Tender Graces (30 page)

Finally, Rebekha slid a blue-and-white wrapped box with a yellow bow from under the table. Jade took a present out of her pocket and put it on the table grinning like she was so smart. The Campinelles and Miss Darla had presents for me, too. I was ready to bust open to let all my guts spill out I felt so full of everything. I ripped into Jade’s package first. It was a bracelet with charms: a horse, a dog, a ballet slipper, a seashell, and a heart.

“Thank you, Jade.”

“You can add your own charms to it.”

I put it on and held out my wrist for everyone to admire.

Amy Campinelle made me a red crocheted hat that I put on my head and modeled.

Micah said, “You look stooopid.”

Bobby said, “Nuh uh. She looks pitty.” He had food all over his face. “Can I wear it?”

I said, “Maybe later, Bobby.” He threw a shrimp at me and laughed.

Miss Darla’s gift was a diary. Not a little girl diary, but one made of brown leather, with paper fancy thin. It had a ribbon glued inside, to mark my place. “Miss Darla, it’s beautiful. Thank you.”

“I know you have lots of things inside you that need to come out.”

Inside the box from Rebekha and Daddy were books,
The Black Stallion Returns, The Black Stallion Mystery,
and
The Black Stallion and Flame
. There was also
The Velveteen Rabbit
. I inhaled the book smell. Underneath the books was a small white box. I took off the lid and on a bed of cotton was a Timex watch. I put it on the other wrist and held it out, too.

Daddy said, “That’s so you won’t be late for your birthday party next year.”

Rebekha said, “I know
The Velveteen Rabbit
is young for you, but I loved it when I was a child. I thought you’d enjoy reading it to Bobby.”

Over Bobby’s hollering, “Read it, read it,” I said, “I love everything, thank you everybody.”

“That’s not all.” Rebekha handed me an envelope.

I stared bug-eyed as a frog. Inside the envelope was a note,
Redeem this coupon for a bedroom re-model: paint, bed linens, pillows and new pictures.

I jumped up and hugged her—the pink would be gone! When I hugged Daddy, his blue jean shirt felt soft against my cheek. He whispered, “Happy Birthday, Bug. I put an envelope under your pillow.” His breath was hot and full of bourbon.

I went around and hugged everybody’s neck except my brothers, they understood.

Jade looked through my books. “I read
The Velveteen Rabbit
before. I love that book! The stuffed rabbit becomes real because its fur is all loved off.”

“Are we done?” Micah was ready to tear out of there.

“Wait, don’t anyone move.” I ran into my bedroom. First, I lifted my pillow to open Daddy’s envelope. Inside were a note and three pictures I didn’t remember seeing before. In one, I was on Daddy’s lap, and Momma was beside Daddy, smiling at him. Her left hand was holding my foot. Daddy was smiling down at me, his arm across my body to hold me still. In the second photo, Daddy carried me on his shoulders, holding me by my legs. I had my chin on the top of his head. The third picture was of Daddy with us kids. We were all grinning, except Andy, he was still too little. The burning and itchy feeling behind my eyes started up, so I put the pictures back in the envelope and opened the note.

It read,
Dear Bitty Bug: I’ve had these a long time, they are very special to me. I sense you need them more than I do. There we are. That has not changed. Even if ‘True is it that we have seen better days.’ Love, Daddy
.

I folded the note and put it back with the pictures. I couldn’t figure out what all the hidden words were. Daddy always had hidden words behind the ones he said aloud. I put the envelope back under my pillow and got Micah’s gift to take back to the party.

I put it in the middle of the table where the light overhead made the glass sparkle all over the walls. “This is from Micah.”

Amy Campinelle said, “Oh, that’s nice, yeah.” Mr. Husband nodded.

Miss Darla said, “Gorgeous, Micah. You have good taste.”

Rebekha said, “He sure does.”

Jade petted it, said, “It’s magical.”

Micah stared at the ceiling, his hands in his pockets. He wore blue jeans and a button up white shirt and if he looked any more like Daddy, it would be too weird.

“Good job, Micah,” Daddy said.

Andy-and-Bobby didn’t care:  “More cake!” Bobby said. “Yeah, me, too,” Andy said.

Everyone was staying put; no one was leaving, or fighting. The light that had come out so big and bright for my birthday said goodbye. I thought how it all came right around full circle from the time I first woke up in the part-ways dark room, to the end of my birthday in a part-ways dark room. It was the best birthday I’d ever had.

Chapter 25

My Sweet-pur-tater, Laudine!

We read in the newspaper,
Hurricane Camille smashed into the Mississippi Gulf Coast on Sunday night, August 17, and continued its destructive path until Monday, August 18. One hundred and forty-three people were killed on the coast from Alabama to Mississippi; one hundred and thirteen more died from flash floods and torrential rains as she made her way inland over the Virginias. There are reports of more lives lost and greater devastation, many missing and never accounted for. Hurricane partiers’ lives were lost mid-drink, taken by complete surprise, as they never expected Camille to be a Category Five killer. Her winds were over 200 miles per hour with a storm surge of up to twenty-four feet. Some say it was the worst storm to hit the mainland United States
.

Mee Maw showed up the same day as Camille. Rebekha said she was a Category Five grandmother.

She blobbed in wearing a mint-green pantsuit, a lopsided page-boy wig, and a purse big enough to hold a watermelon. She stormed around the house in a whirlwind mess. She had two suitcases, a paper bag of medicines, a bag bulging with mystery, a plastic bag of licorice, two oranges, three peaches, a six-pack of Nehi, a box of dog food, and her yipping
Imper
, short for Imperial. Imper was a fluffy white poodle with wet, runny eyes. First thing it did was pee on the living room rug. Rebekha ran to get paper towels, and when she was back, she pointed to the dog, then to me, then to the back. I scooped Imperial up and put him on the back screened porch. Mee Maw and Imper didn’t take to that one bit.

Daddy said, “Hello, Mother.” He hugged her real quick, then went out to the front porch with his glass full to tiptop. He didn’t try to pretend anymore with Mee Maw about the booze thing.

After we had Mee Maw settled in (my!) room, we girls headed to the kitchen. Mee Maw asked, “What’s wrong with Frederick?”

“Oh, he just had a hard day.” Rebekha laid out vegetables to chop.

“What’s he know about hard? He isn’t an old woman with a man who won’t marry her.”

“It must be rough,” Rebekha smushed a garlic pod.

I chopped off the ends of the onion so I could take the skin off.

“It sure is. But, I don’t need that man to take care of me, nosiree.” Mee Maw squared her chin. “I got my driving license so I can come visit y’all on my own.”

Rebekha sliced the onion I handed her. “Uh Hum.”

Mee Maw pinned me with her eyes. “You’re growing up into a fine young lady. I think my birthday present will be just perfect for you.”

“You already sent me twenty dollars, Mee Maw.” I still had eight of it left, hidden inside a sock in my dresser.

“I know that, sweet lump, but I got you something else. From Sears.” She hyena-laughed, then said, “I’m so excited about being here. I told that man I was leaving if he didn’t marry me. So there. I did it. Let him see how it is without his sweet Mee Maw.” She wrinkled her wrinkles into one hundred fifty-nine folds of pitiful.

Rebekha said, “Dinner will be ready in an hour, Laudine. You can get freshened up if you like.”

“You’re a saint. Not like that thing my son married before.” Mee Maw leaned over Rebekha’s shoulder. “I can cook, you know. Just let me take care of all the cooking while I’m staying here. And call me Mee Maw.”

“Oh, no, you’re a guest, just relax.” Rebekha chopped extra hard on the onion.

I got out the tea leaves to make the dark tea Rebekha liked.

“Guest? Mee Maw’s no guest,” Mee Maw said. “Now, I have bunches of recipes. We’ll eat something different for weeks.”

Rebekha stopped chopping. “How long were you planning on visiting, Laudine?”

“Well, now, see here, it’s like this. I thought I could just stay a little while. You know, a couple months or so. You know how it is.” Mee Maw winked. “You got to let a man see what it’s like to boil their own taters before they miss you and beg you back.”

“Will you excuse me a minute?” Rebekha tore out of the kitchen hollering, “Frederick!”

“What do you suppose is wrong with her?” Mee Maw shrugged, then hummed, picked up the knife and chopped the other vegetables; pieces flying all over the kitchen, hitting the walls, the icebox, and me. I sneaked away to make a pallet in Andy-and-Bobby’s room, so I wouldn’t have to stay with her in my room and listen to her yammer all night.

After a supper of meatloaf, carrots, and potatoes, we went to the living room. Mee Maw clapped her hands. “Everyone! Gather ’round. I got licorice and presents.” She took off her shoes and went tap-tap-tap-tap with her toe against the floor until I thought I’d go slap crazy with it.

Daddy sat in the chair across from Mee Maw. They sure didn’t look much alike and I wondered what Daddy’s own daddy was like, where he was and if he thought about any of us.

Mee Maw said, “My grandbabies! Growing up so fast. Mee Maw hardly recognizes any of you. Rebekha, you’re doing a fine job in the place of that crazy bitch my boy married first.”

I inhaled sharp, then let it out slow.

Micah and Andy snickered.

Bobby said, “Bitch bitch bitch,” except he said it like
bit bit bit
.

Rebekha put her hand over Bobby’s mouth. “That’s a bad word, Bobby.” Then she told Mee Maw, “Laudine, please don’t call their momma that.”

“Just calling a spade a spade.” Mee Maw petted a big paper bag.

Imper barked from the back porch. He’d been barking and yipping since he got there.

“Can’t you do something with that dog of yours, Mother?” Daddy stood up.

“My Imper isn’t used to this. At home, he does everything with me.” When Daddy went down the hall, she hollered, “Take him to wee wee!”

Rebekha sipped her tea. She had her legs crossed, everything about her looked neat and calm. She said, “That’s why we put him back there, because of the wee wee.”

Mee Maw sniffed, patting her wig.

Daddy came back in the room with paw prints on his britches and a Gee-Jiminy-Christmas look on his face. He gave Rebekha an I’m-sorry-to-put-you-through-this look. She smiled a that’s-okay-hon look. I liked how it was them against Mee Maw.

“Poor Imper.” Mee Maw dabbed at her nose with the handkerchief she kept in her pocket. “Well, now.” She looked at us in turn. “My grandbabies, wonders of the universe, pride of the South, the—”

“Get on with it, Mother.”

“There you go disrespecting me again.” Mee Maw tossed her head as she handed a drawing tablet and colored pencils to Micah.

Micah took them, thanked her, and right away began to draw with a secret grin, holding his other hand over the page so I couldn’t see.

For Andy, Mee Maw had a book on race cars. Andy said his thanks and flipped through it like a greedy goat. He loved anything that was fast and dangerous.

“I bought all this myself, nobody helped me. I drove by myself downtown in the middle of a Texas traffic jam. I carried it by myself back to my car.” Mee Maw tapped her toe. “That man I left to boil his own taters didn’t lift a finger! Makes Mee Maw do it all by herself. ”

“We’re both impressed and saddened by your accomplishments and disappointments, Mother.”

Mee Maw slid her eyes to Daddy. “I didn’t raise you to be smart alecky, and drinking to boot. You got a wasp in your ass or something?”

Andy put his hand over his mouth and snickered. Micah laughed right out loud—he didn’t care if Daddy got mad.

“Put a cork in it, Mother.”

“Y’all stop it. What kind of example are we setting here?” Rebekha put her hand back over Bobby’s mouth since he kept going, “Wapses in your ass. Wapses in your aaaa-aass.”

Micah scribbled away and I was burning up to see what he was drawing. I leaned over and he let me see a peek. It was Mee Maw with horns sticking from her forehead and smoke coming out of her ears. I giggled. Micah closed the sketchbook, an innocent-lamb look coming over him.

“Do you grandbabies want Mee Maw’s gifts or not?” She reached back into the bag and pulled out a little harmonica for Bobby. Rebekha eyes went round as Bobby squealed like a baby pig, running to grab it from Mee Maw. She held it in the air so he couldn’t reach it. “What do you say to Mee Maw, young man?”

“Thank you, Mee Mawl, for the pwesent.” Bobby held his hands in front of him like a little angel. As soon as she handed it to him, he blew hard into it over and over.

“Bobby, that’s an outside toy.” Rebekha rubbed her head. “Give it to Mommy and we’ll go play in a little while.” He handed it over, but not without a big pout.

“You could loosen that tight hold you got on yourself sometime, Rebekha,” Mee Maw said.

Rebekha opened her mouth to say something, then closed it.

It was my turn. Mee Maw packed my present first so I’d get it last. She said, “Today, you’ll take a first step to becoming a woman. If it hasn’t already, before you know it, your menses’ll happen.”

“Good god,” Daddy said.

I wished the floor would open up and swallow me whole, down to China. Nobody but Rebekha knew that it’d already happened two weeks ago. She’d gone to the drugstore for me, and then shown me how to use the pads. She’d bought books about girls growing up and said if I had questions, she was always there to answer them. I’d walked around with all that nasty blood gooshing, hating the whole business of it.

Mee Maw was screeching, still. “Can’t deny it away, son, that’s life.”

“You don’t need to announce it to everybody. Look at Bug’s face, for Pete’s sake.”