Pie Town - Lynne Hinton [48]
Alex had pestered Malene all morning after Oris brought him home. He wanted her to call Roger and make him go up to the apartment and check on Trina. He got worried as soon as his great-grandfather told him that she had walked home from the party. Oris said he wasn’t calling Roger, that if Alex wanted to check on the girl he would have to get his grandmother to make the call. Malene made him wait until after church before she would let him talk to his grandfather about Trina. She tried to convince him that she was sure the girl was fine. If she wasn’t, they would have heard something. Alex had heard everyone’s excuses and had waited until four o’clock. Roger finally had to do what Alex wanted.
“Granddad woke her up,” Alex chimed in. He glanced over at Roger with a big grin.
Roger closed his eyes and shook his head, a sign not to say anymore about the visit.
Malene noticed the exchange between the two. She studied them, watching them for what they might share, but she didn’t ask anything else. She didn’t mind the fact that her grandson shared secrets with her ex-husband. She actually sort of enjoyed the idea.
“She’s okay then?” was what Malene asked.
“Yep,” Roger answered. “Did you get everything unpacked from last night?” It was obvious that he wanted to change the subject. He glanced around the kitchen. He didn’t notice any of the boxes or coolers that she’d had with her when he dropped her off after the party.
“Oh yeah, she’s just fine,” Alex added, emphasizing the word “fine.” He grinned and then, unable to help himself, laughed out loud.
Roger stared at the boy. He cleared his throat. He wasn’t so sure Malene should hear how the young woman had answered her door. He worried that she might keep Alex away if she knew.
Malene waited before answering the question. She kept watching the two of them. “I did it after service, while you were gone to Socorro. We’ll just have leftovers for supper, if that’s all right.” She kept her eyes on Alex. “You okay eating another burger tonight?” she asked her grandson.
“Sure, Grandma, they were excellent. Papa’s beans and cornbread were good too.”
“Yeah, all that got eaten before I had any,” Roger noted.
“Probably me,” Alex confessed. “I think I ate two bowls and four pieces of bread.”
“And a hamburger?” Malene asked, surprised to hear the boy had eaten that much at the party.
“Yep,” he answered. “And two pieces of cake. A growing boy needs his food.” Alex wheeled around the table and moved right beside Malene. “Thank you again for the party. It was awesome.” He leaned up and Malene bent down so that he could kiss her on the cheek. Then he backed up his chair. “Now I’m going to go to my room to check out my gifts again. I don’t even remember everything I got.” He waved at his grandparents and headed down the hall.
“You were right, he sure got a lot of stuff,” Roger commented. “He’ll be busy for the rest of the year with all those games and things.”
“Some of the people just gave him money,” Malene noted. “I think he must have gotten two hundred dollars.”
“This town loves that boy,” Roger said. He stood at the doorway for a minute. “I don’t know what would become of us if something happened.” He shook his head, deciding not to consider such a thing. “So what did you think of Father George’s performance today?” Roger asked Malene, changing the subject. He moved over and sat down at the table and stretched his legs out.
She scratched her forehead. “He seemed a little nervous, got lost in the order of service a couple of times, forgot to pray at the end, but I guess he’ll do okay.” She stood at the counter. She was slicing tomatoes. Her back was to Roger, but she knew he was watching her.
“What was he talking to Miss Snow about before service?” Roger wanted to know. He had noticed the priest spending a lot of time with the president of the Altar Guild. They both seemed upset about something.
“The wine was gone. He thought it was somewhere else in the