Page 75 of The Lady on Esplanade
“That would be great—thanks.”
He didn’t hesitate to rip into the newspaper, shredding it in three swipes and revealing a highly polished wooden backgammon board with intricate inlays around the edges, the triangles hand-painted and outlined with slivers of ivory.“It’s stunning,” I said.“You did a beautiful job refinishing it.”
Trevor took it from my hand and flipped it over.“And this side is for chess or checkers, in case you get bored with backgammon.”
“He did all of the sanding, staining, and polishing himself,” Christopher said.“I just did some of the sanding in the trickier spots on the chess pieces.And Cooper gave us the idea.”
“Yeah,” Trevor said.“Cooper said you liked backgammon, so when I saw this at a garage sale me and Christopher was at—”
Christopher cleared his throat again, making Trevor roll his eyes.“Christopher and I.I bought it for a quarter, figurin’ I could fix it upfor free.It’s suppose’ to be for Christmas, but since you got hurt I thought you might could use it now.The pieces ain’t gonna match, ’cause I’m having to search more junk shops and stuff, but I think that’s cool.”
I flipped through the torn pieces of paper on my lap.“The playing pieces?”
“I’m still workin’ on ’em.”He crossed his arms and frowned.“That dumb Henry say—”
Christopher placed a firm hand on Trevor’s shoulder.“Remember what I said about calling people derogatory names, Trevor.”To me he said, “Henry suggested that Trevor wait until he has all the pieces before giving them to you.That way he could make sure that the finish matched even if the pieces didn’t.But I agree with Trevor that mismatched pieces add to the charm of the set.”
“ ’Cause he jealous I be better at math, and I tell him when he’s wrong, like every time, in front of customers.That’s why they like me better than him.”
Sarah had begun brushing my hair, my eyes watering as she pulled the brush through the snarls, but I could still see Christopher’s face as he mouthed,It’s true.
“Thank you, Trevor.It’s beautiful.I will enjoy looking at it until you finish the pieces.It will give me something to look forward to.”
He grinned his winning smile, and it was clear why customers liked him.
“All right, young man,” Christopher said.“We got to get you to school.”
“Aw, man…” Trevor began, but Christopher was already guiding him out of the room by the shoulders.
“Since it’s present time, I’ve got something for you, too.”Jolene ducked out of the room before returning with a bright blue knee scooter.“Mary Alice at work broke her ankle last year and still had this, so she said we could borrow it for as long as we needed.Dr.Longo said you needed to wait until you get your boot on to use it,but I thought having it ready would remind you that you’re getting better every day.”
“I put the basket on,” Trevor said from the doorway, “ ’cause I know you like to tote stuff.”
“And he only charged me twenty dollars,” Jolene said, her smile not dipping.“I paid extra because it has flowers on it.And I added the pretty streamers on the handlebars.I got the sparkly kind so people can see you coming.I’m also making a monogrammed cushion, which should be finished before I head to Mississippi tomorrow.”
“Oh, my gosh.What’s today?Shouldn’t you have already left?”
“It’s Tuesday.And of course I couldn’t leave.Not while you need tending to.Mama understands.She was fixin’ to come here herself, but I said that between Mimi and me we got it covered.”
“I feel terrible.I know how much you were looking forward to being home all week.”
Jolene leaned over to fluff the pillows behind me, the fresh smell of her gardenia perfume pleasantly calming.“Please don’t feel bad.I’ll be home for turkey and sweet potato casserole and my grandmama’s famous Jell-O salad.I’d bring some back for you, but there’s never any left, so I’ll have to make it for you when I get back.It probably doesn’t travel well anyway.”
“Wow.I can’t say I’ve ever had Jell-O salad, but I’ll look forward to it.”I turned to Sarah, who seemed to be trying very hard to be inconspicuous by curling up on the floor in the desk’s knee hole.“I need to come up with a story to tell Melanie and Jack about why Sarah needs to fly home early.”
“I don’t want to go home yet,” came a small voice from beneath the desk.“Why can’t I go with Jolene?I can chaperone her and Jaxson.”
“You read too much Jane Austen, Sarah, and you can’t go to Mississippi without me.Melanie is already going to throw a fit when she finds out about the accident, so let’s not feed the fire by telling her that I sent you to have Thanksgiving with strangers.”
“We’re not strangers.We’re not even that strange,” Jolene said.“Well, except for Great-aunt Marvella, who threatens to take off her clothes and take her walker around the neighborhood if Alabama wins the Iron Bowl.And Cousin—”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said, interrupting her before she could really get going on her excessively leafy family tree.“I’m sure your family is…” I wasn’t sure how to characterize a family whose members included a funeral director who only drove cars with trunks deep enough to carry seven bodies along with the shovels needed to bury them.However, the McKennas had somehow created Jolene, one of the most complex and wonderful people I’d ever met.“Lovely,” I finished.“But Melanie will never allow Sarah to come visit again if I let her out of my sight.And we can’t stay here and take advantage of Mimi’s hospitality.That might set Melanie’s hair on fire faster than if I let Sarah go to Mississippi.”
Mimi took my empty cup and refilled it before returning it to me.“You are both welcome to stay here as long as you like.Although I do insist that you tell Melanie and Jack the truth, Nola.Don’t make me call them myself.”
With her gray hair tucked neatly into a bun at the back of her head, and with her matronly dress, pearls, and sensible shoes, Mimi looked like pretty much everybody’s idea of a grandmother.Except, of course, for the mismatched eyes that hinted at her psychic abilities and didn’t hide her will of steel.She had suffered through a great deal in her lifetime but hadn’t let her losses define her.That was one of the things I admired about her.And why it was so easy for us to fall into the roles of granddaughter and grandmother.
“I will—I promise.As soon as they get back from the cooking competition with JJ next Sunday.I really don’t want to ruin it for him.I’m in no danger, so there’s no need for them to panic and fly here.They would, too.They’d immediately drop everything, which wouldn’t be fair to JJ.So let’s wait, okay?In the meantime, I need to figure out another living arrangement.I can’t invade your homeindefinitely, and over a holiday.Not to mention Adele’s funeral.It’s too much.I appreciate the offer, but I can’t justify taking advantage of your hospitality.”
