Stepping to a New Day (5 page)

“That's good news, because your bill's pretty high. Don't keep him out too long. He and Cleo have a thing going and she gets upset when he's not around.”

Riley saw the sow eyeing Cletus and Cletus eyeing the sow. He hoped this wouldn't be a repeat of Cletus and Chocolate, the sow his hog married a few years back. When Eustacia walked out on Riley and took her sow with her, Cletus was depressed for months. “Then let me get going. Don't want Cleo to get upset.”

“I'll get the trailer.”

Riley wasn't sure if the new SUV would be strong enough to pull Cletus's trailer but found he had nothing to worry about. He waved at Scarsdale and the man waved back, but Riley was so busy congratulating himself on his cleverness, he missed the angry set of Ben's jaw and the fire flashing in his blue eyes as Riley and his hog drove out of sight.

T
C had never attended a town meeting before, so when he entered the diner Monday evening with Gary and the girls he checked out all the smiling people milling about and visiting, heard the Temptations singing “Don't Look Back” from the red chrome jukebox, and smiled. He liked the homey feel of the gathering right off the bat.

“Let's grab a seat,” Gary shouted over the din. “And I'll introduce you around.”

Following his nephew to a booth, TC estimated there were about fifty people inside, some Black, some White and all carrying plates piled high with appetizer-type food like wings, pot stickers, and cut-up raw veggies. That pleased him, too.

Since there were more people than booths, Gary stopped at one already occupied by the mayor, Trent July, and his wife, Lily. “Can we join you?”

TC had met both briefly over at the Power Plant while seeing about the job.

“Sure.” Trent and Lily moved over so he and Gary could
join them. Leah and Tiffany were already squeezing into another booth filled with a group of teens.

“Welcome to the town meeting,” Trent said.

“How often do you do this?” TC asked, still glancing around.

“Once a month. Gives us the opportunity to stay connected and keep up with what's going on around town.”

“This is amazing,” the impressed TC offered. “You won't find anything like this in Oakland.”

Lily said, “One of the advantages of small-town living.”

“I see,” he replied.

Gary asked, “I know we just had dinner but do you want something to munch on?”

“Sure. How long do the meetings usually last?”

Trent answered. “No more than an hour or so. Not much on the agenda this evening.”

“How much is the food?”

Gary smiled. “Free. Courtesy of the Boss Lady Ms. Brown.”

TC saw her over on the side of the room speaking with a tall guy about his age. She looked elegant even when wearing jeans and a soft blue sweater. The tasteful gold bangles and the hoops in her ears seemed to emphasize the fact.

Gary said, “Let's grab a plate. We'll be starting soon.”

The buffet table offered lots of finger food. TC helped himself to a few wings, and some little filo squares filled with spinach. The woman standing behind the line was knock-your-socks-off gorgeous. Gary said to her, “Rock. Want you to meet my uncle, Terence Barbour.”

Extending her hand, she offered up a smile that made TC melt. “Hi, Mr. Barbour. Pleased to meet you. I'm Rocky Dancer. Welcome. You're the one taking over from Nathan?”

TC nodded. “I am. Call me TC, please.”

“Will do. Help yourself to the fixings. My assistant Siz does most of the cooking. Best chef this side of the Mississippi.”

TC eyed the bounty. “Looking forward to trying it out. Nice meeting you, Ms. Dancer.”

“Same here. Call me Rocky.”

He nodded.

He and Gary moved down the line, and as they did he got a wave from Ms. Brown. He asked Gary about the man she was talking with.

“Malachi July. Owns the place. He's also Trent's dad. Their family has lived here over a hundred years. Mal's mother, Tamar, is the town matriarch. I'll introduce you to them later. You got enough?”

TC eyed his plate. “I think I do.”

On the way back to the booth, Gary stopped so TC could meet Clay Dobbs and his buddy Bing Shepard, whose beautifully carved ebony cane was as stately as the man holding it.

“Welcome,” both men said to him.

“Thanks.”

As they moved on, Gary said, “Clay and Genevieve Gibbs are lovebirds.”

“Ah” was TC's reaction. He hadn't seen her yet and wondered if he would. He'd had a nice time driving her back from the airport and had to admit to being disappointed that she and Clay were an item, even though he wasn't looking to hook up with anyone while in town.

Gary stopped and introduced him to Reverend Paula. She invited him to the church and he told her how much he liked her navy blue cowboy boots. He then met the Paynes—Sheila and Barrett. The retired Marine was fit and still appeared capable of scaring the pants off a green recruit. His wife was a
beauty and TC wondered if all the women in town were fine. Ms. Gibbs certainly had been. After leaving the Paynes, Gary said, “Their son, Preston, is Leah's boo, as the kids say.”

TC wondered if the boy ever got out of line with a dad like Barrett. TC's dad had worked on the docks and had arms the size of redwoods. Anytime TC got out of line he made sure his daddy never found out.

Back at their booth, they found that Trent and Lily had been replaced by a new couple TC had yet to meet. Gary did the introductions. “TC, this is Reggie and Roni Garland.”

Reggie said, “Nice meeting you. Trent and Lily are up front getting ready to call the meeting to order. They asked us to hold down the booth while you were gone.”

TC swore Roni looked just like singer Roni Moore but he knew he had to be wrong. What would the Grammy-winning songstress be doing in Henry Adams? “Nice meeting you, too. Ms. Garland, you probably get this a lot, but you look just like the singer Roni Moore.”

She smiled serenely. “I do get it a lot and I'm always flattered.”

Beside him, his nephew was grinning and her husband wore a secretive smile. TC studied her features closely again and finally said to himself, Naw.

Trent rose to his feet. “Okay, let's get this show started.” All eyes including TC's turned to the front of the room. At that moment, Genevieve Gibbs hurried into the diner accompanied by a young man and woman, each carrying a toddler in car seats. TC viewed her arrival approvingly.

Feeling harried, Gen hastily apologized to the folks at the head table for being late and she, Kelly, Bobby Douglas, and their twin little ones, Kiara and Bobby Jr., squeezed into the
booth with Mal and Bernadine. Marie hadn't attended a town meeting in months so Gen rode over with Kelly and Bobby.

As Trent began to speak Gen hazarded a glance around the room and saw Clay. He met her eyes briefly before turning away. His refusal to accept her for who she wanted to be still pained her, but no way was she going to veer from her path. His loss. Just like Riley. She discreetly swept the rest of the room and found her gaze caught by the new driver, TC Barbour. He nodded politely and she offered a small nod in reply. Wondering why in response her heart was beating like a sixteen-year-old's, she focused her attention on Trent.

Trent opened the meeting by introducing Mr. Barbour to the gathering. “He's Gary Clark's uncle. Wants to be called TC, and will be filling in for Nathan as town driver until Bernadine can find a permanent replacement. Can you stand up, Mr. Barbour?”

A round of applause greeted him and he raised a hand in acknowledgment. He had on jeans and a charcoal-gray turtleneck and Gen found him as attractive in casual clothing as he'd been in the crisp black suit he'd worn at the airport.

Bernadine leaned over. “Not bad on the eyes.”

“Hey!” Mal groused with a laugh. “I'm sitting here, too, you know.”

“I'm just saying.”

Gen silently agreed but in spite of his good looks and her reactions, she had no room in her new life for a man. If Riley hadn't taught her that, Clay certainly had. Going forward, it was going to be all Genevieve all the time.

So for the rest of the meeting, she sat and listened as Trent gave the latest on the new swimming pool he and his team would be breaking ground for in a few weeks and the plan to
turn the old dilapidated Henry Adams Hotel into a loft space. He also brought them up to speed on the small strip mall that would be built and opened by the fall. Kelly's new beauty shop would be one of the businesses going in, along with a pharmacy and real clinic space for Doc Reg so he could move out of the school. Speaking of the school, teacher Jack James stood and announced the opening of the new term for GED classes for those who didn't want to take the classes online. Over the winter Gen had gotten her literacy certification to teach reading to adults who couldn't read or wanted to improve and Jack announced that as well. “See Ms. Gen about setting up a schedule,” he said before retaking his seat.

She saw TC give her a quick glance before returning his attention to the front of the room. She wondered if he knew of someone who needed her help or was checking her out just because.

New resident and town fire chief Luis Acosta took the floor next to give an update on how his department was progressing. “So far we have twelve volunteers. Some have experience but most don't. Training and classes are ongoing. Lily has two state-of-the-art engines on order and as soon as the construction on the new firehouse is complete and passes inspection they'll be delivered and we'll be up and running.”

Tremendous applause greeted the news. No one wanted a repeat of last year's deadly fire set by the now imprisoned Odessa Stillwell.

After the meeting, the mingling and visiting resumed. Kelly and Bobby were heading home to put the twins to bed. Gen thanked them for letting her ride with them. “I'll find a way back so go on and don't worry about me.”

“Are you sure?” Kelly asked. The young family had moved
to town that past winter and Gen had come to love them very much. She was also godmother to the twins.

“I'll be fine.” She kissed the babies. “Be good for your mama and daddy, you two.”

Both toddlers gave her sleepy smiles.

“We'll see you tomorrow, Ms. Gen,” Bobby said in parting.

Gen nodded and watched them make their way to the door. Having them in her life made up for not having been blessed with children of her own. She also watched Clay leave with Bing. Something telling must have shown on her face because Mal walked to her side and asked, “You and my buddy fighting?”

“Honestly, Mal. I don't know what we're doing. No, I take that back. I do know. We've called things off.”

“Really? What happened?”

“
I
happened, I suppose. Clay doesn't like the new and improved Genevieve. Said he prefers the old me.”

“That's asinine.”

“I know, but it is what it is. He said I'm acting like I'm twenty-five.” Once again she refused to let the sadness take hold. “I'm not going back to who I used to be, Mal.”

“And no one with any sense wants you to. Nothing wrong with what you're doing. Sometimes you have to shed the old to be the new. Take it from someone who's been there done that.”

She gave the former alcoholic and Casanova a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks.”

“No problem. Do you want me to talk to Clay?”

“If you want to, but I don't think it will make a difference. He's got his mind made up and we both know how rigid he can be sometimes.”

He nodded knowingly. “Well, hang in there. For what it's worth, I like the new you.”

That earned him a smile. “I like the new me, too.”

“How's Marie?”

“Still the same. I want to smack her and shout, ‘Snap out of it!'”

“Same here. While you were in DC I went to the house to check on her, hoping we could talk, but she wouldn't even answer the door.”

“This is so stupid.”

“Tell me about it.”

“I want her to talk to Reverend Paula, but I don't see her agreeing to that.”

“Me either. We'll just keep hoping and praying that she comes to her senses.”

He left her to help with the cleanup and she was grateful to have him as a friend. Putting Marie out of her mind for the moment, Gen looked around for someone to hit up for a ride home. She saw TC Barbour talking with Gary and the Garlands. He glanced up casually and their gazes locked. He nodded and smiled. She nodded back, and while their gazes held, time seemed to suspend itself to the point that it took her a moment to realize Lily was standing beside her.

“Does Clay know you're ogling another man?” Lily asked.

Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “I'm doing no such thing.” Even as she wondered why he kept drawing her attention.

“You could've fooled me. Although for a man of a certain age, Gary's uncle is kind of hot.”

Laughing, Gen asked with mock severity, “What do you want, Lily July?”

“I wanted to know if you enjoyed your trip to DC.”

“I did.” And Gen filled her in on some of the highlights before asking, “Can I stop by your office tomorrow? I need your help and advice on some things.”

“Sure. I have something to work on in the morning but I'm free in the afternoon.”

“I volunteer for the seniors' lunch tomorrow at the rec. How about one-ish or so?”

“Works for me. We can talk business and then about what's going on with you and Clay.”

Gen responded with a soft chuckle.
Nothing like living in a small town
. “Okay. I'll see you tomorrow.”

Lily moved on. Gen spied Mal's mother, Tamar, putting on her coat. The July matriarch didn't live far from Marie's.

When Gen asked for a ride, Tamar replied, “Sure. Grab your things and meet me outside.”

Gen picked up her coat and purse, and although the urge to glance TC's way one last time whispered, she didn't succumb on her walk to the door.

Outside, she got into Tamar's truck. The ninety-year-old Tamar drove her ancient truck, Olivia, as if they were qualifying for the Indy 500, so the drive home seemed to take only seconds. Tamar was one of the wisest women Genevieve had ever known, so before getting out she asked, “Do you think I'm being silly for trying to remake myself and my life?”

“Do
you
think you're being silly?”

“No, but apparently Clay does.”

“Giving you grief?”

Genevieve nodded.

“Would you be happier being who he wants you to be?”

“No.”

“Then step into your new life without him,” Tamar advised easily. “You wouldn't be the first woman to do so. Or man for that matter. Some people spend their entire lives trying to live up to someone else's expectations and go to their graves wondering why they were never happy.”