Garden of Angels (8 page)

Eleven

By the time we demolished Thanksgiving dinner, I was feeling more cheerful. I really
was
thankful that our family was together. Barry seemed at ease at our table. Papa said, “Nice to have another male voice around. Sometimes I can’t get a word in edgewise, with all these women talking.” Papa always liked to tease us about our chatter, but I knew he was grateful to hear it again after Mama’s long absence.

I carried the plates and dishes to the kitchen, where Barry insisted on rolling up his sleeves and helping Adel load the dishwasher and scrub the pots and pans. “But you’re a guest,” Adel said. “Darcy can help me.”

“I’m pretty good at this,” Barry said. “The army’s taught me well. Come on. You and me, babe.”

I happily left them to their work and returned to the living room, where Papa had set up the card table and Mama was busy spreading out a new one-thousand-piece puzzle. That was what we did on holidays and rainy days—we worked jigsaw puzzles and played board games. Everyone would pitch in on the puzzle and after a time drift off and do something else, then return to check the progress and slip a few more pieces into place. The card table was often up for days until the puzzle was completed.

We had pieced together about half of the border when the doorbell rang. I went to find Becky Sue on the veranda. “Where is he?” were the first words out of her mouth.

“And happy Thanksgiving to you too,” I said, letting her into the house. “In the kitchen,” I added. “Dishes are done, but they haven’t come out yet.”

She followed me into the kitchen, where Barry and Adel were sitting and peering into each other’s eyes like lovesick puppies. After introductions, Becky and I went up to Adel’s room, where she hooked her arm around the bedpost and said, “What a hunk! Your sister is so lucky.”

“He’s nice too. Talks to me like I’m a real person with opinions that count. Her boyfriends from high school treated me like a pest that needed shooing.”

“So what’s he do in the army?”

“Something with radios and satellites. He can’t talk about it much.”

“Won’t the army send him away?”

“Sure.”

“It’s going to break Adel’s heart to lose
that
one.”

“What makes you think she’ll lose him? Just because he leaves doesn’t mean they won’t write and call each other.”

“Depends on where they send him,” Becky said. “What if he goes off to some country where there’s lots of free love?”

“You see too many movies,” I said, but her questions nibbled at me the rest of the day.

Once we all drifted up to bed, I waited until Adel came out of her bathroom and asked her the same thing Becky had asked me. “What will you and Barry do when the army sends him far away?”

Adel turned down her bed. “We’ll write.”

“Aren’t you afraid he’ll meet someone else?”

“If some other girl can take him away from me, then we didn’t have much going on between us, now, did we?”

Her confidence was inspiring. I wondered if I’d ever feel that secure about another person’s feelings. “Well, what about him being in the army? Do you worry about him getting hurt?”

“The army will take care of him. And they’re not sending troops to Vietnam anymore, so he won’t be in harm’s way.” She scooted under the covers. “I think it would be fun to travel all over the world. I’d love to see Paris and Rome.”

“Is that why you like him? So that he can send you postcards from around the world?”

“Don’t be silly. I like him because of who he is. He’s the most wonderful man in the world.”

“Why do you suppose he joined the army? I mean, after what happened to his brother and all.”

“Duty,” she said simply. “All the men in his family have served in the military. Barry grew up wanting to serve his country. That’s part of who he is.” Adel flipped off the bedside lamp.

I told her good night and turned over, only to gaze out the window and see a brilliant pale white moon gleaming down. The image of Jason’s face floated across my mind’s eye. I wondered what his holiday had been like, if he’d been happy, if he’d missed his family in Chicago. And I wondered if he had thought of me even once.

“Honey, you’ve done such a fine job. All the dead leaves raked up and the pansies planted. Thank you.” Mama and I were navigating the backyard and looking over my handiwork. Adel and Barry had driven off to scout the town right after breakfast, and I had told Becky I’d come over in the afternoon.

“The flowers do look pretty, don’t they?” I said, feeling satisfied with myself for making Mama happy. The pansies looked cheerful in the freshly mulched beds, their colorful faces turned up to catch the sun. Pansies bloomed all winter this far south because we rarely got snow, or even lingering frosts. The flowers thrived until the wilting heat came in late spring and made them fade. Mama always planted them for color.

I said, “I thought about pruning back the crepe myrtle, but I remembered that you usually do that in February.”

“That’s right. You’re such a good gardener, Darcy.”

Her praise made my heart swell. “I wasn’t sure about the roses, Mama.”

“Yes, they can be a problem, yet they’re so lovely you can forgive them and their sulky ways.”

I giggled. “You talk as if they’re human.”

“They think they are, and I’d never tell them otherwise.” Her arm was looped through mine and we were wearing heavy sweaters, but her arm felt feather light. She wore a kind of turban around her head, and dangling gold earrings that caught the sun. “I should get the yardman to sow some winter rye,” she said. “For the green color.” The grass, a variety that died back in cold weather, was turning brown. Our yardman cut, edged and fertilized the grass, while Mama kept the gardens. “Maybe we can go up to the nursery and buy a few more flats of pansies,” she said. “It’s not too late to get more planted, and I think I’d like more color in the beds below the back porch.”

“We can go tomorrow,” I said. “I’ll get them in the ground next week.”

“Don’t neglect your schoolwork.”

“I’m caught up,” I said. “Even ahead in some classes.”

Mama stopped walking. “Let me catch my breath. Goodness. . . . I’ve been lying in bed much too long. I’m out of shape.”

Alarmed, I said, “Maybe we should go inside.”

“All I do inside is answer the phone and tell well-meaning friends that I’m doing all right.”

“Then let’s sit in the swing,” I offered. “You really are all right, aren’t you, Mama?”

She patted my hand. “I have a ways to go before I get my strength back, but yes, I’m okay.”

I felt relieved. Soon things would be back to normal and our lives would pick up from where we’d put them on hold when Mama had been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Mama tipped back her head, took deep breaths. “Is there anything in God’s world more beautiful than flowers and trees?”

I knew she wasn’t asking me a real question, just thinking out loud.

“One more thing, Darcy. I’m turning over my garden club presidency to Mrs. Teasdale.”

“But why? You love the club.”

“And I still do. But Wicki Teasdale will take it over. I want to concentrate on my family and on feeling good again. I don’t think I can tackle the garden show in April.”

“But you always do the show.” I was dismayed by Mama’s withdrawal.

“It takes great effort to get it together. I’ve already missed months of work. Wicki will do just fine. She’ll be by this week to pick up all my records and files. It’s best this way, honey.”

I knew that relinquishing her presidency wasn’t an easy thing for my mother to do. She’d been at the helm of that club ever since I could remember. Even when Grandmother was sick, she’d participated. “I’ll help you, Mama. You don’t have to quit,” I said.

“I won’t hear of it,” she said quietly. “It’s time for me to step down, make room for others. It’s okay, Darcy. It’s what I want.”

I wanted to believe her, but all I could think was that this was one more thing breast cancer had stolen from my mother. “But sometime soon, teach me how to deal with the roses and their sulky ways. All right?”

Her smile seemed to come from far away. “Lesson number one, honey. Roses take time . . . a whole lot of time.”

Adel and Barry didn’t get home until suppertime and were up and eating breakfast when I came down at nine on Saturday. They kept giving each other adoring puppy-dog stares, and Adel was so sugary sweet that I was glad diabetes wasn’t catching like the flu. They eventually left for a drive, and I spent the afternoon at Becky’s.

Walking home that evening, I thought about Mama, and school, and Jason, and how I was going to continue hiding my feelings for him from Becky Sue because I didn’t want to be teased. And tease me she would. I deserved it too, for hadn’t I poked fun at her for years over her numerous crushes?

I turned the corner and saw Barry’s rental car in the driveway, which meant Adel was home. I jogged up the porch steps and banged open the front door—sounding like a herd of elephants, I was certain.
Who wants a girlfriend who clumps?
I purposely slowed my entrance into the kitchen, where I saw Mama and Papa sitting at the table with Barry and Adel. I asked, “What’s happening? ” for I could tell by their expressions that
something
was happening.

“You’re just in time,” Adel cried, her smile as bright as sunshine. She held out her left hand, where a small diamond ring sparkled in the light. “Barry’s asked me to marry him, and I’ve said yes, yes, yes!”

Twelve

December

“Married! Really? When?” The words tumbled out of my mouth.

“Slow down, girl,” Papa said. “That’s just what we were discussing.”

I hugged Adel, then Barry. “This is so far out. I—I can’t believe it.”

“I think she’s glad about it,” Adel said to Barry.

He grinned and threw his free arm around my shoulders. His other arm was around Adel, of course. “Not as glad as I am,” he said. “I’ve been on pins and needles for weeks, knowing I was going to propose.” He looked at our parents. “Thank you for giving us your blessing.”

Mama took Papa’s hand. Tears had filled her eyes. “We’re very happy for you both,” she said.

“The ring belonged to Barry’s grandmother,” Adel said, flashing it again.

“I asked my mother to send it weeks ago,” Barry explained. “She always told me it would be mine to give to the girl of my dreams.”

Barry’s open adoration caused a lump in my throat.

“Have you set a date?” Papa asked, getting back to the practical side of the event.

Adel and Barry exchanged quick glances. Adel scooted closer to Mama. “Don’t panic, but we want to get married at Christmas.”

Mama blanched. “Christmas?
This
Christmas?”

“The Lockheed project will be finished and I’ll be getting my orders right after the first of the year,” Barry said. “I love Adel very much, and I want her to be my wife before I leave. If I get sent to a base in Europe, she’ll be able to come with me.”

“But your mother’s health—” Papa began.

“Not now, Graham,” Mama interrupted.

“I’ll plan everything,” Adel said in an impassioned voice. “Mama won’t have to worry about it. I don’t want a big fancy wedding. Just something small with family and maybe a few friends. How hard can it be? I’ll even buy my own dress— again, nothing elaborate. We’ll have the reception in the church fellowship hall—cake and punch, some nuts and those little butter mints will be fine. I don’t want to go to a country club in Atlanta like Mary Teasdale did. I just want to become Barry’s wife in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of fuss.”

I almost asked why she and Barry hadn’t eloped if they didn’t want to create a fuss, but didn’t because I’d only sound contentious and I was happy for Adel. I really was.

Mama held up her hand. “I don’t want my firstborn daughter to skimp on her wedding.”

“But I don’t
want
a big fancy wedding,” Adel insisted.

“My parents will be the only ones who’ll come from New York,” Barry said. “And I’ll invite a few of my army buddies and my commander. That’s about it for me.”

“What about your brother?” Mama asked.

“Kyle’s in a VA hospital, and—” He paused. “Well, we don’t expect him to be out anytime soon.”

The back of my neck felt prickly because I knew about his brother and Vietnam and how his war experience had changed his life.

“See, Mama,” Adel said. “A small wedding won’t be any trouble at all.”

“I want you to have what you want, honey,” Mama said. “We’ll talk it out later. For now, you two just go be happy.”

When they’d left the kitchen, Papa said, “Are you really up to this? I worry about you. . . .”

Mama patted his hand. “Goodness, I’m not fine china and I won’t break.” She reached up, removed the wall calendar and flipped the page. “Sunday is December first. That gives us three and a half weeks until Christmas. Why, the Good Lord created the entire universe in seven days. Surely we can put on a small wedding in twentyfive.”

Saturday night, after Barry had returned to the base, I told Adel again how happy I was for her. She’d been talking to Mama about the wedding and now stood in the doorway of my reclaimed bedroom.

I asked, “Who’ll be in your wedding?” I’d only attended one wedding in my lifetime, and that had been for the daughter of one of Mama’s friends when I was ten. It had been an enormous affair with seven bridesmaids, seven groomsmen, a flower girl and a ring bearer—at the time, I thought they all would
never
get down the aisle.

“I’ve already asked Sandy to be my maid of honor, and Barry’s friend Mason will be Barry’s best man.” Adel turned to me. “And you’ll be my bridesmaid. That’s about it for the wedding party.”

I choked on the gum still in my mouth. “Me? A bridesmaid?”

“Don’t look so shocked. You’re my sister. Of course you’ll be my bridesmaid.”

I understood then. It was expected of her to ask me. Why, our parents would raise the roof if she didn’t ask me. “I think I’d rather sit on the sidelines,” I said.

“Nonsense.” Adel came over and took my chin in her hand and turned my face in several directions, all the while looking me over. “You’ll have to wear some makeup,” she said.

“But I don’t like—”

“Hush, and listen to me. Some blush and a swipe of eye shadow, a little lipstick, and with your hair up you’ll look twice your age. It’s time you fixed yourself up a little, Darcy. You’re a pretty girl and you need to take advantage of it.”

Her no-nonsense voice told me it would be useless to argue. But my feelings were hurt. I could be in her wedding—I
had
to be in her wedding— but I’d have to look the way Adel wanted me to look. I pulled away from her hand. “Will you promise me one thing, Adel? Will you please not put me in head-to-toe pink ruffles?”

She laughed gaily. “Silly girl. Pink is no color for a Christmas wedding.”

She turned out the light and left me to wonder in the dark if she was joking or serious. Sometimes with Adel, I couldn’t figure it out.

The minute church let out the next morning, I found Becky Sue and told her the news.

“Why didn’t you call and tell me last night? How could you have kept this from me until now?”

“Adel was on the phone all evening. Besides, I wanted to see your face when I told you.”

“And so you have. Tell me everything.”

“Don’t know much yet. It’s still in the planning stages.”

“Can I come?”

I shrugged. “It’s supposed to be real small.”

“But I have to come! I want to come!”

“I’ll do what I can.” I thought it best to mollify her. We didn’t need her pitching a hissy fit in the church hall. “I’m going to be a bridesmaid,” I added.

“How romantic,” she crooned. “When will you pick out your dress?”

“We’re going to Atlanta next weekend to shop.”

We went outdoors, where people were standing and talking in spite of the chilly December wind. The sky hung gray over us and clouds resembled dark smudges like marks left by a dirty eraser. Shivering, I told Becky goodbye and started for the parking lot, where I saw that Papa and Mama were already sitting in the car, warming it up.

“Heard Adel is getting married,” a voice said from behind me. “And in a big hurry too. Makes people wonder why she’s marrying so quickly.”

J.T. was wearing a smirk when I turned to face him. “You won’t be invited to the wedding,” I said, my voice dripping with ice.

“Who cares. Is she knocked up?”

I could have clawed his eyes out. “She’s in love, J.T.,” I said through clenched teeth. “Nothing you’d know about though, because you have a small mind and a big dirty mouth.” I felt brave because I knew my parents were watching us.

“You’re fun to poke at,” he said with a laugh. “My guess is that that soldier boy has already taken a poke at Adel.”

My face flushed as I caught the double meaning of the word “poke.” I squared my chin. “You are crude and rude, J. T. Rucker. Nothing but white trash.”

I hurried to the car with him laughing meanly in my wake. I jerked open the door and slammed it hard behind me.

“What’s wrong?” Papa asked.

“J. T. Rucker makes me crazy mad. He’s hateful and nasty. He asked me if Adel was getting married because she had to—you know—
had
to.” I let the implication sink in because I was suddenly embarrassed to say the word “pregnant” to my parents.

“People are going to think what they want to think,” Papa said mildly.

“Doesn’t it bother you?” I was shocked that neither he nor Mama took offense.

“Yes, but because I don’t want anyone thinking ill of my daughter. Fact is, the bigger stink you raise denying something, the more entrenched people become in their own viewpoint about it. As to the issue of Adel’s timing of her wedding, time will tell the gossips that they were wrong, so we don’t have to.” Papa’s voice was firm.

“J.T.’s just being spiteful because Adel would never give him the time of day,” I grumbled.

Mama glanced in the rearview mirror. “Just put it out of your mind, Darcy. We have enough other things to think about.”

I hunkered down in the seat. It was good that the two of them didn’t have to confront gossip and innuendo, but at school I’d be up against it every day. Everybody would be asking the same question once J.T. got the rumor mill going. And there was no doubt in my mind that he would get it going. No doubt at all.

“Most people are real happy for Adel,” Becky Sue assured me Monday afternoon as we walked home from school. She had kept her ear tuned for hall gossip all day about my sister’s engagement and fast-approaching wedding date. I had been certain it was the sole topic of conversation that day, because whenever I entered a room or went into a bathroom, talk stopped and all eyes turned to me. Everybody looked guilty of spreading rumors.

“Donna and her friends aren’t happy,” I said. “They just look smirky,” I added with distaste.

“What do you expect? J.T. snaps his fingers and Donna jumps,” Becky said. “Just remember, Conners is small and Adel is our local celebrity. People are interested in her business. Her wedding is news.”

“Her wedding, yes, but they have no right to say the other part.”

“What’s so terrible about having a baby less than nine months after the wedding? This is the seventies!”

I gave her a sidelong glance. “You don’t think that, do you? About Adel needing to get married quick because she might be pregnant?”

“No,” Becky Sue said, but I thought I saw her gaze shift. “People just talk,” she added. “Ignore them.”

Easy for her to say. It wasn’t her sister.