Page 38 of The Night the Lights Went Out
Because I would bet money—and I’m not a betting person—that each one of those women has something in their closets they’d rather not air. Everybody does. Especially those who are always eager to cast the first stone.
• • •
SUGAR
Not for the first time, Sugar cursed her own vanity and wished for a cane. Or at least the courage to wear flat shoes with a dress. Not that her heels were that high, but even her inch-high heels made the walk along the drive between her house and Merilee’s more like an exercise in torture. And the nylons simply added insult to injury. But she would rather be turned into a pillar of salt than show up at an Atlanta Woman’s Club meeting without either.
Apparently, there was more wrong with her car than just a flat tire, and it would take at least a week until she had it back. Merilee had been with her when she’d received the diagnosis from Wade and had offered to take Sugar to today’s meeting. Her offer seemed to have surprised them both. Because that was something that people with a connection did. Something a friend would do.
Sugar spotted Wade’s truck out front with the tailgate down, meaning he was probably in the middle of a delivery. It distracted her so that she didn’t at first notice Colin sitting on the front steps, staring at something on one of the wooden railings.
She stopped in front of him. “Good morning, Colin,” she said.
He didn’t look up. “Good morning, Miss Sugar. Have you ever watched what happens when you put a thumbprint of syrup somewhere and wait for the ants, to see what they’ll do?”
“I can’t say that I have,” she said, staring dubiously at the steps and wondering if she could manage them without humiliating herself by taking off her shoes.
“Do you need help up the steps?” he asked.
He was looking up at her, his wide blue eyes so much like Jimmy’s that for a brief moment hewasJimmy. And he was telling her about a nest he’d found, and how careful he’d been not to touch anything.
“Yes,” she said, her voice weak. “That would be very nice. Thank you.”
He held out an elbow and she took it, admiring the way he waited for her on each step until she’d reached the top.
“You’re a real expert on this,” she said. “Have you had a lot of practice?”
“Not a lot. But when we visit my grandma, I have to help her get out of her chair and stuff like that all the time. She’s not as old as you, but she likes to pretend she is.”
Sugar made an effort not to smile. “Is this your mother’s mother?”
Colin nodded. “Uh-huh. She says she’s had a tiring life so it’s hard for her to walk.”
“Do you visit a lot?”
Colin shook his head. “No. I think visits make Mom pretty tired, too, so we don’t go too much.”
“Have you seen the dog lately?”
“No, ma’am. But I did see a hawk yesterday. I couldn’t tell what kind it was because it was too far away, but it was definitely a hawk.”
Wade spotted them through the glass on the front door and hurried to open it for them. After kissing Sugar on her cheek, he crossed his arms and gave her a stern look. “You walked in this heat?”
“I’ve lived in Georgia since long before you were born, young man, and I’m not going to give in to it now. And I have my hat.” She patted the feathered and netted concoction on top of her head. She kept it in a special box wrapped in tissue, bringing it out only for special occasions.
“Oh, yes,” he said. “It’s beautiful enough to keep you from having heatstroke.”
Merilee appeared from the bedroom hallway. “I thought I was going to pick you up.”
“I did, too, but you’re late. I don’t want to be late for my meeting. It’s frowned upon at the Atlanta Woman’s Club.”
Merilee checked her watch. “But I’m not supposed to pick you up for another fifteen minutes.”
“Exactly. In my day, on time didn’t mean showing up at the last minute. I waited on my front porch for five minutes and you never appeared, so I figured I might as well come here so you don’t have to waste more time by making a stop.”
Merilee blinked slowly, like a person trying to control her anger, which confused Sugar, because all she was doing was stating a fact. “Well, we have to wait a few more minutes because Heather Blackford is coming to pick up the kids and take them all to the movies. And I have to find my shoes.”
Sugar’s eyes met Wade’s. “Heather Blackford is coming here?” he asked.
