Twisted Roots (DeBeers 3)

"Please, just make yourselves comfortable. I'll see to some mint iced tea."

"Don't go out of your way, please." I said.

"Oh, it's not out of my way. darlin'. It's just across the hall," she said with a laughing voice that seemed to ring back to younger days.

Heyden smiled and shook his head. "I feel like we're on some strange movie set." he said. "Maybe they shot a scene from Gone With the Wind here or something."

"This is very lovely." Uncle Linden declared. As before when he first viewed the motor home, he seemed either unwilling or meapable of seeing imperfections and disappointments. He was certainly looking at the world through different eyes since we had left Florida, I thought, and wondered if that was something good or bad,

"I remember when Joya Del Mar had

glamorous rooms and exquisite furnishings like this. Once it, too, had style. That was before the Eatons came in and turned everything into glitz and opulence. Those people had no taste, no sense of elegance."

Maybe he was right. I thought, and looked again at the old artifacts, pictures, and statuary. As old and neglected as it all was, it at least had character.

"Well. I got good news and bad," Chubs said returning just after we sat. "Billy's got an engine that surely has what we need, but he had to leave to go to his son's house to celebrate a weddin' anniversary. We can't get what we need until tomorrow. I'm afraid.'

"Oh," Heyden said. despondent.

"That's not such bad news," Lilliann Stanton declared as she walked in carrying a silver tray on which she had tumblers of iced tea. "Y'all will just stay over here at Casa de la Luna."

"Thank you." Heyden said. "but we can probably return to our motor home for the night."

"Don't forget what happened to the electricity," I whispered. "We can make do." he said sharply.

"You got problems with the electric, too?" Chubs said, picking up on it.

'Refrigerator went out," Heyden said. "I haven't gone through the rest of the appliances yet."

"Well, all your food's gonna go bad."

"Charles, how could you leave that there?" Lilliann chastised. He didn't know about it. Mrs. Stanton."

"Well, you just drive right back to that vehicle and get their things, hear? We'll put them away here and save what we can," she insisted.

"That's very kind of you." Uncle Linden said. "It's been a long time since anyone's been that kind to me."

Mrs. Stanton beamed, "Why, sir. I can't imagine why not. What's this world comin' to when people can't treat each other with some common decency?"

Uncle Linden nodded, "Exactly." he said sipping the iced tea. He held up the glass, twirling it in the light like some child mesmerized by the dancing colors and twinkling ice. "This is wonderful iced tea. I haven't had as good in years."

"Well, thank you, sir." she said. It was my husband's favorite." Then she looked at Chubs. Are you still here. Charles?"

"I'm goin'. What we might want to do." he added. Talking directly to Heyden now, "is tow that motor home back here tonight. Get it off the road. We're going to have to work on it here anyway. We'll take the tractor. I'll get everything together,"

Heyden jumped up. "I'll do whatever I can to help you."

"That's a good idea. Heyden. If we're going to sleep here, we'll need some things from the motor home." I told him.

"Let me go along then and do what I can to help. too." Uncle Linden said.

"Oh, that ain't necessary. Mr Montgomery. The young man and me can do what has to be done," Chubs said. "You just make yourself comfortable."

Just at that moment we heard footsteps on the stairway. Chubs looked at Mrs. Stanton and then at us. The worried expression on his face stirred my curiosity. Who was coming? Both Chubs and Mrs. Stanton had said Mr. Stanton was dead. and Chubs hadn't mentioned anyone else to us.

Whoever it was did not come to the sitting room doorway. Instead this person went directly into the dining room from the other side. I soon saw that it was a younger woman with long strawberry-blond hair that dropped limply down and over her shoulders. Even in the dimly lit roam. I could see her bangs were too long. She practically had to part strands of hair to see. She was wearing a marine blue robe with a pair of what looked like men's soft leather slippers.

She turned so slowly toward us, it was like looking at someone in a dream. For a moment it did seem as if the world had came to a standstill. She was so frozen, and then she lifted her arms and cried. "Rosemary!"