Legends of Litha (Wheel of the Year Anthology Volume 3) by Cherron Riser, Ashley Nicole Davis, Tara Ann Moore, & Taylor Lexus Brown
May Alice Winthrop was viewed by many as the most beautiful girl in Louisiana if not the world. Most girls would let something like that go straight to their head but not May Alice. She remained just as sweet and gentle as a glass of iced tea on a hot summer day. She was as lovely, considerate, and as kind a girl as you would ever expect to meet. Her sister, however, was as different from her as night was to day.
Clothilde Winthrop was just as beautiful as her sister, but she seemed to have been born with a darkness inside her heart. From the day she was strong enough to move about on her own, Clothilde had made it clear she would do whatever she could to cause her sister pain. It started with the young girl throwing her older sister’s baby dolls in the stove when they were children. Next, she would move on to putting tar on her sister’s new dresses and throwing May Alice’s jewelry in the river. Once she even put the depilatory cream in her sister’s hair cream.
Poor, sweet May Alice would cry her eyes out over the way her sister treated her, but her parents still doted on Clothilde, claiming she couldn’t possibly mean to hurt her. They reasoned that her sister was just a spirited child and maybe took her jokes a little too far sometimes. May Alice tried hard to love her sister, but it was not an easy task. Every time the girl reached out and tried to befriend her baby sister, she only came back more hurt by some inevitable new betrayal. Eventually, May Alice stopped trying to have any relationship with her sister. A rift even grew between her and her parents because of the way they never failed to defend the younger girl.
As a result, May Alice chose to spend most of her time with her grandmother, Granny Thibodaux, who was the only other person who could see Clothilde for what she really was. When things became so strained at the Winthrop house that it seemed everyone was at their breaking point, Granny T suggested May Alice move in with her. Since Granny T only lived next door, this was decided to be a generally agreeable idea. With a much lighter and happier heart, the girl moved in with her beloved granny and began to regain the youthful vitality she had been missing.
Over a matter of weeks, the girl went from a gaunt, nervous child with perpetual dark shadows under her eyes to a vivacious, charming young woman. It didn’t take long for other people, especially the young men in the parish, to notice May Alice’s transformation. The stone walls around Granny’s property kept out all that was unpleasant in life, and the two ladies were very devoted to each other. Many happy nights were spent chatting while sipping tea on the front porch or entertaining guests in the living room. Having her granddaughter move in with her seemed to give Granny T a new lease on life. The old woman seemed to feel years younger and had a new pep in her step. May Alice was blossoming into a beautiful specimen of young womanhood under her granny’s loving care. Life was beautiful until the summer of 1953.
The air was oppressively hot that afternoon, as May Alice lay in a reclining chair by the swimming pool. Luxurious laziness seemed to be cast over the world. Lifting her glass of iced tea became a herculean task. She turned over on her stomach and undid the clasp on the back of her bathing suit. She hated tan lines that might spoil the look of her evening dresses. She was very aware of these things now that she’d caught the attention of Henri Bishop. Henri had just graduated from a prestigious university and started working at his daddy’s law firm.
Henri had come back from college more handsome and much more sophisticated than he had been before. All the girls in town had been after him, but May Alice had been the one to capture his attention. Their eyes had met from across the room at Joe’s Place, the local diner. She had been with a group of her friends. They had gone out to eat after a long afternoon of swimming and had met up with a few of the local boys at Joe’s. Cole Jr. had been flirting with her again. He was a sweet funny boy, but he was too young for May Alice. Ruthie Beauchamp and Caroline Tate were egging him on. Ruby Jean Livaudis was curled up in the corner with her steady boyfriend, Bobby Lee Jackson. That’s when Henri Bishop had walked in.
In that moment, time had seemed to stand still. Henri had glanced around and spotted May Alice immediately. The restaurant and everyone in it seemed to fade away. He walked over to her table, never breaking eye contact the whole way. Someone must have tried to say something to her because she could feel somebody push on her arm. The feeling seemed to come from very far away.
“Can I join you all?” Henri asked, and that was it for May Alice. Her heart belonged to Henri from that moment on.
May Alice shivered even though she was in the bright summer sunlight. Thinking of Henri always made her break out in goose bumps. She had never felt anything so delicious in all her life. Just thinking of him, his gorgeous hazel eyes, the way his hair looked like spun gold, and the way his lips moved against hers when he kissed her goodnight sent chills through her body. I love him, she thought, my God, I love him. Her every thought was consumed with him. She snapped her top back in place and rolled over with a sigh.
She heard a noise over toward the wall that separated Granny T’s house from her parents’ property. The girl looked up, shading her eyes against the bright summer sunlight. Three magazines and a towel flew over the wall and landed in the azaleas growing there. Two small white hands and, soon after, a sleek black head, appeared on top of the wall. May Alice watched as Clothilde pulled herself up until she was sitting on the stones. She sat there a moment, regarding May Alice with an audacious smirk, as if she was daring her sister to tell her to leave. Clothilde was wearing a very tight one-piece swimsuit that almost matched the color of her skin. Her thick, black, bobbed hair accentuated a tiny face that seemed comprised mostly of big, green eyes and pouting lips. She sat perfectly composed, like a cat on top of the wall. Every move seemed engineered to look graceful and poised.
“You know, any good sister would come help me off this damned wall!”
“Clothilde, what are you doing on top of that wall anyway? You could have just knocked on the door like a regular person would. Somebody would have let you in.”
“You know Granny’s maid ain’t never liked me. She’s been giving me sour looks ever since I booby-trapped that staircase and she fell and broke her leg.”
“You did that on purpose? Clothilde, you said you accidentally left your jacks there! Why would you do something like that?”
“What does that matter now? That woman hates me, so do you, and so does Granny T. Nobody loves me, nobody at all.”
“Oh, Hilde! You know that isn’t true!” May Alice rushed over to help her sister. “Mama and Daddy are crazy about you, you never have any shortage of boyfriends, and Granny T loves you too. Nobody hates you, Clothilde.”
“Well, why did Granny bring you over here to live with her and leave me next door in that hell-hole?”
“What do you mean, Hilde? You live right next door in one of the nicest houses, on one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. You aren’t exactly Oliver Twist, you know.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have a pool, and you all never invite me over here." Clothilde looked like she would cry.
May Alice reached up and helped her down from the wall as best she could. They both fell into the azalea bushes.
“Damn it, May Alice! I should have known you'd let me fall, and me in my nice new bathing suit too! I bet it's ruined. You can never do anything nice for me, I swear.”
May Alice climbed out of the bushes and began pulling leaves and tree branches out of her hair.
“Don’t you put this all on me, Hilde! I’m just as scratched up as you are. Why couldn’t you have just rang the doorbell like a normal person? It was your idea to climb up that stupid wall over those damn azalea bushes!”
“Of course, you’d blame me! Of course, you would! You always blame me for everything, even when you hurt me, it’s all my fault somehow. I don’t know why I came over here in the first place. I knew you’d be like this. I’m going home to tell Mother and Daddy that you threw me in the bushes instead of inviting me to go swimming with you.”
“What do you mean you’re goi
ng to tell Mother and Daddy on me? I’m twenty years old! I didn’t throw you in those bushes either. You climbed up that wall. I tried to help you and we both fell. I’m just as banged up as you are.”
‘Well, I’m going swimming anyway. I don’t care what you do. It’s not fair you get to live here in this beautiful house with this pool and everything. You always seem to end up with the best of everything, and I just get the leftover shit. I’m tired of it! Go or stay as you see fit, I don’t care.”
Clothilde retrieved her magazines and towel from the bushes and placed them beside a lounge chair next to the pool. May Alice shook the remaining debris out of her hair and returned to her seat. She tossed and turned, trying to stop feeling angry and get comfortable. She was determined that her sister was not going to run her away this time, like she had been doing May Alice’s whole life. She knew that was all Clothilde wanted, and May Alice refused to give her that satisfaction.
The back door opened and Granny T’s maid, Lucy, came out.
“Ms. May Alice, Mr. Henri is here to see you. Oh, I didn’t realize your sister was over to visit,” Lucy said, with a troubled look, “Should I tell your young man that you’re busy?”
“No, Lucy,” said May Alice, jumping up and turning to fix her bathing suit “Please tell Henri to come right out.”
“So the rumors are true then?” said Clothilde with her signature smirk. “You and Henri Bishop are an item?”
“Yes, we are and you better be nice. I’m not playing, Clothilde.”
“Why should I care who you date or what you do, May Alice? It’s just strange you haven’t invited him over to our house yet. I’m sure Mother and Daddy would love to know their least favorite daughter is seeing the most eligible young bachelor in the parish. Most girls would be excited to introduce their parents to somebody like that, but not you. Is he embarrassed of you or something?”
May Alice shot her sister a murderous look but chose to ignore her insult. She refused to let Henri walk out and catch her fighting with her sister like two wet cats. Clothilde stretched herself out in a provocative pose and opened her magazine as if she couldn’t care less that Henri was on his way out to see them. Shortly, the door opened again and Henri walked out.
“Hello, May Alice,” he said, rushing over to hug her “You look especially beautiful today.”
May Alice giggled and hugged him back before planting a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you, Henri. I didn’t know you were coming over. I wouldn’t be lying out here covered in sweat if I did.”
“You’re gorgeous just as you are, my sweetheart. All fixed up or not, you’re absolute perfection. I was free this afternoon and decided to stop over to see how my favorite girl was doing.”
“You’re the sweetest thing, Henri. I could just die from how sweet you are.” May Alice kissed him. It was a sweet small kiss that gave her that glowing feeling all over her body.
Henri pulled her close to him to deepen the kiss. May Alice wrapped her arms tighter around his neck; her sister was totally gone from her mind. All that existed in her whole world was Henri’s arms and lips and the kiss they shared. All she wanted to do was stay like this with him forever. He smelled of warmth and summertime. His body seemed to radiate heat, and she wanted to be consumed by it.
“Hello, Henri,” said Clothilde, smirking.
Henri immediately released May Alice and took a step back. “May Alice, I didn’t realize you had company,” said Henri sheepishly “Hello, Clothilde.”
May Alice was flustered but tried not to show it. “Hilde came over a little while to swim with me. Right, Clothilde?”
“Oh yes!” said Clothilde with a mischievous smile that made May Alice’s heart jump into her throat. “Queen May Alice so graciously invited her peasant sister to join her for a little fun in the sun. If she had been any more gracious, I might not have had to scale that wall and get my rear hurt by those azalea bushes. Tell me, Henri, does my backside look badly injured to you?”
Clothilde turned around and poked out her backside for Henri to examine. May Alice’s blood began to boil, and her heart beat like Congo drums in her chest. She knew what her sister was up to. Clothilde’s chief hobby was trying to steal her sister’s boyfriends. It was never because she wanted the boys for herself, for she soon lost interest in them once they were acquired. It was to prove that she could do it. She didn’t want the boys; they were just a means to an end. What Clothilde wanted was to prove she was better than her sister.
The older girl struggled to maintain her composure. Clothilde loved nothing more than to see her sister turn into a screaming lunatic.
The only way to turn the situation to her favor was to use her wit and embarrass Clothilde. The younger girl might be cunning and conniving, but she was nowhere near as quick-witted as her older sister. May Alice had a clear advantage, and she intended to use it.
“Well, Clothilde,” pronounced the older girl in a very genteel voice with the smallest hint of derision in her tone. “I’m so glad to see you’ve decided to show us your best side. Here I was worried you’d act like something out of a Storyville and embarrass me in front of my company.”
Clothilde’s pale skin flushed a most violent shade of vermilion, and her green eyes narrowed at her laughing sister. Henri was laughing with his head thrown back and his eyes closed. Those green eyes seethed with so much rage that tears began to roll down the girl’s cheeks. She clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. They were laughing at her! She had expected her sister to scream, cry, act like a spoiled child, and throw a jealous fit. Clothilde was not prepared for this new more grown-up version of May Alice, and she didn’t like it, not one bit.
I’m going to pay you back for this, May Alice, thought Clothilde, an ugly smile twisting her pretty face into something monstrous. You think you’re so damn clever over there laughing with your perfect boyfriend. Look at you, swimming about like you’re Miss America! You’ve got it all, don’t you? You’re so pretty and smart, everybody just loves you, and you’ve got that perfect boyfriend of yours. Just look at you two over there laughing together. You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you? You’re so secure in your love for each other. It would be a damn shame if someone took him away. All I needed was a little validation, dear sister. I just needed to know that you still saw me as a threat, that you didn’t see yourself as so high above me now that you’re all grown up. You’ve forgotten, dear sister, who rules the roost around here, and that is a terrible mistake. One little screaming fit, and I would have happily left you alone, but you couldn’t even give me that. You’ll learn to fear me again, my sweet sister, and you’ll learn the hard way.
Neither May Alice nor Henri noticed the demonic smile on Clothilde’s face as she gathered up her things and proceeded to leave. She turned her back on her sister and Henri. Putting a convincing pout into her voice, she called out as she reached the back door. “I can see I’m not wanted here, so I’m going. My sister is embarrassed of me and considers me unfit for polite society.”
Clothilde stormed into the house and slammed the door behind her. She even stomped to the front door for good measure. She had to make her sister believe she had gotten the best of her so that May Alice would be lulled into a false sense of security. All the better to blindside you, dear sister, thought Clothilde. She was already manufacturing a story in her head to tell her parents about May Alice’s abominable behavior toward her. After all, sowing seeds of discord was what Clothilde did best.
Knowing what trouble Clothilde would try to start between her and her parents, May Alice called out to the younger girl. Why does it always have to be like this? thought May Alice. No matter what, I can never win. I either sit idly by and watch her steal my boyfriend or face my parents’ anger when she goes home and tells them how I was mean to her. Either way, my heart gets broken.
Henri caught May Alice’s wrist in his hand, just as she had turned to chase after her sister. “Darling, what are you doing?
For God’s sake, don’t fetch her back again. I’d say she has given you enough trouble for one day.”
“But, Henri, you have no idea what she’ll tell our parents. I have to go to her. I have to stop her.”
“How are you going to do that, my sweet girl?”
May Alice sighed “I’ll do what I always do. I’ll apologize from here to heaven and I’ll invite her back. Maybe that will be enough to placate her, sometimes, it is.”
“No, darling, don’t do that. I’d sooner see you wade into the swamp than to watch you suck up to that foul creature. For years, I heard stories about the kind of things she does to herself and to you. I can’t sit by and watch you run after her, no matter what trouble it may cause. It makes me sick!”
“I can’t just sit by while she makes up more terrible stories about me to tell, not only to our parents but to spread around town too.”
She tried desperately to break away from Henri’s grasp, but he pulled her close to him. Tears stood in the girl’s eyes, ready to fall as soon as she would let them. He can’t possibly understand, she thought. How could anyone understand? My sister is a monstrous thing, and yet, my parents always believe her. How terrible must they think me?
“You don’t understand, Henri, people listen to her. I don’t know how or why, but they always do.”
“Well, I will tell you this, my darling, no one will listen to her about this. In fact, nobody will say one bad thing about you ever again. I can promise you that.”
“Oh, Henri, those are very pretty words, but I doubt you can live up to them. People talked about me the whole time I lived with her. They only stopped when Granny T took me in. It won’t take much to get them all started again. You shouldn’t bother with me, Henri. My family is a terrible mess. My sister is always going to sling mud at me and anyone close to me. You’re becoming a respected lawyer. You don’t need the trouble or the scandal going around with me would bring. I don’t know why you bothered with me anyway.”
May Alice turned to run away, tears falling like a summer storm down her face. Henri grabbed both of her arms and pulled her into an embrace. She struggled against him at first, choking back her sobs.
“Let me go! Damn it, Henri, let me go! I can’t stand for you to see me this way. My mind is made up, now just let me go!”
Henri did not let her go. Instead, he pulled her closer to him and held her against him tightly. She buried her face into his chest and began to sob like a heartbroken child.
“Hush, my sweetheart, it’s all right,” he said as he caressed her hair and rained kisses down on the top of her head. Her hair smelled sweet like honey, and the warm smell of her skin was perfumed with tropical fruits from her tanning oil. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even deeper into his embrace. She was so small and he felt so fiercely protective over her. “My sweet darling, I’ll never let anything come between us. Nothing will ever take me away from you, not your sister, not this town, not even your parents. Stop your tears, my beautiful girl, or at least let me wipe them away for you.”
“Henri,” she said, raising her tear-swollen eyes to look up at him, “you don’t know how bad she is and what she’ll do. You don’t know the awful things she’s already done. She’s terrible, Henri, just terrible. She’s my cross to bear and not yours. I couldn’t invite you to take on all this mess, no matter how bad I want you to. I’d be just as selfish and bad as she is, if I did.”
“My sweet May Alice,” he said, kissing away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “I came over here to invite you to dinner at my parents’ house this evening. I had planned to tell you something important tonight, but I can see that I can’t wait. May Alice Winthrop, I love you. I had a big speech written for just this moment and, if you’ll let me, I’ll read it to you later. I had the perfect moment all planned out and, if you want, we can do all this over then. Sometimes, life doesn’t wait for perfect moments. I’d rather do this now than to wait and lose you.”
May Alice was shocked and didn’t know what to feel. She thought she might faint from sheer confusion, but she’d never been the fainting type. One minute, her heart had been broken and she had been as sad as she had ever been. Now, she was elated. She felt as if the very sun itself was glowing away inside her chest. She didn’t know what to do or say, so great was her joy and confusion. She nearly tripped and fell, but Henri caught her in his arms.
“Henri, do you really mean this? Do you really love me?”
“Of course, I love you, silly girl! he said, walking her over to the nearest lounge chair. “I don’t say things like this lightly, and I hope you don’t either.”
“But why, Henri?”
“Why do I love you?” he asked, confused as to why such a glorious creature would need such reassurance. How could anyone look at her and not fall instantly in love? Had her sister damaged her so much that she couldn’t see how magnificent she was? No more of that! He decided that if she could possibly love him back, he would spend his life making her forget anyone had ever been cruel to her. He knew May Alice was a strong woman who could take care of herself, but he knew even the strong needed backup sometimes.
“May Alice, you are an absolute goddess among women. You are kind to everyone, high or low. You are the strongest person that I know. You’re so smart and witty that I’m amazed I don’t bore you to tears. I never know what you’re going to say or do next. You color my world. You make rainbows where before I only saw gray skies. It also doesn’t hurt that you’re the most insanely beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. You belong in movies. For all this and more, I love you, and I want to devote the rest of my life to making you happy.”
All this time, he had been kneeling beside her, holding her hands. He then let go of them to fumble in his pocket. He lost his balance and fell over. May Alice reached out to steady him, and she fell over as well, bringing the pool chair toppling down on top of her. Henri was worried she was hurt until he heard her laughing. He lay down on the concrete and peered under the wreckage of the chair.
“Hello there, gorgeous.”
“I’m afraid you might need to add clumsy to that list of my attributes that you were making,” she said.
“No, my love, I’m the clumsy one. I always have been. You wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t been trying to save me. Tell me, May Alice, can you love a clumsy man?”
“I’m afraid I already do.”
“Darling, do you mean it? Do you really love me? You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better about falling?”
“No, my wonderful boy, I love you. I have loved you for so long that this moment seems a dream.”
He leaned in to kiss her then, and finding the lounge chair in his way, he pushed it aside. They laughed and he helped her up. Now that the moment was over, they felt shy with each other. They didn’t quite know how to act after all they had said.
“Henri, your suit is absolutely wilting in this heat. Would you like to change into the bathing suit you left here last week and go swimming with me? We’ll see if Lucy can repair your suit before we go over to your parents for dinner.”
“I’m afraid our plans have changed, sweetheart.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it’s all right with you, I would like to have dinner here and invite your family.”
Oh, Henri, no! After all that has happened today with my sister, that’s a terrible idea. “
“I want to be here when your sister’s lies come back to hurt you. You don’t have to face that all alone. I want to be here for you.”
“I love that you want to do that for me, Henri, really. You don’t know how nasty this is going to get. I’d rather you not have to be involved in all that mess.”
“My stubborn girl, when are you going to realize that you don’t have to face everything alone? I know you’re strong, there’s no need for you to keep on proving it. Let me in, May Alice. All I’m asking is for a chance to show you that I won’t run away at the first sign of troubl
e.”
“You really don’t know what you’re asking. It’s not that easy, love, nothing is. Tonight, let’s just enjoy dinner with your parents, okay? It sounds like you already have a wonderful evening planned for us.”
“In that case, I’ll go change into my swimming trunks and see if Lucy can repair my suit.”
Clothilde Winthrop was just as beautiful as her sister, but she seemed to have been born with a darkness inside her heart. From the day she was strong enough to move about on her own, Clothilde had made it clear she would do whatever she could to cause her sister pain. It started with the young girl throwing her older sister’s baby dolls in the stove when they were children. Next, she would move on to putting tar on her sister’s new dresses and throwing May Alice’s jewelry in the river. Once she even put the depilatory cream in her sister’s hair cream.
Poor, sweet May Alice would cry her eyes out over the way her sister treated her, but her parents still doted on Clothilde, claiming she couldn’t possibly mean to hurt her. They reasoned that her sister was just a spirited child and maybe took her jokes a little too far sometimes. May Alice tried hard to love her sister, but it was not an easy task. Every time the girl reached out and tried to befriend her baby sister, she only came back more hurt by some inevitable new betrayal. Eventually, May Alice stopped trying to have any relationship with her sister. A rift even grew between her and her parents because of the way they never failed to defend the younger girl.
As a result, May Alice chose to spend most of her time with her grandmother, Granny Thibodaux, who was the only other person who could see Clothilde for what she really was. When things became so strained at the Winthrop house that it seemed everyone was at their breaking point, Granny T suggested May Alice move in with her. Since Granny T only lived next door, this was decided to be a generally agreeable idea. With a much lighter and happier heart, the girl moved in with her beloved granny and began to regain the youthful vitality she had been missing.
Over a matter of weeks, the girl went from a gaunt, nervous child with perpetual dark shadows under her eyes to a vivacious, charming young woman. It didn’t take long for other people, especially the young men in the parish, to notice May Alice’s transformation. The stone walls around Granny’s property kept out all that was unpleasant in life, and the two ladies were very devoted to each other. Many happy nights were spent chatting while sipping tea on the front porch or entertaining guests in the living room. Having her granddaughter move in with her seemed to give Granny T a new lease on life. The old woman seemed to feel years younger and had a new pep in her step. May Alice was blossoming into a beautiful specimen of young womanhood under her granny’s loving care. Life was beautiful until the summer of 1953.
The air was oppressively hot that afternoon, as May Alice lay in a reclining chair by the swimming pool. Luxurious laziness seemed to be cast over the world. Lifting her glass of iced tea became a herculean task. She turned over on her stomach and undid the clasp on the back of her bathing suit. She hated tan lines that might spoil the look of her evening dresses. She was very aware of these things now that she’d caught the attention of Henri Bishop. Henri had just graduated from a prestigious university and started working at his daddy’s law firm.
Henri had come back from college more handsome and much more sophisticated than he had been before. All the girls in town had been after him, but May Alice had been the one to capture his attention. Their eyes had met from across the room at Joe’s Place, the local diner. She had been with a group of her friends. They had gone out to eat after a long afternoon of swimming and had met up with a few of the local boys at Joe’s. Cole Jr. had been flirting with her again. He was a sweet funny boy, but he was too young for May Alice. Ruthie Beauchamp and Caroline Tate were egging him on. Ruby Jean Livaudis was curled up in the corner with her steady boyfriend, Bobby Lee Jackson. That’s when Henri Bishop had walked in.
In that moment, time had seemed to stand still. Henri had glanced around and spotted May Alice immediately. The restaurant and everyone in it seemed to fade away. He walked over to her table, never breaking eye contact the whole way. Someone must have tried to say something to her because she could feel somebody push on her arm. The feeling seemed to come from very far away.
“Can I join you all?” Henri asked, and that was it for May Alice. Her heart belonged to Henri from that moment on.
May Alice shivered even though she was in the bright summer sunlight. Thinking of Henri always made her break out in goose bumps. She had never felt anything so delicious in all her life. Just thinking of him, his gorgeous hazel eyes, the way his hair looked like spun gold, and the way his lips moved against hers when he kissed her goodnight sent chills through her body. I love him, she thought, my God, I love him. Her every thought was consumed with him. She snapped her top back in place and rolled over with a sigh.
She heard a noise over toward the wall that separated Granny T’s house from her parents’ property. The girl looked up, shading her eyes against the bright summer sunlight. Three magazines and a towel flew over the wall and landed in the azaleas growing there. Two small white hands and, soon after, a sleek black head, appeared on top of the wall. May Alice watched as Clothilde pulled herself up until she was sitting on the stones. She sat there a moment, regarding May Alice with an audacious smirk, as if she was daring her sister to tell her to leave. Clothilde was wearing a very tight one-piece swimsuit that almost matched the color of her skin. Her thick, black, bobbed hair accentuated a tiny face that seemed comprised mostly of big, green eyes and pouting lips. She sat perfectly composed, like a cat on top of the wall. Every move seemed engineered to look graceful and poised.
“You know, any good sister would come help me off this damned wall!”
“Clothilde, what are you doing on top of that wall anyway? You could have just knocked on the door like a regular person would. Somebody would have let you in.”
“You know Granny’s maid ain’t never liked me. She’s been giving me sour looks ever since I booby-trapped that staircase and she fell and broke her leg.”
“You did that on purpose? Clothilde, you said you accidentally left your jacks there! Why would you do something like that?”
“What does that matter now? That woman hates me, so do you, and so does Granny T. Nobody loves me, nobody at all.”
“Oh, Hilde! You know that isn’t true!” May Alice rushed over to help her sister. “Mama and Daddy are crazy about you, you never have any shortage of boyfriends, and Granny T loves you too. Nobody hates you, Clothilde.”
“Well, why did Granny bring you over here to live with her and leave me next door in that hell-hole?”
“What do you mean, Hilde? You live right next door in one of the nicest houses, on one of the nicest neighborhoods in the city. You aren’t exactly Oliver Twist, you know.”
“Yeah, but we don’t have a pool, and you all never invite me over here." Clothilde looked like she would cry.
May Alice reached up and helped her down from the wall as best she could. They both fell into the azalea bushes.
“Damn it, May Alice! I should have known you'd let me fall, and me in my nice new bathing suit too! I bet it's ruined. You can never do anything nice for me, I swear.”
May Alice climbed out of the bushes and began pulling leaves and tree branches out of her hair.
“Don’t you put this all on me, Hilde! I’m just as scratched up as you are. Why couldn’t you have just rang the doorbell like a normal person? It was your idea to climb up that stupid wall over those damn azalea bushes!”
“Of course, you’d blame me! Of course, you would! You always blame me for everything, even when you hurt me, it’s all my fault somehow. I don’t know why I came over here in the first place. I knew you’d be like this. I’m going home to tell Mother and Daddy that you threw me in the bushes instead of inviting me to go swimming with you.”
“What do you mean you’re goi
‘Well, I’m going swimming anyway. I don’t care what you do. It’s not fair you get to live here in this beautiful house with this pool and everything. You always seem to end up with the best of everything, and I just get the leftover shit. I’m tired of it! Go or stay as you see fit, I don’t care.”
Clothilde retrieved her magazines and towel from the bushes and placed them beside a lounge chair next to the pool. May Alice shook the remaining debris out of her hair and returned to her seat. She tossed and turned, trying to stop feeling angry and get comfortable. She was determined that her sister was not going to run her away this time, like she had been doing May Alice’s whole life. She knew that was all Clothilde wanted, and May Alice refused to give her that satisfaction.
The back door opened and Granny T’s maid, Lucy, came out.
“Ms. May Alice, Mr. Henri is here to see you. Oh, I didn’t realize your sister was over to visit,” Lucy said, with a troubled look, “Should I tell your young man that you’re busy?”
“No, Lucy,” said May Alice, jumping up and turning to fix her bathing suit “Please tell Henri to come right out.”
“So the rumors are true then?” said Clothilde with her signature smirk. “You and Henri Bishop are an item?”
“Yes, we are and you better be nice. I’m not playing, Clothilde.”
“Why should I care who you date or what you do, May Alice? It’s just strange you haven’t invited him over to our house yet. I’m sure Mother and Daddy would love to know their least favorite daughter is seeing the most eligible young bachelor in the parish. Most girls would be excited to introduce their parents to somebody like that, but not you. Is he embarrassed of you or something?”
May Alice shot her sister a murderous look but chose to ignore her insult. She refused to let Henri walk out and catch her fighting with her sister like two wet cats. Clothilde stretched herself out in a provocative pose and opened her magazine as if she couldn’t care less that Henri was on his way out to see them. Shortly, the door opened again and Henri walked out.
“Hello, May Alice,” he said, rushing over to hug her “You look especially beautiful today.”
May Alice giggled and hugged him back before planting a quick kiss on his cheek.
“Thank you, Henri. I didn’t know you were coming over. I wouldn’t be lying out here covered in sweat if I did.”
“You’re gorgeous just as you are, my sweetheart. All fixed up or not, you’re absolute perfection. I was free this afternoon and decided to stop over to see how my favorite girl was doing.”
“You’re the sweetest thing, Henri. I could just die from how sweet you are.” May Alice kissed him. It was a sweet small kiss that gave her that glowing feeling all over her body.
Henri pulled her close to him to deepen the kiss. May Alice wrapped her arms tighter around his neck; her sister was totally gone from her mind. All that existed in her whole world was Henri’s arms and lips and the kiss they shared. All she wanted to do was stay like this with him forever. He smelled of warmth and summertime. His body seemed to radiate heat, and she wanted to be consumed by it.
“Hello, Henri,” said Clothilde, smirking.
Henri immediately released May Alice and took a step back. “May Alice, I didn’t realize you had company,” said Henri sheepishly “Hello, Clothilde.”
May Alice was flustered but tried not to show it. “Hilde came over a little while to swim with me. Right, Clothilde?”
“Oh yes!” said Clothilde with a mischievous smile that made May Alice’s heart jump into her throat. “Queen May Alice so graciously invited her peasant sister to join her for a little fun in the sun. If she had been any more gracious, I might not have had to scale that wall and get my rear hurt by those azalea bushes. Tell me, Henri, does my backside look badly injured to you?”
Clothilde turned around and poked out her backside for Henri to examine. May Alice’s blood began to boil, and her heart beat like Congo drums in her chest. She knew what her sister was up to. Clothilde’s chief hobby was trying to steal her sister’s boyfriends. It was never because she wanted the boys for herself, for she soon lost interest in them once they were acquired. It was to prove that she could do it. She didn’t want the boys; they were just a means to an end. What Clothilde wanted was to prove she was better than her sister.
The older girl struggled to maintain her composure. Clothilde loved nothing more than to see her sister turn into a screaming lunatic.
The only way to turn the situation to her favor was to use her wit and embarrass Clothilde. The younger girl might be cunning and conniving, but she was nowhere near as quick-witted as her older sister. May Alice had a clear advantage, and she intended to use it.
“Well, Clothilde,” pronounced the older girl in a very genteel voice with the smallest hint of derision in her tone. “I’m so glad to see you’ve decided to show us your best side. Here I was worried you’d act like something out of a Storyville and embarrass me in front of my company.”
Clothilde’s pale skin flushed a most violent shade of vermilion, and her green eyes narrowed at her laughing sister. Henri was laughing with his head thrown back and his eyes closed. Those green eyes seethed with so much rage that tears began to roll down the girl’s cheeks. She clenched her hands into fists and gritted her teeth. They were laughing at her! She had expected her sister to scream, cry, act like a spoiled child, and throw a jealous fit. Clothilde was not prepared for this new more grown-up version of May Alice, and she didn’t like it, not one bit.
I’m going to pay you back for this, May Alice, thought Clothilde, an ugly smile twisting her pretty face into something monstrous. You think you’re so damn clever over there laughing with your perfect boyfriend. Look at you, swimming about like you’re Miss America! You’ve got it all, don’t you? You’re so pretty and smart, everybody just loves you, and you’ve got that perfect boyfriend of yours. Just look at you two over there laughing together. You’re so sure of yourself, aren’t you? You’re so secure in your love for each other. It would be a damn shame if someone took him away. All I needed was a little validation, dear sister. I just needed to know that you still saw me as a threat, that you didn’t see yourself as so high above me now that you’re all grown up. You’ve forgotten, dear sister, who rules the roost around here, and that is a terrible mistake. One little screaming fit, and I would have happily left you alone, but you couldn’t even give me that. You’ll learn to fear me again, my sweet sister, and you’ll learn the hard way.
Neither May Alice nor Henri noticed the demonic smile on Clothilde’s face as she gathered up her things and proceeded to leave. She turned her back on her sister and Henri. Putting a convincing pout into her voice, she called out as she reached the back door. “I can see I’m not wanted here, so I’m going. My sister is embarrassed of me and considers me unfit for polite society.”
Clothilde stormed into the house and slammed the door behind her. She even stomped to the front door for good measure. She had to make her sister believe she had gotten the best of her so that May Alice would be lulled into a false sense of security. All the better to blindside you, dear sister, thought Clothilde. She was already manufacturing a story in her head to tell her parents about May Alice’s abominable behavior toward her. After all, sowing seeds of discord was what Clothilde did best.
Knowing what trouble Clothilde would try to start between her and her parents, May Alice called out to the younger girl. Why does it always have to be like this? thought May Alice. No matter what, I can never win. I either sit idly by and watch her steal my boyfriend or face my parents’ anger when she goes home and tells them how I was mean to her. Either way, my heart gets broken.
Henri caught May Alice’s wrist in his hand, just as she had turned to chase after her sister. “Darling, what are you doing?
“But, Henri, you have no idea what she’ll tell our parents. I have to go to her. I have to stop her.”
“How are you going to do that, my sweet girl?”
May Alice sighed “I’ll do what I always do. I’ll apologize from here to heaven and I’ll invite her back. Maybe that will be enough to placate her, sometimes, it is.”
“No, darling, don’t do that. I’d sooner see you wade into the swamp than to watch you suck up to that foul creature. For years, I heard stories about the kind of things she does to herself and to you. I can’t sit by and watch you run after her, no matter what trouble it may cause. It makes me sick!”
“I can’t just sit by while she makes up more terrible stories about me to tell, not only to our parents but to spread around town too.”
She tried desperately to break away from Henri’s grasp, but he pulled her close to him. Tears stood in the girl’s eyes, ready to fall as soon as she would let them. He can’t possibly understand, she thought. How could anyone understand? My sister is a monstrous thing, and yet, my parents always believe her. How terrible must they think me?
“You don’t understand, Henri, people listen to her. I don’t know how or why, but they always do.”
“Well, I will tell you this, my darling, no one will listen to her about this. In fact, nobody will say one bad thing about you ever again. I can promise you that.”
“Oh, Henri, those are very pretty words, but I doubt you can live up to them. People talked about me the whole time I lived with her. They only stopped when Granny T took me in. It won’t take much to get them all started again. You shouldn’t bother with me, Henri. My family is a terrible mess. My sister is always going to sling mud at me and anyone close to me. You’re becoming a respected lawyer. You don’t need the trouble or the scandal going around with me would bring. I don’t know why you bothered with me anyway.”
May Alice turned to run away, tears falling like a summer storm down her face. Henri grabbed both of her arms and pulled her into an embrace. She struggled against him at first, choking back her sobs.
“Let me go! Damn it, Henri, let me go! I can’t stand for you to see me this way. My mind is made up, now just let me go!”
Henri did not let her go. Instead, he pulled her closer to him and held her against him tightly. She buried her face into his chest and began to sob like a heartbroken child.
“Hush, my sweetheart, it’s all right,” he said as he caressed her hair and rained kisses down on the top of her head. Her hair smelled sweet like honey, and the warm smell of her skin was perfumed with tropical fruits from her tanning oil. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her even deeper into his embrace. She was so small and he felt so fiercely protective over her. “My sweet darling, I’ll never let anything come between us. Nothing will ever take me away from you, not your sister, not this town, not even your parents. Stop your tears, my beautiful girl, or at least let me wipe them away for you.”
“Henri,” she said, raising her tear-swollen eyes to look up at him, “you don’t know how bad she is and what she’ll do. You don’t know the awful things she’s already done. She’s terrible, Henri, just terrible. She’s my cross to bear and not yours. I couldn’t invite you to take on all this mess, no matter how bad I want you to. I’d be just as selfish and bad as she is, if I did.”
“My sweet May Alice,” he said, kissing away the tears that had fallen down her cheeks. “I came over here to invite you to dinner at my parents’ house this evening. I had planned to tell you something important tonight, but I can see that I can’t wait. May Alice Winthrop, I love you. I had a big speech written for just this moment and, if you’ll let me, I’ll read it to you later. I had the perfect moment all planned out and, if you want, we can do all this over then. Sometimes, life doesn’t wait for perfect moments. I’d rather do this now than to wait and lose you.”
May Alice was shocked and didn’t know what to feel. She thought she might faint from sheer confusion, but she’d never been the fainting type. One minute, her heart had been broken and she had been as sad as she had ever been. Now, she was elated. She felt as if the very sun itself was glowing away inside her chest. She didn’t know what to do or say, so great was her joy and confusion. She nearly tripped and fell, but Henri caught her in his arms.
“Henri, do you really mean this? Do you really love me?”
“Of course, I love you, silly girl! he said, walking her over to the nearest lounge chair. “I don’t say things like this lightly, and I hope you don’t either.”
“But why, Henri?”
“Why do I love you?” he asked, confused as to why such a glorious creature would need such reassurance. How could anyone look at her and not fall instantly in love? Had her sister damaged her so much that she couldn’t see how magnificent she was? No more of that! He decided that if she could possibly love him back, he would spend his life making her forget anyone had ever been cruel to her. He knew May Alice was a strong woman who could take care of herself, but he knew even the strong needed backup sometimes.
“May Alice, you are an absolute goddess among women. You are kind to everyone, high or low. You are the strongest person that I know. You’re so smart and witty that I’m amazed I don’t bore you to tears. I never know what you’re going to say or do next. You color my world. You make rainbows where before I only saw gray skies. It also doesn’t hurt that you’re the most insanely beautiful woman that I’ve ever seen. You belong in movies. For all this and more, I love you, and I want to devote the rest of my life to making you happy.”
All this time, he had been kneeling beside her, holding her hands. He then let go of them to fumble in his pocket. He lost his balance and fell over. May Alice reached out to steady him, and she fell over as well, bringing the pool chair toppling down on top of her. Henri was worried she was hurt until he heard her laughing. He lay down on the concrete and peered under the wreckage of the chair.
“Hello there, gorgeous.”
“I’m afraid you might need to add clumsy to that list of my attributes that you were making,” she said.
“No, my love, I’m the clumsy one. I always have been. You wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t been trying to save me. Tell me, May Alice, can you love a clumsy man?”
“I’m afraid I already do.”
“Darling, do you mean it? Do you really love me? You aren’t just saying that to make me feel better about falling?”
“No, my wonderful boy, I love you. I have loved you for so long that this moment seems a dream.”
He leaned in to kiss her then, and finding the lounge chair in his way, he pushed it aside. They laughed and he helped her up. Now that the moment was over, they felt shy with each other. They didn’t quite know how to act after all they had said.
“Henri, your suit is absolutely wilting in this heat. Would you like to change into the bathing suit you left here last week and go swimming with me? We’ll see if Lucy can repair your suit before we go over to your parents for dinner.”
“I’m afraid our plans have changed, sweetheart.”
“What do you mean?”
“If it’s all right with you, I would like to have dinner here and invite your family.”
Oh, Henri, no! After all that has happened today with my sister, that’s a terrible idea. “
“I want to be here when your sister’s lies come back to hurt you. You don’t have to face that all alone. I want to be here for you.”
“I love that you want to do that for me, Henri, really. You don’t know how nasty this is going to get. I’d rather you not have to be involved in all that mess.”
“My stubborn girl, when are you going to realize that you don’t have to face everything alone? I know you’re strong, there’s no need for you to keep on proving it. Let me in, May Alice. All I’m asking is for a chance to show you that I won’t run away at the first sign of troubl
“You really don’t know what you’re asking. It’s not that easy, love, nothing is. Tonight, let’s just enjoy dinner with your parents, okay? It sounds like you already have a wonderful evening planned for us.”
“In that case, I’ll go change into my swimming trunks and see if Lucy can repair my suit.”