Hope Springs - 05 - Wedding Cake (2 page)

“As I recall, neither you nor Jessie needed a lot of convincing,” Charlotte said. “The two of you were packed and in that car before I even knew what was going on.”

“You went with us too,” Beatrice said. There was a softness in her voice. “I don’t remember much hesitation from you either.”

Charlotte smiled. She had always loved that cookbook committee, loved every one of its members: Jessie Jenkins, with her bold and brassy friendship; Louise, and her wonderful and attentive ways of caring; even Beatrice, the biggest busybody she knew … still, Beatrice had the biggest heart of all of them. Those women had taught Charlotte a lot about being the woman she wanted to be. But Margaret, Margaret had always been the special one of the group to Charlotte. Charlotte’s mother was still alive but the minister had never felt the same closeness with her own kin that she felt for her parishioner Margaret. The tears began to gather in her eyes. She still had a hard time talking about the woman who had taught her wisdom and strength and the true meaning of courage.

“We are quite the committee,” Charlotte said, reaching for a tissue.

“Yes, we are,” Beatrice agreed, sharing a few tears of her own. “Which is why we still have a commitment to each other.”

“Anything any of us needs,” Charlotte responded.

“Which is why I’m working so hard to get you married,” Beatrice added.

Charlotte laughed. “Beatrice Witherspoon, what am I ever to do with you?”

“Well, I’m going to hang up for now because I know you’re busy, but
the next time we talk, I expect a full report on your Officer Love.”

“Donovan,” Charlotte said. “Donovan Sanchez.”

Beatrice waited. “Officer Donovan Sanchez,” she repeated. “Is that Spanish? What, is he biracial? Does he speak English?”

“Yes, Bea, he speaks English.”

Beatrice made a sort of humming noise. She wasn’t sure how she felt about this news. Even though she had talked to all their friends and knew that Charlotte was very happy in New Mexico, she had never given up hope that the young woman would get her fill of the Southwest and move back to North Carolina. The news that Charlotte had found love out where she was living hurt those odds.

“Did I mention that Rollin has a time-share in Miami? He gets two weeks a year at a condo right on the beach. I could call him up for you, help him find some counseling. Maybe they can do some of that electric shock therapy, like I saw on a documentary last week about people addicted to that new drug mets or something, and then you can go out with him again when he gets fixed up?”

“The drug is called meth and I don’t think so. But you’re kind to ask. However, I don’t really think me and Mr. Fair Jr. have much of a future together.”

“All right, I’ll not speak of him again.”

“Thank you, Beatrice.”

“You are welcome, Pastor Charlotte. But the next time we talk, I do expect more information about your Officer Sanchez.”

“Fair enough.”

“Love you, Charlotte.”

“Love you too, Bea.”

And the two women hung up their phones.

A
n Indian police officer?” Jessie was cleaning up the dishes from breakfast. It was late morning, but she had gone walking right after finishing the meal. She had just gotten around to straightening up when Beatrice stopped by.

“Navajo,” Beatrice replied. She had decided to visit her friend after she had spoken to Charlotte. “Do you think I should get a rundown, do a 411 on him?”

Jessie turned to Beatrice. “Are you still stealing those cable programs?”

Beatrice rolled her eyes and sat down at the table. “I am not stealing programs. I just want to try them out before we pay for them.”

Jessie shot her friend a look of suspicion. “How much did you pay the television repairman to let you try it out?”

“Fifty bucks and it was his idea. I have always intended to pay for it once I decide whether or not I like the shows he got me.”

“Uh-huh.” Jessie went back to drying her dishes at the sink.

“Besides, the young man needed a little extra cash. I was just trying to help him out a bit. You know Discount Danny doesn’t pay his workers enough money. That’s why they keep leaving him and going to work for Sears.”

“Danny pays his employees a fair price. He was the only white businessman to hire an African-American salesman. It was James Jr.’s first job and he worked for him a number of years. He’s a good man and an ethical businessman. He treated me and my family with the same respect he treated the white folks in this town. And I don’t think he would be too happy if he knew his crew was providing his customers with illegal services.”

“Getting the Weather Channel is illegal?” Beatrice asked, trying to sound innocent.

“It is if you aren’t a paying customer.” Jessie put the plates in the cabinet and dried off two coffee cups. She placed one in front of Beatrice. “How does that work anyway? How did he hook you up without having you register?”

“I don’t ask those kinds of questions,” Bea answered, taking the cup and sounding smug. She reached over and poured the coffee for herself from the pot that was placed in the center of the table. She took a spoonful of sugar and stirred it in. “He had some computer thingie that he slipped in the back of the television. I wasn’t watching so that I won’t need to lie if the cable people question me. But never you mind. I’m going to figure out which channels I want and I will have Lester come back and unhook me and then I’ll call the cable company and upgrade my order.”

“Uh-huh,” Jessie responded. She sat down across from her friend and poured a cup of coffee for herself. “Well, enough about your illegal
activities. I don’t want to become an accessory to your bad behavior. Tell me more about Charlotte and her new love.”

“I don’t know a lot,” Beatrice replied. “Yet,” she added. “But I intend to find out more as soon as I can.” She thought about her earlier conversation. “I must say, though, she sounded smitten.”

“Smitten?” Jessie repeated. “I can’t say as I have ever heard Charlotte sound smitten.” She shook her head. “A Navajo police officer.” She smiled. “And she sounds smitten.”

“Yes, and he has a Spanish last name,” Beatrice noted as she drank a sip of coffee and then placed her cup in front of her.

“How did they meet?” Jessie asked, leaning back in her chair.

“Don’t know,” Beatrice answered.

“How many times have they gone out?” Jessie asked.

“Two, I think,” Beatrice said.

Jessie nodded her head, taking in the information. “Well, good for her,” she responded.

“Well, let’s hope it’s good for her,” Beatrice said, sounding concerned.

“Beatrice, finding a boyfriend for Charlotte has been all you have talked about for months. I thought you would be happy for her.”

“I’m not saying I’m not happy.” She leaned up and rested her chin on her fists. “I’m just saying I think she should go a little more slowly.”

“What?” Jessie asked, sounding very surprised. “You think somebody should go slowly? When have you ever gone slowly about anything? After all, you’re the one who got us all to shave our heads for Margaret before we found out that she wasn’t going to have chemotherapy. You’re the one who started that cookbook and that Christmas
Cake Recipe Contest before you ever thought about how much work those projects would be. You’re the one who got a funeral van to drive Margaret back to Texas last year. You are not somebody with qualifications to hand out advice about slowing down!”

Beatrice blew out a long breath. “I did not come over here for a lecture,” she said. “I just came to let you know what I had heard. I thought you would be as concerned as I am.”

Jessie smiled. “Oh Beatrice, Charlotte has a boyfriend. Be glad for her. She would never pick a bad guy. I’m sure we will like him as much as she does when we get the chance to meet him.” She took a sip of her coffee. “This has gotten cold. You want me to brew another pot?”

Beatrice was looking down. She shook her head.

“What?” Jessie asked. She could see her friend was upset about something.

“She’s never coming back, is she?” Beatrice looked up at Jessie.

Jessie reached over and took her by the hands. “That’s what this is about, isn’t it?” She smiled at Beatrice. “You wanted to find Charlotte a boyfriend back here so that she would move home.”

“Well, I don’t see what’s so wrong with that,” Beatrice responded. “Robin still doesn’t ever come home to visit. Teddy has gotten some teaching fellowship in Japan, and Jenny and the twins are so busy in their own lives,” she said, speaking about her children and grand-children. “Louise is all wrapped up in her gardening classes and now talking about Roxie all over again. You and James stay completely involved in the lives of your children and grandchildren. Dick works all the time. Margaret is—” She stopped and took a breath. She still missed her friend so much. “I just thought it would be nice to have Charlotte back,” she confessed. “Even if she doesn’t want to be our preacher again, she could come back and be our friend.”

Jessie nodded. “It would be nice.” She also thought about Margaret and how empty life seemed without her. She understood Beatrice’s reasons for wanting their young friend back in their shrinking circle. “But Charlotte has made her own life in New Mexico. And we get to see her once in a while. I miss her too. But she’s happy out there, and she’s doing very good work at that shelter.”

Beatrice pulled her hands away and reached over and got a napkin. She dabbed at her eyes. “Well, that’s true. She does seem happy helping out those women.” She paused. “But we got women who get beat up here too,” she noted.

“That’s true,” Jessie responded. “Sad, but true. However, I don’t think Charlotte moved to New Mexico just to find abused women.” She sat back in her chair.

“Why do you think she went out there?” Beatrice asked. She folded her arms across her waist. “Do you think she was unhappy here?”

Jessie shrugged. “I don’t know exactly. I do know that there was a time when I wanted to move and live somewhere else.”

“But you didn’t, and now you’re glad you stayed, right?” Beatrice remembered hearing about Jessie’s wanderlust and how she had wanted to live in another place when she was younger.

“I am glad I’m here now, but I still think I would have enjoyed living in another place for a while. But once the children were born and then when James left, I just couldn’t imagine going anywhere else.” Jessie glanced out the window, remembering how it was for her when her husband walked out on her. He was gone for a lot of years before he came back.

“How long have you guys been married?” Beatrice asked.

Jessie thought about the question and counted up the years. “Well, if you add all of the years together, since we never really got
divorced, it would be fifty years. But if you take away the years that he was gone it would be less.”

“Which one do you count?” Beatrice asked.

“I think the first one, the long one, because even though we weren’t together for all those years, I still felt married to him, still connected to him. He has always been my husband even when he wasn’t here.”

Beatrice perked up. “You should have a vow renewal service,” she announced.

“A what?” Jessie asked.

“A second wedding,” Bea answered. “A ceremony where you and James renew your vows. I mean, he came back and you took him in but you didn’t have an event of any kind to celebrate.” She clapped her hands together. “We can do it at the church. I’m sure Reverend Joles will be happy to do it. No!” She stopped and looked directly at Jessie. “We can ask Charlotte to come back and officiate! That way we can look into her eyes when she talks about her officer and we’ll know for sure if he’s right for her.” She stopped and gasped. “We could even make her bring him with her! We get to plan a party
and
find out the truth about Charlotte.”

“Wait, wait, Bea.” Jessie put up her hand. “Let’s just take a minute to think about this. A second wedding? Charlotte coming back to officiate?” She shook her head. “I’m not sure this is something James and I would want.”

“What wouldn’t I want?” James had come into the house and was standing at the back door.

Both women turned to look in his direction.

“Hey babe,” Jessie called out.

“Hey babe,” Beatrice repeated.

“Hello, my lovely women,” James responded. “And what are the
two of you cooking up?” He reached down and gave Jessie a kiss on the forehead, then turned around and walked over to the cabinets to get a coffee cup. He headed back over to the table and squeezed Beatrice on the shoulders.

“We are going to plan a second wedding for you and Jessie and we’re going to invite Charlotte to come back and officiate!” Beatrice was all aglow with her new idea. “That will give us the chance to meet Charlotte’s new beau and spend time with her, maybe make her stay here, and celebrate something wonderful: your love!”

James turned to his wife and winked. Then he poured himself a cup of coffee and leaned against the kitchen counter. He took a sip while both women waited for his response. Beatrice was especially eager to hear his reaction.

“I think it’s a great idea,” he remarked with a grin.

“Really?” Jessie asked, surprised.

“Really,” he replied. “After fifty years I would like nothing more than to tell the world that I am marrying you all over again.”

Jessie blushed. A big smile swept across her face.

Beatrice rubbed her hands together. “Okay, we’ll need to get invitations and pick a date. We need to reserve the church and the fellowship hall.”