Ain’t She Sweet?

and-white-checked pajama bottoms, she settled down to do some paperwork, but she couldn’t concentrate. She picked up Southern Living and thumbed through the recipes, only to realize she had no idea who she might be cooking them for. The phone rang. She knew it would be Ryan. By now, Gigi had told him about their conversation, and he’d be furious. If she ignored his call as she wanted to, she’d only make things worse. “Hello.”

“Winnie, we’re all in the alley.” It wasn’t Ryan, but Merylinn. “Come down right now and unlock this door.”

She’d hoped a few more days would pass before the Seawillows learned that she’d moved out. “I’ll be there in a minute.” As she made her way downstairs, she considered the odds of convincing them she was only staying here so she could get an early start on inventory. Not good at all.

They looked as though they were dressed for a come-as-you-are party: Leeann in faded capris and a man’s work shirt, Merylinn in yellow J-Lo sweatpants with a matching tank and zipper jacket, Heidi in jeans. Amy must have gone to church that evening, because she wore a rose-colored suit with a white shell. They swarmed upstairs, bringing with them the scent of strong perfume and interference.

“We have sustenance.” Merylinn pulled a bottle of vodka from her tropical tote along with a silver cocktail shaker. “Thank God for Amy’s bladder infections. You always know where you can find cranberry juice.”

“I’ve been doing better with them.” Amy took the Ocean Spray from a sack and a couple cans of Coke, because she didn’t drink alcohol.

“If you’d pee right after you and Clint have sex, you wouldn’t get so many.” Heidi headed for the kitchen and began opening the cupboards, looking for glasses.

“I do pee,” Amy retorted. “It doesn’t help.”

Heidi waved a tumbler at her. “Right after? Or do you mess around some more first.”

“Depends.”

“I pee,” Merylinn said, “and I still get ’em sometimes.”

Trying to stop the Seawillows once they’d set themselves in motion was like trying to stop kudzu. Winnie sank down on the room’s saggy couch and let them do their work. Leeann pulled a box of Cocoa Puffs from a Radio Shack sack. “This was the only chocolate I had in the house. The kids got into my Hershey’s.”

The last time there’d been a Seawillows emergency involving vodka, cranberry juice, and chocolate, Leeann had ended up divorced. Winnie crossed her legs. “What’s all this about?”

“Sue Covner, among other people.” Leeann dumped the Cocoa Puffs in the bowl Heidi passed over. Sue was a notorious busybody and the wife of the owner of Covner’s Dry Cleaners across the street from Yesterday’s Treasures.

Merylinn headed for the kitchen. “Don’t anybody say another word till I get our drinks ready.”

The Seawillows were used to working together, and it didn’t take long for them to settle around the couch, glasses in hand, the French cafe table moved closer to hold the Cocoa Puffs, accompanied by some Skittles Heidi dredged from the bottom of her purse.

“Y’all can tease me if you want,” Amy said, “but this is serious business, and we’re startin’ off in prayer.” She grabbed Winnie’s and Leeann’s hands. “Lord Jesus, we’re here in the spirit of friendship to help Winnie and Ryan in their time of trouble. We ask you to give them forgiving hearts, so they can deal with their problems, whatever they might be. Remind them how much they love each other. And what you’ve joined together, Lord Jesus, don’t let anybody, and we mean anybody, pull apart. We pray in your name. Amen.”

“Amen,” they all replied.

Winnie took a sip of the cranberry juicelaced vodka-lots of vodka, very little cranberry juice-and watched as Merylinn sat forward in her seat. “All right, everybody, let’s get down to business.” Her forehead crumpled. She reached over to touch Winnie’s knee. “Honey, Sue Covner called me this afternoon. She said the lights have been on over your store for the past two nights, and that she thinks you’re sleeping here.” She took in Winnie’s sleepwear. “I told her she was surely mistaken, but apparently she was right.”

“Sue Covner should mind her own business,” Winnie retorted.

“She’s too busy minding everybody else’s.” Leeann grabbed a handful of Cocoa Puffs and tucked her feet under her on the couch.

“Deke called Ryan at work today,” Merylinn continued. “He said Ryan sounded awful.”

“Good,” Winnie retorted, surprising herself almost as much as she surprised them.

Heidi cradled her glass and looked at the others. “Y’all know how intuitive I am. I said I thought they might be having problems.”

Over the years, Heidi’s intuition had proved even less reliable than the local weather forecasters, and Winnie wished she could have found another time to get it right. “We’re going through a bumpy patch,” Winnie said carefully. “It’s nothing serious, I don’t want to talk about it, and this is just a waste of good vodka.”

Merylinn gazed at the others, and Winnie felt a stir of uneasiness as she watched some kind of silent communication pass among them. Amy picked up Leeann’s glass and stole a sip. Leeann turned to Winnie. “Honey, we’re thinkin’ it might be more than a bumpy patch. That’s why we’re here.”

“What makes you think that?” Winnie said slowly.

“Sue called me twice, the second time not much more than an hour ago.” Merylinn waved a helpless hand in the air. “Oh, shit, I’m gonna cry.”

Amy patted Merylinn’s arm, but she kept her eyes on Winnie. “Sue’s daughter called her from the Lakehouse.” She fingered her cross, looking like the mother of all sorrows. “Ryan was there. At the Lakehouse.” She took a long, slow breath. “And he was having dinner with Sugar Beth.”

They all began talking at once.

“I’m so mad at him I could spit…”

“We had to get here first and warn you…”

“You know Ryan would never look at another woman. If it weren’t Sugar Beth, nobody’d even think twice about it.”

“I just hate her. I can’t help it. She’s not going to get away with this.”

Winnie’s first thought was to blame herself. If she hadn’t left home, this wouldn’t have happened. If she’d let Ryan come upstairs last night… If she’d been more conciliatory on the phone… Acid burned in her stomach. At least they were no longer in limbo. “Ryan’s a big boy,” she heard herself say. “He’s strong enough to fight her off if he wants to.”

“But what if he doesn’t want to?” Leeann blurted out. “What are we going to do then?”

Not you. We. Whether it was vodka or fear, Winnie’s heart filled with love for these women.

They started poking and prodding. What exactly had Ryan done? How long had they been having problems? Who did Sugar Beth think she was? Winnie polished off her drink, told them how much she loved them, and refused to answer a single question.

“We’re your best friends,” Merylinn protested, refilling her own glass. “If you can’t talk to us, who can you talk to?”

“Obviously not that bastard I’m married to.”

The novelty of hearing the Golden Boy of Parrish, Mississippi, called a bastard made Heidi snort, which sent a little vodka up her nose, and they all started to giggle, even Winnie. Eventually, they settled down. Heidi drank a Cocoa Puff that had somehow made its way into her glass. Amy polished off Leeann’s drink. Merylinn refilled the cocktail shaker. Leeann picked at her nail polish. Their friendship enfolded Winnie like a warm blanket.

Leeann slipped back into her shoes, all the laughter gone from her eyes. “Ryan’s a very special man, and the sad fact is… if you’re not careful, Sugar Beth’s going to steal him from under your nose.”

“Leeann’s right,” Merylinn said. “Ryan is special. You can’t let her take him away from you. You have to fight for him.”

“I’m special, too,” Winnie heard herself say. “And I think it’s about time Ryan Galantine fought for me.”

They all stared at her, but Winnie was claiming her power, and she didn’t flinch. “As a matter of fact, I think it’s long past time.”

“You can’t keep me at arm’s length forever, my little beauty. I want you. Will you come to me?”