Page 116 of Lone Star Longing
Chapter Twenty Seven
SATURDAY, LACEY LEFTthe house early to get to the motel. She actually had no idea what to do when she got there, but her family had come to see her. And she was going to come back to the house early to help Marianne get dinner ready.
When she got to the motel, Tanya and Joyce were frustrated with the active kids.
“Oh my God, Lacey, how can you bear it? There’s nothing to do here,” Tanya said.
“Let’s go down the street to the park. There’s a playground there.” She hadn’t eaten breakfast. “There’s a taco place down the street. Let’s go get breakfast and watch the kids play.”
“A park? A real park?”
“Didn't you see it when you came into town? Dad was instrumental in having that built for the kids in town. He’d be so happy y’all are playing on it.”
“When are we going to see him? Do we have to wait until tonight?” Tanya asked.
“No, he’s going to come down a little later. He had some work to do. I don't know if you heard the wind last night, but it did some damage to some of the lines off the highway, so he’s supervising the repairs.”
“What’s he doing these days?” her mother asked casually as she looped her designer purse over her shoulder.
“He’s supervising lineman for the power company. He was really sorry this came up. But he can’t wait to see you guys,” she addressed her niece and nephew. She wasn't looking forward to the clash between her parents. A lot of bitterness remained between them, and to be honest, on her part, too. The resentment always made family gatherings a challenge, for her anyway. She didn't think her siblings saw the same thing. But they weren’t as close to their dad as she was.
At least he had Marianne now.
Lacey led the way out the door, down the uneven sidewalk with the grass growing up through the cracks—they couldn't get grass to grow in actual yards in West Texas, but give it some cement and tell it not to grow there, yeah, grass for days.
She hated looking at her town through her mother’s eyes. She knew her mother hated this place, judged this place, judged who chose to live here.
“So what are you going to do when you go into labor?” her mother asked. “You’ve been going to San Angelo for your check-ups, right?”
“Yes, and my classes, but I’m actually thinking about having Austin deliver the babies.”
“What if something goes wrong? Twins so often come early. They could be preemies.”
“I’ve discussed it with Dr. Fredrick, and she said a medical helicopter could be here quickly enough to take them to San Angelo, if that’s the case.” Lacey had worried herself to high blood pressure over that fear.
Her mother shook her head. “You should come stay with me when you get closer to your due date.”
For just a moment she was tempted. Her mother lived in a beautiful house, luxurious, with a pool. She’d have her own bedroom and bathroom. Her mother had a maid and a cook.
But she needed to work as long as she could, and she couldn't imagine making that drive now, much less in another month, when she had to stop every fifteen minutes to pee. And she certainly couldn't fly. Then she’d have to drive back with two newborns? No. She couldn't do that.
But she didn't answer, instead opened the door to the tiny taco house in the middle of the strip center near the hardware store.
She didn't ask what anyone wanted, just ordered a dozen assorted breakfast tacos and six bottled waters. The lone man behind the counter punched the sale into an old cash register before walking through the door into the kitchen and making the order.
“Oh, Mexican candy,” Tanya exclaimed, inspecting the clay platter full of candy made from pumpkin, coconut, anddulce de leche. “I can’t get this stuff back home.” She placed a selection on the counter and pulled out some cash.
A few minutes later, they were walking across the street to the park with its four picnic tables—Joyce wanted to know if there was one for every family living here—and Tanya set up the table with napkins and foil-wrapped tacos.
The kids split a potato and egg taco, eyeing the new playscape in the center of the park, complete with a canopy to keep the slides and swings and mini rock wall as cool as could be in West Texas. Finally they got their mother’s permission to go play and the four adults remained at the table with their tacos, though after one, Tanya reached into the candy bag for her treats.
Her mother looked around the tiny center of town. “I see nothing’s changed. What are they going to do about that building?” She motioned to the garage that had collapsed and really was a hazard.
“It’s in probate. No one can get anything done, and it doesn’t seem to be moving very quickly.”
