Chapter 26

 

I toweled off, and slipped into yellow cotton pajamas decorated with cheerful daisies. It was only mid-afternoon, but I knew I wasn’t going anywhere else for the rest of the day if I could help it. Before going downstairs, I swallowed a couple of ibuprofen, and brushed my hair. Being clean made me feel somewhat better even if my muscles were stiffening.

“Let’s check the phone message,” I told Paddy. I had to admit that having a dog around had given me lots of opportunities for one-sided conversations. But it was a good enough invitation for the dog and he accompanied me to the kitchen. I gave him a treat and poured myself some iced tea.

“Miss Ana.” I heard Sunny’s voice when I pushed the button on the answering machine. She sounded uncertain. “Could I... we come over tomorrow and sew? We wouldn’t have to stay long, but maybe for a little while? Please? Well, OK... bye.” I stretched my muscles and thought about it, but sewing wasn’t physically demanding, so I punched in the Leonards’ number. In a few minutes I had agreed to pick up the girls on Saturday morning. I would have to go out anyway, since I needed to buy more first-aid supplies to take care of my arm.

About all I did after that was fill Paddy’s dog dish with kibble and fix a sandwich for myself. Then I went to bed.

The next morning, when I reached Hammer Bridge Town, Sunny and Star were waiting for me outside the trailer, so I didn’t even see Len. They were alarmed when they noticed my bandaged arm. I assured them it wasn’t too serious, but I needed to keep it clean until a scab formed. Not wanting to worry them, I only said that I tripped and had a nasty fall on the road. In truth, I had decided the whole thing was an accident anyway. Someone just wasn’t paying attention on the narrow road.

For the sewing project, our first goal was to lay out the pattern pieces on the fabrics. There wasn’t enough room on my work table, so Star vacuumed the floor. As yet, it was only plywood subflooring, but it was new enough to be very clean as long as the dog hair and loose dirt were cleaned up. When we knelt down to lay out the fabric, I learned that flexibility was not going to be my best attribute for at least one more day, but the pain was tolerable, and the girls didn’t seem to notice that I was stiff.

It was a little tricky to supervise both girls’ projects at the same time, but they were patient. While I worked with Star, Sunny watched and listened. I demonstrated how the arrows on the pattern indicated the direction the pieces should be laid on the fabric, and how to know when an edge should be lined up with a fold. Shortly after noon, we had both patterns pinned down. The next step was to cut the pieces out, but I suggested lunch first. The day was hot and humid, and my head was beginning to ache. I wasn’t sure I was up for an afternoon of questions and chatter.

I suggested we had done enough for one day, and offered to take us all out to eat. The girls were enthusiastic since they were seldom able to do that. I asked them to play with Paddy for a few minutes while I changed the dressing on my arm, and soon we were all in the Jeep, except for Paddy. I decided he should stay home rather than wait for us in a hot car.

An idea had been brewing in my mind, and I decided I might as well see what the girls thought.

“Would you be interested in going to Paula’s Place for lunch?” I asked. “We won’t do it if it will upset you, but maybe it will help you remember that your mom was always looking for a way to take care of you.”

“I’d like that,” said Star. “It’s so weird that I’m almost old enough to have that kind of job. It makes me feel really close to her.”

“Is Paula a real person, or just the name of the restaurant?” Sunny asked.

“She’s real,” I said. I’ve met her.”

“Was she a friend of our mom?” Sunny wound the tail of her t-shirt around her fingers.

“She’s a little older than your mom, but yes, they were friends. She’d like to meet you. Actually, I think she knew you when you were babies.”

“Let’s do it!” Star said.

“OK with you?” I asked Sunny. She nodded, but the big smile she’d had before Angelica had been found still hadn’t returned. The drive to Waabishki only took about twenty minutes on the main roads, but by the time we got there the lunch crowd was thinning and we didn’t have to wait at all for a booth to open up. The girls took one side, and I sat opposite them. I noticed Madison was working again today, and she remembered me too.

“Hi there,” she said cheerfully. “I see you have friends with you today.”

“I do,” I answered. “I think Paula would like to meet them, if she has a minute.”

“I’ll tell her,” Madison said, leaving menus and sweating glasses of ice water on our table. The waitress sounded less surly and more professional today.

Sunny gulped some of the cold water. “This is fun,” she began. “Can I order anything I want?”

“Sure.”

“We sometimes get hamburgers, or maybe soft ice cream, but nothing like this.” A smile teased the corners of her mouth.

“Silly, we ate out with Dad a couple of times,” Star said.

“That was a long time ago. I was little and had to order off the kiddie menu. Hot dogs or grilled cheese.” Sunny wrinkled her nose.

“I guess you’re right,” Star mused. “It was at least a couple of years ago.” She sat up straight and wiggled a finger at Sunny. “You make me feel old!”

Sunny giggled and said, “You are old.”

I steered the conversation back to the food. “Better look at the menu. There are sandwiches or big salads, or you can get a half sandwich with soup and French fries.”

“I want something I never had before!” Sunny announced. “What’s Oriental Chicken Salad? Did the chicken come from China?”

“I doubt that,” I said, “but it’s good. It has lots of lettuce with cold chicken, and other veggies, and mandarin oranges on top. I might have that myself.”

“I want the turkey club with bacon,” said Star. “And a small fruit salad.”

“Can I have a Coke, too?” pleaded Sunny.

“Of course,” I said.

“This is a lot of money for one meal,” Star said. She looked worried.

I smiled at her. “It’s a treat today. Just enjoy it.”

She smiled back at me. The look in her eyes was very grown up. “Maybe I can pay you back some day,” she said.

Madison took our orders, and before she was finished, Paula came and slid in beside me.

“Look at you!” She beamed at the girls. “I’m so happy to see you again, although I’m sure you don’t remember me. I’m Paula Wentworth. You must be Star.” She then turned to the younger girl. “And Sunny.”

“Hello,” the girls said, together, tentatively. Star continued, more boldly. “Miss Ana says you knew our mother. What was she like?”

“She had a difficult life, honey. That’s for sure. I don’t mean any disrespect to your father, but they were both so young with no real skills. She wanted to find an honest way to earn enough money to move into a real house, and buy you two some nice things.”

“Were you her friend?” Sunny asked.

“She was younger than I am. Not much, but it always seems like a lot when you are in school. She would sometimes tell me that she dreamed of having a pretty flower bed, or decorating a bedroom in pink for you two. As it was, you were lucky to have a bed instead of a mattress on the floor.”

Star’s face was stony. “We’re not stupid little kids, you know. We’ve heard a lot of things this week. Talk about drug dealing. Why would we have to sleep on the floor if Mom had lots of drug money?”

Paula took a breath. “OK,” she said. “I’ll be honest. You are old enough to hear the truth. But none of what I said was a lie. Not at all. Your mom loved you very much. I think your parents got sucked into the drug culture. Then I think Angelica woke up and tried to get DuWayne to stop the drug dealing. But once you’re in that business, it’s really hard to get out.”

“It must be like trying to change groups at school,” Star said.

“Yes, but even harder, because there’s real money involved,” I put in.

Paula continued, “I’m pretty sure, at some point, she stopped taking the drug money when DuWayne brought it home, and then they would fight about it.”

“How do you know that?” asked Sunny.

“I do remember some arguing,” Star added, looking thoughtful.

“Do you know Frank Garis?” Paula asked.

“We met him at the memorial service,” Star said. “You were there, too.” This was news to me, but maybe Paula had been behind me, and left quickly. I was glad to know she had made it.

“Frank’s my brother. He and DuWayne were good friends back then. So I heard some things that other people might not have.”

“Why would she leave us?” Sunny asked in an anguished voice, a tear suddenly rolling down her cheek.

Star looked around and then put an arm around her younger sister. “Shhh, don’t cry here,” she said insistently. Sunny sniffed and wiped her cheek.

“She didn’t want to,” Paula said. “The fact that she was killed proves it. She had no intention of leaving you, and now you know that for certain. It’s really sad, but you never have to wonder how much your mom loved you. She always carried pictures of you. You looked like two little dolls!”

“Thank you,” Star said. “It’s nice to know that someone thought our mother was a good person.”

Sunny wiped the back of her hand across the other cheek and nodded.

“Here comes your food,” Paula said. “May I give you each a little hug?” She stood up. The girls slid out of the booth and let themselves be held. “I understand that you hardly know me, but if you need a friend, or some help, just call me. You’ve got Ana, too. You’ve had a rough patch, but I know you are winners, and things are going to get better.”

The girls pulled away and looked at Paula. Her hug had been just right, not smothering, but just enough to show them she really cared. I felt confident that Paula was genuinely concerned for the girls, no matter what her father’s attitude was.

Paula lifted Sunny’s chin. “Smile?”

“OK,” Sunny said, and gave her a lopsided grin.

“You can’t enjoy good food when you are sad,” Paula said. Madison had been waiting until the hugs were finished, but as the girls sat down again she placed the plates in front of us and then laid the check on the table beside me. Paula scooped it up and said, “This is on the house.” She winked at Star, who smiled back.

The food smelled delicious. We dug in, and the taste was no disappointment either.