“Students apply for the scholarship in my name because I’m so wealthy and I donate to the church so much money.” Millie Barnes put her hand to her chest and did her best Florence impression.
Everyone in Sugar Creek Gap knew Florence donated a lot of money to various organizations, though she took full advantage of getting recognition for it.
“Okay.” I felt uncomfortable listening to them, not to mention poor Leotta. She was a business owner, so she really tried to make everyone happy and stay neutral.
I was the mail carrier for all of them, so I had to make sure I stayed silent.
“We need to look on the bright side. One of Grady’s students will be able to afford college with the scholarship.” I loved when one of the less fortunate kids could benefit from Florence’s pride. In the grand scheme of things, Florence’s need for recognition was so small compared to the long-term value of her generosity to one person’s life. A young person.
“It’s not just her money.” Gertrude nodded and looked around at the other Front Porch Ladies for confirmation. “We all put extra money into the tithe to fund it.”
“Trust me, these families are very grateful. Including me. If it weren’t for the scholarship fund, Grady would have a huge student loan to pay off.” I reminded them how Grady was awarded the church’s scholarship when he was a senior, the same year his father had been killed in a car accident.
Just talking about that time brought back the memory of the night I was cheering on the Sugar Creek Gap Grizzlies football team. I was in the stands as the proud mom of the Grizzlies’ mascot, who underneath the bear costume was my Grady. I was cheering on the cute bear when a Kentucky sheriff showed up at the game. After he asked around about where he could find me, Bernadette Butler, he told me Richard had had an awful accident.
Not only had I felt like my life had been ruined, but I knew Grady’s senior year and the life Richard and I had spent years planning for him had been ruined as well. Thanks to the church, Grady was awarded the scholarship.
I picked up the knitting needles and looked at the washcloth, clearly forgetting if I was in the middle of a knit or purl.
“That’s why Grady decided to come back to Sugar Creek Gap after college. He knew he could give back to the community that had given him so much love and support by taking the teaching position at the high school and becoming the head football coach.” I was very proud of my son.
“Yeah. Y’all need to listen and take a lesson from Bernie.” Harriette, the ringleader of the Front Porch Ladies, had a sudden change of heart.
“What about that niece of hers?” Ruby Dean leaned over the table and down at me. “She gets a lot of packages in the mail.”
“Yeah. I’ve seen you dragging that cart around with you for the past few days now. And I know I didn’t get no smell-good letter from Zeke Grey.” Gertrude’s brow twitched. “Apparently, you’re not getting anything special from Zeke either.” She looked directly at Harriette.
Trying to hold a conversation with these four women was like being in a room full of squirrels. They changed subjects more than a high school student’s class schedule. Though this particular subject of the packages Courtney Gaines had been receiving was a much-needed change of subject. I couldn’t tell them what was in the packages—I had no idea—but I did know where they were coming from.
“Don’t you be going and telling me nothing about me and Zeke.” Harriette didn’t bother looking up from her knitting needles.
“Well, I’m just saying.” Gertrude let out a long sigh, lowering her shoulders.
“Just say nothing,” Harriette mumbled and continued to work the needles and the thread. “How’s Julia?”
“My Julia?” The thought of becoming a grandmother made my heart soar. “She’s fantastic. She’s been such a trooper for a first-time pregnancy. Mac said he’s missing her so much. Now that she’s into her third trimester, she’s not as sick anymore. I’m doing all I can to help. Poor thing is so big with baby.”
“Have they moved out of the Wallflower apartment?” Ruby asked about the little apartment above my parents’ diner, where Julia and Grady lived.
“They were still sleeping there while the farmhouse is being painted, along with those remodels Mac is doing for them.” Seeing Mac and Grady work side by side was a dream for me. “But going to sleep there for the first night tonight. That’s why I’m trying to get this cloth completed.”
By the size of my square knitting project, they would only be able to wash a baby spoon with it.
“Mac has really been busy there. You sure are lucky, Bernie.” Harriette didn’t bother looking up at me. She knew it was a touchy subject I rarely liked to talk about.
Mac was Richard’s, my deceased husband’s, best friend and had been around Grady all his life, so they were already close. After Richard had died, Grady and I learned of a secret life Richard had kept hidden our entire marriage. Mac had kept Richard’s secret. It took a while for me to forgive Mac, but not Grady.
Mac had become somewhat of a father figure to Grady, and I was forever grateful for that. That feeling had turned into a love for Mac that I couldn’t shake off.
“I can’t wait to see it.” Leotta had rejoined us in the classroom after she’d taken a few phone calls and helped a customer while the five of us sat yammering on. “Julia is very excited because Grady keeps telling her about all the wonderful memories he’d had growing up in the farmhouse.” Leotta looked out the window and watched as Zeke Grey greeted Florence with a hug on the sidewalk before they began to walk down past the yarn shop toward the diner. “It just goes to show that love is in the air this summer.”
“Not if I’ve got something to do with it.” Harriette’s eyes narrowed. “If Florence keeps fluttering them eyelashes, she’s gonna start a windstorm.”
Chapter 2
There was no sense in trying to get any more of the washcloth finished at Social Knitwork. The Front Porch Ladies kept gossiping about Zeke and what Florence Gaines had over him to make him want to not only have supper with her but hug her while they stood on the sidewalk on Main Street. Something these southern ladies saw as very inappropriate.
I gathered my yarns and put everything back in the little yarn bag Leotta had given us for signing up for class. The Front Porch Ladies already knew how to knit, but like everyone in Sugar Creek Gap, there wasn’t much to do right now.
It was rare I had a day off during the week, especially a Friday, but Monica Reed, a clerk at the post office, had really wanted to be a mail carrier, so a few times a year I’d take a vacation day so she could get her feet wet. It never failed that the day after she took my route, her feet ached and her back hurt, and she was back to being grateful for the stool at the counter and her job there. After that, she’d stop belly-aching about being inside for a few more months.
Generally on my days off, I would hang out with my parents at Wallflower and help around the diner, or I’d work around the farm. But now that I’d inherited a home from one of my customers, I had a nice tiny yard where I was ecstatic to work in the flower beds I’d planted. There were a few items I needed to pick up from Leaf and Petal, our local garden store, for the next vegetable garden boxes Mac had made for my backyard.