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Lucas shook his head. “Not true.”
Ms. Pinkie continued, waving her arms for dramatic effect, “He managed to save Shug before plummeting to his death.”
Lucas raised his eyes to the ceiling. “When I arrived, Shug was sitting on one of the lower branches licking his paws.”
Ms. Pinkie touched her chest as if overcome. “The Mayor had to remove his shirt to get to him.”
“There would be no conceivable reason for me to remove my shirt to save a cat.” He turned toward Cora Leigh. “I remained fully clothed.”
At that moment, Shug emerged from the hallway, swishing his tail with feline arrogance as if looking for prey. Or a side of roast beef.
Pinkie set the plates on the TV trays and scratched her jaw. “Shug is rather industrious. Must’ve made his way down that treacherous tree on his own. I shouldn’t underestimate him like I do.” She turned to Cora Leigh. “How about dinner?”
“How about five dollars?” Cora Leigh replied, removing her knit sweater and laying it and her purse next to Willa Mae’s.
Ms. Pinkie pulled out a five-dollar bill, which Cora Leigh gladly latched on to.
“Yes, I would love dinner,” Cora Leigh responded, and then she tugged on Lucas’s arm and lowered her voice. “Don’t be mad at Pinkie. She’s just trying to relive her misspent youth.”
“Ms. Pinkie was a hellraiser in the day?” he asked with a grin.
“Oh, no. Misspent as in missed opportunities. Her daddy was a pastor and watched her like a God-fearing hawk.”
Lucas moved to pull another tray from the closet and snapped the scallop-edged metal into place. “Not to worry, Cora Leigh. I couldn’t be mad at Ms. Pinkie if I tried.”
“You know, she’s been our ringleader for over sixty years now.”
“She’s nothing if not a force of nature… and a medical miracle.”
Cora Leigh smiled congenially, satisfied she had absolved her friend of any sins. She turned to take a seat beside Willa Mae.
Lucas removed his sport coat and sat on the floor at the end of the couch. His pre-designated spot. Ms. Pinkie always called dibs on the recliner.
This wasn’t the first time, and probably not the last, that he was called upon to save Shug on the same night as the airing of their favorite reality show.
He unbuttoned his cuffs one by one and rolled them up. As always, Willa Mae handed him one of the pillows next to her. He arranged it behind his back and got comfortable.
Ms. Pinkie handed him a heaping plate of Southern comfort food, and a glass of sweet tea.
They all got comfortable as clips from last week’s episode began to refresh the viewers’ memories. A sound concept for this target demographic.
Lucas watched the screen intently and made a face, saying, “Would one of you ladies please tell me what Lillianna sees in Rodrigo?”
* * *
Birdie waitedin the common area to visit with Pearl while Angus remained in the car, monitoring Mia’s progress to Wayward on his phone and cementing her impending prison sentence.
First stop was the finance office. The two ladies and one gentleman took turns hugging her and sharing their condolences. They also assured her that Pearl’s arrangements were still in place and there hadn’t been any delays in payment.
That was excellent news. Pearl remained a safely kept secret.
Regardless, her heart was racing and her knee bobbing up and down with nervous energy as she sat in the overstuffed chair covered in silk, the lobby decorated in soothing shades of pastels, the woodwork trimmed in a muted off-white color reminding her of the tailor’s chalk her mother had used when making her and her sister’s clothing.
Despite the room being expressly designed to calm nerves and relieve anxiety, she was a wreck. Because having put her mind at ease concerning Pearl, allowed for another earth-shattering consequence to raise its ugly head.
Like Mia meeting her so-called deadbeat bio-dad.
Who really wasn’t a deadbeat dad as much as a clueless and unaware dad. Unaware, as in, he didn’t exactly know he was a dad. Or that Mia even existed.
