“Nice to meet you,” I finally managed. “This is my son, Henry.”
June bent and placed her hands on her knees so she was at Henry’s eye level. “It issonice to meet you, Henry. You’re going to be visiting us during the day while your mama is at work. Won’t that befun? My granddaughter Adelaide will be soexcited!”
“Where is Addie?” Chase asked. “I thought she was just in here.”
June waved a hand dismissively as she straightened. “Oh, she’s outside. Can’t keep that girl indoors! Henry, would you like to take your pizza outside on the patio and eat with Addie?”
He glanced up at me to gauge my reaction before nodding. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Henry, stay in the yard,” I ordered, nervous about letting him out of my sight so soon.
“Don’t worry, Zellie,” Chase said, taking my elbow to guide me over to the table. “You’ve got lots of eyes to watch out for him. Time for you to rest easy for a bit.”
The tension slipped from my shoulders. I hadn’t realized how tightly they’d been bunched into knots until that moment. “Thank you,” I said, tears in my eyes, suddenly feeling less alone for the first time in a long while.
He gave my arm a squeeze before handing me a plate. “All right now,” was all he said before stepping away.
I couldn’t say why that simple phrase almost undid me. Maybe because, for just a few minutes, I wasn’t carrying the weight of everything on my own.
“You all getting started without us?”
I looked up from my pizza to see an older couple entering the room. The woman who’d spoken was probably close in age to June, based on her close-cropped, white hair, but she too looked ageless.
Oversized, gold earrings, a statement necklace, a tennis bracelet, and an enormous diamond ring glinted in the early-evening sunlight, creating a halo of light around her. There was precisely zero chance that any of it was high-quality costume jewelry. No gold plating in that room. And the loose, flowing ensemble she wore was in a bright print every bit as bold as I imagined she was. If June carried herself with graceful poise, the woman who’d just entered commanded the room like a queen.
“We know better,” June said with a bright grin. She greeted the woman with a hug as if she was a long-lost friend and not a neighbor who lived just down the hall. She then turned to me and gestured with a thin, pale hand. “Pearlie, honey, this lovely young woman right here is Zellie Dupont. Zellie, this is Pearlie Johnson.”
I set my plate aside and smoothed the front of my sundress, which suddenly seemed inadequate for the impromptu gathering. The women of Dawes House that I’d met so far were beautiful, fashionable, clearly used to finer things and probably fancier food than pizza.
Pearlie had an air of wisdom and kindness about her, but when she turned her attention to me, I could see in her dark eyes that beneath her grandmotherly persona, she had an edge that could slice through bullshit like a hot knife through butter. Even so, her smile appeared genuine when she reached out both hands and came toward me to grasp mine, lifting my arms away from my sides as if to get a better look at me.
“Well, now,” she drawled. “Aren’t you a pretty little thing? I think you’ll do quite nicely.”
I frowned again, confused by what she meant. “Sorry?”
“As a neighbor,” she clarified, her smile never faltering. “You don’t look like you eat enough to keep a bird alive, though! Well, don’t you worry about it, baby. We’ll fix that.”
I forced a smile—which seemed like the thing to do—but my stomach tightened, and my mouth was too dry to respond. So, I nodded and gave a small laugh, like someone who’d just walked into a joke at the punchline but didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t get it.
“Pearlie, give the girl a little room to breathe,” a deep male voice said on a chuckle. “She’s barely moved in—I think putting some meat on her bones with your fabulous cooking can wait a day or two, honey.”
Pearlie laughed and swatted the air dismissively at the man who’d entered the common room with her. “Oh, go on, Junior. I’m just being welcoming.”
She gave my hands a squeeze then took the cocktail Earl handed her. She didn’t say a word but gave a curt nod of her head, simultaneously thanking and dismissing him.
Watching, I thought this must’ve been what it was like when a CEO enters a room—charming and warm and no doubt that she’s in charge. Her husband, by contrast, was like the churning wake her powerful presence left behind—tall, immediately likable, quick to laugh or make a joke with Earl or the others.
Even though I still felt like the poor kid peering into the window from the outside, it wasn’t for a lack of hospitality on their part. Every one of them was eager to make sure I was comfortable, that I’d had enough to eat, that I had enough to drink, especially Earl who seemed to be the de facto Dawes House bartender (and who I discovered was very generous with a pour).
I checked on Henry, who was sitting at a bistro table under a shade tree, laughing and chatting merrily with a pretty little girl with blond, curly hair. She was wearing a surprisingly fancy pink party dress, her legs swinging happily. I’d just turned to accept the blessedly cold drink Earl was handing me when I sensed a dramatic shift in the atmosphere.
Everyone seemed to stiffen at once, and I swear the temperature in the room dropped by a few degrees. Ridiculous. I knew it even then. And yet that’s what it was like as all heads turned to the doorway to see Whit standing there, looking even more out of place than I felt.
He swept the room in a glance, his expression unreadable. Not waiting for an invitation, he sauntered in and strolled along the perimeter with what would’ve seemed like nonchalance if not for the charged energy filling the air. He scrutinized each face as if he could see straight through to their darkest sins.
I glanced at Chase, uneasy for reasons I didn’t fully understand. He winked and got to his feet, raising his glass to greet his cousin. “Well, as I live and breathe, if it isn’t the illustrious Whit Proffitt. C’mon on in, Cousin! Wasn’t sure you were gonna make it, but I’m sure glad you did. Ain’t that right, y’all? Watcha drinkin’, Whit?”
Pearlie came forward, taking his hands in hers and kissing his cheek. “How are you, baby? We haven’t seen you much.”
