Nightingale Page #2

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You hear that, Gloria? Our conversations!

I swear, it's like there's some conspiracy

that says I can't be

friends with another man.

I mean, is there some sort of

friendship law I'm not aware of?

If so, illuminate me!

Sh*t, I hate talking to

this f***ing machine.

Sorry, sorry.

I know you hate it when

I use that language.

I'm getting better, actually.

Mother says so.

Edward, just give me a call.

Just please... Just give me a call.

Please?

Trout in walnut sauce.

Love that.

Roast sherry duck.

Hmm.

I don't know.

Sh*t!

This should be fun.

All right, hang on!

Okay, here we go.

Ready?

Oh, look!

Nice stationery.

"My dearest Lillian,

"grace and peace to you

from the Lord, our Father."

She sounds like Paul's letter

to the Ephesians.

"I trust my words find you in good health.

"You are my oldest friend

and I do miss you so.

"It has been beastly hot here in Mobile

as I'm sure you remember.

"Zachariah and Maybelline

"are expecting their first

grandbaby next spring,

"which will make me a grandmama

for the very first time,

"a development about which

I have decidedly mixed feelings."

I bet she does.

"James and I have discussed your dilemma

"and feel Peter's words and expectations are

beyond the pale of a Christian household.

"He is a confused and tortured young man,

"and while the temptation to succumb

to your more tender instincts

"may be great, you must hold steadfast

"to your knowledge of the Lord's Word.

"Remember what Jesus said

in the Gospel of Matthew.

"'Anyone who loves his son more than me

"'is not worthy of me.'

"I know in my heart that eternal damnation

"is not the fate of

your most cherished boy.

"We must pray that someday soon

he will meet a Christian woman

"of unfailing compassion and grace.

"Until that day, please know

you are in my thoughts and prayers

"and that I remain your most loyal friend,

"Charlene Carothers."

"Dear Charlene,

"please excuse this typewritten missive.

"Adjustments to my medications

have worsened my tremors

"to the point where

my handwriting is unreadable."

"You should know that Peter

takes extremely good care of me.

"Indeed... Wisdom...

"Please entirely disregard

the content of my last letter.

"Choices... Recently of

Peter's friend Edward...

"Peter cooked us a delicious meal

"of grilled trout in walnut sauce.

"I hope you can see for yourself...

"Love surpasses all understanding,

as you well know.

"Until then, I'll expect you

to trust my judgment.

"Sincerely, your friend, Lillian."

Please, please, God, let him pick up.

Hello? Edward?

Is that really you?

It's Peter. Peter Snowden.

I've missed you so badly!

I wasn't sure we'd ever speak again.

No, I've been calling you for days.

Gloria's been blocking my calls.

Are you free to speak now?

Can... Can you talk?

Okay, listen, I have something to tell you.

Mother has moved away.

It's true.

We have the place all to ourselves,

just like we talked about.

Yeah, so I want you to

come over to celebrate.

I wanna...

I wanna cook you something special.

You can?

You can come over?

When?

Edward's coming next Friday.

That really doesn't give me much time.

I'm either gonna do that new trout recipe

or maybe the roast duck.

I haven't decided yet.

Your comments are very welcome.

I believe in God the Father.

It's awfully easy to think sometimes

that He's not listening.

Don't you ever feel that way?

But that's what makes

this night so special,

to know that He is listening

and that He does care about me

and that He does love me.

I mean, it's just breathtaking.

But I can't just sit here, though! Oh!

When I think about this house

and everything that needs to get done,

Lord help me.

I know what I need to do.

Look, Mother.

It's Nana's quilt.

You always loved this one.

Hello, Vicki?

It's Peter.

Yeah, I know, I got a new cell phone.

Of course she knows about it.

It's her idea, practically.

She needs to reach me at work sometimes.

Good Lord, of course we can afford it.

We're not paupers, you know.

I assume Jenny's off to school?

I did call you right back.

No, I did not say immediately.

Oh, please, I did not.

Look, Vicki, I said

I'd call you back and I did.

Man, you're so contentious!

Anyway, yeah, listen,

I have some exciting news.

Yeah, we're gonna redecorate.

Yeah, everything!

Yeah, I'm serious.

It's about time, don't you think?

This place hasn't been touched

since Daddy left.

How long ago was that, 30 years?

I swear I look at this place sometimes,

it's like a mausoleum.

I'm just gonna back up a truck

and gut it like a fish.

Like Daddy used to do

on that pontoon boat, remember?

Remember how he used to

disembowel those catfish?

Well, that's what

I'm gonna do to this place.

I swear I'm just gonna disembowel it.

Of course she knows about this.

Look, she's very amenable to my ideas,

you know, Vicki.

You talk about her

like she's some kind of monster.

She's really not.

She's actually quite reasonable.

She has been lately, anyway.

Yeah, new carpeting.

New paint.

Definitely new draperies.

I don't know how much that'll cost.

Not that much, probably.

Who cares anyway?

We'll just put it on the MasterCard.

We should have started this 10 years ago

when we got that settlement money!

Could have done

a little bit at a time, like I said.

Or we could have hired somebody.

Instead I'm faced with this

huge f***ing job all by myself.

What the hell do you care?

It's not like you ever entertain.

You'd be content to live

in this dusty old mausoleum

'til the Second Coming of the Lord.

So, I'm stuck doing

everything myself, as usual!

Edward will come to this filthy,

miserable hovel

and I'll just be humiliated.

You'd love that, wouldn't you?

Don't even try to deny it.

Amen.

Good Lord, can't I get a moment's peace?

Hello?

Oh. Hello, Mrs. Carothers.

Mrs. Carothers,

you know Mother would

never let me call you Charlene.

That would be disrespectful.

No, I'm sorry, she's... She's not here.

She's, um...

She's playing bridge this afternoon

with her friends at the church.

'Course I'm sure.

Why, where else would she be?

No, no, that was last year.

They... They changed the

schedule this year.

Anyway, how are you?

Uh-huh.

Yeah, how's the weather in Mobile?

Oh, I'm fine, Mrs. Carothers,

thank you for asking.

We're just...

We're just doing

a little remodeling around here,

which is quite a bit of work,

as you well know.

So much to be done.

Out with the old, though,

isn't that what they say?

Yeah, I'll tell her you called.

I'll give her that message.

Hey, you know what?

You should write her one of your letters.

You know how much she loves

to get your letters.

My first thought was to

replace the carpeting,

but I think I'll just leave that be.

I'm gonna paint Mother's room

and this, the dining room,

but there is still just so much to be done.

But I have to be realistic.

Edward's gonna be here in a few days

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