Page 32 of The Night the Lights Went Out
“But every Monday there’s a free cup of coffee coupon for senior citizens in theSweet Apple Herald, so I come here once a week to use the coupon. Hate to see it go to waste.”
Lindi pulled open the door to Cups. “Why don’t I wait in line and get your coffee while you sit at our table with Merilee?”
Sugar pressed her lips together as she considered. “I suppose that would work.” Merilee began to lead her to the table when Lindi asked, “How do you like your coffee?”
“Doesn’t matter. It tastes terrible no matter how you try to disguise it.”
Merilee held out a chair for Sugar before sitting down, aware of the glances sent in their direction. “I can’t thank you enough for letting Colin use the bird books at the house. I think it’s distracting him from looking for that dog. Yesterday, he saw an indigo bunting. He didn’t know what it was until he looked it up. He really needs some binoculars—I just keep forgetting to go shop for them. The stores that sell things like that aren’t on my usual round of errands.”
Sugar remained straight-backed in her chair, and it seemed as if she might actually be offering a small smile. “Good to know that’s one less child who’s not rotting his brain on computer games.”
Merilee just smiled, unsure how to respond.
Sugar smoothed the flats of her hands against the wooden surface of the table. “I sure was glad to see this place built.”
“I thought you disliked all the new development,” Merilee said, wincing as she took a sip from her now ice-cold coffee.
“I do.” She was silent for a moment as her face softened in a contemplative look Merilee was becoming familiar with. “But this was where Curtis Brown’s family lived. In a little house smack-dab on this spot. Burned years ago, which I can’t say many people were sad to see. Mr. Brown had already been run out on a rail after he stole from the church offering box. Curtis had taken over running the farm, but he was so lazy he couldn’t catch his breath if it didn’t come naturally. I saw Mrs. Brown out in the field at harvest and planting times more than I ever saw Curtis, his little sisters running around half-starved because they were as poor as gully dirt and Mrs. Brown was too proud to ask for charity.”
Sugar shook her head, her gaze focused at the window, the blue sky reflected in her glasses so they looked like a mirror on the world. “Mrs. Brown got sick one winter, and they had no wood for burning and wouldn’t accept any from her neighbors. Then she died and those little girls got sent to the orphanage down in Atlanta. Or maybe it was to distant relations—I can’t remember. I just know we never saw hide or hair of them again.”
“That’s so sad. There wasn’t anyone closer who could take them in?”
Sugar shook her head slowly. “Times were hard. We barely had enough to feed and clothe our own families. Farms were failing every day, it seemed, and people were starving. We took care of Lamar after his daddy died, and my daddy tried to take care of Curtis and those little girls after his mama got sick, but Curtis didn’t want us taking care of anything, and I was fine with that.”
Merilee looked behind Sugar and spotted Lindi approaching the front of the line, wishing she’d hurry. She enjoyed Sugar’s stories, although it had become clear to her that neither one of them was comfortable in the telling, and maybe even for the same reason. It was too easy to be dragged down into someone else’s tragedies when you were barely treading water yourself.
“Whatever happened to Curtis?” Merilee asked, unable to stop herself.
Sugar’s blue eyes darkened behind her glasses, her hands now clasped tightly on the table in front of her. “He joined the army, just like everyone else. Don’t know what became of him, just that he never came back here after the war.” Her eyes met Merilee’s, and there was something in them, something unreadable and foreign. Something Merilee recognized but could not name.
She almost sighed with relief when Lindi reappeared with three cups of coffee, one in a to-go cup, and an assortment of sugar and creamers she pulled from her purse and dumped on the table. “I’m sorry to leave so soon—but I need to get back to the office to deal with an emergency. Good to see you, Sugar—and I’ll talk to you later,” she said to Merilee.
She held the door open for someone, and Merilee gave an internal groan as Heather Blackford entered, looking regal in purple workout gear. She wondered if she only imagined Sugar groaning, too. Heather spotted them immediately and headed to their table.
“Sugar!” she said, leaning down to kiss the older woman on her cheek despite Sugar’s body language, which clearly stated she wished she were anywhere else but there. “It’s so good to see you. This is so cute seeing the two of you together—landlady and tenant. It must be nice to finally find a tenant you get along with,” she said to Sugar, who merely stared back at her with compressed lips.
Turning to Merilee, she said, “My first gala committee meeting is Thursday evening at seven thirty at my house in Prescott Estates. I’ll put your name on the list at the gate so you’ll have access. I’d like you to head the auction committee because I can tell you’re smart and we really need a smart person to handle the solicitation of donations.”
“But I—”
A look of concern crossed Heather’s face. “You do want to help, don’t you? This is for your children’s school and for all the wonderful programs that will give them what they need to succeed in life. All of us moms need to do our part.”
“Yes, I realize, but my work schedule—”
“I already asked Lily and she said you don’t work Thursday evenings, so that’s when I’ve scheduled all the gala committee meetings. See? It’s all settled. See you at seven thirty on Thursday.”
She smiled and started to leave before remembering something else.
“By the way, Sugar, your back tire is flat, so you might want to get that fixed. So glad we could talk. Bye-bye,” she said, before turning around and heading toward another table, a short strip of toilet paper clinging to her sneaker.
Merilee half stood to go tell her, but Sugar held her back with a surprisingly strong arm. “Don’t you dare. She broke Wade’s heart in a bad way, and that’s just karma.”
Merilee had to bite her lower lip to keep from laughing. “Can I call someone to come fix your tire? I know how to change a tire; it’s just that I’m wearing my last clean work blouse.”
Sugar sighed heavily. “Just take me home. I’ll call Wade when I get there. A buddy of his has an auto repair place—they can figure out what to do with it.”
“I don’t have to be at work until one o’clock, so that works with my schedule,” Merilee said. “Thanks for asking,” she added, knowing the sarcasm would be lost on the older woman. She indicated Sugar’s untouched coffee. “We can wait until you’re finished.”
