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She dramatically rolled over the papers spread out on the floor and I laughed at her.
“You’re an idiot,” I joked.
“Takes one to know one,” she replied, facing the ceiling, staring at me through ornery eyes.
We grinned at each other. I leaned over her beautiful face and kissed her lightly.
She whispered, “I love you,” but paused, “despite your being an idiot.”
I pinned her shoulders to the ground and kissed her neck aggressively. She frantically laughed and tried to squirm away. My mom came in and cleared her throat.
“Oops, sorry mom,” I said.
“Sorry Shelby,” said Jules, red as a lobster.
We knew she wasn’t stupid. We just didn’t want to offend her.
“Yeah, yeah,” my mom said. “Next time, I’ll make a shuffling noise with my feet.”
All three of us howled with laughter.
My dad got home thirty minutes later and my mom asked if Jules wanted to stay for dinner. All five of us squeezed around our little kitchen table and only Maddy complained. There was more room in the dining room but we never ate there. Too stuffy. We preferred homey and overcrowded, I guess.
“Hush your mouth Maddy Gray unless you’re interested in going to bed hungry,” my dad threatened.
Jules ignored it. For some reason she loved Maddy even though she was such a brat to her. We prayed over the meal and dug in. My mom made fried chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and rolls with cinnamon butter.
“Mom, this meal is incredible,” I said.
Everyone agreed in silence, their mouths full to the brim. The chicken was hot, juicy and crispy. I sank my teeth into it and let its salty goodness slide down my throat.
“Arlene Chambers got laid off today,” my dad said somberly.
The rest of us continued eating accept for my mom.
“What?” She asked, setting down her cob. “That can’t be. They let Bob go just six months ago. What are they gonna’ do Mark? Arlene was just telling me the other day that because of Bob’s layoff they were several months behind in their mortgage. Trust Bank sent them letters threatening foreclosure. She said she’d need five thousand dollars to get them out of their hole and she didn’t know how she was going to do it because her wages alone were barely putting food on the table.”
“Don’t they have four kids?” My dad asked pensively.
“No, Mark, five,” my mom said with tears in her eyes.
The table got really quiet and none of us continued to eat, including Maddy. After a minute of silence, Jules rapped my foot with hers. My heart sunk to the pit of my stomach. I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking the same thing myself.
The next day, after school, Jules and I climbed into my truck and headed to Trust Bank in Charleston because the last thing we needed were people knowing what we were doing. We slumped out of my truck and dragged our feet toward the front doors.
“Wait a minute Jules!” I said stopping abruptly. “Maybe we can think of another way to help them.”
“No sweetheart,” she smiled at me, “there’s no other way.”
I knew she was right too, but I had to try. She held my hand while we stood in line and waited for the teller to call us to her station.
“May I help you?” Asked the short, blonde teller.
“Yes,” said Jules, knowing I wouldn’t be able to speak. “We’d like to make a withdrawal from our joint savings.”
I sighed heavily and Jules rubbed my back in sympathy.
“May I see your I.D.? And do you know your account number?” She asked with a smile.
