Yesterday Read Online Free PDF Page B

with the green plants and herbs on the windowsill. Pearl’s rocking chair, Pearl’s knitting, Pearl’s scent. Pearl.
    “Yes’m. Now, you sit there while I fix you breakfast like I used to. My boy will be chewing on the doorknob when he gets here. That boy does have an appetite. A good strong wind would blow you over, Miz Brie. You too, Miz Sela.”
    “I’m in your hands, Pearl. You have four days to fatten me up. I was under the weather for a while.”
    “I saved all your postcards, chile. I have them in my room. Does California really smell like orange blossoms?”
    “Sometimes when you’re downwind. It’s heavenly.”
    “I like lemon verbena myself,” Pearl said smartly as she prepared bowls and frying pans. She turned. “And what do you have to say for yourself, Mr. Bode Jessup?” She surrendered herself to Bode’s embrace the moment he walked through the door.
    “I say I got here just in time. Your good food, and friends to share breakfast with. We are friends, aren’t we, girls?”
    As children, the response to this ritual question had always been: “Forever and ever!” He was waiting, not with bated breath, but waiting nonetheless. Brie worked a smile onto her face for Pearl’s benefit. “If you say so, Bode,” she responded. She was aware of the strange look on Pearl’s face and the pink flush that warmed Bode’s neck. Sela remained quiet, her eyes puzzled.
    “Flapjacks, scrambled eggs, and waffles,” Pearl announced, bustling over, “with my special syrup. And just because you’re here, Miz Brie, I’ll melt the butter.”
    “What about me, Mama Pearl?” Bode asked lightly.
    “Yeah, Pearl, what about him?” Brie asked tightly, but she relaxed immediately. This wasn’t going to get her anywhere. If there was one thing she’d learned, it was to leave the past behind. Baggage was not something she carried these days. “I’ll share,” she offered.
    “Now that sounds like the old Brie,” the housekeeper said.
    Old Brie, young Brie, new Brie—what did it matter? “Tell me, Pearl, how are the wedding plans going? Is everything taken care of? Callie must be delirious. How about you, Bode? Is the game plan still the same, that Callie is going to work with you after her honeymoon? Now I find that very interesting.”
    “Everything is just fine. Miz Callie will be home tonight. Her wedding dress is hanging in her room if you want to sneak a peek at it. All the presents are at Mr. Wyn’s house in Beaufort,” Pearl muttered as she expertly flipped a flapjack.
    “As kids you found everything interesting. It didn’t matter what it was, that was your standard comment,” Bode said coolly.
    “That was because you made me feel stupid, and I didn’t know what else to say,” Brie explained. He hadn’t answered her question about Callie’s job, and she wondered why.
    “Miz Sela asked me to fix cornpone and black-eyed peas. I said I would.”
    “Ooohhh, I love that.” Brie smiled. “I can feel the weight going on just thinking about it. What’s for dinner, Pearl?”
    “Ham, hickory-smoked, did it myself in the spring. New peas, those little ones you girls always said looked like emeralds, sweet potatoes, my special coleslaw, homemade bread with blackberry jam. I just made the jam two days ago for y’all. Pecan pie with homemade ice cream. Bode churned it last night.”
    “Are you going to put all that sticky good stuff on the ham?”
    Pearl turned to open the oven door. “It’s baking right now.”
    “Will you be here, Bode?” Brie asked nonchalantly.
    “No. Tonight’s my night to work late. I’ll get a burger someplace,” he said wistfully, his eyes on the ham in the oven.
    Breakfast was pleasant enough, Brie thought as she wolfed down the massive meal Pearl set in front of her. She offered to do the dishes, but Sela said she’d help Pearl, so she opted to walk Bode out to the gates.
    “I see something in your eyes that puzzles me, Bode. Something’s going on. You’re