Chancey Jobs (Chancey Books Book 4) Page 3

  Just when my dress starts to come unstuck from my back. "What? You're not taking the internship in DC?"

  We sat for an hour waiting for the ceremony to start and then it was forever watching the thousand or so graduates file into their seats. Seats in the full sun on the football field. They did have their mortar boards for shade, but those black gowns can't be comfortable. Not that our metal stadium bleachers are comfortable, but at least we weren't wrapped up in those gowns. The ceremony lasted another forever and then there was the scramble to find Will. I think I'd be more teary if I had any moisture left in my body to form tears. One good thing, sweating this much means I didn't have to find a restroom all morning.

  Walking away from the stadium in the throngs of people, Will speaks to several other graduates, and when one similarly robed young woman grabs his arm, he bends down to hug her. The girl says, "Can't believe you're not going to DC, Will. It was going to be a blast."

  The girl gets pulled away by her crowd of smiling friends and family, leaving me and Jackson to clog up our side of the closed street. "Will?" Jackson asks as our son keeps walking with his brother and sister.

  "You're not taking the internship in DC?" I ask again. I take a couple steps toward him and he slows and turns. Bryan has his head tilted back as he squints up at his brother. Savannah, however, is studying her wedge heels tied with black ribbons around her ankles. Her arms encase her waist and hold the black and white sundress against her body. Uh oh, she knows something. Something we're not going to like. The girl who's perfected the “never show guilt” look, for once, looks guilty.

  Jackson walks up behind Will and puts a hand on his shoulder. "Son, did you get a better offer?" When Will doesn't answer, Jackson looks at me and I look at Savannah. Jackson follows my eyes and grimaces. "What's going on?"

  "There they are!" Missus exclaims as she steps between Savannah and Will, threads her arms through theirs, and pulls them to her. "What a marvelous day!" FM and Anna follow up behind her, and their smiles are as weak as Missus' is exuberant.

  Jackson and I join Bryan in his head-tilted squint. What are they doing here?

  People attempt to flow around us in the street, but not without looks that say, "Can't you see you are stopped in the middle of traffic?" Will clears his throat and says, "Let's move out of the way." We try to move to first one side, then the other, but there's nowhere to move to as a group.

  Missus folds her hands on her purse. "Then let's just meet at the restaurant. See you there." FM puts a hand on her back, and they weave off to the side a couple steps, but Anna doesn't move.

  "Anna, aren't you going with them?" I ask.

  Her soft gray eyes look up at Will, and he steps to her. He wraps one black clad arm around her. "Anna and I got married last night."

  "Married?" I gasp, but before I can ask why or anything else all I can see in my head is Missus is smiling, no beaming, at me. And my eyes dart down. Down to Anna's stomach.

  Jackson explodes. "What is wrong with you two? Is this why you're not going to DC? Do you know how much harder this is going to make law school?"

  Savannah and I meet eyes, and it's true. She smiles sideways at me, and shrugs a little. She steps to me and hugs me. In my ear, she whispers, "It'll be okay. They really love each other."

  Jackson and Bryan are the only ones still squinting, but Jackson's eyes slowly uncrinkle and his jaw softens the longer I hold his eyes over our daughter's shoulder. He mouths silently, "A baby", then looks up at his son.

  Will nods and says, "Yep, you're going to be a grandpa."

  And standing in the middle of the campus on a busy street, throngs of people pushing around us, I think there is nothing more to be said. Until Will takes a deep breath, grins, and says, "And no more school. I'm getting a job, and we're going to live in Chancey."

  Chapter 5

  "If my head falls off, don't pick it up," I say as I dump myself into the hot car.

  "That was the best chicken ever," Bryan says while buckling his seat belt. "Can you make chicken like that, Mom?"

  "No."

  A slap and a yell come from the back seat accompanied by Savannah's "Shut up."

  “What?!” Bryan asks in outrage.

  This is followed by an eye roll big enough to hear, and his sister saying, "You're so clueless."

  Jackson pulls open his door. "Okay, the rest of the cake is in the back, so don't throw anything on it or mess it up when we get home." Settled in, he looks at me. "How are you?"

  I close my eyes to keep the tears in and shake my head. My mouth is clamped tight, but my chin quivers anyway. The bones in my jaw feel ready to shatter, and the muscles in my neck have gone from tight to knots to pulsating hot coals. The heat from the closed-up car is nothing compared to the heat radiating off my neck, shoulders, and back. And now my face, as the tears start leaking, hot and heavy drops.

  "Just breathe and relax. Take a nap on the ride home," Jackson says as he starts the car and directs the air vents toward me.

  "Savannah, can you hand me my purse? I left it back there under my jacket."

  She leans up and hands me the cute lavender purse I bought to go with my new dress. Just seeing it makes me tear up again. I was so happy about this day. A real family day with just the kids. A day of celebration, a family milestone.

  It's just not fair. They took it all away from me, the day I thought we were going to have. And the supposed-to-be joyful and years-away day of finding out Will's getting married— and the joy of planning for, getting ready for, and enjoying the first wedding of any of my children. Even the much-farther-down-the-road joy of finding out I'm going to be a grandma. These have all been wiped out and replaced with a sweaty confab in a crowd of strangers, in the middle of the street. I feel like Sally from Charlie Brown when she realizes she missed Halloween and shouts, "I've been robbed!"

  I touch the button on my phone, and the screen is covered with texts. Blinking, I try to focus, but realize that's probably not a good idea. "Everyone knows. They all know everything!" I hold up my phone for Jackson to see. "That place is amazing. We're not even back in town, and they know it all." Scrolling through congratulation after congratulation and question after question makes my head pound and voice raise. "Yep, the baby, that they're going to live with Missus and FM, about his job, even what we had for lunch. Unbelievable. I'm never speaking to Missus again. You know this has to be her. She's out of her mind with happiness. Did you hear her at lunch?"

  Jackson takes his right hand off the steering wheel and lays it on my thigh. "Honey, you need to calm down." He motions with his head to the back seat.

  "Calm down? Wasn't I calm enough in the restaurant? Between Missus crowing and Will drinking too much and you sitting there with your arms folded all mad, and FM chattering like a fool, I was the only calm one."

  Savannah, of course, chimes in. "Not sure you were actually calm, Mom. You looked more stunned. Kind of frozen."

  "I didn't stab anyone with my steak knife, did I?"

  Bryan laughs. "That's funny, Mom. I think it'll be cool to have Will living in Chancey."

  "No it won't," I say. "It's a hellhole full of gossips and small-minded people and, and, he was going to live in D.C. He was going to be a lawyer. He…"

  I crush my teeth together keeps the sobs back. I turn to the window and lay my head against it and close my eyes. No more. I'm saying no more.

  And I'm going to try and keep from opening the door and jumping out of the car while we're on the interstate.

  "Kids, go on inside," Jackson says as I come awake. "Hey, sleepyhead. Have a good rest?"

  "Wow, I was dead asleep." Sitting up straighter, I feel the knots reforming in my neck, but the pulsating is gone and my head has a mild ache instead of being on the verge of explosion.

  Avoiding Jackson's eyes, I watch Savannah and Bryan walk up the porch steps. "Did they say anything while I was sleeping? Guess I went a little crazy."

  He rubs my neck with his hand and grasps my
left hand in his. "Honey, it was a horrible day. That's all there is to it. Our son left us in the dark to get blindsided. Kids fell asleep pretty much about the same time you did."

  I shake my head. "I can't believe Will is going to wind up here. In Chancey. You know Missus will never let Anna go. And her great-grandchild? Well, you heard her. She's talking about the nursery and how they'll put up a play fort in the back yard and how easy it'll be to walk down to the library to do schoolwork and getting an afterschool job when her heir is a teenager, since they'll live right next to town." I lay my head on his shoulder. "We just found out the baby exists, and she already has its life planned."

  "Honey, it's all a long way off. Will and Anna are going to have this week in Athens and that will let us get used to the idea. Then we'll deal with everything else. Let's go inside and change. Get comfortable. Okay?"

  Lifting my head, I look into his eyes. No one has ever loved me like this man, and a shudder goes through me when I think of how far we drifted apart over the winter. "Thank goodness this happened after we figured our weirdness out. I wouldn't have made it through today without you."

  "Me either." He laughs and opens his car door. "If this kind of day happened to someone in a movie, I'd swear they made it up."

  That actually makes me chuckle while walking around the car. "Well, in case I haven't told you lately…” I pause and take his arm.

  "What? Haven't told me lately that you love me?" He winks. "I believe you've told me and shown me, Mrs. Jessup."

  "No, not that."

  "What then?"

  Up the steps, I turn on the last one and look down at him. "I hate small towns."

  Chapter 6

  "Jackson, please don't go. Don't get out from under the covers. Come here." Soft light through the blinds, and the birds all excited about the novelty of the sun rising, say it's morning. Under the covers, it's darker, quieter, and decidedly more fun, but apparently it doesn’t last long enough as my husband pulls away from me with still enough time to get up, get dressed, and go to church.

  "Stay here with me," I say.

  He laughs and pulls on his dark green robe. "I did! Remember that guy a minute ago? That was me. Now I'm getting up, well, out of bed." He laughs again and tosses his pillow at me. "You've got plenty of time if you want to come with us."

  "But all the questions. All the gossip. I can't face it."

  Jackson stops before opening the door to leave our room. "Oh, I think you can. It's just talk. Normal talk about something happening. Nobody hates you or is plotting against our family. You didn't mind last Sunday when everyone was talking about Will graduating, moving to DC, going to law school, did you?"

  "That's different."

  "Not really. It's all just talk, and actually, true. I'm making coffee and having a cup on the deck. Come join me. I like coffee and church and, well, everything better with you."

  He smiles, not that I can see him that clearly in the darkness, but I kind of heard his face crinkle. It's been less than a month since I decided to go to church with the rest of my family. It was nice, but a little claustrophobic, and that was before I made center stage again. Maybe I'll take a quick shower and go down for coffee. Yeah, maybe that. Maybe…

  Something won't let me stay in bed. Something tells me all those weeks of staying in bed, waiting to hear my family leave on Sunday mornings without me, might have had something to do with mine and Jackson's problems. Something, but probably not. I'm just ready to get up. That's all.

  The cucumber melon smell of my shower gel and shampoo keeps my nose happy until I’m halfway down the stairs, when fresh coffee and baking cinnamon rolls enter the competition.

  "Hey, Mom. I made that can of cinnamon rolls. They'll be ready in three minutes." Savannah has on a short blue dress with wide straps on her shoulders. Her long hair hangs flat and shiny and wet.

  "Your hair is getting your dress wet," I say as I scrunch my short mop with my fingers to keep the kinky curls in place.

  She shrugs. "It'll dry. Dad has the coffee outside. Cups, too. I'll bring the rolls out there to ice them."

  Bryan is out in the backyard, running in the sunlight spilling over the tall trees, down the hill, and beside the river.

  "Oh, his shoes will get wet,” I fret to myself. “Bryan, get out of the grass! Your feet are all wet," I yell over the railing.

  He stops, looks down at his wet tennis shoes, and then back up at me. "Okay." Then he continues running around, but with a weird tiptoeing motion.

  With a sigh, I turn around to his father who is reading a paper lifted up in front of his whole upper body. "Jackson."

  Over the paper, he looks at me, then at his son, then back at me. "So?"

  "Fine. I don't care." I flounce—yes, flounce—into the patio chair across from Jackson.

  "Honey, it's not like its cold or he's sick or they're dress shoes. So, they get wet. So?"

  "Never mind,” I say. “Can you pour me some coffee?"

  "You going to church?"

  "You still want me to?"

  He looks up from where the steamy liquid is filling my cup. "Of course. It's so much better when we're all there together." Then he gets a sappy grin and adds, “Especially when we're all so happy."

  I stick my tongue out at him then take a tiny sip and lean back, propping my feet on the rails of the chair beside me. My skin feels scratchy, irritated. Nothing I can actually scratch, just like I want to yell or kick something or eat six cinnamon rolls all at once. Yeah, then I could lay down on the couch, all full and warm and happy. Yep, that should do it.

  I yelp when my daughter pushes open the French doors and bangs into my shoulder with them. "Ow, Savannah! I'm sitting here, you know."

  "Sorry,” she says. “Here, hold this." She hands me the little plastic cup of icing with a knife stuck in it.

  As soon as she lets go of the knife, it balances itself out by flipping right into my lap with a dollop of white icing. "Savannah!"

  "Mom, just hold it. For like a minute, okay?" She says something else under her breath when she steps back into the kitchen. I bet it's a good thing I couldn't quite hear her, since my need to kick something is still in high gear, despite getting to yell a bit.

  Jackson hasn't moved, and his paper is still up high. I sit the icing cup on the table, lay the knife beside it and rake the glob of glistening white off my shirt. After I sling most of it back into the container, I stick my finger in my mouth. It's good, but I'm going to need to eat the rest of the cup to feel even a little bit better.

  Savannah comes out with the hot pan in one hand, plates in the other, and shoves the door closed with her foot. She puts it all down and then starts plopping my icing on all the rolls. Guess it's not really my icing.

  Reaching across the table, I pour coffee into one of the waiting cups. "So, how long have you known about Will and Anna?" I ask my daughter. Oh, did I see the newspaper move?

  Her eyebrows raise, and she twitches her mouth to the side. "Um, last week sometime, I guess."

  "Did you know they were getting married Friday?"

  "No. I swear, Mom. I didn't know that. It wasn't supposed to happen like it did."

  Now the paper falls to the table. "No, duh," Jackson says. "He was supposed to go to DC, supposed to go to law school."

  Oh, an eye roll for dad. "Not that, Daddy. The whole telling you guys thing, but Missus, well, she—”

  "Yeah, how did Missus find out about all this before me, before us?" I want to know.

  Savannah puts a cinnamon roll on a plate and hands it to her dad. "Anna told her grandmother, which made sense, but then," she shrugs. "You know Missus. She kinda took over."

  With my mouth full of cinnamon roll to calm me down, I growl. "And ran right over Will and Anna in the process. Well, we know now, and she's met her match. She's not railroading my son into living here in Chancey."

  Savannah flips her wet flap of hair over her shoulder. "I don't know what happened. Anna was supposed to go with us t
o graduation and then they were going to tell you at lunch. But yesterday morning Anna texted me to say I shouldn't ask y’all if she could come, like I was supposed to. I thought maybe she'd backed out of going."

  Popping the last bite of my roll in my mouth, I exclaim, "Then there they were. Bryan! If you want a cinnamon roll you better get up here." I push back, clutching my coffee cup in both hands to keep myself from grabbing another roll. "And he's been just too secretive about this so-called job he has here. I bet Missus is paying him to sweep her front porch, just so they'll stay."

  "Now, honey," Jackson says with a deep breath. He's just as worried as I am. He's just choosing not to show it. Coward. "He said he has one more interview and then he'll tell us. Maybe it's a good job."

  "In Chancey? This is the last place a young person with a college degree would find a good job. Over my dead body is she going to run his life. She as in Missus, not Anna." Hey, I'm not stupid, I know which side my grandbaby is buttered on.

  Bryan grabs two cinnamon rolls, one in each hand and walks off licking both arms as the icing drips. His father and his sister don't even notice, so I don't either. I always made sure Will had a plate and a napkin and a fork, and look where it got him. With a pregnant wife in a dead-end town with no future.

  "I'll be ready in a few minutes," I say and stand up.

  Jackson smiles. "So you are going?"

  "Yep, can't give Missus a piece of my mind sitting up here." I pinch off a hunk of another cinnamon roll and shove most of it in my mouth. Plates are for sissies.

  Everyone is staring at me. Even the preacher can't concentrate for checking every couple seconds what's going on with me. The tears just won't stop.

  We parked in the side parking lot and walked around the church to the front doors. The deep blue of the sky sparked the fresh leaves into neon green on the tree branches above us. As the leaves bounced in the breeze, morning sunlight sparkled. Grass—fresh, thick, and smelling of a recent cutting—stretched all around the sidewalk as the last of the dogwood petals snowed down on us. And while all that was moving and heart-squeezing, where did all these beautiful babies come from? Everyone seems to be carrying a baby or a toddler into church. I can't remember the last time I really paid attention to a baby. The smooth skin, fine hair, wide eyes… and look how tiny their fingers are! Oh, and each perfect fingernail. Babies have never really been my thing, but they've never simply been everywhere I looked.