Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes (19 page)

Redmon stared at her steadily, his jaw moving like a pile driver. “This is business, Queenie. You let me handle it.”

Virginia relaxed her stance. “Well, of course, dear, I don't know a thing about business. Obviously, you know what you're doing. I didn't mean to imply—”

“Why do you care so much about it anyway?” Redmon said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

“Me? Oh I could care less,” she said with a throaty little laugh. “I just thought you had everything worked out. I just thought you were ready to begin.”

He sucked his teeth and looked at her irritably. “I'll be ready when I say I'm ready.”

“Well, of course, dear.” She put a hand up and carelessly fluffed her hair. She picked up the coffeepot and poured him another cup of coffee. “Everyone gets cold feet and I do understand not everyone's a gambler,” she said casually.

He squinted at her, chewing high up in his right cheek. “I've done pretty good up to now,” he said.

“Of course you have! And I understand you wouldn't want to risk it all.” She shook her head and put the coffeepot down. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her little foot. “In fact, now that I think of it, I don't think it's something you should do at all.”

“Goddamn it, I've made up my mind.”

“That kind of risk, at your age.”

“Hellfire, woman, I know what I'm doing!”

“Maybe we can take a cruise instead.”

“I'm meeting with that pasty-faced churnhead Friday at nine o'clock!”

“More biscuits?” Virginia said brightly, lifting the plate.

S
HE CRASHED THE MEETING OF COURSE
. S
HE COULDN'T HELP
herself. Besides, she didn't trust Redmon to close the deal, and her whole plot centered on Jimmy Lee taking the bait.

She sailed into Redmon's office Friday morning carrying a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts. Sunlight flooded the room. Jimmy Lee sat in a chair in front of Redmon's desk looking dazed and confused. Redmon leaned toward him with his elbows resting on the desk, a sly, crafty expression on his face.
If that's his business face, it's no wonder no one will do business with him
, Virginia thought savagely.

“Yoo-hoo!” she said gaily. “Oh dear, excuse me! Here I am coming to bring my husband a breakfast treat and I had forgotten all about his Big Important Meeting.” She put her hand up in front of her mouth and giggled. Jimmy Lee looked relieved, which Virginia thought was a bad sign. If Redmon wasn't careful, her Big Fish would wiggle off the hook and she'd be
left with nothing but the worm. A big fat red-nosed worm. “Doughnut?” she said, opening the box and pushing it toward Jimmy Lee.

“Thanks,” he said, reaching inside. She smiled and offered the box to Redmon.

“We were talking business,” he said gruffly, taking a doughnut.

“Oh, I know, men and their business! It's a good thing the business world is run by men and not silly women like me!” She giggled again and smoothed her hands over her trim little hips. Her figure really was quite stunning, and Jimmy Lee's expression told her he thought so, too. Good. That would make it easier.

Jimmy Lee cleared his throat. “I'm a little unclear why you need me,” he said, looking at Redmon.

“I need a general contractor,” Redmon said impatiently. “Someone to make sure the subs show up and the work gets done. Someone to …”

“I'm sure my husband has already explained all this,” Virginia said, letting one small hand rest against her ample bosom. “He's explained it to me until I'm sure he's blue in the face, but from the little bit I can understand, this is how it goes. And do interrupt me, dear, if I get it wrong,” she said, turning to Redmon who watched her with a gloomy expression. He reached a big hairy hand in the box and pulled out another doughnut. “I own the property,” she said, thumping her bosom lightly with her hand and smiling at Jimmy Lee.

“You and”—she struggled for a moment, trying to remember Redmon's Christian name—“Bob … You and Bob will go into partnership in the Culpepper Plantation Development. You'll pay me a finder's fee, a lump sum due at the beginning of the project, and you'll cover all the initial development costs, surveying, design, roads, utilities, well, you know, all that icky stuff.” She giggled apologetically and rolled her eyes. Jimmy Lee smiled and looked at his hands. “I'll retain ownership of the property but as each lot is improved, I'll release title to that lot to you at a preagreed price. A price
much
below market value, of course.” She smiled at Jimmy Lee like they were coconspirators. Redmon helped himself to another doughnut.

“Once the first ten lots are developed, sold, and paid for, I'll release the remaining acres to Culpepper Plantation Development Company.” She nodded her head at his stunned expression. “That's right,” she said. “You two will own the entire remainder of the island, which should be worth a pretty penny by then, to do with as you please.”

Jimmy Lee looked at her, openmouthed. A minute later he looked at Redmon and then back at her, swiveling his head back and forth like a spectator at the Darlington 500. “But why would you do that? Why would you give up the property so cheaply?”

She put her hand to her throat and laughed her girlish laugh. “Really, what do I want with an island in the middle of the Black Warrior River. It's not like I plan on doing anything with it. I don't need the money.” She smiled at Redmon. “And it would be lovely to see the old home place restored to some of its past glory.”

Jimmy Lee frowned and shook his head. “What does the bank say to all this?”

“No banks,” Virginia said briskly.

“Why?”

“That's what I said,” Redmon said glumly.

“Now,” Virginia purred, cocking one eyebrow at Redmon. “Banks prolong the process. They can tie you up in red tape so long you're practically a grandfather before the approval is made.”

“But that means we'll have to come up with the development money ourselves,” Jimmy Lee said.

Redmon grunted. “You hit the nail right on the head, son,” he said.

Jimmy Lee was quiet a moment, considering this. “But why me?” he asked finally. “I mean, I know you need a general contractor, but why me, exactly?”

“Well,” Virginia said, letting her eyes mist. She paused a moment before continuing. “It's all about family.” She stopped again and touched a fingertip to the outer edge of both eyes. After a few moments of awkward silence, she went on. “Now, of course, you're not actually family, but you are my grandchildren's stepfather. And my grandchildren are important to me. I want them to be happy. What's good for you is good for them. I want this to feel like one big happy family.”

Jimmy Lee was aware that Virginia had been spending a lot of time with Whitney. Nita had remarked about it just the other day, going on and on about how she had maybe misjudged Virginia over the years, how it was never too late for people to change for the better. And it was a fact Jimmy Lee had been racking his brain trying to figure out some way to make a better life for himself and Nita. This was the deal of a lifetime. The deal that would put him at the top of the monetary heap, for a change. He'd be able to afford a new house and a proper honeymoon for Nita, maybe a trip to
Europe, or a cruise to the Bahamas. And he'd be able to afford to buy the kids the things their real daddy could give them, things like new cars or trips to Disney World or tuition to that snotty private school they used to go to. And who knows? Maybe having a husband who was a good and steady provider would make Nita change her mind about having other kids, too.

He looked at Redmon. “How much?” he said.

Redmon never skipped a beat. “Five hundred thousand,” he said. “Each.”

Jimmy Lee put his head back and hooted. He laughed and looked at the ceiling like that was the funniest thing he'd ever heard. “I could sell my truck, my house, my boat, and all my tools and still not have a quarter of that. I guess y'all better find yourself another partner.”

“Hey, no problemo,” Redmon said. “Not everybody's cut out for the high stakes game of real estate investment. It takes a smart man to know when he's skating on black ice.”

Virginia looked at him like
do shut up
. She sighed and checked one of the freckles on her arm. “Of course we understand,” she said. She looked out the window at the low-lying Ithaca skyline. “We wanted to give you first chance at the deal, but we have a list of other potential partners.” She smiled wanly at Jimmy Lee. “Charles perhaps.”

Redmon said, “Charles? Charles who?”

Virginia looked at him coolly. “He's been talking about doing some development deals,” she said flatly. “He's been talking about trying some other field besides the law.”

Redmon snorted. “Your son, Charles? That pencil pusher couldn't split enough firewood to fry an egg, much less run a multimillion-dollar job site.”

Virginia gave him a dirty look but kept her mouth shut.

Jimmy Lee sat forward with his elbows resting on the arms of the chair, his hands clasped in front of him. He wasn't laughing now. One knee vibrated nervously while he thought about things. “Let me make a few phone calls,” he said finally. “Give me until the first of the week to see if I can come up with the money.”

“Now, boy, don't do anything stupid,” Redmon said gravely, shaking his head. “Keep your wagon between the ditches, if you know what I mean. If it don't feel right in your gut, don't do it.”

Jimmy Lee coughed politely. Virginia clamped her lips together so tightly she tasted blood. She ignored Redmon, staring out the window at a
flock of buzzards nesting on the Courthouse roof. When she felt her blood pressure had dipped back down into normal range, she smiled flatly at Jimmy Lee and said, “Will you let us know by Tuesday?”

“Yes, ma'am.” He stood up slowly and stretched his hand across Redmon's big desk. “Sir.”

Redmon took his hand. “I like you, boy,” he said. “If this don't work out I maybe got some work for you over in Walnut Springs.”

“Okay.” Jimmy Lee nodded once at Virginia. She stepped aside so he could pass but at the last minute she said, “Oh, and one other thing.” He turned around. “Let's keep this between us, for the moment. Just until we see if it's going to work out or not. We're kind of in a sticky situation what with offering the partnership to you first, and not Charles. I don't want Nita caught in the middle, if you know what I mean.” She smiled in what she hoped was a friendly manner.

Jimmy Lee shrugged. “Sure,” he said. “I'll keep it quiet for the time being. Let me see what I can do.”

L
EOTA
Q
UARLES WAS STILL IN BED WHEN
N
ITA ARRIVED, ALTHOUGH
she was sitting up and smiling. She'd been sick with pneumonia the last few weeks and hadn't been able to have any visitors. The pneumonia had hung on, persisting through three rounds of antibiotic treatment before finally disappearing.

“Hey, Miz Broadwell,” she said, catching sight of Nita. Nita had told Leota her name was Motes now but she had obviously forgotten.

“You're looking so much better,” Nita said, putting the flowers she had brought on the nightstand beside the bed.

“Oh, thank you. Those are lovely. Lilies are my favorite.”

Nita stood beside the bed, patting her arm. “Miss Leota we don't have to talk today. You go ahead and save your strength.”

“Good gracious, no,” the old woman said, shaking her head. “I look forward to your visits, honey. The older you get, the more time you like to spend in the past. And sometimes it's nice to have someone along with you.” She motioned for Nita to sit down. After a while, she cleared her throat and began to talk.

“
Her fifteenth year, everything changed. Miss Virginia got an electric sewing machine for Christmas and she began to make her own clothes
,
studying the glamour magazines she checked out from the public library and copying the styles she saw movie stars and debutantes wearing. Every Saturday, she went to the movies with a different boy and she'd come home with stars in her eyes and set about making whatever outfit she'd seen Bette Davis or Lauren Bacall or Ava Gardner wearing. She was still small in stature but she had a lovely figure, which her stylish clothes showed off nicely. That was also the year Mary Lee Hamilton died. She just stopped eating and then she died. She had that disease, that … oh, now, what do you call it
?”

“
Anorexia nervosa
?”

“
Is that what they call it? We just called it starving yourself to death. Anyway, she died in the fall and after that the other girls started being a lot nicer to Miss Virginia. They started asking her to go with them to the malt shop and the drive-in theater and downtown on Saturday afternoons. The boys had been nice to her for a while but now the girls started being nice, too, and just when it seemed like everything was going Miss Virginia's way, just when it seemed like the Queen Bee might be back for good, trouble found her. Trouble with a capital T. That was the year Hampton Boone came back from Vanderbilt for Christmas
.”

She coughed a little bit and Nita poured her a glass of water and waited while she drank it. Leota smiled and lay back with her head on a pillow.

“
Hampton Boone was three years older than Miss Virginia and he'd gone to that fancy school out on the river, oh, now, what do you call that school
?”

“Barron Hall?”

“
Yeah, that's it. Only in those days it was a boys school, there were no girls allowed. Anyway, Hampton Boone was what you'd call movie star handsome. He was tall and blond and he'd walk down the street and the girls would practically swoon at his feet. He'd gone up to Vanderbilt with that Maureen Hamilton, Mary Lee's older sister, and everybody said they were engaged. Miss Virginia must have known who he was, but I'd never heard her speak of Hampton Boone until that Christmas he came back to visit his mama on his school vacation
.

Miss Virginia'd been coming out of the malt shop with some of the other girls and Hampton was going in. He stood there holding the door and looking at her like he'd seen an angel. She told me about it later, how he stood there with the sunlight shining on his blond hair and staring at her. She'd
said thank you, and tripped out with her little nose in the air, 'cause Miss Virginia was savvy when it came to boys. She knew the only way to catch one was to act like you didn't want nothing to do with him
.