“Yep, it was, and those dolls came with me to this house. I’m so glad that you are here. I can just barely remember you and your sister and brother coming to see us before we moved to the Paradise.” Endora loopedher arm into Clara’s and led her to the house. “Let’s have lunch and then catch up on our lives. I hear that you are working at Aunt Bernie’s bar.”
“Yes, I am, and I love it,” Clara said.
“Mama, they are here,” Luna called out and then gave Clara a hug. “It’s been too long, girl. Come on in the house, where it’s cool. I swear, this has been one crazy summer. If it’s not hotter’n blue blazes, then it’s raining. The heat we expect. The rain not so much, and we’re not used to this muggy feeling in the middle of summer.”
Mary Jane gave them both a hug and then motioned toward the table. “Welcome to the Paradise. I’m so glad to get to see you again, and that you are helping Aunt Bernie. I’ve been worried about her overdoing. I’ll be glad when she’s living close by where I can keep an eye on her. We made a hot chicken casserole, salad, and fresh yeast rolls.”
Bernie gave her another hug. “The one with potato chips on the top?”
“I remembered that was your favorite,” Mary Jane said. “It’s ready, so let’s all five sit down at the table and visit while we eat. Joe Clay says to tell y’all hello. He’s off helping the pastor of our church put a new roof on the parsonage.”
“You go to church?” Clara asked and then wished she could cram the words back into her mouth.
“Of course.” Mary Jane grinned. “And Aunt Bernie will go with us when she moves down here.”
“I don’t know why that would surprise you,” Luna said.
“But those amazing books you write…” Clara snapped her mouth shut and wished she could hit a button and delete the words.
“Even the preacher’s wife can’t wait to get her hands on Mama’s books when they come out,” Endora said.
“Wow!” Clara exclaimed. “I want to go to a church like y’all do.”
“Nash’s grandpa, Hoot, and his grandma, Darlene, would probably welcome you,” Bernie said. “I’m a CEO Christian and have sat on the pew with them a few times.”
“What is that?” Luna asked.
“Christmas and Easter only,” Bernie answered as she pulled out a chair and sat down. “I have to show the good Lord on occasion that I still appreciate his house of prayer.”
“Mama, can I be that kind?” Endora asked.
“Nope,” Mary Jane answered, “and neither will Aunt Bernie be when she moves to the Paradise.”
Bernie put a couple of big scoops of casserole on her plate. “But I won’t be living in the Paradise. I will be staying out in the backyard in my trailer.”
Luna had taken a swallow of cold sweet tea and spewed it all down the front of her shirt. Endora tossed an extra napkin her way and laughed out loud.
“Well, Sister,” Luna said as she wiped at the wet spot. “That was worth it if it made you laugh.”
“Oh, hush!” Endora scolded and passed the casserole over to her sister. “Be glad you didn’t already have food on your plate, and what was so funny anyway?”
“I think it was Aunt Bernie’s tone more than what she said,” Luna answered. “She even did a little head wiggle. The underlying message was that she would go to church if she wanted to, but that since she didn’t officially live in the Paradise, she didn’t have to attend with us.”
“The trailer is like Las Vegas,” Bernie informed them. “What happens there stays there, but I don’t mind going to church at all once in a while. I can sit with the family and think about Sunday dinner.”
“That’s what I do. If God really loved me, He wouldn’t have put me through that horrible time with my ex,” Endora said.
“Maybe He is testing the Jesus in you to be sure you are worthy for the next person He tosses over the fence for you to meet,” Bernie told her.
“He can keep whoever it is, or give him to someone else,” Endora declared. “Burn me once, shame on you. Burn me twice, and you can go to hell.”
Luna laughed out loud. “I don’t think that’s the way the saying goes.”
“It is in my mind,” Endora snapped.
After all that Clara had heard about the infamous Paradise, she could hardly believe how comfortable and relaxed she was in the house. The aura surrounding herhere wasn’t unlike the one at Bernie’s bar. She felt as if she had finally found peace and happiness.
Don’t get too comfortable or happy. Don’t come running back to me when the shine wears off this new ridiculous job of yours and when you figure out that my sister isn’t what you think she is.Her grandmother’s voice popped into her head.
