Elli (A Second Chance Novel Book 1) Page 15

  “You ain’t goin’ ta run on no track. Youz is goin’ shoppin’ wit me. Besides, why would youz want to be seen in public in that thing? It’s got patches on it. Juicy Cooter, huh? Sounds like a porn star name if youz ask me.”

  Elli burst out laughing and gave Tante Izzy a big hug. This old lady dressed in bright Mardi Gras colors had appointed herself the fashion police. “I adore you.” She looked into the old lady’s faded eyes. “That is the only reason I’m going shopping with you.” She turned to go change her clothes. “By the way, why and where are we going shopping?”

  “Ronald tells me youz are ridin on the family float. We need to get you some Mardi Gras throws.”

  Elli stopped. “The sheriff?” She shook her head, thinking that avoiding face time with the law might be a better idea. “I appreciate the invitation to be on your family float, but I can’t afford to buy the trinkets to throw off it.”

  “Pshhha. I can afford it. I’ve got me an oil well drillin’ on my land. I don’t own it, but it keeps me flush.”

  Elli smiled. “And dressed well.” Tante Izzy, an oil tycoon? That was something her brain couldn’t compute. She had said she didn’t own the oil well, hadn’t she? Either way, pride wouldn’t allow her to accept her generosity. “It’s kind of you to offer to buy my trinkets, but I can’t accept…”

  She waved Elli on. “No arguin’ with me, now. I want to do dis. Besides, I’ll never spend all da money I got tucked under my mattress.”

  “I’ll pay you back,” Elli said. She really was excited to be in a Mardi Gras parade. If she had a bucket list, riding on a Mardi Gras float would be on it. It ranked near the top of her mental list with a trek up Mount Elbrus in Russia, which she had done. “We need to drop off the girls to Doug on our way out. Donna’s still with Ben, and I need to bring her to Doug, too.” She smiled. “Did you hear? The vet said Donna’s going to be fine. Changing her diet should get her on track again.” Tante Izzy looked at the nonexistent watch on her wrist. “Anyway, I don’t want to leave the girls here to tear up my clothes and do their business on the floor.”

  “Looks like dey done got to youz Juicy track suit. Hurry up, now.”

  * * * *

  It took Tante Izzy and Elli almost two hours to shop for colorful stuffed animals, plastic swords, giant toothbrushes, and necklaces of different themes, colors, and lengths. She knew Mardi Gras riders tossed cheap beads and things off the floats to revelers, but she’d never considered that all the stuff had to be purchased somewhere. As it turned out, there were huge warehouse stores filled with things any float rider could want, including bubble gum, potato chips, and yummy MoonPies.

  “…and she ate bout a half dozen of dem MoonPies, while waitin’ in da checkout line,” Tante Izzy told Ruby as they sat at a small, round table in a cozy diner in the center of the old downtown. This part of Cane, with its neat, two-story structures and large window fronts, was nestled along the banks of a wide, river-like bayou. It looked like hundreds of other American towns that had once been commerce centers but had faded with the introduction of malls and interstate highways. “She ate so much, I’m bettin’ she has a hollow leg.”

  Elli narrowed her eyes. “You’re a rat.”

  “MoonPies? I thought you said she was an organic?” Ruby asked, settling her napkin on her lap. “That’s why I picked Café Breaux. You can get a big salad with no meat or a vegetable plate.”

  “Oh, I’m not a vegetarian,” Elli said, only to receive a disapproving look from Ruby. “I eat meat. I just don’t eat anything that has been sprayed with pesticides or injected with hormones.”

  “I get injected with hormones once a month,” Ruby informed her.

  “That’s why I’ll never eat you.” Elli smiled.

  “I don’t see anything wrong with hormones,” Ruby insisted. “Without them, I’d have hot flashes and grow a mustache.”

  Tante Izzy pointed her crooked finger at Ruby. “Harrumph. Without dat waxin’ you get every couple of weeks at Margie’s Beauty Shop, you’d have a mustache.”

  “Tante Izzy!” Ruby turned as red as her name. “I’m just saying, hormones are good for a person.”

  “There are some instances when hormone supplements aren’t good,” Elli offered. “If you’ve had breast cancer that’s estrogen receptive, you’re often put on hormone suppressant drugs for five years to help reduce your chance of recurrence.” Elli wanted to tell the ladies how she knew this and that she still had to take the medicine for one more year, but she didn’t. When she was receiving her chemo and radiation treatments, she and the other women discussed their medicines, prognosis, and side effects with each other like they were new moms discussing their babies’ sleeping patterns. Sometimes, she still talked to her best friend about meds and side effects from her treatments. Most of the time, she just kept her thoughts to herself. In her experience, people really didn’t want to know the details of cancer treatment or discuss it at all. She supposed that was because talking about cancer to someone who had it was hard. People just didn’t know what to say to you.

  “I know’d someone who was on dat her-mone suppress drug,” Tante Izzy said. “She was only forty-two and the drugs made her go through her change. She had hot flashes and all.”

  “Did she grow a mustache?” Ruby asked.

  “Hello, ladies.” Helen Bienvenu walked up, dragged a nearby chair to the table, and sat down. “You don’t mind if I join you? I do hate eating alone.”

  “Cain’t stop you,” Tante Izzy said, sounding annoyed.

  “Hello, Elli. I’m glad to see my son and his family haven’t chased you out of town. They can be very territorial.”

  Ruby rolled her eyes.

  “She ain’t scared of him.” Tante Izzy stated. “In fact, I think shez kinda sweet on him.”

  Elli picked up the water the waitress just placed on the table and took a big sip.

  Helen smiled. “Is that so?”

  “No.” Elli croaked. “We are business partners. That’s all.”

  “So, it’s true that Rosa left you and Ben the plantation?” Ruby asked. “That woman had no shame. You’d think she wanted you to live in sin like she did.” She made the sign of the cross.

  Helen smoothed the front of her crisp, burgundy Liz Claiborne blouse. The gesture was subtle, but Elli knew Ben’s mother didn’t like being reminded of her husband’s infidelity.

  “Well, the single women of Cane won’t be happy to hear their most desirable bachelor shares a plantation with a pretty Hollywood executive.” Ruby frowned.

  “But I’m sure you will be more than happy to tell them,” Helen said, bitterness and a hint of sadness in her voice

  The waitress saved them from further discussion on the subject when she took their order.

  “So, Elli, I understand you’re a movie producer,” Helen said, starting a new conversation. The woman was beautiful, graceful, and her dark brown eyes were intelligent. Elli wondered why Helen had stayed with her husband, knowing he had a mistress. She didn’t look like the kind of woman who would have trouble finding a faithful man.

  She returned her empty water glass to the table. “I was until three years ago.”

  “According to People Magazine,” Ruby said hefting her large red, vinyl purse and rummaging through it. “You did some of my favorite movies. She pulled out the same People Magazine she had with her at the kennel the first day she met her. It was the one with a picture of her at the Griffin Park fundraiser in a small inset on the cover. “What movies did you produce, again? I forgot to take my memory pill and I’m a little sluggish today,” Ruby said.

  Helen rolled her eyes.

  Elli wanted to rip the magazine from Ruby’s hands and shred it into a million pieces. “I produced Desert Heat, Tug of the Heart, With a Dash of Salt, Newfie. . .”

  “I loved Desert Heat,” Ruby gushed. “I have it on Blu-ray.”

  “I saw Newfie with Joey,” Tante Izzy interrupted. “About ten times. Dat boy loves dat movie.”
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  Elli smiled, remembering how excited Joey had been when he found out she worked on that movie. “I’m glad.” She sensed Helen’s eyes on her and met her gaze. She felt like she was being evaluated by an editor examining the frames of film for a crucial scene. Elli instinctively wanted to fix her hair or fidget in her seat under the intense scrutiny, but then it came to her what was happening. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but Elli was certain Helen hadn’t just accidentally met up with them in the restaurant. She was there because she was interested in Elli. What was it she wanted to know? Did she hope to learn more about her husband’s mistress by meeting Rosa’s niece? Did she want to determine Elli’s character because she was a stranger tossed into the lives of her son and grandson? Maybe it was something else. Elli couldn’t read the woman. She was cool and kept her emotions hidden. Just like her son.

  “How exciting it must be to work with movie stars,” Ruby gushed, . “Do you know George Clooney?”

  Elli laughed. “That seems to be the question.”

  “And what is the answer?” Ruby insisted.

  “No. I don’t know him. Sorry.” She shrugged. “I know his stylist.”

  “Do you think you can get her to ask Mr. Clooney to come to Cane for our Prevent Forest Fires benefit?”

  “Oh, for goodness’ sake, Ruby.” Helen shook her head, and her perfect bob moved as it was supposed to move. “Leave the girl alone. She said she used to be a producer.” She looked at Elli with sharp, determined eyes. “Why is it you said you weren’t producing anymore?”

  “I didn’t say.” Elli took a sip of her water. Yes, Helen was as smooth as she was sly. She was steering the conversation exactly where she wanted it to be. So was Ruby—without a sliver of Helen’s poise.

  “What about Ben Affleck? Do you know him?” Ruby asked.

  Elli shook her head.

  “I told you it waz a waste of yur time to come to lunch,” Tante Izzy told Ruby. “She cain’t help you bring in a famous star.”

  Elli had to bite her lip to keep from telling them that she’d just gotten a call that morning from the location director of the movie scheduled to shoot at the plantation tomorrow. He’d informed her that Academy Award–winning heartthrob Sam Cooper was added to their shoot schedule to do a couple of nonspeaking close-ups on the front porch and along the bayou. He’d also told her that they needed to have the front of the plantation painted. If she got it done for them, they’d pay her an additional five thousand. She had the paint color number in her purse and planned to ask Tante Izzy to stop at the hardware store on the way out. Should she tell Ben the movie crew was coming before or after she painted the front of the house? Either way, she knew he wasn’t going to be happy.

  Ruby huffed. “What good is it to know a movie producer if she can’t get a movie star to come to Cane.”

  Elli covered her smile with her hand. It hadn’t gone unnoticed by Helen, who raised a brow much as Elli had seen Ben do.

  The waitress brought their food and Elli watched Ruby automatically place the magazine back in her purse to make room for her lunch plate. She hadn’t mentioned Elli’s photo on the cover or the embarrassing article on page 36. Maybe she had forgotten to mention it because she was indeed sluggish for missing her dose of the memory pill. Tante Izzy looked at Elli’s salad. “That’s rabbit food.” She took a big bite of her dark beef stew.

  “She’s an organic,” Ruby informed Helen. “But she does eat meat.”

  “You mean, she’s a vegetarian.” Helen corrected. Ruby rolled her eyes.

  “I’m not a vegetarian. I eat organic food,” Elli laughed. “Except for MoonPies.”

  “Youz got dat right,” Tante Izzy said, shaking her head. “A half a dozen of dem.”

  “I had three,” Elli laughed. “And a half.”

  “It would have been four if’n youz hadn’t given the LeBouef child some.”

  “It’s one of Ben’s favorites too,” Helen said, sounding distant and a bit sad. “At least, it was when he was a child, about Joey’s age.” She wiped the corner of her mouth with her napkin. “Well,” she began, her voice steady again. “You know, crawfish are organic,” Helen informed Elli. “You will be joining the Bienvenu clan for the annual pre-Ash Wednesday, Fat Tuesday crawfish boil, won’t you?”

  Before Elli could answer, Tante Izzy did. “She’z not only comin’ to the boil, she’z riding on the family float.” Helen raised her brow again but didn’t say anything. “We done got her throws,” Tante Izzy continued. “Might have to get more with the way she ate those MoonPies. She’z ready to ride…”

  “Unless she’s in jail,” Ruby interrupted. When everyone sat silent and just stared at her, she rushed on. “Have ya’ll forgotten how she set that forest fire?”

  “You seem to have, Ruby,” Helen insisted. “Wasn’t it you who invited Elli to lunch…and after you called her, what was the word…oh, yes, a pyromaniac.”

  Ruby dropped her fork and turned to Tante Izzy. “You see. This is why I didn’t want to invite her.”

  “Thatz enough sass, Ruby.” Tante Izzy waved her napkin. “You talkin’ stupid, and Helen is just pointin’ it out. There’z no way Elli will be in jail for Mardi Gras. She won’t even have a trial by then.”

  Elli jerked around to face Tante Izzy. “I thought you said you believed I didn’t start the fire.”

  “Don’t matter what I think, now doez it?” Tante Izzy leaned back in her chair and sighed.

  Elli looked at Helen. She had been the only woman here who defended her, even though Elli wasn’t sure what the woman really thought about her. Still, she had experience dealing with this crazy clan. God, she hoped Ben’s mother would be with her the next time the Bienvenues ganged up on her. “Helen, will you be riding on the Bienvenu float?”

  Tante Izzy grumbled but Helen ignored her. “No honey, I’m not.” She smiled a half smile. “I’m not a Bienvenu. My son and grandson are, but not me.”

  Ruby gasped. Tante Izzy exhaled a heavy sigh.

  “Never really was,” Helen replied, her tone even. Elli knew there must have been a lot of history attached to that statement. Her tone made it clear there was a lot of pain, too. She wanted to ask Ben’s mother why such a beautiful, intelligent woman never divorced her husband and moved on with her life. What reason could she have had to tolerate her husband’s long-term, public affair with Aunt Rosa? None of those things, however, were any of her business—unless you considered that the long-term affair resulted in Elli eventually owning half of Sugar Mill Plantation and thirty percent of the Sugar Mill Kennel.

  “That waz your choice, Helen,” Tante Izzy stated.

  Helen lifted her iced tea glass in salute to Izzy. “You are absolutely correct.”

  “Holy cow,” Ruby hissed. “If I had known y’all would be talking about old, family scandals, I wouldn’t have come to lunch. I thought we were going to talk about the Prevent Forest Fires Benefit.”

  “Moodee, Ruby. I tole youz I didn’t think it waz a good idea.” Tante Izzy turned to Elli. “I got myself indigestion. I want to go home and take a nap.”

  A nap sounded good to Elli, too, but she had painting to do before the end of the day. “Would you mind stopping at the hardware store on our way back to the plantation?”

  “As long as it don’t take too long,” Tante Izzy said. “I needs my beauty rest.”

  “Elli, I want you to know, I didn’t mean any offense about my comment of you going to jail,” Ruby said, her cheeks blushing bright pink. She looked at her short fingers, unable to meet Elli’s eyes. Elli knew the woman was sincere. Ruby might think she started the fire, but she hadn’t meant to offend her, especially when it didn’t help her cause. “No hard feelings?” She extended her hand to Elli. Helen rolled her eyes, but didn’t say anything. “I’m sorry.”

  Elli shook her hand. “Apology accepted.”

  Ruby smiled. “Are you sure?”

  She looked at Ruby, who not only looked remorseful but like her blood pressure had sho
t through the roof. Elli felt sorry for her. Letting her heart rule her head, she made a ridiculous offer to Ruby that satisfied neither the woman nor herself. “I’ll help you with your Prevent Forest Fire event.” When Ruby started to speak, Elli held up her hand. “I will help you decorate, serve punch, and collect tickets at the door, but I cannot get a celebrity for the event.” She definitely was not in a position to ask a favor from any star on her e-mail list. Anyway, they had probably changed their e-mail addresses since their identities were stolen.

  Ruby looked disappointed. “Would you consider letting me borrow your cell phone for a little while?” Elli shook her head. No way. “I won’t make any long-distance calls or nothing. I just want to look at your contact list for, oh, about an hour.

  “No.”

  “Ten minutes?” Oh geez, what had she gotten herself into?

  Elli stood. “This was an…an interesting lunch. Thank you for inviting me.” She placed the money for her share and a generous tip on the table. “I have a very busy afternoon scheduled.”

  Tante Izzy stood and started to dig money from her purse but stopped. She picked up Elli’s money and handed it back to her. “It’s Ruby’s treat.” She pointed to Ruby. “Youz give our waitress a good tip, now, youz hear?” Ruby nodded and rolled her eyes at the same time.

  “I’ll see that she does.” Helen smiled.

  “You ladies are so insulting,” Ruby grumbled. She stood and reached for her orange purse. “I’m not going to stand around and take this abuse.”

  “Sit down, Ruby,” Helen told her. “That bluster won’t get you out of paying the bill.”

  “Helen, you are such a b-i-t-c-h.” Ruby sat back in her chair.

  “Yes, my dear, I am.”

  Chapter Six

  Abby and I went wig shopping with a lovely, good-humored woman who started the post-second chemo treatment shedding. She is losing her beautiful wavy, gray hair…Guess which celebrity we saw in the women’s wig store in Santa Monica. I will give you a hint…it’s a man!! I wish you good health, E.