Vice(44)

"Most definitely the latter." I glanced over my shoulder at Abraham,  following a few discreet feet behind us. "Liquored up, right?"         

     



 

"Please and thank you." He jogged ahead, opening the door and holding it  for us, offering an over the top bow as he ushered us inside. "Ladies, I  insist."

"If you can manage to hold on to your sense of humor after the first day  of school drop-off, you'll do just fine." Beth patted my hand and shot  me a sympathetic smile. "Now, keep that steel spine of yours in place  for a few more minutes."

Before I could ask her what she meant, the horde descended on us.

To be fair, the group which swamped us was more interested in Beth than  they were in me, although more than a few went out of their way to  introduce themselves before plowing full steam in to a conversation  about cheerleading or marching band or debate or drama club or.... I  tuned out after that, nodding and smiling while Beth answered questions  or set up meetings or in general ran the entirety of the school without  so much as a notepad in front of her. I looked around for Abraham only  to find him already occupying a booth, three questionable looking  mimosas on the table in front of him. If I'd been able to slip out of  Beth's iron grip, I would have joined him and chugged down all three. As  it was, I had to wait until Beth answered enough questions to put a  politician on the campaign trail to shame, all but collapsing against  Abraham when we finally made our way to the booth.

"Sorry, I didn't think it would take even close to that long." Beth  plopped down opposite me, snagging one of the cloudy champagne flutes  and knocking back the contents in one long swallow. All but slamming the  glass on the table, she leaned back in her seat and sighed. "Lord but  did I need that."

"I'm sorry but I have to ask-what exactly do you do?" When she blinked  once in obvious question, I continued. "I mean, for work. Because if the  last five minutes were any indication you have the organizational  skills of a computer ran by NASA and I really hope you're putting them  to use in some way."

"Honey, that has to be one of the nicest things anyone has ever said to  me and coming from someone as smart and driven as you it's even more of a  compliment." She pulled off her hat, a nifty little beret I'd been  admiring since I saw her in the parking lot, using one hand to fluff her  hair while flipping open the menu with the other. "Well, Ben and I got  married right out of high school and then he went to work for his daddy  selling cars over in Slisdel and I know it's going to sound hard to  believe but he is so good at it. I swear, Ben could talk a starving man  out of his last crust of bread."

"He managed to talk me in to donating bartending services for the silent  auction the school did a few years back to raise money for new uniforms  for the football team." Abraham draped his arm over my shoulders,  slouching down in the booth some. "Still don't know how, if I'm being  honest."

"Which is why I always send him after the super hard to crack nuts, so  to speak." Beth paused when the server bounced over, beaming up at her.  "Last week before college starts up again. Trying to get a little extra  money for boys and keg parties?"

"Oh, you know I've got too much going on to worry about either of those  things." If the no-nonsense set of her mouth and the firm grip she had  on her pencil was any indication, the younger woman meant what she said,  even if her gaze did wander to Abraham for a split second. "They don't  hand out engineering degrees like cookies."

"Allie Mae is Suzie Q's younger sister-she's going to school over at  Georgia Tech." Beth nodded sagely, as if the information was somehow  going to influence my opinion of Conway's teacher. "Allie, I think I'll  do the special, poached, and just keep the mimosas coming."

"I have no idea what the special is but I'll the same, over easy, and so  will she. Same for the mimosas." Abraham handed Allie Mae our menus  before picking up his glass and nodding at mine. "We deserve a good  boozy breakfast after the shenanigans of the morning."

Which was how I ended up spending close to three hours listening to Beth  talk about her husband and her kids and the myriad of school activities  they were all involved in and the car dealership-which Ben had taken  over a few years ago and which Beth managed with an iron fist-and more  gossip about more people than I could ever possibly hope to keep  straight. I'd compared her to a politician earlier and I found myself  having the thought again, so much so that when she took a breath in the  middle of a story about the high school Drama Club's performance of Our  Town, I blurted out, "Why haven't you ran for mayor or county  commissioner or something? Lord knows you have the connections and  brains for it."         

     



 

"You keep showering me with compliments like that and my head is going  to get too big to fit through a door." She dragged a bit of pancake  through a pool of syrup, holding up the fork and watching the viscous  fluid drip on the plate for a moment before popping it in her mouth. She  took a moment to chew and swallow before saying, "I told you before, I  was a regular little shit in high school. Getting married, having kids,  having responsibilities... well, that helped me grow up some but it was  really going out in the real world, so to speak, which gave me a good,  solid kick in the ass. I've done my best to atone for the sins of my  youth but it's a simple fact that for some people I'm always going to be  one of those girls who shoved Billy Bob Becker buck naked in a locker  in the girl's shower room."

"Oh, I remember that." And remembering, couldn't quite hold back a hiss and a wince. "That was horrible."

"It was horrible and if either of my kids ever did anything even  remotely close to that, the only thing they'd do outside of go to school  and church would be sit in their room and pray for forgiveness." Beth  clucked her tongue and shook her head, pushing her plate away and  reaching for her seemingly bottomless mimosa. "The first time I caught  my oldest, Carol, being ugly to one of her classmates, I sat her down  and we had a come to Jesus talk right then and there. I'm guessing it's  stuck because it's been damn near five years and I haven't had to repeat  myself on the subject."

"Is Carol the one on the cheerleading squad?" When she nodded, I said,  "Is she going to this sleepover thing at that girl Dominique's house?"

"She's going but she's not staying." Beth frowned and shook her head.  "Ben is a little old-fashioned about wanting his kids sleeping in their  beds and only their beds although I'm thinking some of it has to do with  knowing what cheerleaders get up to at sleepovers."

"Oh, God, please don't tell me any of that because I already told Tammy  she could stay the night." I scrubbed my hands over my face and sighed.  "Never mind, I can't stand the suspense. What happens at cheerleader  sleepovers?"

"If what Ben told me is true, there's lots of pillow fighting and prank  phone calls and hair braiding." Abraham nudged his mimosa toward me,  chuckling when I snatched it up and knocked it back like a shot. "And if  it makes you feel better, rumor has it Lynn keeps her daughter on a  fairly tight leash."

"In this case, rumor is damn close to the truth. Apparently Lynn doesn't  want her daughter repeating her own mistakes." Beth winced. "Oh, that  sounded bad. Lynn is still a horrible person who won't hesitate to throw  a person under a bus if it would benefit her in even the smallest way  but she loves her daughter more than she loves herself, which is  something I would never have thought possible."

"Where's Dominique's father?" I closed one eye, squinting at my empty  glass and trying to decide if I needed another drink. "Or Dana's son's  father? Jamie?"

"Lynn has never said but if my understanding of the length of pregnancy  and my recollection of prom night is correct, it would have to be Emily  Grace Lancaster's cousin who was visiting from New Orleans." Beth cocked  her head and pursed her lips, drumming her fingers on the table. "As  for Dana, it was some traveling salesman-wandered in to town for a few  weeks and wandered right back out."

"That's sad." And to my surprise, I felt more than a small pang of  sympathy for Dana, whose life eerily mirrored Loretta's, although with a  lot less children. "So that's why she works two jobs."

"Well, her parents disowned her because the salesman wasn't white." Beth  snorted and rolled her eyes. "Which has to be one of the most backward  things ever, in a town which isn't exactly known for being forward  thinking."

"Something Pastor Neil and his wife have been trying to undo almost  since they made the announcement but so far it's been like shouting at a  pair of brick walls." Abraham shifted restlessly next to me and I  glanced over to find him scowling, his face in harsh lines. "Haven't  spoken to Dana in years, have never formally met their only grandchild,  but still have the nerve to show up to church every Sunday and sit front  row, center, like it's gonna be enough to get them in to heaven."