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“He’s jealous,” Gus said. “I’ve heard him say the same bull about Val Amotte and your aunt Elizabeth. It’s because Beverly Casson is a drinker, and you have anything to say to her, you’d better do it before noon.”
Gus Hebert, Gustavo, grew up in Cypress Cove, right alongside Valentino Amotte, Maggie’s Aunt Elizabeth’s new husband; Victor Chastain, Dave and Justin’s father and Maggie’s mother Rose’s boyfriend; Alfonso Casson, owner of the hardware store; and even Jimmy Spencer, bad boy of New Orleans, who settled down in Cypress Cove after the Army, hoping to make a success of his life by opening a grocery store.
They were all protective of Gus Hebert, youngest son of the wealthiest man in town who owned the biggest house. Gus would come home from Vietnam after serving eight years with the Marines, shell-shocked. But his father would help him lovingly by making sure he had a place to live and a job, dockmaster at Cypress Cove. At this late stage of life, he’d be marrying for the first time.
The woman in question, Grace Breaux, was a retired veterinarian.
“I always thought Grace was a lesbian,” Aunt Elizabeth had said when Gus began to date Grace.
Frowning, Maggie shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Why? Because she was a vet? She doesn’t look like the stereotype. At least not to me.”
“Polly lived with her for a while.”
Polly, the postmistress, who was obviously gay and proud of it. “Aunt Elizabeth, you lived with Polly, too, didn’t you?”
“I most certainly did not! However, we did have a brief affair. It was nice.”
“So you’re bisexual,” Maggie stated.
“Nope, but I did experiment.”
“Honest to god, this conversation is making me sick,” Maggie’s mother, Aunt Elizabeth’s niece Rose said. “No one cares who anyone sleeps with. Just do it and move on.”
“Ha! I think it’s interesting,” Maggie said, laughing at her mother’s expression, which left little doubt what her honest feelings were. “Our family is so vanilla. That’s what my ex said about us.”
“He’s disgusting,” Elizabeth said. “A little vanilla might improve his personality.”
“What does that mean, anyway?” Rose asked.
“Vanilla is anything that doesn’t stand out,” Maggie said. “Plain. My ex flattered himself, believe me. He was about as boring as they come.”
Now, facing Gus, Maggie thought of how kind Grace was when she needed help with the wild horse population that had been relocated to the property around the cottage. When Justin or his father were busy in the clinic and Maggie needed a vet, Grace was the first one on the scene.
“I love Grace,” she told Gus.
He unpacked their lunch, placing sandwiches on paper plates and removing the lids on the salads and pudding Miss Spencer wanted Maggie to have.
“She’s so skinny,” Miss Spencer had said, putting extra mayo on the sandwiches and packing cookies and chips in the bag.
“Do you want soda with ice, or coffee?” Maggie asked.
“I’ll just drink this,” he said, holding up the cardboard cup of coffee. “She’s a widow, did you know that? Her husband was a lawyer in Houma. They were married for ten years when he died. Had two little boys. She never married again.”
“Oh, how sad,” Maggie said, looking at him. “Grace always seems so gracious. Her name is perfect for her.”
“She is so graceful. That’s good, Maggie. Plus she’s so small.”
He giggled and Maggie was charmed, old Gus’s shoulders shaking and his cheeks flushing.
“Oh my god. You’re in love!”
“Well, hey, yeah. I want to marry the woman. I must be in love a lot.”
“Sit down, Gus. It’s wonderful. You deserve love.”
He snickered, embarrassed, but grateful. Maggie was a true friend.
“I’m an old bachelor. I’m worried the people will make fun of us. Why do I care? It’s amusing, for sure, that two old people want to share what’s left of their life. But I still don’t want to hear it. And I don’t want her to be ashamed.”
