âHEâS HANDSOME ENOUGH,â Magnolia Loraine DoucetâMaggieâcommented. It was one of those hot, hot August days in Big Swamp, where her preference was to sit on the front porch swing, fan herself and sip a tall, cool lemonade. Which was exactly what she was doing with her sister Mellette on the front porch of Eulaâs House.
Inside, Melletteâs husband, Justin, was arguing with Amos Picou on just how much larger the clinic extension should be. Amos wanted to keep everything as it was, and Justin wanted things biggerâa surgery for minor procedures, a cubbyhole where he could escape to write pages for his latest crime novel. It wasnât a lot in terms of square feet, but changes were met with resistance in these parts.
And while the argument with Amos, who was in favor of leaving things be, was not nearly as heated as the noonday sun, it had seemed the perfect time for the sisters to go outside and take a break.
âYou mean drop-dead-gorgeous carpenter man without his shirt, and all sweaty. And look at his â¦â Mellette Bergeron teased.
âYouâre a pregnant lady with a husband just inside the door. You donât get to look at his anything.â
âHey, I can still look ⦠a little.â
âYouâve got a looker. Got him hook, line and six months into your pregnancy.â
Mellette smiled the smile of a very contented woman as she laid a protective hand on her belly. âDonât I know that.â
âSo stop looking at that guy over there.â Maggie nodded her head, indicating the big hunk of a carpenter working on framing the additional room that would be used as a minor surgery at Eulaâs House.
âBecause you want him?â Mellette teased.
âPlease. You know Iâm not into relationships.â
âAh, yes. School and work, and more work. An exciting life.â
âIt is exciting.â
âThen why are you looking?â
âIâm not looking so much as ⦠as ⦠admiring the physiology. And I was involved not that long ago.â
âMarc the Bland and Raymond the Terrible. You do know how to pick âem.â
Maggie Doucet envisioned Marc for a momentânice man, no wow factor. When his image disappeared she conjured up Raymond the Terribleâmanâs body, pigâs head.
âMarc was okay, just not ⦠not conversant or interesting. And if you recall, Marc the Bland dumped me. He dumped me because I wasnât interesting enough for him.â
Maggie and Mellette both laughed, then Mellette continued, âThen entered Raymond the Rebound, who turned out to be Raymond the Terrible. Misogynist pig of a man.â
âI know, I know. You warned me, Mother and Daddy warned me.â So had her other five sisters. âI met a street performer down in Jackson Square who was dancing for coins and even he warned me in a mime sort of way.â
âYet you didnât listen to any of us, did you?â
No, she hadnât. Because thatâs just the way sheâd been, looking for absolution and as stubborn as the day was long. Not a good combination. Sure, it was a long, tired story about how sheâd been stupid. One known to women the world over. And yes, sheâd already admitted it freely. What sheâd done hadnât just been stupid. It had been double stupid! Head-in-the-sand time, being dumped by someone she considered bland, then turning to Raymond.
Lesson learned from all thatâshe wasnât ready to jump back into anything for a long time to come. What she had suited her, kept her as safe as she needed to be. âNot doing it again for a long, long time, if ever.â
âNot even with Mr. Tool Belt over there?â
âEspecially with Mr. Tool Belt over there. Heâs â¦â
âToo tempting?â
âIâm not looking.â
âBut you took him lemonade yesterday, didnât you? Did you take lemonade to any of the other workers or just him?â
âJust him, but ⦠I did make a pitcher full and left it out there in case any of the others wanted it.â
âBut he got his from you? Correct?â
âWhat are you trying to imply?â
âNothing!â
Maggie snapped, âI just gave the man some lemonade, so donât make a federal case out of it, okay?â
âWhich means you are interested, being so defensive and all.â
âAnd just where do you get that?â
âYou also said heâs sexy, did you not?â
âI said the way he drank his lemonade is sexy. Thatâs not saying heâs sexy.â Although he was. Very.
âSame thing,â Mellette argued.
âNo, itâs not.â Maggie turned and scowled at her sister. âYour pregnancy hormones are acting up again, which is making you irrational.â