Page 64 of Hello, Summer
“Just a silly fall earlier today. I got overheated after working in the garden.” She pointed at a wicker armchair. “Sit down there and fill me in on what’s new in town.”
Sean pulled the chair up closer to his hostess. “Did you hit your head when you fell?”
“Not really. You’ll stay for dinner, of course. I know Winnie has fixed enough to feed the whole town. Why don’t you go back downstairs and tell her you’ll be joining us?”
“She already invited me, and of course I said yes. I never pass up an offer for a home-cooked meal. Miss Lorraine, how were you feeling before you passed out? Did you have a headache? Were you dizzy? Had you eaten?”
G’mama regarded her granddaughter and Skelly with growing suspicion. “I should have known,” she said angrily. She pointed at Conley. “You put him up to this. You’ve been sneaking around behind my back—”
“It was my idea,” Skelly said hastily. “When Sarah was in the store this morning, we had a disagreement. I called to apologize, and she happened to invite me to dinner. It was all completely innocent, I can assure you.”
“There’s nothing innocent about this girl,” Lorraine said. “She told you about my stupid fall and asked you to come out here and check up on me.”
“You wouldn’t go to the hospital, and you won’t let me call your doctor. I’m worried about you, G’mama,” Conley said. “Do you want me to call Grayson and get her in on this conversation?”
“That won’t be necessary,” Lorraine said coldly. She turned to the pharmacist. “To answer your questions, I very foolishly didn’t eat properly this morning. I was gardening outside in the heat, and I was feeling a little dizzy when I came in, and that’s when I had my spell. No, I don’t have a headache. I know I don’t have any broken bones, because I was able to walk out here, unassisted.”
“No vomiting or funny metallic taste in your mouth?” Skelly asked. “Your eyes aren’t sensitive to light?”
“No and no. Can we talk about something more pleasant now?”
“If you insist,” Skelly said. “The good news is, I don’t think you have a concussion. But you definitely need to see Dr. Holloway and discuss this latest episode with him.”
Lorraine pointed out the window. “Now look what you’ve gone and done, Sean. You almost made me miss the sunset.”
It was true. The sun hovered just slightly above the quivering waters of the Gulf, bathing everything in a coral-tinged light. A string of pelicans soared past, silhouetted in the dying purple light.
Lorraine held up her glass. “Quickly, Sean. Pour yourself a drink. It’s bad luck not to toast at sunset.”
Skelly did as instructed, dropping cubes into a glass and pouring himself a cocktail.
Lorraine clinked her glass against Conley’s and then against his. “Here’s to the light. Here’s to the sunset.”
“Here’s to old friends,” Conley added, touching her glass to Skelly’s.
“And here’s to your health,” he added, tapping Lorraine’s glass.
They all drank, then paused, watching as the last golden glimmer slipped out of sight.
“How is June?” Lorraine asked as they were finishing up their dinner.
Skelly poured the last of the white wine into Conley’s glass and then his own.
“Physically, she’s fine. I took her to the store, and she recognized Conley right off, although she forgot both Conley’s and my dad are both dead. Then, by tonight, when her favorite cousin, Anita, arrived for their regular Saturday night movie date, Mama didn’t know her. She thought Anita was her own mother.”
“I’m sorry, Sean,” G’mama said. “It must be very hard for you to watch her decline. Your mother was such a smart, vibrant woman.”
“It’s hardest on her,” Skelly said. “She gets so frustrated sometimes. She’ll come into the store and sit behind the counter, and it’s all familiar. Her favorite part of being a pharmacist was compounding drugs for patients. She said it was like cooking. Now she looks at the tools and she can’t remember how they work.”
He put his fork carefully on the side of his plate. “That was the best meal I’ve had in a long, long time. I’m afraid my bachelor cooking leaves a lot to be desired.”
Winnie came in from the kitchen and began clearing the dishes. “You should taste her cooking,” she said, nodding at Lorraine. “Can’t even scramble an egg without burning it.”
“It’s true,” G’mama admitted without rancor. “We’d all starve without Winnie.” She touched her granddaughter’s hand. “The only thing my mother ever fixed was franks and beans on the cook’s night out. But Sarah is quite a good cook, aren’t you?”
“I get by,” Conley said.
“One year, after she’d been to Italy on vacation, she came home and made osso buco. From memory! It was the most marvelous thing I’d ever tasted. And she’s a wonderful baker, aren’t you, Sarah? My goodness, she can make cookies and pies. She used to bake her daddy a chocolate silk pie for his birthday—”
