When Good Bras Go Bad (Myrtle Crumb Series) (18 page)

“All right
.
I’ll probably be sore tomorrow, though
.
That boy that tackled me weighed a ton.”

Coop asked what happened and together me and Tansie relayed all the details.

“I don’t reckon we’ll make it to the M.E.L.O.N. dance tomorrow night,” Coop said.

“I
f I
can move, we will.”  I grinned at Tansie
.
“And I’m gonna have the band play that song ‘Blue Velvet’ and dedicate it to you.”

The ambulance came and, even though I argued with them over it, they took me to the hospital
.
I had Tansie call Faye to have her and Sunny go to the house and let Matlock out.

At the hospital, I had to give another “official account” of what had happened to me
.
The police asked if I recognized any of the boys, and I said no
.
I said they all had on masks, and I described the masks
.

In my heart, I knew that wolf
man was Lenny.
I’d recognized his voice plain as day.
But it’d be my word against his, and I didn’t want to go through that
.
I knew, and that was enough
.
The
boys
hadn’t got my pocketbook, but I’d been robbed of something way more precious
to
night.

Part of me wanted to go straight to Delphine’s and gather Lenny into my arms and
hug
him like the child he still was. He still needed to be protected and secure and accepted and loved. He needed guidance to stay away from them awful boys that’d talked him into this. He needed to know there was still plenty of time before he had to grow up and be a man…that he didn’t have anything to prove to anybody. He’d be a child for just a little while longer
—no need to hurry that along—b
ut he’d be a man the rest of his life. Now, what kind
of
man…well, he still had time to decide what kind of man he wanted to be.

Part of me wanted to confront Lenny, ask him how he could have been part of this, ask him how he could’ve done this to
me
.
He didn’t want me hurt, but he was gonna be part of takin
g
my pocketbook. How could he turn on me like that? I felt like we were all but family. I love that young ‘un. First Sunny hangs me out to dry, and then Lenny does the same thing. Don’t young ‘uns have any sense of loyalty anymore?

I wanted to fix everything and make it right. I wanted to fix Lenny. I wanted to fix his life. I understand he’s been goin
g
through a lot with his mama leavin
g
and his daddy goin
g
into the nursing home, and my heart breaks for the tough times he’s been havin
g
. Still, times are gonna be even tougher for him if he don’t straighten up his act.

But what I could do? I’m just a woman who lives nearby. A woman who suddenly feels every day of her age...a woman who feels tired and sad and even a little bit helpless
…
a woman whose underwire was pokin
g
a hole
clean
through her heart…
a woman who was sure enough feelin
g
sorry for herself.

I had to shake myself out of that.
I’d be like Scarlett O’Hara and think about Lenny tomorrow. Tonight I’d go not to
Tara
but to Matlock, whose loyalties are right there lookin
g
at you every time you see him. It might be all about “the land” to “Katie Scarlett” but to this old gal it was all about the dog, a warm blanket and a steamin
g
mug of decaf with milk. That was my comfort.

That and Coop. He stayed right outside the room while I was bein
g
examined. I do declare that man has fell for me some kinda hard.

I was x-rayed and then sent home
.
They said I had “multiple contusions” which means I was bruised up
.
I could’ve told them that.

Faye and Sunny were there at the house waitin
g
for me, and I was glad
.
I was a little surprised…figured they had things to do on Halloween. But they stayed to make sure I was okay, and that warmed my heart. Took away a bit of the sting from all that other.

Coop had driven me home, and when we stepped up on the porch, I glanced into the jack-o-lantern
.
There was still some candy in it.

“Would you look at that?”

“What?” Coop asked.

I nodded at the jack-o-lantern
.
“That big goofy testament to the fact that there are still honest people in the world.”

About the Author

             
Gayle Trent
is a full-time writer who lives with her husband, daughter and son in
Southwest Virginia
.
If you enjoy Myrtle, please look for her seasonal newsletters at my Web site: http://gayle24202.tripod.com. Please visit me online or send me an e-mail at [email protected]

1.
      
Myrtle is quick to jump to conclusions about Alicia. She also makes snap judgments about Lenny and Claire. Why is she so willing to give these two the benefit of doubt and so unbending where Alicia is concerned? Would you feel the same way in Myrtle's shoes? Have you experienced any similar situations?

2.
     
The theme of betrayal is threaded throughout this book. In what ways are the betrayals similar and how are they different?

3.
     
In what ways did the conflict between Myrtle and Sunny help them grow, both as individuals and in their relationship?

4.
    
Why do you believe Myrtle chose to keep silent about Lenny's role in her assault and attempted robbery?

5.
     
How might WHEN GOOD BRAS GO BAD be different if told in third person rather than from Myrtle’s point of view? How might it differ if it was told from Sunny’s viewpoint?

THE PERFECT WOMAN

Holly Jordan

ISBN:
0-9741090-5-3
  
$10.95
Print Edition/$
3.50
Electronic Download

THE PERFECT WOMAN centers around a group of ad executives who come up with the advertising scheme they hope will save their company – the “perfect woman.”  In their endeavor to find this woman, they discretely interview a handful of women, promising the women a share of the ultimate Perfect Woman’s profits for their silence about ever being interviewed should they be turned down.  Each woman interviewed has her own reasons for accepting the offer, and many think the offer is a godsend.  But the godsend turns into a nightmare when a murderer begins to stalk the women, killing them one by one.

“A good solid mystery with a touch of romance that will keep you up all night to discover whodunit!”
- Fallen Angel Reviews

BETWEEN A CLUTCH AND A HARD PLACE
       

Gayle Trent

ISBN: 0-9741090-4-5   
$8.95
Print Edition/
$3.00
Electronic Download

Nominated for 2004 Appalachian Book of the Year Award

Myrtle Crumb goes to a consignment shop and comes home with a brand new (
or would that be used?
) mystery to solve. Based on the note she finds in a black clutch, she decides to find out what happened to the purse's previous owner. As she gets closer to learning the truth, she begins to better appreciate the old adage, "What you don't know, can't hurt you!"

"Mayberry meets Fried Green Tomatoes with a big dose of fun!"

- Deborah Smith, NYT Bestselling Author of
 
A PLACE
TO CALL HOME

THE MOURNING
RING

Holly Jordan      

Rachel Hollins buys a ring from a flea market and gets more than she bargains for. Turns out the ring is a 19th century mourning ring which once belonged to Claire Marcette, a woman murdered in 1920. When Rachel attempts to return the ring to one of Claire’s family members, she gets involved in a modern-day murder rooted in the past.

HARPERS’ JOY

Bert Goolsby