Page 79 of The Soul Never Forgets

“The reservation was for eleven.”

“It’s half past. I hope nothing has happened to her.”

My mother is keeping to tradition I see. “Oh, trust me. Nothing has happened to her. She’s always late for our Sunday brunch dates.”

Those lines form between his eyes like they always do when he’s confused or concentrating too hard. “Didn’t she call you this morning and remind you of the reservation so you wouldn’t be late?”

“Yes. It’s what she does.”

“A few minutes late is one thing, but thirty minutes is rude and disrespectful.”

Yes, it is in most people’s books, and it is in hers if she’s the one who’s ever left waiting for someone.

“Trust me. Disrespectful is one of the nicer things you’ll call her after you meet her.”

“Did you tell her I was coming today?” he asks.

“No, nor have I mentioned you to her at all. I thought you’d be a lovely surprise to drop on her. By the way, she hates uninvited guests when she isn’t the one who’s bringing them.” And by that, I mean my brother.

“I’m sure this introduction to my mother-in-law is going to go great.”

“The only thing great about it is that she’s going to see how she’s losing control over my life.” Oh and then the great big fit she throws. So two greats.

“People who discover they’re losing control tend to act out in desperation.”

“You mean like Augustina’s father trying to kill her after she rebelled against him?”

“That’s a good example.”

“Let’s hope that Lilly Beaumont doesn’t leap over the table and try to strangle me.” That would cause a scene. We’d be thrown out of my favorite New Orleans restaurant. We’d probably be blacklisted.

I can’t be blacklisted from here.

“Do you think she’d act out against you in a physical manner?”

No, she’s a coward. “She’s more of a ‘go behind your back and have you committed to behavioral health when you don’t behave the way she wants you to’ type of person.”

“Gussy probably didn’t think her father would try to kill her.”

“True. She didn’t see that one coming.” But she was an eighteen-year-old kid in 1939. I’m a twenty-nine-year-old woman in 2022. Big difference.

“No doubt that Mr. Lebeau’s was an extreme reaction. Still, you should be prepared for blowback from your mother. She will probably attack you any way she can in an emotional or mental capacity.”

“The woman can do her worst, and she won’t be able to hurt me.” My walls are up, high and tight.

“You’d be surprised how far some people will go.”

“There were only so many times she could hurt me. I’ve become immune to her because she’s given me no other choice.”

Lilly Beaumont arrives at the restaurant and studies Dawsey as she kisses my cheek. “Who do we have here?”

“Mom, this is Jude Wescott.” I’ll be damned if she gets to call him Dawsey.

Dawsey extends his hand. “It’s lovely to meet you, Mrs. Beaumont.”

“Mrs. Beaumont is my late husband’s mother. Please call me Lilly.”

“All right, Lilly.”

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