Yankee Doodle Dixie (39 page)

Kissie turns on the eyes of the gas stove. “It won’t take long to heat up this gravy,” she says. “Mashed potatoes, neither.” Into a metal bowl she breaks four eggs, pours milk straight out of the carton, the sugar out of the canister, and adds a dash of vanilla. I can’t remember ever seeing her use a measuring cup or measuring spoons. After whisking the ingredients together, she pours the mixture into one of the heavy copper pots I brought back from Vermont.

“What are you making now?” I ask her.

“Banana puddin’,” she says. “I ain’t met a man yet not crazy about banana puddin’.” While she stirs the custard with a long wooden spoon, I remove an extra table setting from the drawer and place it on the table. Sarah’s too busy having fun to call her away.

“I told you the Lawd was gonna give you another chance at love,” she says. “You just had to be smart about it. See what happens when you wait? Ole Kissie knows what she’s talkin’ about.”

Kissie’s back is to me and I walk up behind her and reach my arms around her waist. “I’ve always known that,” I tell her. With my chin on her shoulder I watch as she stirs figure eights in the custard.

“
Hm, hm, hm. Hm, hm, hm. Hm, hm, hm
.”

“How can you tell when it’s ready?” I ask, moving around to her side.

Kissie lifts the wooden handle from the pot and runs her finger down the back of the spoon. “When the custard stops seepin’ back into the middle, it means it’s ready.”

Loud squeals suddenly ring in from the other room and Issie screams, “Hurry, Mommy and Kissie, come see Mr. Peter.”

Without taking the time to remove the wooden spoon from her custard, Kissie grabs my hand and we dash into the den, rocket speed, freezing at the sight of my girls with their hands in Peter’s poofed-out pompadour. He’s got another of his silly looks on his face and when Kissie sees him, she lets loose one of her famous belly laughs and bends over, clutching her middle. It’s the kind where you can’t speak or breathe. The kind where your face hurts from smiling, and you’re afraid you might spit Coke out of your nose or wet your pants or have to get your stomach operated on it’s in so much pain. Watching Kissie gets the rest of us going and pretty soon all five of us are hunched over howling, with Roberta darting in circles around our sprawled-out bodies.

From over the top of Sarah’s head, with Issie clutching at his flannel shirt, I catch Peter’s eye for a brief moment. He winks.

Acknowledgments

It’s hard to imagine that I’m actually to the acknowledgment stage and thanking certain people for their help and encouragement on a second novel. But I am, thank goodness, and I’d like to shout their names from the nearest mountaintop or, more appropriately, from the nearest hill, as is the case here in Nashville.

I love to quote John Lennon: “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” While I was writing this book, stuff just kept happening and there were days when it was hard to be creative, much less funny. But in her forever tenacious and encouraging fashion, Katie Gilligan, my gorgeous, talented editor, never gave up on me. Her sense of humor kept my shoulders shaking and inspired me to climb ever higher. I thank you for your ingenuity, your guidance, and especially, your dear friendship. Your belief in me is a gift that I will always treasure. Holly Root, my equally gorgeous and talented literary agent, your belief in me is the reason I had the opportunity to write a second book. Thank you for your faith, your friendship, your eternal optimism, and that wonderful young brain of yours.

To all the lovely people at Thomas Dunne Books and St. Martin’s Press who work triple-overtime to make sure my name gets in front of readers, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude: Sally Richardson, Matthew Shear, Thomas Dunne, Pete Wolverton, Matthew Baldacci, Anne Marie Tallberg, Lisa Senz, Sarah Goldstein, Rachel Ekstrom, Sarit Schneider, Meryl Gross, and the supremely talented Michael Storrings for two gorgeous book covers.

Michael and Will, thank you for believing in me. What a joy and privilege it is to watch you evolve into honorable men. You continue to inspire your mama. Dream big and dream often. You were both created to accomplish magnanimous things. I love you with all my heart.

My sisters, Laurie Patton and Leslie Davis, thank you for your unyielding ears, not to mention the hours of encouragement you have lavished upon me. And heartfelt thanks go to their daughters, Madeleine Patton and Elise Davis, my precious nieces, who list me as their favorite author.

I am blessed to have friends who stand by me and keep loving me, even when I disappear into oblivion to do this thing writers do. I can’t thank y’all enough for understanding.…

Kathy “G” Peabody, my steadfast and faithful friend, how can I ever thank you enough for standing by me through the thickest and the thinnest of times? I can’t. Just know that I am grateful from the bottom of my heart. The same goes for my sweet friend Penny Preston. What would I do without either of you?

Linda Yoder, my cussing coach and dear, dear friend, your gifts of encouragement and hospitality are just two of many. And to Wes Yoder, thank you for your friendship, publishing expertise, and guidance. Thank you both for the privilege of eating from your table.

My childhood girlfriends, who are really more like sisters, mean the world to me. We love to laugh, the harder the better, and after a forty-eight-year friendship, the hours we’ve spent doing so have certainly given me great inspiration and luscious material for writing. Lisa Murphey Blakley, Cary Coors Brown, Katy Collier Creech, Elise Norfleet Crockett, Nancy Jett Crutchfield, Becky Goodwin, Wilda Weaver Hudson, Emily Freeburg Kay, Linda Abston Larsen, Katie Kittle Powell, Amie Todd Sims, Mimi Hall Taylor, Lisa Earp Wilder. Y’all are my soul sisters.

Stuart Southard, you carried me through this time in my life. Even when the waters became cloudy and murky, you encouraged me anyway and held my hand as I waded through the mire. Thank you, too, for that stellar business brain of yours, time outs of fun and laughter, your sense of adventure, and your wit. I’m so very grateful.

Fannie Flagg, I won’t ever be able to thank you enough for your guidance and inspiration, not to mention your words of encouragement and praise. You’re
my
Eudora Welty … not to mention my Paul McCartney.

Steve and Sarah Berger, my precious faithful friends, I owe you a huge debt of gratitude for whistlin’ the names of my books all over the place. Vicki Olson, you’ve done the same thing, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Leann Phelan, you understand the artist in me. You get me, no doubt about it. Thanks, dear friend, for all the hours of encouragement and “good for you.”

Gail Chiaravalle, what would I do without your doggie day care? Thank you for watching Rosie ad infinitum while I traveled around promoting my book, and especially for your dear friendship. Bernie Chiaravalle, my sincerest thanks go out to you for a gorgeous Web site and, of course, your friendship.

Michael McDonald, Susan Gregg Gilmore, and Karen White. I owe you a huge amount of thanks for taking the time to read my book and offering up your praise. My head’s still reelin’.

Ron Olson, Steve Conley, Karen Perrin, Preston Davis, Dan Barron, and Angie Whitfield, thank you so much for sharing your stories and radio-station expertise. Fun, fun, fun is all I can say.

Three important people were inadvertently left off my acknowledgments for
Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter
—Donna Boone, Kathy Cheathum, and Anna McNeal. I’m not sure what happened, but I am sure of my deep thanks.

There are others who invested time encouraging and or helping me, and I want them to know how important they’ve been: Allison Allen, Liz Alexander, Becky Barkley, Cristy Beasley, Emily Bell, Alice Davis Blake, Carolyn Brigham, Genie Buchanan, Teasi Cannon, Kim Carnes, Mary Gaston Catmur, Sara Beth Cline, Steve Conley, Gigi Crichton, Jan Cross, Lyn DiGiorgio, Gail Donovan, JT Ellison, Shannon Harris, Jennifer Hart, Kim Jameson, Tammy Jensen, Lindsey Kennedy, Jodie McCarthy, Joyce McCullough, Shana McLain, Genie McCown, George Merrifield, Mary Lou Montague, Mary Norman, Penny Nelms, Erica Nichols, Anne Marie Norton, Teresa Ofman, Peggy Peters, Terry Robbins, Rosie, Lyn Simpler, Whitney Sorenson, Jay Stockley, Margie Thessin, Guy Wallace, Sallie Wallace, Leelee Walter, Ed White, and Kathy White.

To Julia Black, Devonia Crawford, and Christine King, thank you for loving me into adulthood. You showed me not only what it’s like to be a good mother, but the Love of the Father. The color of our skin may have been different, but you treated me like I was your own. I am eternally grateful.

I lost two loved ones while writing this novel: my sister, Melanie Ann Orpet Winand, and a beloved young, close family friend, Josiah David Berger. Heaven has never shone brighter.

To all the Franklin, Memphis, Nashville, and other book clubs around the country who have read my first book and convinced me to write the sequel. You rock!

And thank you, dear reader, for buying and reading this book. A portion of the proceeds will help struggling single mothers and their children in Williamson County, Tennessee.

Above all, I give all the glory to God my Redeemer, who makes anything possible.

Also by Lisa Patton

Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THOMAS DUNNE BOOKS.

An imprint of St. Martin’s Press.

YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE.
Copyright © 2011 by Lisa Patton. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Patton, Lisa.

  Yankee doodle dixie : a novel / Lisa Patton. — 1st ed.

         p. cm.

  ISBN 978-0-312-55693-8

1.  Single mothers—Fiction.   2.  Female friendship—Fiction.   3.  Memphis (Tenn.)—Fiction.   4.  Chick lit.   I.  Title.

  PS3616.A927Y36 2011

  813'.6—dc22

2011010282

First Edition: September 2011

eISBN 978-1-4299-9044-8

First Thomas Dunne Books eBook Edition: August 2011

A Reading Group Guide

1. When the book opens we find Leelee headed home to Memphis. She heads straight to Virginia’s house and when she can’t reach her, Leelee turns her car around and drives to Kissie’s, knowing full well she will not only be home but probably awake, despite the late hour. Kissie’s house is in a part of town some would deem unsafe. Unfazed, Leelee decides to move in with Kissie, happy to be near her second mother. When Virginia learns of Leelee’s plans she does not hide her disapproval. Would you think twice before taking your two young children to an unfamiliar neighborhood, even if it meant someone you loved lived there and would care for you in your time of need?
   
2. After making the decision to come home to Memphis, Leelee never considers that she would step into a gossip bed where she is the hot topic. Have you ever had to eat humble pie and endure a situation where you were talked about or even ostracized for a decision you made?
   
3. Leelee is devastated by Peter’s decision to not enter into a long-distance relationship. He is not willing to pick up his life and run off to a place where his job security hangs in the balance. As hard as she tries she is unable to forget about him in the months following. Have you been in Leelee’s situation before: A relationship that seemed to have all the makings of happiness but one of the partners makes the decision to end it because of distance or job security?
   
4. Leelee takes a step backward when she moves back home to Memphis; she falls right back into old patterns. Once again it’s hard for her to stand up for herself, especially when it comes to her job. It’s been said that old habits are hard to break. Just when we feel like we’ve learned something, that old demon comes back to roost. Do you find this to be true?
   
5. Leelee’s friends think she is a doormat because she has a hard time saying no. Do you agree? Are you able to tell someone no and be okay with it?
   
6. Southerners are often criticized for not saying what’s on their mind and Northerners are often accused of being too blunt. Do you agree with this? What are the pros and cons of both sides?
   
7. If truth be told we are all a little starstruck, well maybe for some a lot starstruck. It’s easy to criticize some of Leelee’s decisions from afar. If you are older than Leelee, try to remember back to when you were in your late ’20s and early ’30s and did not have all the wisdom you’ve earned today. If a rock-star invited you to join him in New York City, would you accept? If you are close to Leelee’s age and single, is this something you would go for? Why or why not?
   
8. When Leelee quits her job, she has decided working with Edward Maxwell is simply not worth it. Should you stay in a job even if the conditions are intolerable? Would you consider Edward’s personality intolerable?
   
9. Leelee and her friends still enjoy their shenanigans together. What is the craziest thing you’ve ever done with your adult girlfriends? Are you ever too old for pranks?
   
10. Leelee and her girlfriends are more like sisters. They certainly take matters into their own hands when they send Leelee’s unsent letters to Peter. Would you be mad at your friends (or sisters) if they had done the same thing? Would you do something similar for one of your closest friends?
    
11. How much influence do your friends have over your life? Do you consult them first; or your husband (or wife) first when making big decisions?
    

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