Southern Lights: A Novel

“Luisa, I’d like to introduce you to my mother, Alexa Hamilton,” Savannah said politely, nearly drawling herself, but not quite. Luisa looked at her in outrage, as though Savannah had just taken her clothes off in front of church, or grabbed her stepmother by her elaborately coiffed hair.

“We met, many years ago,” she said through clenched teeth as her own daughter watched her with a look of resignation, wondering why her mother was always so mean. She was not a happy person, and angry most of the time. As Luisa said the words, she looked sourly at Alexa.

“It’s nice to see you again, Luisa,” Alexa said, lying through her teeth. She would have liked to add “bless your heart” but didn’t dare. Neither she nor Savannah could have kept a straight face, or maybe even Daisy. “Thank you for having Savannah stay with you. I really appreciate it, and I know she does too.”

“Not at all,” Luisa said, and grabbed Daisy by the back of the neck in a firm grip, and propelled her toward their car without another word. Daisy looked back with a pained grin and waved, and both women felt sorry for her. In many ways, she was the victim in all this, as Savannah had been years before, and neither of them deserved it.

“What a bitch,” Alexa muttered, watching Luisa snap at Daisy as she slammed the door to the car, and then drove her away. “Bless her heart,” she added, and Savannah laughed out loud.

“Yeah, she is,” Savannah confirmed. “But I’m glad you met Daisy. She’s such a sweet kid.”

“Your father sure got what he deserved with that one,” Alexa commented about Luisa as they walked away from the church.

“He looks pretty miserable most of the time,” Savannah confirmed, “or maybe that’s just because she’s so mad that I’m there. They’ve hardly said two words to each other since I got here, except when they’re fighting.”

“Sounds like a fun life.” Alexa had been startled by the meeting, and rendered almost speechless by the look of venom in Luisa’s eyes. She was a piece of work, and even worse than Alexa had imagined. Much, much worse.

They had a lovely brunch at Baker’s Café, which was one of Alexa’s old favorites. She said that they had gone there a lot when she was pregnant with Savannah. It was one of the old traditional restaurants of Charleston, with a pretty garden, and it was a lovely sunny day. Then they drove out to the beach, across several picturesque bridges, and eventually wound up back at the hotel in the late afternoon. They both hated to admit it, but their magical weekend was drawing to a close, and it made both of them very sad.

“How soon do you think you can come back, Mom?” Savannah asked, looking worried.

“I don’t know, another week…or two…but I had a great time with you, sweetheart. I could even fall in love with Charleston again, here with you. Just don’t you do it,” she warned her. “I want you home soon!”

“Don’t worry, Mom. I won’t stay here. It’s fun to visit, but I’m coming back to New York as soon as I can. I’d come home now if you let me,” but they both knew that would have been a bad idea.

“Don’t let Cruella De Vil get to you,” Alexa said as Savannah laughed at the description. “Bless her heart, of course.”

Alexa packed her bag, minus all the items she had brought for Savannah or that her daughter had taken a shine to. She had to leave for the airport at six-thirty for an eight o’clock flight. Savannah offered to come to the airport with her, but her mother didn’t want her to. It was better for Savannah if they said goodbye at the hotel and she went home with Tom, instead of standing at the airport alone when her mother left.

Savannah called her father just before they left the room and went downstairs to pay the bill. She was relieved that her mother would be coming back soon. She knew that once the trial started in May that wouldn’t be possible, but at least for March and April, Alexa was going to try and come down every couple of weeks, or more often if she could. She had promised, and she always kept her word.

By the time Alexa finished paying the bill, Tom walked into the lobby. He had come from the club and was wearing tennis shorts, and Alexa averted her eyes. She didn’t want to see how handsome he was, or how good his legs were. It was no longer her problem, but she already knew that something about him would always stir feelings inside her. But it was nothing more than that.

“I’ll bet you two had a great weekend,” he said, smiling broadly at them, and then his face clouded just a little. “I hear you ran into Luisa and Daisy at church.” His wife had nearly taken off his head about that, as though he had planned it. Luisa had told him that he should have warned Savannah not to go anywhere near their church. He had commented acidly on her warm Christian spirit, and could only imagine how unpleasant she must have been to Alexa. Instead of being remorseful, or feeling sorry for her, Luisa seemed to have a need to punish her further and grind her into dust. He looked at Alexa now as though to apologize for his wife.