainly not about to spill anything here
in front of all these people. Plus, she’ll be annoyed no matter the time I ask.”
I grabbed his forearms and squeezed. “ Thank you , Grady. I can’t tell you how much this means.”
He wiggled me toward him and pulled me into a hug. “I’m happy to help. Especially if you might consider a date in exchange.”
My face was pressed to his chest, thank God, when I rolled my eyes at the comment. This would be no quid pro quo situation,
but I was more than happy to let him think there was a chance if I might get my information. “You’re a crafty one.” I playfully
punched his chest and spun off him. “I’m going to go to the ladies’ room.”
“Whatever a guy has to do.” Grady laughed. “I’ll meet you back at the table.”
The hope was fuel enough to get me through the small talk of the evening. I knew Grady would try, and I thought he was most
likely to talk his mother into revealing something. Maybe this would take me one step closer to unmasking my father.
A girl could hope.