Folly Beach by Dorothea Benton Frank Read Free Book Online

understanding what was really happening.
    Patti said, as she took me by the arm, “Come on, let’s get you out of here. We can go in the kitchen or something. You don’t need to watch this.”
    “Okay. I think I might throw up. I’m not kidding.”
    “You’re not going to throw up. Ever since you were five years old, I’ve seen you twist yourself like a freaking Cirque de Soleil acrobat so you wouldn’t throw up.”
    “True.”
    “And let me tell you something, sister, if Old Aunt Daisy’s string bean casserole didn’t make you puke till you were purple, this won’t either.”
    “I missed her today. She’s always been our pillar of strength.”
    “Look, she sent gorgeous flowers and she’s got a broken foot.”
    “True. Ah, Jesus, wait until she hears this part of the story.”
    “Yeah, her hair’s gonna stand straight up on end.”
    “I never liked the dining-room table anyway,” I said.
    “Me either. Too Baroque.”
    “Baroque is when you’re out of Monet,” I said and Patti looked at me like I was crazy. “I have a T-shirt that says that.”
    “If you wear it in public I’m never speaking to you again,” Patti said, deadpan.
    “It used to be funny. Not so funny now.”
    “No. Not so funny now. Maybe I need a good shot of vodka.”
    “Maybe I need a martini.”
    The door from the butler’s pantry whooshed to a close behind us and I suddenly realized that Richard and his team, and most especially Albertina, all of them had to be horrified by what was going on all around them. It had all happened so fast, I hadn’t even thought of what to say to them. Repo men in the middle of a storm like this, on a day like this, at Cate Cooper’s? No way.
    Richard and his team had packed all the food up in aluminum containers and put them in the refrigerator and they were all standing by the back door, already bundled up in their coats and scarves, hats and gloves, ready to leave. I was going to tell him to take the food but he had already gone to the trouble of putting it away.
    He came over to me, took both of my hands in his, and said, “I’ve gotta get them out of here before the roads freeze.”
    “Richard, thanks. I mean it.”
    “Listen, this is on the house today. When better days return? I’ll charge you double.”
    That made me smile a little and I just shook my head with gratitude. Then I put my arms around his neck and hugged him.
    “I’m so sorry,” he whispered.
    “Me too,” I said. I wanted to add thanks, but the word got caught in my throat and I thought I might begin to cry again.
    Albertina was wiping down the counters with a spray bottle of some mixture specifically designated for granite in one hand and a soft cloth in the other.
    “It’s none of my business,” Albertina said to no one in particular. “I’m not asking any questions.”
    I put my hand over hers to stop her from giving the counters another single motion of polish, and I could see her eyes well up with tears.
    “It’s okay, Tina,” I said, using her nickname. I wanted to show her I was feeling terrible for her unexpected loss, too.
    “No, it’s not okay,” she said, and some pretty big tears bubbled over and rolled down her cheeks. She pulled a tissue from her sleeve with her free hand and wiped them away. “How can they do this to you?”
    “I don’t know. I guess I’ll find out everything sooner or later but I’m sorry, Tina, I mean about your job here. I guess this is the end of the road for us.”
    “Oh shoot, Ms. Cooper, I can get a job tomorrow. That’s no problem. Don’t worry about me. But Mr. Cooper left you like this ? I can’t believe it. It’s so wrong.”
    “Yeah, it’s not great, is it? But I have my health. I have good children. I have . . .”
    “Aw, jeez, Cate,” Patti piped in. “All that’s true enough but we’ve got to make a plan, sister. We’ve got to make a plan.”

Chapter Five
    Setting: Porgy House, upstairs, side porch. Old table with cloth, flowered