television, which I learned to appreciate. I hate that she got sick, but I never regretted the time I spent with her. Those are moments I’ll cherish. I’ve always felt guilty about not being there for my little brother when he died, so I was determined that wouldn’t happen with my mother, too.”
“That’s crazy, Liddie. You were a kid. You were not responsible for Tommy. Besides, I was the one who talked you into going to Charleston with my mom and me that day,” Julia scolded.
“Yeah, but I should have said no. If I had been home, maybe I could have done something. I could have saved him,” Lydia said.
“That is crazy. He had leukemia and had lived longer than the doctors expected, according to what Julia told me years ago when I asked about Tommy. She also said that you watched over him like a hawk, choosing to stay home whenever you could to take care of him. You were entitled to go off with your best friend for the day and have some fun,” Sonya said.
“That may be true, but I’ve always felt that it was my fault. Right or wrong, I have always felt guilty. Then my father died of a stroke several months after my mother’s cancer came back, and she succumbed to it this time. She just didn’t have another long fight in her. I was so heartbroken that I contemplated suicide. I would never have done it, but I briefly flirted with the idea. I was such a mess. I just shut down. Poor David. He had to put up with me, and I was awful to him when I even acknowledged his presence.”
“That’s understandable,” Sonya said. “I’m sure he understood.”
“I’m not so sure. You don’t know how terribly I behaved. I yelled at him over nothing or refused to talk to him. It was a bad time. It almost cost me my marriage. David was so lonely and miserable that he told me he was going to move out for a while and give me some space,” Lydia confided. “That was the wake-up call I needed. I realized that I had better pull myself out of my funk, or I was going to lose my husband. We had such a good marriage except for that. I thought we could talk about anything. So what is this all about?” Lydia asked.
“Liddie, are you sure you want to know? Maybe since David’s gone, you should just let it go if there’s no chance of getting the money back. What if the truth leads you to more pain?” Sonya asked.
“I know what you’re saying, but I need to know. I have to know,” Lydia said. “It’s more than being broke and wondering where the money went—and having some ridiculous fantasy that maybe I can get some of it back. It’s why he kept this huge secret, you know? But I am worried about what I’m going to do now. I’ve got no money and have never had a job except as an actor, and there’s not a lot of demand for thirty-nine-year-old actresses in the greater Georgetown area. What am I going to do? Who can I turn to? I have no family. I’m all alone now.”
“Wrong! You have us,” Jules said. “We’ll always be here.”
“I know, but you will all go back to your own lives soon, and we’ll lose touch again.”
“No way. We got off track for a while, but we’re going to make a new pact right now that nothing will ever come between us again,” Julia said.
“The resurrection of the CGFs,” Liz echoed.
“The renaissance of the CGFs,” Sonya said.
“And no more secrets. We’ll share what’s going on no matter what it is,” Julia said as she jumped up to help Grace who was juggling a tray of milkshakes she’d volunteered to go get at a nearby ice cream parlor.
Liz patted the chair for Julia to sit down. She handed Julia a headband to keep her hair away from her face. Next, she got out the new makeup. She blotted and patted and fussed over Julia for the next thirty minutes, refusing to let her see a mirror. Stepping back to study her work, Liz nodded with satisfaction. She finally handed Julia the little mirror so that she could see herself.
Julia was speechless. She was smiling
“That’s crazy, Liddie. You were a kid. You were not responsible for Tommy. Besides, I was the one who talked you into going to Charleston with my mom and me that day,” Julia scolded.
“Yeah, but I should have said no. If I had been home, maybe I could have done something. I could have saved him,” Lydia said.
“That is crazy. He had leukemia and had lived longer than the doctors expected, according to what Julia told me years ago when I asked about Tommy. She also said that you watched over him like a hawk, choosing to stay home whenever you could to take care of him. You were entitled to go off with your best friend for the day and have some fun,” Sonya said.
“That may be true, but I’ve always felt that it was my fault. Right or wrong, I have always felt guilty. Then my father died of a stroke several months after my mother’s cancer came back, and she succumbed to it this time. She just didn’t have another long fight in her. I was so heartbroken that I contemplated suicide. I would never have done it, but I briefly flirted with the idea. I was such a mess. I just shut down. Poor David. He had to put up with me, and I was awful to him when I even acknowledged his presence.”
“That’s understandable,” Sonya said. “I’m sure he understood.”
“I’m not so sure. You don’t know how terribly I behaved. I yelled at him over nothing or refused to talk to him. It was a bad time. It almost cost me my marriage. David was so lonely and miserable that he told me he was going to move out for a while and give me some space,” Lydia confided. “That was the wake-up call I needed. I realized that I had better pull myself out of my funk, or I was going to lose my husband. We had such a good marriage except for that. I thought we could talk about anything. So what is this all about?” Lydia asked.
“Liddie, are you sure you want to know? Maybe since David’s gone, you should just let it go if there’s no chance of getting the money back. What if the truth leads you to more pain?” Sonya asked.
“I know what you’re saying, but I need to know. I have to know,” Lydia said. “It’s more than being broke and wondering where the money went—and having some ridiculous fantasy that maybe I can get some of it back. It’s why he kept this huge secret, you know? But I am worried about what I’m going to do now. I’ve got no money and have never had a job except as an actor, and there’s not a lot of demand for thirty-nine-year-old actresses in the greater Georgetown area. What am I going to do? Who can I turn to? I have no family. I’m all alone now.”
“Wrong! You have us,” Jules said. “We’ll always be here.”
“I know, but you will all go back to your own lives soon, and we’ll lose touch again.”
“No way. We got off track for a while, but we’re going to make a new pact right now that nothing will ever come between us again,” Julia said.
“The resurrection of the CGFs,” Liz echoed.
“The renaissance of the CGFs,” Sonya said.
“And no more secrets. We’ll share what’s going on no matter what it is,” Julia said as she jumped up to help Grace who was juggling a tray of milkshakes she’d volunteered to go get at a nearby ice cream parlor.
Liz patted the chair for Julia to sit down. She handed Julia a headband to keep her hair away from her face. Next, she got out the new makeup. She blotted and patted and fussed over Julia for the next thirty minutes, refusing to let her see a mirror. Stepping back to study her work, Liz nodded with satisfaction. She finally handed Julia the little mirror so that she could see herself.
Julia was speechless. She was smiling
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