“God, why didn’t I see this? I knew something was wrong, but I never thought he was cheating on me,” she groaned. “I had my head stuck in the sand so far that my scrawny butt was sticking up in the air.”

“Enough of that. That hussy might be younger, but she needs to remember that he was cheating on you the whole time. Once a two-timin’ sumbitch, always one, so she just might lose him the same way she got him someday,” Paula said as she and Mitzi maneuvered the mattress down the hallway.

Jody’s chin quivered. “Y’all pinch me and wake me up. This is all a nightmare like the one I was having this morning, isn’t it?”

Paula set her end of the mattress down and asked, “What nightmare?”

Jody told her about the tornado and then clamped a hand over her mouth. “Evidently somewhere in my subconscious, I must’ve felt that a storm was brewing.”

“Of course you did. It was a sign that there was a mental storm brewing in your life, but you are strong. We’re here for you just like we’ve always been. We’ve stuck together through everything since before we started school. We’ll get you through this,” Paula said.

“You got a gris-gris you can put on this place when we’re done?” Jody asked.

“Honey, karma will bite Lyle on the butt better than any spell I could cast on this old trailer,” Paula said. “Think about it. He’s used to having you make his meals from food you grow. He never has to lift a finger to help with anything around here other than a little garden work. She’s young, and from that Christmas picture, she’s a handful, and she’s pregnant. He’s going to pay dearly.” Paula picked up the mattress again.

Jody understood that they were trying to make her feel better, but it wasn’t working. Her stomach was in knots, her hands were clammy, and tears streamed down her face.

They came back inside and began to carry out black plastic bags of her clothing. She didn’t want any of her clothes—her hippie days were over. She’d been the other half of a couple who stood for something, and now she was nothing but a woman who’d thrown away years of her life. This all had to be a terrible nightmare. She and Lyle would laugh about it when she woke up. He’d tell her that she was the only one he’d ever loved, and everything would go back to normal. She shook that idea from her head. This was the cold hard truth—reality in a two-minute phone call.

“The bastard didn’t even have the nerve to tell me to my face.” Anger washed over her as she rolled up on her feet, got a box of matches, and stormed outside. She emptied several bags of clothing into a pile in the firepit that she and Lyle had built last year and lit them up. As she stood there watching the outfits burn, Mitzi came outside and slung an arm around her shoulders.

“Do you want the chest of drawers in the guest room? You’ll need something to put the rest of your clothes in. The closet in the living room is pretty small,” she said.

“Mama might forgive me and let me—”

“No!” Mitzi shook her head. “She’d make you miserable if you moved in with her, and besides, we’d be worried sick about you.”

Paula tossed another bag of clothing into the truck. “You don’t want to live with her. You know what I’m enduring with my mother, even though I’ve moved out.”

“Yes, I’ll take the chest.” Jody nodded. “I’ll go through my things later and throw away a lot of those clothes because I’m not going to be that woman anymore. And I want to go to Greenville this evening for fried chicken.”

“You got it,” Mitzi said. “And we’ll have bacon for breakfast in the morning.”

Chapter Five

I didn’t sleep very well. Maybe it was eating fried chicken after all these years of not having meat, or the fact that I couldn’t turn off my mind. One minute I wanted to take one of Lyle’s guns out to that ranch and shoot him dead, and the next I blamed myself for the whole thing. If I’d been prettier or younger or would have had children, maybe he wouldn’t have left,” Jody said as she entered the kitchen that Sunday morning.

Mitzi had been standing at the back door, staring out into the yard, and Jody’s voice startled her so badly that her heart had to slow down before she could speak. “Good mornin’,” she finally said.

“Truth is I went off birth control six months ago. On the day of the Christmas party, and now I find out that’s the very day his little fling started.” Jody went to the refrigerator and looked inside. “Irony at its best. Only thing better will be if I’m pregnant after all this time.”

“Jesus!” Mitzi gasped.

“I’m going to church. Lyle didn’t believe in religion any more than he did eating anything that has a face. I might as well just burn all the bridges this weekend,” Jody said.

“Good for you.” Mitzi didn’t know whether to wish that Jody was pregnant or to hope like hell that she wasn’t. “You can go eat with us at the café after services. Daddy and Granny will be glad for you to join us.”

“Join us for what?” Paula yawned as she entered. “I’m going to have hot tea this morning. Anyone want in?”

“No, I’ve already got a pot of coffee brewing,” Mitzi answered.