Chapter 39

The sun floods the bedroom, bringing with it a sense of hope I do not want to see or feel near me.

"Close it!" I shout from underneath the covers. "I told you I'm not ready to face the world Cameron!"

I feel Albert moving next to me, trying to get out from underneath the covers, but I grab him and press him against my chest, as if I am protecting him from bursting into flames if the sun were to reach him.

"It ain't Cameron sugar. And you can't stay in here until the cows come home. It's time to get up," the sweet voice says, and I feel the indent on the bed as Grace takes her seat next to me.

Cameron was right. Grace was anything but a snob. She might look like Naomi Campbell from the early 90's, but she came from humble beginnings. Her grandmother was a maid on this very farm, and her great-grandmama was a house slave. She was brought up on this farm, and after generations of horrible disgraces against her family, she now single handedly runs the entire farm since Will's father had his second heart attack.

I peek out from underneath the covers. Albert takes this as his chance to get away from me, and runs over the bed to greet Grace with lots of kisses, which she returns with enthusiasm.

"Your familiar is a very gentle soul. You should take care of him by getting out of that bed. You know, the chickens are already in the coop. There's nothin' you can do about the situation right now, so best get up and face the world," Grace says with a sweet smile as she scratches Albert between the ears, which makes him give soft little whines.

"I'm not ready to face the world. E.J. thinks I am the worst person ever," I answer, wanting to pull the covers back over my head again.

"The peach trees are starting to bloom, and I am not going to wave my pom-poms for you stayin' in bed. It's been over a month. You barely leave the bed. Ya'll are actually being very rude house guests. And I like seein' Albert every now and again," she answers. "So now is the time to get up. You know, my grandmama always said you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, and at this point you need some flies in your ointment."

"You do know I barely understand what you're saying?" I ask Grace. Sure, I love her Southern drawl, and her quirky sayings, but most of the time it leaps over my head.

"All I was tryin' to say to ya'll is that I won't throw you a party for layin' in bed. And you need some damn friends. And you ain't gonna get friends by bein' a sourpuss. You need to put a little honey out, and you will see, sweetness will bring you lots of friends," she says with another gentle smile. "Now, I want you to get out of bed. The family is finally here. The weddin' is around the corner, and you haven't even met William Snr yet. And ya'll better be thankful to him. This is his roof you are sleeping under."

What she says hits me with a pound of guilt. Ever since my phone call with E.J. I haven't been getting out of bed at all. I haven't even met my host. Sure, he only dines with the family once a week, since he's a bit weak after his second heart attack. Will has come for dinner with Cameron and me most nights and told me all about his father, and how he married young Grace who was working in the house at the time he had his heart attack. Their story is one for the story books. Apparently William Snr was working his ass off in trying to keep the farm running for years. Grace's mother was his right hand, making sure the kids and the house was perfectly looked over while William Snr was out in the fields, making sure everything ran smoothly. When Grace's mother passed away, Grace stepped into her mother's shoes, but before long she fell in love with her boss. It took him almost dying to admit that he was in love with her as well. The rest as they say is history.

"I'm just not ready to face the world," I repeat to Grace, really just wanting to remain in bed licking my wounds.

"No sugar, no. What if I stayed in bed feelin' sorry for myself every time somethin' bad happened to me. Then I would not be the Madame Madison that I am now. Sometimes bad things happen in life and ya'll have a choice. You can choose to stay on the ground, or you can get up and make the most of it. Cameron told me what happened to you. Give it time. A lie can only run so fast. In time the truth will outrun it and you will come out on top," Grace says, and this time she reaches over and pulls the covers off me, exposing my naked torso. "Now get up. Stop bein' silly. You are pretty as a peach on the outside. Now show that you are pretty on the inside as well."

"I really love him," I sigh, starting to get into a sitting position.

"Then you fight for your man. But you can't fight for him while you are layin' in bed with the covers over your head. You can't fight and hide at the same time. I don't know how many times I have to tell it to ya'll," Grace answers and gets up from the bed. "Now brunch will be served right next to the West plantation in an hour from now. Don't be late. And shave. You are startin' to look somethin' awful."

"Yes Ma'am," I answer and for the first time in days a smile forms around my mouth. "I will be there in a minute."

"Best take more than a minute and make sure you look respectful. No more of this feelin' sorry for yourself."

She walks over to the door, and then Grace turns around and smiles at me again.

"Be quick. I made some lovely gravy and biscuits to die for."

With a mouth that is watering I jump out of bed as she leaves the room and start looking around for something respectful to wear.

Getting everyone's names down doesn't take too long. There is obviously Cameron and Will that I know, and of course Grace. Then there is Mister William Snr at the head of the table standing underneath the willow tree. On the other side of the table is Will's brother Stuart, Will's little brother, and his newly wedded wife, Jessica-Lynne.

"Why daddy said to me; 'why sugar, don't put the horses in front of the wagon. It helps to be patient.' But I told him, no daddy, I wanna be a mama as soon as possible. Daddy William would love to have a grandson runnin' around the farm," Jessica-Lynne tells the table, whilst every now and again touching her stomach. "So now Stuart and I are trying for our first one."

"That's just fine and dandy," Grace says with a huge smile on her face. "I've always wanted to be a grandmama and spoil a little one rotten."

"Well... Technically you won't be the grandmama. You ain't blood Grace," Jessica-Lynne answers, and I can immediately feel Will tense up who took a seat right next to me.

From what I could understand from Cameron, Jessica-Lynne never quite accepted Grace as part of the family, even though Jessica-Lynne joined the family several years after Grace. Jessica-Lynne comes from one of the older families in the region, and to put it lightly, she has her prejudices.

"Now Jess, darlin'," old Mister William says. "Grace is just as much part of the family as you are. Just remember you're not blood neither."

It puts a smile on my face when Mister William stands up for his lovely wife, and I can't help but wink at Cameron sitting on the other side of Will. He smiles as well, probably just as glad that his future sister-in-law won't get away with being an utter bitch.

"So the weddin' is in a week huh?" Stuart speaks the very first words I have heard him speak since greeting everyone.

"Yes," Will answers. "We are going into town this afternoon to pick up the wedding rings, and we still need to finalize the thank-you gifts."

"When we got married that was done months in advance," Jessica-Lynne makes herself heard as she runs her hands through her strawberry blonde hair, making a hairband appear from nowhere and tying it into a ponytail. "Then again, we didn't have a quick shot-gun weddin' like some other people. We took our time to plan the perfect weddin'. Ya'll should have also maybe waited a bit longer."

"We would have, but as you say we didn't want a shotgun wedding, and I think I might become pregnant soon," Cameron chirps from the other side of me, making it no secret how he feels about Jessica-Lynne, but his snotty remark makes Grace snort into the glass of juice she just took a sip from.

"Why you..." Jessica-Lynne looks at Cameron as if she is trying to decide on the best way to kill him. "Gays can't become pregnant. Personally I think that they shouldn't be able to adopt either. I mean, a kid needs a mama and a daddy. How on earth would two daddy's work?"

This time I am the one who decides not to keep my mouth shut, but before I can tell Jessica-Lynne to stick it where the sun doesn't shine, Grace chimes in.

"Well, bitches maybe shouldn't become pregnant or adopt either, yet here we are, ain't we sugar?"

For a moment it looks like everyone around the table is getting redder and redder, but before someone else can say something, Mister William hits his hand against the table.

"No more!" he says loudly. "We are here to enjoy a family brunch, and I don't care if anyone here is madder than a wet hen. I will have order and you young'uns better be respectin' me and your step-mama."

With his last words he allows his eyes to rest specifically on Jessica-Lynne, who weirdly does look like a wet hen, all blown up. It takes everything I have in me not to chuckle now that I finally understand that you need to see these Southern sayings in action to truly understand and appreciate them.

"So why does Will not speak with a Southern drawl?" I ask, trying my best to break the tension.

"I went to boarding school in New York state, and after that stayed there for college," Will answers. "After all the years there, I guess I just kinda lost the Southern way of speaking."

"He thinks he is better than the rest of us, runnin' off to become a Yank," Stuart pipes up again, but he says it with a smile, making it seem like he really is just joking.

"Daddy said to tell ya'll that he will be happy to give the meat for the weddin'. He wants everyone to have a nice dinner at least," Jessica-Lynne makes herself known. Obviously she can't stay out of the limelight for too long.

"There won't be meat," Cameron answers quickly. "So please give your father our thanks, but as I am a vegetarian, and Will is also trying his best, there won't be any meat at the wedding."

"But daddy would be so disappointed by that. What will the people eat?" Jessica-Lynne wants to know. "I mean, people will be comin' from far away. You need to give them somethin' that'll make them full."

"We will serve food. That will make them full. But I would be damned if we have to brutally murder a cow to do so," Cameron answers, and again I can feel the tension over the table.

"I can make the most wonderful vegan gumbo, a recipe comin' down from my great-great-grandmama when they didn't have meat to cook back in the day," Grace offers, again with a smile to try and diffuse the situation.

"Oh dear, not the slavery story again," Jessica-Lynne sighs out of turn, but this time Mister William is having none of it.

"This brunch is over!" he shouts and slams his hands on the table. "Jessica-Lynne, we love you as part of this family, but if you once again disrespect me or my wife there will be trouble. I am worn slap out with the way you treat other people who you think ain't good enough. If I remember correctly your grandpapa was nothin' more than a rapist with no respect for no woman. And I will be damned if you think you are better than others. Just remember that ya'll stay under my roof, and if ya'll don't like my rules you can move out and go and start a new life on your daddy's farm where you can look down on the help, and teach my grandbaby you want to have to hate gays, but I won't have it under my roof."

Everyone around the table seems to have lost their tongues, and even Stuart has dipped his head, not looking at anyone while his wife seems to try her best to signal to him for help against his father.

"Now, if you don't have nothin' else to say Jessica-Lynne, we accept that Cameron does not want your daddy's slaughtered cow, and that Grace will be makin' a nice gumbo for the weddin', a recipe that has much more greater history than what your family can dream to have. And if that includes stories of slavery, then you best listen to them and hang your head in shame for what your granddaddy and his daddy did to Grace and her people. At least she can say she worked for what she has. You had everythin' you have dropped in your lap," Mister William ends before he sits down and lifts his hand to his chest, trying to calm himself down before he very softly says; "Now do you have anythin' left to say for yourself Jessica-Lynne?"

"No Papa," she answers, but her eyes still throw daggers between Cameron and Grace.

"No apologies you would like to issue?" Mister William asks again.

For a moment it looks like Jessica-Lynne would rather eat her handbag before apologizing, but then she says; "I'm awful sorry Grace. You will make a wonderful step-grandmama. And sorry Cameron and Will. You have the right to have any kind of weddin' you'd like."

"Now isn't that much better," Mister William says with a smile even though I think Jessica-Lynne is being very insincere. "Now let's enjoy the last part of brunch. In silence preferably."

With a smile on my face and another wink to Cameron, we continue eating Grace's biscuits and gravy in silence, knowing that we will have a lot to laugh about later.