Nesting Page 10

  The next time Kenny went to a party, Jack didn’t go, so Kenny got the girl. And except for his one mistake their senior year, he’d been hanging on tight to that girl ever since.

  Kenny waggled the papers one last time. Grace didn’t reach for them. If she had been Dori’s half-brother, he would have punched him. But she wasn’t, so he tossed the papers into the air and they floated to the ground. Then he walked down her driveway, watching her out of the corner of his eye as she hustled around grabbing up the papers. He figured she must not have wanted her neighbors to read how she wasn’t any better than the rest of them after all.

  He felt sick as he pulled away from the curb. There was a nagging going on inside his gut. He thought about high school, and how Jack and Macy were the perfect couple. They were smart, good-looking, and popular. If him and Dori were a perfect match, and he thought Jack was better than him, did that mean he thought Macy was better than Dori?

  Kenny shook his head. Nobody—not Grace, Macy, or anyone else—was better than Dorianne.

  All he wanted was to get home. And he wasn’t gonna think any more, for as long as he could get away without thinking. Instead, he’d paint the kitchen walls Toasted Sunflower. Or was it Sesame?

  Chapter Twelve

  Even Steven

  A bike path snaked along the perfectly manicured shoulder of the road. A stretch of full and lush Bradford pears lined the opposite side. Every time Macy drove through Columbia County, she wondered where the owners of all the big houses worked.

  “Thanks again for coming to get me,” Cam said.

  Macy glanced over at her. “Does it hurt?” She expected Cam to try to impress her by saying no, but she didn’t.

  “Yeah.” Cam sat up straighter, as if that would help her suck it up.

  Macy pulled her car to the four-way stop, waited her turn, and went right. “Tell me again what happened.” Cam was so busy watching Macy’s hands on the steering wheel, for a moment Macy thought she might forget to answer.

  “I clamped the press down on my thumb.”

  “Were you playing around, you know, like y’all play baseball when it gets slow?”

  “No, I wasn’t playing. I was working.”

  Cam’s words came out so whiny that Macy couldn’t resist giving her a look similar to one she often gave Jeremiah when he complained about having to go to bed or finish his dinner.

  When Cam blushed, Macy felt bad for the look.

  “Things okay with you and Michael now?” Cam asked.

  She was caught by surprise. “What’s that?”

  “You know, when he left in a huff the other night—did you two work it out okay?”

  “Oh, that was nothing.” Macy gave her a dismissive flick of her hand and rolled her eyes. It was disconcerting for her to know Cam was privy to moments like that, even if she didn’t know the full import of them. She changed the subject. “What did Kenny say about your thumb?”

  Cam shrugged. “Not much. Not as much as Gary anyway. Gary went on and on about it. Stuff about ‘that’s why girls shouldn’t be in the shop to begin with.’” Cam plucked at a speck of sawdust and faced Macy. “Can I ask you something, just between us?”

  “Of course.”

  “Is Gary kind of—well—slow or something?”

  Macy thought about that, about growing up in the neighborhood not far from where Gary sometimes hung out with Russ, but more often where he just seemed to hang out, period. While she was trying to choose her words, Macy’s attention spun to the pavement ahead. She jerked her Saturn half off the road, stopped, and put on her flashers.

  “Cam, the turtle.”

  “What?”

  “The turtle. Please get the turtle before it gets hit.”

  Cam looked down at the bulky bandage on her left thumb.

  “You can use your good hand. I should stay in the car in case we need a fast exit.” She glanced into the rearview mirror. “Please, Cam.”

  Cam hopped out of the car and trotted over to the turtle. She loitered, contemplating it. When a silver pickup truck pulled up behind Macy, Cam quit dawdling. She snatched up the turtle, apparently surprised by the heft of it. She stretched her hand over the dome-shaped shell, her grip awkward. The turtle wobbled as its clawed feet sliced at the air. She held it away from her body.

  Three steps into Cam’s excursion, Macy tapped the horn. Cam jumped and fumbled with the now snugly closed turtle before regaining possession with both hands. She winced and looked at Macy. Macy pointed to the other side of the road, and Cam turned around and carried it across both lanes.

  She set the turtle down about three feet off the road and jogged past the two lanes of stopped traffic to get back into the car.

  “Good recovery,” Macy teased as she pulled back onto the road.

  “What was with the horn?”

  Irritation tinged the words, the first time Macy had ever heard that from Cam. It made Macy curious. She plucked a Wet-Wipe from a dispenser wedged between the seats. She gave it a little flick in Cam’s direction—a white flag, even though she wasn’t surrendering anything to anyone.

  Cam wiped off her hands, staying away from her wrapped thumb.

  “I tried calling to you, but you didn’t hear me.” Macy looked quickly at Cam and back to the road. “Always take them in the direction they’re going, otherwise they just start right back across.”

  “You do this often?” Cam asked.

  “I don’t drive around actively seeking turtles to rescue. But if I see one and can get it without killing anyone, I will.”

  Macy thought about her efforts to teach J-man compassion. The best lessons were learned by example, of course. She hoped she’d struck a balance between being kind and staying safe. It was a struggle.

  Cam smiled. “So, do you only do turtles?”

  “The squirrels are just too damned fast for me.”

  Cam smiled again.

  They came up to an intersection at River Watch Parkway. Macy turned right and repeated Cam’s earlier question. “So, is Gary slow or something?”

  “Yeah, is he?”

  “Or something.” Macy shrugged. “It’s always been a sort of don’t-ask-don’t-tell thing with him. Gary’s just Gary, and that’s always been pretty much understood.”

  “Are he and Kenny’s Uncle Russ good friends?”

  The two were such opposites, it never did fit that they’d be friends, despite being close in age. Russ was so easygoing and quick to smile, whereas Gary wore a perpetual scowl. Sometimes it got so bad that, as a kid, Macy swore one day Gary’s face would cave in on itself.

  “I wouldn’t call them good friends,” Macy finally answered. “Don’t think I’d even call them friends. Russ has just always looked out for Gary.”

  “How so?” Cam asked.

  “Well, like when Gary was let go from the mine, Russ called Martin and got him a job at the cabinet shop.”

  “Why was he fired from the mine?”

  “I’m not totally sure, but there was some speculation.”

  “What about?” Cam asked.

  “This feels a lot like gossiping.” Macy hesitated and placed her index finger near her mouth, in a shhh position. “Something to do with Gary exposing himself to one of the secretaries,” she whispered.

  “No wonder they let him go.”

  “Remember, that was just talk.”

  “I’m just trying to figure the guy out,” Cam said. “He doesn’t like me very much.”

  “Don’t worry about what Gary thinks. Not everyone likes everyone else. That’s just life.”

  “I can’t imagine anyone in their right mind not adoring you,” Cam said.

  Macy shot her a quick look and hoped to find a teasing expression on her face. She was thrown a little off-center when she saw Cam was serious.

  “I-I mean—” Cam stammered.

  Macy put her hand up, a barrier against explanations or nice words. She didn’t know how to take Cam when she made comments like that, but she di
d seem naïve about it, which made it slightly less troublesome.

  Then Cam blurted out, “Do you think the same thing about Sharon—that she might never really like me either?”

  “Apples and oranges. Just give her time.”

  Macy was there when Cam saw Sharon soon after she returned from the mountains. Sharon had acted nice enough but didn’t go out of her way. She’d been noncommittal when Cam mentioned wanting to see some of her Aunt Jess’s photos and things.

  “I want a chance to get to know Sharon.”

  “I know.”

  Cam brushed at imaginary sawdust on her pants. “So, you don’t think I’m trying too hard with her?”

  Macy shrugged. “Maybe you just need to relax.”

  A train whistle served as punctuation. Macy looked to the left and saw the string of boxcars running parallel to them. Heat rose on her face, much like the friction of the train on the tracks, when she thought about why she’d gone to Whirligig’s, and then seeing Sharon there.

  Macy sat up straighter. “Want to grab a pizza on our way to pick up Jeremiah?”

  “Sure.”

  When Cam’s face lit up, Macy hoped it was just because she loved pizza.

  Hitting speed dial on her cell phone, Macy asked, “Is plain cheese okay? J-man is going through a picky stage.”

  “Sure.”

  As Macy pulled into the parking lot, Cam offered to run in for the pizza. She got out of the car before Macy could give her any money, but then Macy was glad for it. Maybe Cam needed to have that grownup moment.

  When Cam got back in the car, Macy was on the phone with Jeremiah. “Mama loves you. I’ll be there in a few minutes. What’s that?” She listened and answered, “Yeah, tell your grandpa that’s fine. Okay, bye.” She hung up and tucked the phone into the sun visor. Backing out of the parking space, she told Cam that Russ planned to take J-man fishing the next day.

  “Your ex-father-in-law seems pretty cool.”

  Macy nodded. “Yeah, Russ is a good guy.”

  “What type of mine does he work at?”

  “Kaolin.” The look on Cam’s face prompted her to elaborate. “The locals call it white clay, or chalk. It’s used in ceramics and a lot of other things.”

  “They mine it?”

  “Yeah. There’s a vein of it that runs through the middle of Georgia. It’s geology stuff that I don’t really understand.”

  “Hmmm. You know, Russ has come into the shop a few times. He and Kenny seemed close.”

  “They are.”

  “What about Kenny’s parents?” Cam asked.

  “What about them?”

  “He never talks about them. I mean, you’d almost think that Russ was his father instead of his uncle. Are his parents even around?” She shifted the pizza in her lap.

  “Yeah, they’re around. They just aren’t close.” Feeling less than loyal to Kenny, she stopped. “You know, this really does feel like gossip.”

  “Sorry.” Cam studied her wrapped thumb for a moment and went right on with her digging expedition. “You don’t talk much about your parents either.”

  Macy didn’t respond. There was nothing to say about the dad or stepdads she barely knew. And she wasn’t in the mood to get on the subject of her mother.

  She changed lanes. “Tell me about the info you got from Augusta State.”

  “It was just stuff about their degrees.”

  Macy didn’t push the discussion. If Cam was going to go to college, it had to be to please herself, no one else.

  When they picked up Jeremiah from Russ and Eileen’s, he jumped into the backseat and waved goodbye to his grandmother and that silly looking Bella. He was crazy about the dog his grandparents kept for him.

  The entire way to Michael’s, Jeremiah fussed over Cam’s injury, making her blush.

  Macy couldn’t help feeling relieved that Michael had to work late, and that she and J-man were eating at his house as Cam’s guests. Sharon pulled up next door at the same time Macy pulled into Michael’s driveway. Macy waved to Sharon as Cam juggled the pizza as she got out of the car.

  “Hello,” Sharon called over.

  Macy knew Cam wouldn’t extend the invitation, but that she’d be glad for the chance to be around Sharon. “Come join us for pizza,” Macy called.

  “No thanks.” She held up her briefcase. “Work to do.”

  “Aw, come on. You can’t work effectively on an empty stomach.”

  “And,” Jeremiah added, “it’s pizza!”

  “Well, then, I guess I better,” she said with a smile. She tossed her briefcase back into her car and crossed her lawn.

  Macy hoped Cam could eat her pizza one-handed. She knew Cam would be nervous, afraid of looking like a total klutz in front of Sharon, but in the long run, any time they had together would be worth it.

  Cam had Jeremiah help her with the sodas, and J-man puffed up with importance as he handed one to Sharon. As Sharon took the can from J-man, Macy eyed the thin gold bracelet dangling from her wrist. Macy tried to recall if she’d always worn it that loose, or if she’d lost weight.

  They all settled around Michael’s dining room table. Macy handed out napkins, doing so with a slight wrist action. Again, the white flag flickered, and she wondered who would surrender. She hoped it’d be Sharon, that she’d actually give Cam a chance to peek into the life she’d shared with Jess.

  Looking across the double-cheese pizza, Macy decided to help Cam and Sharon find some common ground. Surely she could mold a relationship of some sort between them. It might be another game, but she figured it was okay, since her intentions were admirable.

  “Mama, where do you think Spider-Man is right now?” Jeremiah didn’t give her a chance to answer. “If I could have a superpower, I’d want to be able to walk through walls.”

  “Really?” Macy asked.

  “Yeah, then I wouldn’t have to touch germy doorknobs.” He crinkled up his nose and swiveled toward Cam. “And if Mama needed rescuing, I could get to her faster.” He took a bite of his pizza and, with his mouth full, asked, “Cam, what superpower do you want?”

  Cam set down her slice. “Time travel.”

  “Cool!” J-man’s eyes grew wide. “In a special car or a spaceship?”

  “It wouldn’t matter, as long as I could go back and make things right. You know, take back the mean things I said when I was younger.” Then she was speaking to her pizza, but Macy knew the words were intended for Sharon. “At the very least, I would have been there for Aunt Jess. She should have had some family with her in the end.”

  Sharon was staring at Cam. The concentration on her face told Macy she was trying to decide if Cam even knew what she’d just said. Macy’s guess was that she didn’t, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Sharon long enough to look at Cam to figure it out herself.

  Sharon got up and carried her plate into the kitchen. Macy glanced at Cam, who looked oblivious, and followed Sharon.

  “She didn’t mean anything by that,” Macy said.

  Sharon’s face sagged, and the circles under her eyes seemed darker. “I know you mean well, but please, don’t.” Then she left.

  Macy stared at the door through which Sharon disappeared, disappointment mingling with a slight ache in her chest. She went back into the dining room. She’d explain to Cam the mistake she’d made in defining family so narrowly.

  “Mama, what superpower do you want?”

  When she looked at Jeremiah, the ache in her chest intensified. Standing behind him, she wrapped her arms around his thin body and wished she could keep him safe in a cocoon forever. She took a deep breath. “Whatever it takes,” she whispered and kissed the top of his head.

  †

  Macy recognized Dorianne’s voice as soon as she heard the words. “But you’re my sister, Grace.”

  “Half-sister. Look, I just don’t think of you that way. All the documentation in the world won’t change that.”

  Macy was waiting outside the café in the Barnes &
Noble for Cam and J-man to return from the restrooms. Dorianne hadn’t seen her yet.

  Tomato Florentine took its place as soup of the day, competing shamelessly with the aromas of a latte, cappuccino, mocha-this, and morning-blend-that.

  Grace’s voice drowned out the background jazz. “Even if I did think of you as family, what makes you think I’d carry a baby for you and what’s-his-name?”

  “Kenny,” Dorianne said.

  “Listen, you’re a data entry clerk and he’s a mechanic, not quite the caliber of people I’d want raising a baby I gave birth to.”

  Macy felt like she’d been punched in the stomach and couldn’t do anything about it. She was thankful not to see Dori’s expression.

  Dori’s voice wavered. “Kenny’s not a mechanic, he’s a—”

  Macy stepped into the café just as Grace held up her hand to quiet Dorianne. “I don’t care what he is. You two just aren’t ideal parent material. Face the facts. I will never consider being your surrogate.”

  She imagined the rejection catching in Dori’s throat and threatening to strangle her. It all but did that to Macy, sneaking out of her throat as a low, guttural protest.

  At the sound, Dori reeled around and came face-to-face with Macy for the first time in years. She whispered, “Macy.”

  Macy quickly turned away from her to address Grace. “I think Dori and Kenny will be fantastic parents.”

  “Wonderful,” Grace shot back. “Then you carry their baby.”

  “Mama, are you gonna have a baby?” Jeremiah asked as he walked up behind her.

  Macy’s discomfort level shot up. “No, J-man, I’m not.”

  “Who’s having a baby then?”

  “I want to have a baby,” Dorianne said.

  “She’s Uncle Kenny’s wife!” J-man sang out.

  Macy smiled. “Yes, sweetie, she is.”

  “Aunt Dorianne gave me Bella.” His eyes shone black as onyx. “So if you give her a baby, we’ll be even-steven.”

  Grace laughed. “Now this is getting good.” She turned toward Macy. “Who are you?”

  “Macy Stokes. Who are you to—”