Betty Ann dismissed us at five p.m., after giving the two of us big hugs and telling us she wanted postcards from every state we were driving through.
“When are you sweet things leaving?” she asked.
“Tomorrow,” I said quickly.
“In the morning?”
I nodded my head and watched as she came toward me. She gave me another long squeeze and then stepped back to look into my eyes. Ginny Jo was watching us both intently. I wondered if she saw the same thing in Betty Ann’s face that I did. She had that look people get right before they throw up.
“Grace,” she began, “I wish you all the luck in the world up there, among all those sharks. I will be praying for your safety. I am sure you’ll make new friends.” She smiled. “Why, I hear that the men in New York City are all beautiful—that they all have manicured nails, and not a one of them has got bad teeth.”
I smiled and turned to Ginny Jo. She was staring at Betty Ann like she was going to reveal her indiscretions and own up to her deceit. Ginny Jo’s eyes were wide and she seemed to be waiting to hear some plea of forgiveness.
“I care for you. I want you to know that I would never intentionally hurt you.”
“Why, Miss Betty Ann,” I said, “I know that.”
“If anything ever happened to me, I’d want you to have my child. I know how much you love her.”
I just about fell over. “Whatever are you saying, Miss Betty Ann?”
“Oh, honey, that’s just my way of telling you that I love you and I’d trust you with my life and with my child.”
I stepped back. Ginny Jo stepped forward. I watched as Betty Ann wiped some tears from her eyes. I felt like I was going to pass out. Ginny Jo must have known it ’cause she put her arm around my shoulder.
“God bless you both,” Betty Ann said as she turned around and started up the stairs. But then she stopped abruptly and turned back to me. “Oh, Grace, just make sure that there are no dishes in the sink, will you do that, sweet thing? I have got to make myself pretty.”
“Of course, Miss Betty Ann,” I called up to her. “Your gentleman caller coming to see you tonight?” I asked and turned to wink at Ginny Jo.
“Of course, honey. Of course he is.”
I couldn’t help myself. Her remark took me by surprise, sort of like a paper cut.
Ginny Jo grabbed my arms and pulled me aside. “Shit, you’ve got to intercept the bastard. I guess he has plans to be here tonight. Make sure he doesn’t show up here tonight, Grace.”
“Goddamn it,” I whispered. “I’m not going to be able to stomach Lenny Bean in my underwear.”
“You’ve got to, Grace. If he’s here in the morning how will I get the ring?”
I sighed deeply. I knew I’d have to keep him busy. I wondered how I was going to do that without having to deal with his sex drive. I’d never go near Lenny again. I was sure of that.
I washed up the dishes while Ginny Jo looked through all the cupboards and helped herself to a tired old cupcake she’d found there. I showed her the back door and made sure it was unlocked.
“What time you coming over here?” I whispered.
“What time does she shower?”
“I don’t know. She’s always dressed by eight, though. She says the baby gets her up by six.”
“I want to sneak in while it’s still dark out. I don’t want anyone to see me,” Ginny Jo said and threw the cupcake wrapper away in the garbage.
“How you going to keep the dog quiet all that time?” I asked.
“Oh, I stole me a bunch of chops. I’m going to boil them up in water later today. My sisters and my mama won’t be home till late. They’re going up north to my cousin Karlene’s baby shower. I got out of it because Karlene hates me and doesn’t want me there anyway. She says I’m going to hell with all the other homosexuals, and I have contaminated the entire state of Tennessee with my deviance.”
“When you going to tell your mama you’re going to New York City?” I asked.
“I figured I’d write her a letter once I get there. I won’t have time to tell her anything, Grace.”
“Ginny Jo, that’s dumb. Your mama will have the state police after us.”
“If I tell her, she won’t let me go.”
“Then I guess you’ll have to call her when we hit the state line. I don’t want to be a fugitive, Ginny Jo.”
“I’ll call her in Mississippi. Is that the next state over, Grace?”
“We’re going up, not down. If we leave tomorrow morning, we’ll hit North Carolina by noon.”
“Fine, then I’ll call her from there.”
I pulled Ginny Jo over to the drapes right before we got to the front door. I could hear Betty Ann upstairs singing a Dottie West tune. “Look, she’s got money in the hem.”
Ginny Jo looked surprised. “What?”
“She hides cash in the hem of the drape. We don’t have enough for New York City, even with your three hundred.”
“But we’re taking the ring back to Carson’s,” Ginny Jo said and looked at me helplessly. I could tell she didn’t want to steal the cash but she could justify stealing the ring.
“We can’t take the ring to Carson’s. He’ll know we stole it from Betty Ann. He’ll tell the police.”
“Shit,” Ginny Jo said, “I guess I hadn’t thought of that. What are we going to do?”
“I don’t know.” I shrugged my shoulders. “You’ve got to see if she has any cash in that hem.”
“That’s stealing,” Ginny Jo said softly.
“What the hell do you think taking her ring is?”
“It’s your ring,” Ginny Jo said and looked up toward the stairs. “She stole your boyfriend, so I guess it’s an eye for an eye.”
“Yeah.”
“Go up there and keep her busy.”
“What? Are you’re going to steal the money out of her drapes now?” I asked and looked at her like she was out of her mind.
“How much you think I can do with some crazy Chihuahua on my tail? I can’t run up there in the morning and steal her ring and then run down here and look in the hem of her drapes. She could take quick showers. I might get caught.”
I heaved a big sigh and wondered what the hell excuse I could find to go up those stairs and start flapping my gums to Betty Ann Houseman when I was supposed to be on my way out the door.
“She told us to go on home. What am I supposed to tell her I want?”
“You’ll think of something. Now get up those stairs. It shouldn’t take me long to reach my hand in there and grab some cash.”
Betty Ann was surprised to see me as I walked into her bedroom. She made a raspy sound, like something flew in her mouth and she was startled into swallowing it. I didn’t know what I was going to do or say to stall for time. No matter how much I wracked my brain; I couldn’t think of a damn thing to start talking about.
Betty Ann was standing up on a chair, stuffing a little box into the closet. “Why darling, Grace, you forget something, honey?” she asked and went back to trying to make room on a shelf for the box. “You scared me half to death.”
I stood in the doorway trying to think of something important to tell her. There wasn’t much coming to mind, though. I watched as she tossed some shirts to the floor.
“I just came back up to say goodbye again. I feel so bad leaving you in the lurch, Miss Betty Ann.” I was relieved to find words actually falling from my tongue.
“Oh, honey, ain’t that sweet.” She turned back to me and we grinned at each other like we were waiting for one of us to continue talking. All of a sudden, she got some bizarre look in her eyes. I knew she’d been startled by something. She was keeping her eyes right on mine but she wasn’t blinking. She looked so strange that I thought she might fall off the chair and have some fit on the floor before me. I stepped into the room a bit. I’m sure the concern showed on my face. I hadn’t stepped more than a foot in before I realized what had spooked her so much. I saw it out of the corner of my eyes, and luckily, my instincts kicked in and I didn’t let on that I’d seen it.
Lo and behold, Lenny Bean’s Zippo was standing straight up on her bedroom table like a fucking erection, and the ashtray was full of Lenny’s brand of butts. I knew that without having to stare over there. I knew the smell of Camel cigarettes as well as I knew the smell of the Dippity Do he greased his hair with.
I thought quickly and did not turn to look at Lenny’s Zippo. I just kept staring at Betty Ann. I knew I was going to give that woman her money’s worth so I waltzed into the room, right on up to her. I stood so close that it was almost embarrassing.
“Miss Betty Ann,” I began just as sweet and sticky as cotton candy and butterscotch drops. “Why, I hope you’ll invite Lenny Bean over for a few beers while I’m up there in New York City. I don’t want my man getting lonely.” I stood back and looked up into her eyes, which were now as large as fried eggs. Her mouth was hanging open but I could tell she was trying to smile. “I know I can trust you,” I said and giggled. “Besides, you’re too old for Lenny.” I laughed harder. “Not that I wouldn’t trust you anyway.”
Her big eyes suddenly turned into little slits. We stood there staring at each other. I was smiling but she was glaring—looking sort of like a snake that’s just been stepped on.
“Why, Grace, I do not believe that Lenny Bean is younger than I am. I do believe we are the same age, honey.”
“Oh? I do declare, maybe you’re right. I guess he just acts young.” Then I turned around to walk toward the door, and she jumped off her chair so fast that she tripped. The box she was trying to get up in the closet went flying to the floor. I assume she had wanted to run around and stand in front of the table so I wouldn’t notice Lenny’s Zippo. His daddy’s initials were facing into the room so it couldn’t be any other lighter but his and she knew I’d recognize that right away.
The sound of broken glass startled both of us and we stood there for a moment. Then I heard Betty Ann let out a piercing scream, and before I knew it, she was on her knees scooping up the scattered pieces of glass.
“Grace, are you all right?” I heard Ginny Jo holler from the living room. “Yeah,” I yelled out and took advantage of the moment. I reached out and grabbed hold of Lenny’s Zippo and shoved it into my pocket while Betty Ann’s attention was on the floor. “Oh, Grace, this was my dead mama’s darlin’ Hildegard, her priceless glass cat. My daddy bought it for her on their honeymoon. I kept it away from baby Tabby, and now it’s in pieces. Oh, Grace, Mama’s Hildegard. Mama’s priceless cat.”
“Grace, I got to go home now. You coming?” I heard Ginny Jo holler. I was kind of immobilized, though. Poor Betty Ann Houseman was grabbing up all the little broken pieces of the cat’s limbs. It looked to me like the only thing Hildegard had left in one piece was an ear. My impulse was to help Betty Ann find all the little glass pieces and offer to help glue them back on the cat’s body, but I didn’t do that. I walked out and left Betty Ann on her knees picking up broken glass and crying like something precious had just lost its life before her.