揧ou think God will talk to you more in church than right here??Risa asked.
揑 need answers, and I can抰 find them in this house.?Haley shrugged. 揗aybe I抣l get a sign, or a hymn will spark a memory. One never knows, but even if I don抰 get a sign at all, I抦 going to support you and the girls.?
揟hank you.?Risa drank the last drop of her whiskey and set the empty glass on the coffee table. 揟hey say that the definition of stupid is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.?
Haley nodded and waited for Risa to go on.
揊rom the time I was a little girl, I wanted my mother to love me like she did all her friends at the church,?Risa said with a sigh. 揕ooking back, though, I can see that I married Paul to get away from Riverbend. We eloped because I knew Mama would fuss about having to spend money on a wedding. She wasn抰 sad the day that we drove away in his pickup truck. She just stood there on the porch with this big smile of relief on her face and waved as we left.?
揥as she happy the times when you came back to Riverbend for homecoming??Haley remembered how her mother would make all her favorite desserts and food when she was able to come home for the parade and festivities.
揝he seemed to be, but then I was only here for a couple of days. It was an eight-hour drive from our place in Kentucky, so we抎 drive down on Thursday and back on Sunday. That left Friday, and we were busy with the parade. Then Saturday, we were packing up to leave the next day. That was the only time I got to see her during all those years, and she was more than ready for us to get going early on Sunday,?Risa said. 揂s controlling as he was, Paul was happier to see us return home than Mama was when we could only come for a couple of days a year.?
Haley listened, but she couldn抰 help but reevaluate all the hard feelings she抎 had toward her own mother since she found that letter and her original birth certificate. Nadine, her mother/grandmother, had loved her enough to give her a good home and take care of her at a time when her own biological mother, Frannie, was too young to do the job, and never complained one time. When Haley moved to Alabama, Nadine had stood on the porch and shed tears as she had driven away.
I was loved, Haley thought. That抯 what was important.
揊acing reality isn抰 easy.?She pictured the test lying in the bathroom drawer. Her mother would have been disappointed that Haley wasn抰 married, but she would have been excited about the baby. Haley wondered if her mother hadn抰 felt like that when she found out her fifteen-year-old daughter was about to have a baby梔isappointment and excitement at the same time.
揃ut we have to face reality if we抮e ever going to put the past to rest.?Risa抯 voice sounded tired and wistful. 揑抳e got to do that so the girls and I can move on. I can be thankful to have had a mother like Stella, who taught me how not to be when it comes to raising my own girls.?
揧ou have a good attitude, my friend,?Haley said.
揑 guess we are all four梠r maybe I should say five, if we include Wade梡addling the same canoe.?Risa poured herself another double shot. 揝o I抦 not the only one with problems.?
揧es, we are.?Haley finished off her milk and stood up. 揓essica and Wade are trying to find a permanent place to put down roots after twenty years of living out of a duffel bag. They抮e both worried that in a few months the other one will grow weary of staying in one place. Mary Nell is fighting with her feelings of giving so many years to that sorry sumbitch, Kevin, and then getting dumped.?
揂nd Jessica and Wade are doubling that first problem by fighting the sparks between them,?Risa said as she stood and headed toward the kitchen with her empty glass in her hand.
揧ou saw it, too??Haley followed her into the kitchen. 揑 thought maybe I was imagining things.?
揑 can almost feel the heat between them.?Risa rinsed her glass and put it in the dishwasher. 揃ut we have to let them find their own way through this, and not try to help, right??
揑 suppose so,?Haley answered, 揵ut it sure is tempting to give them a little push, isn抰 it??
揘ope.?Risa shook her head. 揥hat if we did, and it was a disaster like what happened with me and Paul? Or like Mary Nell and Kevin? We better just let them figure things out on their own.?
揘ow who抯 the counselor??Haley giggled.
Risa threw up her palms in a defensive gesture. 揘ot me. I抦 having trouble controlling my own life. I抦 not smart enough to help anyone else. But I抦 really glad I抳e got this roommate who is able to help all of us through these difficult times.?
Haley gave her a quick hug. 揇on抰 underestimate yourself. You抳e helped me a lot tonight by just talking to me. So, thank you.?
揧ou抮e welcome, but I really think that you are just saying that to make me feel better. Good night, and thank you for敆Risa headed for the door and then turned around棑for everything.?