Southern Belles, a Novel About Love, Purpose & Second Chances (9781310340970) (15 page)

“Richie, come sit by Rosie and I before all
the seats are gone.” I yelled.

“Okay sister, I’m coming.”

As soon as he sat down I began interrogating
him with whispers.

“Did you tell Rosie anything?” I whispered
in his ear.

“Like what?” He asked, looking
surprised.

“You know what.” I said giving him the stink
eye.

“Oh that. Well.”

“What?” I asked, as he paused, looking
nervous.

“She tricked me Char. She said that you told
her and asked me what I thought.”

“What were her exact words?” I asked,
sneaking a look at Jewel—who again looked up at me, from her book,
and smiled politely.

“She said, ‘so, Char told me, you know —what
do you think about that’?”

“That sneaky girl! No—I didn’t tell her
anything and she knew that she could trick you into telling her. I
knew when she smiled at me oddly after I hugged her that she must
have been on to something.” I said, still whispering into Richie’s
ear.

“Do you think she’s going to tell anyone?”
Richie asked.

“I don’t know but she better not. Richie,
how could you tell her?”

“I didn’t know. Honestly, I wouldn’t have
told her or anyone. I thought you told her.”

“Ughh, don’t tell anyone else.”

“Are you going to say something to her?” He
asked.

“No, not yet; I’m going to keep an eye on
her.” I whispered before pinching his ear.

“Ouch, you and Grandma are set on taking off
my ears.”

“Remember that the next time you think about
talking about me.”

I looked over at Jewel again and this time
she fixed her gaze on me and smiled. I wanted to rip the little
smile off her face. Did she think this was funny? She must know
that no one else knows. That too-smart-for-her-britches-know-it-all
was driving me crazy. I looked at her and nodded my head with as
stern a face as I could manage. I was always nice to everyone.
Being rude or firm, except to Jersey the day I broke up with him,
did not come easy for me. She knew that I wouldn’t say anything to
her unless she pushed.

As usual, the boys began shooting spit wads
at each other with an occasional pillow being launched at someone’s
head. Instead of enjoying the annual event I sat quietly wondering
if Jewel was going to say anything. She continued to smile at me at
times—not the kind of smile that’s sweet but the ‘I know what you
did’ smirk. Other than juicy gossip there was no reason for her to
say anything. In a few months everyone would know anyway unless she
wanted to be the one to tell everyone first. I looked at her and
frowned thinking that could be it. Maybe she would say something.
Tonight was not the night for that. I would tell my parents in my
own time; it wasn’t her business. Last year everyone was talking
about her dragon tattoo and how disrespectful it was to her body or
at least to her dad, a preacher. I didn’t care and didn’t bother
listening to all of it. I thought tattoos were neat—not that I
wanted one but it looked good on her.

I dreaded the next few hours hoping Jewel
wouldn’t say anything. We had dinner; we listened to the Bible
story, opened presents, and did the gift exchange game. It was
almost time to leave for mass. She hadn’t said a word and I was
starting to feel pretty good—given the last few hours of not
knowing what she may or may not do. I stayed quiet and helped clean
up in the kitchen. Rosie stayed by my side and helped wash dishes
with me. She washed and I dried them. Cousin June put them away
with my mother’s directions of where everything went.

“Hey everyone, before we leave Jewel and
Justin had a great idea.” My Uncle Dallas said.

“Let’s have everyone say something they are
thankful for and what they look forward to in the New Year.” He
said excitedly, as if it were the best idea since the invention of
the wheel.

While mostly everyone else went back to the
living room, I kept drying dishes and figured I’d sneak away before
it was my turn. I didn’t want to engage myself in any of Jewel’s
games. I didn’t want to be part of any of her gossip. My mother
came over and said she’d take over so we could sit down. I told her
that she was always doing the dishes and that she should just go
relax for once. She smiled and went to sit down. One by one, my
aunts, uncles, cousins, and brothers shared what they were thankful
for and what they looked forward to. My mother and father went and
next was Jewel’s turn. I stopped drying dishes for a second to hear
what she was going to say. My heartbeat sped up and I worried what
would pop out of her candy-red mouth. I could barely breathe. I
looked over at her and saw her smiling at me.

“That sneaky snake,” I whispered under my
breath, “she better not say a word.”

“I’m thankful for all of my family here
today and I look forward to having even more family here next year
for Christmas.” Jewel smiled, “it’s just so good to have your
family around at the holidays.”

I let out a small sigh of relief and turned
to head towards the bathroom.

“Wait a minute, Char still needs to go.”
Jewel said loudly as all the family turned towards where I was
standing previously, stopping me in my tracks.

Smiling, I said, “I am thankful for a
wonderful family and I look forward to all that God has for me next
year.” I started to back away towards the bathroom, again.

“Yes, I am so excited for you too Char and
for you, Aunt Susan and Uncle Richard! God has really blessed you
all. You must be so excited to be having your first grandbaby.”
Jewel said excitedly with fake enthusiasm.

Suddenly I felt all the blood drain from my
body as her words registered in my head.

“What? What are you talking about Jewel?” My
father asked while chewing on some homemade deer jerky.

“The baby—you know!” She stopped smiling and
looked concerned.

Suddenly all eyes were on me and my belly. I
stood there helplessly with my mouth gapping wide open. I saw
Father John’s eyes bulge as he did several Hail Mary’s and a sign
of the cross.

“Hey, it’s my turn.” Richie said abruptly.
“I’m thankful that I got the lead role in Fiddler’s Roof and I am
looking forward to dropping out of school and pursuing theatre full
time. It’s a paid gig and everything.”

Everyone was still quiet after Richie
stopped speaking. My father took his eyes off me for a second to
give Richie a quick quizzical look.

“I think it’s time for church everyone.”
Grandma Rose said to break the silence.

“Char, we need to see you right now in the
office.” My father said sternly.

I was in a state of shock. That little
dragon witch just ousted me in front of entire family. I could
barely breathe. I couldn’t believe this was happening now. The
whole night had been mostly good other than the odd smiles from
Jewel. She knew my secret and waited for this moment. Again, I felt
the sting of pain from feeling betrayed and left hanging alone. My
stomach became queasy and I turned towards the office—knowing my
parents were right behind me.

“Before you say anything I didn’t mean to
hurt you. I’m…I’m really scared and I didn’t know how to tell you
because you’ve been so proud of me and right now I feel so stupid.
So, please don’t make this worse. I already feel like a loser and a
failure.”

“Char, how did this happen?”

“Suez, we know how this happened. What were
you thinking? Were you trying to screw your life up?” My father
yelled.

As my dad came closer, I burst into tears.
He was so angry and my mother looked at me with disappointment. I
knew it would hurt but not this bad. Losing Skylar was hard enough.
Now, my parents looked at me differently. This was not the way I
imagined them finding out.

“What are you going to do about school?” My
father demanded. “Are you going to drop out? Where are you going to
live? What a minute—who’s the father? It better not be Jack
Delano!” He continued.

I couldn’t speak. I stayed quiet, crying
more. I just wanted to leave. I couldn’t face them.

“No, it’s not Jersey.” I sniffled.

“Char, is it Skylar?” My mother asked in a
calm voice.

I looked up for the first time since we came
into the office and mustered up enough courage. “Yes, it’s Skylar.”
I could feel tears stream down my cheeks, burning as they went.

“Char, did he ever call you?” She asked
genuinely.

“No.”

“Who is Skylar?” My dad demanded again.

“He’s a guy I met before I left for school.”
I said with my face pointing down again.

“How come I didn’t meet him?” My father
asked angrily.

“Richard, she met him at a party the night
before they left for school and only saw him that one time. Are you
sure it’s his baby?”

“Yes mom! I made a huge mistake. He’s the
only one I’ve ever been with.” I felt so insulted by her
question.

“You’re grounded!” My father yelled.

“Richard, I don’t think that’s going to
help.”

“I said he was the only one, ever! I made a
mistake that I’ll be paying for—for the rest of my life! I’m not
sleeping around!”

Just then Richie popped his head through the
office entryway and said, “Dad, it’s not like she’s going to get
any more pregnant.”

Richie had been waiting the whole time, just
outside the door, listening and waiting if I needed his help. He
couldn’t have come at a better time. I was starting to get upset
causing my stomach to become even queasier than before. I felt the
heat of my anger rising throughout my body and I began to feel
lightheaded. My head ached and my eyes burned. I wanted to
leave.

“Richie, you are not part of this
conversation. I will talk with you later about school!” My father
said sternly.

“I know I messed up and I’m sorry but I
can’t do this right now. I feel like I’m going to be sick.” I said
before starting to dry heave.

“Hurry to the bathroom, Char.” My mom
insisted.

“This conversation is not over young lady.”
My father bellowed as he stepped out of the office after me.

I stayed in the bathroom for the next half
hour with the door locked. I didn’t want anyone in there and I
hoped that my parents were gone by the time I came out. I waited
until I could no longer hear my dad complaining, loudly, to my
mother. I looked at my watch. It was 11:45 PM and all I could hear
was silence now, other than a few sobs, I let escape. It was all
out. It felt horrible but freeing at the same time. I had no more
secrets.

Chapter 10: An Order of Mass and Fries
Please

Quiet
knocking on the other side of the door grabbed my attention from
the conversation still running through my mind from a half hour ago
now.

“Char?” Richie whispered. “It’s just you and
me. Everyone else left for mass. If you still want to go I can
drive us and we can sneak into the balcony area. We won’t have to
see mom and dad.” He said softly, “I know how much you like being
in mass on Christmas Eve. Maybe we can go to the Rox afterwards for
a hot chocolate.”

“I don’t know if I feel like seeing anyone
Richie.”

“It might be good for you to get your mind
off of things.” He urged carefully.

“I don’t know.”

“Besides, I know CeCe will want to see you.”
He added.

“Yea, she would love to hear about all the
crazy drama.” I said as I opened the bathroom door.

I grabbed my coat and slipped it on. It was
quiet again. Richie waited on one of the sofas while I pulled on my
boots. It got cold in the winter but rarely ever snowed. My boots
were more of a fashion statement and about the only cute attire
that fit me other than loose jogging pants and hoodies. My jeans
had all gotten too snug and my jogging pants and hoodie hid my
growing belly. I grabbed a few cookies for the road and we left for
mass.

By the time we arrived it was about 12:15 AM
and the choir was singing angelically. We snuck up the back
staircase and into the back row of the balcony. The church was lit
beautifully with white Christmas lights. There were more trees than
ever down below, lit up and sparkling with shimmering blue and
silver balls, bows, and faux candles. As we slid in the back, I
felt a surge of warmth flow through my body. It was the first sense
of peace I’d had felt since being ousted by Jewel. Speaking of
Jewel, I could see the back of her black glistening hair. She was
in the front row of the balcony with June and Jude. Suddenly, I
heard a pssst sound coming from beside me. I looked over to see
CeCe smiling at me while making her way through and upsetting a few
of the older members as she interrupted their singing.

“Hey there lady—I haven’t heard from you in
a few days. How are you?” She said, looking grimly at me.

“My parents found out.” I whispered.

“I know. Richie called me when you were
holed up in the bathroom.” She hugged me and whispered, “It’s going
to work out.”

“My dad is so angry. He was yelling at me.
I’ve never seen him this angry before.”

“Shhh!” We heard from the older members
again looking at us.

“Shhh!” CeCe hushed back at the older
members, surprising them, as she turned back towards me. “He’s
supposed to be angry. Someone just deflowered his only daughter and
made him a very young grandpa without sticking around to take
responsibility.” She said, in all honesty, not holding back her
thoughts.

“Well, since you put it like that. He was so
angry though.”

“Char, he’ll get over it.”

“Shhh!” We heard again from behind CeCe.

“Go sit downstairs with all the old people
if you don’t want to hear us talk.” CeCe hissed back.

Just then Jewel turned around and caught my
eye. She smiled. I gave her a dirty look and shook my head before
she turned back around. Still feeling the burn on my skin that
Jewel triggered, I looked over at CeCe. She was very territorial
and stood her ground. The older people shot her a frown back, in
disgust. CeCe smiled at them and said “that’s what I thought”.