Terri Austin - Diners, Dives & Dead Ends

When she saw me, Jacks set her glass down on the marble-top coffee table and hopped up to give me a hug. “Hey, you,” she said, embracing me. “I haven’t heard from you since Monday.”

I hugged her back.

Barbara, her head tipped to one side, gestured with her wine glass. “Don’t feel bad, Jacqueline, I never hear from her.”

“I called you yesterday, Mom.”

Her lips thinned. “Only because you wanted something fr—”

“Rosalyn.” My dad set his glass on the mantle as he walked toward me. He leaned down and kissed my cheek. “Your mother said something about Axton Graystone?”

Barbara put a hand to her temple. “We can discuss that unpleasant subject later.”

My dad nodded. “Would you like something to drink?”

“Yes, please.” I was going to need it to get through the evening.

“No,” my mother said, “she’s late. There’s no time for drinks.” With that, she walked to the kitchen. “Get Scotty to the table, Jacqueline,” she said over her shoulder.

Jacks raised one brow. I sighed and shook my head. The maternal unit was in fine form tonight.

“I’ll get Scotty, hon,” said Allen. “Good to see you, Rose.” He smiled and headed to the game room.

My father drained his glass. “I’ll go help your mother.”

Left alone with Jacks, I grinned. “I ran into one of my old classmates yesterday.”

We walked slowly toward the dining room. “Oh really?” She linked her arm in mine. “Who?”

“Dane Harker.”

“I’ve seen him around the club. He’s a hottie.”

“I didn’t remember him at first. But the dimples—”

“Oh, those dimples.” She gave a little sigh.

“Apparently he had a crush on me in sixth grade.”

“Where did you meet him and is he still pining away?”

“The police station and nope, I’m pretty sure he got over his crush a long time ago.”

“Just think about how romantic it would be if you married your childhood sweetheart.”

“We weren’t sweethearts and nobody’s said anything about marriage.”

“You never know.” She turned to me and frowned. “Were you at the police station because of Axton?”

“Yeah, I’ll give you the details later.” And I would have to give her the abbreviated version, because there was no way I’d tell Jacks about seeing BJ in the park. I didn’t want her to worry about leaving Scotty in my care. He would always be safe with me — I’d take a bullet for that kid.

“Tell me now.”

Barbara popped her head out of the kitchen. “Rosalyn, are you going to sit down? Or should we continue to wait on you?”

Grinding my teeth, I sat next to Scotty.

“Look, Aunt Rose,” he said with a wide grin. There was a hole where his front tooth should have been.

I ruffled his hair. “Hey, Sport, where’d it go?”

“I lost it,” he said. “And I got five whole dollars when the tooth fairy took it. So I’m trying to make this one come out too.” He wiggled another tooth.

“Well, good luck with that.” I unfolded my beige linen napkin and placed it on my lap.

My mom and dad brought platters of food from the kitchen and took their seats at the table. On the menu: salmon. I hated salmon. My mother knew I hated salmon. She was definitely bringing her A-game.

Everyone settled in and began passing the food. I piled my plate with rice and grilled vegetables, but passed the salmon off to my dad.

Barbara noticed and attempted to raise an eyebrow. Since she had regular Botox injections, she was not entirely successful. “Is there something wrong, Rosalyn?” She delicately wiped the corner of her mouth.

I blinked and tried to look serene. “No, I don’t think so.” I took a small bite of rice.

“Was there something wrong with the salmon, dear? I noticed you didn’t have any. You’re not turning into a vegan, are you?”

“No, of course not, mother.”

She pursed her lips. “Then why won’t you try the salmon?”

“Barbara,” my father cut in, “if she doesn’t want salmon…” he trailed off with a shrug.

Taking a deep breath through her nose, she sucked in her cheeks. “But the salmon is delicious.”

“Mmm. It is delicious, Barb,” Allen said. Suck up .

“And the wine is great. What is this wine, Dad?” Jacks asked.

“It’s—”

“Salmon is good for the heart. Isn’t that right, darling?” she asked my father. Well, since he was a podiatrist, he should know.

“Yes, dear, it is,” he said, before lapsing into silence.

“Did you hear that, Rosalyn?”

“Yes, I heard. Salmon — it’s all the rage with the kids these days.”

Barbara set her fork on the side of her plate. “Why must you be so contrary?”

“She hates salmon. She said that the last time she was here, Grandma,” Scotty said. “And I don’t like it either.”

I bit my lip to smother a grin.

My mother picked up her fork and continued to eat. She didn’t say another word.

I winked at Scotty. He smiled back. Darn, that kid was cute.

“So,” Jacks said with a little too much enthusiasm. “How’s school, Rose? You’re taking ethics now, right?”

I opened my mouth to answer, but wasn’t quick enough.

“Are you concerned about the ethics of serving your customers heart attacks along with their biscuits and gravy?” my mother asked. Each word was a bullet shot through a tight smile. “So useful, these little classes.”

Wow, Jacks was really crappy at defusing. I pierced a carrot. “You’re right as usual, Mom.”

No one said much after that, and only the clinking of silverware broke the uncomfortable silence. The tension was almost painful.

Eventually the torture came to an end. My mother, Jacks, and I cleared the table while Scotty went back to his video game. Allen and my dad retired to the media room to watch TV.

“Rosalyn?”

“Yes, Mom?” I grinned, baring my teeth.

She held a glass in one hand and a dirty plate in the other. “Why don’t you go relax? After all, you clean tables for a living. I’m sure you don’t want to do it on your off hours, too.”

“Don’t be silly. Since I’m a pro, it will go that much quicker if I help.”

Jacks’ nervous gaze shifted between my mom and me. “Why don’t you both go relax? I can do it.” She hurried into the kitchen.

As we cleaned up, my mother chatted with Jacks, freezing me out entirely. She considered this a punishment. I considered it a reprieve.

After we filled the dishwasher, Jacks left the kitchen with the sorry excuse she needed to check on Scotty while my mother and I stood in silence.

“Did you get the phone numbers for Mary and Packard?” I finally asked.

She raised her chin in the air and stared at me with her lips pursed before walking to the small desk attached to the countertop. She pulled a piece of paper from the top drawer. “I want you to know that I’m doing this against my better judgment. You can’t hound these people.”

“Darn, hounding and grain alcohol are all I have going for me.” I took the paper. It had Mary’s new married name, her address and phone number, as well as Packard’s number and address.

She acted as if I hadn’t spoken. “Packard is very busy. He’s on the city council, you know.”

“So?”

“There’s talk of him running for mayor.”

“And?”

She closed her eyes for a second and sighed. “Axton is nothing but trouble, and why you continue to be friends with him is beyond me. He ruined my birthday party with his drugs.”

Ah, the infamous country club fire alarm incident where Ax toked up in the bathroom. “That was four years ago. Seriously, when are you going to let it go?” My guess was never.