Page 24 of The Night the Lights Went Out
“Thank you, Merilee,” he said. “I don’t usually get a chance to know many of Heather’s friends, but it’s been real nice talking to you.”
He said good-bye, then slipped behind the wheel of his Mercedes, making her wonder if he’d have preferred a pickup truck instead. Maybe he kept one for when he went up to his fishing cabin, hiding it from sight so Heather wouldn’t have to look at it.
She watched until he disappeared around the bend, the puffs of red clay and a slightly unsettled feeling the only reminders that he’d been there at all.
Eight
SUGAR
The shrill of the telephone startled Sugar from where she sat typing another letter to Willa Faye, her fingers paralyzed over the old round keys before she realized what the sound was. With her legs feeling rusty from sitting for so long, she wrested herself from her seat and made it to the rotary dial phone on the hall table on the eleventh ring.
“Hello, Sugar. This is Daniel Blackford. How are you?”
“Hello, Dan. Well, I’m still breathing. I hope you’re calling about my tomatoes and not about me selling my land. I haven’t changed my mind and don’t plan to.”
A low chuckle sounded in her ear. “I know that, Sugar. No worries. I’m actually calling about your new tenant, Merilee Dunlap. Her daughter, Lily, hurt her foot at a party at my house yesterday, and I was hoping you could go over and take a look and let me know how she’s doing. I told Merilee to call me if she needed anything, but I haven’t heard from her. You and I both know that doesn’t mean everything is fine. I think Merilee would die of embarrassment if she knew I was asking after her. She seems very self-sufficient, and I don’t think she’d take kindly if I called her myself.”
She waited a moment before responding, biting back the first words that came to mind. Daniel Blackford was one of the few people she could still tolerate, and she knew he didn’t take favors lightly. And she certainly couldn’t explain her reluctance to talk with Merilee Dunlap, that every time she went over there it was like being confronted with a younger version of herself. It had been hard enough living through her youth the first time around, and she had no intention of reliving it. But standing on that front porch was like standing in a wind tunnel that sucked her into Merilee’s life whether she wanted to go or not. “I’ll go take a look and let you know. I suppose I could bring some of my tomatoes over, and some of my leftover corn bread from supper, so I have an excuse. If she thinks I’m just being friendly, she’ll get suspicious. And she needs the food. I don’t believe that woman knows how to cook.”
“That’s not considered a sin nowadays, Sugar.”
“Well, maybe it should be. Back in the day I could feed my brothers and my daddy an entire meal with just a handful of collards, some flour, and a couple of eggs. I’m not saying it was tasty, but it put food in our bellies.”
“I hear you. Please call me after you see Lily and let me know how they’re getting along.”
“I will. And, Dan? Please make sure my silver tray gets returned to me. It was my mama’s, you know.”
There was a small pause and Sugar smiled with satisfaction.
“How did you know about the tray?”
“I went to church today. You know the parking lot at First Methodist after services is better than a megaphone and a gossip column rolled into one.”
He laughed out loud. “You don’t miss a beat, do you, Sugar?”
“No. I surely don’t.”
There was a long pause on the other end of the line. “Good to know.”
They said their good-byes; then Sugar placed the cover over her typewriter before heading to the kitchen to get the corn bread and tomatoes. The overcast sky gave her some respite from the hot sun, but still the driveway between her house and the cottage seemed to go on for miles. But she’d have to be crippled and forced to crawl before she’d spend the money for gas and take her car.
She looked toward the woods and for a moment she imagined she saw a mirage, a milky image of a small white dog by the edge of the trees.Dixie.She stopped, staring harder, pleased that she remembered the name even though she rarely thought of the sweet dog she’d had as a little girl. The last dog she’d ever had. She blinked and the dog was gone.
She wanted to believe that it had run back into the woods. Wanted to think it was safe. Poor little dog. They had both once believed the woods to be a refuge, shade on a hot summer day or quiet when too many voices in the house made your ears ring. A place to be alone. But it had stopped being that years ago.
It took her a full minute to catch her breath before climbing the steps and knocking on the front door. Colin opened the door before she’d rapped the second time. “Did you see the little dog? Did you? He was right there by the woods!”
Merilee came to stand behind her son, a look of panic widening her eyes.
“My eyes aren’t as good as they used to be.” Sugar pressed her lips together. “Can’t be sure if I saw anything at all.”
“Mom! I told you there was a dog! And if you won’t let me feed him, he’s going to starve!” He ran down the steps and headed around to the backyard.
“Don’t go past the tire swing!” Merilee shouted after him. She looked at Sugar apologetically. “I’m sorry for shouting. It’s not been a good weekend. Lily hurt herself at the party yesterday and is afraid she can’t try out for cheerleading, which I had no idea she wanted to try out for until yesterday. She doesn’t want to put any weight on it, so she’s making me do her every bidding.” Her gaze slid to the dish and the paper bag Sugar was holding. “Can I take those for you?”
“You may. The corn bread is left over, and I’ve got too many tomatoes for me to eat, so you might as well take them. Just make sure you bring back the plates.”
Pink flooded Merilee’s cheeks; no doubt she was remembering the silver tray. She opened the door wider. “Would you like to come in?”
