Secret Lives of the Kudzu Debutantes by Cathy Holton

after the home ec fiasco when Lee Anne had broken down and cried and the principal had instantly sided with her. It was the thing Southern girls did when dealing with irate male authority figures. They broke down and cried and tried to look as small and helpless as possible. If Eadie had used the same tactic, she might have received nothing more than a slap on the wrist. But she had never been able to bring herself to grovel. Her stubborn, dry-eyed, stoicism had earned her the three-day suspension.
    Virginia watched Nita and Jimmy Lee dance by, doing some kind of modified two-step. Nita had her head thrown back and was laughing loudly. Virginia said, “I do hope Nita will be happy. I do hope
this
marriage will work out for her.”
    Eadie glanced at the older woman but her face seemed calm. Virginia's voice seemed a little sharp but her manner was composed and sincere. Eadie figured given other circumstances, Virginia might have been one of the greatest stage actresses of the twentieth century. She might have been a cold war spy capable of withstanding torture or sophisticated lie detector tests. “Speaking of marriage,” Eadie said, “how's Redmon?”
    Virginia's face shifted slightly, a ripple occurred just beneath the veneer of calm composure. But when she looked at Eadie, Virginia's eyes were smooth and blue as colored glass. “Isn't it wonderful,” she said brightly, “to have finally found your true soul mate?”
    She was good. Eadie would give her that. A mist seemed to have formed over Virginia's eyes, a trembling veil of unshed tears. Eadie looked away. Any expression of strong sentiment made her uncomfortable. Eadie never cried. If she had given way to tears during her wretched childhood, she would have cried herself blind by now.
    Virginia sniffed and ran one well-manicured finger lightly beneath her damp eyes. She waved at someone she knew across the yard. “But of course you already know about soul mates,” she said to Eadie, “married to Trevor and all. I mean, the Boone boys just
ooze
charm.”
    Eadie clutched her drink and looked at Virginia curiously. “Boone boys?” she said.
    It was Virginia's turn to flush. “Trevor's father, Hampton, was a handsome man, too. But you probably don't remember him.” She turned slightly to look at the assembled wedding guests. Eadie was quiet for a moment, considering this. Her wine was almost gone and when the drink was finished, she decided, this conversation was, too. “How's Charles?” she asked, trying to change the subject.
    Virginia took her time answering. She sipped her drink. Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink. “Why, Charles is fine,” she said finally. “He's been dating a girl from Valdosta. An accountant. She's got a small child, a boy I think, about ten years old. I don't know if anything will come of it, of course. But I hope it will. Charles was always so good with children.”
    Eadie shuddered. She thought, Poor
kid
. She thought,
Poor lady accountant
.
    “We're thinking about going skiing in March and he's talking about bringing the accountant and her son. Out west somewhere. Maybe Park City. Maybe Crested Butte.”
    Eadie finished her drink.
    “Of course Charles hasn't been out West since that last hunting trip. The one they all took last year. Does Trevor ever mention that trip?”
    “Never.”
    “I guess he wouldn't since he came back early.” Virginia looked down at her glass. “Since he came back before all the fun and games started. Those bad boys, those little rascals.” She smiled indulgently, like she was describing a slumber party for ten-year-olds.
    Eadie yawned and pushed herself upright. “Well, Virginia, it's been nice talking to you. I think I'll go see if Lavonne needs a hand.”
    “Of course Trevor was there for all the other trips. It was a tradition started by the Judge, you know. A trip where men get to do manly things and leave all the cares and worries of work behind them. I always encouraged the Judge