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I tighten my hands on the wheel. "No way. Between you, me, Mom, and Aunt Glory, we must be able to pull the money together."
Delta is quiet. Too quiet. I look at her as I pull the car up outside my trailer.
"No comeback?"
She huffs. "I already got your mom and your aunt to put in money the last time the IRS was calling. That well is tapped out."
I stare at her, jaw hanging slack. "What do you mean the last time? You mean this has happened before?"
She folds her hands in her lap and gives a tiny shrug. "Yes. A couple of times."
"A couple--" I cut myself off, because I am either about to blow a gasket or yell at Delta. Tightening my jaw, I point at her. "You didn't tell me that little fact. Aunt Delta, I need to sit down and look at the books."
She waves me off. "No, you don't."
Grabbing her hand, I force her to look at me. "I really do. If I'm going to move heaven and earth to save my inheritance, I need to be sure that the inheritance is more than its mounting debts."
Delta looks at me for a long moment. Then she sighs. "If I promise to think about it, will you let me out of this car?"
Hitting the unlock button several times, I manage to unlock the doors. "There. But don't think that I'm not coming over tomorrow to see what you've got in the way of spreadsheets."
Delta climbs out of the car, already closing the door on me and my demands. I sit for a second, wondering if Delta has a long term plan, or if she's just winging it. An unpleasant pang in my stomach tells me she's managing this place like freestyle jazz.
Damn. It turns out that everybody is faking it a little when it comes to having life figured out.
When I check my phone an hour later from the relative comfort of my bed, I have a few texts from Aunt Delta.
Pearl, if your man won't lend you cash for something you need, I think you should rethink the engagement. I hope to high heaven you're on birth control. Otherwise you're likely to get baby trapped.
Don't be ridiculous, is all I text back. I know what River's game is.
But the thought stays with me all night, following me around like a dark shadow.
Twenty-Five
River
“Wow." I walk up to the gate of the festival with Pearl on my arm. "How much of the budget would you say they spent on that sign?"
Pearl gazes up at the big neon sign announcing that we are entering the Tri-City Interdependence Jamboree. Each letter is sculpted from a local source of agriculture income. Pecans, fish, sorghum, blueberries, cotton, peaches, and a weird white substance that I would guess is milk.
"It's definitely festive." Pearl tugs my arm, pointing toward the Ferris wheel. "I don't get why they won't just call it a carnival."
I point to a small cluster of educational booths sit near the front of the event. "That's why. I think the whole shebang is funded by lobbyists."
Pearl looks around at all the rides and food booths scattered between them. Almost everyone we know is here, and those people brought their relatives. The jamboree is pretty crowded for an early Saturday afternoon. The screams of excited kids on a neon green inversion ride cut through the babble of the crowd.
I slip my arm around Pearl's waist and pull her hip against mine. She gives me a wry smile. I can't suppress the desire to kiss her, tenderly and with plenty of lip smacking.
Pearl whispers to me. "Laying it on thick, aren't you?"
I squeeze her hip. "Whatever it takes.”
Her eyes narrow on my face. "Everyone except you." She pauses. "Right?
Something dark deep in my core bares its teeth at her question. Just because it's true doesn't mean she needs to keep rubbing it in.
"Yeah, darlin’." I release her, keeping a smile on my face. "Not me. Just everyone else."
