“Yes, I do, and we’ve addressed that.”
She took a deep breath, gritted her teeth, wiped her cheek, and said, “Yes, we have. Sorry.”
“Don’t apologize.”
“I don’t suppose you could move back and rescue us, could you?”
“No, not now anyway. I can’t live in Clanton and I’m not completely sure things are safe around there. Plus, Hermie would hire every lawyer in town to keep me away.”
“Did you ever like Hermie?”
“Not really.”
She had only nibbled around the edges of her burger and chewed on some fries, but she was finished. She shoved her platter a few inches toward the center of the table and glanced around. In a lower voice, she said, “I need to tell you something, Mack. Mom likes to go over there and sit on the patio under the fans. It’s not nearly as depressing as sitting around our house, so we’ve been over there a lot. I drive her over, she and Helen sit on the porch with Honey, and everybody whittles away the hours as the clock ticks. Hermie is hanging around too, and twice in the past week I’ve overheard him mention the FBI. I have no idea why.”
Mack swallowed hard and glanced around. “Who was he talking to?”
“Don’t know. He was on the phone and didn’t know I was in the house. Kinda weird, right?”
“Something to ponder, I guess.”
“I’ll keep my ears open.”
Any mention of the FBI bothered Mack. He appeared indifferent, but his appetite had vanished too.
Margot glanced at her watch and said, “I guess I should be going. I have a one p.m. appointment.”
“Do you want me to go?”
“You mean like a real dad. Father and daughter, off to visit college campuses?”
“Something like that.”
She smiled and said, “Sure, Pop, I’d be honored.”
“You drive. I want to see you in city traffic.”
“I can handle it better than you.”
“We’ll see.”
（30）
Seven hours after she left home, Margot returned, and it seemed like days. She could not believe a simple, unhurried drive to Memphis and back could be so exhilarating, so liberating. When she crossed into Ford County, she actually slowed to fifty miles an hour and ignored the traffic behind her. In town, she circled through a fast-food hangout looking for a friend, but saw no one.
She had been locked down on death duty for months and the ordeal was not over. The last thing she wanted that Saturday afternoon was to sit in their gloomy little house and wait for the inevitable. The family had finally accepted the reality that Lisa was not going to improve, that the doctors had done everything and were finally giving up. The waiting was brutal; the uncertainty of when it would be over; the watching as she grew thinner and paler each day; the horror of seeing your mother inch closer and closer to the grave; the utter fear of life without her. Measurements came in strange ways: just last month she was still driving; just last week she was puttering around the kitchen baking cookies; yesterday she could barely get out of bed. Soon they would send for the nurse, an old babysitter who would care for her in the last days. It had all been arranged by the Bunnings. Margot and Helen were supposed to make the call and inform their grandparents when the moment was at hand.
Helen was in the den watching a movie. In a hushed tone she said, “She’s resting. It’s been a quiet day.”
Margot sat on the sofa next to her sister and asked, “Is she upset with me?”
“No. She’s had a good day. We spent most of it at Honey’s, on the patio, but that exhausted her.”
“Are they pissed?”
“They were at first, but Mom settled them down, told them to knock it off, said you can take care of yourself. How was Rhodes?”
“Beautiful, a really lovely place. Nice people. Very small, though.”
“I can’t believe you’re going to college next year.”
“I can’t either.”
“Can I go with you?”
They chuckled, then froze when they heard Lisa’s voice. They went to her room and found her sitting up in bed with a big smile. Margot hugged her gently. She patted the pillows on both sides and the girls joined her in bed. She wanted to know all about Rhodes College and the trip to Memphis, and Margot spared no details, except, of course, the rather significant detour to the Varsity and lunch with Mack. She pulled out colorful brochures from the college and went on about a conversation she had with a real professor. Rhodes was definitely on her short list. Lisa said they would worry about the money later.