to be stolen? That fear didn’t last long.
There was the blue pony, right on the side of the road where Jane and I left it. We stopped in front of it, and Frank had it chained to Pa’s truck in no time. He drove out of the park and back up Highway 21. When he turned, I realized that he was headed to Daddy’s, not to Jane’s or my place.
“Jane needs to go home and get some sleep,” I said.
“I won’t be long, just want to unhook the Mustang and leave it in the yard. Then I’ll drive you girls home.”
The driveway up to Daddy’s house is classic Low Country. Old live oak trees line both sides of the dirt road, and their curved branches create an arch over it. Spanish moss drapes from the branches, veiling the house, which is fortunate because no one wants to see the Parrish house until it’s unavoidable.
At the end of the road is the ugliest house in St. Mary. It’s my home place. The building has dark gray shingles that were on sale, and the trim, including the front porch, is painted black. I grew up thinking I lived in the Addams Family or Munster house.
Through the years, I’ve described the house to Jane, but since she lived most of her childhood at a home for the blind, then spent her teenaged years as an only child with a single mom in an apartment, Jane used to love hanging out at Daddy’s house with all the hustle and bustle of six kids. I think she also loves my daddy, who looks like a sixty-something-year-old Larry the Cable Guy and acts like him, too.
While Frank unhooked the car, Jane and I went inside to use the restroom. Bill was there, sitting at the computer, and he jumped up in surprise when we opened the front door. I wondered if he’d been visiting some sites he didn’t want me to see.
“Thought you’d gone to register wedding gifts,” I said as Jane headed into the bathroom.
“I did. Now I’m back,” he answered.
“Where’s Molly?”
“Took her home. She’s got to take care of her new litter of pups.” Bill’s fiancée bred and sold poodles. My own dog, Big Boy, came from Molly. Someone traded her a Great Dane puppy for a miniature poodle. When Molly couldn’t sell him, she gave him to Bill to give to me. There’d been a time that she threatened to take Big Boy back, but everything was cool now.
Jane came into the living room, and I took her place in the restroom. That Coke had been enormous .
“Callie almost caught me printing out the banner,” I heard Bill whisper to Jane. “Do you think she knows anything about it?”
“No,” Jane replied softly, “we’ve been together all afternoon. If she had any idea, she’d have said something.”
I was ready to flush, but I wanted to keep listening. When anyone whispers, it always piques my curiosity. What kind of secret did my friend have with my brothers? Could it have anything to do with my birthday Saturday? Daddy never celebrated the day of my birth because it’s also the day my mother died, but my brothers have been known to buy gifts and even a cake. I waited, snooping, until I heard Frank’s voice and the sound of the front door closing.
“Did you pick out any good tools or fishing equipment?” Frank asked.
“Nah, just dishes and trash cans and shower curtains and towels and bed linens. Not one thing for me.” Bill wasn’t too enthusiastic.
“Why didn’t you insist?”
“Molly’s not totally over being mad about me spending time with Lucy. I’m not doing anything to rock the boat.”
“When’s the wedding?” Jane asked.
“October,” Bill said.
“Where’s Callie?” Frank questioned.
“John,” said Bill.
“Is John here?” Jane questioned.
“No, I mean Callie’s in the john. You know, the bathroom.”
“Oh, the loo.”
I headed out before they started naming all the slang words they could think of for the necessary room.
Bill decided to come along with Frank to take Jane and me home. Frank made him sit in back with me, mumbling something about it being hard for Jane to
There was the blue pony, right on the side of the road where Jane and I left it. We stopped in front of it, and Frank had it chained to Pa’s truck in no time. He drove out of the park and back up Highway 21. When he turned, I realized that he was headed to Daddy’s, not to Jane’s or my place.
“Jane needs to go home and get some sleep,” I said.
“I won’t be long, just want to unhook the Mustang and leave it in the yard. Then I’ll drive you girls home.”
The driveway up to Daddy’s house is classic Low Country. Old live oak trees line both sides of the dirt road, and their curved branches create an arch over it. Spanish moss drapes from the branches, veiling the house, which is fortunate because no one wants to see the Parrish house until it’s unavoidable.
At the end of the road is the ugliest house in St. Mary. It’s my home place. The building has dark gray shingles that were on sale, and the trim, including the front porch, is painted black. I grew up thinking I lived in the Addams Family or Munster house.
Through the years, I’ve described the house to Jane, but since she lived most of her childhood at a home for the blind, then spent her teenaged years as an only child with a single mom in an apartment, Jane used to love hanging out at Daddy’s house with all the hustle and bustle of six kids. I think she also loves my daddy, who looks like a sixty-something-year-old Larry the Cable Guy and acts like him, too.
While Frank unhooked the car, Jane and I went inside to use the restroom. Bill was there, sitting at the computer, and he jumped up in surprise when we opened the front door. I wondered if he’d been visiting some sites he didn’t want me to see.
“Thought you’d gone to register wedding gifts,” I said as Jane headed into the bathroom.
“I did. Now I’m back,” he answered.
“Where’s Molly?”
“Took her home. She’s got to take care of her new litter of pups.” Bill’s fiancée bred and sold poodles. My own dog, Big Boy, came from Molly. Someone traded her a Great Dane puppy for a miniature poodle. When Molly couldn’t sell him, she gave him to Bill to give to me. There’d been a time that she threatened to take Big Boy back, but everything was cool now.
Jane came into the living room, and I took her place in the restroom. That Coke had been enormous .
“Callie almost caught me printing out the banner,” I heard Bill whisper to Jane. “Do you think she knows anything about it?”
“No,” Jane replied softly, “we’ve been together all afternoon. If she had any idea, she’d have said something.”
I was ready to flush, but I wanted to keep listening. When anyone whispers, it always piques my curiosity. What kind of secret did my friend have with my brothers? Could it have anything to do with my birthday Saturday? Daddy never celebrated the day of my birth because it’s also the day my mother died, but my brothers have been known to buy gifts and even a cake. I waited, snooping, until I heard Frank’s voice and the sound of the front door closing.
“Did you pick out any good tools or fishing equipment?” Frank asked.
“Nah, just dishes and trash cans and shower curtains and towels and bed linens. Not one thing for me.” Bill wasn’t too enthusiastic.
“Why didn’t you insist?”
“Molly’s not totally over being mad about me spending time with Lucy. I’m not doing anything to rock the boat.”
“When’s the wedding?” Jane asked.
“October,” Bill said.
“Where’s Callie?” Frank questioned.
“John,” said Bill.
“Is John here?” Jane questioned.
“No, I mean Callie’s in the john. You know, the bathroom.”
“Oh, the loo.”
I headed out before they started naming all the slang words they could think of for the necessary room.
Bill decided to come along with Frank to take Jane and me home. Frank made him sit in back with me, mumbling something about it being hard for Jane to
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