Hello Loved Ones (11 page)

Things got off to a bad start. Thanks to her mad dash home, she had sweat running down her back and two large crescent-shaped stains under her armpits. She had to change clothes, check the casserole, refill the ice trays, toss the salad. Would the pastor notice all her hard work? She wished he’d come inside and talk to her. She imagined the two of them chatting while she flitted about the kitchen.
Loved your sermon today, pastor! So joyful!
Him sitting at the table in a bathrobe while she scrambled him some eggs. Leaning against the counter draining his coffee before he hurried off to work.
Bye hon!
Snaking his arms around her from behind. Lifting the hair off her neck, his breath hot and close.

“Come on in,” she called out the screen door. “Lunch is served!”

But everyone was lolling about in the heat, looking like the last thing they wanted was a good hearty meal. Her mother and the pastor stood alone, making no move to come in. It was exactly as she feared! Her mother was monopolizing him. Even from inside she could see his face twitching as they talked. Did anyone else notice the way his tick revved up when he was talking to her mother?

She stood at the window, watching. What were they
doing
out there? Grandma came huffing in, followed by Grandpa and Lenny. Sally slouched in from the bedroom. She heard Aunt Flookie coming up the front steps. Still the two of them stood there talking. About what? Something troubling, the way it looked. Nell didn’t get it. They weren’t especially friendly with each other. Mostly they seemed to ignore one another, in a way that, well, it reminded Nell of high school, the way the popular girls would walk past this or that boy with their noses in the air all week long, then on the weekend, there they were, sneaking behind the bleachers with them. And just like in high school, she got a strange and hollow pang in her stomach watching it. It was almost as if there was something between them. Something married people had. Familiar, but disdainful.

If only she understood that sort of thing! She had no experience with boys. In high school, the boys used to talk to her in the hall, but only to ask for help in algebra, or would she talk to Cathy in homeroom and see if Randy stood a chance? She’d never been on a date. As far as she knew, no one had ever had a crush on her. It used to bother her. She tried the
How to Turn Heads!
advice from the magazines, the egg whites in the hair, olive oil on the skin, head up, shoulders back, heel-to-toe steps. Nothing. People were always perfectly pleasant with her. But the
va-va-voom!
That’s what she lacked.

Her mother didn’t have it either. Not anymore. She might have been a looker when she was young. Now she was hard and brittle and plain. Except, was that
lipstick
she was wearing? Nell squinted out the window. Prudy had certainly freshened up, same as Nell, but why should that mean anything? Why should it make Nell grip the counter top with a hot surge of jealousy? Her mother didn’t have designs on anybody. She’d made it clear over the years that she wasn’t interested in remarrying.
You kids require every ounce of energy
, she always said. Still, Nell couldn’t get past the feeling that maybe, somewhere in her past, her mother had felt something for Pastor Voss. It was nothing more than an odd notion, the kind that makes you pause and purse your lips, considering. Hmmm.
Maybe
. Then you shake your head. Nah. Couldn’t be.

“Mother, coming?” she called.

Nell turned and surveyed the table. Everything was just as she’d planned. She wouldn’t spend another minute worrying. This was her day to shine.

Then Aunt Flookie came waltzing in.

“I think I’ll expire if I don’t get some food,” she said, crunching noisily on a pickle spear that appeared from nowhere. “Let’s get this show on the road!” Flookie’s real name was Frieda, but no one called her that. Whenever she met someone she’d say
call me Flookie. I’m available, if you know anyone.
Unlike Prudy, Flookie dated anyone and everyone, mostly men that she met at the bowling alley or the truck stop or the Circle R Chicken Ranch where she worked as night manager.

She dumped a foil-covered platter on the counter and said, “Pigs-in-blankets.”

Nell sighed. “You shouldn’t have.”

“Hey, no problem. I drove right by the Certi-Saver.”

“No really. I’m not serving those with lunch,” Nell said firmly.

Flookie’s eyebrows, already arched and over-tweezed, inched up higher. “Why not?”

“I have the menu all set,” Nell said through tight lips. “It’s from a
magazine
.”

“Well la-di-da! They happen to be Lenny’s favorite.” Flookie pulled the foil off and set the plate on the table.

“Flookie!”

But here he was, coming through the screen door. Nell planted a bright smile on her face before snatching Flookie’s plate off the table.

“Welcome, pastor!” she said. “Make yourself at home.”

He stood looking at her, his hands rumbling around in his pockets.

“Gosh, this weather!” she said. “We sure could use some rain!”
Dumb
. She sounded like her Uncle Ollie.

“Sure could.” He cleared his throat. “Might I trouble you for a glass of lemonade?”

Nell practically leaped at him. “Or would you prefer ginger ale? I think there’s some iced tea, too. And there’s some frozen orange juice. I could mix that up. Or chocolate milk?” Nell stopped. She was going overboard.

“Just the lemonade,” he said. “Milk doesn’t agree with me.”

Thank goodness she hadn’t served the chocolate milk! It was so sensible of her. Could he see it too? Did he think about their compatibility? Did he realize that she could do such a good job of taking care of him?

The two of them were cut from the same cloth. She imagined a sheet hung out to dry, their shapes taken from the center like perfectly matched paper dolls. They were a pair, weren’t they? Her, so rooted in her faith, reading her Bible every day, so sure that she was called to serve the Lord. And him, tirelessly spreading the Word, but without a loving woman at his side. Why, with the right support, who knew how far he could go? Together they might build a ministry in Africa, or the Philippines, or wherever else heathens lived. Just think how they could change the world!

She gestured grandly toward the table. “Please sit down. I’ve got eight places set out here. One for you, and me, and Mom and Lenny and Sally and…” she trailed off. She didn’t need to list every last person. “Why don’t you sit at the head here?”

“No, no. Let Lenny sit there.”

“Yes, of course,” Nell said, her smile so big it made her face hurt. Why couldn’t she have been born a smiler? They were the lucky ones. Sweet, open faces that people couldn’t help loving. Perfect, white teeth, pearly pink gums, cheeks that slid effortlessly up and down. She had always hated that she was so serious. If only she could be like that flighty woman Daisy, who worked at the church and was always hovering around the pastor, always touching his arm and whispering things behind her hand. Ha, ha! No!
Really?
Ha, ha, ha! What could possibly be so hysterical?

Responsibility was no laughing matter, and the pastor had to see that no one was more responsible than Nell. She’d taught Sunday School for two years, and in September she’d be starting a job as crossing guard, employed by the
police department
.

They took their seats and began passing the dishes amid the usual murmurs.
Smells divine. What a treat.
When everyone was served Grandpa cleared his throat and said, in a voice that was much too loud, “What’s doin’, Lenny?”

“What?” Lenny said, with a screwed up face. Grandpa was sitting on his bad side.

“He said, what’s doin’?” Grandma repeated. “He’s wondering what your plans are.”

“Oh.” Lenny looked uncomfortable. “Work off my debt. Why?”

Aunt Flookie cleared her throat. “Your situation is all too clear, hon, but what are your
plans?
That is to say, your
prospects?
”

Lenny set his fork down abruptly. “You all know I’m taking the custodian job at the church. You want to know which toilets I’ll be scrubbing first?”

Nell cringed at Lenny’s rudeness, but the pastor laughed, good-natured. How she loved him! And how he might so completely love
her
, warts and all. Because wasn’t Lenny a kind of wart? And her absent father too. Yet here sat Pastor Voss, ready to break bread with them as if they were all perfectly normal.

“Why don’t you tell them what some of your duties will be?” the pastor said.

“You mean how you want me to make crepe paper flowers for the banquet? For chrissake, it’s not exactly man’s work.”

“Crepe paper never killed anyone,” said Prudy.

“Speaking of decorations…” Here was Nell’s chance. She was already on the decorating committee for the banquet, but it wasn’t enough. She wanted to be in charge of so much more, so when the night came and the banquet was a smashing success, she would get the credit.

“Maybe you need me to help out with the caterers? Or something else behind the scenes?” The thought of doing anything behind the scenes with Pastor Voss made her cheeks burn.

“You’ve already done so much,” he said.

If he only knew! He ought to see her diary. She’d laid out three different scenarios for the night of the banquet. The first she called Humble Servant.
Wear: jeans, colorful head scarf (think Doris Day), no make-up. Motto: cheerful efficiency! See to every last detail. No complaints! Smile always. Offer to help. That Nell! Some gal Friday!

The next was entitled Woman In The Wings.
Complete all work well in advance. Stay all night beforehand if needed. Make an entrance. Where’s Nell? Emerge from the shadows in the peach chiffon from the display window at Steketees. Beg, borrow, steal for this dress.
(She scratched out
steal
and wrote
just kidding
.)
Motto: transformation. Girl to woman. Lights dim, HE takes your hand, leads you to the dance floor, whispers ‘It’s like we’re meeting for the first time!’

Her third plan she called Distressed (But Not A Mess).
Let him see you sweat (not literally!). Take every opportunity to ask his advice. Build him up! Compliment! Show him you’ve got his back but HE IS IN CHARGE (very important for men). Motto: Mature, pragmatic, equal partner.

She still had plenty of planning to do. For now, all she could do was look at Pastor Voss, shrug in what she hoped was a dainty way, and say, “If you like I can come by this week and go over a few—”

Lenny interrupted her. “I’m finished,” he said, tossing his napkin on his plate. “Can I be excused? I’ve got business.” He scowled long and hard at Sally.

“You’ve barely touched your food!” Nell said.

“No offense, Nell, but I don’t see why I can’t have a normal cheeseburger. It is my birthday, which everyone seems to have forgotten.”

“What you’ve forgotten is your manners.” She tried to keep her voice light. As for the smile, she couldn’t keep it up. Anyway, she probably looked like a crazy lady.

“That’s right, Lenny. Sit down,” said Prudy.

He groaned. “I don’t see why everyone’s on my case. Why don’t you ask Sally what she was doing this morning?”

Sally’s head shot up. “Lenny! Shut up!”

“Why? Is it a secret?”

“You know it is!”

“Because you never said it was a secret.”

“What’s a secret?” asked Prudy. “Sally?”

“What’s she talking about?” Grandma asked. “Speak up, Sally.”

Sally sighed. “I suppose you’ll all find out soon anyway. It’s about the banquet.”

“What is it?” Nell asked, instantly protective. She felt like it was her banquet.

There was a long pause. Sally bit her lip and looked nervously at her mother.

“You gonna tell or should I?” asked Lenny.

“Okay! I invited Dad to the banquet,” Sally said in a rush.

Everyone paused, their eyes on Sally, except for Grandpa, who kept chewing. Grandma set her fork down and folded her hands in her lap.

“Richard?” Prudy said finally. “Invited him how?”

“Don’t worry, there’s no way he’ll show,” Lenny said.

Prudy put her hand up to stop him. “Can you please tell me what you’re talking about?”

“I wrote him a letter.”

“Why?” Nell asked. She couldn’t imagine wanting
him
back in her life. She’d said it a million times because she believed it: they were better off without him.

“Because I wanted to!” Sally cried. “What’s it to you anyway?”

“Maybe we don’t want to see him!” Nell cried. How was she supposed to have the night of her dreams with her father there? He’d turn it into a nightmare! To him she would always be a dull, clumsy, overweight little girl. If he showed up, she’d become all those things. In front of Pastor Voss.