“Yes, ma’am,” Taryn, Anna Rose, and Jorja said at the same time.
Linda started toward the door, then turned around and motioned toward Diana. “I’m glad Kaitlin decided not to come so she didn’t have to deal with you people. Come on, Diana, we are leaving!”
Diana took a deep breath and shook her head.Is this the moment?Taryn wondered. Maybe Diana was about to crack.
“I’m not going with you. I don’t want my name tied up with the crap storm that’s about to come down on your family.”
“Traitor,” Linda spat. “You have always been Kaitlin’s best friend. How can you not stand beside her in her time of trouble? She would never forsake you if the tables were turned.”
Diana gently pushed her chair back and stood. “Sorry, but I can’t take that chance. I’ve got a beauty shop to run. You can bet that the news of what Ford did is already all over town, and I could lose customers if I’m associated with you. My next appointment is in thirty minutes, so I’m leaving.”
“Just wait till Kaitlin hears about this! You are never welcome in my home again!” Linda shouted.
“That’s probably for the best,” Diana said.
Taryn wondered if Linda would start tearing out her hair, but she simply stormed out of the fellowship hall through the back door—and left the chair on the floor.
“Y’all have a good day,” Mr.James said, and whistled the whole way out of the building.
Ruby got to her feet. “I got to admit, this has been the most interesting funeral I’ve ever been to.”
Irene stood up and situated Ruby’s walker in front of her. “And it ain’t over yet. The fallout from this will last for years.”
“Yep,” Ora Mae agreed with a nod. “Here’s the keys to Amos’s house.” She passed them out to all three girls. “I’d love to show you around later this afternoon and let you get acquainted with Forrest.” She gave each girl a hug. “Like I said before, we all have an expirationdate, darlin’. I’m going to miss Amos something fierce—but when it’s my time to go, I’ll know that we did something right and good.” She took a step back. “I’ve been working my whole life for that day when I face my maker and hopefully hear him say, ‘Come on in, Ora Mae. Frank and Amos have been waiting for you.’”
“Save me a seat,” Irene said with a smile.
“You know I will, and I don’t know if any of you noticed, but Forrest was sitting on the back pew today and left before we all went up to tell Amos goodbye,” Ora Mae replied. “I wanted him to sit with us, but he said that he had always sat on the back pew and that’s where Amos would expect him to be.”
“We would have made him welcome to sit with us,” Anna Rose said. “I got in big trouble for punching a guy once when he was being mean to Forrest. I had to spend a week in the in-school suspension room for it.”
“He told me about that, and he said that Jorja and Taryn were kind to him, too,” Ora Mae said, wiping away a small tear. “I’ll see you in a little while out at the farm.”
Jorja stepped up for one more hug. “Thank you ... and Amos ...” Her voice cracked. “For everything.”
“You are welcome. We just wish we could have done something at the time, when all those bad things were happening,” Ora Mae said and headed toward the door.
Taryn swallowed several times, but the lump in her throat refused to budge. The week had been—hands down—the most emotional one she’d ever experienced. At that moment, it seemed as if time stood still—like everyone around her had stopped breathing and their hearts weren’t beating. The quietness was deafening.
Clinton finally broke the silence. “What a day!”
“What aweek,” Taryn added as she stood up. “Is anyone hungry? I’ll be glad to treat us all to a burger at the Dairy Queen on our way out there.”
Clinton shook his head. “My treat today. My grandfather wouldn’t like it if I let ladies pay for lunch. Let’s all meet there and talk this through before we continue to the farm.”
Ruby started across the room. “I’m not arguing about who is paying for dinner, and I agree with Clinton: we need to take a breath and talk about this thing that’s happened—especially with you, Jorja.”
“If I’m telling my story, then Anna Rose and Taryn have to fess up, too,” Jorja declared.
“What have y’all been keeping from me?” Irene asked.
“We’ll talk while we eat,” Taryn answered. “It’s too long of a story to start now.”
What if,the voice in her head whispered,Anna Rose decides she hates sweating in the watermelon fields and Jorja goes back to teaching?
Clinton nudged her on the shoulder as they stepped out into the bright sunshine. “You are in that deep-thinking mode again. What’s on your mind?”
“Just that we never know what might happen in the blink of an eye. None of us had planned on telling Nana Irene about our past, but Amos kind of outed us. But to tell the truth, I was thinking right then about watermelon farming and wondering if we are all up to it.”
