like my father and green eyes and freckles like my white mother. Teresa was the pretty Mexican girl with good hair and the cute figure,” Kayla said.
“Oh, get over yourself,” Teresa scolded.
“Well, evidently y’all haven’t kept in touch since you left. Didn’t you ever wonder about each other?” Noah asked.
“I didn’t have anything to say to her,” Kayla answered. “And maybe we did act like sisters. Haven’t you ever heard of sibling rivalry?”
“Yes, I have, and I’ve seen it before,” Noah replied, “but I believe I’m seeing it in Technicolor right now.”
“Well, I sent Miss Janie a Christmas card every year, and I usually wrote her a letter on her birthday in March,” Teresa said, and then turned to face Kayla. “Did you remember to do that?”
“Nope,” Kayla said. “Don’t judge me. I barely made enough money to pay the bills. I didn’t have money for things like cards, and I hate to write letters.”
“What did Denver do?” Noah asked.
“He couldn’t hold down a job for more than a few weeks at a time, and whatever money he made went to buy pot for him and his buddies. Go ahead and tell me you’re not surprised.” Kayla shot another dirty look toward her foster sister.
“I married at nineteen and divorced last year,” Teresa said. “I can’t judge you. My husband couldn’t keep his pants zipped around other women. I stuck with him until he left me for a woman that had two kids by him already, so it’s only a matter of which one of us has been the biggest fool,” she said. “I’m going to get Miss Janie ready for bed before I go upstairs.”
“If you’re taking care of her, then what’s my job?” Kayla asked.
“As Miss Janie gets more and more feeble, it’ll take both of you to care for her,” Noah answered. “I’m going to leave it up to you to work out a schedule about the cooking and care.”
“What about housecleaning?” Kayla asked.
“We have a lady to come in and do that.” Noah cut himself another slice of chocolate cake.
“I can take over that part,” Kayla offered. “I’ve been working for a bitchy old girl the past six months, taking care of her fancy house. I’ll be glad to keep this one clean.”
“All right then.” Noah started out of the room. “I’ll call the cleaning service from Sulphur Springs and tell them we won’t need them anymore. I write paychecks on Friday. Do you need an advance until then?”
“No, I’m good. Is Teresa gettin’ paid?” Kayla asked.
“Yes, I am,” Teresa answered.
“Don’t you feel guilty taking money from someone who did so much for both of us?” Kayla asked.
“She’s left y’all a bit of an inheritance,” Noah said. “Consider your payment for this work as part of that.”
Kayla was shocked to even think that Miss Janie would leave her something after the way she had treated her foster mother—leaving in the middle of the night with nothing but a few lines written on a piece of notebook paper and put under the sugar bowl on the table.
Teresa checked on Miss Janie one more time on her way upstairs that evening. She was sound asleep and looked more peaceful than she had since Teresa had arrived, but then she had her babies at home with her. Now she could skip over the line separating the living from those who were already in eternity.
Teresa’s shoes felt as if they were weighted with lead as she climbed the stairs. She hadn’t wanted to be paid to take care of Miss Janie, but Noah had insisted when he’d written her paycheck. Teresa’s heaviness of body and soul had nothing to do with losing her job but with knowing that she didn’t deserve any kind of inheritance from Miss Janie.
She hadn’t opened her box of memories in a while, but that evening something kept nagging at her to get it down from the closet shelf. Maybe it was Kayla’s return. She took down the box, set it on the bed, and removed the contents one by one. First was the only picture she had of her with her mother. Angelina, or Angel, as she insisted that Teresa call her. Angel had a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other and had struck a sexy pose. Teresa was sitting on the other side of the porch steps leading into the trailer. In the background, one of the many guys who came and went was standing in the doorway