Page 6 of Believe

“Where are we going? My house is back that way.”

“I’m starvin’, Miss Esta. Mama and Daddy are in Houston visitin’ my sister for the week and I don’t cook much. I thought we’d have some lunch.”

“You’re a terrible liar, Beau. But I could eat.”

Lunch was actually quite enjoyable. Miss Esta spoke a great deal about her husband but not much about her children, which worried Beau. When they left, she looked tired and he wondered if he’d asked her to do too much.

Pulling into her driveway, he noticed that the new roof was on, along with a new front door, new porch railings and all the boards replaced. The shutters were repaired and painted and there was a note on the door.

“What in the world…” she whispered.

“What’s wrong?” he asked innocently.

“What’s wrong? Beauregard Couvillion this best not have been your doing!”

“Miss Esta, what’s wrong?” he asked.

“Look at my house! It’s new. The roof, the porch, the door, all of it! What on earth?”

Beau helped her from the car and she seemed to have some renewed energy as she took the steps onto the porch. She stepped up, then stepped back down and up again. She wiggled the railings, which didn’t move at all and then took the note from the front door.

Sorry we entered your home but we thought there was a gas leak. As it turns out your unit just needed a few minor tweaks. All is good now – everything is safe.

“A gas leak? Do y’all think I’m stupid?” she asked turning to look at Beau.

“Miss Esta, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Let’s get inside, it’s about to rain.”

The inside of the house was no longer cold. It was warm and comfortable and the smell of plaster and paint drying hit him immediately. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed that the damaged area had been repaired.

“I know you had something to do with this,” she said. He waited for ire but when nothing came, he only smiled at her. “Get them apples home and do what I told you.”

“Miss Esta that man gave me way too much of everything,” he said looking in the bag. “I’m going to leave the extras here. I’ll see you at the store in a few days.”

She watched as he placed eight apples on the table, several ears of corn, a bag of green beans, rhubarb, red potatoes, and squash. It would feed her for a week.

As Beau opened the door, the tiny, wrinkled hand gripped his wrist. He looked down at the old woman, her eyes watery.

“I had a lovely day, Beau. Thank you.” Beau’s face lit up with a smile and he nodded.

“Yes, ma’am. See you soon!”

CHAPTER FOUR

“Hi. Any luck?” asked Ruth to her husband of nearly fifteen years, John.

“Nothing. You’d think that people would be hiring around the holidays but nothing,” he frowned.

“You’ll find something, John. You always do. I took on an extra shift at the store. It won’t be a lot but it might be enough.”

“How are the kids?” he asked.

“They’re fine, honey. J.J. and Allison are too young to understand. We’ve got food, we’ve got heat, and we’ll make it.”

“You always have such a positive attitude,” he said shaking his head. He pulled his wife in for a hug and kiss, holding her tightly. No matter what, they would do this together.

“Daddy!” yelled the children running towards him.

“Whoa, whoa,” he said holding up his hands. “Who are you?”