She puts a hand on her hip. “I give up. What were you doing?”
“Cleaning upchuck.” I lift my hand to stop her from getting the wrong idea. “But it wasn’t from drinking.”
She throws her hands up. “Thank God for small favors. What happened?”
“Well, I’ll tell you.”
After I left work, about five o’clock, I was headed out toward HandyAndy’s for a barbeque. Shirley and I were on the telephone, talking about her new boyfriend. I was only fifteen minutes from home when someone with an unknown Memphis number started blowing up my phone. I ignored the beeping the first time, and the second, but when I heard it a third time I told Shirley I had to go. When I switched over, I’m sure there was a plenty of annoyance in my hello.
“Miss Pearl?” I heard someone say.
There was a mama on the other end of the line. So I put a little more nice in my voice. “Yes, ma’am.”
“This is Kathy Peabody calling you from Memphis. I hate to bother you at nighttime. Do you have a minute?”
“I’m driving home from work, Miss Kathy, how can I help you?”
“Sara Beth is sick. Really sick, I think. She’s in her room at the House and doesn’t have any of the right meds. She’s been throwing up since two o’clock this afternoon.”
“Oh no.”
“None of her girlfriends want to go near her for fear they’ll get it, so she’s isolated. My husband called her in a prescription for nausea. It’s ready at Walgreens. I’m happy to pay you extra if you could pick it up for her.”
As enticing as the extra cash sounded, I sure didn’t want to go backward.Remember your tires, Pearl.I turned into a driveway and was headed back to Oxford before I could talk myself out of it. “I can do that for you,” I said. “Is there anything else she needs?”
“A Sprite would be good. And some ice in a bucket. And maybe a wet rag for her face. Oh and how about some trash bags? She says the bathroom is so far down the hall she’s been throwing up in her room. She’s afraid she’ll throw up on the rug if she makes a run for it.” I had a clear picture of that in my head. And I knew exactly who would be cleaning it up. “You can get everything at Walgreens,” she said.
As tired as I was, I couldn’t remember going through the last red light. “Okay, Miss Kathy, I’ve turned around and I’m headed to Walgreens.”
“I’m writing you out a check now. If you’ll give me your address I’ll mail it to you in the morning.” After I gave her my address, she thanked me a hundred times and we ended the call.
I lean into Mama Carla. “After cleaning up a nasty mess, and making sure Sara Beth was doing okay, it was eight o’clock when I left here.”
“I hope you don’t get it.” She backs away with a smile.
“I’ve learned my lesson. I wore a mask and gloves.”
“What would these mamas do without you, Pearl?”
“They’d find someone else, I suppose.”
“I have my doubts. On that note, I think I need a nap if I expect to make it through the day.” She sighs deeply then hands me her clipboard. “Would you mind finishing this order for me, please?”
“Of course. You go ahead and lie down.”
“Thank you, dear. I’m not feeling too well. I’ve got a lot on my mind. Plus we have a big week ahead.”
“Sure do. Try to get some rest. I’ll see you when you wake up.”
***
To make room for all the girls coming through Rush, Mr. Marvelle and I used to have to break down all thirty of our dining tables and tote them clear down to the basement. Had to take most of the chairs down there, too. This year, praise the Lord, Mama Carla has hired a moving company to pick them up, store them, and bring them back once Rush is over. My back has been thanking her ever since she told me.
Right before nine, Mr. Marvelle and I are toting all of the glasses we use for water parties up from the basement when Sarah Mason sprints down the front hall in front of us.
“Woo, where you headed in such a hurry?” I ask her. I can barely see over the top of my box, but I know it’s her by her pretty legs.
“To the Union. Did I tell you I’m a Gamma Chi this year?” she says over her shoulder.
