so cavalier about the gift of life, especially knowing that I’d already lost one baby—the second miscarriage came later. Mae was always the life of the party, but the hard drinking and sleeping with other women’s husbands didn’t start until after your father left. She fell through a stained-glass window at a Christmas Eve celebration when you were four. It was then that I truly started to worry. Ed and I tried to help her, but it never worked.”
“You can’t help someone until they’re ready,” Pam said. “That’s something I know personally.”
“We reached the same conclusion, that we couldn’t help her if she didn’t want our help. But we thought maybe we could help you. When you were eight, you stayed after school for a special choir rehearsal and she forgot to pick you up. Nobody could find her, and the music teacher called me to come and get you. When Mae finally thought to come looking for you hours later, I was furious, even threatened not to give you over to her and she laughed! ‘Why, Julia Lynn, that’s kidnapping.’ Ed and I scraped together money and consulted with a lawyer, but this was right after my second miscarriage. The legal advice was that we didn’t have strong enough grounds for the state of Mississippi to separate a girl who hadn’t been harmed from her rightful mother. We were also told that, in court, Mae’s attorney would paint me as a grief-ridden, hormone-addled woman out to steal someone else’s child because I couldn’t have one of my own.”
“Oh, Julia. That’s awful.” Pam heart squeezed as she thought of what her aunt had been through. And then, after everything else the woman had endured, her teenage niece accidentally got pregnant. Insult to injury—like mother, like daughter. No wonder Julia had so often seemed bitter; she’d had cause to be.
“I should have fought harder,” Julia lamented, “instead of leaving you with her. I was angry and ashamed. On some level, I was afraid the lawyer was right about me.”
“He wasn’t. You were trying to look out for me. The same way you’re always trying to look out for Uncle Ed with that awful tea and the bacon that isn’t really bacon,” Pam teased gently.
Julia gave her a watery smile. “Thank you for understanding. I promise the place we’re going has excellent tea and real clotted cream.”
Considering Julia’s confession in the car and Pam’s draining encounter with Faith, tea could have been a dreary affair. Instead, it was charming. The Royal Cup was fanciful in its setup, as if the entire café was a little girl’s dress-up tea party. Stuffed animals lined the shelves of one wall, and the china dishes were of high quality but all mismatched. Julia and Pam were offered a feathered boa and a sequined scarf upon arrival.
“Don’t tell me you have a silly side,” Pam muttered to her aunt.
“Nonsense. I only come here because of the antioxidants in the tea. Don’t let’s mention this to your uncle.”
They had tea with actual cubed sugar and scones with cream and fruit. Considering what a wonderful time Pam was having, it was strange that her thoughts went in the direction they did.
“Julia, I was thinking that maybe, just for the time being, I’d move out to the house. But I wouldn’t want to hurt your feelings. You and Ed have been so good to me!”
Her aunt set a rose pink cup down in its saucer. “This isn’t because of anything we’ve said or done?”
“No, ma’am. Part of it is a convenience issue. I’m usually so tired by the time I finish at night, I might as well sleep at Mae’s. But more than that, I want to prove to myself that I’m honestly making the place inhabitable. Of course, to actually inhabit it, I’ll need some furniture basics. I suppose I could use a sleeping bag, but I’d rather not.”
Julia waved a hand. “Your uncle runs a furniture showroom. We are not letting any niece of ours sleep on the ground, for heaven’s sake. If you’re sure this is what you want, we’ll help.”
“I’m sure.” I think. “Oddly enough, feeling closer to you gives me the confidence to do it. If that makes sense.”
“You feel closer, so you’re ready to move farther away? No, dear, no sense whatsoever,” her aunt said fondly. “We’ll talk to Ed over dinner about some furniture options. And after this weekend’s big jewelry show in Waycomber, my schedule slows down until the holiday craft fairs