The Future She Left Behind by Marin Thomas

Author:Marin Thomas [Thomas, Marin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berkley
Published: 2017-09-04T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Jackson closed the bay door and the three of them piled into his pickup to go gather the ladies. He parked in front of Doris’s house and waited in the truck while Vern and Katelyn went inside. Five minutes later Katelyn escorted Nanette across the street and down the block to her home. Meanwhile, Vern led Harriet and Mavis to Jackson’s pickup, then helped the other women into the Mercedes.

“Did you ladies have a nice time?” Jackson looked in the rearview mirror and caught Harriet trying to help Mavis buckle her seat belt.

“We have too much fun celebrating birthdays.” Harriet leaned her head against the seat and closed her eyes. Jackson figured she’d be asleep before they left town.

He checked his side mirror and watched Vern get behind the wheel of Shirley’s Mercedes and play with the controls. The lights flashed, the windows rose up and down and Jackson heard the radio go on. Shirley sat in the front seat and rocked back and forth to the music. Faye, Etta, Birdie and Sadie were squished together like sardines in the back. Katelyn returned from walking Nanette home, then checked to make sure Doris’s front door was locked before climbing into Jackson’s pickup.

He pulled away from the curb but stopped at the end of the block and waited while Vern made a U-turn. He wanted to make sure the old man didn’t drive the Mercedes into the ditch. When Vern proceeded down Main Street, Jackson headed north out of town. Harriet lived near the entrance to the Catfish Bay recreational area.

“What time is it?” Harriet mumbled.

“Ten thirty,” Katelyn said.

Mavis tapped Katelyn’s shoulder. “Your mother-in-law isn’t such a bad person once she loosens up.”

“I’m guessing Shirley’s engaging personality was helped by Doris’s brownies.”

“When’s your birthday, Jackson?” Mavis asked. “I’ll tell her to bake you a brownie cake.”

He grinned. “I celebrated it in May. Maybe next year.”

Mavis kept up a steady stream of conversation after they dropped Harriet off and returned to the highway. Five miles farther up the road, Katelyn escorted Mavis to her front door and made sure she was safely locked inside for the night before Jackson drove back to Little Springs.

“Looks like Vern beat us here.” He pulled up next to the Mercedes in Birdie’s driveway.

“Thanks for your help tonight. I had no idea my mother and her friends were potheads.”

“I don’t think they party like that often.” He shut off the ignition and studied the shadowy figures sitting on the back porch. “Tell Vern his ride is leaving in five minutes.”

Jackson waited while Katelyn spoke to the couple. Voices carried through the dark, but he couldn’t make out any words.

As he strained to see through the shadows, he recalled the nights when he’d driven Katelyn home from their dates and they’d sat in his car necking until her father turned on the kitchen light, signaling that it was time for his daughter to come inside.

Katelyn walked back to the truck and poked her head through the open window.

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