Ordinary is Perfect Page 8

  “I suspected, so I came equipped.” Vicki grabbed the teen pulling chairs off the truck. “I need one of those, Ricky.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Where do you want it?” He opened the chair and placed it exactly where Vicki pointed.

  “Thank you.” Vicki pointed to Catherine. “I want you on your knees.”

  “If I had a dollar for every woman—”

  Vicki cut Catherine’s grumbling off with a swipe of her hand through the air. “Knees in the chair so I can reach you. I swear, I think you been standing in fertilizer instead of spreading it.”

  Catherine complied while Vicki plopped her large purse on the grass and extracted a thin gold tie, a hairbrush, and a sky-blue ball cap. “I stopped growing about twenty years ago. Maybe you’re getting shorter.” She took the ball cap and looked it over while Vicki knotted the tie and arranged it to hang loosely below the open collar of Catherine’s shirt. The front of the cap was a bright-yellow sun peeking over the cap’s bill with its rays shooting backward like racing stripes. An inscription embroidered on the sun proclaimed Welcome the Dawn. Catherine frowned. “I don’t know about this.” At least someone had curled the bill properly. She hated those new caps that had flat bills. She thought they looked stupid.

  “Hush. Becki picked it out and told me to make you wear it.” Vicki whipped off Catherine’s choice of headwear, removed the tie that gathered her dark-brown hair at her nape, and brushed upward to gather the ponytail higher.

  “What are you doing?” Friend or not, Vicki was moving Catherine out of her comfort zone. “I don’t wear my hair in a ponytail.”

  Vicki took the ball cap from her and threaded Catherine’s silky locks through the back as she settled it on Catherine’s head. “Not a pony tail. A rooster’s tail.” She rounded Catherine to face her again. “You are not that old, Cat. I don’t know why you insist on dressing like you are.”

  Catherine disengaged herself from the chair and stepped back. She didn’t want to have this conversation. “I’m just practical. Never cared to be frivolous.”

  “You’re hopeless,” Vicki said. “Where’s Gabriella? I hope you didn’t dress her, too.”

  Catherine put a restraining hand on Vicki’s arm. “She dressed herself, and what she’s wearing means something to her. So leave her alone.” Catherine touched the bill of her new cap. “Now that I think about it, this cap will complement the shirt she’s wearing.”

  “Okay. You know her better than anyone.” Vicki hooked her arm in Catherine’s as they walked toward the house. “I won’t push, but I’ll be hanging close in case you need help with her.”

  “Thanks.” Catherine wasn’t one for public displays of affection, but she kissed Vicki’s cheek as they neared the front steps.

  “Hi, you must be Becki’s cousin. It’s easy to see the resemblance.”

  Catherine looked up and into Autumn’s eyes—more brown than green today in the shade of a broad-brimmed straw hat Catherine recognized as one of Becki’s favorites. She was dressed in a red, deep-V-necked T-shirt, capri jeans, and red running shoes. Catherine liked her country casual look even better than her dressed-up attire.

  Autumn held a tall glass of tomato juice—correction, Bloody Mary, judging from the strong smell of vodka—in her left hand and blinked slowly. Her gaze flowed from Catherine to Vicki. “Yes, I am.” She came down the steps to Vicki’s level and held out her right hand. “Autumn Swan.”

  Vicki smiled and accepted Autumn’s hand. “I’m Vicki. Becki and I’ve been friends for years.”

  Autumn cocked her head. “I don’t remember you from the summers I spent here.”

  Vicki smiled. “You wouldn’t. My daddy farms on the other side of the county, and I spent my summers helping around the farm from sunup to sundown. The school year was my vacation and the only time I got to spend hanging out with friends.”

  “Oh, I see.” Autumn sipped from her drink. “My parents were farmers, too.” Her expression was one of bored disdain. “But their crop was a tad illegal, so I was shipped off to Grandma—my choice—every summer. The last thing I wanted was to end up in foster care if they got arrested.”

  Catherine stared at her feet, avoiding Vicki’s questioning look. No, she hadn’t explained to Autumn the source of Becki’s fortune. Her financial statements would simply show Becki had a large income from a limited consortium known only as PMM LLC. Autumn drained the last of her drink and stared across the yard, seemingly oblivious to the uncomfortable silence.

  “Well, I’d better go see if the ladies need any help out back,” Vicki said at last. “Nice to meet you, Autumn.”

  Autumn nodded but didn’t take her eyes from the line of cars still pouring onto the expanse of lawn. “Same here.”

  “Did you see Gabe inside?” Catherine asked after Vicki disappeared around the side of the house.

  “Yes.” She still watched the cars, her full lips gathering in an adorable pout. “I don’t know any of these people.” She snatched the large stalk of celery from her drink and threw it into the yard. Elvis seemed to magically appear and snatch it up. He settled down with it between his paws to munch on the snack, and Autumn turned her glass up to slurp down the last watery bit. She lowered the glass and stared again at the cars. “You would think I’d know some of them from all the summers I spent here. But I don’t.” She rattled the ice in her glass. “I need another drink.”

  “Maybe you should eat something,” Catherine said.

  Autumn stopped with her hand on the screen door’s handle. “I did. Then I threw it up.” She opened the door and went inside without looking at Catherine.

  Catherine caught the door before it closed and slipped in behind Autumn to grab her arm. “Autumn, wait.”

  Autumn stopped but wouldn’t look at Catherine. “Don’t. I’m barely holding it together, and if you hug me, I’m going to lose it before the memorial even starts.” She tugged her arm free from Catherine’s grasp. “I’ll be okay, but you should check on Gabe. She was in Becki’s room a few minutes ago.”

  The despair in Autumn’s voice made Catherine want to do just that—pull Autumn into her arms and send everybody away. She wanted to protect Autumn. What was she thinking? She hadn’t been able to protect her unit or Booker. Not even herself from the night terrors or the panic that seized her anytime she felt surrounded and trapped, like in a city environment. Besides, Autumn was an adult. She needed to take care of the child Becki had entrusted to them.

  She expected to find Gabe huddled on her mama’s bed, but she was using yellow police evidence tape to secure an official-looking paper sign to the door of Becki’s bedroom. The sign read: “Please respect the family’s wishes and do not enter for any reason. Sheriff Ed Cofy.”

  “What is that?” Catherine frowned.

  “I don’t want people going in there and gawking,” Gabe said. “It was Autumn’s idea. She said it’d make people know we meant business. I wanted to just put Keep Out and This Means You. She said people would take this more serious and she’d clear it with Sheriff Ed to put his name on it.”

  A few guitar notes and drum rolls rang out from the backyard, and then the craggy voice of Fire Chief Henry Bradford began a fair rendition of Louie Armstrong’s “It’s a Wonderful World.” The service was beginning.

  “Come on. Let’s get Autumn and take our seats.”

  “Nobody’s going to preach a sermon, are they?”

  “I hope not. I honestly don’t know what’s planned. Becki hated sermons, but that doesn’t mean she hasn’t arranged an inspirational speech.”

  They found Autumn standing at the back door, a fresh drink in hand. Catherine stuffed half a box of tissues in her pocket and held the door for them all to step out onto the deck. Gabe and Autumn stopped, unwilling or unable to go any farther. Elvis poked Catherine’s leg with his nose, then slipped under Gabe’s dangling hand. When she reflectively latched onto his collar, he led her down the steps and toward the chairs. Catherine took his hint and closed her finge
rs around Autumn’s free hand to bring her along. It vaguely occurred to her to wonder how he knew which seats were reserved for them.

  There was no sermon, just people who lined up like it was a high school graduation to take the stage and share some act of kindness or funny situation when Becki had touched their lives. When the story being told brought a song to mind, the band would jump in before the next speaker, and everybody would sing along. It was all very informal, with folks getting up and helping themselves to the long tables of food, then settling back into their seats to listen, sing, and eat.

  Some of the oldest left after a few hours, but most stayed. When the storytellers had all said their piece, the chairs were pulled back to the edges of the yard, and they danced to Becki’s favorite songs. Then the sun finally dipped behind the tall barn, and Ed took the microphone to call the assembly of friends to order.

  “I want to thank you all for coming here to celebrate the life of a truly exceptional woman,” he said. “But as you know, Becki always had to have the last word, and today is no different.”

  He signaled, and Vicki backed her truck up toward the side of the barn where two deputies unfurled a white sheet. Gaylord dragged a power cord over to Vicki, and a moment later, a slide show of Becki’s life began—Becki as a child helping Grandma Swan bake cookies, Becki wide-eyed at a baby chick pecking his way into the world, and Becki exploring her artistic talent on the wall of her bedroom. Tears streamed down Autumn’s face when several clips showed her summers with Becki, and Gabe slid from her seat to sit on the ground close to Elvis during the clips of Becki holding her right after she was born, then more as Gabe grew from toddler to girl. When the clips ended, Becki was looking out at all of them. She was standing in a field of sunflowers in full bloom, wearing a faded T-shirt with a big sunflower on the front and Here Comes the Sun printed around the flower’s edges. Gabe was wearing that very shirt now. Becki waved at the camera.

  “Hey, everybody. If you’re watching this, then I hope you’ve all had a good time this afternoon rather than sitting around crying over me. You’ve all meant so much to me—Ed, Vicki, Gaylord, Janice. Thank you for keeping my confidence and helping me prepare for this. Catherine and Autumn, you don’t realize it yet, but you both are old souls that seem to follow me through incarnations. Or maybe I’m following your bright light. This isn’t good-bye. We’ll meet again before our soul journeys are done. And finally, my sweet, sweet Gabe. My only regret in this life is not being at your side as you go to college, marry, and find your way in this world. I love you, baby. I hope you’ll forgive me for not telling you how sick I was. I needed to spend my last days with your smile and enthusiasm for life, not tears and sadness. You have been and will always be the sunshine in my life, in my heart. I know you’re sad now, but what do we do when we’re sad? Come on. Let’s sing it.”

  Becki’s strong, clear voice began. “You are my sunshine, my only sunshine—”

  Gabe’s lips moved, but no words came out.

  “Everybody sing,” Becki proclaimed as she began the chorus over.

  Voices joined in tentatively, then grew stronger. Many faces were streaked with tears as one, then three, then more rose to their feet as all joined in. Gabe turned and pushed through the crowd in the direction of the house.

  “Gabe, wait.” Catherine tripped over Elvis. Cursing, she untangled herself from two chairs she’d fallen onto but was knocked down again as Autumn pushed off her shoulders to hop over Catherine and Elvis in her own pursuit of Gabe. “Damn it.” Catherine cracked her shin against a third chair in her renewed struggle to stand, then limped toward the house.

  She saw Autumn reach the back door and was about to break into a trot when Gaylord stepped into her path.

  “Hey. I’ve been trying to catch up with you to settle some details.”

  “Not now, Gaylord. I need to see to Gabe.”

  He followed her gaze to the house. “I know this has to be hard for her.”

  “Yeah. Autumn, too. More than she wants to show, I think.” Catherine glanced around. “Can you and Ed wrap this up and clear everybody out? I’m going to clear the house and lock the doors to give Gabe and Autumn some privacy.”

  Gaylord nodded and laid his big hand on her shoulder. “Give yourself some time to grieve, too, Catherine. You can’t take care of them if you don’t take care of yourself.”

  “I will.” But Catherine kept her gaze on the house. She couldn’t let Gaylord see the lie in her eyes. She’d never let herself grieve after returning from the desert, afraid it would be an abyss she couldn’t escape. She wasn’t going to change now.

  ***

  Autumn’s flight into the house was as much to prevent a public demonstration of her grief as it was to catch up with Gabe. Becki’s smile and the first line of the song they would sing together almost every day of every summer was too much. She forgot her own feelings, however, the minute she stepped into the kitchen and was assaulted by shouts and what sounded like a Saturday-night bar fight. She snatched up the first weapon she could find and sprinted to the living room at the same time a boy hurdled backward, propelled into the room by Gabe’s shoulder in his stomach—a tackle that would make any NFL linebacker proud. The boy, about the same height as Gabe but much heavier, pounded away at her head and torso with his fists.

  “Ow, ow. Shit. She’s biting me. Get her off me.”

  Another boy emerged from the hallway and struggled to get a hold on her slender frame while she kicked backward at his legs. He grabbed her shirt, and the thin material ripped almost all the way down her back.

  Gabe’s shriek sounded more like a battle cry, and she drove the boy in her grip backward again. “Get out of my house,” she screamed, pushing him toward the front door.

  The boy flung himself to the left, but Gabe held tight. The sofa’s arm caught him in back of his thighs, and momentum flipped them partially onto the sofa, rolled them off, bounced them against the coffee table with a crash, and landed them on the floor.

  They froze for a split second. They both seemed surprised that he was now on top and had her pinned beneath him. The second boy recovered first.

  “Let’s get outta here.” He whirled toward the door, but Autumn was ready for him.

  She raised her left hand, palm out. “Hold on, Skippy. You two have some ’splaining.”

  Faced with an adult, boy number two skidded to a stop and began to wring his hands. “I wasn’t doing nothing. She jumped Robbie, and I was just trying to get her off him. I didn’t mean to tear her shirt.”

  “Get off me, turd,” Gabe said, unsuccessfully bucking her body to dislodge Robbie.

  “Who are you?” Robbie eyed Autumn. He still had the baby face of a youth but was big-bodied and obviously didn’t have the same respect for adults as his partner in crime did.

  “I’m Becki’s cousin and, as of Thursday, one of Gabriella’s guardians.” She swept her hand to indicate their surroundings. “This is our house.”

  The back door slammed, and Catherine’s long stride faltered when she took in the living room standoff. “I heard a crash or something.” Her gaze dropped to the upended coffee table and several glasses shattered and strewn across the hardwood floor. “Everything okay?”

  “Robbie was about to stand up and help Gabe to her feet,” Autumn said. She kept her tone even and, after a quick glance at Catherine, her eyes on the brawlers. “Then he’s going to tell me what he and his friend were doing in our house.”

  “They were in Mama’s room,” Gabe said. “And Robbie…he—”

  Catherine jumped in when Gabe couldn’t finish. “Robbie, you and Dustin straighten up this furniture and sweep up this glass, then sit here until I come back. We’ll see what Sheriff Cofy has to say about you trespassing in Gabe’s house.”

  “I don’t want to go to jail,” Dustin whined after Catherine left.

  “Shut up. It’s that stupid girl’s fault,” Robbie said, spitting the words at Gabe. “Can’t take a joke.”

>   Gabe started for Robbie again, but Autumn caught the back of her sports bra that showed through the tear in her shirt, stopping Gabe mid-launch.

  “Sit.” Autumn pulled a stool to the end of the granite-topped island that separated the kitchen and living room, pointing Gabe toward it. Then she handed Robbie a broom and dustpan. “Clean up that mess, and then you two sit right there.” She indicated two stools in front of the bar.

  She set a cutting board on the island’s counter, took a lemon and two limes from the refrigerator, and opened the knife drawer. She smiled, probably for the first time that day. Oh, yes, Becki still loved a good set of knives. She picked up several to weigh their fit in her hand, then selected one.

  The boys made quick work of righting the coffee table and sweeping up the glass. Too quick. Autumn was sure she’d need to vacuum thoroughly before anyone walked through the room barefoot. Then Robbie started for the front door.

  “Sit down, Robbie. Both of you,” she said.

  The boys stopped but didn’t sit. Dustin looked to Robbie for direction.

  Autumn smiled at Gabe, who sat in smoldering silence at the end of the bar. “Did Becki ever tell you that I worked as a barista and bartender while I was in college?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Probably not.”

  “Let’s go,” Robbie said to Dustin.

  Autumn twirled the knife in her fingers and slammed it point first into the cutting board. “I said SIT.” The twang of the knife vibrating was the only sound in the shocked quiet after her roar. The boys sat.

  She saw Catherine and Ed through the front-door screen, but Gabe and the boys were focused on her knife and didn’t appear to hear them slip quietly inside.

  “So, as I was saying, I had scholarships that paid my tuition, dorm rent, and meal plan, but I needed some pocket money. You know, for stuff like shampoo, beer, glitter nail polish, beer, clothes, beer…well, you get the idea. So, I worked part-time. It also helped me get out of my shell. I was a bit shy and a lot focused. If I could have my head in a computer twenty-four seven, I was a happy camper. But my jobs made me get out and socialize. That was important.”