“I’m sweatin’ like a hog tied up for slaughter,” he snipped, wiping sweat from his brow.
“I second that,” Lake said, joining them and nudging Ginny with his arm. “You doin’ okay, Virginia?”
“Nope.”
“Figured.” He tucked her under his arm, gave her hair a tousle as he usually did, but kissed the crown of her head with affection. “Give it time.”
She simply nodded, unable to respond.
Griffin, to Ginny’s right, took his turn hugging Ginny, comforting her and then whispering in her ear so that only she could hear. “I know it was you who put that glass Gus in my car last week…”
Despite herself, Ginny giggled under her breath.
Griffin kissed her cheek and said, “I felt like I was bein’ haunted. It was awesome… I plan to stick it in Lake and Georgia’s bed next week at Domino Night. You’re a genius.”
“Alright!” Joan Remillard clapped her hands together, garnering their attention and looking far too happy to be dressed in a purple flannel. She was attached at the hip to the Colonel, who wore a blue flannel with purple lines woven in and sweat stains visible in his pits. “All my babies are here, and we are ready to get this show on the road. Virginia Maple, sweetie,” she turned to Ginny, “I know it’s a tough day, but you are just as beautiful as ever, and I am just so thankful you’re willin’ to do this for your daddy and me.”
“‘Course, Mama,” Ginny offered her a smile, as if she truly had a choice in the matter, but she was happy to give this tiny gift to her parents all the same. Even if her hair was sticking to her sweaty neck and cheeks, her eyes were puffy, her skin was splotchy from overnight tears, and she’d be drenched in the Georgia heat before the day was done.
Her siblings and their children and spouses gathered round in a heap, sitting atop hay bales and beside piles of pumpkins as if they were jubilantly hanging out at a pumpkin patch, in flannel, in eighty degree weather… for fun…
“Well, isn't this such a gourd time,” Caroline chirped, holding up a wart covered gourd like a trophy and using her inner elbow to wipe a droplet of sweat from her cheek.
“Oh no,” Dakota sighed.
“Gourd gracious!” Georgia declared, fanning her face and booping Davey on the nose. “I do love a Pun-kin patch.”
“Stop,” Dakota groaned, but Sadie giggled at his side.
The Colonel winked at Ginny, and scooped Simon into his large arms. “Aren't we all just a bunch of country pumpkins.”
Theo slapped his forehead, falling into hysterical giggles, and the rest of the family carried on, making one another laugh—or in Dakota’s case, sigh with feigned exasperation—until the photographer had everything she needed and they decided to end the day with ice cold sweet tea, family dominoes, and a Charlie Brown movie.
Ginny spent the latter part of the evening on her parents’ front porch wedged between her mama and daddy on the swing but aching to return to the record store and see if maybe… just maybe… she’d find a note.
“Well, Baby Girl,” her mama began after a long pass of silence, “when all is said and done, we’re proud of you.”
“Proud? I lied, mama. I messed up. Big time.”
“Yeah, ya did, sweetheart.” Her mama brushed the back of her hand across Ginny’s cheek but then settled it on her knee. “But your broken heart… your shame and sadness over this mistake… it isn’t just because ya got caught in your lie, is it?”
“Not at all. I hate that I lied. I knew better and felt sick over it, but I did it all the same. It was wrong. So wrong… What does that mean for me? As a believer, ya know? And I hurt someone I love… I’ll never not be sorry for that.” She felt her lips tremble and eyes swell with tears, just when she thought she had no tears left to cry.
“I love him.”
The Colonel blew out a long, slow breath and wrapped his arm around Ginny, letting her curl into him. Yet again, she found herself sandwiched between two people she knew loved her unconditionally. “You’re gonna mess up, Sweets. Over and over again. But that conviction… the heartbreak over sin and how it’s affected others… that’s a good indicator of where you’re at with the Lord. It’s when ya don’t feel that ache and sickness over your sin that ya should start askin’ yourself the real tough questions about your faith.” He kissed her head. “If you’re abiding in Him—askin’ for forgiveness and repenting when ya screw things up a bit—if Jesus is where your home and hope lives, well… then you are exactly where ya need to be as a believer.”
She nodded against his chest, feeling her mama’s hand rubbing circles on her back. “And Ryan?”
“Well, Sugar,” her mama snuggled closer, “as for that man… We’ve all seen the way Ryan has looked at you over the past few years. I don’t think the way he clearly feels about you is gonna disappear overnight.”
“He’s hurtin’, and hurts just take time to heal, Baby Girl,” her daddy said, kissing her head once more. “But that boy pops outtahis chair every time ya walk in the room, so I think y’all will be just fine.”
“He’s a man, Daddy.” Ginny felt a genuine smile lift her lips.
The Colonel sighed and pushed his foot off the porch, setting them swaying again. “We’ll see about that, Sugar.”
Melody Man,
