“First of all, Brooke, it’s ahim, not a that. And his name’s Thurston. And I didn’t get him, he got me.Wandered right through my door one evenin’ when I was fryin’ some catfish. He weren’t no more than a bitty little pup, but he didn’t even act a bit shy. Came right up to me, as if I’d been givin’ ’im fish his whole life.” She beamed down at him in adoration. “I looked ’round for his mamma but didn’t see a thing, so he jist stayed.”
“First Scamper the squirrel, and now Thurston the raccoon. You do beat all, Maudra.”
“Well, look at that, Brooke, you remember Scamper’s name. That’s awful sweet a ya.” Maudra actually looked touched.
“Maudra, I guarantee you that tales of the lady who had a squirrel named Scamper will be told in this town long after we are gone.” I grinned at her. “And now that Thurston here is going to be added into the story, they might as well make a statue of you and put it down by the bandstand in the park, make you some kind of living legend or something.”
I hadn’t noticed Donnie reaching into his pocket and taking out a piece of beef jerky. He unexpectedly gave me a wink and tossed the jerky onto my lap. Without so much as a blink, the raccoon launched itself from Maudra’s lap and leapt onto mine. I barely caught the cake that was resting in my lap before it crashed to the floor. The raccoon clutched the beef jerky between its little hands and contented itself perched on my leg as it rapidly nibbled away at it. Donnie doubled over in laughter once again.
“Donnie Durke. If you can’t get yerself together, you just get yerself on home. You can just let me catch up with Brooke here on my own.” Maudra’s voice was stern, but she was clearly enjoying the spectacle as much as Donnie. “I’ll call your mamma and let her know what kind of boy she raised. Thirty years old and actin’ a fool.”
“It’s worse than that, Maudra,” Donnie wheezed as he caught his breath. “I’m thirty-two now.”
“Now you just hesh up! You gettin’ older jist means I am too.” Maudra shook her finger at him.
“Wow!” I exhaled. “You’re thirty-two. I can’t believe it.” For some reason, hearing Donnie’s age took me by surprise and sparked a second of sadness. I’d missed so much of his life.
“Well, yeah. You aren’t exactly a spring chicken yourself. You’ve always been one year behind me, unless you’ve figured out a way to slow that down. Thirty-one, right?”
“Yeah,” I murmured.
“Well, didn’t expect me to be nineteen still like the last time you saw me, did ya?” he teased.
I stroked Thurston, who was now curled up in my lap. His warmth and soft fur were soothing. “I guess I did, actually,” I murmured.
My emotions must have shown on my face. “Aw, Brooke, I’m sorry.” Donnie grew serious. “I didn’t mean anything by it. I was just teasing. I don’t hold anything against you. You did what you had to do to get away. You always wanted to. I’ve just missed you. I’m glad you’re back, that’s all.”
“We’re all glad yer back, Brooke. You’ve kept yerself away too long.” Maudra snapped her fingers, and Thurston stretched, climbed down my leg, and waddled back over to curl up over Maudra’s feet. His absence left me feeling cold and exposed. “Well”—Maudra’s tone turned abrupt—“I told ya yesterday that I was ’specting for ya ta talk last night. I ended up givin’ ya more time than I meant to, so it’s time now.” She nodded for emphasis. “So, first off. I see ya got a ring on. Must mean yermarried.” Her eyes met mine with more directness. “So where is this husband a yers, and why didn’t he come down here with ya?”
My jaw dropped. I forgot to breathe.
“Maudra!” Donnie admonished. “Couldn’t you have said that a little more delicately? Could have led up to it, at least.”
“Oh phew! We’re all friends here. Ain’t gonna waste time with a bunch of questions just so I can get to where I wanna be anyway. And I do care fer what Brooke’s goin’ through right now, but I ain’t gonna sugarcoat things when there ain’t no reason.” She looked back at me. “So, where is he?”
My mouth opened and closed several times before I could get sound out. “How… how did you know? Did Mom tell you?”
“How’d we know what? That you’re married or that you’re a fagger?”
“Maudra!” Donnie beseeched her with bulging eyes.
“What?” She raised her hands in innocence. “He is!”
I cut in. “I didn’t know you knew I was gay. I can’t believe Mom told you.”
Donnie shook his head and smiled gently. “She didn’t.”
“Well, at least that sheremembers,” Maudra scoffed.
“Maudra! Cut it out!” Donnie gave her another glare and turned back to me. “Sorry, Brooke. I didn’t know we were going to bring it up right now. We already knew without your mom having to say anything.” He shrugged. “I’ve always known.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I’d never told anyone I was gay besides my mother.
“Well, cuz, it wasn’t that hard to figure out. You never dated any girls, and you cooked a lot.” He grinned at me sheepishly.
“Well now, that’s just stupid, Donnie. Cookin’ don’t mean a damn thing.” She looked back at me. “You remember Ray, my brother, don’tcha?”
I nodded. He had lived with Maudra for as long as I could remember. He died when I was in fifth or sixth grade. He’d always been kind of timid and creepy. He never came to church with Maudra. People had always said not to talk to him. I hadn’t.
