She said she was going to drive on down to Casey Key and open up toe old house and stay there for a time, quite alone. She said she would be all right. She would walk the beach, get a lot of painting done, sort herself
out.
The morning I was packing to leave the Wahini Lodge, Lorette Walker stopped by and said she heard from Cathy I was checking out. I asked her to come on in. She leaned against the countertop and lit a cigarette and said, “Stayed you a long time, huh?”
“I couldn’t tear myself away from this garden spot.”
“Lot of things happened. Always like that wherever
you go?”
“I’m happy to be able to say no.”
“That’s no good way to fold a shirt! Mess it all up for sure.” She came over and took the shirt back out of the bag, spread it out on toe bed, folded it quickly and deftly, and put it in the bag. “Best way,” she said, backing off. “Sorry I couldn’t do you much good on what you wanted me to find out.”
lot of good. You’ll never know how
“You did a much.”
“But nobody come hard-nosing around to try to make
me say it twice.”
“I told you I’d leave you out of it.” She said wistfully, “Could be better for me if you never did keep your word.”
“How do you mean?”
“I told myself, back there when I wanted to trust you some, I said okay, gal, you just go ahead and he’ll mess you up good. Be a good lesson. Stop you from ever going soft again for any whitey.”
“That’s why you did it?”
She put on a look of owlish innocence. “Well, then there was that chance of toe airplane ride you mentioned. I figured on Paris. Anyway, here’s toe change from that two hundred. I spent eighty of your dollars on people that didn’t have anything worth telling.”
“So let’s split what you’ve got left there.” She flared immediately. “So it means I got no right to tell myself I ever did a damn thing for you just for a favor? You buying me for this sixty dollar, you think?”
“Right off the slave block, woman. You did a favor, but I’ve got no right to do a favor, according to you. I know you didn’t expect a dime, but by God you’ll take that sixty dollars and you’ll buy yourself a pretty suit, something tailored, maybe a good medium shade of blue, and you will wear that damned suit, and you will accept it as a gesture of friendship and trust.”
“Well… I guess you don’t need no lessons in coming on mean, mister. I… I guess I can take it like it’s meant. And thank you very much. You’re sure? The only thing I got a right to do with it is buy a winter suit?”
“That’s how it has to be,” I said, putting the sixty left over into my wallet.
She shrugged and smiled. “Well, then… got to get
on back up to those rooms. We run pretty full last night.”
I held my hand out. “You helped a lot. And a pleasure
to get to know you, Mrs. Walker.”
After a moment of wary hesitation she shook hands. “Same to you. Good-bye.”
She opened the door and turned back, her hand on the knob, and looked at me and moistened her lips. “McGee, you have a nice safe trip back home, hear?” She bolted out and closed the door. My last glimpse and last impression of her was of the slender and vital brown of her quick legs. Another lady in a plain brown wrapper. No, that was not a good analogy, because there was nothing very plain about that sleek wrapper. It was special- flawless, matte finish and inordinately lovely.
I went back knowing that whatever had been wrong with me, any restlessness, irritability, mooniness, had come to an abrupt end. Seeing him hanging and turning so slowly had brought me back to the fullness of life, probably just because his was so evidently gone. I was full of offensive cheer, bounding health, party plans.