It's My Life - Melody Carlson [70]
I grabbed her by the arm. “Beanie? What is going on?”
“I invited my mom to the shower!”
Well, that room was so silent we could hear my grandma happily humming downstairs. And I felt as if someone had just dumped a bucket of ice water over my head. I just stared at her in horror, hoping that I'd heard her wrong. ”You what?”
She nodded. “I know. It was incredibly dumb. Totally stupid. Moronic even. What was I thinking?”
I'm thinking, What were you thinking? But instead I say, “Why did you invite her?”
She had tears in her eyes now. “Well, she called last week, and she sounded so sweet and sad on the phone–totally unlike her usual self–and she said how she hadn't been with a guy since that Harley dude and how she had also quit drinking and was thinking about going to AA.”
“Oh, Beanie, that's great.”
She nodded and swallowed. “And I told her so too, and she asked what I was up to, and I mentioned the wedding and shower. And then I just couldn't help myself, I invited her to the shower.” Followed by a big sob.
I nodded slowly, trying very hard not to say what I thought. I mean, Lynn Jacobs (barfly, wild woman, Harley chick) at a wedding shower with a bunch of church ladies, and poor Aunt Steph who's about to become a pastor's wife. Well, it was all just too much. I sank down onto the bed and sighed. “Do you think she'll really come?”
“All week long, I've been telling myself, no way, she would never come. I mean, she knows what your family all think of her. And she knows Steph, and they've even exchanged words–like when I moved out and then at the hospital.” Beanie started to cry. “Oh, I'm so sorry, Caitlin.”
“Beanie, it's okay.” Now I took in a deep breath, trying to calm myself. “I mean, if she's really on the bandwagon and doing good, what are the chances of her really showing up? I mean, she'd realize that wasn't a good thing.”
Beanie perked up. “You're absolutely right! She would know better than to come here.” Then her face fell. “But on the other hand, if she's been drinking or–oh no!”
I looked at my watch, just minutes before seven-thirty, then I grabbed her shaking hands. “Beanie, let's pray!”
So we stood there and prayed the fastest prayer ever, that God would watch over everything tonight and make it a good and memorable time for Aunt Steph.
“That's all we can do,” I said with confidence I wasn't fully assured of. “Now, it's time to face the music.”
And already they were starting to arrive. Jenny was in charge of taking coats, Beanie took gifts, and I offered them coffee or tea, the whole while thinking at any given moment this whole thing could fall totally apart or explode in our faces.
“Caitlin,” whispered my mom as I handed her a cup of tea. “You girls have done a beautiful job putting this together.”
I smiled and said, “Let's just hope it stays together.” And that's when I noticed Jenny open the door to see Lynn Jacobs standing on the porch. Without saying a word, I headed straight to the door, determined to do whatever was necessary to preserve peace.
“Hi, Lynn,” I said, forcing a big smile to cover my terror. Then I noticed she had a nicely wrapped gift in her hands, and she actually looked pretty good. Okay, maybe not quite like a church lady, but she wasn't wearing a plastic miniskirt and six-inch-high platform shoes either. “Come on in. Have you met Jenny yet? She's Beanie's roommate.” Jenny took Lynn's furry coat with wide eyes. (She's already heard a whole bunch of wild Lynn stories.)
Then Beanie stepped up, and I tried to convey to her through a glance that it was so far so good. “Hi, Mom,” said Beanie, her voice coming out in a squeak as she reached to take the gift. “I'll put that with the others.”
“Can I get you some coffee or tea or punch?” I asked, the same silly smile still frozen on my face.
“Sure, coffee, black. Thanks.”
With shaking hands I poured her coffee, my ears straining to hear the background chatter behind me, fearing that any moment it could all blow sky-high and we'd be reading about it in next week's church bulletin. As I quickly