smiting her for her sins, but if that's how Mamie read it, who was Daphne to argue the point?
Still, she felt the need to let James know what had happened, but instead of texting, she called.
It was late, but James was still up. He'd had a couple of beers with the pizza he'd had delivered and had gotten caught up in a movie. So, when the phone rang, he almost let it go to voicemail, but then saw it was from his sister.
"Hey, Daffy. What's up?" James asked.
Daphne rolled her eyes. The old childhood nickname had always been a bone of contention between them, and she had not changed her opinion of it. However, she chose to ignore it.
"Did Mamie call you about Joel?"
James hit mute on the TV and sat up.
"No. What about Joel?"
"They walked in on a robbery in progress in their house at noon. Joel was stabbed, and the robber was coming at Mamie with the knife when she crowned him with a cast iron skillet."
"Oh my God! Are you serious? Mamie did that?"
Daphne sighed. "That's kind of what I thought. I would have expected her to scream and run. I think there's more of Mama in her than she knew."
James groaned. "Is Joel okay? Please tell me he didn't die!"
"He didn't die. Mamie said he came out of surgery. No internal organs were injured. She's at the hospital with him. I asked if she needed me to come be with her, and she said the strangest thing. She said, after what she did to Gracie by abandoning her, she did not deserve the consideration of family coming to comfort her. She told me to stay home! Can you believe? If I hadn't heard her say the words, I wouldn’t have believed it."
James was silent for a moment, but the knot in his stomach was there and tightening.
"She's right, you know."
Daphne was trying not to cry. "Whatever. I can't change what I did. None of us can. And since I'm not going to cut my wrists for being an asshole, then my only other option is to keep doing what I do and try to never hurt another human for as long as I live."
"Agreed. I'm working on resolving my sins as we speak," James said.
"By doing what?" Daphne asked.
"You'll know soon enough. Thanks for letting me know about Joel. And since she doesn't want company, I'll send her my prayers. It's the accepted standard to fix everything these days."
"Isn't that the truth?" Daphne said. "Take care."
"You, too," James said, and then she was gone.
He sat staring at the television screen, but the sound was still muted. The thoughts that had been hanging onto his conscience took root. His eyes narrowed, and then he dug the heels of his hands into his eyes to keep from crying. He was so fucking tired of crying. This had to be the answer. Or he was done.
Gracie showed up for work at 7:45.
Donna was smiling as she let her in the back door.
"I have a walking boot. My world is back on track. Come in. Are you ready for all this?"
"I am so ready," Gracie said, and followed her through a hall, past storage rooms and a bathroom, and then past Donna's office into the workroom.
"Girls, this is Gracie Dunham. Gracie, you met Reba yesterday, and these two are sisters. Their names are Laura and Michelle."
They waved and smiled.
"Welcome to the Majestic," Reba said.
"Thanks. Any advice is welcome," Gracie said.
Laura, the redhead, laughed out loud. "I don't think that will be necessary. We all saw your work from yesterday. I am in awe."
Gracie smiled. "Thank you."
"Now, down to business," Donna said. "I have your worktable set up and a clean apron. We have more orders for that same funeral that have to go out before noon today, and most of them are sprays. We're working on those right now, so start there, card them, and put them in the cooler for noon delivery. The details of how this place works will become evident as you go. Never hesitate to ask questions. Never hesitate to ask me for advice, So... okay, then. Let's get to work!"
The morning flew by for Gracie. Staying busy helped. She had a crash course in ringing up sales, while Donna was the one who waited on walk-ins, and wrote up work orders.
They began staggering lunch breaks at eleven. Donna sent Reba and Gracie off first, which meant Gracie was going to have to talk girl-talk and