Page 129 of Hello, Summer
Conley rolled her eyes.
“I’m a little bit worried about you, Sarah Conley,” G’mama said. “You’re working so hard, burning the candle at both ends. Up early, home late. When are you going to stop and smell the roses?”
“I’m working on a hot story. I’ll slow down when this Robinette story is over.”
“And when will that be?”
Conley gave a noncommittal shrug.
“Grayson tells me you’re doing some freelance work for the Atlanta paper and the network. That’s wonderful. Pops would be so proud.”
Conley smiled and squeezed her grandmother’s hand. “You do know this is a onetime gig, right? I still have to find a real job, with real benefits. And we both know that probably isn’t going to be in Silver Bay.”
G’mama deftly changed the subject. “How’s Sean? Have you seen him since the other night?”
“He’s fine. I saw him briefly today. I know how much you like Skelly. I like him too, but it’s not going to work out the way you want it to.”
Lorraine was shameless. “Why not?”
Conley stared out to where the blazing orange sun hung just above the horizon. “We want different things, and we’re headed in different directions.”
“How do you know what Sean Kelly wants?” G’mama demanded. “Did you ask him?”
“I just know. Okay? It’s why his marriage broke up. His first priority is taking care of Miss June and keeping the store running. I admire that, and I admire his loyalty, but it’s the total opposite of where I’m going.”
“And there’s no way you could meet him in the middle?”
“I don’t see how,” Conley said. “You’re gonna tell me I need to compromise, right? Isn’t that what my mom did? And look how that worked out.”
G’mama’s eyes welled with tears, and Conley felt a twinge of guilt at invoking her mother’s name.
“Your daddy tried so hard to make Melinda happy. Chet was such a good, good man. Better than she deserved. He never gave up on believing in her. That she would come home and be a wife and mother. He believed it long after I gave up.”
“I’ve never heard you talk about Mom like this before,” Conley said.
“Well, it’s high time I did,” G’mama said briskly. “I had the blinders on where your mother was concerned for too long. I loved my daughter. I still do, but I’ve done some reading and some studying, and I believe she is what they call anarcissist,someone who only lives for themselves. I’m afraid Melinda doesn’t really possess the capacity to love someone else, because she never learned to be selfless. I suppose I bear some of the responsibility for that.”
“No, G’mama,” Conley objected.
“It’s all right,” Lorraine said. “I’ve forgiven myself. I tried, but I made mistakes. We wanted a child so badly, we let her do anything she wanted. She was headstrong right from the time she was a toddler, throwing her little sippy cup at me if something made her mad or she didn’t get her way. It was easier to just give in and let her do what she wanted. Maybe I wasn’t a perfect mother. I should have made her clean up her own messes. But what I did, I did out of love.”
“You couldn’t have been all that bad,” Conley said, sliding an arm around her grandmother’s narrow shoulders. “You did a pretty good job raising Grayson and me.”
“I hope I learned from my mistakes,” G’mama said. “And you know, every night, I pray for Melinda. I pray that she’ll find herself, pray that she’ll find her place in the world and decide she wants us to be a part of her life.”
“You can’t do more than that,” Conley said. And she leaned her head on her grandmother’s shoulder. The two of them watched as the sun slid toward the horizon, and Conley held her breath as it disappeared into the shining dark sea.
48
POLICE BLOTTER WEEK MAY 11
FRIDAY, MAY 8 DOMESTIC DISTURBANCE.Approximately 7:00 a.m. Neighbors on Sycamore Lane reported screaming, cursing, and loud arguments coming from home next door. Officers responding to call were told by male, early forties, answering door that they were not source of noise. Officer observed bright red burn marks on man’s face and noticed smoke and smell of fire coming from residence, entered home. Found woman in kitchen, sitting at table drinking Miller Lite beer and holding ice bag to eye. Woman advised boyfriend grew angry after she burned grits for third day in a row. Man claimed woman threw pot of burned grits at his face, then tossed burning pan into trash, catching it on fire, at which point man made obscene remarks about woman’s cooking, weight, and mother. Both victims declined medical treatment. Both declined to press assault charges. Officer advised marital counseling and instant grits.
SUNDAY, MAY 10 POSSIBLE BREAKING AND ENTERING.Resident of house on Hibiscus Way reported hearing suspicious noisescoming from roof at 2:00 a.m., requested armed patrol response. Upon arrival, officer walked around house with flashlight, noted upstairs bedroom window ajar. Officer entered residence, checked bedroom, found partially undressed sixteen-year-old female entertaining seventeen-year-old male. Advised male to leave house immediately, as female’s father was downstairs searching for shotgun. Advised daughter that parents have excellent hearing.
MONDAY, MAY 11 DISTURBING THE PEACE, PUBLIC DRUNKENESS, INDECENT EXPOSURE.Officer dispatched to Jiffy Stop Convenience Store where they encountered boisterous, possibly inebriated sixty-year-old male suspect, loudly cursing store management and throwing discarded beer bottles at side of building. Suspect claimed beer he’d purchased and consumed at store was “poisoned,” causing him to become inebriated. Demanded refund, and when management refused, entered store and urinated on beer display. Allegedly poisoned beer impounded for chemical analysis. Suspect transported to Silver Bay jail for observation.
Grayson looked up from the copy she’d just edited and gave her sister a grudging nod. “You’re really good at this, you know?”
