never leave my mother, she’d always been the one to leave. Usually, because someone else caught her eye.
I had a feeling that she was in love with the feeling of falling in love. I was never going to be that person. Even if I had inherited the in-love-with-falling-in-love gene, which I had. Just because I felt something, didn’t mean I had to act on it.
In the immortal words of Tina Turner, what’s love got to do with it?
Chapter 4
Beau
“She could charm the dew right off the honeysuckle.”
~ Barbara-Jean Nelson
I stood posted up at the hors d’oeuvres table calculating how much longer I’d have to stay so that it wouldn’t look like I was leaving just because Rachel was there. The ceremony had ended twenty minutes ago, and I was thinking if I waited until the couple was announced then I could slip out during the first dance.
Mrs. Scoggs walked up and reached across me to grab a pig in a blanket and a cocktail napkin as she whispered, “Her pants are so tight I can see her religion.”
I scooted to the side so I wouldn’t be in the way. “I’m sorry?”
Mrs. Scoggs was in her eighties, and for as long as I could remember she’d been very opinionated, and she wasn’t shy to share those opinions. She was usually with her three cohorts, Mrs. Porter, Mrs. Higgins, and Mrs. Nelson. Some people in town likened them to the Golden Girls. Mrs. Scoggs was Sophia, she said whatever was on her mind. Mrs. Nelson would be Blanche; she was a flirt. Mrs. Higgins was Rose, she was the most naïve of the bunch. And Mrs. Porter, who was my brother’s wife Destiny’s grandmother was Dorothy, she was always level-headed and kind.
“Rachel Danvers,” she mouthed.
I was confused. “She’s wearing a dress.” A tight, short dress, but a dress all the same.
“I’m just sayin’, she looks like she should be standing on a corner, not in a place of worship. Bless her heart.” Mrs. Scoggs bit into the tiny snack. “How are you, doin’? You know with her showin’ up out of the blue like this. At a wedding, no less.” She shook her head.
“It was a long time ago.”
“I remember when my Ronald caught ya’ll neckin’ back behind our barn.”
Ronald caught us doing a lot more than neckin’ if memory served.
“Mrs. Scoggs, that’s a lovely hat.” My mom smiled as she threaded her arm through mine.
“Well thank you, Dolly. I got it at the Five and Dime.”
“It suits you.” My mom patted my arm. “Do you mind if I borrow my son for a minute? I need him to help with something.”
“Of course!” Mrs. Scoggs waved me away. “You go help your mama.”
My mom squeezed my arm and we didn’t say a word until we got outside.
As soon as we walked out of the reception hall I stopped and turned to her. “What did ya need, Mama?”
“Nothin’. I just thought you could use a break.”
The woman truly did know all. That was exactly what I needed. I took a deep breath. The fresh air filled my lungs.
“Did you know she was back in town?” my mom questioned.
“No.”
When she didn’t say anything else, I looked at her expectantly. “That’s it. That’s all you’re gonna say.”
A sweet grin lifted on her lips as she tilted her head to the side. “I would ask how you’re doing, but I doubt you would have the answer. I know she hurt you, but you loved her. She was your first love. You haven’t been with anybody since. And now she’s back. This can’t be easy for you. Or her.”
“I thought you hated her.”
“I feel sorry for her. She lost you. And I know how lucky someone is to be loved by you.”
Damn, I seriously won the lottery when it came to parents. I pulled my mom into a hug and kissed the top of her head, feeling overwhelmed by how much she’d nailed what I was feeling, although I had no clue what that was.
I had loved her, and I wasn’t sure I was completely over her. I wished that I was but seeing her again was hard. Much harder than it should’ve been. I’d heard someone say that the opposite of love wasn’t hate, it was indifference. I hadn’t believed that until today.
The truth was, I was still angry at her. Which meant I still felt something for her. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t give two shits that she was there. It was the only explanation.
“And