A Slice of Heaven (12 page)

“Same problem,” Dana Sue said with regret. “Annie would never forgive either of us.”

Helen looked disappointed at not being allowed to use her considerable skills of persuasion. “I suppose you’re right,” she finally conceded. “It certainly backfired last time I managed to get him out of Annie’s life on a daily basis.” She studied Dana Sue. “So, what will you do?”

“I wish I knew. Maybe I just need to stop obsessing about it.”

“Sounds like a start,” Helen concurred. “And if you change your mind about letting me do something official, all it takes is one word from you and it’s done.”

Dana Sue gave her a watery smile. “Thanks. Let’s not talk about Ronnie right now. Tell me what’s going on with you. Are you still exercising? Did you write down your goals and give them to Doc Marshall?”

Helen flushed. “Not exactly.”

Dana Sue regarded her with dismay. “Helen! Doc Marshall must have been furious. Did he put you on medication for your blood pressure the way he threatened?”

“Um, no,” Helen said, not meeting her gaze.

“You canceled your appointment, didn’t you?” Dana Sue guessed.

Helen gave her a guilty, barely perceptible nod.

“Are you crazy?” Dana Sue demanded. “This is important, Helen. You can’t keep ignoring it and hoping your blood pressure will correct itself. Have you at least taken a day off to relax, the way you promised?”

“There was no way I could do that this week,” her friend said defensively. “I’ve been here every second I wasn’t at the office or in court.”

“Okay, that’s it,” Dana Sue said fiercely. “Tomorrow morning we’re all meeting at The Corner Spa at eight. I will even spend twenty minutes on the stupid treadmill, if you will. Deal?”

Helen regarded her with obvious reluctance, then nodded. “Fine. Deal.”

“Then we set our goals,” Dana Sue continued. “Maddie can type them up for us afterward so we’ll all have copies. It’ll help us to keep ourselves and each other motivated. I think we should even include penalties if any of us start backsliding.”

“You don’t think the big reward is enough motivation?” Helen teased. “I thought you really wanted that convertible.”

“I do, but that’s a long-term reward. I have a hunch we’re going to need a lot of prodding along the way. If the most obsessive human being I know can’t stick to a regimen for more than two days at a time, then the rest of us are doomed.”

“I can stick to anything I want to,” Helen declared.

“Then you obviously don’t want to stick to this.”

“And you do?” Helen said.

Dana Sue met her gaze, then sighed. “Not especially, if I’m being totally honest. But there’s a big difference between not wanting to do it and knowing that I have to.”

“Ditto with me,” Helen admitted. “I honestly thought the challenge would make me stick to it.”

“And then Annie got sick,” Dana Sue said. “We have to resolve not to let
anything
interfere, okay? No begging off because of work for you and no using Annie as an excuse for me.”

“You’re right.” Helen nodded. “Now let’s go upstairs and see Annie.”

“Ronnie’s with her,” Dana Sue said.

Her friend’s eyes glittered with mischief. “Then we’ll chase him away. That should be fun.”

Dana Sue laughed despite herself. “You have the oddest sense of what passes for entertainment.”

“Tell me the idea doesn’t appeal to you, too,” Helen dared her.

“Okay, it does,” Dana Sue confessed. “At least a little bit. One thing, though.…”

“What?”

“How’s he going to get back to his motel? I drove him over here.”

“All the better,” Helen said. “A long walk will be good for him. Might give him time to think better of sticking around.”

“Or make him mad enough to dream up a diabolical way to get even,” Dana Sue said.

“Not to worry. When has any man ever been able to put one over on the Sweet Magnolias?” Helen asked confidently.

“Not often, that’s true,” she admitted. But that didn’t mean her ex-husband wouldn’t try. The prospect sent a little shudder through her. More troubling was the fact that she couldn’t tell if the reaction was dread or anticipation.

Despite the earlier struggle to eat even a little portion of her meal, Annie lay back in her hospital bed feeling better than she had in months. Her dad was right there beside her, and Sarah and Raylene had come by the minute they’d found out she could have visitors. They’d told her that Ty was on his way over, too. He was coming with his mom after dinner. Annie wasn’t sure how she felt about him seeing her like this, but then she remembered that he’d seen her under all sorts of embarrassing circumstances over the years and he was still her friend. Eagerness overcame her trepidation.

She’d tuned out most of the other news Sarah and Raylene were delivering. It was just a bunch of gossip from school, and right now none of that seemed important. A week ago she would have wanted to hear every word, certain that her life would be over if she missed any hot news flashes about the in crowd. Now she understood what having her life be over really meant. She felt a hundred years older than her two best friends.

“Are you even listening to us?” Sarah demanded. “You look as if you’re a thousand miles away.”

“I heard you,” Annie swore, then grinned. “Well, some of it, anyway.”

“Are you getting too tired?” Raylene asked, glancing at Annie’s dad for his input. “Should we go?”

Her dad looked at her. “Annie, it’s your call. You still feeling okay?”

“Maybe I
am
a little tired,” she admitted finally. It was better than saying she was bored listening to the same old stuff. “Come back tomorrow, though, okay?”

“Right after school,” Sarah promised. “My mom said she’d bring us whenever we want.”

“Mine, too,” Raylene said.

They were almost to the door when Sarah ran back and gave Annie a hug that almost squeezed the breath right out of her.

“You scared us,” she said, an angry edge to her voice. “Don’t you ever do anything like that again, you hear me?”

“I’m not planning on it,” Annie assured her.

“But Ms. Franklin said in P.E. that eating disorders don’t just go away.” Sarah’s expression was filled with concern. “You have to
want
things to be different, Annie.”

Annie flushed with embarrassment. She was apparently being turned into some sort of example at school. “Ms. Franklin was talking about me in class?”

“She never mentioned you by name,” Raylene said hurriedly. “But everyone knew. I guess she figured the opportunity to lecture us was too good to pass up.”

“All I know is that if I don’t see you putting real food in your mouth every single time you’re supposed to, from here on I’m ratting you out,” Sarah said. “I don’t care if you hate me.”

“Me, too,” Raylene said.

After they’d gone, Annie closed her eyes, filled with shame. She’d never realized the toll her decisions took on her friends.

“You okay, baby?” her dad asked.

“Sure,” she said with a sniff.

“Those two are good friends,” he commented.

“I know that. I guess I put them in a pretty awful position before, huh?”

“You scared them, there’s no question about that.”

She shook her head. “It’s more than that. Sarah knew, even though I wouldn’t admit what was going on. She tried to talk to me, but I always blew her off. I did the same thing with Mom.”

“I don’t think either one of them will let you get away with that again,” he said.

“I’m surprised Sarah even
wants
to be my friend now,” Annie said.

“Why wouldn’t she?”

“Because I’m so messed up.” Annie choked back a sob.

“You’re not messed up,” her dad said, moving to the edge of the bed and gathering her into his arms. “You made a mistake, sweet pea. A real bad one, but we’re going to fix it.”

With her face buried against his shoulder, she murmured, “I don’t know if I can.”

“You can,” he said with confidence. “Your mom and I will help and so will Dr. McDaniels and the nutritionist.”

She knew it was useless to complain about the nutritionist, but she had to take another stab at getting the psychologist off her case. “I don’t want to see a shrink.”

“No choice,” he said flatly. “You can’t fix this by yourself.”

“But you and Mom—”

“Don’t know the right things to do. We’re going to need Dr. McDaniels and Ms. Reynolds to help us, too. We’re all in this together, Annie. You don’t have to do any of it alone.”

“But I’m the one who’s sick. I’m the only one who can fix it, and I don’t think I can.”

Her dad took her shoulders and held her away so he could look into her eyes. “Yes, you can,” he repeated. “You’re a smart girl, Annie. You can do anything you set your mind to. It’s not going to happen overnight, but it will happen. Bit by bit you’ll make whatever changes you need to, in the way you eat, the way you think about yourself.”

“I have a confession,” she whispered, riddled with guilt.

“Oh?”

“I didn’t want to eat the food they brought while I was still upstairs tonight. If I could have, I would have flushed it down the toilet.” Her voice cracked and caught on another sob when she saw the dismay in her dad’s eyes. “I’m sorry.”

Once again, he gathered her close. “It’s okay, baby. The point is that you
didn’t
flush the food away, did you?”

“Only because Lacy—Ms. Reynolds—was watching me like a hawk. If I get the chance, I probably will,” she admitted, resigned.

“Which is why you need a strong support system around you right now,” he said reasonably. “It’s going to get easier. I promise.”

Annie wanted to believe him. She really did. But right now she was so terrified, all she wanted to do was run away someplace and hide. What if they made her eat and she got fat? What if she actually started liking food again and couldn’t stop eating? The thought of it made her want to puke right now.

Her dad released her eventually, and she felt the way she had on the day he’d left—abandoned somehow, even though he was still right there beside her.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I think your mom has a little makeup kit in her purse. Why don’t I try to find her and bring that to you? You can get all dolled up before Ty comes by.”

Even though she didn’t want him to leave, even for a minute, Annie nodded. “Sure. That’d be great.”

He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll be back before you know it,” he promised.

He hurried from the room as if he couldn’t wait to be gone. As the door closed behind him, Annie actually thought she heard him crying, and that scared her worse than anything. Her dad was the strongest man she knew. If he was afraid, then things had to be really bad, maybe even worse than she’d thought.

“I’m sorry, Daddy,” she whispered. “I’ll fix this. I swear it. Please don’t leave me again.”

A
nnie had been in a good place when Ronnie left the hospital the night before. Her cheeks had been pink while Ty was visiting, and she’d actually laughed a time or two, sounding like the carefree girl he’d remembered from before the divorce. Seeing her like that had been a relief. He was finally starting to believe they’d turned a corner, not just physically, but emotionally.

Believing that inspired him to take the next morning off from the hospital and head back to Beaufort. He had to quit his job there and pick up the few belongings still in his motel room. None of it would take long. While his boss liked him because he’d been reliable, experienced, and had done good work for Thompson & Thompson Construction, it wasn’t as if there weren’t fifty other guys who could do the job just as well. Ronnie doubted there would be much commotion over his abrupt departure, especially after he explained about needing to be close to his daughter while she recovered.

“You gonna look for the same kind of work back in Serenity?” Butch Thompson asked, hitching his faded jeans over a modest beer belly, then adjusting his well-worn John Deere cap.

For a wealthy man who owned one of the largest construction companies in the state, Butch had no pretensions at all. He worked alongside his men when he could, shared a beer with them on Friday nights after work. He handled tools as well as anyone on his crews, proving that his early years had been spent literally learning the trade from the ground up. Ronnie had never seen him in a suit and tie.

“I hear there’s some new development in that part of the state,” Butch added, his expression thoughtful. “I could make a few calls, check it out for you. You can count on me for a good reference.”

“I heard the same thing about the construction boom over there,” Ronnie admitted. “Thanks for offering, but I think I’ll look for something else. I’m tired of scrambling up ladders and scampering around on rooftops.”

“You know how to do anything else?” Butch asked him, his expression skeptical. “I hate to see you walk away from construction. After all the talks we’ve had, I had the feeling you love the work as much as I do.”

“I do,” Ronnie admitted. “But I have an idea that might match up my construction expertise with another business.” He hesitated, then decided to ask for Butch’s input. The man had started Thompson & Thompson on his own forty years ago and turned it into a profitable venture. Maybe he would be willing to offer some start-up advice to Ronnie. “If you’ve got a few minutes, I wouldn’t mind running the idea past you.”

Butch glanced at his watch. “It’s lunchtime. You buying?”

Ronnie grinned. “It’d be a small price to pay for your advice.”

“Not if I decide what appeals to me is a big ole T-bone steak,” Butch said, grinning.

“Anything you want,” Ronnie insisted.

The older man studied him for a minute and shook his head. “Not sure my input is worth that much, but I’ll take the steak, just the same. My wife’s been on some tear about not eating meat. I have to sneak it when she’s not around to catch me. She’s got my daughter spying on me, too.” He shook his head. “Fine thing when a man’s own daughter rats him out to his wife. I should never have brought that girl into the company.”

“Making Terry a partner was the smartest thing you ever did, and you know it,” Ronnie contradicted.

Butch beamed with pride, but he didn’t admit to it.

They went to a place about a mile from the construction site, where the aged beef was served thick and rare and accompanied by a platter piled high with onion rings and a side of French fries. There was probably enough cholesterol in the meal to clog most of a man’s arteries in one sitting.

When they’d placed their orders and the waitress had brought them both sweet tea, Butch leaned back and studied him. “Okay, out with it. You look like you’re about to pop. Just how crazy is this idea of yours?”

“That’s what I’m hoping you’ll tell me,” Ronnie said.

He took his time and tried to organize the thoughts that had been circulating through his brain ever since he’d driven through downtown Serenity for the first time on his return. Seeing the town green surrounded by empty buildings that had once been thriving businesses had saddened him. The old five-and-dime where Dana Sue had once spent her allowance on candy was shuttered, as was the dress shop where his mom had once bought most of her clothes. The barbershop where men used to gather on Saturday mornings had closed when its owner died.

Only Wharton’s remained now, and only because Grace and her husband were stubborn holdouts who did enough business at the soda fountain to support the declining pharmacy sales. Once the superstores had opened less than an hour away, the dress shop, five-and-dime and other family-owned specialty shops had closed one by one. Main Street was no longer the bustling center of town it had been when he and Dana Sue were teenagers. He thought he had a way to help change that.

“Okay, here’s what I’m thinking,” he told Butch. “I want to open a hardware store in Serenity.”

The construction company president stared at him as if he’d announced his intention to open a strip club. No, actually, he suspected Butch would consider a strip club less financially risky.

“Now hear me out,” Ronnie said, before the older man could express his disdain for the idea. “Not just any hardware store. I know there’s not much profit to be made in selling screwdrivers and hammers to residents of a town of four or five thousand people. That’s probably why the old one went out of business.”

“Then why are you even considering a dang-fool idea like this?” Butch demanded.

“Okay, you said it yourself. There’s going to be a lot of development over that way,” he began.

“And it’ll be years before that brings in enough people to make you rich on hammers and screwdrivers,” Butch scoffed.

“I’m not planning to make my money on tools for do-it-yourselfers or ten-pound bags of potting soil for gardeners,” he explained, warming to the idea now that he was finally able to verbalize it to someone who might actually understand the potential. “I’ll cater to them, of course, but I really want to sell to the construction companies doing all that development. If I can provide them better, faster service on their lumber, their insulation, their tools, their nails, whatever, and be right around the corner, instead of an hour or more away like the big box stores, don’t you think they’d choose dealing with me? A lot of this development is west of Serenity. The superstores are way east. I’d be right on the way.”

Butch’s skepticism faded. He leaned forward, his gaze intense. “You think you could match the prices from the big companies?”

“I could come close if I can get enough volume,” Ronnie said confidently. “The thing is, like you said, I know construction. I can anticipate what they’re going to need and when, just by visiting the sites on a regular basis. I won’t have to keep a lot of money tied up in wasted inventory. I can bring it in when it’s needed, then turn it around quickly. Turnaround’s the answer in any business, right?”

“In other words, you’ll offer guaranteed, personalized customer service,” Butch said slowly. “Something we sure as hell don’t see much of these days in any sector.”

“Exactly,” Ronnie said, then sat back. “So, what do you think? Would you deal with a small local company like that, assuming it understood and could meet your demands?”

“Damn straight I would,” Butch said without hesitation. “Even if it cost me a few cents more on the dollar. It would save me time and aggravation. I figure in the end it would all balance out, and I like the idea of supporting something local for a change. It would be a way for a smart developer or general contractor to make sure he becomes a real part of the community, instead of being viewed as some kind of carpetbagger who’s just come to make a killing.”

His expression turned thoughtful, but then he looked Ronnie straight in the eye. “Start-up wouldn’t be cheap. You worked up a business plan yet?”

Ronnie shook his head. “I’ve only been tossing the idea around in my mind since I got back to Serenity and noticed that the old hardware store was closed. I’ll need to put it on paper, see what real estate’s going for downtown. A lot of it’s been sitting empty for a while now, so it should be cheap enough. I’ve noticed the old hardware store still has some inventory sitting inside they’d probably make part of the deal. I’ll have to look into what kind of loan I might be able to qualify for. I’ve got some savings, but it’ll barely be enough to paint the interior and upgrade the shelving. I know there are bound to be a thousand things I haven’t even thought of, but it feels right to me, you know what I mean? Like something bigger than just starting a little business. It could make a contribution to the town.”

Butch gave him a considering look. “And impress your ex-wife?”

Ronnie grinned. “That, too.” It would prove to Dana Sue once and for all that he wasn’t going anywhere. She’d finally have to get used to the idea.

“So this isn’t just about sticking close to your daughter, is it?” Butch said. “You want your family back.”

Ronnie nodded. “Always have.”

“Well, then, you give me a call when you have your plan down on paper. We’ll talk again.”

“Your input today has been more than enough,” Ronnie said, more grateful than he could express. “I don’t want to take up your time.”

“Time, hell,” Butch said, waving his hand. “I might want to partner up with you on this thing if the numbers look good once you’ve worked ’em out.”

Ronnie gaped. “You’re kidding.”

His old boss chuckled. “Boy, don’t you know by now I never kid around when there’s money to be made? I know a sound investment when I hear one. Besides, I like you. You’ve been a good employee, even though we both know you’re worth a hell of a lot more than I’ve been able to pay you for the kind of work I had available when you showed up in Beaufort. You’re a lot more capable, too. I wish I’d been able to promote you to foreman, but I already had good men in those positions. Besides all that, you’re a decent family man who made a stupid mistake, from what you’ve told me, a mistake you’re not likely to repeat. If I’d had a son, instead of a passel of daughters, I would have wanted him to be just like you.”

Ronnie grinned. He doubted Butch’s oldest daughter would appreciate the implication that a son could have done anything she couldn’t do. In Ronnie’s opinion, Terry Thompson knew as much about construction as her father, probably because she’d been trailing after him around sites from the time she could walk and wear a hard hat. She was well respected by the men and the clients.

“How’s Terry going to feel about you making a decision like this without consulting her?” Ronnie asked.

“None of her business,” Butch said succinctly. “This is between you and me. It has nothing to do with the company. I’ll be a silent partner, at that. Your plan. Your execution. All I want is a good return on my investment. You show me a business plan that promises that and we have a deal.”

“I honestly don’t know what to say,” Ronnie said, hardly daring to believe the conversation had gone this well.

Butch sliced into his steak and savored a bite, then gestured toward his plate. “This beef is thanks enough. First time in weeks I’ve known what the hell I was eating. You try living on soy this and soy that and you’ll know what I mean.”

“You’ll have to come over to Serenity and have dinner at my ex-wife’s restaurant. Not a soy product on the menu, I can guarantee that,” Ronnie told him.

Butch’s eyes lit up. “Wait a minute. Are you talking about Sullivan’s?
That’s
your ex-wife’s place?”

Ronnie nodded, feeling a burst of pride. “You’ve heard about it?”

“
Read
about it,” Butch said. “In the Charleston paper, as I recall. Honest to God Southern cooking, that’s what they said, but with a few interesting twists. As long as one of those twists doesn’t involve soy anything, count me in. That’s where we’ll go to celebrate our partnership.”

“I gather you’re not planning to bring your wife along,” Ronnie said.

“Sure I am,” Butch said with a diabolical gleam in his eyes. “Until she got on this insane health kick of hers, Fannie actually liked decent food. Best Southern cook around, in fact. Her biscuits would melt in your mouth and her fried chicken would have made that old colonel ashamed of himself. It was one of the reasons I married her. Maybe this will remind her of what she’s been missing.”

“How about I throw in a gift certificate for her from Dana Sue’s other venture?” Ronnie offered. “It’s called The Corner Spa, and I hear they give a real good massage over there.”

“I always wondered what one of those would be like,” Butch said with a straight face.

Ronnie chuckled. “Sorry. You won’t find out there. It’s for women only.”

“Well, that don’t seem right,” Butch said, his disappointment plain. “Oh, well, if it makes Fannie happy, I suppose I can’t complain. Now I’d best get back to work before everybody spends the whole afternoon goofing off because the boss ain’t around.”

“Nobody goofs off on Terry’s watch,” Ronnie reminded him.

Butch looked taken aback for a second, then beamed. “She
is
a chip off the old block, isn’t she?”

“I’d say so, Butch. You go ahead, though. I’ll pay for lunch, then head on back to Serenity.”

“You be in touch soon, you hear?” Butch told him, enveloping Ronnie’s hand in his.

“Soon,” he promised, then sat back as Butch walked away. “Well, I’ll be damned.”

Ronnie glanced at the bill for the two steaks, tossed forty bucks on the table and counted himself lucky. It was the best investment in his future he’d ever made.

Dana Sue sat at a table on the patio at The Corner Spa. The sun, filtering through an old pin oak tree, created a splashy pattern of light on the soft pink bricks. A breeze stirred the Spanish moss. Classical music wafted softly from overhead speakers, a touch Maddie had added since Dana Sue’s last visit.

“What do you think about the music?” Maddie asked when she joined her.

“It’s soothing,” Dana Sue said, even though she didn’t know the first thing about Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. George Strait and Kenny Chesney were more her speed.