God Don't Make No Mistakes (21 page)

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Authors: Mary Monroe

BOOK: God Don't Make No Mistakes
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CHAPTER 40
P
EE WEE CLAPPED HIS HANDS, THREW HIS HEAD BACK, AND
yelped like he was being reunited with a long-lost relative. He rushed up to Ronald and shook his hand, then slapped him on the back. “My man! I haven't seen you in a while! Merry Christmas!” Pee Wee yelled, grinning like a fool. Ronald just stood there blinking and trying his best not to make eye contact with me. “Baby, this is Ronald Hawthorne from the pool hall. I used to whup the drawers off his ass at the pool table so many times he stopped comin' to the pool hall.” Pee Wee grabbed my arm and pulled me forward, like he was proudly putting me on display. My face got so warm it felt like somebody had just wrapped a hot towel around my head. “This is my wife, Annette,” he introduced. Then he smiled at the woman standing next to Ronald. “This must be the lovely wife you was always braggin' about. And I recognize your kids from the pictures you used to flash all the time.”
Ronald and his wife were dressed in expensive, casual outfits. She wore a dark blue wool coat over jeans and a loose-fitting light blue blouse. Ronald had on an ankle-length leather coat, jeans, and a maroon turtleneck sweater. The kids all had on jeans and hooded jackets, buttoned all the way up to their necks.
“Hey, brother,” Ronald finally managed, looking at the ground when I tried to look in his eyes. “Uh, this is my wife, Nola, and these are our kids... .”
“Where are the other two?” Pee Wee asked.
“Huh? Oh! The older kids are out with their friends this evening,” Ronald replied. I couldn't remember the last time I'd seen a human act this nervous.
“Well, you've got a beautiful family, man.” Pee Wee paused and turned to me. “Ain't this a beautiful family, baby?”
“Sure enough,” I responded. It was hard for me to keep a straight face, but I managed. “You look familiar, Ronald. Have we met before?”
He finally looked me in the eye. “Uh, I don't think so!” he said, talking so fast spit flew out the side of his mouth.
I stepped closer to Pee Wee, my eyes still on Ronald's face. “Pee Wee, as soon as the weather breaks, we need to have a cookout and invite Ronald and his family,” I said, tugging on Pee Wee's arm. Ronald looked like he wanted to sink into the ground.
“Yeah, that's a good idea. I know our daughter, Charlotte, would love to meet your girls, my man,” Pee Wee grinned. It had been a while since I'd seen him this jovial, and it made me feel good.
“I'd like that,” the wife said. “Now that the kids and I are back in Richland for good, I'd really like to get back into the swing of things. Annette, I make some mean barbecue sauce—I add lime—so having a cookout would be right up my alley.”
“I'm glad to hear that,” I said stiffly.
“Six kids!” Pee Wee said, like it was something that nobody else had done. Now that I knew about his low sperm count and the fact that he would never have the large family he used to tell me he wanted, I could understand why he was in such awe of Ronald having so many kids. “And I know you must be proud of them all. Six kids are such a blessin'!”
“Seven soon,” Nola chirped, patting her stomach. “Two more months to go. We tried real hard for this one.”
“Seven!” Pee Wee yelled. “Brother, no wonder you stopped comin' to the pool hall. Sounds like you didn't have time to put your pants on!”
Nola smiled in my direction. “I've been up in Detroit with my baby sister since June. She was pregnant with her first and so frail things didn't look too hopeful. She'd already miscarried three times. Anyway, the doctor put her on bed rest to see if that would help. The kids and I stayed with her until the very end. She now has a beautiful baby girl.” Nola paused and wrapped her arms around Ronald in such a way that from the painful look on his face, you would have thought that he was now wearing a straightjacket. “Poor Ronald. He was so lonesome he cried like a baby each time we talked on the telephone.” Nola paused again and caressed Ronald's face, which must have been as hot as a campfire by now. “Ronald was on the verge of a nervous breakdown being so alone. He called me every night, and he drove up to Detroit every chance he got. It's a good thing I got back home when I did. Women would love to get their hands on my boo; but I know I can trust him, so I didn't worry about him, uh, doing anything crazy while I was gone.” Nola jabbed Ronald's side. “Right, baby?”
“Right,” he mumbled, glancing at me.
Nola leaned forward and winked at me. “I told Ronald to be careful because there are a lot of skanks in Richland.” She was right about that. And the way I was feeling right now, Ronald must have thought of me as one of those skanks his wife had warned him about.
“Tell me about it,” I snorted. “Well, I'm happy for you, Nola.” I turned to face Ronald. “What was your name again?” I asked, snapping my fingers.
“Ronald,” he practically growled.
“You're a lucky man, and your wife is a lucky woman,” I said. “I hope you will always be good to her.”
“I ... I intend to,” he managed, looking at me with defiance—as if I was the one who had been deceiving him!
“Can't we go in the toy store?” Charlotte said, tugging on my hand.
“Oh! What's wrong with me! This is my daughter, Charlotte,” Pee Wee introduced.
Charlotte had met Ronald just once when he came to the house to pick me up. She had only glimpsed him as she rushed to her room with a couple of her friends. From her reaction now, she didn't remember meeting him. And for that I was glad.
“It was nice meeting you all,” I said, already walking away.
“Hey, man, let me give you my phone number in case you want to get together some time. You still go fishin'? I know some good spots up around Cleveland with some bass that will bite anything.” Pee Wee scribbled his phone number on a scrap of paper. By now I was ready to pass out. My relationship with Ronald was over.
I did not sleep with other women's husbands.
After we left the toy store, with video games for Charlotte that I'd never heard of, we went to the restaurant, even though we were a half hour ahead of our reservation. Charlotte and Pee Wee sat down on the velvet couches in the waiting area. I made a beeline to the bar and by the time the waiter led us to our table, I'd drunk two glasses of wine.
I was glad that we'd been seated in a booth near the back exit. I didn't like sitting out in the open in any restaurant. It seemed like every time I went somewhere and sat by the entrance, somebody I didn't want to see saw me.
Right after our waiter took our order—we all requested steak and veggies—I looked at Pee Wee and then at Charlotte. I had to blink to hold back my tears. This was the first time the three of us had been out in public together since Pee Wee had left me for Lizzie. As disappointed as I was with him, I was just as disappointed with myself. I wondered if I had not had the affair with Louis Baines, would Pee Wee have gotten involved with Lizzie. I couldn't change the past, but because of it, I would not be as stupid in the future. It saddened me to know that some people who had good lives didn't realize it until it was too late.
“What's wrong, Annette? You look kind of sad,” Pee Wee noticed. “You got tears in your eyes.”
“I'm all right,” I said. “Just some dust or lint got caught up in my eye.” I dabbed at my eyes with the tail of my napkin.
“She must get stuff in her eyes all the time,” Charlotte chirped. “Every time I look up she's crying like a baby.”
Pee Wee and I looked at Charlotte at the same time.
“Like I just said, I got something in my eye,” I insisted.
“But, Mama! What about last night? I heard you crying in your room—all night!”
“I cry sometimes myself too, Char,” Pee Wee said, blinking hard. He had tears in his eyes too.
“Yes, I do cry sometimes,” I admitted. “There's just been so much going on in my life lately.”
“Like what, Mama?” There were times when I wanted to strap a muzzle onto my daughter's mouth. This was one of those times.
“For one thing, my daddy is getting to the point where he needs somebody to look after him more. Having Lillimae around is a double blessing, but I still worry about him. And then there are some work-related issues that have me concerned. We've had some dangerous situations at the office with hostile debtors. So you see, my life is not so simple anymore,” I said, giving my daughter a sharp, threatening look. I had to keep reminding myself that kids noticed more than we thought they did.
“Don't I know that. One thing you and I both need to do is be there for Rhoda and Otis.” Pee Wee shook his head. “They are goin' to need some serious emotional support.”
Charlotte blinked and looked from me to Pee Wee. “Why? Did Jade already quit that cool stripping job?” she asked.
Pee Wee and I looked at Charlotte again at the same time. I couldn't tell which one of us displayed the biggest frown. He took the next words right out of my mouth. “Char, strippin' ain't a cool thing for any female to do. If you ever do somethin' like that, I would never get over it.”
“But why are strip clubs so bad if so many men go to them?” Charlotte asked.
“Because they don't know any better,” I said, glaring at Pee Wee.
“That's right. We don't know any better,” he muttered, looking like he wanted to melt into the floor.
CHAPTER 41
B
Y THE TIME WE LEFT THE RESTAURANT, THE WEATHER WAS SO
bad that several streets had been closed. The detour we took only led us to another detour.
Pee Wee had to drive through an unincorporated area, swing back through downtown, and then onto the freeway to get back to our side of town. Once we got there, we saw several traffic accidents, and people slipping and sliding on the icy ground, falling down like bowling pins.
“What a mess of a night,” I complained. “It's never taken this long to get to my house.”
“We are closer to my place than yours,” Pee Wee mentioned, in a cautious voice I noticed.
“So?” I mouthed. I already knew where this conversation was going, and I didn't like it one bit.
“So? Well,
so
it might make more sense for y'all to come home with me tonight. “ Pee Wee glanced at me as he wrestled with the steering wheel to avoid hitting a stalled car in front of us.
“Yeah!” Charlotte hooted from the backseat, pumping her fist like she'd just won a prize.
“I don't think so,” I said quickly. “I'd really like to get home and sleep in my own bed tonight.”
I didn't know what Pee Wee thought I meant by the last part of my comment, but he gave me a weird look. “You can sleep in my bed. I'll sleep on the couch.” He peered at Charlotte through the rearview mirror. “Char, you know your room is already available for you.”
I looked at Pee Wee like he had lost his mind—and he must have! Did he actually think that I was going to sleep in the same bed that he'd slept in with the woman who had ruined our marriage? The only reason I didn't ask him that question out loud was because Charlotte was in the car. I still had not even set foot in the apartment that he had shared with Lizzie, and I didn't plan to ever do so! “No, that's all right,” I said firmly.
He must have read my mind because his face looked like it was about to crack. “I'm just tryin' to help, Annette.”
“Then help me get home, all right?”
After several more delays, Pee Wee finally parked in front of my house. He leaped out of the car. After a lot of slipping and sliding, and almost falling on the ice, he opened the back door for Charlotte. They hugged one another for a couple of minutes. It gave me enough time to open my own door and scramble out before he got to me. But he still followed me up to the porch, with his hand on my shoulder. Even with his support, I slipped on some ice on the steps. Had he not been there to keep me from falling, I might have injured myself.
“I would come in for a nightcap, but I'd better get back on the road. There's just no tellin' how long it's goin' to take for me to get back to my side of town,” he said.
“Daddy, why don't you just spend the night with us?” Charlotte suggested with a hopeful look on her face. Like I said, there were times when I wanted to strap a muzzle on my daughter's mouth. I gave her one of my stern “What's wrong with you, girl?” looks. She promptly got the message. “Uh, maybe some other time, huh, Daddy?” she amended.
Pee Wee laughed and tickled her chin. “Yeah, maybe some other time.” He hugged Charlotte again. Then he gave me a dry look and a playful tap on my shoulder. “Have a blessed evenin',” he told me as he ran back to his car.
The only light on in the house was the lamp on the end table in the living room. I assumed Lillimae was in bed.
Even though Charlotte was on the Christmas holiday break from school, I still sent her to bed right away.
About an hour later, I heard a commotion on my front porch. Before I could set my glass of hot tea on my living room coffee table and get off the couch to go investigate, the front door flew open like a tornado had suddenly dropped down out of the sky. To my surprise, in walked Muh'Dear with her arm around Lillimae's shoulder.
I gasped. “What the hell? What's going on?” My first thought was that something bad had happened to Daddy and that he had sent for Lillimae. “What's wrong with Daddy?” My heart was racing, my eyes were burning, and I was having a hard time breathing.
“There ain't nothin' wrong with that old billy goat,” Muh'-Dear answered, padding across the floor with her arm still around Lillimae's shoulder. My second thought was that my mother had suddenly slipped into some rare state of delirium. The way she trashed Lillimae, I never expected to see her with her arm around her shoulder—unless she was about to choke her!
“Annette, don't get all upset. Everything is under control,” Lillimae informed me. She eased away from Muh'Dear and immediately started fanning her face with one hand and brushing snow off her slick black leather coat with the other.
“I wanted to get Lillimae back home before too late. You know I don't like to be out drivin' after dark. I was gwine to send her home in a cab,” Muh'Dear told me, fanning her face with her hand too. It was only then that I noticed they both had sweat on their faces.
“What's wrong?” I asked again, standing in front of my couch with my legs shaking. I had to sit to keep from falling.
“We just excited, that's all. That's why we both been sweatin' like wrestlers for hours. See, we had a little problem at the restaurant this evenin',” Muh'Dear said, still fanning as she plopped down on the couch next to me, unbuttoning her coat. She kicked off her round-toed oxfords and started rubbing her ankles together like a cricket. Her thick support hose, rolled down to below her knees, looked like donuts at the top. “Lillimae, don't put too much ice in that rum and Coke you're gwine to fix for me. And just a dab of rum. The last thing I need is to get pulled over by one of them brutal-izin' cops.”
“What problem did you have at the restaurant this evening?” I asked, looking at Muh'Dear.
“The head cook at Muh'Dear's restaurant had a nasty fall on a patch of ice this evenin' and broke her hip,” Lillimae informed me, speaking over her shoulder as she moved toward the kitchen.
Muh'Dear?
I had to shake my head and pinch my arm to make sure I was not dreaming. Lillimae had never referred to my mother as Muh'Dear! Every black child, even the ones who had a lot of white blood, knew that the title Muh'Dear was sacred. And the way my mother talked about Lillimae to her face and behind her back, I knew that there was no valid reason for her to encourage Lillimae to call her that! My mind was in a tizzy. I hadn't even had enough time to process the things that I had experienced this evening. The run-in with Ronald and his wife, and Pee Wee's request for me and Charlotte to spend the night with him were still heavy on my mind.
“And the assistant cook was out sick,” Muh'Dear added. “Mayor Walker and his party of twelve had a reservation for a private Christmas party tonight. The mayor's secretary had made the reservation a month ago. They was celebratin' somethin'. You know how white folks like to gallivant in and out of restaurants all the time, and you know how they like to spend money after a few drinks. I love doin' business with rich crackers!”
I cut a sharp look in Lillimae's direction. She rolled her eyes, stumbling across the floor with two drinks in her hand. She had removed her coat and left it in the kitchen.
“Miss Gussie Mae was at her wit's end wonderin' what she was goin' to do with that hungry mayor and his party sittin' up in the VIP room waitin' to get fed,” Lillimae said, sitting down on the love seat across from me and Muh'Dear. She wasted no time kicking off her shoes too. She never wore stockings or pantyhose. Unfortunately, none of the stores in Richland carried sizes large enough to accommodate her stovepipe-wide legs. She had to wear leg warmers like I used to.
“Lillimae, didn't I tell you to stop actin' so formal with me. You call me Muh'Dear like I told you, hear?” Muh'Dear gave Lillimae the kind of affectionate look that she gave to me when she was in a good mood. I couldn't believe my eyes or ears.
“Oh, yeah. Anyway, Muh'Dear had a major crisis on her hands and I had to help her out,” Lillimae said with a triumphant look on her face.
I didn't know what to think now. There was nothing that I wanted to see more than my mother and my half sister getting along better. I certainly never thought that it would happen when I least expected it.
“I called the house for you,” my mother continued. My mother wasn't looking or acting drunk. She appeared to be lucid. And that made this new development even more of a mystery. I was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. But until I knew all of the facts involved in this incredible turn of events, I decided to remain skeptical. Muh'Dear paused and snorted, and gave me a wide smile. “Anyway, I thought that between me and you, we could whup up a decent meal for the mayor and his folks. You wasn't here, so I called my day cook, hopin' I could get her to turn around and come back to do another shift. That lazy heifer had made plans for the night—or so she claimed. It's a damn good thing Lillimae was home! Otherwise, my goose would have been cooked well done—just like the one the mayor had ordered for his meal!” My mother smiled at my sister for the first time since she'd arrived from Florida—at least in my presence. “Lillimae saved the day and my butt!” Muh'Dear was beaming like a lightbulb. “I didn't know you was such a good cook, Lillimae. This girl sure enough put her foot in that corn she fried. When I tasted it, I wanted to put my
face
in it! This was the first time the mayor ever ate at my restaurant
and
took an order to go too!”
“I'm glad the night turned out all right,” I said, smiling. “I hope your cook recovers soon.” In spite of everything that I had just heard and witnessed, I chose to remain skeptical. Yes, Lillimae had saved the day and Muh'Dear's butt. But would Muh'Dear feel the same way in the future that she was feeling now? Just the day before, she had delivered a few unflattering remarks to me about Lillimae's weight again.
“I hope so too. But it won't be no real big disaster if she don't now! I told Lillimae that she can fill in for Donna Jean for as long as she wants to.” Muh'Dear finished her drink and rose. “Lillimae, we'll talk salary tomorrow. If you don't mind, please come around four before the day cook leaves so she can show you the ropes, and so I can serve you up a mighty big plate of my fried okra that you enjoyed so much tonight.” Muh'Dear gave me a pleading look. “When Charlotte goes back to school after the holiday vacation, have her take the bus to my house like she used to. Lillimae won't be at the house to keep an eye on her no more durin' the time she waitin' on you to get home from work. Charlotte can sit with her granddaddy until you pick her up.”
“Oh, you don't have to worry about that. My new neighbor across the street offered to look after Charlotte when necessary. She'll be in good hands,” I said.
Charlotte must have been eavesdropping, because just as Lillimae was about to walk Muh'Dear to her car, Charlotte came trotting back downstairs.
“Mama, please don't make me go to that Harrietta woman's house every day after school! I hate her! I'm old enough to stay by myself,” she hollered, waving her arms like somebody signaling for help. Her outburst and the category five look of anger on her face startled me. She had on her Cookie Monster nightgown and a cutoff stocking cap on her head, to hold her recently permed curls in place. She looked so young that I still worried about her being alone in the house.
“I don't want you to be in this house alone, girl. Now you are going to have to stop this mess about Harrietta.” I gave Charlotte an exasperated look, but that didn't seem to faze her. She still looked like she wanted to cuss out the world. “Oh well, I was hoping I wouldn't have to tell you this, but I had a talk with her that evening she had dinner with us. She knows you don't like her. And now that she knows that I know you don't like her, I doubt if she'd ever do anything to upset you.”
“She already has,” Charlotte whimpered. “She—oh, never mind!”
“She
what?
” I demanded. “If you can't tell me exactly what you hate about this woman—other than her being too strict—shut up and behave yourself. Yes, Harrietta is strict and I can understand you not liking that—I didn't like grown folks being strict with me when I was young either. But her being strict when you are in her house will keep you out of trouble,” I declared. “You'll get used to her.”
Even though my daughter was twelve and very responsible, I didn't like to leave her alone too often. Last year she had fallen in with a bad crowd, and I was determined to prevent that from happening again anytime soon. And there had been a few daytime break-ins on our street lately. I didn't want to think of what might happen if a burglar broke into my house when my daughter was home alone.
“But Harrietta ... she's ... she's not normal,” Charlotte insisted, looking at me with a desperate look on her face. It seemed like the older she got, the more she overreacted to the littlest thing. I didn't like that, and I was not going to let it influence my decisions.
“Not normal how?” Muh'Dear wanted to know. “She looks as normal as the rest of us to me.”

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