Pretend Mom (9 page)

"Oh? Who's we?"

"My brothers and I."

"Oh, good."

She heard him yawn. "Wish you had been
there. I ended up having to jump in the creek, clothes and all.
Everyone got a big kick out of it, except me, of course. It seems I
fell victim to an anthill," she said with a laugh.

"Good grief, what in blazes is frog
gigging? And what were you doing on an anthill in the first place?"
he asked with apparent annoyance. "You sound hoarse. Have you lost
the better part of your mind? I suppose this gigging as you call it
is some primitive sport, still practiced by the locals in your
area?"

"No, silly!" she reprimanded lightly,
ignoring his tone of voice. Ed had little patience for anything
that didn't concern music. "It's about the only way to catch frogs,
though. And as far as the anthill, I didn't go looking for it, it
found me!"

"Now I know this is a ridiculous
question, but why on earth would anyone want to catch a beastly,
slimy frog in the first place?"

Dixie chuckled indulgently into the
phone. "To eat them, of course."

"Good heavens, you've taken complete
leave of your senses. You can't mean you actually eat those little
green creatures that belch all the time." He sounded mortified and
Dixie could picture his expression perfectly.

"You've eaten them yourself. You told
me so. When you were in Europe."

"Frog's legs? Oh, yes, but I never
realized anyone would eat them right out of a local creek. I
thought they were domesticated, or something."

"No, in fact they're better from a
creek, or bayou. They have more flavor."

"Oh, I'll just bet. Now look,
seriously, are you all right?"

"Of course I am," she
answered.

"You do sound more relaxed. I haven't
heard you laugh so much before. But I'm a little disappointed. You
haven't asked about me!"

"I'm always interested in you, Ed. And
I do miss you. It's just that I'm not dwelling on you or work right
now. I'm on vacation, and trying my best to enjoy it. I don't want
to think about getting back to work, and unfortunately, Ed, you're
a constant reminder."

"Would you rather I not
call?"

"Don't be silly. Please don't be
offended by everything I say. I'm very fond of you, Ed, but I don't
want to think about anything too serious right now." When he got
quiet, she added, "I just don't want to talk shop all the time.
I've really tried to rest and relax. I think this trip home is
exactly what I needed. You just said yourself I was laughing more.
And laughter is good for you, Ed. You should try it
sometime."

There was another prolonged silence
then he asked softly, "I need you, Dixie. How about you? And I'm
not talking about business now. Don't you feel the need,
too?"

Dixie shook her head. "Ed, no
pressure—please."

A muted sound of disgust came from his
end. He wasn't pleased with her. Still, she didn't want to lead him
on, lead anyone on. She simply wasn't ready to commit herself to a
heavy relationship with Ed. Not yet, anyway. She liked him. Very
much in fact, but …

"We'll talk when you get back. Enjoy
your visit. I'll see you in a couple of weeks, if all goes well."
Ed seemed so capable of turning his emotions on and off like a
switch.

Could that be real love? Romantic he
wasn't!

"That soon?" she countered, knowing he
was deliberately trying to cut her vacation as short as possible.
What was he afraid of?

"I'm afraid so, darling. Two to three
weeks are all we can possibly spare you." He chuckled. "Your work
is already piling up, and your secretary is going wild trying to
shut down all the interviews. Have you managed to find out what was
so important with your mum?"

"I think so. She's seriously seeing a
man, and I think there might be wedding bells."

"Do you approve?"

"That's what she wants to know. But
yes, I do. I think she wanted me home for the wedding,
actually."

"Well, sounds as though everything
isn't as serious after all. Enjoy your time with her, Dixie. I'll
talk to you later." Ed sighed and hung up.

Dixie turned off the phone and didn't
move. The conversation left her feeling lost. There seemed to be a
forked road ahead, and she knew she was about to make a lot of
heavy decisions about her future. Was she ready for this? If only
dreams came true. If only she could find a real romance and live
it, instead of reading about it all the time! 

CHAPTER FIVE

The next morning Dixie busied herself
hanging laundry in the backyard, a chore long forgotten by her
generation. She loved smelling the sunshine in the sheets at night.
Funny how one could miss a smell. She looked over as Emily joined
her.

"I'd like to ask a favor of you." Emily
sounded hesitant, as she picked up a garment from the laundry
basket and hung it on the line.

Dixie took the clothespin from her
mouth and clipped it to the material of her shirt on the line.
"Sure, what's up? And don't look so glum. I haven't said no,
yet."

Handing her another garment, Emily's
brows knitted. "It's about the bazaar, dear. We're still needing
volunteers to work some of the booths."

Dixie paused only long enough to shoo
away a yellow jacket as it danced about the clothespin. "Is that
all? From the look on your face, I thought it was something
serious. Of course, I'd love to help. Sounds like fun. Which one
did you have in mind for me?"

Emily bit her lower lip. "That's just
it, actually. It's absolutely the worst one. The baseball
throws."

Dixie laughed. "What's so bad about
that? It sounds like a lot of fun. I can't imagine why you're so
hesitant to ask me. I love selling tickets!"

"No, dear." Emily chewed on her bottom
lip again and covered her chest with one hand in frustration. "You
wouldn't be selling tickets, I'm afraid. That's why I was so
hesitant to ask you." She studied Dixie's expressionless face and
waited for some reaction. "You'd have to wear a bathing suit and
sit for hours—and get dunked."

Dixie pinned the last piece of clothes
to the line and picked up the laundry basket. Looping an arm in her
mother's, she walked toward the back door with her. "Of course I'll
do it … for you."

Emily's gray eyes sparkled, but she
still frowned. "Oh, I just knew you would. But I wouldn't have
blamed you if you'd refused. It's not exactly a joy to be dunked by
half the town. And I'm not sure I'm doing the right thing by asking
you, of all people." Dixie waved away her mother's fears. As they
entered the kitchen Emily added, "Bernie says you'd make a great
attraction to the booth, really draw them in. Everyone would want
to see you."

Not for the world would Dixie let her
mother see how nervous she was. "You really over-rate me, Mom. And
I'm probably a very unpopular candidate at this particular time.
I'm sure I could draw a good crowd though."

Emily fretted still. "I wouldn't say
you were unpopular."

"I'm the outsider now since I've moved
away. It's the old story of the southerner and the northerner. I've
become a Yankee, I'm afraid."

"If you don't want to do it
…"

"It'll be fun. Now quit worrying so
much. I think you're taking this much too seriously."

Later that evening though, Dixie began
to have a few doubts of her own—especially when Mrs. Butie paid a
social call on her mother, with several other lady-friends, all
with a curious eye on her.

"Why, Dixie," Mrs. Butie said, smiling
curtly at her. "I didn't know you were still in town. We figured
you'd be too busy to stay long." She sipped her tea and bit into a
cookie.

Emily was quick to step in. "Why, yes,
Dixie is here for a couple of weeks at least."

Adjusting the beads at her thick neck,
Mrs. Butie attempted to cross her fat legs as she went on. "Been
seeing a lot of Mike Dalton, I've heard."

"Strange you should mention him, Mrs.
Butie. Mike's been invited to dinner tonight. You know how fond he
is of frog legs."

"Yes, well, I told my niece, Janet, it
was quite unseemly for a young lady to go hunting with a bunch of
men. She was quite surprised when she heard about it, Dixie. He's
been over nearly every day, hasn't he?"

"Has he? I hadn't noticed. A bunch of
men? Oh, you mean my two brothers and Mike's cute little daughter,
Amanda? Well, I don't consider my brothers' men yet, Mrs. Butie.
Although, I wouldn't tell them that." She offered a slight smile.
"And Amanda certainly isn't a man either. My brothers are in the
habit of inviting Mike and Amanda along. They happen to be very
good friends. It really makes little difference; hunting isn't
exactly a romantic sport." She suddenly realizing that her cut-off
shorts and halter-top would be another topic of conversation
later.

"Did you know Dixie is singing a solo
in church this Sunday?" Emily offered, trying to clear the
air.

"In church?" Mrs. Butie burst out loud,
nearly choking on a cookie.

How could anyone make singing in church
sound so indecent?

"Yes, I used to sing in church a lot,
before I moved away. I think I remember a few of the
songs."

Mrs. Butie stood up and puffed like a
bullfrog. "The entire town is liable to turn out for that
performance."

Dixie eyed her evenly. "I'm sorry, but
I've never heard of a performance in church."

For the moment, it looked as though
Dixie had scored the last word, but Mrs. Butie wasn't going to let
her enjoy it for long.

"You are aware of the impending
engagement of Janet to Mike Dalton, aren't you?"

"Engagement? No. He's never mentioned
it. But then, we don't talk much about his personal life. How
wonderful for the both of them, and for Amanda." Dixie forced a
plastic smile. "It's the first I've heard of it, but then, I'm not
prone to gossip."

Not satisfied, Mrs. Butie went on, as
though the war weren't over. "I guess it's of no consequence to you
since you'll be going home soon, anyway."

Emily was obviously stunned by her
friend's rudeness, but Dixie didn't let her own discomfort
show.

"You're right, it's of no consequence
to me," she replied steadily. "Tell me, just out of curiosity, what
does Janet think of Amanda?"

"She plans to take Amanda in hand. Mike
is a bachelor and hasn't realized that Amanda doesn't belong
everywhere her father goes. There'll be a lot of changes when they
marry, I can tell you. I imagine I'll be doing a lot of babysitting
for those two before long. Good day, Emily, Dixie," the older woman
huffed and the ladies all shot up at once.

Dixie watched as Emily practically
hurried them out the door.

Without a word, Dixie gathered the
dirty dishes and took them into the kitchen, where she proceeded to
wash them, as though nothing had happened.

"Oh, Dixie, I'm so sorry, dear. Julia
can be so crude at times. I wasn't expecting to see her today."
Emily stammered for an apology, as she brought the last of the
dishes to the sink.

Sinking her hands into the warm soapy
water, Dixie felt the tension draining from her. She shrugged her
shoulders. "Don't worry about it. I've handled much worse than Mrs.
Butie before. Have you ever heard of gossip columnists?" She
laughed. "Besides, it keeps the senses sharpened. I only hope I
haven't harmed your relationship with her. You've been friends a
long time now."

"Don't worry about that, dear. Our
relationship has never been on solid ground."

"Somehow, I get the idea that Janet
doesn't like Amanda."

"She knows very little about children,
and Amanda hasn't taken to her at all. Not like she took to you, at
least. Poor little thing. She's never had a mother, really, that
she can remember." She glanced at Dixie then added, "And poor
Julia, she's had such a bad time of things lately. Her heart's very
bad. And she's so anxious for Janet to settle down and get married.
I don't think there's a thing between her and Mike. Mike's
certainly not in love with her. No, if I had my guess, I'd say Mike
has been waiting for something or someone for a long time. He never
speaks about it to me of course."

"Mom," Dixie stopped what she was doing
and faced her, "I once thought Mike liked Audrey."

Emily glanced at her strangely, "Well,
I know they dated once but—"

"Well, anyway, he's practically engaged
to Janet, according to Mrs. Butie."

"Yes, according to Mrs. Butie." Emily
shot her a curious glance. "I think Audrey was too much of a
realist for Mike, and of course they were very young then. Now,
he's a man, and I think he's ready to settle down again. Amanda
does need a mother's influence, but I don't think Janet knows the
first thing about it. It's unfortunate for her. But, you know, I
think Mike has missed romance in his life. I think his wife must
have been a lot like Audrey."

"Audrey was sweet. But I guess she did
have a logical kind of mind. Why, does he compare them?"