Then he pivoted and stormed out the door.
After a heartbeat of silence, pandemonium erupted all around them, but Howe and Elizabeth stood staring at each other in amazement.
The judge and Charles hee-hawed.
“Am I hallucinating,” Howe asked her, “or did he just admit he lied and apologize?”
“He did.” But why?
They both voiced the same thought in unison. “Mama,” and “Augusta.”
As P.J.’s Mercedes SUV roared away with a squeal of tires, Howe and Elizabeth flew upstairs together and burst into Augusta’s room.
“Patti,” Howe said, “go downstairs to help your brother with our guests. We need to talk to Gamma.”
No fool, Patti looked from her father to her grandmother’s smug expression. “Why? What happened?”
“Your brother will tell you.” Howe turned to the nurse. “Please excuse us.”
“Yes, sir,” the nurse said as she rose. “Just call if you need me. I’ll be right outside.”
“Not too close,” Howe cautioned. There had been enough gossip already.
They waited till the door was closed to flank Augusta’s bed.
“How did you do it, Mama?”
Augusta smoothed her bed jacket, focusing on the rosebud buttons. “I simply convinced him it was in his best interest to tell the truth and apologize. Publicly.”
“But how?” Elizabeth demanded.
Augusta shot her a brief, critical glance. “You can’t very well expect me to sit idly by after Patti told me about his coming over and making such a scene. So I called the boy and explained that if he didn’t recant and apologize,
publicly,
I would tell his dying father that he’s not his father.”
What? That didn’t compute. “Who’s not whose father?”
Augusta glared at Elizabeth as if she were a simpleton. “P.J.’s father is not P.J.’s father.”
Howe scowled. “And how would you know that?”
“I make it a habit to know everything that concerns me and mine,” Augusta told them evenly, keeping her voice low enough not to be overheard. “And the fact is, P.J.’s mother was having an affair with your father when she got pregnant. Of course, I never discussed the matter with your father. It would have been demeaning.” Howe stood, stunned, as she went on. “I wasn’t sure whose child the boy was till the DNA tests were available, then I confirmed it with a blood test,” Augusta said calmly. “I needed to be forearmed, if it ever came to light.”
“And P.J. agreed to the test?” Howe asked in disbelief.
“For heaven’s sake, no. Do you think I’m a fool?” Augusta winced briefly in physical pain, then resumed. “I had Dr. Collins take the sample when he did P.J.’s physical, then I sent the sample off myself, under a made-up name, with some of your father’s hair from his baby book.”
This was absolutely Machiavellian.
“How in hell did you get Dr. Collins to do that?” Howe demanded. “He could lose his license for doing that.”
“Everyone has his Achilles’ heel,” Howe’s mother gloated.
“Including Dr. Collins.” She looked from Howe to Elizabeth. “Well, don’t thank me all at once.”
“P.J. Atkinson is my
brother
?” Howe sank to the chair the nurse had been sitting in.
“Half brother,” his mother corrected. “But I wouldn’t advise making anything of it. The man clearly takes after his mother. Worthless, the both of them.”
Howe stared unseeing into the middle distance. “I have a brother.”
“Lower your voice,” Augusta cautioned. “I didn’t tell you to have you blabbing it all over town. For your sake, and the family’s, I expect you to keep that in confidence.” She suddenly looked frail and weak. “Your father is dead and gone, Howell. Do not besmirch his memory.”
Howe turned to Elizabeth. “P.J. Atkinson is my
brother.
”
“Apparently so.” Elizabeth didn’t know what else to say.
“Now you’ve worn me out,” Augusta fussed. “Go back to your guests, and send in that nurse. I want some morphine.”
Howe leaned over and kissed his mother’s forehead. “Thank you, Mama. For everything.”
She waved him off. “You’re my son. I love you. Now go on and leave me in peace.”
They did as she asked, then sent in the nurse. On the way back down the stairs, Howe took Elizabeth’s hand and gave it a squeeze. “C’mon, Lizzie. Let’s party.”
“Don’t call me Lizzie,” she said. “I told you, I hate that name.”
Howe waggled his eyebrows at her. “Nobody’s perfect, Lillibet,
and that includes me. You’re gonna get Lizzied from time to time. Might as well get used to it.”
He looked so young and winsome when he said it, she couldn’t suppress a chuckle. Suddenly the world looked welcoming and new with possibilities.
Charles made straight for Elizabeth when they entered the parlor, and Patti went for Howe. “Mama,” Charles said, “I don’t know how that happened, and I don’t care. I’m just glad it did.”
“Me, too.” Patti gave her father a peck. “I’m going back up to check on Gamma.”
“I’m afraid we wore her out,” Elizabeth said.
“Don’t worry, I’ll stay with her.” Patti regarded her parents with affection. “It’s so good to see you together.” Then she headed for the stairs.
“Charles, put on some dancin’ music,” Howe told him. “Something slow. I want to dance with your mother.”
“Comin’ right up,” their son said.
“In the Still of the Night” came through the speakers over the rumble of conversation, and Howe led Elizabeth into an easy box-step. “We are going to have a good time at our own party, my darling.” He twirled her, then bent close to whisper in her ear, “Then I am going to run these people out, and the real celebration is going to start.”
Elizabeth couldn’t wait. And celebrate they did, first with everybody who was anybody in Whittington watching two people in love, then behind closed doors, just the two of them. Twice.
But the next morning when they woke to the rest of their lives together, Augusta didn’t.
Patti came in at dawn and told them. To Elizabeth’s surprise, she wasn’t crying.
“I was with her, Mama,” she said, almost in wonder. “I woke up at three, and just felt like I needed to check on her, and when I got there, she was hardly breathing. I called the nurse, but Gamma grabbed my hand and said no.” She lost focus, reliving it. “Her eyes were almost black. She held my hand and said she was ready for it to be over. Then she closed her eyes.” Patti sank to the bed beside Elizabeth. “At first, I thought she was asleep. Then I realized her chest wasn’t moving. So I called the nurse, and she got her stethoscope and said Gamma’s heart had stopped. Just like that. Gamma said she was ready, and she died.”
Elizabeth gathered her daughter close. “Oh, sweetie. I’m so sorry. I know how much you loved her.”
His face grim, Howe got up quietly and put on his robe.
“I know it was selfish of me,” Patti said, “but I asked the nurse not to say anything to anybody, and sent her away. Then I sat
there, holding Gamma’s hand, remembering all the fun we’d had together.” She drew back to peer at Elizabeth. “I don’t know why, but it felt . . . holy, being there when her soul left her body. Holding her hand till it was cold, and the sun came up.” A single tear escaped. “She never did let go.”
“Oh, honey.”
Howe kissed the top of Patti’s head on his way out. “I’ll call Flanigan’s.”
Patti reached after her father. “Gamma has everything written out, just the way she wants it. She talked about it a lot. The file is on her desk.”
Howe nodded, hesitating with his hand on the doorknob, as if to delay the inevitable. “I know,” he said, his voice gruff.
He’d come a long way in controlling his emotions to remain so composed. “Have you told Charles?” he asked.
“Not yet,” Patti answered. “I wanted to tell y’all, first.”
“I’ll do that,” Howe said. “I need something to do.” He left, carefully closing the door behind him.
Suddenly deflated, Patti yawned, then curled up in the bed beside Elizabeth. “Can I take a nap in here with you?”
Elizabeth stroked her shoulder. “Of course you can. C’mere.”
Patti nuzzled in close the way she used to after she’d had a bad dream as a little girl, then fell asleep.
Lying there with her, Elizabeth digested the fact that Augusta was dead, at last.
Elizabeth had expected to feel some relief when it happened, but she didn’t. All she felt was sympathy for Patti and Howe. Augusta’s death had left a big hole in their lives, and a surprising
one in Elizabeth’s. She couldn’t imagine what life was going to feel like without Augusta second-guessing her every move. The shocking thing was, she might even miss the woman.
And the wonderful thing was, now that it was finally over, she could let go and forgive the lifetime of criticism Augusta had levied on her.
Howe insisted on coordinating all the funeral arrangements himself from his study, the door closed. Meanwhile, Patti helped Elizabeth take down the decorations and get ready for the reception after the funeral. There was something cathartic about putting the house in order themselves, wiping away the past with the dust on the surfaces and furniture. At Augusta’s instructions, they stopped the clocks in the front rooms at the hour of her death and covered the mirrors in black silk.
At the reading of the will on Monday, they found out that Augusta had topped off the Organ Fund at St. Andrew’s, stipulating that the funds could only be used for that purpose, and left fifty thousand each to Pearl and Thomas. The rest—half a million in cash, her house, and her fifty-one percent interest in the bank—she’d divided between Howe, Patti, and Charles, which came as no surprise to Elizabeth.
What did surprise her was Howe’s response.
He calmly asked the lawyer to put half the value of the shares his mother had left him into Elizabeth’s account, with the hearty approval of the children.
Touched, she told him, “Howe, I don’t need your money.”
“You earned it, Lillibet,” he said, “and then some. More than that, I want you to be independent and secure, so you’ll always be free to choose what you need.”
Elizabeth’s heart glowed. “I made my choice. You know that.”
Howe smiled with pride, his eyes welling. “Then make this one. Take the money.”
Elizabeth shrugged. If that was what he wanted . . . “Okay. Just don’t ask me to have anything to do with the bank.”
“Speaking of the bank,” Howe said, glancing down. “There’s something I need to tell you all.” He looked squarely at each of them, then said, “I’ve had a really good offer for my shares of the bank, and I’ve decided to take it. It’s something I’ve been working on for some time, but I didn’t want to upset Mama.”
Elizabeth was happy to hear it, but worried that he hadn’t told her. He’d promised to tell her the truth.
“Dad,” Charles said, “if it’s too much for you because of the stroke, I can come take over for you.”
“Lord, no, son,” Howe said. “That’s the last thing I want. Y’all are free to do what you wish with your shares. I’ve got a very good reason for selling mine.” He shot Elizabeth a shy expression. “I just found out last week that I have another job.”
Something
else
major he’d neglected to mention? “Howe!”
Howe smiled. “I passed the bar. I’m going to be a lawyer, at last.”
Charles jumped up and started pounding his father’s shoulder. “Dad, that’s great! Better than great! That’s fabulous! What kind of law?”
“Don’t know yet,” Howe confessed.
Patti leapt into Howe’s lap and kissed his cheek. “Whatever you do, you’ll be great at it. I just know you will.”
So that’s what Howe had been doing in the study all those months! Studying. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Elizabeth asked, ecstatic and angry at the same time.
He shrugged. “I was afraid I’d fail.” His chin rose. “I didn’t want you to know if I couldn’t hack it.”
It was the life they’d both dreamed of in college. “Honey, I’m so proud for you. But you should have told me.”
He grinned. “I just did.”
The lawyer cleared his throat. “Well, this has certainly been an eventful reading.” He straightened the paperwork. “Allow me to be the first to welcome you into the profession, Howe, though I can’t say I’m looking forward to the competition.”
Howe nodded. “Don’t worry. There’s plenty of pro bono work to keep me busy in this town.”
The lawyer nodded in approval, his chin dimpling, then rose. “There was a time when I wouldn’t have done this, but I’d like to shake your hand.” He extended his hand.
Howe got up to take Ben’s hand into both of his own and pump it. “Thank you, Ben. I’ll do my best to justify your respect.”
Elizabeth stood, dazed. So much had happened so quickly since Saturday night. She felt as if some cosmic force had ordered the misaligned dominoes of her life and tipped them into place.
“God has blessed me far more than I deserve,” Howe said, putting a name to that force.
She took her place at her husband’s side. “Thank you, Ben.”
The lawyer smiled. “I’ll transfer those funds as soon as they become available,” he told her.