Friendship Cake (15 page)

James nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good.” He continued to look at the pictures of his family while Jessie fixed the coffee.

“Sugar?” she asked.

“Yes, babe?” He answered in the teasing manner he always did and walked to the kitchen.

Jessie smiled and shook her head. She put a teaspoon of sugar in a cup of coffee and handed it to him.

He took it and winked a thank-you.

“Janice call you?” Jessie was curious about how he found out. “Yeah, last week.” He put the cup down on the counter. “I thought I'd surprise you.”

Jessie took a sip from her cup, walked to the den, and said, “Well, you certainly did that!” She had a seat on the sofa.

James followed and sat across from her in the recliner. “So, little Wallace got a white girl pregnant and they're all going to live with you?” He blew across his cup trying to cool the coffee.

“Yes. I suppose that sums up the situation.”

“Hmm. You still working?”

“Only part-time these days. I'll probably completely retire though when the baby's born. I want these two to finish school.”

James took a sip.

“You still in Washington?” Jessie crossed her legs and pulled at her heavy wool sweater. She wondered how long he was planning to stay.

“Yeah, still in the nation's capital, working at the bank as a security guard. Been there seventeen years, only robbed once.” He grinned at Jessie.

“You're too old to be a security guard.” She was teasing him now.

“I figure the older you are, the less likely they are to shoot you.” He set his cup on the table beside him and folded his hands in his lap. He saw Jessie look at the clock on the wall. He shifted in his chair and suddenly appeared serious.

“Janice says I can stay with her in her new apartment, but I don't want to make things worse for you.” He rubbed his legs. “I'll not stay, if it's a problem.” He looked over at Jessie for the answer.

She waited for a minute. She liked having him vulnerable like this. She enjoyed the softness of his temper, the polite way he would ask for her permission on such occasions. She savored the tenderness of it. “Of course, you'll stay,” she said, waving her hand. “Wallace would love to have you here, and the family could use your support. Besides,” she said, “I've got two of your favorite pies in the fridge.”

James lifted an eyebrow.

“James Junior likes them too.” Jessie said this to dismiss any
idea James might have that she had been hoping he would come. She cut her eyes at the only man she'd ever loved and let the expectant air fill her chest.

James nodded and looked down at his hands.

“You-hoo, Jessie?” It was Beatrice coming up the back steps. “Jessie, I've brought over some of the goodies for this afternoon.” She was trying to open the door.

Jessie got up from her seat. “Just a minute, Bea, and I'll help you.” She opened the door. Beatrice was breathing hard and talking at the same time. “We've got so much to do. Grady and the others are cleaning off the grounds. Dick dropped me by; I'm not going to drive in this mess. And whose car is that in your driveway?” It was a storm of questions and statements. Bea walked into the den and saw James as he stood.

“Oh my!” she said. “I didn't expect…I didn't know…um, you're James, right?”

Jessie walked in behind her and took the dish from her hands. “Bea, this is my ex-husband, James Jenkins.”

Bea looked flustered. “Oh my, I should have called first. I hadn't expected anyone and Dick was going to the store so he stopped by and offered to bring me here; he's getting some more stuff out of the car.”

“Bea, it's fine. We were just talking.” Jessie rolled her eyes at James.

“Well, of course you were just talking. I didn't mean to imply you were doing anything other than talking.” She couldn't stop herself.

“Pleased to see you again, Bea. It's been a long time.” James shook her hand.

“I'll say it's been a long time. What, twenty years?” She turned to share a laugh with Jessie, but Jessie wasn't laughing.

“Oh, there I go again. Sometimes I have a nervous habit of talking too much. Do you have any nervous habits, Jessie?” She pulled her hand away from James.

“Oh, I think so,” Jessie said as she looked over at all the things she had baked.

Beatrice followed her eyes towards the kitchen. “Oh, Mexican wedding cookies!” She walked over to the counter.

Dick Witherspoon was coming in the door. “Knock, knock,” he said.

“Oh, just come in. Look, Dick, Jessie made Mexican wedding cookies.”

She reached for the dishes he was carrying, and before he could reply, she turned back to Jessie. “He makes the best Mexican wedding cookies. In fact, I'm going to put his recipe in our book. Won't that be nice?” She smiled over at Dick and then at Jessie.

Dick reached out his hand to Jessie. “Congratulations on this event.”

Jessie said, “Thank you,” then introduced him to James, who also shook the funeral director's hand, which was cold and clammy.

“You from D.C.?” Dick moved closer to the other man while the women began to arrange the dishes in the kitchen. They started to talk about the Washington area, where Dick had lived a few years.

Beatrice smiled and winked at Jessie like she knew a secret. Jessie just shook her head and laughed. Then she lifted her eye
brows in a question mark towards Dick. Beatrice knew the meaning and just slapped Jessie on the hand and blushed. “He's really much more cultured than I imagined,” she whispered, and Jessie nodded. “We're thinking about going to Europe in March.” She giggled. “Won't that be the talk of Hope Springs?” And she waved her hand around.

“Well, I've got a few more dishes to get from the car, then I've got to go pick up the cake, go by and fix Roxie's hair and makeup, do my own, finish fixing the punch, and get back to the church in less than two hours!” She looked frantic. “How can you be so calm?” And she headed out the door before Jessie could answer.

“Well, I guess I better get the car turned around and moving in the right direction before Beatrice is stuck without her blush and curlers!” Dick said his good-byes, handed Jessie the two dishes that Beatrice had given him at the back door, and left.

“Nice folks.” James smiled with an air of uncertainty.

“Salt of the earth,” Jessie responded.

“I have my clothes for the wedding in the car. If it's all right, I'll just change here and drive you to the church.” He was all tender and vulnerable again, and Jessie was blinded by it like it was a storm of snow.

“Yeah, that will be fine. You can even help Wallace with his tie.” Jessie looked at her watch. “Oh, I better start getting ready myself. Wallace should be home soon. You can help yourself to anything to eat if you like. I'll be in the back getting dressed.”

James followed his ex-wife with his eyes as she went down the hall and into the bedroom they once had shared. He sighed, poured himself another cup of coffee, and took a cookie from the
platter. He stood in front of the kitchen window as memories stirred in his mind and he was warmed by the possibilities.

Jessie shut the door and leaned back against it. She thought about James, the way he looked, the years they had been apart. He seemed settled in a way that he hadn't been in a long time. Something felt ironed out, smoothed down and pressed flat. It was as if nothing was in his way anymore. Jessie didn't know what was different or what if anything the change meant, but she liked the way it felt. She liked that he was there, standing in her kitchen. And she liked it that, for whatever reason, he seemed right at home.

O
n that blustery day in December, Hope Springs Community Church was crowded with well-wishers and church members to celebrate the wedding of Wallace Jenkins and Lana Sawyer.

Dick Witherspoon and Beatrice Newgarden stood at the door to greet the folks and pass out bulletins. It was noticed that during most of the service, the music and the speaking of the vows, Dick and Bea were holding hands.

Roxie and Louise sat near the back, and Roxie could be heard singing during a couple of the hymns. Margaret stood in the narthex, beaming with pride that her church had managed a miracle and that the wedding party remembered where they were supposed to stand and how they were to march in and out.

Charlotte was relaxed and at ease, even giving an impromptu thank-you to everyone who had weathered the storm and was present for the ritual.

Jessie sat with James and loved the nearness of his arm both beside and around her. Lana and Wallace were nervous as cats but somehow managed to say the vows and follow directions without a hitch.

The wedding was one of the most beautiful Hope Springs had ever hosted; everybody said so. And the reception at Jessie's was packed with people and overflowing with joy. No one believed that the community would be able to laugh so soon after their tears, but it felt easy and necessary, and the people obliged their hearts.

It was a glorious day for the Hope Springs community, and afterwards the Cookbook Committee sat in Jessie's den while a
few family members stood around in the kitchen. Louise had taken Roxie into a bedroom for a nap since she kept falling asleep on the sofa. She was coming out when she heard Jessie ask the group how Roxie was doing.

“She's worse.” Louise got herself a cup of punch and sat down next to Beatrice. “But today was a good day. It was a really good day.” She smiled at Jessie, who nodded back at her.

“I heard her singing ‘Here Comes the Bride.' I didn't even know there were words to ‘Here Comes the Bride.'” Margaret was nibbling on a piece of cake.

“I'm not sure there are words, and even if there are, I'm not sure they were the words Roxie was singing.” Louise took a bite of her friend's cake.

“She seems really content, Lou.” Beatrice was fanning herself.

“Yeah, she's satisfied, I think; I mean, with being here.” Louise saw Jessie looking in the kitchen, soaking in James with her eyes. “You still got it for your old man?”

Jessie was surprised at the question, surprised that everyone had figured out her secret admiration. She blushed. “You've got to admit, he still looks good.”

James glanced into the den and noticed that the women were watching him. He raised his cup and grinned.

“He looks all right, I suppose.” It was Beatrice. “If you like that sort of run off and forget you kind of guy.”

“Oh, Bea. Leave them alone. Jessie's a grown woman. She knows what she wants.” Margaret offered Louise another bite of cake.

“You mean, she knows
who
she wants.” And Beatrice put her cup to her mouth, her little finger balancing the weight.

“No, I think it's more like
what
I want.” Jessie licked her lips while the other women laughed. James turned back towards the women.

“Girl, I do know about that.” Beatrice put down her cup and looked over at Dick, who was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through a magazine.

Louise and Margaret exchanged glances.

“Really, Bea, you? I never had you figured for the, um,” Jessie struggled for a word.

“Horny type.” It was Louise who finished the sentence.

They all laughed. Beatrice seemed unbothered. “Well, a woman does have needs.” She gave a dainty wave towards Dick, who smiled back at her.

“Don't you think it's a little weird being with a funeral director? I mean, has he asked you to do it in a coffin?” Louise whispered the question, and the women howled. Everybody in the kitchen looked their way.

Charlotte walked over before anyone could respond. “And just what is the raucous topic for today's committee meeting?”

The women laughed again. “Sex,” said Margaret.

“Oh?” said an embarrassed Charlotte. “Maybe I need to skip out on this meeting then.”

“No, it's plenty appropriate for a preacher's ears.” And Louise motioned Charlotte to join her on the sofa. “Jessie here was only saying that she was glad to have James back.”