Free Elaine Orr - Jolie Gentil 03 - When the Carny Comes to Town by Elaine Orr

I looked down to see Jazz had just sat on my foot.  This is her ‘I’m scared’ spot, so I picked her up and rubbed her head as we walked back into my room.  “I don’t like her either,” I whispered into Jazz’s ear.
     
    I TOOK A TWO minute shower and threw on jeans and a yellow knit shirt.  No makeup.  It didn’t seem fair to leave Aunt Madge alone with Penny.  She invited her.  Yes, but she did it for Scoobie.
    The dogs were sitting by the sliding glass door that leads to the small back yard.  They looked as if they were on full alert for a squirrel sighting, but they were all eyes on Penny, who was holding a mug of coffee with both hands as she slowly took a sip.  My eyes met Aunt Madge’s for a second and I walked to the counter and pulled the toaster toward me.
    “White bread or whole wheat, Penny?”  I asked.
    “Don’t matter,” she said.  “What’s your name again?”
    “Jolie,” I said.
    “Weird name,” was her comment.
    Aunt Madge deftly slid scrambled eggs onto each of the three plates she had placed on the counter closest to the stove.  I got a sudden urge to cry, remembering how much Scoobie likes her scrambled eggs. 
    “Do you have a suitcase in the car?” Aunt Madge asked as she placed a plate in front of Penny. 
    She sat up straight.  “Where is my car?”
    Aunt Madge nodded in the direction of her small parking lot.  “Corporal Johnson drove it home for you, and helped you in.”
    “Crap.  Did I get a ticket?”
    “I think they got to you before you started to drive,” Aunt Madge said, dryly.  “They’re fond of Scoobie, but I don’t think you’ll get a second break from them.”
    Fond of Scoobie is a stretch.  But if you were comparing it to Morehouse or Dana’s view of Penny, then Morehouse might be about to propose to Scoobie. 
    Penny stared at Aunt Madge and downed the rest of her coffee.  “I gotta check to see if my stuff is all there.”  She stood, a bit more steady than she was when she left the hospital yesterday.
    “I can keep your eggs warm…”  Aunt Madge began. 
    “I don’t eat nuthin’ in the morning,” she said, not bothering to look at us as she walked through the swinging door to the guest breakfast room and out the side door to her car.
    It was a couple seconds before I moved to look at Aunt Madge.  “Who taught Scoobie how to talk?” I asked.
    She put a bit of eggs on the piece of toast I had put on her plate.  “She didn’t raise Scoobie.  Books did.”
    The door to the parking lot banged and there was a plop as something hit the floor just inside the door. 
    “Shit,” Penny said.
    “Go help her,” Aunt Madge said.
    My bet is Penny would have gone back to bed, but Aunt Madge and I each carried a bag and walked upstairs with her, Aunt Madge letting her know that if she needed shampoo or anything she could ask.
    Please let her take that hint.
    The small suitcase I carried was surprisingly heavy.  It was the old-fashioned, hard-sided kind I recalled my mother called a cosmetic case.  I set it on the bed and, after a scowl from Aunt Madge, moved it to the small antique washstand.  Aunt Madge pulled a luggage rack from the closet and hoisted the slightly larger bag onto it.  Apparently not one to take a hint about what Aunt Madge wanted on the quilt, Penny sat her large purse on the bed.
    “I’m going to finish getting dressed and head over to the hospital,” I said, making for the hall.
    “What are you gonna do over there?”
    I glanced at Penny, who looked genuinely puzzled.  “They let us into his room for a bit every hour.  I like him to know someone who cares about him is there.”
    She bristled.  “You saying I don’t care?”
    Before I could say anything, Aunt Madge said, “Of course not, Penny.  Now why don’t you get yourself together and you can go over a bit later.”
     
    WHEN I WENT BACK to the kitchen a few minutes later, makeup on and ready to leave, Aunt Madge just gave me a silent head