“That’s harsh,” Anna Grace said.
“Maybe so, but it’s the gospel truth, isn’t it?” Cricket was almost believing her, but not quite.
“Tommy wants us to get married at the end of summer on the beach at Padre Island. He has a friend who has a cabin down there that he’s willing to let us have for a whole week for our honeymoon.” Anna Grace sighed again. “Daddy said that if I make Mama happy, then I can have a honeymoon on the Riviera in France.”
“Again, Tommy or money? What will make you smile like you did when Tommy opened that box you’ve still got in your hand? What are you going to remember the most about your wedding and honeymoon on your fiftieth wedding anniversary?” Cricket asked. “Answer those questions, and you’ll know what means the most to you.”
Test her, the voice in Cricket’s head whispered.
“Want a cup of coffee?” Cricket asked. “There’s also some leftover blueberry muffins under the cake dome if you want one.”
“I’d love both, but I’ll get them. You don’t need to wait on me,” Anna Grace said.
“I didn’t plan on it.” Cricket took a sip of her lukewarm coffee and pushed her office chair back. “I’m going to heat my coffee up in the microwave. Those muffins might be better if you give them about ten seconds.”
“I can’t cook. I don’t know jack about cleaning, and I’m afraid I’ll be a big disappointment to Tommy.” Anna Grace dabbed at another tear with a paper napkin.
Cricket put her coffee in the microwave. “Looks to me like you’ve got three months to learn. Do you even know how to run one of these to heat up that muffin?”
“Not really.” Anna Grace grimaced. “When I want something like that done, I tell our cook and she takes care of it.”
What would Jennie Sue do? Cricked asked herself.
She would help Anna Grace. The pesky voice in Cricket’s head didn’t help one single bit.
“All right I hear you loud and clear,” Cricket muttered as she carried her second cup of coffee and a muffin back to her desk.
“What was that?” Anna Grace’s heels made a tapping sound on the tile floor as she followed Cricket back to the desk.
“I can cook. I’m an expert at cleaning and gardening. I have an extra bedroom you can use. And I’ll give you a job here in the bookstore dusting shelves, waiting on customers, sweeping up dead crickets every morning, and dumping the occasional dead mouse out of a trap and into the dumpster out back. Your current friends don’t come in here very often, but if and when they do, are you willing to let them see you doing that kind of work?” Cricket said.
Anna Grace hesitated for a moment but then nodded.
Cricket went on to say, “At the end of the day you’ll go home with me and help me in the garden, then learn how to cook and clean. It will be a crash course in life. That’s what I can offer if you love Tommy enough to leave your fancy lifestyle.”
“You’d do that for me after the way I’ve treated you?” Anna Grace’s expression showed total shock.
“No, I’ll do it for you because that’s what Jennie Sue would do,” Cricket said. “Leave your high heels at home. The closet in the spare bedroom at my small house isn’t very big, so you will need to limit what you bring to no more than two suitcases. If you don’t have anything fit to pick beans or dig up potatoes or even to clean house in, you can borrow some of my old shirts, but my cut-off jean shorts will be too big for you.”
“I can’t believe I’m even considering this,” Anna Grace gasped. “I don’t know how much you’ll charge me for all that, but I do have a little bit of savings, so I can pay you.”
“Nope. I’ll give you minimum wage for working here in the bookstore forty hours a week. I’ve been thinking about hiring some help so I can take a few hours off now and then anyway, but the rest of it is free for the help you’ll be giving us in the garden and helping me clean the house. You might even pull a few more dollars in if you offer to clean Jennie Sue’s house, or Lettie and Nadine’s for the rest of the summer. We only work half a day on Saturday and we’re closed on Sunday at the bookstore,” Cricket told her. “And trust me, I can’t believe I’m offering this any more than you can.”
“When would I start?” Anna Grace asked.
“I’m going to a party tonight at Lettie and Nadine’s. I’ll leave the front door open. If you’re there when I get home, then you’ve started. You’ve got twenty-four hours to make up your mind. If you’re not there, then I figure this was a prank, or that dollar bills mean more to you than love. But Bryce is off limits, no matter what you decide. Not because I’m in love with him or want to be a pharmacist’s girlfriend, but because he’s much too nice of a man for the likes of you if you throw Tommy over and give him back that gorgeous ring for prestige and money,” Cricket said. “And another thing—jeans and T-shirts are just fine for work in this place. You can leave all your fancy suits at home too. Who knows? You might be able to save up enough money by the end of summer for you and Tommy to drive out to Vegas and get married there.”
“I just might see you out at your place later.” Anna Grace smiled.
“I can honestly say that I hope not,” Cricket told her, “but it’s up to you. I’m not easy to live with, and I speak my mind. You won’t bully me ever again or I’ll kick your skinny butt out in the yard.”
“I’ve lived with my mother for more than thirty years,” Anna Grace said. “That doesn’t sound too bad at all, and I can never repay you or thank you enough for this offer. There’s just one problem. Daddy says if I ever leave, I won’t even have a vehicle. If he’s serious, then he’ll send someone to take my car or else make me give him my keys. Mama will be mortified, and Daddy doesn’t like it when she’s not happy.”
“If you need a ride, call me.” Cricket didn’t figure she’d ever get that call. “You can ride to work with me, and if you want to go somewhere in the evenings, there’s an old work pickup truck out at the farm. It doesn’t have air-conditioning, and you’ll have to put your own gas in it.”
Tears began to stream down Anna Grace’s face. “Not one of the Belle daughters would ever offer to do all this for me. They’d all be too afraid of my mother and their own mamas.”
“Honey, Mary Lou had better be afraid of me. I’m determined that no one is ever going to make me feel inferior again.” Cricket had actually stretched the truth, because, deep down, she felt rather plain and chubby in Anna Grace’s presence.
“You haven’t dealt with my mama,” Anna Grace said, “but I’m not going to argue with you. Can I have your cell phone number?”
Cricket picked up a business card for the shop, wrote her number on the back, and handed it across the table. “Welcome to the world of the poor and proud.”
Anna Grace pulled a tissue from a box and wiped the tears from her face. “I’m going to call Tommy and talk to him on the way back to the office. Thank you again, Cricket. I damn sure don’t deserve this, but I appreciate it more than you’ll ever know.”