Our Labor Day Cookout... Leigh here: I am so glad the holiday is over. Why do supposedly joyful occasions always turn into a mess? For one thing the heat index was over 100º and the beach was packed with tourists. That’s actually okay. It’s good to see people having fun in spite of the heat. But, because of the crowd, we were confined to MY deck for the cookout. Why is it always my condo, my deck, my … everything? Sometimes I feel like I have “Use and abuse me” written across my forehead.
Things didn’t turn out exactly as planned, although there was a lot of laughing and giggling at the end. Guthrie came with Jack, his new “friend,” and his famous brownies. You remember, the brownies we were certain weren’t laced with anything related to hemp since he promised he’d used his whole stash to help us out in MURDER IS THE PITS. Wrong! It seems good-ole Jack has a stash of his own and doesn’t regard his body as a temple like Timothy did. Fortunately, we ate the brownies for dessert.
The cookout itself was typically Southern–deviled eggs, baked beans, potato salad, hot dogs and hamburgers. Yep, it was a real sugar/cholesterol/heart attack feast and would have been pleasant if Rich and Penny Sue hadn’t been on the outs. Seems Rich’s former wife who passed away of cancer, Bless Her Heart, was an only child with no relatives other than her mother. Momma Hazel had just called Rich, her only family of sorts, to say she’d had some problems and the doctors thought she might have a “female” cancer. She was going for tests the week after Labor Day. Knowing Hazel was alone, kind-hearted Rich decided to drive to Atlanta to support her. Penny Sue appreciated Rich’s position, but was not letting him out of her sight. She thought this was the perfect opportunity for her to visit Judge Daddy who’d taken up with “some woman.”
“I’ll bet she’s a gold-digging hussy,” Penny Sue groused through most of our supper. “Daddy’s taken her to his houseboat on Lake Lanier! How could he? Besides the condo here, that was Momma’s favorite place!” It was about that time that Penny Sue ditched her hamburger for about three of Guthrie’s brownies. “Mmm-mm, this is a good batch, Guthrie. Maybe one of your best.” Her smile grew wider the more she ate.
Penny Sue’s enthusiasm drew everyone, except Ruthie and me, to the brownies. Ruthie’s arched eyebrow told me the brownies weren’t straight Duncan Hines. Even Kevin had two! Before we knew it everyone else was giggling and foraging in the kitchen for wine and chocolate. The party ended when they polished off my hurricane box and decided they needed a nap. Thank Heaven for naps!
As everyone headed to their condos and beds, Ruthie whispered to me, “I think Jack may mean trouble.” Truer words were never spoken. We both wished Timothy would come back!
