“No problemo,” Irene said. “All I have to do is get someone to cover my classes. Fortunately, there are a lot of beach bums in Florida looking for extra cash.”
The pumpkins looked around at each other. “So, it’s decided?” Edie asked.
“Decided,” Joan confirmed. When she grinned, her pumpkin face took on a very Halloweeny tint.
They decided they would meet up in Dallas, which was within reasonable driving distance for everyone. From there, they would take the Cadillac to Vegas.
They were pleased. They had just completed the first step in the journey back to who they’d once been.
The next morning, Irene and Joan dropped Frances off at the Nashville airport for her flight to Houston. Irene, Frances discovered, was going with Joan to Colorado.
“But I thought you had to make arrangements for your classes,” Frances said, eyeing her with suspicion.
“I can do it over the phone, Franny. Don’t sweat it,” Irene said.
“But, Joan, what about your mom and brother? What are they going to say?”
“My brother won’t question it, and Mama won’t remember she’s met Irene. It’s all good.” Frances did not miss the little smile Joan gave Irene when she said it. Really, what was going on with these two?
Edie seemed the most nervous when they split up. Frances had followed her out to her car to make sure she was okay before she returned to Songbird Hill. “Is Simon going to believe you?” she asked.
Edie gave a snort. “He won’t care. He’ll be thrilled to have more time with his mistress.” At the mention of a mistress, she threw her bag into the trunk of her sports car with some force behind it.
“I’m so sorry,” Frances said. She’d been lucky with Nick, but men could be so terribly disappointing. “I didn’t realize.” That remark was more of a manner of speech than anything else, but Edie smiled wryly.
“Didn’t you though, Fran? Even back then, you saw him for what he was. I didn’t, but you did. I got what I deserved.”
It was true that Frances had seen a lot back then. A man who wanted to take advantage of Edie, who in turn desperately needed to be loved and wanted. Preferably for something other than her looks.
“It’s Marcy I’m worried about,” Edie interjected. “She’s been so clingy lately. I can’t even get her to go home to Nashville.” Shesighed skyward. “Of all my kids and grandkids, it’s been hardest for Marcy to find her way. She’s had a couple of bad relationships. Her first job didn’t work out and she ended up being let go. Then she started a PR firm, but I don’t think she has any clients. And then this thing with Rocco. She really needs a win, that girl. But mostly, I worry about the clinginess. When I got pushed down, I had to get up. I didn’t have anyone to hold on to. I don’t know how to teach that.”
That stung a little. Frances thought she’d been someone to hold on to.
Edie shook her head and looked at Frances. “Are you okay? You look so … wan.”
Frances laughed. “Wan? What is this, 1905?”
“You don’t look well, Fran.”
Frances took an unthinking step backward. She and Edie had always been frank with each other, and she didn’t want her friend eyeing her too closely, lest she see the neon sign across her forehead flashingcancer cancer cancer.“I’m fine! It was a late night, that’s all. I’m usually in bed by nine-thirty.”
Edie’s gaze flicked over her, but she nodded. “You’re probably dehydrated, too. The number one symptom is fatigue. Make sure you’re drinking enough water.”
Again with the dehydration. “It’s the number one sign of any malady,” Frances said. “But I will drink plenty of water. See you in a few days.”
“Yeah,” Edie said. She closed the hatch of her car and walked to the driver’s side. She opened the door and got in, but before she closed the door, she looked up at Frances on the walk. “It’s really good to see you, Fran.”
Frances’s heart swelled. Her eyes immediately began to water, which she blamed on the cocktail of drugs she was taking. “You, too, Edie,” she said, and stepped back up on the curb with a wave goodbye.
She stood there long after Edie’s car had turned a corner, herheart and mind filled with growing amazement and joy that this was actually happening. She hadn’t believed it would. It had started as a desperate grasp for something, anything, to hold on to before she died, but she’d really had very little hope of getting them all on board. Much less hope of coming up with a plan. But here she was, and despite the fatigue and headaches, she hadn’t really thought about cancer in many days.
In the end, she might look back and regret it, but she thought that going out with a bang might be the only way to go.
She was just going to need a little moreoomphif she was going to survive this thing.
Eighteen
Frances’s first point of business in Houston was to withdraw a sizable amount of cash. The next was to see Dr. Jackson. And the third, a visit to Amani Rachid.
