Paradise for a Sinner Page 12

  “You let her go just like that,” Winnie marveled.

  “I’ve seen cases like this before. No education, little income, far from any family, she’ll stay with her abuser. You save the ones you can, Winnie, and in this case, that is Teddy. I could really use a drink now. One mojito and some lunch, then we’ll both go back and meet Teddy when he comes home from school.” Nell contacted the lawyer and asked him as a special favor to Joe Dean Billodeaux to draw up the proper papers immediately. She promised some game tickets for next season as an added incentive.

  “Sorry to ruin our shopping trip, Winnie.”

  “Teddy is worth ten shopping trips, and compared to my ex and this Newt, Adam is worth that and a painful bikini wax.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Neither woman told Teddy of their meeting with his mother. In private, Nell discussed the adoption with Joe. Winnie refused to run off to a tropical island with Adam until she met and briefed Nurse Wickersham on her patient, but by Saturday she’d packed her bags and stowed them in his SUV. She waited with all the Billodeaux family for the arrival of her replacement who came within minutes of her stated time.

  A former nun, Nurse Wickersham descended with great dignity from the airport limo. Very old school, she wore a starched white uniform, cap, stockings, and shoes—no friendly, fluffy kitty and cute puppy scrubs for her. Her short gray hair combed back severely, her thin lips and stern eyes did nothing to comfort Teddy who clung to Winnie’s hand. “Please don’t go, Miss Winnie. She scares me.”

  Trinity, who had knocked his round black glasses askew waving frantically at the new arrival, said, “Don’t be afraid. Nurse Shammy loves little kids. She kept us three alive after we got born.”

  Nell gave them a nod, and the triplets raced over to the limo to hug Shammy’s legs before the driver could unload her baggage. She crouched to take them into a strong-armed embrace and kissed each small head. Looking up at the rest of the family, her face changed entirely with the addition of a rather horse-toothed smile. “So glad you are all well. This must be my new patient. I can see you have outgrown your wheelchair young man and need a new one. That will be our first concern.”

  “This one is fine, ma’am,” Teddy murmured, wheeling back a little and very nearly crushing Winnie’s toes.

  “Nonsense! The next will be even better.”

  Nell hugged the woman who had stood by her in childbirth and afterwards when they brought the triplets home. “I kept telling you that you didn’t need to leave when the children started kindergarten. Good to have you back again.”

  “I would not have you pay for an unneeded service, but I believe Teddy and Camp Love Letter might keep me busy until retirement.” Her sharp eyes scanned the rest of the group and stopped on Brinsley. “Another new addition to the family besides your niece and Teddy?”

  “Yes, Clive Brinsley, our butler, at least temporarily.”

  “Indeed, a person should not stay when his presence is of no use. Shall I carry your bags to your room, Nurse Wickersham?” Without waiting for her permission, Brinsley moved forward to grasp the single black suitcase and small carry-on so vastly different from Stacy’s luggage. Striding briskly, he disappeared into the house, bag and baggage.

  “He is staying across the hall from you, but I don’t think that will be any problem,” Nell informed the nurse.

  “I should say not!” Nurse Wickersham exclaimed as if she and Brinsley might be accused of trysting.

  “He and Corazon have prepared a lovely tea to welcome you back.”

  “A tea?”

  “We will have coffee, too. Let’s go inside, everyone.”

  Only Stacy in a yellow and lace party dress and T-strapped shoes appeared entirely comfortable at the tea party. At least clean and tidy if not particularly mannerly, the rest of the children dug into the crustless cream cheese sandwiches, currant scones, and Pommier’s petit fours. Adam, joining Winnie on the loveseat, overwhelmed the delicate teacup from the rarely used set of good china. Joe looked as if he wished he held a beer. Teddy stayed right beside Winnie like he’d never agree to let her go no matter how hard Nurse Shammy tried to coax him to talk to her from her seat in one of the recliners.

  In the end, Adam broke up the party. “We should get going soon if we want to make to New Orleans before too late.”

  “I need to review Teddy’s file with Nurse Wickersham first. Perhaps, we could look over it in the dining room.”

  Nurse Wickersham and Winnie adjourned to the room holding a lengthy mahogany table that seated fourteen and was rarely used. They covered only a tiny part of its shining surface to lay out Teddy’s records and study his routine and exercise schedule. Seeing the younger woman’s concern, Shammy patted her hand. “I will give him the best of care.”

  “I know. It’s just that his mother abandoned him, and now I am going, too.”

  “Visit when you can. Write and do that Skype thing on the computer. However, I believe you and Adam have a future to explore. I could feel the vibes.” The comment seemed so strange coming from the narrow lips of the ex-nun that Winnie smiled.

  “Yes, you may smile, but living with Mr. and Mrs. Billodeaux came as a great revelation in sexual matters. I am now more attuned to such things.”

  “All I ask is that you stay attuned to Teddy. He needs stability.”

  “That I can provide.

  Adam knocked. Jingling his car keys, he said, “Ready?”

  “As I will ever be.” Winnie said good-bye to the family and especially Teddy, promising him postcards and souvenirs from Samoa.

  “But who is going to put me in the tub if Adam goes with you?” he asked, breaking her heart a little.

  Brinsley stepped up. “I would be happy to provide that service and assist with any of your other needs, Master Teddy.”

  “See, you have plenty of people to help, and a new family. Don’t be afraid anymore, Teddy. I’m going to a foreign place, and I need to be brave, too. When I get back, we’ll have a long visit.”

  Adam edged her toward his car as if she might try to escape. She waved all the way down the drive until they turned out of the gate and hit the road to New Orleans to catch their flight to the tropics.

  “You want to stop by your sister’s place before we leave?” he asked as they approached the highway.

  “No, we talked last night, and I’d just as soon not get a lecture from my brother-in-law.”

  “Me, neither. Samoa, here we come.”

  ****

  Their first stop was neither the airport nor a tropical isle, but Adam’s city condo where he wanted to pick up a few things for the trip. Intending only to stay at Lorena Ranch long enough to get Joe’s advice and delay going home for a while until his anger abated, he’d remained to court Winnie. That had gone both better and worse than he’d wanted. With all those kids around, he might as well be back in his home village. While he admired her devotion to Teddy, he’d definitely taken second place to the likeable boy. They needed to be alone—but that wouldn’t happen tonight.

  Adam turned the key only to find the door unlocked, and he should have expected that. Burdened with their bags, he nodded for Winnie to enter. A greeting of talofa came from came from three huge men who occupied the sofa and a good part of the floor. Browner than Adam, they blended with the décor of cocoa and cream accented by wallpaper patterned in palm leaves. A large, glass-topped coffee table supported by thick bamboo legs held giant buckets of Popeye’s Fried Chicken, one mostly down to the bones. One visitor scooped into a container of dirty rice dressing with his fingers and raised the glob to his mouth. All of them barely took their eyes from a soccer match playing on the immense TV.

  “The fridge is empty, cousin. We had to go get some food. You eat yet?”

  “I had British high tea earlier.”

  This brought an outburst of uproarious laughter from the gigantic trio and a number of comments in Samoan. They offered him a box of biscuits and a chicken leg.

  “Later,
maybe. Guys, this is Winnie Green. She’ll be staying in my room tonight. Tomorrow, we leave for Tutuila. Winnie, my cousin, Tapu, and his friends who are visiting from the islands.”

  After much elbowing and cordial smiles, they offered her a beer. Winnie passed on that. Tapu paused in his meal and asked, “You leaving your car in the garage?”

  “No, taking it to the airport.” Tapu’s broad face showed its disappointment at Adam’s statement.

  “Come on, Winnie. Let’s get you settled for the night. Here, for groceries.” He left Tapu with a wad of money from his wallet that erased some of his cousin’s unhappiness.

  They passed three disheveled bedrooms before coming to Adam’s. Tasteful saipo cloth hangings decorated walls that echoed their rich earth tones and repeated again in the spread on the vast king-sized bed. Other than a dresser, a chair, and a wall-mounted flat screen TV, the room had little other furniture. A large closet stood open revealing gaps in its orderly collection of clothing. Adam withdrew a large suitcase from the back of it and started transferring his belongings from the smaller bag he’d taken to Joe’s ranch.

  “You stay in here tonight. I’ll sleep on the sofa. No one will bother you.”

  “But, it’s your place. You shouldn’t have to do that. Stay with me,” Winnie said from her perch on the single chair.

  “No, it is better we stay apart for now. Word gets around. I am sure Tapu will tell everyone I am too cheap to let him use my car, but he knows nothing about driving in a city and will wreck it or kill all three of them.” He regarded his wardrobe choices. “At least, they didn’t take my white suit.” Carefully, he folded this item, still in its dry cleaning bag into his suitcase.

  “Tapu steals from you?”

  “No, he is my cousin, so he cannot steal from me. He just takes what he needs or tickles his fancy. He would give me the shirt off his back, too, only I have lots more shirts.” Adam added several of these in tropical prints to his suitcase along with some khaki shorts and tossed in a large pair of leather sandals. “What the hell, I’ll buy whatever else I need when we get to Pago. I don’t need much in the village but a couple of lava-lavas.” He snapped the case closed and removed it from the bed.

  “How long has Tapu been staying here?”

  “About a month. He is looking for work. His friends showed up around the time I left for Joe’s place.”

  “How long will they stay?”

  “No telling. Probably until they run out of food again. It is expected I will offer hospitality to anyone who comes to my door from the village.”

  “Different strokes for different folks, I guess.”

  “Ah, lovely Winnie. You don’t know the half of it. Sleep well and prepare for some culture shock.”

  ****

  By the time Winnie woke and showered in a stall with so many nozzles it gave a therapeutic massage as well as a bath, the aroma of coffee brewing drew her from her room to the kitchen. Someone had gone out already and brought back a grocery bag full of warm beignets pillowed in powdered sugar. Eating two with her java, she tried not to keep count of how many Tapu and his buddies put away. She placed two more on her plate to save them for Adam after he bathed. He gave her a thankful grin as he downed them and a cup of coffee.

  “We can get more at the airport. Here we go.”

  They left New Orleans just as the bells tolled for Mass at St. Louis Cathedral and arrived for their flight out of Louis Armstrong International Airport to Los Angeles in plenty of time. After descending through the smog layer in California, they switched to a night flight bound for Hawaii and a layover for a few days to see the sights.

  Adam appreciated her bikinis on the beach and the presence of Winnie in his bed. With his lovemaking always relaxed and unhurried, she unfurled like the plumeria blossoms at night.

  “Did we stop here to get me acclimated to the tropics?” she asked as she lay in his arms and traced a finger around tattoo circling his navel.

  “Hawaii will not prepare you for Samoa, lovely Winnie.”

  “You make your homeland sound like the ends of the earth.”

  “Pretty close to it.”

  Another lengthy night flight finally brought them to Pago Pago, island of Tutuila, American Samoa.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Not quite what I expected,” Winnie said as they traveled from the airport to their hotel. “Pago Pago seems to be smaller than Chapelle with twice the number of fast food joints and even more litter.”

  “Actually, a bunch of separate villages strung out around the harbor make up the place, but you’ll like where we are staying. First though, you should see our most famous landmark.” Adam whispered a direction to their driver who gave a short laugh.

  Instead of turning toward some picturesque destination, they skimmed the edge of the deep blue harbor and passed a grim row of gray warehouses. The atmosphere grew increasingly thick with fishy odor until even Winnie, trying to be polite by ignoring the stench, wrinkled her nose. “What is that?”

  “Tuna cannery. If you don’t work for the government, you probably work here. And there he is, Charlie the Tuna in person.” The large, blue statue complete with natty red beret and hipster glasses rose up in front of the packing plant and offered them a smiling welcome.

  “Really, this is the best you can do?”

  “Joking. To Le Falepule, driver.”

  Their taxi swung around and outraced the stink to enter a steep, secluded drive outside the town but not all that far from the airport. Greeted by genial hosts, they were shown to a room decorated very similarly to Adam’s in New Orleans. Within a half hour, they sat on the terrace and sipped drinks from the honor bar while taking in a breathtaking view of the sea.

  “More what I expected,” Winnie confessed. “Somehow though, I did think your family would meet us at the airport. Shouldn’t you call them, and let them know we are here?”

  “They know. Coconut radio. The second we set foot in the airport, some cousin or auntie who works there contacted the village you can be certain. Before we left Louisiana, I let my parents know I wanted to show you some of the island before they gave you the full treatment.”

  Winnie took a sip from a tall, cool glass whose contents offset some of the heat and humidity playing havoc with her hair. Louisiana in overdrive, she thought. “Exactly what is the full treatment?”

  “Oh, you know, the ’Ava ceremony, a feast, and a fiafia. The last is an evening of singing, dancing, and entertainment. I understand we are expected to participate fully.” He recognized her immediate anxiety by the crease forming between her brows. “No worries, lovely Winnie. Be gracious, have fun. No one will laugh at you.”

  “This ’Ava ceremony—what is that all about?”

  “In the States, they call the stuff kava. You’ve heard of it? Anyhow, you accept a ceremonial drink of this mildly narcotic beverage, no worse than what you have in your hand right now, but it doesn’t taste as good. Just choke it all down and be a good sport. It’s an honor, okay. I’ll coach you about what to say and do. Now forget about it until the time arrives.”

  “When will that be?”

  “When we get there and when they are ready.”

  Pure Adam, nothing seemed to bother him deeply. She envied him with his easygoing style and laidback ways. After they finished their drinks, he summoned transportation again and directed the driver to a car dealership where he wrote a check for a bright yellow, open-sided Jeep just like that with no holdups for a credit background search. Judging by all the cheerful greetings and hearty handshakes, everyone on this rather small island recognized Adam and knew he was good for whatever costs he incurred. He accepted the keys and drove them directly to one of the strip malls where lava-lava shops flourished like tropical flowers.

  Adam held up lengths of cloth in solid colors, stripes, or floral-patterned for her approval and added those she gave the nod to a steadily growing pile on the counter. “You need something to wear in the village and to cover up thos
e bikinis of yours. That semi-transparent thing you had on in Hawaii won’t work here.”

  Puzzled, Winnie asked, “Why?”

  “Not modest enough.”

  “But a wraparound piece of cloth is?”

  “Can’t see through it, right? You need some puletasi, too, for dressing up a little more. It is the Samoan missionary answer to the muumuu and a helluva lot more attractive.”

  “Not buying anything for yourself?”

  He glanced at the heap of cloth strips. “I did.”

  Their overjoyed clerk showed them to a room lined with the traditional Samoan dresses and began pulling out samples of the two-piece outfits with long skirts and full bodices possessing short sleeves and high necklines. This time Adam gave her little choice. He selected one in gleaming gold with black, brown, and orange designs on the top and bordering the skirt, another of deep green festooned with blue flowers, and the last pure white scattered with red blossoms.

  Winnie was about to announce she could pick her own clothing when Adam cut her off by saying, “Golden like your skin, green as your eyes—and I just like the last one.”

  Making one final stand for female independence, she dug out her credit card and prayed the dresses wouldn’t put her over the limit. Adam handed it back. “These are gifts, and to refuse a gift is a grave insult.”

  “Well, I wouldn’t want to insult you.”

  He urged her to wear one of the outfits to dinner. She rather foolishly chose the white garment because the others seemed too formal. Pleased, Adam robbed the shrubbery at their hotel of a matching red flower for her hair and tucked it in beside an ear. If she’d known he would guide her to a Korean restaurant on a backstreet where the spicy food made her nose run, and she’d dribble red pepper sauce down the front of her beautiful new gown, she would have insisted on wearing one of her sundresses. The tears she produced weren’t only because of the fiery kim-chi.