Chapter Thirty-nine
Angel followed Wanda into the living room, while Wes helped Pops to his room. Wanda settled into her favorite chair. She smiled and asked Angel, “How’s the nurse working out for your grandmother?”
“Good,” Angel answered as she sat down on the couch. Even though she had talked to Wanda a few times, she felt a bit self-conscious. After all, her feelings for the woman’s son had grown in a short time. Angel swallowed and continued. “I like Ella Mae a lot. She helps during the day, and I’m able to help Grams at night. Wes mentioned to me that you decided to put your dad in a nursing home. I’m sure that was a hard decision.”
Wanda sighed. “Yes, I prayed and cried over what to do. I would do anything for my dad, but I need to work too. I took time off and tried working part-time with the neighbors’ help. It was starting to be too much. I feel so responsible for him because he was a really great dad. He was there for me. We had some great times together.”
Angel said, “I can imagine it must be hard to watch his memory slip away.”
“It’s very difficult. I try to concentrate on the good memories for him.”
“Detective Cade is blessed to have a daughter like you. I guess Jacob may feel that way about Grams. I mean, with seeing her go from being so vibrant to being a lot more dependent.”
“Jacob loves his mother. He always got along with her better than with Nick. I remember he told me one time that Fredricka just understood him. That’s what moms do.”
“You said the other day, Jacob used to be fun. I wonder what happened to him.”
“Your mother happened. Then there was me,” Wanda responded quietly.
Angel didn’t say anything at first, surprised by how much she was learning about her uncle from Wanda. Angel had sensed there was a little more to Jacob and Wanda’s relationship than just a friendship. “You and Jacob were a couple?” she finally asked.
“No, no.” Wanda rubbed her hands together as if they were cold. “We have known each other all of our lives. We were comfortable with each other. I think as we grew older, Jacob had more feelings for me than I did for him. I loved . . . still love him like a brother—”
“But he wanted to be more than that to you,” Angel said, interrupting her.
Wanda shook her head. “I fell head over heels for Wes’s dad in high school. It hurt my friendship with Jacob. We didn’t even talk to each other on graduation day and for a few years afterward. He just became distant. But I heard he moved on. What’s his wife’s name?”
“Liz.”
“Right. They are still married and doing well?”
Angel wasn’t sure how to answer the question, knowing Jacob and Aunt Liz’s marriage was pretty rocky at the moment. She answered, “They are still together.” To avoid any awkwardness, Angel said, “You mentioned my mother. You know, I sensed just recently that Jacob really . . . I don’t know.... He kind of despised her. Is that true?”
Wanda looked at her thoughtfully, like she was weighing her answer. “Your mother was a ball of energy. She could light up a room, and sometimes she could darken a room.”
“You mean she had mood swings?”
“Bad mood swings. I don’t know how much your grandparents talked about it, but your mother would dip up and down so much. Jacob told me they took her to see a doctor. They were on eggshells around her. Nick would do whatever he could to make Elisa happy.”
“It’s funny you mentioning that, but I do remember her being really sad, and then she could be happy like a little kid.”
Wanda added, “There were some extremes. Even just the way Jacob and Elisa were treated differently. I know one year Jacob really wanted to learn to play the drums. He was all tuned up to do it. By that time your mother had been singing on a pretty regular basis at church and at local talent shows. Anyway, with entertainers in your family, it seemed appropriate for Jacob to follow suit, but Nick was against him learning to play.”
Angel frowned. “Really? Why?” She was becoming more disturbed about her family as Wanda talked.
Wanda shrugged. “I don’t know. I do know there was this big blowup. Jacob kind of never felt the same about his dad. He also couldn’t stand the drummer in Southern Soul.”
“Are you talking about Eddie?” Angel inquired.
“Yes. Eddie joined Southern Soul when he was nineteen. I think Jacob was twelve. Anyway, Eddie brought more spunk to the aging band’s sound. I could remember my dad wondering why they brought such a young guy into the group. I thought he was pretty cute. Just a really cool guy. I believe Jacob’s desires to play the drums formed because of Eddie. But Nick wanted his son to pursue an education, versus the entertainment business.”
“Wow, you really know Jacob. I had no idea.” Angel had always wondered about the rivalry between Jacob and Eddie. Both men clearly didn’t like each other. Now she understood a little bit. It didn’t seem fair that her grandparents had let her mother push forward with pursuing her singing career but held Jacob back. She wondered if that was why he was so intense. Maybe her uncle hadn’t pursued his passion in life.
Angel said, “You know, Eddie used to hang out with our family all the time. I affectionately called him uncle. I grew up with his daughter, Denise, and we were close, I guess much the way you were with Jacob.”
“Is that so? Southern Soul is just one big family, a bit dysfunctional, like any family, though.”
Angel laughed with Wanda. Both women turned around when they heard Wes entering the living room. He was talking to someone on his cell phone. Angel noticed that his brows were furrowed, like he was upset. She heard him say, “Are you sure? Yes, I will be there right away.”
After Wes clicked off his phone, Wanda asked, “Son, what’s going on? You aren’t going to run out on your guest now, are you?”
Angel looked at him. “Yeah, Wes. Is everything okay?”
Wes shook his head. “No. Angel, you might want to come with me. I hate to break this to you, but I just confirmed with Serena that Southern Soul Café is on fire. She’s down there now, covering the story.”
Angel jumped up from the couch. “What? Oh no!” They had just been at the restaurant on Friday. She’d spent all of Saturday uploading the videos from the talent show to the YouTube page. “This can’t be happening! Was anyone there? They would have a huge lunch crowd from church now.”
“I don’t know. If you are up for it, let’s go find out.”
Wanda walked behind them as they headed out the door. “You two be careful and keep me updated.”
Angel practically sprinted behind Wes, who was moving pretty fast toward his car. All Angel could see in her mind was the photo of her mother on the restaurant wall, with flames licking around the edges.