Part 31 (1/2)
”Well, I'm sorry to say we only have one room available. Mr. and Mrs... . ?”
”Taylor.” Kate puts her arm around F.M. ”It's okay. I can put up with the racket for another night. And it's such a nice place, isn't it, honey?”
F.M. nods, and Patricia says, ”Ina May, show Mr. and Mrs. Taylor to their room. Do you have any luggage?”
”Nope!” Kate replies. ”We'll just get whatever we need from the car.”
Patricia watches F.M. and Kate follow Ina May up the stairs, noting Kate's boots. She fondles the cross around her neck.
As Ina May opens the door, the pink and red of the room is so overwhelming it nearly blinds Kate and F.M. Everything is overstuffed and flowery. Pictures of Jesus and Mary adorn the walls. The bed, however, looks like it might very well be made of clouds. And there's a huge clawfoot tub in the bathroom.
Ina May hands the room key to F.M. As she closes the door behind her she says, ”Complimentary breakfast is served downstairs from six 'til nine.”
Kate looks around the room, touching everything. Sitting on the downy bed, she spots the tub through the open bathroom door. ”Oh, look at that!”
”Nice... . Why don't you take a bath?”
”You bet.” Kate looks over at F.M. ”Is this room okay with you? I know the color scheme leaves a bit to be desired.”
”It's kinda like living inside a bottle of Pepto Bismol.”
Laughing, Kate gets up and begins filling the tub. Half an hour later she's lolling happily in a bubble bath, talking through the door to F.M.
”I mean, Martine is one to talk. She picks the grossest guys, the meanest of the mean. Jack may not be a prize, but he was nice to me at first. I don't know what happened to him. Maybe the thrill was gone or something... . So tell me something about your love life, F.M.” No response. ”F.M.? Hey, are you there?”
Kate climbs out of the tub, wraps herself in a towel, and steps into the bedroom. F.M. is asleep on the floor bundled up in his coat, one of the pillows from the couch under his head. Kate looks at him for a moment. He's out like a light. She sits on the bed, staring at him, then takes the comforter off the bed and gently places it over him. Then she crawls into bed, looking at the moonlight coming in through the sheer pink curtains. F.M. begins to snore. Kate laughs quietly to herself, then grabs her sketch pad, wipes the paper three times with the back of her hand, and starts to draw.
The next morning Kate sits quietly sketching the flower beds in a lovely garden in back of the B&B. F.M. is inside, settling the bill with Patricia. Ina May exits the house, averting her eyes from Kate, but sneaking looks as she walks. She fills up a pail and moves to water the flowers.
”Will this bother you?”
Kate looks up. ”No, not at all. It's Ina May, right?”
”Yeah. Stupid name, huh? It was my grandmother's.”
”It's not stupid ... it's old-fas.h.i.+oned.”
”Like everything in my life. You have no idea how lucky you are. You're out there in the world. I love your clothes.”
”But I got the dress right here in Natchez.”
”It's the way you wear it. You're a woman of the world.”
Kate laughs. ”I'm only twenty-three! Hardly a woman of the world!”
”I'm twenty-three, too, but you'd never know it. I've never been out of Adams County. Mama thinks everything I need to learn is right here.”