Chapter Seven – Dawn

My mama was going to tan my hide when I got home. She had very few rules – I get home in time for dinner, which we eat together, and I bring my paycheck home every two weeks to help with the bills – and I had broken them both today.

I glanced at my watch before entering the house, 8:47. Man, I was going to be feeling this for a while. Maybe I could sneak past her to my room. She would be gone by the time I got up in the morning; if I avoided her long enough, would she eventually forget about this?

Not likely. Maybe she would let the missed dinner slide, but she would not forget about the missed paycheck. Her job cleaning rooms at the hotel did not bring in enough money to pay the bills – even living in this dump – and she depended on my money from the gas station to fill in the gaps. She would miss that money, and so she would not forget to punish me for this.

I couldn’t help it, really. On my way home, I passed old man Kramer on his way to the mortuary. I don’t know what came over me – maybe it was pity, maybe a desire to help someone, who knows – but the next thing I knew I was giving him all my money to help pay for Mr. Marks’s funeral. I didn’t think about how badly I needed it myself; the image of Mr. Marks weeping as he told me and Ryan about losing all the family’s money crowded my mind. His family would not be able to pay for his funeral, and every little bit I could give would help.

It seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that I was ready to walk into the lion’s den, I wasn’t so sure about that anymore. Okay. Deep breath. I can do this.

I entered the house quietly, trying to not draw any attention. Three steps into the living room, and -

“Reid!” Dawn ran across the room, all curly hair and white teeth, and threw herself into my arms. “It’s about time you got home, Short Stuff.” She reached up and tousled my hair. One would think that after I began to tower over her a few years ago, she would have given up the old nickname, but she still used it every time I saw her.

“What are you doing here?” Happy as I was to see her, I was also worried. Dawn lived with a family in Montgomery, working as a nanny, and almost never came home. Last time I saw her was when she came back for Gramma Irma’s funeral last year. What was she doing here now?

Just then, Mama came in the room. Luckily, she was smiling; apparently Dawn’s visit was going to sideline her rage. She gave me a peck on the cheek and put her arm around dawn. “Go on, sweetie,” she said, “tell your baby brother the good news.”

Dawn beamed at me and held up her left hand. A diamond ring sat on her third finger, catching the light from the window and throwing it back onto the walls all around us. She wiggled her fingers and jumped up to hug me again.

“You’re getting married?” I hadn’t even known Dawn was dating anyone. “When did this happen?”

She pulled me to the couch, and turned to face me. I could tell she was ready to launch into a story, so I made myself comfortable.

“Well,” she started, “his name’s Peter and he’s a lawyer. Well, he will be just as soon as he finishes law school and stuff. And guess what? He says we can come back here and he will practice in Vicksburg so I can be with you and mama! The weddin’s this summer, but I’m gonna stay here until then.”

“What about your job?”

“Nothin’.” She turned away from me, but not before I could see the blush rise to her cheeks.

“Dawn?”

“It just didn’t work out, okay?” I knew that tone. She had used it with me over and over throughout the years when I tried to get her to talk about what happened when dad left. It was the tone that said, “drop it, Reid, I don’t want to talk about this.” It was the tone that let me know that if I pushed her I would be regretting it for days. My sister could be real nasty when she wanted to be.

So I let it go. It sounded like Dawn would be around for a while, and I would get it from her eventually. For now I would let her continue to keep mama’s attention away from the fact that I had no money for the bills.