Dunaway's Crossing Read Online Free Page B

as well ask her to kiss Miss Netta feet,” she mumbled to the sugar spoon.
    “Maybe I will,” Bea Dot replied.
    Cal shook her head at her mistress’s lie. At the same time, impatience grew in her gut. Miss Lavinia was taking too long to get to the point.
    “Why don’t you go to Pineview to visit Netta?” Miss Lavinia continued like a mind reader.
    Cal heard Bea Dot cough and plunk her glass on the table. “Aunt Lavinia, I can’t just pack up and go to Pineview.”
    “Why not?”
    “Well, first of all, I haven’t been invited.”
    “Oh, good heavens, Bea Dot.” Exasperation rose in Miss Lavinia’s voice. “You know that’s just a formality. You know you’re welcome at Netta’s any time.”
    “No, Aunt Lavinia, I don’t know that.” This time Bea Dot’s voice lost patience.
    Another glass plunked down, and Cal hoped they weren’t sloshing lemonade on the table. Those white circles were the devil to get out of the finish.
    “You two are being downright silly,” Aunt Lavinia said. “You are a nineteen year-old married woman, and she is a twenty-nine year-old mother-to-be. But the truth is that you’re both behaving like children. It’s well past time to bury the hatchet.”
    California pursed her lips and widened her eyes. She’d never heard Miss Lavinia raise her voice. Cal put the meat fork down and listened intently.
    “We didn’t just have a spat,” Bea Dot protested. “Netta refused to come to my wedding. She was supposed to be my matron of honor.”
    “No, be fair,” Aunt Lavinia replied. “She didn’t think you should marry Ben, and when she voiced her concerns, you told her not to attend.” Bea Dot’s aunt sighed before saying, “True, she crossed a line with her absence, but considering all that’s happened, I can’t help wishing you’d listened to her.”
    California stretched her face in surprise. Usually Miss Lavinia ignored the elephant in the room.
    “I didn’t have a choice,” Bea Dot said.
    “Why not?”
    Cal’s eyes popped open. Would Bea Dot tell?
    At the young woman’s stammer, Cal relaxed again and picked the meat fork back up. The sound of footsteps told her Lavinia had left her seat to join Bea Dot on the sofa. The woman’s voice softened.
    “Bea Dot, darling, you have no idea what it’s like to have siblings. Netta was the closest thing you had to a sister. But as the oldest of three girls, I can assure you that precious as they are, sisters can also pester us worse than mosquitoes. That’s what happened between you two. Netta only wanted what was best for you.”
    A long pause nagged at California. What was happening in there?
    “You must know,” Miss Lavinia continued, “Netta loves you. Truly. Why, she even named you.”
    “Oh, that’s not true,” Bea Dot protested. “I was named after my two grandmothers.”
    “Yes, Beatrice and Dorothy were your grandmothers, but Netta complained that Beatrice Dorothy was too stuffy, and she started calling you Bea Dot. You didn’t know that?”
    After a pause, Bea Dot said no.
    California put a hand on her hip and huffed. She’d told Bea Dot that story dozens of times.
    “A visit with Netta would be good for both of you. Staying at home so much, Netta could use a companion. And you would benefit from some time away from home.”
    “Oh, I’m fine.”
    “Don’t hide your problems from me, young lady.” Aunt Lavinia’s voice grew urgent. “I saw that knot on your head. Dr. Arnold did too.”
    At Miss Lavinia’s frank talk, Cal leaned toward the kitchen door, tempted to peek around it to see Bea Dot’s face. Instead, she furiously rubbed the meat fork, which shone like a mirror from its five-minute buffing.
    Bea Dot’s silence provoked Aunt Lavinia’s persistence. “Has he given you any more trouble, dear?”
    “No, he hasn’t,” Bea Dot spoke up after a pause. “In fact, he’s been the opposite—too polite, as if he just met me. At breakfast he says good morning and comments on the weather.