Riverbend Reunion(76)

“Jessica is the only smart one amongst us,” Haley added. “She didn’t get married or involved with a loser.”

Jessica held up her half-empty tea glass. “I made my fair share of mistakes along the way, believe me. I had a couple of fairly long relationships that went in the crapper because I was afraid of commitment.”

“Details?” Daisy asked.

“No, ma’am.” Jessica shook her head. “They aren’t even worth talking about, but rest assured, I’ve learned my lesson.”

“That mean you’re not afraid of commitment anymore?” Lily asked.

“It means that I’m trying to put down roots. Before now, I couldn’t let myself get serious because of my job, and because of the fact that at any time I could be sent away on deployment for a year or more. And I very likely couldn’t even have been allowed to tell the person I was with where I was going, or what I had done while I was gone when I got home. That’s no way to enter into a relationship,” Jessica said.

“I understand,” Haley said. “That would have been rough.”

“Yep,” Jessica agreed, “but when we get the bar built and everything up and running full speed ahead, I just might be ready to think about a relationship.”

“And we get to decide if the guy is good enough to join our team, right?” Lily teased.

Jessica made a motion with her hand. “All of you do. I wouldn’t make a decision like that without one of our sessions like this.”

She bit back a smile when she thought about Wade saying that they were about to have a hen party. Thank God for us hens, she thought as she finished off her tea, then wondered if she should have suggested naming the bar the Hen House.





Chapter Seventeen


When Risa was nervous, she cooked. When she was happy, she cooked. When she was sad, she cooked. The morning the girls took the truck and drove to the school for cheerleader tryouts, she experienced all three emotions, so she made banana bread, orange-date bread, and zucchini bread to put in the freezer. In between times, while the breads were baking, she helped do whatever she could out in the bar. The plumber and the electrician had both taken care of their jobs, and now Wade and Oscar were putting up the long pieces of oakwood they had salvaged from the pews. The big room was beginning to look less and less like a church and more like it had originally been built for a bar.

“Are you going to survive this morning?” Jessica asked as she and Haley held a length of oak for Oscar to put in place with screws.

“I’m not nervous.” Risa almost crossed her fingers behind her back. “They’ve practiced hard, and”—she plopped down in a chair—“I don’t want them to be cheerleaders. Not because of anything religious, but because I don’t have good memories of our senior year.”

“Truth is, I don’t, either,” Jessica admitted. “I liked spending time with you all. I guess that’s why I didn’t come back for the homecoming thing.”

“Mama made such a fuss about me being out there in a short skirt and showing my ‘hind end’”—Risa air quoted the last two words—“that I wished I’d never even tried out, but like you, I wanted to spend time with y’all. And yes, I’m nervous. I’m happy, and I’m sad. How a person can be all three of those at the same time is a mystery, but it’s the truth.”

“There’s no mystery, my friend, and it’s perfectly understandable. You are happy because the girls are getting to do something they’ve wanted for a while, and their Kentucky grandma wouldn’t hear of it. You’re nervous because you’re worried about how they’ll fit in if they do make the squad. And you’re sad because you are worried that they will be upset if they don’t get chosen, and also because down deep you don’t want them to have to deal with all it entails,” Jessica told her.

“Hey, what did we miss?” Mary Nell and Haley came into the bar and sat down on the pulpit with Risa and Jessica.

“Risa is cooking,” Jessica answered.

“We all know that she cooks when she’s on an emotional roller coaster,” Mary Nell said. “So, has this cheerleader thing got you worried?”

“Yes,” Risa admitted.

“Mama used to say, ‘What will be, will be, and what won’t be . . . might be anyway,’” Haley said. “I never understood it until recently, and it applies today. Only I think the new way of saying it is, ‘It is what it is.’ We can’t change whether they make it or not, but we can support them in whatever happens.”

“Thanks,” Risa said.

“What’s that wonderful smell coming from the kitchen?” Oscar sniffed the air.

“Risa is making breads,” Jessica answered. “Orange-date, banana, and zucchini.”

“Nellie used to make orange-date bread for me on holidays, and I haven’t had any in years. Now I’m looking forward to the morning break. Y’all heard from the girls yet?”

“Not yet,” Risa answered.

“Mama made breads like that at Thanksgiving for me and Danny. Dad didn’t like dates, so she made banana nut for him. We had warm breads for breakfast on that day, so it always reminds me of family and good times.” Wade picked up a long length of oak and set it in place on the framework of the bar.