Bishop's Road (21 page)

“Judy,” says Ruth. “Carry her upstairs to her bed, will you?”

“Why? Didn't you hear what she just said Ruth? She's selling the house and we all have to get out and what are we going to do? Oh Ginny Mustard! Your beautiful cake is all ruined. Where can we get another one now? The wedding is tomorrow. And she tore down all the decorations.”

“Just take Mrs. Miflin upstairs, Judy. Then come back and we'll try to figure it out. I'm not talking about it while she's in the room and it appears she wore herself out wrecking things so you'll have to help her. I was gone for an hour and she wasn't moving when I left. She must have worked like a house on fire to do this much damage in that length of time. It's a wonder she didn't have a heart attack.”

“I don't think she's got one to be attacked. What a friggin' Grinch. Can't stand to see anyone having a good time,” grumbles Judy as she half drags, half carries Mrs. Miflin upstairs.

Ginny Mustard is cleaning up the remains of her pretty cake when Joe Snake comes in with his family. His mom and sister don't miss a beat, start in together about the terrible thing happening. This can't be good. What can they do? Joe Snake helps Ginny Mustard, watching her face for some sign of feeling about the mess things have become. But there is nothing. He asks if she'd like to take a walk with him and she nods yes. They leave and the restoration crew goes to work. Joe Snake's dad (Mr. Snake is what they call him though that most certainly is not his name) tells them that he has a light hand for baking. Do they think it would be all right if he makes a new cake for Ginny Mustard. Of course they do. And he sets about finding pans and ingredients. Turns on the oven. Starts measuring flour. Says he'll need some food coloring for the icing. Do they think she'd like flowers on top and all around the sides or something else? Flowers would be good.

“I used to make birthday cakes for the children. They liked flowers all over and I made them with Smarties candy. All colors with yellow centres. But I won't use Smarties for these flowers. It is a wedding, after all. Once Joseph wanted a bear on his cake and I bought a special little contraption that shoots the icing out just right once you get the hang of it. But I don't need it to make flowers. We'll be just fine. This is going to be a nice wedding cake.”

Ginny Mustard is crying as hard as she ever has and for the first time since she was a little girl. She does not want to go to jail. She wants to have a good time with her babies and Joe Snake and all her money. She has never had anything - ever - and now she has everything and has to give it up. It isn't fair. She had to kill Mr. Miflin. He was a mean man. Other people get to decide all of the time if a person is bad and should be killed or locked away but when she does it she has to pay so dearly. She can't understand why and Joe Snake can't explain it so they walk along the river and there is Sarah who invites them in for a cup of tea.

Sarah and Peter live next door to Howard James. Isn't it strange, thinks Ginny Mustard, how even a small world gets smaller the more time you spend in it. Sarah hears the entire story of Ginny Mustard's wrongdoing and so does Peter when he comes home from work. And the more she talks the more she realizes that she truly will have to go to prison and may be there for a long time and she can't stop crying. Ginny Mustard is having the pity party to end all pity parties.

Eventually she gives it up and then there's just a little whimpering for awhile and soon her eyes are dry and she has a
quick game of checkers with Eleanor before she and Joe Snake leave to buy more alcohol for the wedding. By the time they get back to Mrs. Miflin's house the new cake is cooling and supper is ready and there's no sign any more that Ginny Mustard was ever upset. Joe Snake is pleased that she broke since he knows you can't haul pain around for long and the more time you take to let it out the worse it can be for a body. She had as good a howling as he has ever heard and now they can party and start making that baby she wants so badly. And Ginny Mustard has the same notions though not in that order. Whispers to him that she'd like to spend the night at his place if it's okay. And when their meal is done they leave. Quickly. Laughing. Mrs. Miflin watching from her chair by the window sees them pause under the street light. Kiss. She spits as hard as she can at the glass but it sprays back into her face at the very moment Ginny Mustard looks up and waves.

The real estate agent is thrilled to list Mrs. Miflin's house. Puts his sign on the front lawn. Says it's probably a waste of time since houses like this one are going like hotcakes right now. Lots of come-from-aways are moving in and they're always looking for a big old place to put another bed and breakfast. In fact, Mrs. Miflin should raise her asking price as far as he's concerned. It's way below the going rate. He measures every inch of the house no small feat but he has an assistant and now he's off to call some prospective buyers. Of course, it would be easier to show if there weren't so many tenants all over the place. Might Mrs. Miflin ask them to leave when he brings his clients around? She assures him there'll be no problem getting them out. Just say the word and give her an hour's notice.

Howard James is invited to the wedding as well and if there were some other way to reach Ms. Blake he would never consider attending such a gathering. But hard as he tries his old secretary will not see him and he has many questions about the running of his operation that only she, it seems, can answer. He hasn't had a decent cup of coffee since she left. If he can just corner her for a few minutes, beg her to come back or at least train the new one, half of his troubles will be over. There's no way he will bring a date though, and the woman he has been seeing lately is pissed to find that they won't be spending Saturday together and he can't tell her why. If he had any sense he would make something up because Rachel is not dealing with a full deck but he can't see around corners, poor man, can't even see what's staring him right in the face. Oh well. Serves him right. He wasn't very nice to Ginny Mustard, after all, and one mustn't spend too much time worrying about him.

Ginny Mustard and Joe Snake wake in a delicious tangle of limbs and warm skin. The best sleep, it was. Worn out bone tired honest and now their bodies feel like jelly. If they roll to the edge of the bed they will go over in a heap - none of their extremities will bother to stiffen to catch them, hold them from hitting the floor. So they stay in a knot for as long as they can. Until Ginny Mustard gets hungry. Until Joe Snake says, “Let's go out for a quiet breakfast. This is going to be one hell of a day. We'd best be fortified.”

After that it's pretty much a blur, time being what it is, a
mad rush, and no hot water after the third or fourth shower, but all are dressed and shining before too long and there's a lot of old furniture piled up outside Mrs. Miflin's bedroom door to keep her from doing any more damage while they are away from the house.

Old Father Delaney is in misery with such a motley crowd filling up his church. Is flustered and impatient throughout the ceremony until Joe Snake fixes him with dark eyes and he slows down. Manages to sound, if not loving and kind, at least respectful and those not used to being treated with more than contempt, which would be the majority present, think it a wonderful wed-ding altogether.

The reception is more than anyone needs and will keep them cozy until spring. Dorrie Blake is having a good time with her pretty policeman when she can get away from Howard James. The Pagan twins are arguing points of faith, which they had sworn they wouldn't but there are so many statues in that house there is no avoiding the topic. Martha is a true believer and Mary isn't and they have been fighting tooth and nail since Mary discovered quite by accident from a teacher who was fired as soon as the words were out of his mouth, that there is a theory of evolution. They are seventy now and still dress the same so there's no telling them apart until they get started.

Judy is drinking vodka as though her very life depends on it, keeping as much distance between herself and the cops as she can. Eve is serving tray after tray of food. It's loaves and fishes with no sign that the larder will ever be empty. Maggie has latched on to the good-looking son of one of the policemen, who came by to pick up his father's car and decided to stay when Maggie smiled at him which makes Judy jealous so she calls Jimmy to come over and don't bring any dope for fuck sake.

Joe Snake brought the music - mostly Big Bands - loud -everybody dance music - and if the adults for two blocks around weren't already at Mrs. Miflin's house there might be some complaining.
The only ones who aren't real happy are the kids who didn't sneak out for the night. The ones stuck babysitting the little ones. Artie Shaw and his ilk aren't their favourites and even with the windows closed they can't hear anything else.

Come midnight someone says wouldn't it be nice if Ginny Mustard and Joe Snake opened their wedding gifts so we can all see what they got. Then someone else says let's play charades and we'll act out our favorite presents and knee deep in wrapping paper and ribbons, they do, and Lulu Crummy pees in her pants she's laughing that hard.

Mrs. Miflin made it to a telephone at one point and called the cops to complain about the noise and when they got there they joined the game for a few minutes because Officer Hutton likes charades more than just about anything and can never find anyone who wants to play since his wife started calling ahead when they go to parties and telling the host to say no to his suggestions. He is very good at guessing and even better at pantomime and does a great job on a very heavy cake platter that no one else picked.

Patrick and the other policeman have given the newlyweds two nights in the fanciest hotel in the city which should delay their discussion of where to live by a few hours anyway and that's where, on the softest sheets, Sweet Polly is conceived, and if love and comfort and good feelings starting out can have any influence on a person as she grows, then surely Sweet Polly is blessed.