Culinary Criminality by Sandra Balzo & Jimmie Ruth Evans & Tamar Myers

Author:Sandra Balzo & Jimmie Ruth Evans & Tamar Myers [Balzo, Sandra]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-1-64197-135-5
Publisher: NYLA

Chapter Ten

Wanda Nell couldn’t get over the change in her son. The shoulder-length hair was gone, replaced by a short cut that made his handsome face easier to notice. Gone also was the scraggly beard he used to wear, though he still sported an earring—a small gold hoop—in his left ear. His jeans were neat and clean, his shirt didn’t sport some obscene picture, and his cowboy boots, though worn, shone with a high polish.

Her eyes filling with tears, Wanda Nell stared up into his face as he stepped closer to her. Uncertain of his welcome, T.J. hung back a little at the last minute, until Wanda Nell opened her arms. T.J. pulled his mother close to him.

Sobbing against his shoulder, Wanda Nell clutched T.J. hard against her. TJ.’s big hand caressed her hair lightly as he rested his chin on the top of her head. “It’s okay, Mama. I’m glad to see you, too.”

Pulling back a little, Wanda Nell tilted her head and met his gaze. He was crying, too. She hugged him fiercely again. “I’m so glad you’re home, honey,” she said, her voice muffled against his broad chest.

“So’m I, Mama, so’m I.”

Sniffling, Wanda Nell stepped back. “I just can’t get over the way you look, honey. It’s so different.”

T.J. grinned, and Wanda Nell’s heart turned over. He was the spitting image of his daddy at that age, except for the earring, and Wanda Nell had to shut her eyes for a moment to let the wave of emotion pass through.

“And clean, too, huh, Mama?” T.J. was laughing through his tears.

“Yeah, you clean up real good,” Juliet said, alternately laughing and crying. T.J. reached out to tousle her hair.

“Thanks, Bug,” he said, grinning happily, and Juliet simply laughed at the nickname she used to hate.

Wanda Nell collapsed into her chair. “How long’ve you been here, honey?” She fixed accusing glares on her daughters in turn. “And how come y’all didn’t tell me he was here?”

“We wanted it to be a surprise, Mama,” Miranda said, wiping away a few tears of her own, “and we woulda told you soon’s you woke up, but we couldn’t with those cops here.” “Have you been hiding in Miranda’s room all this time?” Wanda Nell asked.

“I got here about two hours ago,” T.J. replied, sitting next to Miranda on the couch, “so it wasn’t too bad.” He made a face. “And I could see real quick Miranda still ain’t much on cleaning up her room.”

Miranda punched her brother lightly on the arm, and Lavon squealed and almost fell off her lap. T.J. reached for him and pulled the baby onto his own lap. “Come here, little guy, before your mama drops you on your head. We can’t let that happen to you, or you’ll be just like your silly old mama.” T.J. held his face close to Lavon’s and grinned while the baby explored his uncle’s face with small fingers. “Your mama got dropped on her head an awful lot when she was a baby, and that’s why she’s the way she is.

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