Wedding Bell Blues - [53]

sometimes meeting someone can cause you to grow a new heart, too.” Lily laughed. “God, I neverwould’ve said something like that if I was sober.”

“Do you mean it, though?”

Lily thought for a moment. She had spoken just then without thinking, but she had meant what shesaid ... just as people usually did when they spoke without considering their words beforehand. “Yes.”

“Then I’m glad you’re not sober.” Jack and Lily’s lips met in another long, slow kiss. When theyparted, there were tears in Lily’s eyes.

“I’m scared, Jack.”

“I know. Whatever happens, though, I’ll take care of you.”

Lily drifted off for a few minutes, letting herself feel almost safe in Jack’s arms. When she heardthe footsteps in the hall, at first she thought it was Mordecai. But then she heard the voices: “Lil-ee! Ben!

You’ve gotta be home — the door was unlocked!”

Oh, shit. Sheila and Tracee — as always, just walking right on in whenever they felt like it.

Lily and Jack sprang out of bed and scrambled for their clothes, sure that the boys across the hallwere doing the same thing. But it was no good. The bedroom door, which they hadn’t closed all the way,swung open. Sheila’s scream at the sight of Jack and Lily rang out at the same moment as Tracee’s didwhen she opened the door on the boys across the hall.

“Have you never heard of knocking?” Lily yelled, pulling on her shirt.

“I always thought family didn’t have to knock,” Sheila said. “Of course, I thought family hadnothing to hide from each other.”

“Look,” Ben barked, standing in the hallway wearing only his jeans, “what my wife and I chooseto do in the privacy of our own home—”

“You and your ‘wife’—if you can call her that—wasn’t doing a thing together,” Traceeinterrupted. “I knew there was somethin’ funny about y’all’s marriage the second I laid eyes on y’alltogether. I said to myself, somethin’ —”

“Ain’t right,” Sheila finished. “Oh, I wonder what Big Daddy and Mama McGilly will have to saywhen they realize they bought a new car and a new house for a couple of —”

“Queers!” Tracee finished for her. For two straight girls, they finished each other’s sentences likean old married couple.

“Now wait just a damn minute,” Jack said, towering over the two big-haired women. “I don’t seewhy there’s any reason to go off and tell Benny Jack’s parents. Lily’s a good mother, and if you go offblabbering like that, she could lose her daughter.”

“Last thing a lezzie needs is a little girl,” Sheila spat. “She’s probably already been messing withher.”

“Now, that’s ridiculous—” Ken began.

“No,” Tracee interrupted. “This is ridiculous. Come on, Sheila, we’re taking a drive over to the bighouse.”

And they were gone.

Jack punched the wall with the fist she had balled up while talking to Sheila and Tracee. “What dowe do now?”

“Nothing to do but wait for the hammer to fall,” Lily said, her voice dull and numb.

“If I know Mother and Daddy, they’ll be over here within the hour. It would probably be a goodidea if the two of you went home,” Ben said.

“God, I feel so guilty,” Ken wailed. “If I hadn’t brought the champagne—”

“This still could’ve happened,” Lily finished for him. “It’s not your fault.”

Jack kissed Lily’s cheek. “Call me the second you know something.”

Lily sighed. “I will.”

Their lovers scurried off, and Lily and Ben sat on the couch, holding hands in despair. They hadn’teven been to the courthouse yet, but they were already awaiting their sentence.

CHAPTER 19

“Well, this ain’t an easy thing to talk about.” Big Ben McGilly stared into his coffee mug.

Lily couldn’t believe she’d had the presence of mind to brew coffee. She and Ben had sat on thecouch in miserable silence for twenty minutes when she had jumped up, saying, “Well, if you’re sure yourparents are coming over, I might as well make some coffee.”

She had thought it was insane as she was doing it, measuring out coffee just as she was about tolose her daughter and possibly her life. (After all, it wasn’t inconceivable that Big Ben would arrive totinga double-barreled shotgun.) But now she saw the sense of her coffee preparation. The cups gave them allsomething to hold in their fidgety hands, something to stare into instead of each other’s eyes.

“No, it ain’t an easy thing to sit in your living room and talk about,” Big Ben continued. “But Ireckon ya know why we’re here.” He looked over at Jeanie, who looked into her coffee cup.

“Yes, sir,” Lily answered, when it became clear that her husband wasn’t going to say anything.

Big Ben nodded gravely. “Sheila and Tracee was over at the house a little while ago. Now whythey’d be rude enough to swing a body’s bedroom doors open is a mystery to me, but they told me whatthey seen. In no uncertain terms, you might say.”

Lily looked at Ben, whose face was gray. Good god, Lily thought. He’s not just upset over Mimi;he’s upset because his parents are going to cut him off without a cent. Benny Jack McGilly is stunned intomuteness at the thought of having to get a job. “Yes, sir,” Lily said to her father-in-law, figuring that since