Riverbend Reunion(30)

“That sounds kind of old-fashioned and sexist,” Jessica said.

“Exactly!” Daisy crossed the room and disappeared into the kitchen with Lily right behind her. “But Granny Martha didn’t see it that way.”

Jessica hadn’t realized until that moment what a gift her parents had given her when she had come home from school in the spring of her senior year and announced that she wanted to go into the military. They had both told her that they would support her if that was what she really wanted, but if she changed her mind, there was money for her to go to college.

“That was probably part of what my inheritance was.” She picked up the ends of one of the pews and carried them back to the room they were using for storage.

“Hey,” Mary Nell called out when she passed by the office door. “Got a minute?”

“Be there soon as I put this where it belongs.” Jessica kept walking, left the end of the pew in the room with half a dozen others, and went back to talk to Mary Nell.

“Close the door,” Mary Nell said.

“Oh. My. Goodness. This must be serious,” Jessica said. “Something wrong with the accounts? Should we have put more money in to cover payroll and the overhead for the next six months?”

“Have a seat, and this has nothing to do with the business. We’re starting out on a fine foundation where that is concerned,” Mary Nell answered. “I’m done with that for now and was about to come out into the bar and help y’all, but we need to talk first.”

The hair on Jessica’s arms prickled, and that meant something was wrong. “Then what’s going on that I needed to shut the door?”

“Daddy is trying to fix me up with Wade, and I’m not ready for any kind of a relationship. It’s too soon after everything went south with Kevin. I need a year or maybe two to find myself. I feel like it’s been . . .”

Haley rapped once on the door and then stuck her head inside. “Am I interrupting anything?”

“No, come on in and shut the door.” Mary Nell motioned her into the room. “You’re a counselor, so maybe you can help me, but we shouldn’t leave Risa out.” She picked up her cell phone from the desk and made a call.

“Did someone die?” Risa asked as she came into the room and closed the door behind her. “What are we having a meeting for?”

Jessica pointed at Mary Nell. “She’s the one that’s got a problem, not me.”

Liar, the voice in her head scolded. You don’t want her to be interested in Wade, so you’ve got a problem, too.

She opened her mouth to argue, but then clamped it shut.

Risa pulled up a folding chair from across the room, popped it open, and eased down into it. “Spit it out. Are you fixin’ to tell us that Kevin called and you’re going to give him another chance?”

“God no!” Mary Nell’s voice went as high and squeaky as a mouse caught in a trap. “In some ways it’s even worse than that. Daddy wants to fix me up with Wade, and like I just told Jessica, I need some time to figure out who I am. I’ve got a feeling Daddy won’t give up on the idea. What do I do?”

“You’re a grown woman,” Haley told her. “Stand up for yourself and tell Oscar that you are just out of a disastrous relationship, and you sure don’t want to jump into another one.”

“I did, but once Daddy gets something in his head . . .” Mary Nell sighed.

“Tell him that I’ve got a crush on Wade, and you would never want to do something to ruin our friendship.” Jessica could almost feel the wind from all three of her friends when they whipped around to focus on her.

“Do you?” Risa asked.

“I did in high school, so it’s not a total lie,” Jessica admitted.

Haley narrowed her eyes into slits. “We kind of knew even though you didn’t say anything.”

“That’s right,” Mary Nell said. “We would have probably told you that was crazy. Wade was a nerd, and you were a cheerleader. Y’all were way too different to have ever been a couple.”

“Guess we all had a few secrets,” Risa said with a slight shrug. “I had a crush on Danny for two years, but I knew Mama would throw a hissy if I even mentioned his name. I was supposed to date boys from her church, preferably one who was going to be a preacher, and Danny was one of those bad boys who drove too fast and drank beer on Saturday nights.”

“And went to the church parking lot,” Mary Nell added.

“At least until Sparky, who was the town night cop in those days, shooed us away,” Haley said with a giggle. “Little did he know that we just came back as soon as he went to the diner for pie and doughnuts.”

“Then he retired and put in a gas station about the time we graduated,” Jessica said. “I wonder who took his place.”

“We’ll have to ask Daddy about that,” Mary Nell answered.

“Thank God Mama didn’t know that’s where we all went, too,” Risa said with a giggle and then turned to face Jessica. “We can’t tell Oscar that you like Wade. He’d see through that in the blink of an eye.”

Haley cocked her head to one side and squinted her eyes. “You do like him, don’t you? I can see it in the way you’re all flushed. It’s understandable. You’ve both lost your folks and been in the service. Even beyond that, this bar is already throwing you together every day, and will be doing even more so when we open the doors. But be careful. You might ruin a perfectly good partnership if things didn’t work out.”