Page 64 of Grounded
With the supper preparations finished, she went upstairs to change clothes. She settled on black pants and a cool blue top with a V-neck and three-quarter-length sleeves. In her jewelry box, she looked for something simple to wear. She put on a pair of small silver loop earrings, and then looked for a silver necklace to go with them. Nothing satisfied her. She opened the drawer to her dressing table to see if there was anything in the old jewelry box inside.
She found old earrings and necklaces from high school. A silver chain gleamed from the bottom of the intertwined jewelry. Annie pulled it out gently, untwisting it as she worked it free. The silver chain held a small cross, the one Jake had given her when she was sixteen.
Jake had called and told her to meet him at the crossover place. When she got there, he was already waiting, a long, thin box in his hand. When she opened it, the silver cross and chain lay inside the Chaney’s jewelry box. He blushed when she hugged him and kissed his cheek. “I thought you should have something special on your sixteenth. Mom helped me pick it out.”
“I love it,” she told him and put it on immediately. She had worn it constantly after that, until she started dating Brett that fall. Then it wasn’t cool anymore because none of the girls he hung out with wore crosses, so she had put it away in this box and forgotten, until now. Looking back, Annie wished she hadn’t cared so much what her new friends thought.
Annie held it up to the lamp light and watched the silver reflect the light against the mirror. It went perfectly with the earrings and the blue top. She would wear it tonight.
“Annie, they’re here!” Beulah called.
She reached for the necklace and touched it, taking comfort from it.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
There was no sense in putting on airs, and as much as Beulah might like her guests to come to the front door, it rarely happened. The back door was her front, and there were no two ways about it. She was about to open the screen door when a scream ripped through the air and nearly knocked Beulah off her walker.
When Beulah opened the door, she saw Camille, or so Beulah assumed since they had not properly met yet, running to the car, Jake right behind her, and Evelyn looking at Beulah with an apology on her face.
“What’s happened?” Beulah asked.
Evelyn reached for a tobacco stick that stood next to the back door.
“It’s the black snake,” Evelyn said. “We forgot to warn Camille about him.”
“Booger’s out here this late? That’s unusual,” she said as she watched Evelyn scoot him off the porch with the stick until he slithered into an opening in the concrete below the porch. It was still daylight, but he liked the millstone for his sunbath and when the sun moved on, so did he.
“It’s all right, he’s gone.” Jake had his arm around the young woman and walked toward them. Strands of golden hair fell over the girl’s face, like the flax Beulah’s grandfather grew, ready for the harvest. She wiped her eyes and pushed the strands back off her face, and gave Beulah an embarrassed smile.
“I’m sorry. It’s quite a way to make an entrance,” Camille said and extended her hand.
Beulah shook her small hand, smooth and free of calluses. “It’s our fault. We forgot about him,” Beulah said. “Do come in.”
She stood back as the group moved into the back room. Camille reminded her of a lovely, rare bird. Her teeth were as white as any Beulah had ever seen, and her skin looked like the porcelain on her old china doll.
“Is everything okay?” Annie asked, coming from the kitchen.
“We forgot to warn Camille about the snake,” Evelyn said.
Camille smiled tentatively. “I’m terrified of them,” she said.
“This is Annie,” Jake said, and Beulah sensed pride in his voice as he introduced the two women.
“I’m barely used to him myself,” Annie said in a consoling tone as she extended her hand. Camille smiled warmly back at Annie.
The only mar to Camille’s beauty was a black smudge of mascara under her left eye from the excitement. This child needed a minute to collect her wits, Beulah thought. “If you would like to use the restroom, it is right there,” she said, and pointed the way to the downstairs bath.
“Oh yes, that would be wonderful. Thank you,” Camille said as she turned to go.
“I’m so sorry,” Beulah said. “I never thought to check on Booger this time of day.”
“Don’t worry,” Jake said. “She might as well get a taste of country life sooner rather than later.”
“Annie, did you do this canning?” Evelyn asked, pointing to the jars of beans on the counter.
Beulah watched as Annie’s face shone with pride. “I did! Grandma told me what to do, but I think I can do it on my own now. It was fun!” she said.
“I’m impressed,” Jake said. “You’ll make a good farmer’s wife,” he teased.
