“Liz!”
“Hi, Daisy. I heard about the shooting. Are you okay?”
News traveled fast in a small town.
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“I heard all those guys made bail except Frank. They’re investigating the funds of the 4-H Club now to make sure there were no misappropriations.”
I leaned closer. “Liz, don’t look now, but do you know those women at the next table? In particular the one in the middle who’s staring at me?”
Liz bent down and pretended to button up her toddler’s shirt as she answered. “Oh, that’s Edna Ramsbottom. Hank Ramsbottom’s widow.”
Now it made sense. Not only was I the friend of the guy responsible for her husband’s brain damage and eventual death, but I’d played an instrumental part in putting her son behind bars. No wonder she was giving me the evil eye.
I ignored them and bid on a pack of postcards of famous actresses from the 1920s and 1930s and an Art Deco beaded steel evening bag. Joe picked up a box lot of early leather wallets.
“What were those women saying?” He looked worried. “Daisy, do you think this could hurt your business?”
“People who are upset that an illegal gambling ring was shut down are not the people I want as clients of Sometimes a Great Notion anyway!” I snapped as I struggled to fit everything into the carrier bags on the backs of the bicycles.
“Don’t let it bother you, Daisy,” Liz said. “You did the right thing. Screw those people.”
In spite of her reassurances, the whole encounter bothered me and I didn’t sleep well that night.
*
“On Monday morning, I was sitting at the kitchen table, still thinking about it. Was I really too pushy? Should I mind my business and get on with my own life, and stop trying to fix everyone else’s? Now everyone around here resented me for my interference, and Angus was still in jail.
I was dragging my spoon through my bowl of granola and nonfat milk when Sarah came bouncing into the room.
“Hi, Mom! How’s it going?”
“Okay.” I let the spoon fall into the milk. “You know, Sarah, I haven’t had a chance to apologize to you for giving Peter our address when he called that night. I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. Seems like I’ve been doing that a lot lately.”
She sat down next to me at the table.
I sighed. “There was just something in his voice that got to me. Something . . . so yearning, so sweet, so in love, that I couldn’t help myself.”
“Mom, it’s okay. You did good actually.”
“Yes?”
“Yeah. We’ve talked about a lot of things lately. And it feels good to be completely honest with someone.”
“Do you love him?”
I waited, and now it was her turn to sigh. Sarah had learned long ago not to lie to me. She complained it was worse than being put under an X-ray machine.
“I think so.”
I smiled at her. “Well, that’s good. I really like him.”
“Me, too.” She looked at my barely touched bowl of cereal. “So how are you doing, after the shooting at the store and everything?”
“Fine.” I rubbed at my throbbing temples. “Well, not that fine. Turns out I’m not very popular with some of the people in this town. Your father wants me to give up on Angus’s case, too. I don’t want to defy his wishes, but it feels like I’m deserting my best friend. It’s killing me.”
“Relax, Mom. I think you did the right thing.”
I looked up to see Sarah smiling at me, her face soft with compassion, and it was like stepping out of the woods on a cold winter’s morning into sunlight and feeling the warmth on your face.
“And you don’t give up on friends just because they go through a rough patch. Do you think Angus did it?”
“No, of course not,” I said.
“Well, then. Do what you think is right, and Daddy will have to adjust.”
And to her, it was as simple as that.
“Hey, why don’t I make us a real breakfast?” She didn’t wait for my answer, but rummaged through the fridge, and a couple of minutes later, the kitchen was filled with the scent of frying bacon.
I shook my head in wonder as I watched her cook. Who would have thought that Sarah of all people would turn out to be an ally?
For the first time I saw how she could keep her cool in the craziness of a film set. How that laid-back quality and way of thinking that had always seemed so scattered to me was probably a good way of following various threads at the same time, which in film continuity would serve her well.
A couple of minutes later, she plunked a toasted kaiser roll stuffed with gobs of cheese, crispy bacon, and a fried egg in front of me. Sarah didn’t even comment when I squeezed ketchup inside the heavenly mess. I took a huge bite of salty bacon and gooey cheese and refused to think about the calorie count.