Ellie Mae parked the bag beside Cleo’s door and followed Tabby back to where the lift chair was about to reach the top. “Do you think whatever it is has been brewing a long time?” She picked one of the two duffel bags from off the chair when it stopped. “This one looks like military issue.”
“And old,” Tabby said. “And, girl, whatever is between them didn’t happen last week. That kind of hatred takes a while to fester.”
She thought of the way she felt about the drunk driver who had T-boned her daughter’s car, killing her instantly. He had died also, but she had no sympathy for him or his parents. At that time, she’d had nothing but pure red-hot anger in her heart. Even now, when she thought about the pain she’d suffered that night—well, she sure wasn’t Miss Positive at those times.
Frank came out of his room and hoisted a bag up on his shoulder. “It is military, and it’s been with me through thick and thin for more’n sixty years now.”
Homer pointed toward the second bag. “That one belongs to me. Frank’s has got Tyson on the side, and mine has Andrews. Names are kind of faded now, but then, so are us old men. Time gets us all, but when we were issued those bags, we were young and full of spit and vinegar.”
Tabby could see the long friendship in the look they exchanged and wished just once she could have witnessed one like that between her dad and Ellie Mae’s. They were like two bulls locking horns every chance they got.
“They went to Vietnam with us,” Frank said, “and then came home with us. We call them our good-luck bags, and now that we’re old, we’re hoping our luck holds out where this hurricane is concerned.”
“Not me!” Cleo popped out of her room and grabbed one of the bags beside her door. “I’m not giving in to old Father Time without a fight. When I die, I want to slide into heaven looking like an old swamp witch, all withered up because every bit of my love, fun, and energy got used up.”
“Of course you do. You’ve always been a hippie type of renegade,” Maude huffed as she claimed a garbage bag. “Putting our things in garbage bags seems so undignified.”
“Oh, stop your fussing,” Cleo said. “What our stuff is packed in doesn’t matter one bit. They were in a rush to get us out of there. It’s not a sin that your Bible is tucked inside that big old plastic bag and not in a gold-lined box encrusted with diamonds.”
“You are horrible.” Maude slammed her bedroom door.
“Don’t mind her.” Cleo smiled. “She’ll get over her meanness when hell freezes over. Thanks for getting all our stuff up here, and again for letting us stay. My room is nicer than the one at the center, and I’m glad you didn’t put me right next to Maude.”
“You are very welcome,” Tabby said as she took the last of the bags off the chair and set them to the side. Tabby intended to find out what the history between those two was before they left. That just might keep her mind off surviving another holiday season without Natalie.
Alex ran up the stairs and claimed the last two bags just as Cleo disappeared back into her room. “Those would be mine. When I stay here during storms, I’m usually the only one on the second floor, so this will be different. If those two old gals bring out pistols or shotguns, I’m going to take up squatter’s rights on the living room floor.”
“Do you think Cleo’s got guns in that heavy bag?” Ellie Mae whispered.
“I hope not,” Alex answered. “Maybe they’re like little kids: they’re cranky because they’re afraid of what’s happening and also a little hungry. They might be nicer if we feed them.”
“I don’t think cookies and cupcakes will help that kind of anger, but it’s worth a try,” Tabby said. “And speaking of food, Aunt Charlotte says you’re pretty handy in the kitchen.”
“I can’t boil water without someone calling the fire department,” Ellie Mae said as she started down the wide staircase. “So I hope Aunt Charlotte was right.”
“Charlotte and I both love to cook, and I’m glad to help out in the kitchen—not only with cooking but with cleanup or whatever needs doing while I’m here. What have you got in mind for supper?” Alex asked.
“We’re having turkey-salad sandwiches and soup,” Tabby answered. “Aunt Charlotte kind of sprang this on us, so that’s the best I can do for tonight.”
“Yep, she did,” Alex said. “I was on my way out of town. Figured I’d go north and then west until I was out of the storm’s pathway.”
“Thanks for helping out,” Tabby said. “Aunt Charlotte had already gone when we arrived a couple of weeks ago. She hates goodbyes, so she left the keys under the back-door mat and was on her way to Colorado. So we didn’t even get a crash course in how to handle the generator and well house. After supper maybe we can all three sit down and figure out a menu for the rest of the week. The pantry is well stocked, and the freezers in the basement are full—only partially with ice cream.”
“I’ll join y’all, but don’t expect much from me,” Ellie Mae said, covering a laugh. “I am most definitely—and underline that last word six times—not good in the kitchen. I can clean and do laundry and know my way around power tools and a hammer, but I don’t cook.”
“Are you a carpenter or just a fix-it person?” Alex asked.
“Finish carpenter for the last few years. My roommate, Sam, and I did house-framing before that,” she said. “Just because I’m short and female doesn’t mean I can’t use power tools.”
“I’m not really surprised,” Alex said. “Did you ever hear of the ‘goose and gander’ law?”
“Oh, yes,” Tabby answered. “Aunt Charlotte said that what was good for the goose was good for the gander. That girls need to know survival skills, and boys need to know how to cook and clean.”
“That’s right,” Alex said with a nod. “She said my grandpa was a good man to teach me how to take care of a house as well as catch fish.”
“That sounds just like our Aunt Charlotte.” Tabby set about making a pitcher of sweet tea. “She still believes that guys and girls alike should be able to do anything. It probably comes from having to take care of herself all these years. I can mow the lawn, put gas in my car, and take out the trash.”
“And I can microwave a bowl of soup if I have to, and do all kinds of carpentry work,” Ellie Mae added.
“Between the bunch of us, maybe we’ll make it through Delilah,” Alex said, “but for now, what’s on the agenda? The folks will be coming down here pretty soon.”
“We’ll set out cookies and those cupcakes I made yesterday, and have some sweet tea, milk, and coffee,” Tabby said, and then lowered her voice when she heard the lift chair starting down the stairs. “I see you took the second room on the left. Are you planning to buffer between Cleo and Maude?”
Alex reached up to a cabinet shelf, brought down a stack of dessert plates, and took them to the dining room table. “I can sleep through mortar fire. I did a stint in the service, so I mean that literally. I figure if those two women don’t share a wall, maybe it will keep down the complaining.”