揃ut girls are supposed to be angels who want to be married and have babies. They aren抰 supposed to have dreams of careers unless Granny Martha wants them to help her out with bookkeeping or in the lumberyard itself, and then it wasn抰 for pay,?Daisy said.
揟hat sounds kind of old-fashioned and sexist,?Jessica said.
揈xactly!?Daisy crossed the room and disappeared into the kitchen with Lily right behind her. 揃ut Granny Martha didn抰 see it that way.?
Jessica hadn抰 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.
揟hat 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.
揌ey,?Mary Nell called out when she passed by the office door. 揋ot a minute??
揃e 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.
揅lose the door,?Mary Nell said.
揙h. My. Goodness. This must be serious,?Jessica said. 揝omething wrong with the accounts? Should we have put more money in to cover payroll and the overhead for the next six months??
揌ave a seat, and this has nothing to do with the business. We抮e starting out on a fine foundation where that is concerned,?Mary Nell answered. 揑抦 done with that for now and was about to come out into the bar and help y抋ll, but we need to talk first.?
The hair on Jessica抯 arms prickled, and that meant something was wrong. 揟hen what抯 going on that I needed to shut the door??
揇addy is trying to fix me up with Wade, and I抦 not ready for any kind of a relationship. It抯 too soon after everything went south with Kevin. I need a year or maybe two to find myself. I feel like it抯 been . . .?
Haley rapped once on the door and then stuck her head inside. 揂m I interrupting anything??
揘o, come on in and shut the door.?Mary Nell motioned her into the room. 揧ou抮e a counselor, so maybe you can help me, but we shouldn抰 leave Risa out.?She picked up her cell phone from the desk and made a call.
揇id someone die??Risa asked as she came into the room and closed the door behind her. 揥hat are we having a meeting for??
Jessica pointed at Mary Nell. 揝he抯 the one that抯 got a problem, not me.?
Liar, the voice in her head scolded. You don抰 want her to be interested in Wade, so you抳e 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. 揝pit it out. Are you fixin?to tell us that Kevin called and you抮e going to give him another chance??
揋od no!?Mary Nell抯 voice went as high and squeaky as a mouse caught in a trap. 揑n some ways it抯 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抳e got a feeling Daddy won抰 give up on the idea. What do I do??
揧ou抮e a grown woman,?Haley told her. 揝tand up for yourself and tell Oscar that you are just out of a disastrous relationship, and you sure don抰 want to jump into another one.?
揑 did, but once Daddy gets something in his head . . .?Mary Nell sighed.
揟ell him that I抳e 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.
揇o you??Risa asked.
揑 did in high school, so it抯 not a total lie,?Jessica admitted.
Haley narrowed her eyes into slits. 揥e kind of knew even though you didn抰 say anything.?
揟hat抯 right,?Mary Nell said. 揥e would have probably told you that was crazy. Wade was a nerd, and you were a cheerleader. Y抋ll were way too different to have ever been a couple.?
揋uess we all had a few secrets,?Risa said with a slight shrug. 揑 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.?
揂nd went to the church parking lot,?Mary Nell added.
揂t least until Sparky, who was the town night cop in those days, shooed us away,?Haley said with a giggle. 揕ittle did he know that we just came back as soon as he went to the diner for pie and doughnuts.?
揟hen he retired and put in a gas station about the time we graduated,?Jessica said. 揑 wonder who took his place.?