“All I did was knock over a couple of glasses. Sue me for being human and a little clumsy once in a while. I’m not having a damn stroke, no matter what Norma thinks. See—I can still talk just fine.”
She’s right about that. Her speech doesn’t sound impaired at all, and her face isn’t droopy or anything. Still, Norma wouldn’t panic if there was no reason for concern.
Then Bernadette’s entire face changes and her eyes go wide. “Who areyou?”
I don’t have to turn around to know Moses just stepped into the living room.
“Moses Gaspard, ma’am.”
Bernadette’s jaw drops, and I expect her to light into Moses just like she does me, but a transformation comes over her demeanor. She sits back in her chair, folds her hands over her lap, and stares at him like she’s never seen a man before.
I can’t blame her. He’s quite something to look at.
“You’re a big one, aren’t you?”
I turn around now to see what she’s seeing. Sure enough, Moses fills the entire doorway to the living room, blocking Norma completely behind him with his body.
He clears his throat, I suspect to choke back a laugh. “Big enough, I reckon. I hear you’re having an interesting morning.”
“Hmph. Nothing exciting here.” She waves a scrawny hand through the air like she’s swatting a horsefly. “They’re making too much of it, just like always. I’m fine. I’ve always been fine. I will be fine until the night I kick the bucket in my sleep. The good Lord and I have got a deal, and that’s how I’m going out.”
Moses isn’t afraid of her, and I’m eating it up.
“Far be it from me to interfere with your bargain with the man upstairs,” he says, “but don’t you think it might be worth it to get checked out? You know, to make sure you can keep your end of the deal?”
She pats her hair, her vanity still as strong as ever. “Who’d you say you were again?”
“Moses. I’m Magnolia’s man.”
Bernadette’s gaze lands on me as she speaks. “You pay her?”
I pray for patience, because I really don’t want to go to prison for murdering my great-aunt in the next three minutes.
“No, ma’am. Your great-niece is priceless, if you didn’t know.”
My heart melts at his words, even though he’s just digging his grave with Bernadette.
“You’ve got a quicksilver tongue, boy. She bring you along to try to talk me into going to the doctor? Thinking a handsome man would change my mind?”
He steps forward, and I feel his hand on the small of my back.Partners.
“No, ma’am. She brought me along because I wanted to meet you. You’re important to Magnolia, and she’s important to me.”
Bernadette turns to scowl at me again. “Where’d you find this one? The street corner?”
“No, he saved me fifteen years ago. He’s the reason you didn’t have to decide whether or not to attend my funeral.” It’s raw, but it’s true.
Bernadette’s lips press together in a thin line, and a heavy silence blankets the room while she decides how to reply. “Then I guess I ought to thank the boy.” She holds out a hand. “Come over here. I want to see you up close. My vision isn’t what it used to be, and there’s no way you can be as handsome as you look from over there.”
I don’t know whether to gasp at her response, laugh, or roll my eyes, but Moses does as she asks, coming toward her chair and crouching in front of her. He takes her hand and lifts it to kiss the back.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Maison. How are you feeling today? We got any cause for concern? Because both of these ladies have a right powerful need to make sure you keep on thriving.” Moses’s Creole accent thickens as he talks to Bernadette, and she eats it up.
“I’m as well as can be expected, given I’m stuck in this chair and can’t stretch my legs anymore.”
“You seeing double?” Moses asks.
She clamps her mouth shut for a beat before replying. “I was. But it passed. Nothing to write the president about.”