Carnal Innocence

him drone on, managing an occasional smile or murmur of agreement. She was much more interested in watching the other guests.
    A scattering of people were huddled under the shade of an oak. It was the only tree in the yard and a perfect place for a gathering of lawn chairs and lazy conversation. The skinny, swarthy-looking pathologist was making some of the ladies giggle. Caroline wondered how a man could perform an autopsy one day and tell jokes the next.
    Josie was posed in a tire swing, flirting with him— and with every other man within reach. Dwayne Long-street and Doc Shays were sitting on the back porch, rocking and sipping beers. Marvella Truesdale and Bobby Lee Fuller were sending each other long, intimate looks, and the beauty-shop owner, Crystal something, was gossiping with Birdie Shays.
    She could see little patches of yard running on either side of the Truesdales’. The clothes strung on lines to bake dry in the yellow sun. There were kitchen gardens in nearly every one, with tomatoes heavy on vines, snap beans, collards, waiting for the pot.
    She could smell the beer, the spicy meat, the hot flowers baking in the late afternoon sun. Tommy punched a new cassette in his portable radio and blues drifted out, heavy on the bass, bittersweet, and slow and easy as heartbreak. Caroline didn’t recognize Bonnie Raitt, but she recognized excellence.
    She wanted to hear it. She wanted to hear Sam squealand giggle as Tucker wrestled him. She wanted to hear Crystal and Birdie gossip about someone who’d died twenty years earlier in a car wreck.
    She wanted to dance to that music, to watch the way Burke kissed his wife through the fragrant smoke of the grill—kissed her as if they were still teenagers sneaking love in shadows. And she wanted to feel what Marvella was feeling when Bobby Lee took her hand and pulled her through the kitchen door.
    She wanted to be a part of it, not someone sitting on the sidelines discussing Rachmaninoff.
    “Excuse me, Matthew.” She offered him a quick smile as she swung her legs over the wooden bench. “I want to see if Susie needs any help.”
    While Sam bounced on his back, Tucker admired the way Caroline’s neat white shorts showed off her legs. He sighed when she bent down to pick up a Frisbee. Then he yanked Sam over his back, gave him a quick pink belly, and rose.
    “I think I’ll get myself a beer.”
    Caroline paused by the grill. “Smells great,” she said to Burke.
    “Five more minuets,” he promised, and Susie laughed.
    “That’s what he always says. What can I get you, Caroline?”
    “Nothing, I’m fine. I thought you could use some help.”
    “Honey, that’s what I’ve got four kids for. I just want you to sit down and relax.”
    “Really, I …” She sent a cautious look over her shoulder. Burns was still sitting at the table, his tie ruthlessly knotted as he sipped the chardonnay Caroline had brought as a contribution.
    “Oh.” Susie had followed her glance. “I guess there are times a woman needs to keep herself occupied. Why don’t you run in and fetch the bread-and-butter pickles? There’s a fresh jar in the cabinet, left of the refrigerator.”
    Grateful, Caroline headed off to comply. On the porch Doc Shays tipped his hat. Dwayne gave her the sweet, absent smile of a man already half drunk.
    Caroline stepped inside and pulled up short. Bobby Lee and Marvella were locked in a heated embrace in front of the refrigerator. When the screen door slammed, they jumped apart. Marvella flushed and hitched her blouse back into place. Bobby Lee offered a smile that was caught somewhere between prideful and sheepish.
    “I’m terribly sorry,” Caroline began, uncertain who was the most flustered. “I just came in to get something for Susie.” There was enough heat in the kitchen to fry bacon. “I can come back.” She nearly backed into the door when Tucker pulled it open.
    “Caro, you can’t leave these two in here alone.” He winked at Bobby Lee. “Kitchens are dangerous places. Y’all get outside where your mamas can keep an eye on you.”
    “I’m eighteen,” Marvella said with a gleam in her eye. “We’re both grown-up.”
    Tucker grinned and pinched her chin. “That’s my point, sweetie pie.”
    “Besides,” Marvella went on, “we’re getting married.”
    “Marvella!” The tips of Bobby Lee’s ears turned bright red. “I haven’t even talked to your daddy yet.”
    She tossed her head. “We know what we want, don’t