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She smiles at me, soft and careful, like I could break. And I could. “Clem, you know you own that house right? Your Daddy was smart. He had a good will, and lots of money, and he left it all to you.”
I guess I did know that. Over the last year, everyone has been trying to tell me everything but my grief has plugged my ears mostly. I’ve heard some of it, but for the most part, I just haven’t cared. When your heart is shattered, all you can do is ache. “Okay… But without you, Miss May, I don’t know how to run the house. I don’t know the first thing about paying the gardener and the chef, makin’ sure bills are taken care of or… anything.” I bury my face in my palms because I feel so silly. I’m an adult now and I’m so used to Daddy and Miss May taking care of everything that I don’t even know how to function.
“I should’ve worked with you on all that the last year but your heart was hurtin’ so bad,” Miss May says, looking out the window where rain streaks the glass. “I didn’t want to add to your stress. But now that I have to go, I told you, Clem, I have a solution.”
She turns to me, noticing my arched brows and the way I can’t stop messin’ with my skirt.
“Your Uncles,” she starts before correcting herself. “Well, your Daddy’s best and dearest friends. Rhett, Holden and Banks.”
I smile at just the mention of them. They loved my Daddy so much and were his loyal and faithful pit crew on every race he ever drove. Childhood friends, that’s what they all were, and they helped him reach his dream. Lived it with him, even.
Then I remember how it’s been a year since I’ve seen them.
I look back at the cemetery growing smaller in the distance the further we drive, and remember their faces at the funeral. Gray and dull, as full of pain and heartache as I was, of that I can be sure. Miss May told me that they couldn’t bring themselves to come to the house because of the grief. They’d even stopped working, too.
I thought of them often, and I knew they’d been checking on me nearly daily by being in contact with Miss May. As much as I missed them and wanted to see them, I also knew that everyone grieved real differently.
“What about them?” I ask, feeling a little guilty for the way my pulse flutters in my throat at just the mention of them. Next to Daddy, they're my three favorite men.
Rhett was my Daddy’s jackman, the strongest of the three. He’s built like some sort of gladiator, with big shoulders and a strong chest. His thighs are so strong his jumpsuit looked more like it was painted on him. I can still see his dark, messy hair shinin’ in the sun, neck full of strain, full lips pinched into a thin line as those meaty arms jack up Daddy’s car.
And then there’s Holden. The gasman. He kept Daddy going in more ways than just filling the tank. He gave him advice, held him when he lost, and the newspaper had photos of Holden on his knees, crying next to that white sheet that awful day a year ago. He looks like Rhett, and sometimes I’d confuse them from behind. But when he’d face the stands, I’d know it was Holden instead of Rhett because of his beard.
Banks has a beard, too, only unlike the other two, his hair is fair, nearly white even when he’s underneath the midday sun. But just like Rhett and Holden, Banks is big and strong, which makes lots of sense since he was Daddy’s tire changer. I always loved how he had oil-stained hands, roughened by years of tossing tires and working on cars.
I smile as I picture them, strong and kind, all three of them. “What about them?” I look at my knees knocking together nervously in the seat, and stare at them as I ask, “how are they feeling? I hope better. I miss them.”
“They’re gonna come stay with you, Clem. I talked to them, they’ve been working through their grief, and they’ve agreed that you ought not be alone yet. Adult or otherwise.”
I sit up a little, feeling another rush of guilt as happiness curls my lips. I’m a traitor to my grief, being happy to see them, but I can’t help it. I miss them.
“For how long?” I question, still fiddling nervously with my skirt.
“For as long as you need them, they’re yours.”
I let out a sigh, tipping back against the headrest. I’m almost afraid to have them in the house because I know I’ll want them to stay forever. But I don’t want to be alone, either, and being with those three men is as close to being with my Daddy as possible.
“When are they coming?”
Green street signs whip past, and when we pass the old Magnolia tree, I know I’m almost home.
“They’re waiting for you now.”
My tummy tightens. “I can’t wait to hug them.”
ChapterTwo
Iusually enjoy the soft scraping of magnolia leaves along the top of the car as we roll down the long gravel drive. It’s a gentle swish that reminds me of being home, but today, I can’t hear. I can’t hear anything but my heart thudding in my ears.
The wrap-around porch comes into view, and the rocking chairs that normally sit empty, only stirring if there’s a gentle wind, are not empty. Three large men fill those rockers, each one of them clutching the arms of it like there’s a hurricane about to sweep them away.
“They’re nervous, Clem,” Miss May says, watching me watch them. “They feel like they ought to have come to see you sooner. But they’re here now, and they will be here as long as you need. Let them teach you things, grieve with them, and get strong with them.” She strokes her hand down my hair, and the touch makes my skin tingle.
“Thank you for calling them, and asking them to do this.” I pat her hand and smile.
“They called me. They wanted to be here with you,” she says right as the car stops. “Now,” she smiles, “let’s get out and say hello, then I’ve got a jet to catch.”
Miss May loved my Daddy and was honored to work with him, but truth be told, money doesn’t grow on trees and a year off is all she could do. She’s got bills to pay, and a name in the industry she’s gotta keep alive for herself. I understand why she’s got to go.
