Julia 03 - Miss Julia Throws a Wedding (16 page)

Hazel Marie, still concerned about Dixon, drove to the school about two-thirty to pick up Little Lloyd. For myself, I didn’t have time to worry about Dixon Hightower. I figured he wouldn’t dare bother me again, and if he had to bother me in the first place, he couldn’t’ve taken anything I’d rather him have. Maybe Emma Sue’s tracts and bumper stickers would do him some good.

Hazel Marie and Little Lloyd came in the back door, and I thought to myself that the child looked more worried and bedraggled than usual. Still had Mr. Pickens’s stairway exit on his mind, I guessed.

“Hey,” he said, as he shrugged off his book bag.

“Hey, baby,” Lillian said, “come give me a hug. You hungry, sugar?” She headed for the refrigerator. “I got some lemonade an’ cookies jus’ waitin’ for you.”

He thanked Lillian, then sat down at the table. Then, nibbling at an oatmeal cookie, he said, “Wonder what Coleman’s doing parked around the corner?”

“Why, I don’t know,” I said, looking up from the guest list I was counting for the third time. “Was he in his patrol car?”

“Yessum, I saw him when we pulled into the driveway, just sitting there. He didn’t see us, but it looked like he was on duty so I didn’t bother him.”

“Parked around the corner?” I repeated. “Why, something must be going on. Maybe he’s on the lookout for Dixon, although that little runt better not be around here. Or another prisoner they’ve let escape. More likely, though, he’s waiting to lead a funeral procession. A good thing you didn’t interrupt him, Little Lloyd; that was thoughtful.

“Lillian,” I went on, “do you remember the time a prisoner
escaped from the courthouse right before his trial began? They looked everywhere for him, got the dogs out and everything, and finally found him up in that big tree in front of the courthouse.”

“I ’member. An’ I ’member when some woman tried to go through a courthouse window an’ got stuck in the screen.”

As we laughed, we heard footsteps on the back porch and Coleman walked in. His face was so stiff and drawn, my first thought was that Dixon was on top of us. Then I saw a suitcase and a duffel bag in his hands.

“Coleman?” I asked, as we all stopped what we were doing and stared at him.

“Mind if I move back into my room, Miss Julia?” he asked, not meeting anybody’s eye, as he crossed the kitchen and headed for the back stairs. His shoulders were slumped even worse than Little Lloyd’s. “If it’s a bother, I’ll find an apartment as soon as I can.”

“No bother,” I mumbled, stunned at this sudden announcement. Then, standing to go after him, I called, “Coleman, what’s the matter?”

He didn’t stop, just continued up the stairs. “The wedding’s off, Miss Julia.”

“No, Jesus!” Lillian cried, smacking her hand against her chest.

“Oh!” Hazel Marie cried, then propped her elbows on the newspaper-covered table and covered her face with her hands.

I sunk back into my chair, rendered speechless by this turn of events. Little Lloyd stared, open-eyed and -mouthed, at me.

The sound of more footsteps on the back porch and the squeak of the screen door opening couldn’t shake us out of our shock.

“Here comes the Spode,” Sam sang out, to the tune of the wedding march, off-key and completely inappropriate in the
present circumstances. “Where you want this box of china, Julia? Lillian told me to pick it up, and I always do what she tells me to.” He winked at her as she smiled weakly at his foolishness.

“Anywhere. Put it anywhere,” I mumbled. The placement of china was the last thing on my mind. “Sam,” I said, turning to him, “you’ve got to do something.”

“I’m here to help; just tell me what to do.” Then, looking at each of us in turn, taking note of the stricken looks on our faces, he put the box on the counter and said, “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Sam,” I wailed. “Coleman’s moving back in. He said the wedding’s off. You’ve got to talk to him, because he just can’t do this. If he’s left Binkie in the lurch, with our dresses bought, invitations out, the caterer and the florist ready to go, and Lieutenant Peavey practicing his solo, why, I . . . I don’t know what we’ll do. Talk to him, Sam. See what the matter is, and tell him he can’t do this to Binkie.”

“Called it off? Any idea why?”

“No! He didn’t say one word about why. That’s why I want you to talk to him.”

“I don’t know, Julia. He may not want to talk to anybody,” Sam said, touching my arm to calm me down. “These things happen, you know, what with the stress of the wedding. I expect they’ve just had a little tiff, and they’ll work it out themselves.”

“You didn’t see him, Sam. He looked like he had the whole world on his shoulders. Whatever’s happened, it’s not a little tiff. I tell you, we’ve got to do something before Binkie is shamed before the whole town. Oh, Lord,” I said, holding my head, “left at the altar. She’ll never live it down.”

“Why don’t you call her? Get an idea of what’s happened before I try to talk to Coleman.”

“Well!” I cried, throwing up my hands. “That’s the whole
problem right there. I should’ve known it. Binkie’s too busy to straighten this out. Too busy with her cases to even take part in her own wedding. That’s it,” I went on, nodding my head as I felt sure I’d nailed down the problem. “Coleman can’t stand the competition of her job. Men! They choose smart, accomplished women to fall in love with, then when they marry them, they expect them to turn into happy little homemakers with nothing in their heads but what closet to clean or what floor to mop. I declare, you’d think if that’s what they want, they’d choose an airheaded blonde in the first place! Oh, sorry, Hazel Marie, that was not a reflection on you, just a figure of speech.”

I dropped back into my chair, just done in with the thought that the lovely wedding I’d planned was now in tatters. “Go talk to him, Sam. Please.”

Sam patted my shoulder. “Look, there’s no use speculating on who’s at fault. Maybe nobody is; maybe they’ve both decided that they aren’t right for each other.”

“My Lord, Sam, they’ve been right for each other for, lo, I don’t know how long! Now is a poor time to be thinking otherwise. Especially since I have everything planned down to the last sprig of baby’s breath. Go on upstairs, Sam, and find out what’s going on, so we’ll know what to do about it.”

“I’m not sure it’s a good idea,” Sam said, frowning, as he headed for the stairs. “But I’ll try.”

“That’s all I want,” I said, thinking that if everybody tried as hard as I did, there’d be a lot less heartache around this house.

Chapter 16

“No good, Julia,” Sam said as he came back downstairs, shaking his head. “He just says he can’t talk about it right now. We’ll just have to leave them alone and let them work it out themselves.”

“How can I do that?” I stormed. “Sam, you don’t seem to understand! Here it is just days before the wedding and the whole town’s set to see it take place.”

Sam gave my exaggeration a brief smile and said, “Let’s not worry about the town, Julia. Coleman’s the one we ought to be concerned about. And Binkie, if she’s in half the shape he’s in.”

Hazel Marie’s eyes began to overflow at the thought. “I just can’t stand it,” she sobbed. “Everybody’s breaking up and hurting each other and, oh, nobody, just nobody cares about anybody else.” And down went her head onto the table. She’d been listening to too many country music songs, in my opinion.

“Well,” I said, ready to throw up my hands. “I don’t know what to do. Should I start canceling everything on Coleman’s say-so? I’ve ordered enough food to feed an army, so if there’s no wedding, who’s going to eat it? And my furniture’s gone and the silver’s polished. And wedding presents are coming in, stacking up like you wouldn’t believe.” I looked wild-eyed around the room, hoping an answer would be forthcoming from somewhere.

“Hazel Marie,” I said, my eyes lighting on her. “Stop crying and help me out here. Should we carry on and hope those two will mend their fences? Or should we start calling everything off?”

She raised her head and wiped her face with her hands. Little Lloyd handed her his napkin and patted her on the back. “I don’t know, Miss Julia,” she said. “It just hurts me so bad for this to happen. I don’t understand it. Here, they both wanted to marry and they’ve let some little thing come between them. While J.D. won’t even . . .” Down went her head again as the tears gushed out.

“It’s all right, Mama,” Little Lloyd said, patting her again. “Don’t cry.”

“Why don’t you call Binkie before you do anything?” Sam said, the voice of reason as always.

“I’ll do better than that,” I said, determined to get to the bottom of the problem. I’d thought it was Binkie who was being left at the altar, but now I realized I was the one left holding the bag. But over and above a houseful of guests and a mountain of food and a preacher and a soloist and a pianist on my hands, Binkie and Coleman
ought
to get married.

“She’ll just put me off if I call,” I said, turning to look for my purse. “I’m going to her office and I’m going to sit there until she tells me what’s going on.”

“Hold on, Julia,” Sam said. “You might ought to stay out of it.”

“I’m already in it, Sam! Besides, I can’t stand the thought of Coleman up there hurting and refusing to talk about it. Somebody owes me an explanation, and I’m going to get it. You want to go with me?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “It’s not my place to question their decision. She wouldn’t appreciate me sticking my nose in. But, you, yes, maybe she’ll talk to you since you’ve worked so hard on the wedding.”

“I should think so,” I said, about to build up a head of steam to shake some sense into Binkie, who I’d decided was the one at fault. The idea, hurting that sweet man upstairs who wanted nothing more than to legalize their situation. Both of them needed some straight talking.

As I headed for the door, Lillian untied her apron and said, “Lemme go with you. You might need some help if she in bad shape, too.”

“Come on then. I’m heading out.”

With my pocketbook dangling on one arm and the other arm swinging in time to my steps, I marched down the sidewalk, Lillian in her white uniform puffing along beside me. Lord, it was hot, with that heavy, muggy feel of a thunderstorm on the way. I wasn’t about to let a little heat and humidity delay me, though, as I stepped out right smartly on my mission of reconciliation.

“Don’t walk so fast,” Lillian said. “You gonna wear yo’self out ’fore you get there.”

“I can’t help it, Lillian. I’m so agitated I don’t know what to do. I declare, I’ve been trying and trying to get those two married, and just when I thought it was going to happen, they call it off. No,” I said, stopping on the curb to wait for a light to change. “I’ll bet it was Binkie who called it off. What is the matter with that girl?”

“You don’t know that, and it might not be nothin’,” Lillian said, wiping the perspiration from her brow. “Maybe jus’ a little tiff, like Mr. Sam say.”

“It’s got to be more than a
little
tiff. Binkie knows what’s involved in planning a wedding. She wouldn’t call it off at the last minute without a really good reason.” As the light turned green, I stepped off the curb and started across the street. “At least, I hope she wouldn’t.” Then again, Binkie’d hardly done anything a normal bride would do.

We walked into her office and into the waiting room. Mary
Alice McKinnon, such a pleasant young woman, looked up from the paperwork on her desk and smiled. “Afternoon, Miss Julia. Can I help you?”

“Yes, you can. Tell Binkie that I need to see her.”

Mary Alice frowned and glanced toward the closed door of Binkie’s office, the one that Sam used to occupy. “I don’t know, Miss Julia. She’s awfully busy and, well, to tell the truth, she’s not feeling too well today.”

“I don’t doubt it, but that’s why I’m here. Please tell her that I intend to wait till midnight, if that’s what it takes for her to talk to me.”

“Well, let me just see.” Mary Alice punched a button on her phone, as I turned away to give her a little privacy.

She hung up the phone and, with a worried look, said, “Binkie says she has a minute or two. You can go on in.”

Lillian and I exchanged glances, although Lillian didn’t understand mine. But telling us to go on in was a glaring clue that something was bad wrong. Always before, when I’d made a professional call on Binkie, she’d come out into the waiting room to personally conduct me into her office.