“Ruby!” Clara frowned and shook her head, then turned her attention back to Marilee. “Esmerelda said we had twenty-four hours to collect the candelabra or she was going to have you arrested.”
“Arrested!” Marilee cried. “Does she think I stole it?” Her heart began to beat faster. After all that had happened, the last thing she needed was to go to jail.
Clara shifted her gaze. “We didn’t know what to think. Especially with Grady getting fired from the church over some…well, you know.” Clara paused, as though trying to come up with the right word.
“Two-bit whore?” Ruby offered.
Clara cut her eyes at the woman. “Honestly, Ruby, the things you say.”
“Esmerelda said you probably hocked that candelabra and hightailed it out of town,” Ruby said. “Not that anybody’d really blame you, after all you’ve been through.”
Clara gave an embarrassed cough. “Perhaps we shouldn’t go into that right now, Ruby.”
Marilee was still hurt over Esmerelda Cunningham’s accusations. Esmerelda was Chickpea’s wealthiest citizen and the closest thing to royalty the town had ever seen. Marilee, who’d been involved with the fund-raiser since its conception, had personally asked the woman for a donation and had discovered she was not only a snob but stingy as well. Esmerelda had agreed to part with her beloved candelabra, but she’d been none too pleased about it.
Her first thoughts were of Grady. He could handle Esmerelda. But no, Grady was no longer in the picture. It was up to her. Her. She suddenly realized just how many problems Grady had taken care of in their sixteen years of marriage. Now they were her problems. Her moment of truth hit her in the face like a lead pipe. She was now solely responsible for her own life. That in itself was enough reason to pawn the candelabra and leave town.
Clara plucked at her hair. “No Mozart, no raffle prize. Can you imagine how utterly ridiculous we felt?”
“And Benson Contractors walked off the job this afternoon for nonpayment,” Ruby told her. “Bobby Benson said he wasn’t going to make any more repairs to Blessing Home until he was paid—in full.”
“What about the roof?” Marilee asked frantically.
Clara shook her head sadly. “The money we raised won’t come close to covering it. Bobby nailed plastic over the holes in the roof and left without so much as a fare-thee-well.”
“We’ll never be able to come up with that kind of money,” Ruby said. “Not legally, anyway.”
Marilee sank into the nearest chair. “I am so sorry.” She was close to tears. They had been working for weeks to raise funds for the unwed mothers’ home, and she had let everybody down.
“Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find lodging for twelve pregnant girls in a town this size?” Clara asked, tapping the toe of her shoe impatiently. “My place is no bigger than a shoebox, and I’ve had two seventeen-year-old expectant mothers living with me for weeks now. Then, today, they get into a catfight, and one of them packs her bags. Which reminds me—”
“I would gladly take the girl in,” Ruby interrupted, “but my place is smaller than Clara’s.”
Marilee jumped up from her chair and started toward the kitchen. “I’ll call Bobby Benson right now and explain.”
Clara turned to close the door, then paused at the sight of splintered wood. Instead of saying anything, she merely shook her head, as though nothing would surprise her at this point.
Ruby followed Marilee. “Bobby left town this afternoon for a week-long fishing trip.”
“How could you do this to us?” Clara repeated. “I’m so mad I can’t stand it. Why, I feel like slapping somebody.”
“Slap Marilee,” Ruby said, “if it’ll make you feel better.”
Marilee stepped closer. “Go ahead. It certainly beats having my head chewed off.”
Clara drew herself up proudly. “I happen to be a lady, and I prefer to act like one, even if you did let us down.”
“Enough, already!” Marilee cried, feeling as though she might pull her hair out any minute. “You’ve made your point. I blew it!”
Both women stared at her openmouthed. “Dear, you don’t have to shout,” Clara said. “There is absolutely nothing wrong with our hearing.”
Marilee planted her hands on her hips. “I know the two of you are going to find this hard to believe, but I’ve been preoccupied the past few days. My life has completely fallen apart, so I’d appreciate it if you’d cut me some slack.”
“What Grady did was despicable,” Ruby said gently, only to have Clara nudge her hard. “Oh, Clara, stop it. We have to talk about it. We can’t just pretend it never happened.” She walked over and hugged Marilee. “Honey, how did you find out?”
“Grady told me,” she said calmly. “Said he had feelings for another woman and was tired of living a lie. Said he didn’t belong on the pulpit. Josh overheard the whole thing. By the time Grady met with the church board and received his dismissal, Josh had packed his father’s clothes, as well as his own.”
“Oh, Marilee, how awful for you,” Clara said.
“You must’ve started packing as well,” Ruby said. “By the time Clara and I heard the news, you’d already up and gone.”
“I was too embarrassed to stay. All I could think of was coming here.”
Clara’s look softened. “I wouldn’t really have slapped you.” She paused. “Marilee, what happened to your neck?”
“What I want to know is what happened to that ceiling beam?” Ruby said, glancing up.
Marilee gave a grunt of disgust. “I tried to hang myself.”
Clara gasped. “Marilee, how can you say such a thing?”
Ruby shot her a dark look. “That’s not a bit funny. Not one bit.”
“Hang yourself, indeed,” Clara quipped.
Marilee realized she’d gone too far. She must be hysterical. “I’m sorry. Truth is, I have termites. As for my neck, I think my mother’s pearl choker caused a rash.” She was surprised how easily the lies slipped from her lips.
“That’s the very reason I don’t wear jewelry,” Clara announced. “It makes me break out every time. As for those termites, you’d better have someone take care of it right away. I’ve heard what kind of damage they can do. You wouldn’t believe what happened to my cousin.”
Ruby frowned and shook her head. “Hush, Clara. The last thing Marilee needs to hear is one of your horror stories about what happened to somebody in your family. Can’t you see the poor girl has enough on her mind? Her husband has dumped her for a woman with tangerine-colored hair, and her son wants nothing to do with her. Why, folks can talk of nothing else. I don’t know how poor Marilee will ever be able to show her face in public again. I think she can wait a couple of days before worrying about stupid termites.”
Marilee’s look was deadpan. “Thank you, Ruby. I feel much better now that you’ve put it all into perspective for me.”
“You’re welcome, honey.”
“I suppose we shouldn’t have been so hard on you because you forgot the benefit,” Clara said. “I wouldn’t be so upset if Esmerelda hadn’t caused such a ruckus. And then those pregnant girls had to get into a snit with one another. I had to break it up. Which reminds me—”
“Grady has lost his mind,” Ruby declared. “It’s that blood pressure thing. The minute a man has health problems he has to go out and prove to himself he’s still got what it