Page 71 of Leave It to Us
She took a deep breath and then resumed her giddy excitement, yelling, “Hey, y’all, I’ve got some news!” to let them know she was there before she made her way farther into the room.
As expected, Yvonne almost jumped out of her skin, trying to move away from Deacon like Tami was the police coming to arrest her for liking a man. Deacon, to his credit, hadn’t reacted at all like he was caught doing something wrong. And just as quickly as Yvonne had moved a couple of steps away from him, he’d casually ended up right beside her when he asked, “What’s up? You found the hidden treasure in the old blue house?” he joked.
“Ha ha,” Tami replied. “If I had, I’d be on the next ferry back to town so I can do some real shopping.”
Deacon laughed. “I bet you would.”
“Oh, she definitely would,” Yvonne added with a grin. “What’s going on?”
Normally, Tami would’ve thought of some grand way to make this announcement, but to hell with it—she was too damn excited for that. “I got the job!” she blurted out. “The job I applied for at the record company and interviewed for just before we came down here. I got it, Yvonne! I got it!”
Seven weeks ago, Tami would’ve been on edge about sharing this news with Yvonne. She would’ve been bracing herself for her sister’s litany about the job somehow being beneath her; after all, she was a college graduate and should be looking for something with more growth and earning potential. All of which would make Tami feel like a disappointment, even in the midst of an accomplishment. And she’d get off the phone with irritating thoughts about not being good enough or working hard enough and never being able to please the people who had at one point meant the most to her.
But today, Yvonne’s smile came quickly, and she hurried to close the space between them, enfolding Tami in a warm hug. “Oh, Tam, I’m so happy for you! I know how much you wanted this. So, so happy for you.”
The tears that had sprung to Tami’s eyes when she’d been talking to Gabriel a few moments ago were back as she embraced her sister, closing her eyes to the feeling of Yvonne’s arms around her and the sincere sound of her sister’s words.
Still, when they broke apart, she asked, “Really?”
Yvonne nodded. “Really. Look, I know I got on you about telling Deacon about the job and not me, but I understand why you didn’t. And now, being back in this house and seeing how you’ve immediately bonded with all that you were when you were here as a child, I believe in my heart that this is the job for you.” She shook her head. “Not that you need my approval in any way,” she insisted. “But I think I forgot how much of Grandma’s music was in you. How you used to hang on her every word about touring, recording, and anything else in the industry. While me and Lana were just excited to have a beautiful grandmother whose face was on album covers.”
Tami chuckled. “Yeah, y’all did use to go home and brag to everybody who’d listen about our famous grandmother.”
“Congratulations, Tami,” Deacon said, coming in to give her a hug.
She hugged him back and whispered, “Thanks.”
Then she released a heavy sigh. “I’ve got to find Lana to tell her, but I’m just so happy about this.”
“As you should be,” Yvonne said. “Hey, when you find Lana, tell her we’re going down to Charity’s café for a celebration dinner tonight.”
“Oh yes!” Tami said, doing her happy dance again. “I love me a celebration dinner! Especially when it’s celebrating me.” She was grinning again as she ran out of the room.
At a little past eight that evening, the Butler sisters walked onto the porch of the summerhouse.
“I never used to like oxtails, but whatever Charity’s recipe is, that food was amazing,” Tami said as she plopped down into one of the folding chairs. They still hadn’t put the newly painted rocking chairs on the porch because they were waiting until the outside of the house was painted. But Mr.Pete had done a wonderful job on the fresh and bright chairs that were now sitting under one of the tents Deacon’s crew had erected in the yard to cover some of their tools whenever there was inclement weather. Some of them brought tools and supplies over on the ferry every day, but since the sisters were staying at the house, Deacon had felt that they could safely leave a few things on-site to cut down on transport.
“Well, I should hope it was, considering you ate my entire plate,” Yvonne said as she leaned against the railing.
It was a nice evening; the humidity had decreased significantly, and now the evening breeze was just cool enough to be relaxing. She wished she could open her window and sleep under the breeze tonight, but the central air was running to keep the entire house cool when the temperatures were high during the day, so she wouldn’t tamper with the thermostat tonight.
“No, I just had a little taste,” Tami said, knowing that wasn’t the total truth.
From where she’d taken a seat in another folding chair across from Tami, Lana shook her head. “Girl, you know you ate her entire plate of food. She had to make a whole other order.”
Yvonne chuckled. “And I ordered something different too, ’cause I didn’t want you deciding you wanted seconds.”
“It was just so good,” Tami said, remembering. “Something about that gravy. And then that peach cobbler. If I didn’t have this new job, I’d move down here just to enjoy the food.”
Lana sat back and rested her hands on her still very flat stomach. “The smells were bothering me too much to really enjoy my food. But the fish and pinto beans weren’t bad.”
“Do you have morning sickness all day?” Tami asked as she looked at Lana, wondering how her svelte sister was going to look with a baby bump.
Lana shook her head. “Not all day—and it’s usually not the most popular nausea or vomiting. Headaches and fatigue have been my biggest issues so far. But tonight, all the different smells were making my stomach turn a bit.”
“I was gonna say, you don’t seem to be bothered when we eat in the house,” Yvonne said, concern already lacing her tone.
“I don’t. That’s why I think it was being in the café with all the different foods and scents. Here, I’m pretty used to the scent of sawdust or wood or paint, so that doesn’t bother me. And the food we heat up doesn’t either. Maybe I’ll just have to enjoy Charity’s to-go for my remaining time here,” Lana said.
