Scarlett handed me a potato and a peeler. “You look like you are a million miles away. What are you thinking about?”
“Life, decisions, and bewilderment,” I answered.
“Those are all heavy topics.”
“Yep, they are. You said Matilda helped you. How?”
“She listened to me,” Scarlett answered. “Between her and Ada Lou, they made me understand that not all men were like my boyfriend. And that maybe he had seen his father treat women like he did me and thought that was normal. I forgave him, but I still never want to see him again.”
I watched her peel a potato and followed her example. “If you did, he would find that you are so strong now that he had better be scared ofyou.”
I was so proud of myself for peeling one potato, and then I realized that she had done four and already cut them up for frying. She took mine from my hands, sliced it, and added it to the bowl. “I just hope that theory of yours is never tested. I didn’t realize until now that all three of us came from dysfunctional backgrounds. Here I am, dating a guy who has a big loving family, and for a while I’ve been worried that I might be wanting to marry him because everything is normal in the Mendoza household.”
“Shhhh ...,” Rosie shushed us. “Do you hear that?”
“Praise the Lord!” Scarlett shouted.
I didn’t hear anything, but I figured Jesus must be coming to earth for a second time, or maybe God was about to let Rosie see Him in person. I had readLeft Behindyears and years ago, and as excited as they were, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them grow wings.
“What is it?” I whispered.
“That sound is the snowplows on the highway, and I even hear one going north, which means that I might get to see Grady tomorrow,” Scarlett squealed and danced around the floor. “And you can see Jackson, and Rosie can go to confession and ask for forgiveness because she played poker with us.”
Rosie did her cross thing and bowed her head. Scarlett kept jumping around like a kid on a sugar high. New friends, new rhythms, I guessed.
Long after dark, the snowplows had finished, and everything was quiet again. I could hear Scarlett talking to Grady on her phone and Rosie singing hymns as I went from the bathroom to my bedroom. My phone was ringing, so I picked it up and hit the “Accept” button without checking to see who was calling.
“Well, hello, gorgeous.” Jackson’s face filled the screen.
“Don’t lie to me,” I said. “I just got out of the shower and my hair is dripping wet.”
“No lies, just facts,” he chuckled. “What’s going on in your world?”
“Then thank you for that. I played poker today,” I answered.
“With whom?” His eyes got wide, and his smile faded.
“Rosie and Scarlett. We played with candy instead of money, and Rosie wiped me and Scarlett out. She’s going to have a sugar high if she’s eating it all tonight back in her room.”
“I can’t believe she even considered touching cards. Ada Lou said she was so religious that she wouldn’t even bet on Scrabble games,” Jackson said.
I stretched out on the bed, propped pillows up behind me, and was very careful to only show my face. He didn’t need to see that I was only wearing a Minnie Mouse T-shirt that barely covered my faded panties.
“There was a condition,” I admitted. “I had to promise that I would stay in this area until her birthday on July 4.”
“Well, then, God bless Rosie,” he chuckled. “Neither of us will be leaving for a while, since I’ve promised my dad to stick around for a year.”
“How did your day go?”
“Fast and furious. The crew living in the trailers is getting cabin fever and ready to get back to work. We’ve fielded calls all day from the local staff. They work on wages, not salary, so they lose a lot of money when the rig is shut down. I’m so glad to be back in my trailer tonight. I slept on the sofa in the office last night, and I feel like I owe you an apology.”
“For what?” I asked.
“I should have insisted that you take the bed those two nights you stayed with me.”
“No apology necessary. The couch was fine, and it beat the last motel I rented. I had to deal with a rat in the parking lot, and a roach and spider in the room.”
“Sounds like a few places I’ve been. Have you seen a picture of those spiders bigger than a dinner plate over in Africa?”
