THE SANCTUARY (7 page)

Sonya and Lydia laughed and made the okay sign after Julia attached the giant “Carolina Girls Forever Reunion Tour” banner to the side of the camper.

“You did good. It’s perfect,” Sonya said. “Move out of the way. I want to take a photo with my phone to send to Mike.” She was also going to send it to Liz, but she decided not to mention that to Lydia.

“I want to say something before we hit the road. Even though we’re on an important mission, I hope we’ll have some fun, too. I’ve missed y’all—even Liz. I had secretly hoped that she would show up and that we could work things out, but I guess not. I think we should look at this road trip as a new beginning for the CGFs. A renaissance. And a chance to
carpe diem
! After all, no one promises us a tomorrow,” Lydia said ruefully.

Seven

AND SO IT BEGINS

T
he next morning, it took ten minutes of maneuvering to get the RV onto the highway because it required two lanes to make a turn.

“Watch out,” Sonya cautioned as Lydia nearly sideswiped a Honda Accord. Sonya waved apologetically at the passengers.

“Okay, according to the map, we have to take Highway 17 South to North Charleston where we’ll pick up I-26. We’ll stay on that until we reach North Carolina. Somewhere around Hendersonville, we’ll pick up I-40 and we’ll ride that all the way to Memphis. It makes for a very long day, but if we can hang in there and take turns driving, I think that it’ll be worth it,” Sonya said.

“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to try to drive this beast,” Julia said. “But I will do my part by serving refreshments and providing reasonably entertaining repertoire, at least enough so as to keep the driver from dozing off at the wheel.”

“Deal!” they quickly agreed.

To say it was a long day would have been a bigger understatement than saying that it gets a tad hot in the Lowcountry during summer. The RV had terrible gas mileage, so it seemed like they had to pull over to refuel every couple of hours. Worse than gassing up was the ordeal of exiting the road and then jockeying into position at the gas pumps. Driving a monster vehicle precluded any sightseeing. Both eyes had to be on the road at all times or on the gauges to make sure everything was all right. Breaking down on the side of the road in this RV was sure to be a huge headache that no one wanted.

Despite the crash course Lydia had given Sonya before she took the wheel, she was nervous and uptight the entire time she drove. Sonya said that her neck, back, and shoulders were killing her from being so tense and clutching the wheel so tightly. Lydia didn’t admit it, but she felt the same tension whenever she was driving. She also didn’t tell Sonya that she should have a commercial driver’s license to be behind the wheel. It was one of those seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time plans, but there was no way she could drive across the country without help, so she thought it best not to mention this minor detail. Unless she got pulled over for something—and it certainly wouldn’t be for speeding—it would never be an issue. The women all breathed a sigh of relief when they reached Memphis.

“What now?” Julia asked as they entered city traffic.

“Now we follow the signs to Graceland. We are staying in the Heartbreak Hotel tonight—my treat,” Sonya sang out.

“I thought the point of the RV was
not
to have hotel stays,” Julia said confused.

“I’m willing to stay in this thing for the rest of the trip, but I’ve had enough for today. I want a bath and a real bed or else I’m afraid I won’t be able to move tomorrow. Besides, I’ve always wanted to visit Graceland, and since I’ve come this far, I’m going to stay across the street in an authentic Elvis-themed hotel complete with a heart-shaped pool. You gals can do what you want,” Sonya said.

“I got to agree. I’ve had enough of this RV for one day, and I think staying at the Heartbreak Hotel sounds charming,” Lydia said.

“You don’t have to talk me out of spending the night in a camper,” Julia said.

The boutique hotel was surprisingly lovely—and sold out. All 128 rooms and three of the four themed suites were sold out. The nice young desk clerk said that the only room available was the Burning Love Suite.

“We’ll take it,” Sonya said.

“I should tell you that it’s normally used by lovers or for honeymoons and anniversaries. I’m sure you ladies wouldn’t be interested,” he said.

“You heard my friend, we’ll take it,” Lydia said.

“Suit yourselves,” he said. “Are you members of an Elvis fan club? If so, you are entitled to a ten percent discount.”

“Hmmm. Yes, yes we are,” Sonya said excitedly after calculating how much money the discount would save her.

“Which one?” he asked.

“Huh?”

“Which one?” he asked again. “There are more than five hundred Elvis Presley fan clubs across the world.”

“Oh, right. We’re with the South Carolina Elvis Fan Club,” Sonya said.

Roger, according to his nametag, made a note of this on the computer and then handed the hotel map and room keys to Sonya after she finished the check-in process. He also pointed out that Elvis movies played twenty-four hours a day at the hotel.

“How did you know that one of the forty-four states that have fan clubs included South Carolina?” Lydia asked as they waited on the elevator.

“Easy. It’s a southern state, and if there isn’t a fan club in the Palmetto state, I would have been shocked and dismayed. Besides, the odds were in my favor since only six states don’t have fan clubs,” Sonya said.

“I’m still trying to process the fact that there are five hundred fan clubs for a dead guy,”

Julia said.

“Hey, legends never die,” Sonya said.

“I hear that Elvis hasn’t even left the building,” Lydia joked.

When they opened the door to their suite, the trio stood in awe. It was red,
really
red. Red pillows on the bed and couch. Red linen and duvet on the bed. Red sofa. Red rug. They laughed hysterically as they surveyed the room. After each of them had a chance to enjoy a long, hot bath in the huge heart-shaped tub, they went out for a night on the town. Even though the women had been dead tired when they arrived, they had revived after freshening up. There was no doubt where they were headed, the heart and soul of Memphis.

“Can you believe we’re walking down Beale Street? This is the home of blues. It all started here. The best performers of all time have played at these clubs,” Julia said excitedly. “It says in this brochure that its heyday was in the 1920s when gambling, drinking, prostitution, murder, and voodoo were everywhere. One nightclub, the Monach, was nicknamed Castle of Missing Men because gunshot victims and dead gamblers could be dumped at the undertaker’s place, which shared the same back alley,” Julia said excitedly.

They slipped into Wet Willie’s, which was famous for its delicious daiquiris. Next they visited Blues City Café to sample their legendary ribs. They wrapped up the night listening to music at B.B. King’s Blues Club and Rum Boogie Café. At Rum Boogie’s, they drank Blueberry Hills and shared a plate of fried catfish with spicy red beans and dirty rice while listening to the Boogie Blues Band. By unspoken agreement, there would be no serious talk—only food and fun. It was just what they needed after the last several days. Happy, but exhausted, they returned to the hotel a little after two o’clock and fell into bed. The plan had been for Sonya and Julia to take the bed while Lydia slept on the couch, but they all ended up falling asleep in the enormous heart-shaped “Burning Love” bed.

“I have something for y’all,” Jules said the next morning as she handed packages to Sonya and Lydia.

They opened the bags and laughed as they pulled out the matching white, classic Elvis jumpsuits made for women.

“Where did you get these?” Sonya asked as she held her polyester outfit in front of her and looked in the mirror. It was a one-piece stretch bodysuit with glitter and rhinestone trim, as well as an oversized matching hip belt.

“Last night when you two went to move the RV to the designated parking area, I visited the Love Me Tender Gift Shop. As soon as I saw these, I knew they would make a great memento of this trip,” Julia said.

“Let’s wear them,” Lydia said.

“You mean try them on?” Julia asked.

“No, I think she means wear them today when we go to Graceland. What a great idea,” Sonya squealed.

“You mean wear these costumes out in public?” Julia asked doubtfully.

“Why not? It’ll be a hoot,” Lydia said. “Come on, let’s at least try them on.”

“Well, okay. I’ll try mine on, but that’s it. Y’all aren’t going to convince me to do anything foolish. Those days are
o-ver
. Got it?”

An hour later, the women paid the admission fees and entered Graceland.

“I feel like an idiot wearing this skintight costume,” Julia said as she tugged at the polyester. “This cannot be a large. Ouch, I think I just gave myself a wedgie.”

“You’re the one who bought these crazy outfits,” Sonya reminded Julia as she adjusted her gaudy rhinestone-studded sunglasses. They had purchased the over-sized shades in the hotel gift shop before they checked out.

“It means large in China where it was made, but that’s more like a small in America,”

Lydia said. “Besides, I wouldn’t worry if I were you. Look around.”

At her prompting, Sonya and Jules studied the crowd and then burst out laughing in amusement. There were dozens of men and women walking around the grounds of Graceland wearing the same costume or sporting jailhouse rock costumes. The Elvis impersonators came in all shapes and sizes. Everyone looked ridiculous, and no one seemed to care. This crowd was here to have a good time and pay homage to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

“You got to be kidding me,” Julia said.

“I’m in heaven,” Sonya said, snapping photos with her digital camera. “This is a dream come true. I’m here at Graceland with my best friends.” She grabbed a nearby tourist and asked if he would mind taking a picture of them.

They stood there in their silly, skin-tight polyester costumes with arms linked, grinning like idiots.
Carolina Girls Forever.

Eight

LIZ

A
fter spending a full day visiting Elvis’s legacy, they reluctantly set out again in the RV. At five hundred dollars a night, it wouldn’t be long before their new theme song was “Ain’t Got

No Money Honey.” They headed north towards Minneapolis, making it about three hours before stopping for the night. As Lydia pulled into the parking lot of a superstore at Peoria, Sonya and Julia looked around in surprise.

“Need something?” Sonya asked.

“Just a good night’s sleep,” Lydia said.

“Here?” Julia asked incredulously.

“Yep. Derek Duane told me that anyone is welcome to park and sleep overnight in any superstore parking lot as long as they don’t park near the front of the store. The company doesn’t mind, and they don’t charge a penny,” Lydia explained.

“Are you sure about this?” Sonya asked.

“He assured me that it’s safe as a campground and twice as easy, not to mention free. Look, it’s just for a few hours, until early morning. Then we’re back on the road. Won’t this be easier than searching for a campground and getting checked in?”

They both looked uncertain but said nothing. “As long as we’re here I think I’ll go get a book to read,” Julia said.

“Let’s all go inside,” Lydia agreed. They strolled across the large parking lot to the entrance of the superstore. Forty minutes later, they returned with sandwiches bought at the sandwich kiosk inside the superstore, along with a few other purchases. The women pulled out the folding chairs and ate their dinner in front of the camper while they watched the customers come and go.

“This was my first visit to a superstore. I think the closest ones to us are in Myrtle Beach and Mount Pleasant. There’s some kind of ordinance about big box stores so that all the mom and pop businesses don’t face unfair competition. I can’t believe what I’ve been missing. It is ten o’clock at night, and this place is still hopping. Don’t you wonder what all these people absolutely have to have that can’t wait until tomorrow? Maybe it’s just the thrill of going out shopping in the dark. Do you think? If a superstore ever comes to Georgetown, I believe I’ll start doing my shopping at night,” Julia vowed.

Lydia was willing to bet that even if Georgetown were to get a superstore, Julia Reynolds wouldn’t be a patron. She had trouble picturing Julia fighting crowds searching for rollback priced items. The friends sat in comfortable silence, watching the commotion for another half hour before retiring for the evening. It had been a long day, and they fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

They reluctantly awoke a few hours later to insistent banging on the RV door.

“What should we do?” Julia whispered groggily. The clock showed it was only 6:50 a.m.

“Who is it?” Lydia called loudly.

“Santa Claus! Who are you expecting? I didn’t fly three thousand miles and drive all night to stand in the middle of a frigging superstore parking lot!”

“Liz!”

Sonya threw open the door and she and Julia attacked Liz with bear hugs.

“Oh my gosh, you’re so thin! What kind of crazy diet have you been on this time?” Julia asked.

“It’s called the sweat diet. It’s all the rage in the jungles of Borneo. I’ll tell you all about it later,” Liz promised. “Right now I just want to thank Liddie for having the courage to end this foolish feud. I admire you for admitting you made a mistake.”

“Mistake?” Lydia asked.

“I got all your texts explaining how wrong you’d been to stay angry for so long and how you were finally ready to forget about the past. You begged me to join y’all on this trip,” Liz explained.

“I didn’t send you any texts,” Lydia said.

“Yes, you did. See?” Liz said, holding up her phone.

“The important thing is that Liz is here now, right?” Julia said. “Why don’t we have some coffee and catch up? Oh, you know what would be great? Glazed doughnuts!”

“What have you done, Julia?” Lydia asked.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Julia said. “Who wants doughnuts?”

When no one answered or moved, Julia finally broke. “Oh, all right. I sent the texts. This has gone on too long. Liz knows what she did with Sanctuary Island was wrong. It’s a shame that your mother died before y’all could resolve that. Liz missing her funeral just made you all the less forgiving. But she didn’t intentionally miss your mother’s funeral. She got stuck in Fiji. I know you asked her not to go, which was a big deal for you. But Liz thought she had time to do the interview and make it back for the funeral. Under normal circumstances she probably would have. You didn’t think she should have tried, but it took her three months to set that interview up, and it was important to her career, especially after the debacle with the Gullah story. After everything we’ve been through and as long as we’ve been friends, I have to say that I’m a little angry that you two have let this go on for so long,” Julia said.

“Okay, so maybe Liz was just trying to do a good thing when she instigated that documentary on the Gullah and a vanishing way of life in the Lowcountry. But she knows how protective I am about that island. I promised my mother on her deathbed, for goodness sake! I thought she felt the same way. I was angry that she would exploit the Gullah just to forward her career. And I was angry about my mother’s death—angry that she was so brave and fought so hard, and it didn’t matter. Maybe I did overreact when I lashed out at Liz. But then she got so defensive and said all those terrible things. Believe it or not, I’ve been thinking about it, and I had decided that I was going to tell her that none of that mattered when she came to David’s funeral, but she never showed up. Was there another coup?” Lydia asked.

“I should never have said those awful things. I was just so hurt by what you said about me after learning about the Gullah story that I lashed out. I really truly thought that the story was a good thing, that if folks knew about these vanishing people and what’s happening to the Lowcountry, then maybe that would result in some positive change. Like protective legislation. I remember reading about how one documentary resulted in the Gullah getting special harvesting privileges for sweetgrass. They are the only people allowed to cut it and use it to make their unique sweetgrass baskets. I wanted to accomplish something like that. I didn’t realize you would see it as such a betrayal,” Liz said.

“Then why keep it a secret? Why did I have to find out about it from the county clerk? Do you know how I felt when she contacted me and asked me to be sure to have my filming permits and filing papers in her office before we began shooting the documentary?” Lydia shouted.

“I had no idea they would get in touch with you. My people were dealing with all of that. I didn’t tell you because I wanted it to be a surprise. I thought you would be proud of what I did once you saw it,” Liz said.

“You mean that you knew that I couldn’t object once it was a done deal. That’s why you didn’t tell me. You wanted to do that story and nothing stops Liz Goldberg once she gets something in her head. You’ve always been like that, which is why you took that Fiji assignment one week before my mother’s funeral,” Lydia said.

“Yes, dammit! I’m ambitious. I’m not about to apologize for that. It’s how I got where I am in this impossible business. But even I can’t foresee the future. I didn’t know there would be a government coup that would turn the country to shit. It was pretty dicey for me and my crew for a few days, but I guess you don’t care about that—just that I wasn’t sitting in the pew behind you,” Liz said.

“I guess I forgot to be worried about you what with burying my mother and all. Sorry if the death of another family member of mine came at another inconvenient time,” Lydia screamed at Liz.

“I’m sorry. So sorry that I missed David’s funeral. I would have been there, regardless of what’s happened between us. I swear I didn’t learn about the funeral until after it was over. I didn’t have my phone,” Liz explained. “I accidentally left it in a village, and it was days before I got back there. I didn’t get your messages until it was too late. I feel terrible, but that’s the truth. It’s rotten luck to have this happen twice, but that’s life. I moved heaven and earth to get here as soon as I found out. You can ask Grace. She’s in the car. She’s angry at me for not being there for her enough during her formative years, too. So you can just join the club!”

“Grace is here?” Julia asked.

“She’s asleep. We’ve been traveling for three days non-stop. Grace! Honey, wake up!

Get out of the car and come see everyone. Grace!” Liz yelled.

Despite the early hour and long journey, a petite girl with bright green eyes and beautiful silky black hair emerged from the vehicle.

Julia gasped. “She looks more like you every day, Liz. Look at those eyes and that devilish grin. She’s going to be a heartbreaker,” Julia said.

“Oh, don’t I know it. Remind me to tell you later why I had to take her to Borneo with me. On second thought, the guy is definitely not worth talking about. Scrawny, tattooed, and incapable of saying more than ‘What up?’ and ‘Whatever.’ If I could put her in a convent until she’s twenty-five, I’d do it.”

While Sonya and Julia were hugging Grace, Liz turned to Lydia.

“Are we okay?” she asked.

“I don’t know if it’s that simple. I’d love to just forgive and forget, but I can’t. I needed you—and
you
weren’t there. You decided that your career was more important than our friendship. You talk a good game, but it always comes down to what’s best for Liz,” Lydia said.

“That’s not fair. I did not make a choice. I thought I could do the story in Fiji and get back in time for the funeral, but it turns out I couldn’t. I’m sorrier than you’ll ever know about the Gullah story. I’m sorry that you think I don’t value our friendship. I nearly lost my job when I battled the network executives over that story. I’ve been given crappy assignments ever since until this Borneo gig. I guess I’ve finally worked off my demerits. That’s why I had to take Grace with me. If I cancelled another shoot two days beforehand, my career would have been over. I guess if you’d ever had to work for a living—or be a parent with a child dependent solely on you for everything—you might be more understanding,” Liz said, her dark eyes flashing.

Lydia opened her mouth to reply, but Liz cut her off. “You know what your problem is? Everything is black and white with you. There is no gray or margin of error. No human factor. You’ve always been so judgmental and sanctimonious. I’ve dragged myself and my daughter across the globe trying to get here. We haven’t showered since we left Borneo three days ago. We’ve crossed three time zones, suffered two horrible flights, and the hassle of renting a car and driving all night to catch up with y’all. Right now I can’t think why we bothered. Come on, Grace. We’re going home,” Liz said.

Julia and Sonya watched helplessly as mother and daughter got back into the car. They were about to beg Lydia to stop Liz when they realized she had collapsed. Their screams got Liz’s attention, and she bolted from the car.

Julia ran inside the RV and retrieved a cold washcloth and a bottle of water. By this time, Lydia was coming to. They managed to get Lydia upright. She sat on the curb crying softly.

“I’m sorry, Liz. I’m so sorry.”

“Ssshhh. It’s all right. We’ve both been foolish. Can we just forget about all of this? I miss the CGFs. I miss you!” Liz said, hiccupping back a sob.

“Do you remember when you got Julia to sneak into the locker room and steal a jockstrap from the USC football team? They came back from practice and caught her red-handed? She threatened to kill us if we ever made her do something like that again?” Lydia said, smiling.

Liz laughed. “Good times!”

“You are the only person on earth that could get Julia to do something like that. The things you’ve done…sometimes I get jealous that you are so fearless,” Lydia said.

“What about you? You’re usually right there beside me,” Liz pointed out.

“I don’t feel too brave these days,” Lydia confessed.

“I beg to differ. I think this trip is an incredibly brave endeavor. But no matter what happens, you’re going to be all right. Everything’s going to be all right. I know it doesn’t seem like it right now, but it’s always darkest before the light.”

Lydia leaned down and hugged Liz. “I’ve missed you,” she whispered.

After that, they were all hugging one another, even Grace. Finally, Lydia suggested they get dressed and have some coffee. She sent Liz and Grace over to the superstore to get breakfast while they dressed. A half hour later, they were all seated outside the camper having coffee and doughnuts.

“Well, if this doesn’t beat all,” Liz said as she sat in her assigned folding chair, sipping coffee and checking out the store’s clientele. Unlike Julia, Liz was familiar with superstores. There just didn’t happen to be one in mid-town where she lived.

“There goes a woman inside the store wearing stretch pants and plastic curlers. Did you see that?” Liz asked in disbelief.

“I am just so happy that you made it, that you and Liddie have made up and that we get to see Grace again. It’s been too long,” Jules said. “Who could ask for anything more?”

“Brazilian coffee would be a start,” Liz said.

“Hmmm. We could have bought a lot of gourmet coffee for what I paid for that one night in Memphis,” Sonya mused.