Read Dixie Diva Blues for Free Online

that is what Emerald chose, so I imagine she likes it most of the time.
    I would rather have a root canal without Novocain than be subjected to that many children at one time. That’s why even when I lived a couple hundred miles away from her I always suggested we meet halfway, just the two of us. She always seemed happy to agree.
    At any rate, while I sat on the front porch mulling over the genetic quirks that left Emerald with a high metabolism so she can eat any and everything and never gain an ounce, and left me with a metabolism that ignores its proper function, Bitty finished her discussion with Rob and slammed through the iron gate. With my usual keen perception, I sensed from the way she stomped up the bricked walkway that their conversation did not end as she wished.
    “Trouble?” I inquired sweetly when she reached the porch, and Bitty gave me a sour look.
    “I swear, that is the most stubborn man I have ever met in my life! I don’t know how Rayna ever gets anything done if he’s set on doing it another way, I honestly don’t.”
    “Sure you do. The same way any woman gets things done. And I don’t mean nag them into it, either.”
    Bitty stuck her key into the front door lock and twisted it, almost snarling at me, “If you mean what it sounds like you mean, the only thing that man would be doing in my bed is sleeping!”
    “Well, that’s not what I meant. Remember, you catch more flies with honey than you do with vinegar.”
    “Well, who wants a bunch of flies? Vinegar is more likely to kill them . . . ah, got it.”
    Bitty’s front door swung open and she stepped inside and punched her code into the alarm system. It beeped a long beep, and she tried again. I looked over her shoulder.
    “You forgot to set it before we left,” I said. “Again.”
    “Well, I can’t always remember the blamed thing. It’s a nuisance most of the time. I don’t know why Jackson Lee insisted I upgrade when it doesn’t work like it should.”
    “It only works if you set it. Jackson Lee insisted you upgrade after the fire so we don’t have to stand outside in wet tee shirts and panties while firemen ogle us.”
    “That was you, not me. I had sense enough to wear a robe and slippers.”
    “I would have, too, if I’d known you were going to try and burn down the house. Warn me next time you plan to cook, okay?”
    I followed Bitty from the entry hall through the front room and dining room, into the kitchen. She flipped a switch and granite counters gleamed under the cup lights installed beneath the upper cabinets. Chen Ling blinked and curled her pink tongue out in a yawn.
    “Poor precious,” Bitty muttered, “I know you must be starving. Here. Mommy will fix you something to eat.”
    “Will Mommy let me fix something to eat, too?” I asked, not really expecting a reply. “All that drama has made me hungry.”
    While Bitty prepared the dog a meal, I dragged out cold cuts, condiments, and a couple jars of pickles. By the time Chen Ling had sucked down her microwaved food, I had me and Bitty a platter of sandwiches to carry into what she refers to as her parlor. It is really more of a former butler’s pantry that she had renovated by combining a breakfast room with it to create a cozy nook with two huge chairs that make into beds in a pinch. Wooden shutters, a couple lamps, an expensive rug on the refinished original hardwood floors, and it really does make a nice area to sit and talk.
    “It’s pretty late,” Bitty said around a mouthful of roast beef sandwich. “Why don’t you just stay the night?”
    “I might. I’ll call home first to make sure Mama and Daddy don’t need me.”
    Bitty shook her head. “When do they ever need you? Just for rides to the airport. Or to the river. For people in their seventies, they sure do get around well.”
    “They get around well for people in their fifties,” I said, thinking of how difficult I find it to keep up with my parents most of the time. “I found