Hey, Good Looking 1 Ten Years Later The houses on Thornberry Lane near the outskirts of Baton Rouge were always the main draw on the Historical Tour for tourists. No one could explain why or how a cul-de-sac with just five houses could be called a lane or why, since it was outside of the town''s historic district, it was on the tour. Some speculated it was because the Lane family owned three of the houses on Thornberry Lane. Others said it was because it was like an oasis, with each house sitting on a full acre of land with an enormous bed of flowers in the middle. Whatever it was, everyone in Baton Rouge agreed Thornberry Lane was the most beautiful sight they''d ever seen. Gawkers and tourists aside, Baton Rougies, as some referred to themselves, were loyal to three of the inhabitants of Thornberry Lane. Not so to the inhabitants of the two houses on the end that belonged to the Gunn family. Outsiders, they said, nouveau riche, others said.
The truth was that when Marcus Gunn was finally on the verge of being accepted by the Rougies, thanks to the Lane sisters, he up and married his second wife, Bella. The Rougies and the Lane sisters closed ranks, and it was a greased downhill slide for Marcus Gunn and his new wife. The Junior Leaguers, along with the members of the Garden Club, Historical Society, and Rotary sniffed that Bella''s shady past--which they were convinced included an out-of-wedlock child, something no amount of digging and searching could prove--her bleached hair, her pancake makeup, her faux jewelry, not to mention her hoity-toity attitude, would be a disgrace to the Rougies. And, the Rougies whispered, she was twenty-five years younger than Marcus, which could mean only one thing. Bella was a gold digger and after Marcus''s money, of which there was plenty. She was no stepmother to Marcus''s three children, they said. Wicked stepmother was more like it, they hissed among themselves after they said over and over, "Those poor children; thank God for the Lane sisters and the love they showed the children." The Lane sisters could attest to that fact, and they did, every chance they got.
They fed and took care of the three children as much as was allowed. Bella didn''t care as long as they weren''t, as she put it, under her feet. The final consensus on Bella Gunn was that she was not only white trash, she was tacky as well. That particular statement probably had something to do with the fact that Bella wore a tiara to church services on Sunday morning. Lydia Lane, oldest of the Lane sisters, and known to friends and family as Dodo, stepped out onto her flower-bedecked veranda and stared across the wide acre of rainbow plantings and cobblestone paths that led out to the street and the main road. She cringed the way she always did when her gaze settled on the two Gunn houses situated at the ends of the horseshoe-shaped lane. They were a blight on the landscape. A deliberate blight, thanks to Bella Gunn.
And there was nothing she or her sisters could do about it. Dodo stared at the rotting wood, the broken windows, sagging verandas, doors hanging on one hinge, and the dilapidated steps that were a danger to any child wishing to explore haunted houses. Every night she prayed that the buildings would collapse or that lightning would strike them. What she was looking at was all the result of Bella Gunn''s being denied entrance to the Christmas tour. Bitter and angry over the Rougies'' refusal to accept her, she''d deliberately allowed the two Gunn houses in the shoe to fall into their present condition. That, and her hatred of the three Lane sisters, who were on the selection committee for the Christmas tour. Not more than an hour ago, Mary Ellen Prentice had called and said she''d heard from Emma Rangley, who heard from the Baptist minister''s own lips that Bella had said in a fit of pique that the reason she was denied entrance to the tour was because of the location of the house she''d designed on the outskirts of town. Now Bella was going to concentrate on the houses in the shoe and reapply.
According to Emma, Bella''s parting shot had been, "They won''t dare turn down a house in the shoe, much less two houses in the shoe." Just watch me turn you down. There''s a young man and his family that belongs here in the shoe, by right of inheritance, not by trickery and chicanery the way Bella was doing. A young man and his family she''d give up all she held dear to know again. Shielding her eyes from the bright sun, Dodo whistled between her teeth the way a small boy would to attract a friend''s attention. Her sister Vivian, better known as Diddy, banged the screen door of her house, which was opposite Dodo''s, and waddled over to the veranda railing. "What? Why can''t you use the phone like other people do when you want to speak with me? It''s not ladylike to whistle between your teeth, Dodo." She was breathless as she, too, leaned on the railing.
The skinny little woman with the spiked hair waved her sister''s comment aside. "I swear this is the worst day of my life. I should have killed that woman or, at the very least, pushed her into that grave yesterday. But no, you had to stop me!" Diddy Lane''s plump cheeks flushed crimson. "No Lane has ever been in trouble with the law. I wouldn''t do well visiting you in prison, and that''s where you would have gone if you had done that. If it''s any consolation to you, Dodo, I wanted to do the same thing. We''re ladies, and ladies do not go around pushing people into open graves.
I just wish.Lord, I wish so many things, but mainly I wish Marcus hadn''t had that last stroke. He''s so out of it he doesn''t have a clue as to what is going on. Bella calls the shots these days. Then again, she''s been doing that forever, it seems, so I guess it''s not new at all. It''s just so sad that someone as vital as Marcus could be felled like this." Dodo looked down from the railing at a border of begonias that were so lush and colorful they looked like they''d been painted on the cobblestones lining the house. "And where is that wayward sister of ours? She loved Russell as much as we did.
She said she would be at the funeral. She wasn''t there! I''ll tell you where she is, she''s probably out lollygagging with some young stud forty years her junior," she said vehemently. Diddy''s plump cheeks flushed again. "At least she does her lollygagging off scene in New Orleans. Oh, God! There she is! Would you look at her!" Dodo reared back as her sister Harriet, known to her sisters--and those in town who still remembered her--as Ducky, stepped out of the stretch limousine. She wore a dress that resembled gossamer, or maybe a thousand sheer hankies sewn together, draped on her voluptuous frame. A wide lacy straw hat, with real flowers and satin ribbons trailing down the sides and back, adorned her head. Outrageous designer sunglasses finished off her look.
Ducky never wore anything that didn''t carry a designer''s name on it. A purse as big as a suitcase was the only thing she carried. She was boohooing behind the dark glasses as she made her way up one of the cobblestone paths that led to her sisters'' houses. The stylish, pointy-toed, backless heels made it a difficult task. Both sisters watched as their sister kicked them off. One landed in the middle of the begonias, and the other settled atop one of the oleander bushes. Both Dodo and Diddy pursed their mouths at the sight. "Such a lady," Diddy muttered.
The wayward, free-spirit sister removed her sunglasses to see her siblings better. What she saw made her say, "Oh, will you two stuff it already. And before you can ask me where I was, I was attending to business, and as much as I tried, I just couldn''t get back in time. I feel awful." Ducky met Diddy by the steps, and together they walked up them to Dodo''s house. "I take it our niece isn''t here yet. How are we going to handle all this?" Ducky asked as she quickly bussed each sister on the cheek. Dodo, a martial arts expert in her prime, pivoted on the balls of her feet before she smacked one hand into the other.
"Very carefully," Dodo responded. "I was just telling Diddy I think this is one of the worst days in my life. Darby," she said, "is devastated. She''s blaming herself, which is silly, but what can you expect? Russell was her best friend since they were three years old. Why am I telling you something you already know?" she dithered. The Lane sisters looked at one another. Dodo, age seventy-two, Diddy, age seventy, and Ducky, age sixty-nine, a hair away from seventy, were suddenly squabbling like teenagers as they started to blame one another for their niece''s trip to Scotland. Diddy drew herself up to her full five feet and glared at her sisters.
"Tell me, how does one tell one''s niece, who, by the way, is thirty-three years old, that she shouldn''t travel outside the country. She went on business. Darby does what she wants when she wants. We are not her wardens, Ducky. Is that a nightgown you''re wearing?" she sniped. Ducky hitched up the front of her gossamer dress. "No, it is not a nightgown. It''s the latest in fashion.
I bought it in Paris two months ago. It certainly beats that.that.whatever it is you''re wearing, Diddy. As for you, Dodo, give up the ninja crap already and dress like a female." Exhausted with her little speech, Ducky sent her straw hat sailing across the veranda. It landed with precision on one of the wicker chairs. She then strode barefoot across the grass-green carpet and sat down on the swing.
"Sit! Sit already. We need to make a plan here. Refreshments would be nice." "Yes, they would," Dodo said as she sat down on the swing ne.