A Cherry Cola Christmas by Ashton Lee Page A

Emma. Maybe ask my husband for his advice first. I can’t make a decision like this on the spur of the moment.”
    â€œI want you to take this money no matter what you decide,” Emma told her, still sniffling. “I don’t want stolen money in my house no more. It just eats at me so, I cain’t hardly sleep at night. Take it off my hands, please, Miz Maura Beth. Then maybe I can start to atone for my sins.”
    â€œYes, I suppose that’s the least I can do right now.” Maura Beth scooped up the bills, shaking her head in bewilderment. “One hundred and twenty dollars, just like Periwinkle said went missing. Well, for the time being, I can lock up the money in my bottom desk drawer for you, and then I’ll decide what to do about all this over the weekend.”
    â€œThank you, thank you, thank you. I guess I better get to my job. I still have one, don’t I?”
    â€œOf course you do.”
    â€œEven if I have to go to jail?”
    Maura Beth dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “I think I can say with some confidence that that’s not going to happen. Trust me on that much. I’m sure we can work something out.”
    Neither woman said anything as Emma nodded, rose, and headed toward the door. Then Maura Beth remembered, snapping her fingers.
    â€œOh, I forgot to tell you. Miz Marydell Crumpton is coming to work as one of our new front desk clerks. She starts Monday.”
    The news turned Emma’s head, her expression one of complete disbelief. “You mean you hired one a’ the Crumpton sisters to do what Renette and I do? One a’ the Perry Street Crumpton sisters that have all that money and live in that fine old house with all the servants?”
    â€œI did. And please keep in mind that Marydell is not her sister, Mamie. They’re like night and day.”
    A smile broke across Emma’s face for the first time all morning. “That may be. But I hope Miz Marydell’s got her a boatload a’ patience and some sensible shoes to wear. She’s gonna need ’em both.”
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    Maura Beth spent the rest of the day trying her best to focus on the evening review and potluck for The Member of the Wedding . After all, she and Emma had posters to place around the lobby—one each of Julie Harris as Frankie Addams and Ethel Waters as Berenice Sadie Brown from the 1952 film, and a third of the author herself—the sad-eyed but wildly Southern Carson McCullers. They also had to position and drape the buffet table just so and make doubly sure there were enough paper plates, punch cups, and silverware to go around for the potluck—always the big draw.
    But Emma’s startling confession continued to weigh heavily upon Maura Beth. At times she thought she might explode, especially being in such close proximity to Emma. She could imagine herself shaking the woman and scolding her like a naughty schoolgirl: “What on earth were you thinking, Emma? Are you planning to stand up on Sunday and tell all your fellow churchgoers about this? Do you think they’ll believe it any more than I do?”
    On breaks from all the decorating, Maura Beth only half-heartedly reviewed the critical notes she’d made while rereading the novel. Her heart wasn’t in her upcoming critical role of moderator—and even peacekeeper at times. What she really wanted to do was call up Jeremy, but she decided it wasn’t the sort of thing to discuss while he was in the teacher’s lounge and unable to speak freely. She wouldn’t even be able to talk to him about it during the book club meeting with so many people milling around, and she didn’t plan to leave the library in the interim. It would just have to wait until they both got home late that night. Jeremy would give her his best advice; then she would know exactly the right thing to do.
    At some point she realized she needed to draw up new schedules for front