Untrusting (Troubled) (22 page)

We get coffee and go out to the
veranda to have a light breakfast of toasted English muffins and jelly and
fruit.  Miss Lili briefs us on what we need to know before eleven when
Blaine Cavanaugh is supposed to arrive.  She says he’s gonna tell how
things are going and what new politics regarding the oil industries is being
rumored and how it’ll effect the company.  She wants us to take notes,
because Saturday night there’s going to be a formal dinner with a lotta
politicians attending.  Maria and I look at each other like “what have we
gotten ourselves into?”

We’re introduced to Blaine when he
arrives.  He’s a fairly young man and handsome.  We talk over lunch
and over dessert they talk business.  Miss Lili turns to us and asks if we
have any questions about the new proposed legislation and how it will affect
the oil fields.  We do and Blaine answers very concisely, then he has to
leave to catch his plane home.

After he leaves, Maria asks Miss
Lili if Saturday night we’re supposed to feel the politicians out on these
proposals.  Miss Lili says yes and she intends to put her thoughts on the
subject into the pot, too.  Okay, so maybe we need to talk to her about
“her thoughts.”  For the next two hours we discuss the legislation and how
Miss Lili doesn’t want it to affect the oil company.  We discuss what the
politicians will be thinking so we can get around it.  Then Miss Lili
tells us we’ll be having company for dinner, relatives, and we can change into
our jeans if we want to.  She laughs as we run to the stairs to get out of
these clothes and comfortable, again.

When we come down, we go into the
kitchen to ask Mandy if we can help.  She puts us to work wrapping
potatoes to go on the grill.  We won’t be having corn on the cob, too many
dentures for that, but we will be having grilled fresh vegetables.  So we
wash asparagus, green beans and cauliflower and wrap them in foil.  Miss
Lili comes looking for us and sits in the kitchen folding napkins while we talk
and work.  Al comes in, kisses Mandy and Miss Lili on the cheek and says
the grill will be ready in twenty minutes.  Miss Lili catches our glances
at the kisses, “Girls, didn’t I tell ya, Al’s Mandy’s husband and my little brother.” 
The three of them laugh at the looks on our faces, Al’s obviously thirty years
younger than Lili.  “My father married a much younger woman a few years
before he died.  I was married and living away from home and he couldn’t
stand an empty house, or so he said.  I think he fell in love.”

Al laughs, “He needed someone to
take care of him.  He was a cantankerous man as well as I can remember
him.  But mama loved him, so I guess it worked out okay.  She was
happy for those few years and he was good to her.”

“So you’re Bob and Steve’s Aunt and
Uncle?”  Maria’s wondering.

“I’m Steve’s Uncle, but I claim
Bob, too.  If Steve was around, Bob was usually with him and they both
call me Uncle.  Y’all can call me Al, if ya want to.”

“When are the vultures susposed to
arrive?”  Miss Lili asks Al.

“They said they’d be here about
four thirty.”

Mandy’s seems a bit put out,
“Vultures is right.  They’re distant cousins and think you owe them
somethin’.”  Maria and I look at Mandy and then Miss Lili.

Miss Lili shrugs, “Dad made his own
money and it had nothing to do with their ancestors so I guess then can ‘think’
all they want.  Besides, the money’s tied up in the town.  I can’t
even spend any of it, not that they believe it.”

“Miss Lili, Maria and I can have
dinner in our rooms, if that will help the evening.”

“Don’t you girls dare run out on
me.  They might be pleasant if there’s company present.  Cousin
Horace tries to take advantage of my money and his wife, Ester, keeps talking
about my “expensive” clothes.  That’s why I make sure to wear faded jeans
around them.”

“Yeah, and they’re stuff shirts,
too.  Matilda,” Mandy says in a sarcastically sweet voice,” and Teddy,”
she says in a snide way, “act like they’re royalty.  The closest they come
to royalty is Matilda being named after one of Scotland’s clans second or third
or fourth cousins.  Of course her mother didn’t know anything about
it.  Matilda had to look it up herself.  And Teddy’s named after
Teddy Roosevelt.  Yeah, him and several hundred thousand others.”  Nobody’s
really looking forward to dinner tonight.  “Thank goodness, we only have
to suffer through this once a year.”

“Sounds like fun.  What’s
expected of us?”  Maria thinks she needs some instructions.

“Just be yourselves, but not too
sweet.  We don’t want to encourage them to stay.  Don’t mention Bob
or your engagement.  They’ll take off for the moon with their
tempers.”  Miss Lili is warning us.

Mandy and Al, as if given the okay,
come over to congratulate Maria and hug her.  They look at the ring and Mandy
recognizes it.  Mandy is Bob’s mother’s best friend from high
school.  Maria offers to take the ring off for the evening.  “Don’t
you dare, Bob’ll have my ears if I ever suggested such a thing.  Besides,
they won’t recognize it and they won’t know ya even know Bob.  Don’t tell
them about our partnership, either.  They don’t need to know our
business.”  Miss Lili’s dreading and gearing up for tonight.  “I’ll
explain you girls presence when I introduce ya and that’s the way I want it to
be with them.”  Maria and I nod and continue to help with dinner.

We hear a boat at the dock and Al
and Miss Lili go down to the dock in carts.  I wonder just how old these
people are.  I soon find they’re younger than Miss Lili, but their life
styles have them unable to walk up from the dock.  They’re doddering old
people.  They have to be helped up the stairs.

Mandy has us set the table in the
dining room.  “Shouldn’t barbecues be served outside?” I ask.

“Not with these people and they
don’t like barbecue, either.”  Mandy smiles and Maria and I snicker. 
“I have Coconut Cream pie for dessert, the coconut gets caught in their
dentures.”  Mandy’s having fun with dinner tonight.  Maybe too much
fun.

They come in the veranda doors that
are open to the air.  Miss Lili calls us over and introduces us as the
town vet and assistant vet.  There’s a young girl with them who Matilda
introduces as her granddaughter, Bridget, after Bridget Bardot, the movie
star.  “Where’s Steve I want to introduce them.  They’re perfect for
each other.  Bridget is fresh outta Miss Grandville’s Finishing School in
Connecticut. They’ll make a perfect match.”  Matilda’s a stuff shirt,
looking down her nose at me and Maria.

I take a good look at Bridget and
figure she’s a gold digger.  She’s about as big around as my little
finger, a bleached blonde with about two inches of make-up on.  The women
are in cocktail dresses and the men are in dark suits, way over dressed for a
barbecue.  They don’t seem to be uncomfortable about it tho’.

“Matilda, Steve and Bob didn’t come
with me this time.  They couldn’t get away from the fire station.” 
You can see Matilda’s face drop further down than it already is and Bridget’s
smile disappears.

“Grandmother, what am I supposed to
do now?”  I half expected her to stamp her foot with her pout.  She,
obviously, has no idea how to act if men aren’t around.

I excuse Maria and me and we go
into the kitchen to bring out glasses of iced tea.  While we’re there we
make faces at each other and twitch our hips and pout.  We weren’t being
very nice when Miss Lili and Mandy come in.  They start chuckling and we
apologize for our cattiness, all barely above a whisper.  They wave our
apology away and take the tray of tea from us and give us a tray to go out to
the grill to get the appetizers off the grill.

The relatives turn their noses up
at grilled shrimp on a skewer, but the rest of us like them and make a big fuss
about how good they are.  Al asks for some help to bring in supper, he
called it.  Maria, Mandy and I go out to bring in the vegetables and Al
brought in the steak.  We set it on the table and we all sat down to
eat.  The bowls are passed around like a family supper.  The
“relatives” don’t seem to know what to do with the bowls when they’re passed to
them.  Where and how do these people live?  There’s a little “chit
chat” at the table, but the “relatives” don’t join in much.  I notice
there’s nothing mentioned about Granite Bluff.  When dinner’s over the
“relatives” adjourn to the living room while the rest of us clear the table and
clean the kitchen.

Bridget peeks into the kitchen to
ask if there’s any wine.  “Grandmother and Grandfather  would like a
glass.”  Miss Lili informs her alcohol isn’t kept on the premises, it’s
only ordered special.  When Bridget says her grandparents always have a
glass or two after dinner, Miss Lili says they should have brought some with
them.  They know wine isn’t kept on the premises ‘cause they’ve asked for
ten years and got the same answer every time.  Bridget goes back in the
living room.

“The last time we kept wine here
was when my husband was alive.  And that was the last time we served wine
to those four.  A glass or two, ha, they drank a bottle each and were so
drunk they had to stay the night.  That was the last time they stayed, or
ever will again.  They wanted to special order breakfast…in bed.  I
swore never again.”

“We’d better hurry, we only have
about an hour before the sun goes down and the boat won’t take them back across
the lagoon.”  Mandy cuts the pie and puts it on saucers and makes coffee
and hot tea.  We take it in and sit down to have dessert with them.

“Lili, have you given any thought
to the proposal I sent you last week?”  Teddy wants to get something outta
Miss Lili.

“I’m sorry Teddy, but those funds
are managed by my accountant and lawyer.  I spoke to them yesterday and
they feel the investment ya proposed isn’t in the town’s best interest. 
They reminded me that the funds are to be spent on the town, not buying real
estate in another town.  They suggested ya sell your house if ya want to
buy a townhouse.”  I notice Miss Lili’s southern accent is thicker when
she talks to her relatives.

Matilda is livid, the purple color
to her face gives it away.  “We can’t sell our house, where would we live
the rest of the year?  You know the townhouse in Florida is a vacation
home, like this one is for you.”

“Matilda, this was a gift from
Buckley.  I cain’t sell it and Al and Mandy live here, so it’s not just a
vacation home.  But ya know all’a this so I won’t bore ya with the details.” 
I’m shocked.  I’ve never heard Miss Lili use the word “cain’t”
before.  I want to snicker, but contain myself ‘til I can leave the
room.  But I don’t want to get out of listening distance.

“But this could be a ‘family’
vacation home.  You and Steve can use it when nobody else is there.” 
Matilda wants the townhouse and has badgered Teddy into asking for the money to
buy it.  “Can’t you come up with the money from somewhere?  It’s only
four hundred thousand dollars.  And that’s cheap for Miami.”

“Matilda, we’ve been through this
before.  I get Buckley’s Social Security and a small allot-mint from
Buck’s estate ever’ month.  Where do ya think I’d get that kinda
money?  I cain’t break Buckley’s will, or even try, or I’ll lose it awl. 
Now, I’m sorry, but it’s time to take y’all back to the boat so y’all’ll be on
shore ‘fore dark.”  Maria looks at me and I “cain’t hardly” contain my
laughter.

We say our goodbyes and tell them
how nice it was to meet them and Mandy and Al take them to the boat.  Miss
Lili flops down in an arm chair as soon as they leave and lets out a big
sigh.  Maria and I burst out in laughter.  “Do you always put on the
hick act for them?”  Miss Lili nods.  When we finish laughing, Maria
asks “Do they hit you up for money very often?”

“Only once a month, by phone, or
letter, or both.  They act like what they ‘think’ high society acts like,
but they don’t have anything but Social Security.  If I hadn’t finished
paying off their house they would be high society in a trailer court. 
I’ve often thought I’d like to be a fly on their wall just to see if they
really live the way they act here.”

“Miss Lili, is what you said true,
about Social Security and a monthly allotment from Buckley’s will?”  I’m
curious because of the partnership, the construction and the clothes.

“Yes, Sher, it is.  I just
didn’t tell them how much the allotment was or the Social Security.  It’s
a lot more than I let on.  But the will also maintains this house and the
living expenses at home, with occasional benefits for a new car if I want one.”

Mandy comes in and does just like
Miss Lili did.  Al comes in and sits down and sticks his legs out in front
of him and leans back in the chair.  “You should’a heard the conversation
on the way to the boat.  Bridget’s pissed because Steve wasn’t here so she
could charm him into love at first sight.  Matilda was just as mad about
it and the house in Florida.  They thought Steve would fall for that poor
excuse for a woman.”  Mandy’s tickled at the thought.  They all
laugh.

“Those people never learn. 
They keep asking for hand outs and keep getting turned down.  I can’t
believe they offered to share the Florida house, when it wasn’t in use, of
course.  Then they sit around like they’re above the rest of us. 
I’ve never seen people with as much nerve as they have.”  Al’s just as
ticked.

“Why didn’t they mention
Bob?”  Maria doesn’t understanding the omission.

“Bob isn’t considered part of
‘their’ family because he has mixed blood and they don’t associate with family
that’s mixed.  He is from the Williams side of the family, tho’. 
That and they’re snobs.  One of these times you’ll have to be around when
Bob’s here for these dinners.  It’s a hoot.  Bob rubs their noses in
the family tree.  There’s a photo album around here somewhere that Bob
brings out and goes through.  Matilda’s great grandfather was
Mexican.  Boy it pisses her off to see those pictures, especially the one
with him in his peon work clothes.”  Al laughs first and the rest of them
join him.  Maria looks at me and I start to snicker and so does she.

Miss Lili gets up, “Well, family,
how about a swim?”  When Maria and I look at her, she adds, “that means
you two, too.”  She walks to the stairs and gets half way up then shouts,
“Last one in the pool has to set up the baskets and get the balls out.” 
And she vaults up the rest of the stairs with the rest of us on her
heels.  I didn’t realize ‘til then that Mandy and Al have a wing to
themselves off the top of the stairs to the left.

Ten minutes later we’re all running
for the stairs and down them.  Al and Mandy’s doing a little pushing and
shoving to get to the bottom before the other.  Before we get to the
bottom, Al’s at the back of the pack like a true gentleman.  We trot
through the living room and Miss Lili and Mandy cannonball into the pool, just
ahead of us.  Al comes around the corner with the hoops and the balls for
some water basketball.  We play for about an hour then we get out for a
piece of Lemon Meringue pie and some hot tea.  A cool wind has picked up
in the last few minutes.

Miss Lili won the game.  She’s
small and sneaky, and a very good swimmer.  She was everywhere at
once.  The ball would be coming right at you and before it got to you
she’d be grabbing the ball right out from under your nose.  We go upstairs
still talking about the game and swearing next time we won’t be so easy on the
senior lady of the group and laughing.

At our bedroom doors Miss Lili hugs
us and thanks us for coming.  She’s enjoyed the evening, after the stuff
shirts left, she adds.  We tell her we did, too, and we went into our
rooms laughing.  She reminds us to dress from our second garment bag
tomorrow.

Maria takes her shower first and
then I get mine.  After the showers we meet back in the bathroom and talk
about the evening, leaving out the relatives, except for Bridget.  They’re
all pieces of work, we decide, that’s if they know what work is.  Miss
Lili has a different surprise for us every day, letting us get to know her and
getting to know us better.  We like her more and more.  Mandy and Al
are relaxing around us and we find we like them, too.

We hear a knock on my door and Miss
Lili peeks in, “Can I join the girl talk?”  We invite her in and she sits
on the side of the tub.  “I thought I’d ask how ya vacation’s
going?”  We tell her fine, but it’s not much of a vacation for her. 
“Actually, I do less here than I do at home.  I have someone come in to
clean and do laundry once a week, but I do the rest of the work and take care
of everything between cleanin’s, and cook.  But I’m usually busy trying to
find out how I can help the town.  Before I come to the clinic I’ve
visited most of the shops in town.  I have spies that tell me if someone’s
having problems and I see what I can do to help them.”

I’m not surprised, but, “I don’t
understand how ya can do that without offering charity.”

“I find some way to put them to
work to earn what they need.  Clearing some brush, spraying for mosquitoes
and bugs in the park and around the town, power washing and painting my
buildings, there’s a lot to be done.  Sometimes I have them do some handy
work, replacing windows, doors, painting, rebuilding steps and other things for
the elderly.  They don’t mind help as much as the younger ones so I put
the younger ones to work helping the elderly.  Everybody wins and the town
looks good and prospers.  You see?”

Maria and I nod.  “Bet ya
didn’t know Bob and Steve do the same thing.  Bet ya didn’t know your
newsletter and posters do it, too.  The town’s people are doing things
together, learning new skills, and having more fun.”  She yawns and says
it’s past her bedtime, goodnight and leaves.  Maria and I sit there for a
minute then say goodnight.

Miss Lili knocks on our doors to
invite us to a morning swim with her.  We join her with a cup of coffee
and a warm muffin.  Mandy’s a great cook.  We finish our coffee and
join Miss Lili in the pool.  We swim around some but mostly tread water
and talk with Miss Lili, or she talks to us, is more correct.  She fills
us in on whose going to be at lunch and the conversation she’s expecting. 
Today’s meeting is with the attorney that drew up the partnership papers and
he’ll be talking to us about them in more detail.  Maria and I nod as
Mandy comes out to say the helicopter is waiting for Mr. Marshall’s arrival and
they’ll be on their way.

We get outta the pool, to take
showers, dress and do our hair and make-up.  We finish at the same time
and meet in the hall as we hear the helicopter over head.  Miss Lili says
we have about fifteen minutes.  We go down the stairs to the kitchen to
see if Mandy needs any help.  She has everything timed for the luncheon
and refreshments ready to be served ten minutes after Marsh’s arrival. 
Miss Lili says he’ll have to freshen up when he arrives so we’ll stay in the
kitchen ‘til Al comes for us.  Discretion, Miss Lili calls it.

Al summons us and we meet a
handsome, middle aged man.  He asks us to call him Marsh and we settle
down to iced tea and let Miss Lili and Marsh catch up on the families and each
other’s activities.  It sounds like they’ve been friends for a long time.