THUGLIT Issue One - [14]

“Oh, I’m upset all right. Especially because I’m sitting in the middle of nowhere trying to figure out how to get to where you are.”

It took him a second to absorb that. “You flew out here? To be with me?”

“You didn’t think I was just going to wait at home for you, did you, baby?”

“I was worried you’d be so angry you might file for divorce,” he admitted in a sheepish tone.

“I’d never do that to you, baby,” I said, and I meant it.

*****

The only person who seemed distinctly unhappy to see me was Kady. When Jake brought me back to her house, where all of the family was meeting, her mouth pursed, just like her mother’s had when she’d met me. Kady had been friendly enough when I’d encountered her before, but now I saw bitterness and recrimination in her eyes. But that might only have heated up after her husband, a ruggedly handsome man named Ry, hugged me for longer than was strictly necessary.

“I’m sorry about your mother,” I told her. She nodded, keeping her eyes on my face. Her own was red and blotchy, and her eyes were swollen. Her two young sons stopped running around long enough to inspect me, then took off, laughing. In the living room, a collection of cousins sat around drinking and laughing. It didn’t seem as if anyone missed Mrs. Carlow much.

“You got here in a hurry,” Kady said to me.

“It’s a tough time for Jake. I wasn’t going to leave him alone.”

“You sure that’s the reason? Or were you afraid he’d come back here and go native?” Kady’s voice was more refined and less country than her mother’s had been, but it had the same twangy undertones.

“Go native?”

“You know exactly what I mean. You’re the reason he never came home. Jake was going to come back and be a doctor here. You wouldn’t let him do that.”

“That’s ridiculous. Jake never wanted to come back here.”

“Yes, he did, and you’re the one who ruined it. You’re the one who got him to throw his life away, doing them plastic surgeries instead of proper medicine.” As her temper heated up, her diction slipped.

“Last time I checked, Jake was an adult who could make his own decisions.”

“You’re a thief, nothing more.”

“Really?” I rolled my eyes. “That was what your mother said, too. That was why Jake stopped speaking to her, you know.”

“Oh, I know that full well. You got a hell of a nerve coming back here. You stole Mama’s earrings just like she said you did. You’re a thief and a liar.”

“I didn’t steal anything,” I said, my voice calm. I had the truth on my side. Maybe I had told Jake a lie or two for his own good, but I’d never stolen anything.

“Mama caught you in her room that time Jake brought you to her house!”

“I just wanted to see the photographs. There was nothing wrong with that.”

“Then she found her pearl earrings were gone. You took them. It had to be you.”

“She went and grabbed my purse and dumped it out on the table because she thought they were in there,” I said. “Then, when she found they weren’t, she practically ripped off my blouse because she thought I was hiding them in my bra. She was wrong.”

“You had them,” Kady insisted. “You know what Mama called you? Magpie, on account of you seeing something good and shiny and not being able to keep yourself from thieving.”

The insult rankled, but I wasn’t going to let that show. “Your mother was delusional. Maybe that runs in the family.”

“I don’t know how you got them earrings outta the house, but you did. You stole them, sure as you stole my brother away from his home. But you’re in for a surprise, because this time Jake’s gonna stay where he belongs.”

“You go on thinking that if it makes you happy,” I said. “But after the funeral, we’re going home.”

*****

Jake and I went to his mother’s house the next day. It was only my second time there, but I remembered it well. It was old-lady fussy, with plastic over the sofa and white doilies on the tables. There were little carvings and statuettes on every available surface, including a series of owls that were downright spooky.

“I’m surprised you were willing to come along for this, but I’m glad you did, Erica.”

“I couldn’t let you go through your mother’s things by yourself, baby. That would be too stressful.”

“Kady’s already done a lot of the work. I’m just looking for anything I want to keep. Kady’s already got the photo albums and Mama’s jewelry and the family Bible at her place.”

“Wow. She lost no time helping herself to your mother’s things.”

“Don’t start, Erica. Please. This is stressful enough.”

I bit my tongue. The last thing I needed to do was fight with Jake right now. I noticed his verbal lapse-Mama-and that made me nervous. Old habits came back quickly, didn’t they? But I was also slightly annoyed with myself. Of course Kady took her mother’s jewelry. If I’d planned ahead, I would have gotten a pair of earrings like Mrs. Carlow had owned-baroque pearls on 14-karat gold stems-and set them in her jewelry box, then remarked on them while Jake was nearby. It was too late for that now. Better to stick with my original plan.

While Jake was going through the record collection, I slipped out of my dress. For a moment I debated leaving my bra and panties on and letting Jake remove them, but then I pulled them off, too. It was important not to have any margin for error. I went up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist from behind.