Page 45 of Between Desire and Denial

Kee: Just get off it if they keep happening.

I sighed and threw my phone down on the table. She was making the dating app not fun at this point. Plus, it was right on time and Lucille knocked on the door.

She waved from the side window and pointed toward all the papers she had under her arm. I hurried to let her in, and she smiled big at me in her purple tweed dress. “I’m so happy we’re doing this. I have so much to show you!”

She set her armful of papers on the dining room table as I offered her something to drink and she showed me all the different sections of the magazine. “You’ll get a 200-word article in the opinion section.”

“The condos are already standing and so is the office building, Lucille. Don’t you think maybe more facts—actualrealinformation—would help rather than just an opinion piece?”

She fluttered around the dining room and peered down the hall. “You need to add some touches to your living space, Olive.”

She wasn’t at all concerned about the article we were discussing. “I’m more focused on what I can put in here to make Walter and Reggie change their minds about the office space.”

“Don’t forget Earl too. He wasn’t at all on board with Dimitri’s plans from the beginning.” She sat down at the table and opened up the laptop she’d brought. As she typed away, she hummed, “If I made a few changes, I could maybe get you on the front of the magazine for a feature. People wouldn’t like it. It would stir things up a bit though. Let’s see here.”

She pulled out some wired glasses and put them on. I stood over her shoulder and made light conversation. “How is Earl, by the way? I haven’t seen him since I’ve been back.”

She straightened her dress and fluffed her shoulder-length hair. When Lucille had a meeting, she dressed up even if it just encompassed coming over to my house. “He’s been busy. Have you seen your father?”

“No,” I grumbled and went back to skimming some of the articles she was adding into the little magazine.

“You should call him, Olive.”

“What could I possibly need to call him for?”

“Oh, I don’t know. To tell him you’re home?” She grabbed my phone that I’d placed on the table and waved it in front of me. “Be good to him even if he’s not to you.”

“This isn’t how I wanted to spend my day,” I ground out before I swiped the phone from her and pounded the number in. Lucille always had a way of making everyone feel like she was their grandmother who knew best. You just didn’t want to disappoint her.

My father answered on the first ring. “Olive.” His deep timbre rumbled through the phone. “I was expecting a call from you.”

“Yeah. I’m in Paradise Grove. I thought I’d let you know.”

“Your brother already did. I’m out of town for the next few weeks, but there’s a grill out soon, right? I’ll fly in. And the board meeting, I believe, in about a month or so. I’ll be back for that.”

“I’ve heard you agree with the city ordinances. You don’t want to fill the new office building with businesses.”

“I’ll agree to anything to keep that Hardy boy out of here. And if you’re really shacking up with him, I suggest you stop.”

“What?” I rolled my eyes. “You haven’t met him, and he’s—”

“I don’t care what he is. He’s in business with people we won’t associate with. Your mother would have wanted—”

I winced at him bringing her up. “Mother is gone.”

Lucille’s eyes cut to mine then, and her manicured hand immediately fell over mine.

He sighed, “I’m not an idiot. She may be gone but her legacy in this town lives on through us. We have a status to uphold.”

“Speaking of that, Knox isn’t well.”

“He’ll get better. He’s fine. He’s been working with me, doing great.” I heard someone in the background and knew my father was focusing on work rather than family.

“Doing what exactly? Because if he’s hanging out with the wrong people…”

“I’ve got my son under control. Get yourself under control if you know what’s good for you.” He hung up abruptly.

I was white knuckling the phone, ready to tell him off, and my hand shook as I set it down on the table. Lucille patted my other hand for a minute or two as the silence stretched between us.