I looked back at Dee Dee and saw the same tear-filled eyes as
I’d seen earlier on Donna’s pretty face.
“Now look what you’ve done,” she said through clenched teeth, then jogged to the front and then around the tavern, leaving me alone in the cold of the day.
I sat in my Bronco in the parking lot of the Gold Rush Tavern. There before me stood my new stepmother, Evangeline Benson Vesey, screaming at Dee Dee McGurk, my birth mother. I was too stunned to speak. How could Evie think it was her place to fight my battles?
This is the limit.
I pulled out of the parking lot, crossing Main to the side street that ran behind the gas station. I did a U-turn and pulled to the side of the building.
From there, I watched as Evie hopped in her tan Camry and drove through the parking lot. She stopped, waiting to turn left onto Main Street, while I speed-dialed her number.
“Evie, meet me behind the gas station,” I said just before clicking out of the call.
She snapped her head in my direction and gave me a wave, obviously proud that I’d caught her doing “mission work” on my behalf.
I didn’t wave back.
When she arrived, I got out of my car and slid into her passenger seat.
“That woman . . .” Evie started.
I kept my voice low. “Evie?”
She patted my arm as if she thought I was a cat. “All she does is hurt you, Donna.”
I took a deep breath and lifted my chin as I turned to face my stepmother. “That woman is my mother.”
Evie snorted. “For what that’s worth.”
“Dee Dee and I are related by blood.”
“But that doesn’t mean—”
“You and I are only related by marriage.”
I watched as Evie’s jaw dropped. “What are you saying?”
I crossed my arms as the leather in my jacket crackled. “I’m saying this is something I need to handle myself.”
Evangeline shrugged and extended her palms in an upward thrust. “But why? Your father told me all about her; the hard living, the men, the . . .”
I rubbed my temples. “I know. But I’ve been sitting over here thinking. Why is Dee Dee intruding on my life now? What does she want?”
Evie’s face contorted. “I can tell you. Dee Dee’s sneaky and—”
My head started to pound, and I held up one hand to stop her flow of words. “I understand how you feel, but after I left the meeting at the bridal shop I began to think, what if Dee Dee’s trying to reach out to me and . . .”
“You mean like how she embarrassed you at our Christmas party?”
I nodded quietly. “Yeah. She does lack tact.”
Evie snorted. “Just let me handle her.”
I sighed deeply, realizing Evie wasn’t about to let go. “Don’t make me take this up with my father, Evangeline. I don’t want to, but I will. It’s time you backed off.”
She sat up ramrod straight. “I’m not the one who deserves a reprimand.”
“I appreciate your help, I do. But, really, it’s time you minded your own business.”
Evie’s face darkened, and I got out of her car and shut the door before she could spew a response.
I slipped back into my Bronco and watched as Evie spun out of the parking lot. Seconds later, I pulled out behind her, watching as she talked on her cell phone, to my dad, no doubt. She was probably telling him what an ungrateful little daughter I was.
Minutes later, Dad rang my cell phone. “Donna, what is going on out there?”
“Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“Did you really pull Evie over?”
“No. I had her meet me at the gas station parking lot.”
“But I thought Evie was at one of your Potluck Catering Club meetings at the bridal shop, right?”
“She was. But afterward she stopped at Gold Rush Tavern to have a screaming match with my mother. I felt that called for a little chat.”
The silence hung on the other end of the line. “Oh, good night!”
“Listen, I’m sure Evie will tell you about it when she gets home, and then we can talk later. I’ve gotta get back to my house so I can catch a few z’s before my shift tonight. Okay?”
“All right. But you may have started a war with my new wife, one I may not be able to save you from. You realize that, don’t you?”
I scrunched my forehead. “Sorry.”
“Well, I’m the one who’s going to be stuck in the middle of this.”
I hung up and watched Evie turn off Main, pushing a heavy foot over the speed limit. I narrowed my eyes, tempted to hand out one of my famous speeding tickets.
I was heading home for a nap because I could already tell this day was going to come with a very long night. As it turned out, it was a night shift that started a bit too early for my liking. Just before my alarm could hum me into a wakeful state, my cell phone rang.
Without opening my eyes, I grabbed it off my nightstand, flipped it open, and held it to my ear. “Hello.”
“Well, if it isn’t Deputy Donna.”
I sat up, trying to rub the sleep from my eyes. “Who’s this?”
“Oh, someone of little consequence. I’m just the woman who brought you into the world.”
“Dee Dee?”
“Most of the people I’ve given birth to call me Mother.”
I rubbed my eyes and stretched. “Most of the people? How many
people are we talking about?”
A harsh laugh sounded in my ear. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
There was something strange about her voice. “Dee Dee, have
you been drinking?”
“Who? Me?” She laughed sarcastically. “Course not. I’m still at
work.”
“Yeah. When’s your shift over?”
“Six.”
I climbed out of bed and walked to my closet, where I slid my black sweatpants off my legs, then reached for my uniform pants. “Ah, you’re not planning to drive, are you?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, are you okay?”
I could hear her hack a laugh as I stepped one leg into my pants with one-hand efficiency. The surprise hum of my bedside alarm clock caused me to look up and teeter just a bit. I tucked the phone under my chin so I could grab the doorjamb for balance. Just my luck, the phone clattered to the floor. I dove for it and stuck it back to my ear.
“What’s all that noise?”
“Just my alarm.” I pulled up my pants and scampered over to switch the alarm off. “Time to get ready for work.”
“So, I’m interrupting . . .”
“No, but I’ve been meaning to drop by for a talk, and today would be good. I could meet you at the end of your shift.”
“Well . . . you’d get off your high horse to talk to me?”
“I’m not sure that’s how I’d put it. But yes, I’d like to see you.”
“This ought to be good; I’ll be waiting.” The line went dead.
I finished dressing, then brewed a pot of coffee, which I poured into my jumbo thermos. I grabbed one of my famous pre-wrapped hero sandwiches I’d made the day before.
Zipping my leather jacket, I walked into the dusk. The sky must have grayed while I was sleeping, and the clouds overhead glowed in a pale yellow light. Muted sunsets that faded from golden-gray to black always had a way of unsettling me, especially as a night shift was starting. I rubbed my hands together and peered up at the sky. I hadn’t heard the weather report, but from the look of things we were in for some flurries. Despite the fact that the spring thaw was on its way, the news of its arrival hadn’t yet reached the high country. It would be another couple of months before the calendar would turn the page from spring ski season to mud season.
As I pulled out of my driveway, my heater purred warmth into the chill. I hit the windshield wipers in an effort to dust off a spritz of condensation before it frosted my view.
A few minutes later, when I pulled into the Gold Rush parking lot, I’d already checked in at the sheriff’s office. It wasn’t that my call on Dee Dee was official business, but I already knew the sight of me in uniform had a calming effect on her.
Darkness was settling around the shabby bar, cloaking it with a respectability that would soon be stolen by the bar’s neon sign that stood over the parking lot.
I walked past a dark figure leaning against the side of the building.
“Donna?”
I turned. “David, what are you doing out here?”
“Waiting for Velvet.”
David stepped toward me just as the Gold Rush Tavern sign blinked on, turning him pumpkin orange in its glow.
“You mean Velvet’s here?”
“Yeah, I was going to drive her home, then I’m off for my night shift.”
That’s when I noticed he was in uniform.
“Yeah, I’m working tonight too.”
“Wanna meet up for dinner?”
“No, no. I’m brown bagging it.”
“Okay. Maybe I’ll see you later, then.”
“David?” a voice called from behind me.
We both turned around as Velvet approached. “Excuse me, Velvet,” I said nonchalantly as I brushed past her.
Velvet’s voice rose just loud enough for me to hear. “Why were you talking to
her
?”
I paused at the door of the tavern and stole a look at the couple.
Velvet was standing in the orange light in her barmaid’s outfit, which consisted of a white blouse tucked into a pair of black pants. With her hands on her hips, she’d tilted her head to one side. Even from a distance I could see a scowl playing in the shadows that partially hid her face.
David stood with hands in his pockets, a wide-eyed look of innocence on his face.
“Just saying hello. Donna’s a friend.”
Velvet grabbed David by the arm and pulled him toward his car. “Not anymore. Understand?”
“But she’s your sister.”
Velvet turned and gave me a glare. “That woman is no relation of mine. She couldn’t be. All she does is hurt Mom.”
I turned my back on that remark and pulled open the door and slipped into the warmth of the tavern. It was almost as dark inside the joint as it was outside. Through the haze of yellow light and cigarette smoke, I spotted Dee Dee sitting in a corner booth. She hunkered over a bottleneck beer as she blew a stream of cigarette smoke in my direction. I froze, taking in the scene. She must have changed from her uniform into her street clothes because she was wearing a loose pair of jeans topped with a white sweatshirt that said “Dangerous” in large red letters. I had one just like it.
She looked up at me with glassy eyes. “What are you staring at, Officer?”
I sat down on the bench opposite her. “Nice shirt.”
“Thanks, I got it last year in Las Vegas.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” She stared back at me. “So?”
“So, listen, I’m really sorry about Evie today. But don’t worry; she won’t bother you again.”
Dee Dee hacked another one of her laughs. “What’d ya do, arrest her?”
I could feel a grin spread across my face. “No, but I should have.”
Dee Dee’s eyes locked with mine. “Well! Maybe you really are my daughter.” She took a sip of her beer. “But that doesn’t explain the way you’ve treated me.”
“We got off on the wrong foot. If I’d known you were my mother, before you took up that microphone to announce it at the Christmas tea, then maybe the two of us would be in a different place now.”
Dee Dee took another drag on her cigarette and stared at me. “Leave it to me to do the thing up wrong. That’s one thing I always get right.”
I shrugged. “I didn’t handle it well either. I’m sorry for that.”
She took another sip of her beer. “Well, you certainly took long enough to say so.”
“I know. I had issues.”
She grunted an agreement. “Yeah, I understand issues.”
I felt myself warming toward her. “So, here you are, Dee Dee McGurk, my mother. You know, I was only four when you left, but I remember you.”
“Do you?” She smiled softly. “What do you remember about me, Donna?”
I looked out the only window in the joint as a busboy sat a glass of water in front of me. “Gonna order?”
I shook my head and patted my radio, which was attached to my belt. “I’m on call from dispatch. Wish I could stay and eat, but it’s too early for my lunch break.”
The boy shrugged and disappeared, and I returned my gaze to the orange darkness outside. My voice was soft. “I remember your scent—lilacs.”
“You really remember that?”
I looked back into her wrinkled face. “Yeah, and I remember you rocking me in your arms in that old rocking chair in my room, singing round after round of ‘Clementine’ . . . Oh my darling . . . Lost forever, Clementine.”
Dee Dee smiled. “That was our song.”
“Yeah? Well, the song was prophetic. Somehow you were lost to me. I wasn’t sure what I’d done to make you leave.”
Dee Dee’s tired blue eyes widened. “No, Donna, you have to understand. It wasn’t you.”
“Now that I’m an adult I know you were having problems with Dad. I know you had dreams of singing on a stage somewhere.”
Dee Dee nodded. “Yeah, me and my dumb dreams.”
“But knowing you had dreams made it all the worse.”
“Why?”
I simply shrugged and took a sip of my water. “I wasn’t enough.”
Dee Dee snubbed out her cigarette and leaned back in her chair. “Ouch. Okay, I know I deserve that. Hey, I’ll just add it to my load of guilt, and I’ll be off.” She stood unsteadily and dug in her pocket for her keys. “I’m sorry, Donna. I don’t know what I was thinking or what I expected, but I guess it was a mistake coming back to town.”
I stood too. “No, don’t say that.” I reached for her keys. “I’m driving you home.”
“Naw, I’m okay for the road.”
“Not if I say you’re not.”
She held up her hands. “After that evil stepmother of yours told me off this morning, I tipped a few back, I’ll admit it. But I’m okay. Really.”
I put her keys in my pocket. “You’ll ride shotgun with me.”
She looked suddenly interested. “In your Bronco?”
“Yeah.”
She gave me a sort of shy smile that surprised me. “Okay. I’d like that.”
We walked to the coatrack, where she slipped into her dark blue jacket while I zipped up my leather coat before we walked into the night and through the lazy snowflakes spiraling through the orange haze.
I opened the door of the passenger side of my cab, and she slipped in. I walked around the front of my truck then climbed into the driver’s side. “I’m glad we had this chance to visit tonight.”