Page 78 of The Night the Lights Went Out
Michael raised his eyebrows, then ushered them both toward the door. “Good-bye, Merilee. Have fun tonight.”
She smiled. “I will. Thanks.”
He turned to Sugar. “Good night, Miss Sugar. Always a pleasure.”
“Humph,” she said before turning toward the children with a wide smile. “Let me know if you see any new birds, Colin. Most of the migrating birds should be here by now. And when you get back, I think it will be time to make us some pumpkin bread.”
“Yay,” they shouted as they rushed to Sugar and gave her hugs while she pretended to be annoyed and pushed slightly off-balance by their exuberance.
When they were gone, Sugar turned to Merilee with an appraising eye. “I suppose that beats those yoga pants you usually wear on weekends.” She studied Merilee’s ears, where she’d put in the tiny diamond stud earrings that Michael had given her when they were still dating. They were the only sparkly earrings she owned.
“I brought these on the hunch that you didn’t have anything appropriate to wear.” She opened her palm. “It seems I was right.”
Merilee looked down at Sugar’s outstretched hand. A pair of large clip-on earrings in the shape of starbursts and encrusted with tiny sparkling clear stones winked up at her. “They’re beautiful,” she said, her hand reaching for them, then drawing back, afraid she’d misunderstood Sugar’s intentions.
“They’re costume, but good costume. They were made back when people still cared about quality and workmanship. Willa Faye and her mother bought these at Rich’s department store in downtown Atlanta for me to wear on my wedding day. I figured they weren’t much use sitting in my jewelry box, so you might as well wear them.”
“I’d hug you if I weren’t wearing this dress.”
Sugar simply looked at her. “Well, are you going to try them on?”
Merilee was already pulling out the studs from her ears and placing them on an end table by the sofa. Then she carefully took the earrings from Sugar’s palm and stood in front of the small hall table by the door and snapped them in place. Moving her head from side to side to admire the effect, she smiled. “I think these might be the most beautiful earrings I’ve ever seen. And I work in a jewelry store, so that says a lot.” She faced Sugar. “I don’t know how I can ever thank you enough.”
“You can start by not losing them.”
Merilee studied Sugar, seeing the young bride with the sparkling earrings on her wedding day, how happy she’d looked in the photo. And tried not to think of all that had happened since to change her. “That night—after you got married and Tom drove you home and you saw smoke in the chimney of the old farmhouse. Did you ever find out who it was?”
They both turned toward the door at the sound of another car pulling up. “That must be Wade,” Sugar said, and Merilee wondered if that was relief she saw in the old woman’s face.
Merilee felt that zing that was becoming much too familiar start in her toes and shoot its way to her brain before turning around and zipping back through her body. If she didn’t know any better, she would have thought she might be having a hot flash.
Because she was standing near the door, she opened it before Wade could knock.
“Well,” he said, eyeing her appreciatively. “Who’d have thought you could clean up so nice?”
“Thank you, Wade,” she said, moving back so he could enter. “I think.”
He smiled down at her. “Maybe I should try that again. Hello, Merilee. I do say that you look good enough to eat.”
The zinging was now bouncing between them like a rubber ball, and she wondered if they turned off the lights if it would leave an electric trail.
“You don’t look so bad yourself,” Merilee said, her voice unexpectedly husky as she admired his broad shoulders and long limbs inside his black tuxedo.
“Do I need to chaperone you two or can I go home now and watch my shows?” Sugar interjected.
Merilee stepped back, wondering why she was so out of breath. “I think I’m safe with Wade, but thank you, Sugar. May we drive you back since we’re heading that way?”
Sugar frowned. “Only because you need something for your shoulders besides that old wool coat that’s two sizes too big for you and I happen to have an evening wrap. Otherwise I’m afraid you’re going to get new-monia and old-monia before the night is through.”
She headed outside, followed by Merilee and Wade, who took Merilee’s key and locked the door behind them. “I have no idea why I’m doing this, since all anybody needs to do to get inside is look under the flowerpot.”
“Wrong,” Merilee said. “I’ve moved it to beneath the front mat.”
“That makes me feel so much better,” he said, placing his tuxedo jacket around her shoulders. “Don’t want you to catch old-monia,” he said, and they both shared a giggle that earned them a glare from Sugar.
Merilee stopped short in the drive, staring at a sporty Audi sedan. “Where’s your truck?”
“That’s for business. This is for pleasure.” He sent her an evil grin.
