***
SUSIE WAS DISCHARGED from the hospital at the end of the week, and we girls went out to dinner to celebrate. We called it "Girls' Night Out," and Marianne said Dr. Warner was jealous. Susie said Rodney was, too. Lilly and I looked at each other as if to say, "Maybe we're lucky not to have men who want to control our lives," but neither of us said anything until we got home later that night, and we sat up and giggled for an hour.
I told the girls about my experience at the attorney general's office, but I didn't mention the note on my car because I didn't want to worry Susie. She said Rodney thought he recognized Tucker Thevenot the day of the shooting because he remembered that Tucker had been one of the members of the posse who had chased Rodney in Jackson, Mississippi in the '70s when he tried to take a train to DC to marry Susie.
"He said Tucker Thevenot was on the train to Memphis," Susie told us. "The one Rodney jumped from because he recognized four white men from Jean Ville and knew they were there to get him."
The whole plan had been for Rodney and Susie to get married in DC in 1974, but that plan went down the tubes because of the posse. He and Susie gave up on their dream to be together—too dangerous—and Rodney returned to Jean Ville.
Fast forward ten years and lots of water had flowed upstream: Rodney went to Vietnam, got married and divorced, and spent ten years in the Army. Susie found Lilly when she was four years old but didn't tell Rodney—or anyone, for that matter—about the baby Susie had at eighteen. She eventually married the doctor who had delivered Lilly.
Both Susie and Rodney had been through a lot, and they'd finally come back together with Lilly as the crown on their relationship. Their biggest mistake was having their wedding in Jean Ville, Louisiana. They were paying the price for that.
Rodney tried to tell the detectives from Robert Morris's Morris' office that Tucker Thevenot had also been part of the group of men he called a "posse" who'd hung Jeffrey in a tree in Jean Ville. This had been a few days before they tracked Rodney to Jackson, Mississippi.
Susie said that Rodney still couldn't speak clearly and struggled with consonants, so the Detectives didn't understand everything he tried to tell them. Susie said she tried to help fill in the blanks, but lots of what Rodney knew, he'd never told Susie.
"I sat there and listened while the Detectives asked him questions," Susie told us when we four girls sat at a table in a restaurant called, Brennan's on Royal Street in the French Quarters. "The detectives asked Rod why all those men wanted to kill him. Rodney said it was because he had the nerve to love a white girl. 'Not any white girl,' he said, struggling to get the sounds out so that they understood. 'Senator Bob Burton's daughter.'"
"What are you saying, Susie?" I watched Susie's face, and the look on it made me think that something important had been implied.
"Well, I'm pretty sure Daddy was behind what happened to Rodney ten years ago. And that makes me wonder…" She didn't elaborate.
Daddy would never do anything like that. The bullets that hit Rodney were inches from Susie's head. If Rod hadn't shielded her and pulled her to the ground, taking the bullets himself, she could have been killed, something my daddy would never be a part of.
We didn't talk about the shooting any more. We talked about Marianne and her relationship with Dr. Warner. Marianne told us that it was getting serious.
"At least on his part." She laughed and blushed. "I mean, he says he's crazy about me."
"Have you told him how you feel?" I looked at the grin on her face and could tell she was ate up with the man.
"I'm not sure how I feel." She blushed.
"How will you know?" Lilly stared at Marianne as though she were trying to figure out how a person might know if she’s in love with someone.
"I'm not sure. They say you just know." Marianne laughed, which made us all laugh.
"Well, I'll say this: if I ever think I love a guy, I'm just going to tell him. Playing games is too stressful." I giggled, but I meant what I said.
*
Dr. Warner was examining Rod when I walked into his room at Ochsner Monday afternoon. His head was no longer wrapped in gauze; instead, there was a big white pad taped on the side of his shaved head, above his ear.
"Another week in here and we'll have you off all these tubes and IVs," Warner said as he pulled the sheet off Rodney's legs. "Then we can talk about moving you to Rehab."
Warner ran a pin up and down the soles of Rod's feet. I didn't see a reaction and looked at Susie, who knew exactly what was wrong. She shrugged as if to say, "At least he's alive." I agreed, but I wouldn't be the one married to a man who couldn't walk.
Warner turned around and saw Marianne standing with Lilly and me in the doorway. A smile spread across his face as though he'd opened a Christmas present with his dream toy inside. I pushed my elbow into Marianne's side and laughed under my breath.
"Hi." Warner walked up to Marianne and ignored the rest of us. "Want to grab a glass of wine?"
"I have to get Susie and Lilly home…"
"I'll take care of them, Mari." I patted her shoulder and winked.
"I can take Susie home in my new car." Lilly dangled the keys to her Mustang in front of Marianne.
"Lilly and Sissy are right, Mari." Susie slid off Rodney's bed and walked without help to the wall where her walker was parked. We'll be fine. Go on."
Lilly smiled at me as though she knew some secret I didn't.
"It's settled, then." Dr. Warner took Marianne's hand and pulled her out of the room. I looked over my shoulder at Susie, and she and Lilly were laughing, so was Rodney. I obviously had a lot to catch up on.
*
I retrieved the Times Picayune from the front yard Sunday morning and was sorting through the sections, looking for the comics, when I saw the headline on the front page of Section D. "Two Arrested in Wedding Shooting."
Pictures of Keith Rousseau and the scraggly-looking dude, Thevenot, whom I'd seen on James's front porch, were plastered across the top of the page. They wore orange jumpsuits, and neither had shaved in days. The article said that the state police had been looking for the pair for several days and the accused had eluded the officers by going into the woods north of the Guillot Community on a four-wheeled all terrain vehicle. It said state troopers went up Red River in two speedboats while several other cops scaled the woods on the four-wheelers and in jeeps until they flushed out Thevenot and Rousseau.
They'd been charged with resisting arrest, aggravated flight from an officer, and two counts of attempted first degree murder.
"Investigators say the attorney general's office will prosecute the case and has asked the Judge for six weeks to prepare evidence, which District Judge Edward DeYoung granted," the article stated. "Should the attorney general charge the accused through a bill of information, they will stand trial sometime next year." I kept reading the article, which mentioned Susie and Rodney's names and said that Susie was the daughter of retired State Senator, Bob Burton.
The end of the article said that more charges were pending against Thevenot and Rousseau related to other cases as far back as the 1970s.
I stared at the newspaper as though it had appeared out of nowhere. I wanted to pick up the phone and call Robert Morris, but I figured if I were supposed to be in-the-know he'd have told me that the arrests would be made this weekend. As I thought about it, I realized they must have had warrants for the men before they grilled me, which made me angry all over again. I wondered why they felt they had to put me through the wringer when they had all the information they needed for the arrests.
Susie staggered into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes, her hair in tangles as though she'd slept upside down. She sat at the table, and I poured her a cup of coffee and put the newspaper in front of her. She sipped her coffee and thumbed through the paper. When I was sure she was awake, I slid Section D over the part she was reading.
"Oh. My. God!" She looked up at me and back at the paper. I sat still while she read it. "What happens next?"
"I'm not sure. I think I'll go to Baton Rouge tomorrow and speak with Robert Morris." I twisted my hair and stared straight ahead at nothing in particular.
"I can call Rob Morris." She kept staring at the newspaper as if it could magically erase itself and create a new story.
"Brenda is coming to New Orleans to see you and Rodney today. Let's see what she has to say first, okay?" I reached for Susie's hand to get her attention.
"Okay. But I'm going to show this article to Rodney when I get to the hospital this morning." Susie's brow was furrowed, and her eyes squinted.
Lilly skipped into the kitchen dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, her hair brushed and lip gloss on her mouth.
"I'm going with you to see Dad this morning. I'll bet he missed us last night." Lilly was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. She kissed her mom on the top of her head, hugged me, and poured herself a glass of orange juice. "I don't see how you can drink that awful black liquid. It looks like muddy water from Bayou Noir."
"When you drink too many glasses of wine one night, you're glad to have bayou water in the morning." I hugged her and laughed. She sat at the table with Susie, who was still staring at the newspaper.
"What is it, Susie?" Lilly watched her mom's eyes go back and forth across the page, reading it for the umpteenth time.
"They arrested the guys they think shot Rodney." Susie held the paper so tightly that it wrinkled in her hands.
"Let me see." Lilly tried to take the paper from Susie, but it began to tear. "Susie. Can I read the article?"
"I'll read it to you." Susie was acting strange, and Lilly looked at me with a questioning expression. I shrugged my shoulders and smiled.
"Two Arrested in Wedding Shooting." Susie started to read, stuttered, then continued. "After a chase of almost three days on the Red River and through the wooded area north of the Guillot Community of Jean Ville, police finally captured two suspects in the June 30 shooting of Rodney Thibault which occurred in front of St. Alphonse's Catholic Church on Jefferson Street. Captain Roger Lamoré served Tucker Thevenot and Keith Rousseau with arrest warrants that had been signed by Judge Edward DeYoung Friday morning. Louisiana law states that, to obtain an arrest warrant, police must provide the judge with information that establishes probable cause, by the named person(s) who committed a particular crime.
"Thevenot and Rousseau have been charged with resisting arrest, aggravated flight from an officer, and two counts of attempted first degree murder.
"Investigators say the attorney general's office will prosecute the case and has asked the Judge for six weeks to prepare evidence, which District Judge Edward DeYoung granted. Should the attorney general charge the accused through a bill of information, they will stand trial sometime next year.
"Thibault is a retired army major and JAG officer who graduated valedictorian from Adams High School in 1967. He walked out of the church with his bride, Susanna Burton, and was shot twice with a 45-caliber pistol. Doctors removed two projectiles from Thibault; one from his head, the other near his right lung. He remains in Ochsner Medical Center in New Orleans where he has been a patient since the incident. Burton-Thibault is the daughter of former mayor and retired State Senator, Robert Burton.
"Thevenot and Rousseau were booked into the Toussaint Parish jail where they will remain pending a bond hearing on Monday morning and arraignment sometime Tuesday. No information about which attorney or attorneys will represent the accused has been released."
Susie looked up at Lilly, whose eyes were as wide as dinner plates. They stared at each other but didn't speak.
"Look. You girls run off to the hospital. I'm going to straighten up around here before Brenda Morris arrives. I'll bring her to the hospital so she can visit with you and Rodney. It'll probably be after lunch."
"Are Jessie and Bobby coming with her?" Lilly pushed her chair back from the table and stood up.
"I'm not sure. If they do, would you like for me to call you at the hospital?" I picked up plates and cups from the table and took them to the sink.
"Yes, please. I'll come back here, and the three of us can go to the lake or something while you adults visit." Lilly was sort of bouncing up and down, excited, happy.
"I hope she brings them, Lilly. But when I asked her, she said it was up to them, that they stay pretty busy on weekends." I didn't want Lilly to be disappointed.
"Oh, if she gives them a choice, they'll come." Lilly walked out of the kitchen, her shoulders squared in a confident manner.
"I think she's kind of sweet on Robert's son." Susie looked at me and winked.
"Really? I thought she and Jessica really hit it off." I was at the sink with my back to Susie. "I didn't notice any chemistry with Bobby."
"You know Lilly." Susie got up from the table and joined me at the sink. She put her coffee cup and plate in the sudsy water and flopped her arm over my shoulder. "She'd never let on that she liked a boy. I just picked up on it in a couple of our conversations. Let's see if he shows up with Brenda. That will be telling."
I sat at the kitchen table after they left, and thought about the arrests. I wondered whether Thevenot and Rousseau had hired lawyers or would use public defenders. I also wondered how much their bail would be and whether they would be able to bond out while they awaited trial.
*
Brenda Morris arrived just before noon with Bobby, who was driving a black Volvo sedan that looked brand new. He got out and went around to open the door for his mother. She stepped out of the car dressed in jeans, a lavender silk blouse, and low-heeled pumps. She carried a Coach handbag and pulled her Prada sunglasses off and put them on top of her head, pulling her hair back from her face. Her hoop earrings almost touched her shoulders, and her golden Breck hair hung in waves down her back. She was a gorgeous woman, who walked with the confidence of a corporate executive. I stood on the front porch and watched her strut up the sidewalk with Bobby behind her.
"Hi, Sissy." Brenda extended both arms and folded me into a bear hug when she got to the porch.
"I'm so glad you're here. Rodney and Susie are excited to see you." I hugged her and reached for Bobby. "Hi, big boy." I grabbed his shoulders and embarrassed him by planting a big kiss on his cheek. "Lilly asked me to call her if you came with your mom. Come on in, you two."
We went into the living room, and Brenda asked for the bathroom, which I pointed to, then I headed to the phone on the table behind the sofa.
"Have a seat, Bobby." I picked up the receiver.
"I've been sitting for over an hour. I think I'll stand if you don't mind." He put his hands behind his back and stood in front of the unlit fireplace as though warming his tush.
"Lilly's at the hospital with her dad and will come right over." I dialed the number and asked for Rodney's room. Lilly answered the phone.
"Hi. Bobby's here." I spoke in a normal tone because he could hear what I said.
"Just Bobby? Or did Jessie come, too." Lilly sounded breathless, as though she'd been running.
"Yes." I didn't want to say, "Just Bobby," because he was standing there and would know she asked.
"Yes, what?" She was confused.
"Yes, you should come home. I'm sure the two of you can find something to do this afternoon." I hoped she understood my hint that it was just Bobby.
"I'll be right there." She hung up.
"She'll be here in a few. She drove her mom to the hospital this morning." I asked Bobby if he'd like something to drink, and he declined. Brenda walked into the room, and I showed her around the house. Bobby said he'd stay in the living room and wait for Lilly.
"Brenda, it's a small house. We rented it so Susie has a place to live while Rodney is still in the hospital." I showed her the three bedrooms and two bathrooms, the dining room and kitchen, and we ended up on the back porch that Susie had paid to have enlarged. It now spanned the entire back of the house, complete with a swing and four rocking chairs. She'd also had a landscape company spruce up the yard so that it resembled a park, with thick, green grass and dogwood and magnolia trees that Susie said made her place "feel southern." Brenda pronounced the house, "charming," and we both laughed.
We returned to the living room just as Lilly and Bobby were saying hello to each other, shyly, but it was obvious there was something special between them. Lilly hugged Brenda and asked whether it would be okay if she took Bobby to see Lake Pontchartrain.
"Sure. That sounds like fun." Brenda had her arm around Lilly's waist. "Bobby hasn't had lunch, have you?"
"No, ma'am. We can grab something at one of the marinas if that's okay with you." Lilly looked at Bobby, and he nodded.
"Sounds good. Sure." Bobby kissed his mom on the cheek, told me goodbye, and took Lilly's hand. The last I saw of them, they were walking towards her Mustang, hand-in-hand, talking a mile a minute.
"Well, I guess you haven't had lunch, either?" I turned towards Brenda, who was staring out the front door as Lilly backed out the driveway and drove down Jules Avenue.
"I'm sorry. What did you say, Sissy?" She turned towards me then looked back at the front door with a look of confusion. "I'm really sorry. It's just that I've never seen Bobby so, well, so… I'm not sure what."
"It looks like he and Lilly like each other. I mean, as friends, of course." I couldn't get her attention; she was creeped out about something.
"Bobby has never had a girlfriend." She stared at the front door as though viewing an apparition. "I mean, he's never been interested in girls. They like him, but he's always said girls are stupid."
"Lilly's not stupid. That's for sure." I started to pace a little, uncomfortable for some reason.
"Well. I'm glad." She finally turned to look at me. "I'm famished. Want to have lunch before we go to the hospital?"
"Sure. There's a great little seafood place about a mile from here." I grabbed my purse, and we drove to the restaurant in Brenda's new car.
*
"Rod. Susie. I'm so happy to see you both." Brenda strolled into the hospital room on the Rehab floor like an angel floating down from heaven. They all hugged and sat around to talk. Susie brought up the article in the newspaper almost immediately. Rodney seemed a bit agitated, although he tried to hide his emotions. I stood near the door and watched the three of them.
"Robert told me they arrested a couple of suspects." Brenda held Susie's hand, and Rodney sat in his wheelchair, facing the two girls.
"Rodney told the detective that Thevenot shot him," Susie said. Everyone looked at Rodney. His brow was furrowed, and he rubbed it with his thumb and forefinger. "I hope he was right. He's worried he might have been wrong and, well you know how Rod is. He wouldn't want to make someone suffer unduly."
"I believe the detectives have evidence to back up your testimony, Rodney." Brenda reached over and patted his knee. "They wouldn't arrest someone with only one person's supposition."
"I guess not," Susie said. "We just hope he didn't go to all this trouble and they both get off. Or worse. That they aren't the ones who did it."
"You can't worry about it, Rod." Brenda patted Rodney's hand, and he stopped rubbing his brow.
"That's right, baby," Susie looked at Rodney, then winked at Brenda. "Our job is to get you well and out of here. Can you believe how good he looks, Brenda?"
"I'm amazed at both of you." She winked at Susie. "I remember how dire it was in the beginning. Robert came to see you a few days after Greg was here because Greg was so upset about the state you both were in. But look at you now."
"Better," Rodney stuttered. "Suse. Ty-rant." He winked at Susie, who blushed. I was amazed that he could still make her turn pink around the gills. "Won't let me out—hos-tal… walk."
"I'm not the one keeping you in here. Talk to Dr. Warner." She laughed at him. "Rodney still doesn't have all the feeling in his legs and feet, but it's returning, and every day there's a little more reflex, right Rod?"
"Riiiii. Wahh." Rodney put both hands under his his right knee, lifted his leg, and put his foot back down on the wheelchair footrest. He repeated his new trick, several times. Next, he did it with his left knee.
"He doesn't feel the bottoms of his feet, yet," Susie said. "But he's learning to recognize the pressure when he puts weight on them." Susie patted his knee. "He'll walk out of here. I'm sure of it."
"I'm sure of it, too." Brenda patted his other knee. Rodney seemed a bit put-off by the two women patronizing him.
"Let's get out of here so he can get some rest." Susie got up, pushed Rodney's wheelchair towards the bed, and pressed the nurse's call button for an orderly to help Rod into bed.
Brenda kissed him on both cheeks and walked over to where I stood by the door. Susie kissed Rodney on the lips, and we girls went to the cafeteria for a couple hours.
Brenda told Susie that she and Robert would be happy to have Lilly stay with them.
"We have lots of room, and our kids love Lilly." Brenda got a shadowed look on her face for a few seconds.
"Sissy is looking for an apartment in Baton Rouge, and I think that's the best thing for Lilly. I don't want to impose on you and Robert." Susie fiddled with her tea bag, as though not sure about her decision.
"Whenever Sissy is out of town or busy, Lilly can stay with us." Brenda looked at me and grinned.
"That's a good plan." I looked at Susie. "How do you feel about that arrangement? Lilly will live with me but can stay with the Morrises if I have to be away?"
"If it's not too much to ask of you, Brenda." Susie looked from me to Brenda, and back at me.
"Look." Brenda grabbed Susie's hand. "We adore Lilly. We'd love to have her, full-time or part-time. Just consider our home her second home. Okay?"
"Okay. If you insist." Susie squeezed Brenda's hand. "And thank you. You're such a dear friend. You and Robert, both."
"Well, I probably need to go." Brenda stood and gathered her purse and sunglasses. "I told Bobby we'd leave here about four, so he'll be back at your house looking for me soon."
"Thank you for coming, Bren." Susie got up, and they hugged. "It means the world to Rodney and me."
"I'll come back. And I'm looking forward to having Lilly whenever she wants to stay with us." Brenda kissed Susie again. I hugged Susie and told her I'd be back later to get her.
When we got in her car, I told Brenda I would be in Baton Rouge for a few days the following week to look for an apartment.
"Lilly will probably stay with me at the Capitol House." I buckled my seatbelt and breathed the scent of new leather as I sank into the plush black seat. "I'm going to try to make an appointment with Robert for tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning."
"I think he'll be in court all day tomorrow, maybe Tuesday, too." Brenda drove the car out of the garage and onto the street. "Why don't you and Lilly come over for dinner tomorrow night? You can talk to him then."
"Are you sure it's not an imposition?" I looked at her profile. She was a beauty, yet she was gracious and down-to-earth.
"We'd love to have you, but only if you agree to play the piano." She laughed and glanced at me, then back at the road.
*
We got to the house on Jules Avenue, and Lilly's car was not in the driveway. Brenda seemed a bit peeved, but it was only three fifty, so Bobby wasn't late, yet. We went inside and split off to separate bathrooms. When I came back into the living room, the phone was ringing.
"Hello."
"Sissy, It's Lilly. I've been trying to reach someone for over an hour."
"Are you okay?"
"Yes. We're fine. I talked to Dad several times, but he said you and Susie and Miss Benda left and he had no way of reaching y'all."
"What do you need? Are you sure you're okay?" I looked at Brenda, who had just come into the living room. "It's Lilly."
"Are they okay? Where are they?" Brenda looked worried and reached for the phone.
"Is Miss Brenda there? Bobby wants to talk to her." Lilly sounded excited, not worried.
"Okay." I handed the phone to Brenda. "Bobby wants to talk to you."
"Hi, Son. Where are you? I'm ready to leave." She held the receiver to her ear and listened for what seemed a long time. "Okay. I guess that's alright. Please be home by dark or I'll worry about you and Lilly on the highway." She paused, and a smile crossed her face. "I love you too, Son. See you in a few hours." She handed me the phone.
"Sissy. We're going to a movie, then we'll come home so I can get my things and tell Susie goodbye." Lilly talked quickly, with lots of breaths. "Bobby is riding back to Baton Rouge with me tonight."
"That sounds fine. But if you're going to be in Baton Rouge before dark, you'll have to leave here by six thirty, or seven."
"I know. I love you. See you later."
"Have fun. Be careful."
"You sound like my mother!" She laughed loudly, and it made me laugh. We hung up, and I looked at Brenda. "Are you alright with this?"
"Sure. In fact, I'm happy about it." She smiled at me, and I felt like there was something she wanted to say but didn't know how. "Well, I think I'll get going so I can be home in time to make dinner for Robert tonight. Bobby won't be there, and neither will Jessie. It's rare we have an evening at home, alone."
"Well, get going, girl. Your man is waiting." I hugged her, and she left.
*
I picked Susie up at the hospital at six o'clock that evening. It was typically Marianne's job to transport Susie when Lilly wasn't available, but Dr. Warner had come by before nine o'clock that morning to take Marianne to the World’s Fair, which was being held on the New Orleans riverfront in the Warehouse District. I explained to Susie that Lilly would be home to get her things at about six thirty and wanted to tell her mom goodbye before she went back to LSU for the week.
"Lilly and Bobby have been together all afternoon and called to say they were going to a movie," I told Susie when we got in the car. "Brenda went back to Baton Rouge alone, and Bobby is going to ride back with Lilly."
"That's good. I always worry about her on the highway alone, especially at night." Susie put her seatbelt on and admonished me until I did, too, even though we were only driving one mile.
"I think Brenda expects them back in Baton Rouge before dark." I started the car and drove out of the parking garage.
"Was Brenda okay with Bobby staying and driving back with Lilly?" Susie turned sideways so she could look at me.
"I think she was thrilled." I turned onto Jules Avenue. "But she acted strange, like she was surprised that Bobby and Lilly liked each other."
"Oh, that's funny." Susie started to laugh.
"What's so funny?" I drove slowly in case a child or dog ran out in the street. It was a quiet neighborhood with lots of families who treated Jules Avenue as though it were a park where they could throw Frisbees and footballs.
"That Brenda!" Susie laughed louder. "She's been worried that Bobby might be gay because he didn't like girls. Robert kept telling her she was crazy, but Brenda has been frantic about it."
"That explains why she acted like she just couldn't believe her son was holding hands with a girl." I turned into our driveway.
"Oh? They were holding hands?" Susie stopped laughing and sounded serious.
"You should ask Lilly. It looked pretty innocent to me." I turned off the car, and Susie grabbed my arm to keep me from getting out.
"They were holding hands? Where? When?"
"Really Susie. It was nothing. They walked to the car holding hands. No big deal." I reached for the door handle.
"It's a big deal because Lilly has avoided boys. She says none of them are smart enough or serious enough. She must think Bobby is pretty special." Susie was still holding my arm, and I was ready to get out of the car. I didn't like talking about Lilly, or anyone else, for that matter. It felt like gossip.
"Lilly's the special one, if you ask me." I opened my car door, broke free for Susie's stronghold, and got out.
Lilly and Bobby pulled up at about six forty-five. He jumped out of the passenger door and ran around to open Lilly's car door and helped her out by pulling on her hands. They both had red cheeks, as though they were wind burned.
"Sorry we're late, but we went by the hospital to see Dad." Lilly left Bobby standing in the living room while she went to her bedroom to get her book bag and suitcase. I followed her and told her that I'd washed her clothes that afternoon after Brenda left, and had repacked everything because I knew she'd be in a hurry.
"You're the best Sissy." She hugged me. "I had the best time ever today."
"I'm glad, sweetheart." I hugged her and kissed her on the cheek. "He's a great guy, isn't he?"
"The best. I can't believe there's a boy out there who's smart, serious about his future, funny, and fun to be with." She beamed, red wind-burned cheeks all aglow.
"Did you know that his mother invited you to stay at their house whenever you want to." I squeezed her shoulder. "I hope you don't mind, but I told Brenda how miserable you were in the dorm."
"Wow. What did Susie say about that?" Lilly had her book bag over one shoulder, her purse on the other, and her suitcase in her hand.
"She thought it was an imposition at first, but Brenda convinced Susie that her family loves you and they want you to stay with them."
"Thanks, Sissy." She kissed me again and headed out of the bedroom. Bobby met Lilly in the hall and took her book bag and suitcase, told Susie and me goodbye, and walked out the front door. Lilly kissed her mom and said she'd call during the week and would be home Friday afternoon. Then she skipped out of the house and Susie and I listened to her engine start up and turn onto Jules Avenue. I heard Susie let out a huge sigh.
"She's only sixteen, you know," Susie said it aloud, but I think she was talking to herself. I thought Lilly had turned seventeen in August, but Susie said, "No, sixteen."
"How'd she graduate from high school so early?" I sat on the sofa across from Susie, who was sitting in the chair next to the fireplace.
"She's very smart, Sissy." She scratched her eyebrow and put her chin in her hand. "She started school a month before she turned five. Then she skipped third grade. When she got into high school, she was so far ahead that she finished in three years."
"So she just turned sixteen in August?"
"Yes. But she's really mature for her age, don't you think?" Susie looked as though she needed someone to agree with her.
"If level-headed means mature, yes." I wondered why Susie was so insistent that Lilly go off to college when she was so young. No wonder the child was miserable in the dorm with girls more than two years older. Lilly was like an alligator on land. "I think she will be very happy staying with the Morrises. Both their kids are mature, more like Lilly. And closer in age."
"Yes, I agree. I don't want to impose. Will you keep a close eye on that? I mean, make sure Lilly doesn't wear out her welcome?"
"Of course." I got up, squeezed Susie's shoulder, and headed towards my bedroom. I turned towards her before I got to the hallway. "In fact, I'll be in Baton Rouge tomorrow and plan to stay a couple days. Lilly can stay with me."
Susie nodded, but didn't respond, as though she had something serious on her mind and was a million miles away.