like that. “Yes,”
she said. “Yes. She put up the seed money and is majority owner. I run it and do all
the buying. But you’re right; I never saw myself doing this either. But now that I’m
doing it, I can’t imagine another way. I love it. I really do.”
“You run it alone?” he asked.
“No. Norah works with me part time and a girl named Lida, also.”
“Lida,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair. “How do I know that name?”
Kate looked up to the ceiling. Damn. Minefields existed in every word she spoke. “Lida,”
she said. “Is the girl who was in the wilderness with me right before I left. The
one I stayed for…”
Jack held up his hand. “Yep, I remember.” His eyes closed and for the first time since
he’d seen her on the baseball field, his smile dissipated. Then he opened his eyes.
“So, tell me about your sisters. How are they?”
For the remainder of the meal, they talked about families and siblings, about jobs
and cities, until Grandma came to pick up Caleb. Kate stayed at the table as Jack
walked his son outside.
Alone at the table, Kate realized she’d never told Jack about Lida coming to South
Carolina. How the girl she’d stayed with in the wilderness for all those years ago
was still with her now.
Mimsy Clothing had been open for three years when Lida had shown up at the front door
with a duffel bag. Considering that Kate had thought about Lida almost every day since
leaving her in the wilderness with the new field guide, it took Kate longer to recognize
Lida than it should have. She blamed the complete surprise, like seeing a desert cactus
in Key West.
“Hi, Katie,” Lida said and dropped her filthy bag onto the white slipcovered chair.
In an instinctual movement, Kate picked up the bag and placed it on the floor. “May
I help you?”
“I think you already have,” Lida said, and then laughed that deep, raspy sound that
came from smoking since she was eleven years old.
The remembering came in a sudden wave, and Kate embraced the young girl, hugging her
hard and holding tight. “Oh! I’ve thought about you every day.” She stepped back and
took the girl’s face in her hands. “I tried to find you. I called Winsome, but they
weren’t allowed to give me your information. I’ve wondered…”
“Well, no more wondering.” Lida shrugged her shoulders. “Here I am.”
“How are you? Where have you been? What are you doing here?”
“How many of those do you want me to answer?”
“All, but not at once.” Kate took Lida’s hands. “Sit, tell me everything.”
It took the afternoon to catch up on the previous nine years of Lida’s nomadic life,
in which she’d somehow finished high school and was at that moment trying to enroll
in community college, thinking that South Carolina might just be the right place for
such a thing.
Kate hired Lida, helping her find a small garage apartment. Exactly as Kate had put
her hand over her unborn child all those years ago, and somehow connected Lida and
Luna, this seemed a second chance to do at least one thing right. Lida had seemed
a symbol of hope and Kate grabbed onto it as a life raft with a flag of faith.
Months after Lida began working at Mimsy, she’d learned to run the store as well as,
and sometimes better than, Kate. Natural and comfortable in her own skin, her dreadlocks
pulled into a ponytail, her face fresh and consistently smiling, all the customers
loved her. She had a knack for knowing what outfit would work on what woman and they
all grew to trust her, often asking for her on the days she wasn’t there.
While Kate thought about Lida, Jack startled her by returning and holding out his
hand for her to stand. She looked up to him in absolute wonder. Yes, he was real.
* * *
Standing outside the restaurant, feeling as if she’d come out of a movie theater in
the middle of the day, Kate put on her sunglasses, shielding the
she said. “Yes. She put up the seed money and is majority owner. I run it and do all
the buying. But you’re right; I never saw myself doing this either. But now that I’m
doing it, I can’t imagine another way. I love it. I really do.”
“You run it alone?” he asked.
“No. Norah works with me part time and a girl named Lida, also.”
“Lida,” Jack said, leaning back in his chair. “How do I know that name?”
Kate looked up to the ceiling. Damn. Minefields existed in every word she spoke. “Lida,”
she said. “Is the girl who was in the wilderness with me right before I left. The
one I stayed for…”
Jack held up his hand. “Yep, I remember.” His eyes closed and for the first time since
he’d seen her on the baseball field, his smile dissipated. Then he opened his eyes.
“So, tell me about your sisters. How are they?”
For the remainder of the meal, they talked about families and siblings, about jobs
and cities, until Grandma came to pick up Caleb. Kate stayed at the table as Jack
walked his son outside.
Alone at the table, Kate realized she’d never told Jack about Lida coming to South
Carolina. How the girl she’d stayed with in the wilderness for all those years ago
was still with her now.
Mimsy Clothing had been open for three years when Lida had shown up at the front door
with a duffel bag. Considering that Kate had thought about Lida almost every day since
leaving her in the wilderness with the new field guide, it took Kate longer to recognize
Lida than it should have. She blamed the complete surprise, like seeing a desert cactus
in Key West.
“Hi, Katie,” Lida said and dropped her filthy bag onto the white slipcovered chair.
In an instinctual movement, Kate picked up the bag and placed it on the floor. “May
I help you?”
“I think you already have,” Lida said, and then laughed that deep, raspy sound that
came from smoking since she was eleven years old.
The remembering came in a sudden wave, and Kate embraced the young girl, hugging her
hard and holding tight. “Oh! I’ve thought about you every day.” She stepped back and
took the girl’s face in her hands. “I tried to find you. I called Winsome, but they
weren’t allowed to give me your information. I’ve wondered…”
“Well, no more wondering.” Lida shrugged her shoulders. “Here I am.”
“How are you? Where have you been? What are you doing here?”
“How many of those do you want me to answer?”
“All, but not at once.” Kate took Lida’s hands. “Sit, tell me everything.”
It took the afternoon to catch up on the previous nine years of Lida’s nomadic life,
in which she’d somehow finished high school and was at that moment trying to enroll
in community college, thinking that South Carolina might just be the right place for
such a thing.
Kate hired Lida, helping her find a small garage apartment. Exactly as Kate had put
her hand over her unborn child all those years ago, and somehow connected Lida and
Luna, this seemed a second chance to do at least one thing right. Lida had seemed
a symbol of hope and Kate grabbed onto it as a life raft with a flag of faith.
Months after Lida began working at Mimsy, she’d learned to run the store as well as,
and sometimes better than, Kate. Natural and comfortable in her own skin, her dreadlocks
pulled into a ponytail, her face fresh and consistently smiling, all the customers
loved her. She had a knack for knowing what outfit would work on what woman and they
all grew to trust her, often asking for her on the days she wasn’t there.
While Kate thought about Lida, Jack startled her by returning and holding out his
hand for her to stand. She looked up to him in absolute wonder. Yes, he was real.
* * *
Standing outside the restaurant, feeling as if she’d come out of a movie theater in
the middle of the day, Kate put on her sunglasses, shielding the
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