Read Online Lowcountry Summer by Dorothea Benton Frank - Free Book Online Page A

things we talked about, down to the last letter. At least he made a noble attempt. He informed Frances Mae that she had to go to Promises immediately. He also told her that she must accept the separation agreement he was offering her and give him full custody of the girls, and that she would be well advised not to drive her car. Trip told her the highway patrol of the entire state of South Carolina was on the lookout for her Expedition, which he had paid to repair to the tune of five thousand dollars.
    He said, “And oh, by the way, you don’t sign the papers and give me the girls? No more money. You can go get a job.”
    She called him every name in the book and slammed the phone in his ear. He called her back a million times, and each time, his hearing was compromised by more screaming and another slam.
    “So you want to know what really kills me? I mean, this is the great-granddaddy booger of ’em all.”
    “Let’s hear it!”
    “So the phone was quiet for about ten minutes and then she called me back. She said, ‘Trip? Whether you like it or not we are still a family. I’m signing nothing! The girls can go stay with you and your whore and I’ll consider going to rehab and if I go I’ll try. Really try. But when I come home I want you to come back to me or I will come to you and I want that whore out of our house!’ I was like, you’re kidding, right? Our house? This is some bullshit, right? And guess what?”
    “What?”
    “She’s not kidding.”
    “Holy God, and that’s a prayer. She’s delusional. She’s completely crazy.”
    “Crazy like a fox. She just wants to ruin my life. She can’t stand to see me happy.”
    “Who knows what goes on in some people’s heads, you know? Maybe she does still love you, Trip. Maybe she does.”
    “Hard to fathom.”
    “Listen, girls are much harder to raise than boys. But you have me, you have Rusty, and guess what? You have Eric, too. Trip, engage all the children. You know what I mean? This is a family problem and we should all take a part in the process.”
    “Well, at least summer is almost here and we do have the pool. That should appeal to them.”
    “Exactly! Go hire a housekeeper who can drive! She can take the girls back and forth to classes for the next few weeks and then school will be out. We’ll get Chloe organized with a summer camp that picks her up and drops her off every day. And I’ll help Rusty figure out what to do with Belle and Linnie. Amelia’s probably going to work. Don’t worry! In the end I think you’ll see that it was worth all the effort. I really do, Trip. And it’s the right thing to do.”
    “So you think that if I just throw money and more money at this, it will solve the problem?”
    “No, I think that if you involve yourself in their lives a little more during this unfortunate time, they will love you for it.”
    Trip looked at me finally with his lopsided grin and said, “Okay, Miss Lavinia, got it!”
    Maybe truth had soaked through the granite of his thick skull.
    The next morning before eight, I was greeted by Matthew Strickland, not off duty and looking very stern.
    “Matthew! What a surprise to see you so early in the morning. Come in, come in. Would you like coffee? Is everything all right?”
    “Coffee would be great,” he said, and stepped into the kitchen. “I’m afraid I’ve got some bad news for your family and especially for your brother.”
    “What? Are the girls okay?”
    “Oh, yeah, they’re fine. But I’m gonna have to lock up Frances Mae this time for sure.”
    “Oh, dear God! What has she done?”
    “Well, you’re not going to believe this and I’m not rightly sure how she managed it, but she got herself a ladder and some spray paint and went about defacing private property. You know that spot up on 17 South where you make the left to go on down to Savannah?”
    “Come on, Matthew. I’m aging here! Give me the details. And how are you sure it’s her?”
    “Because she wrote all