Charlotte Hughes – A New Attitude (страница 7)

Marilee stepped closer. “Go ahead. It certainly beats having my head chewed off.”

Clara drew herself up proudly. “I happen to be a lady, and I prefer to act like one, even if you did let us down.”

“Enough, already!” Marilee cried, feeling as though she might pull her hair out any minute. “You’ve made your point. I blew it!”

Both women stared at her openmouthed. “Dear, you don’t have to shout,” Clara said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with our hearing.”

Marilee planted her hands on her hips. “I know the two of you are going to find this hard to believe, but I’ve been preoccupied the past few days. My life has completely fallen apart, so I’d appreciate it if you’d cut me some slack.”

“What Grady did was despicable,” Ruby said gently, only to have Clara nudge her hard. “Oh, Clara, stop it. We have to talk about it. We can’t just pretend it never happened.” She walked over and hugged Marilee. “Honey, how did you find out?”

“Grady told me,” she said calmly. “Said he had feelings for another woman and was tired of living a lie. Said he didn’t belong on the pulpit. Josh overheard the whole thing. By the time Grady met with the church board and received his dismissal, Josh had packed his father’s clothes, as well as his own.”

“Oh, Marilee, how awful for you,” Clara said.

“You must’ve started packing as well,” Ruby said. “By the time Clara and I heard the news, you’d already up and gone.”

“I was too embarrassed to stay. All I could think of was coming here.”

Clara’s look softened. “I wouldn’t really have slapped you.” She paused. “Marilee, what happened to your neck?”

“What I want to know is what happened to that ceiling beam?” Ruby said, glancing up.

Marilee gave a grunt of disgust. “I tried to hang myself.”

Clara gasped. “Marilee, how can you say such a thing?”

Ruby shot her a dark look. “That’s not a bit funny. Not one bit.”

“Hang yourself, indeed,” Clara quipped.

Marilee realized she’d gone too far. She must be hysterical. “I’m sorry. Truth is, I have termites. As for my neck, I think my mother’s pearl choker caused a rash.” She was surprised how easily the lies slipped from her lips.

“That’s the very reason I don’t wear jewelry,” Clara announced. “It makes me break out every time. As for those termites, you’d better have someone take care of it right away. I’ve heard what kind of damage they can do. You wouldn’t believe what happened to my cousin.”

Ruby frowned and shook her head. “Hush, Clara. The last thing Marilee needs to hear is one of your horror stories about what happened to somebody in your family. Can’t you see the poor girl has enough on her mind? Her husband has dumped her for a woman with tangerine-colored hair, and her son wants nothing to do with her. Why, folks can talk of nothing else. I don’t know how poor Marilee will ever be able to show her face in public again. I think she can wait a couple of days before worrying about stupid termites.”

Marilee’s look was deadpan. “Thank you, Ruby. I feel much better now that you’ve put it all into perspective for me.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

“I suppose we shouldn’t have been so hard on you because you forgot the benefit,” Clara said. “I wouldn’t be so upset if Esmerelda hadn’t caused such a ruckus. And then those pregnant girls had to get into a snit with one another. I had to break it up. Which reminds me—”

“Grady has lost his mind,” Ruby declared. “It’s that blood pressure thing. The minute a man has health problems he has to go out and prove to himself he’s still got what it takes. You ask me, I think the scare brought on his midlife crisis. Either way, he’ll come around.”

Marilee hitched her chin high as she thought of all Grady had put her through the past few days. She had been so hurt at first she couldn’t stop crying. Well, the hurt and self-pity were gone. Now she was mad as hell.

“He’d better not come around here. He’s going to rue the day he moved my son into that…that trollop’s mobile home.”

Clara nodded, but she looked distracted. She fidgeted with her hair again. “Uh, Marilee, we have a small problem.”

“He’s vermin,” Ruby continued. “Worse than vermin. And everybody knows LaFonda Bonaire is white trash. Why, that’s not even her real name. Her real name is Betty Clump, but she paid to have it changed because she thought it would give her class. Ha! She’s still trash, and the only reason Grady fell for her is because she’d let him eat anything he wanted whenever he came into the Tick-Tock. And here you were trying to see that he ate a healthy diet and got plenty of exercise.”

“Ruby, what are you talking about?” Marilee asked, her face masked with confusion.

“LaFonda was stuffing him with pecan pie behind your back.”

Marilee’s look turned to disbelief. “Are you telling me that my husband walked out on our marriage because another woman fed him pecan pie? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“Well, that’s part of it,” Clara replied. “My friend Janie Gilbert who works at the Gazette said it was almost sickening the way LaFonda carried on around him. Janie said LaFonda had been giving Grady the come-on for weeks.”

“A man can only take so much temptation, Marilee,” Ruby said. “Even a fine, upstanding minister like Grady.”

Marilee felt foolish that everybody in town had known about her husband and LaFonda long before her. “Why didn’t the two of you say something?”

“Because Grady was a man of God,” Clara said. “I thought he was way above that sort of thing.”

“Ruby’s right,” Marilee groaned. “I’ll never be able to show my face in this town again.”

Clara waved the comment aside. “Stop talking like that. You haven’t done anything wrong.”

“Marilee’s in a lot of pain right now,” Ruby said, “and rightly so. You’re probably still in shock, too, honey,” she added, patting Marilee on the back. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Listen, sugar, I’ve got a pint of whiskey beneath the seat of my truck. I’ll grab it if you like. One good swig will calm your nerves.”

Clara gasped. “Why, Ruby Ledbetter, I don’t believe what I’m hearing. I would never have figured you for a drinking woman. And you a Southern Baptist of all things.”

Ruby seemed to take offense. “Don’t you go questioning my spirituality, Clara Goolesby. I may be a Baptist, but I have had my share of stress. And there’s nothing like a good shot of whiskey to ease the jitters when you don’t have time to whip your vehicle over to the side of the road and pray.”

“I hardly think it’s necessary to resort to blasphemy,” Clara said stiffly.

Marilee looked from one to the other, wondering if the two women would come to blows. How they’d managed to remain friends all these years made her wonder. “Okay, let’s calm down,” she said. “I’m sure we can work this out. I’ll call another roofer first thing in the morning.”

“And pay him with what?” Ruby asked. “Clara’s good looks?”

Clara glared at her. “That was a low blow, considering you cleaned out your savings account last year on an eyelift and tummy tuck.” The ring of the doorbell prevented Ruby from answering. “Oh, that must be Winnie,” Clara said. “She fell asleep in Ruby’s truck on the way over, and we didn’t have the heart to wake her, poor thing.”

“Who’s Winnie?” Marilee asked.

“You remember, Winnifred Frye from Blessing Home.” Clara didn’t wait for a response. “I’ve been trying to tell you since we arrived, but Ruby wouldn’t stop yammering. Winnie has been staying at my place, but she and the other girl got into a big fuss. You’re going to love her, Marilee.”

“I am?”

“I guess I’m going to have to answer the door, since neither of you look so inclined,” Ruby said, making her way from the kitchen. “You go ahead and break the news to her, Clara.”

“What news?” Marilee asked.

Clara seemed hesitant. “Winnie has no place to stay. I was hoping you’d put her up until we figure out what we’re going to do about Blessing Home.”

“Me? Clara, are you out of your mind? I can’t take care of anyone right now. My life is in shambles.”

“So is Winnie’s. But you have a roof over your head, don’t you? Not to mention a warm bed. That’s all poor Winnie needs. Until we can make further arrangements,” she added. “Besides,” she added with a whisper, “you owe me for not forcing Grady to take one of the girls in when we first started looking for temporary housing.”

Marilee was still embarrassed that Grady had not offered to house a girl while Blessing Home was being restored. True, he’d supported Blessing Home in other ways, taking up separate collections, asking for clothes and nonperishable food, but he’d balked at having an unwed mother in the house. He thought it would be a bad influence on Josh. Marilee wanted to laugh at the irony.

“Which girl was Winnie?” Marilee whispered to Clara. “Was she that petite redhead with the pixie face?”

“I’m Winnie,” a husky voice said. “And I’ve never been petite. Not even when I was born.”

Marilee turned in the direction of the voice and froze at the sight of the tall black woman. She was at least six feet tall, and her shoulders filled the doorway. “Oh.” She forced a smile. “How nice to meet you, Winnie. I’m Marilee Abernathy.”