Brown Eyes Blue by Carolyn Meyer

Author:Carolyn Meyer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bridgeworks
Published: 2003-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

On Christmas Eve, at exactly five o’clock according to the radio, Dorcas and Lavinia light a bayberry candle. “It brings good luck if it burns all the way down,” Lavinia reminds her daughter, instantly remembering that she says this every Christmas.

“You used to worry that it would burn the house down while we were at church. Daddy talked you into leaving it in the sink.”

“Bathtub,” Lavinia says. “I leave it in the bathtub.”

Lavinia has fixed a casserole she calls “schnitzel,” the mixture of ground beef, noodles, and canned tomatoes she has always served on Christmas Eve, accompanied by a slice of canned pineapple centered on a lettuce leaf with a maraschino cherry in the hole of the pineapple, in honor of the holiday. She served this meal the first time Alex came to visit at Christmas, and it turned out he thought schnitzel meant veal cutlets. She can still picture his expression as he was presented with her specialty.

“How is the work progressing on the attic rooms?” Lavinia asks, spooning some of the casserole onto her plate.

“They’re finished. Rod and Charlie moved the furniture up there a couple of days ago. The old spindle bed and the butterfly quilt that Sister made look great.”

Lavinia dabs her lips with a linen napkin. “Now all you need is some customers.”

The bayberry candle is still flickering in the bathtub when they return from the Christmas Eve service. Dorcas uses the phone in the bedroom to call Sasha—it would be a little past six in California—and Lavinia picks up the extension in the kitchen.

After a half dozen rings, Sasha answers. “Merry Christmas, Mom.” She sounds garbled, as though her mouth is full. “Got your check. Thanks. You shouldn’t have sent anything this year. I even said that, didn’t I? If I didn’t, I meant to. Because you must be even shorter on cash than I am.”

“Let’s hope it’s only temporary,” Dorcas says. “Thanks for the tape. I haven’t listened to it yet, but it looks like it should be interesting.” What tape is that? Lavinia wonders.

“I hope you like it. Crime and Punishment is a feminist band. The musicians are friends of mine.”

“Sharing your appreciation of Dostoyevsky.”

“Who?”

“A Russian writer. He wrote a book called Crime and Punishment. I thought it had something to do with that.”

Lavinia listens impatiently as her daughter and granddaughter grope for things to talk about. Sasha asks how the B&B is going; Dorcas says fine but slow so far and tells her about the friends of Brownie Wilson who came from Alabama for four days and complained about everything from low water pressure to cats yowling outside their window. Then Dorcas asks how the film script is going, and Sasha says okay.

Lavinia clears her throat.

“Lovey, is that you?” Sasha asks.

While Lavinia is talking, among the pleasantries reminding Sasha of the virtues of thank-you notes, she watches her daughter wander around the small living room. Dorcas lifts the large poinsettia on the coffee table and picks up the card tucked under it.

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