Thanks to my amazing reviewer, and friend Ber1719. She flatters me wayy too much by leaving comments as nice as she does on here. Hope everyone enjoyes this chapter. I see ya'll putting this thing on story alert, so come on and review ;) Don't be shy!
Anyways, enjoy :)
EllieMayy
Later that night Tallulah stood at the counter, filling her piecrust with fresh berries she'd purchased at the market. They oozed into the crust, dark globs moving like syrup. She glanced over at the disgusting pink loveseat, where Sidney had curled up with his magazine. Recently, it had dropped from his hands, as his head fell back onto the armrest. She smiled at the sight, and began layering the strips of dough that crisscrossed the top of the pie. Her fingers pressed skillfully into the pie, rounding the edges perfectly. Once she was satisfied with her work, she shoved the pie into the oven. She reached for the ketchup to make the cocktail sauce, and slammed the over door closed with a kick.
The banging sound sent Sidney flying forwards into a sitting position, instantly awake. His eyes darted around the room around, his pupils wide as he searched for the source of the banging. He suspected the noise had come from a .45. But as he glanced around the room, he didn't see the wet jungle, or the sloppy mud. There was no barrage of light the greeted his opening eyes. Where were the shrieking Japs or screaming injured that had just been shelled? Where was his Springfield? He glanced down at his chest, and felt the fabric. Where the hell were his dungarees? Where was his foxhole? He didn't see a row of barbed wire and dirt surrounding him.
Instead of staring out at a jungle battleground he woke to the surprising sight of an angelic looking woman, leaning over the counter, grinding horseradish. Her hair glowed a little in the dim light of the dirty kitchenette, and her figure was perfectly accentuated by her adorable apron that was cinched in all the right places.
He attempted to steady his breathing- he didn't want to be seen like this. Leaning up against a wall, she dropped shrimp into a boiling pot of water. She'd already minced up generous amounts of garlic and thrown in into the pot, but only before squeezing a few lemons over the mixture. The steam rose up and into the air over the little stove, and Tallulah dropped the shrimp in, watching them plop into the water. She heard him stir, and turned around, giving him a little wave. "Good nap Sleepyhead?"
Sidney chuckled, and picked back up some magazine from last Christmas. It was new to him.
"Yeah." He lied easily, shooting her his sweet smile. "Great nap."
She retrieved a glass of sweet tea from the counter and passed it to him. Gratefully, he clutched it in his hands, staring at the drink as if it were liquid manna.
"Oh, my God Tallulah."
She beamed at him, and he noticed how her shoulders proudly straightened. "What? Ain't no good?"
He lifted the glass to his lips and felt the sweet drink slide down his throat, coating his esophagus with the flavorings of home.
"It's heavenly!" He exclaimed, taking another swig. He swished the comforting drink around in his mouth, hoping it would wash out the last bits of mud he could still taste in his mouth from falling in combat.
She smiled at him, and began stirring the shrimp. He continued to sit with the glass of sweet tea that she'd made him. Occasionally, he would pick it up and take a slow, savoring sip. There wasn't much talking. They'd joked and clowned around in the grocery store enough. He'd thrown a fish at her, and she had squealed. She'd run his foot over with her buggy, and he'd moaned in pain. His smile was brighter than the large lights that lit up the produce aisle. There was a rustle of paper, and Sidney rose from the couch, and ventured into the tiny kitchenette, complete with linoleum flooring.
"Get out of the kitchen!" Tallulah scolded, waving her stirring spoon at him. He dodged droplets of boiling water that flew off the edge of her utensil , and jumped beside her.
He gazed down into the pot, and Tallulah laughed at him. "Mystified yet?"
He nodded, and pointed to the steaming water. "Yeah. You said we're having boiled shrimp." He pointed an accusing finger downwards. "That water ain't boiling."
She shook her head at his lack of culinary knowledge, although she didn't really expect him to understand. "You don't actually boil the water." She informed him, swirling the shrimp around once more. "If you boiled it, it'd be too hot, and your shrimp would be all mushy."
Sidney's nose wrinkled up in disgust, and his eyes widened as he realized just how much skill it took to make the shrimp he loved so much. "Eww."
She laughed, and pinched his crinkled nose. "Don't worry. Your shrimp are gonna be good."
He nodded, and rolled his eyes. "Uh-huh."
She glared at him, and placed a defensive hand on her shoulder. "Trust me Sidney Phillips. This is gonna be good."
"It better be." He commanded teasingly, as he pulled one of her platinum curls.
"You quit!" She warned, as she turned down the heat on her shrimp.
He tugged playfully at another curl, and his grin was devilish. "Never!"
She snorted, and grabbed a strainer, quickly dumping the shrimp into the container.
"Lemme help." Sid whined, his bottom lip sticking out. "Lemme do something!"
Tallulah sighed, and handed him the strainer full of shrimp. "Rinse this under cold water."
He stared down confusedly into the sink as he turned on the faucet. "Why?"
She glanced up from stirring her collard greens, and fixed him with a knowing glare. "Cause they'll turn mushy…"
Sidney groaned and rinsed the shrimp as she had ordered, while she set the table.
Finally, when the table had been set as properly as if would have been for Sunday dinner, Tallulah pointed to a chair. "Sit down Sidney." She ordered, as she picked up his plate and began fixing it for him.
Sidney sat down in the unstable looking chair, made in entirely out of wormwood. "Yes 'mam."
She brought their two plates to the table, and made sure his was laden with the corn and collards he loved so much. Tallulah bustled about for a moment more, refilling his sweet tea, and checking the pie before Sid slammed a hand down against the table. "Enough, Tal. Sit down!"
She glanced back towards him, her hands still adjusting her pie in the oven. "You go on and eat Sid, I'll be right there."
He raised an almost invisible blonde eyebrow, and pounded his fist against the table. "Now Tallulah! You've busied yourself." His usually soft voice was actually harsh, as he pointed her to the chair. She did as he commanded, huffing as she slammed the oven door. "You don't want your pie to burn no do ya?" She asked him rhetorically.
He shook his head. "No. But I also don't want you starvin'. Sit down and eat."
She couldn't help but smile back at him as she plopped down into the chair. Suddenly, he grabbed her hand, and squeezed it as his eyes closed. She stared down at the food, and listened to the sound of his light voice.
"Dear God, we thank you for this day and this food. We thank you for the time that we're spending together, and ask you to bless this meal. In your name we pray, Amen."
She didn't know what to add to the prayer. She hadn't actually prayed in quite some time. But one glance into Sidney's sweet smile and she found herself repeating the uttered word.
"Amen!"
He grinned, and stabbed a shrimp with the prongs of his fork. "Let's eat!"
She watched him devour his plate of shrimp, but only after he'd slathered each one with a heaping amount of her cocktail sauce.
"Tallulah this is wonderful!" He praised, scooping a spoonful of collards into his mouth. "Wanna come cook on the troop ships for us?"
She nodded, actually enthused by the idea. "I'd love too! If I could leave here, I'd love too."
He groaned. "Oh no. I hate troop ships. They are so damn hot."
He quickly covered his mouth, a red flush promptly rushing to fill his cheeks. "'Excuse my language."
She snorted and waved a fork at him, dismissing the action. "Don't worry about it. I tell you, I learned words working this job I'd never learned before. I probably curse more than a sailor."
Sidney inhaled another heaping spoonful of corn, and chuckled remembering some of the boatswains on the battleship. "Oh I doubt it Doll."
He glanced around the room, and thoughtfully pointed his fork at her. "Ya know?" he stammered between mouthfuls. "This is the last way I thought I'd be spending my first home in the states."
Tallulah scoffed, and pointed her fork back at him. "I didn't know you were on that boat."
"I didn't know you worked for Esquire."
"I didn't know you'd been on the Cape."
His eyes accessed her carefully, and his words were cautious. "I didn't know you were Essie Jo Adams."
She stared down into her uneaten pile of collards, "I'm not."
Sid nodded, and speared another shrimp before dunking it in the red sauce. "How's your momma? She wrote me once…"
Tallulah's forehead wrinkled a little as she thought, trying to recall what her mother had said in her week old letter. "She's well. Trying to keep in touch with Teola, who's just having too much fun on her college tour. Mamma's trying to help out Trula, who's having a baby this fall."
Sidney glanced up from intently basting his shrimp. "Trula's pregnant? That's wonderful."
Tallulah shrugged and continued. "Mamma loves the new house I bought her. It's near the Sledges place."
A devilish twinkle gleamed from Sidney's cornflower blue eyes, and he grinned at her. "And how are your future in-laws?"
Slowly, Tallulah looked up from her food, her gaze rising to look Sid straight in the eye. "You ain't heard?" She asked him, her eyes widening with horror, while she imagined having to tell him the whole story. A story she didn't even want to tell herself. "You ain't heard yet?"
Sid shook his head, and fixed her with a glance full of concern. "What ain't I heard yet?"
Tallulah carefully set down her fork, and folded her hands in her lap in an attempt to keep them still and out of her mouth. She knew she'd start biting her nails any second now.
"Eugene left me, Sid. He wrote me a letter before he snuck out that morning he left for Camp Pendleton."
Sidney's fork dropped from his hand, and his eyes shot open in shock. "He left you?"
Tallulah nodded, and felt her hand rise, and a finger with an already stubby nail slip into her mouth.
"Yeah. Gene left me."
x.x.x.x
The silence that descended on the little dinner table in the dirty hotel could not be broken by any joke, or comment Sid could possibly make. He stared hard at her, while she stared hard into her bowl of shrimp. He could see it in her eyes now. That harrowingly saddening emotion he'd once noticed guarding her green eyes-he now realized exactly what it was-longing.
He could see her concentrating on her food, willing her eyes to bore into it, as if she could see through the deep green of the collards. It was all an attempt not to cry. But it was an attempt that failed. Suddenly, her shoulders began shaking, and her hands latched on to the bottom of the chair in an attempt to steady herself. Her knuckles were turning white as she clasped hard to the rotten wood- Sid could see it from peeking under the table. Her perfect teeth bit down repressively on her bottom lip, and the bite drew blood. She was quaking before the tears started, falling like droplets of rain onto her plate.
"Tallulah-" Sidney murmured, as he rushed towards her.
She held up a restricting hand, "I'm not cryin'!" She exclaimed, deniying the very existence of the teardrops that fell from her mournful eye. "I ain't cryin'!"
Sidney snorted, and didn't bother recognizing her restraining hand. "You are cryin'."
Tallulah shook her head, and attempted to cover up the water on her plate, with the collards on her plate.
"It's just the juice from the greens." She informed him, wiping her eyes.
"If you mean tears from your green eyes, yes it is."
Her chest heaved weighty sobs, and she rose from her chair. She tried to bolt into the bathroom, but steady hands gripped tightly to her shoulders, stopping her.
Sid guided her to the couch, his grip never weakening even as they collapsed into the sofa. He drew her into his arms, and she let him. Tallulah buried her head in his stable shoulder, and sobbed. He rubbed her back, and noted how wonderfully soft and warm it was, and how perfectly it's curve fit under his hand. He continued to stroke her back, and she found the motion soothing. He whispered gentle hushes in her ear, repeating the word over and over. His repetitive shushing was calming, and soon her sobs abated into small sniffles.
Embarrassedly, she glanced up at him, all too aware of how red her nose and eyes must be. She hated how ugly she looked when she cried. He greeted her with a smile, and continued to pet her on the back, as she straightened up.
"I'm sorry Sidney." She apologized, pulling away from him. "I'm so sorry."
She glanced down at the tearstains on his army green dungarees, and shook her head. "I hadn't cried like this is since-"
He quieted her again, with a small "hush' that rode effortlessly on his warm breath and snaked her ear. She shivered at the sensation, and he pulled a tattered blanket around her, and took her back into his supporting arms. "Don't apologize Tal…"
Tallulah sighed at the blankets warmth, and the heat of Sid's touch.
"You were gonna be his best man." She noted quietly, glancing up into his thoughtful gaze. "At the wedding you were going to be his best man."
Sidney nodded slowly, and stared down at her. "I'm sorry I'm not getting that chance."
"Did he write you?"
The question startled Sidney, who had lost himself wondering how in the world his best friend had left this beautiful girl.
"Yeah." He answered. "He wrote me."
Tallulah shook her head, blinking. "He never wrote me."
"Not a single letter?"
"Not a damn one."
"Did you write him."
"Twice."
Sidney groaned, and smacked a hand to his forehead. "Tallulah he's an idiot… There's no other explanation, he's just a damn fool."
Tallulah kicked at the carpet, and scratched the fabric with the pointy heel of her shoe. "He said he had fight. Murmur or no murmur, whether his Daddy said he could, or not. Me or not, he had to go fight. He didn't wanna miss the war."
Images of the sloppy jungle, the wet heat, the muddy ground, the horrible shellings, the days without water, and the piles of bodies flashed through Sid's mind. He didn't see how Eugene could have wanted to leave Tallulah for that. But then again, Eugene hadn't really known it was going to be like that. No one knew.
"He wanted to do his part. He couldn't go when W.O and I signed up down at the recruiters."
"He didn't tell me he was going. He left me a note saying he left on the 5:30 train for Pendleton."
"He shouldn't have done that."
"He told me not to wait for him."
"Are you waiting for him?"
Tallulah gnawed on her bloody lips, and finally met Sidney's gaze to find his blue eyes were pensive.
"No." She breathed, "I ain't waiting for him. I quit waiting the day that I signed with Esquire."
Sidney squeezed her arm, and glanced at her curiously. "Why'd you join?"
She snorted. "Money. I needed to put Mama and Daddy up in a nice house, and send Teola to college. If Eugene wasn't gonna pay for it- I needed to."
"You got 'em a new place?"
"Yeah, Lee street."
Sidney whistled at the fancy location of the new residence. "Dang, Tal, you sure got them a nice spot."
"I did."
"And the old house?" He winked at her, and continued the question. "Nowhere?"
She shrugged, "It's still there. I think it always will be."
Sidney's face broke out into a beam, that served to illuminate the darkened room. "I love that old place."
As quickly as she had come into his arms, she left them, jumping off the sofa. "My pie!" She exclaimed, cringing as she ran towards the oven.
Sidney cringed too, when she left his arms.
But not because of the possibly burning pie.
It had felt so nice having her there.
She stared into the oven, and Sidney watched her deliberate over her pie. Her pretty blonde curls fell down into her face, and her butt bulged against the back of her gingham dress. She slipped on two oven mitts, and removed the pie, placing it on the table with a smile. Sid couldn't believe that Eugene had left her for war. Even if he hadn't known, he'd chosen his patriotism over a beautiful, peaceful life with an angel like Tallulah. Maybe he would have made the same decision had he been in Eugene's shoes, but hindsight is always 20/20. And with better vision and the guide of experience, Sidney Phillips thought his best friend was also the biggest idiot in the world.
She was slicing the pie and placing it carefully on new plates, when she called to him, waving the knife in the air.
"Sidney come on! Pie's ready, and it ain't even burnt!"
He grinned and sat down at the table, unsure of what divine sight to look at- Tallulah or her blackberry pie.
She made his decision for him, as she sat down beside him, and poked her fork into the pie.
"You used to win county fairs with these pies didn't ya?" Sidney asked, as he gobbled up some of the dessert. It really wasn't a question but a statement, he knew she'd won six times with this exact recipe.
She laughed, and looked up comtemplatively. "Oh, I did didn't I? I think I won it-"
"Six times." Sid finished, shooting her an awkward grin. "You won six times."
"And how'd you know that?"
"I uhh, just remember."
She laughed for only the second time that night, and the sound filled the dull room with a melodious harmony.
"I can't believe that I'm eating one of your Mobile Alabama pies in the most god-awful hotels in all of NY."
She glanced around the room, for the time that night really taking in their settings. Even from a distance Tallulah could see that the mattress was lumpy, and that the bedspread was worn. The mirror that hung on one wall was speckled and cracked, and Tallulah noticed how horribly the rose color of the sofa and bedspread clashed with the green of the carpet. Everything was stained with some type of substance- be it coffee, blood, or ink.
She glanced back up at him, and popped her lips. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty bad. Could I offer you a room in my apartments for the night?"
Sidney didn't want to imagine the sort of immaculate apartment that Tallulah must have lived in. He shook his head.
"No. But you can invite to breakfast over there. I've you've got time, and if you make breakfast as good as you make your pies." He winked, and nodded down at the purpish desert. "It was mighty good.
Tallulah thought about the shoots that were due in the morning, extra shoots that Frank had scheduled, but she found herself nodding.
"I'd love to have breakfast with you Sidney."
