“I hope traffic’s not…” She was looking out at a cluster of senior citzens who’d just arrived at the studio door. They looked somehow familiar, especially the trim redhead in the black pantsuit and pearls.
“Mama?” Lisa shrieked.
“My baby!” The redhead threw her arms around Lisa and kissed her on both cheeks.
“Look, girls,” the redhead called to the chattering women. “This is my baby girl Lisa. Isn’t she all grown up and gorgeous? And Lisa, you remember the Keen-Agers from home, don’t you?”
The Keen-Agers surrounded Lisa, patting her head, grasping her hand, pinching her cheek, cooing and billing in their sorghum-thick South Georgia accents.
“Mama,” Lisa said, pulling her mother aside. “What have you done to yourself? You look amazing.”
Her mother had been transformed. Gone was the shapeless flowered housedress, gray permed hair, and sensible shoes. Gone too, Lisa calculated, was at least thirty pounds.
Birdelle patted her hair and preened a little. “Do you really like my new look? Your daddy is a little worried about my new hair color. He says the boys down at the drugstore are calling me his trophy wife.”
Lisa leaned in to get a closer look at her mother. “Mama! Are you wearing lip liner?”
“And an underwire bra,” Birdelle whispered. “And Spanx! Why, Spanx are my new best friend. Especially the Power Panty. You should try them, Lisa.”
“I have. I know,” Lisa stuttered. “But, Mama. You must have dropped three or four dress sizes since the last time I was home. How did you do it?”
“Your daddy and I have a new business concern,” Birdelle said. “We opened a Curves gym in the old Family Dollar store out on the bypass. Which you would have known if you ever returned my phone calls, young lady.”
“I’m sorry,” Lisa moaned. “It’s just with all the wedding stuff, and my new job…”
Birdelle nodded at Zeke, who was standing by the doorway, listening amusedly to the whole conversation.
“And this must be Zeke?” she asked. “Your young man?”
“Oh, sorry,” Lisa said, drawing Zeke closer. “Zeke, this is my mama. Birdelle Foxton.”
“Your mother?” Zeke exclaimed. “Mrs. Foxton!” Zeke said, grasping both Birdelle’s hands in hers. “Now I know where Lisa and Gina get their looks. Although I have to say you look more like their sister than their mama.”
“Oh, stop,” Birdelle said. “Charmer! I guess that’s how all you Hollywood boys talk. Not that I’m complaining.”
“Not Hollywood at all,” Zeke said. “Not yet, anyway.”
“He’s just being modest,” Lisa said proudly. “I’m taking him to the airport as soon as we’re done shooting tonight. He’s flying out to L.A. and taking a meeting with Spielberg’s people day after tomorrow. They’ve bought his screenplay.”
“Optioned,” Zeke corrected her. “It’s only an option.”
Val rushed up. “Lisa, have you seen Gina? We’ve only got twenty minutes. I need everybody seated right away so we can get started on time.”
“Yes, Lisa,” Birdelle said. “Where is your sister? I want to see her before the show.” She patted the thick pocketbook on her wrist. “I’ve got pictures of the altar flowers from the florist, and samples of the fabric for the tablecloths at the reception, and a tape of the soloist, and there’s just so much we need to get done. You just lead me right to her.”
Lisa’s face paled. “Oh, well, no, Mama, that’s not a good idea. Gina, uh, likes to, uh, meditate before the show. Has to be totally alone. Why don’t you go sit down with the Keen-Agers, and I’ll take you backstage just as soon as the show is over?”
“Well,” Birdelle said tentatively. “I guess that would be all right. As long as we don’t stay too late afterward. I promised the girls we’d stop at the Varsity on our way out of town, and then we’ve got to get the church bus back before morning.”
Dusk had fallen, and the September night air was unseasonably cool. Lisa approached the Vagabond with trepidation. It didn’t seem to be rocking, but on the other hand, all the lights were out. And Moonpie, who was now perfectly coiffed, was tethered to the awning outside, whining and pawing at the door.
She stopped a few yards away. “Hey, you two,” she called. “It’s show time. Are you decent?”
“Go away.” Tate’s voice, muffled.
“I can’t,” Lisa said plaintively. “Val sent me. And she says if you’re not on set in five minutes, you’re both fired.”
“As if,” Tate said. “Tell her we’re busy.”
Lisa looked down at her watch, and decided it was time to play her ace card.
“Mama’s here,” she said casually.
Five seconds passed. Gina’s tousled head popped out of the door. “Whose mama?”
“Your mama. As in Birdelle Foxton. Right here at the Morningstar Studios.”
“Holy crap,” Gina said. “Be out in a jiffy.”
“You better,” Lisa said. “And one more thing. Val wants to know how you want to be announced. She says you guys still haven’t settled on the billing.”
Gina stood at the tiny mirror over the Vagabond’s sink and ran her fingers through her still-damp hair. The brassy blond highlights were but a faint memory, and D’John had cut her now honey-colored hair in a short, feathery bob that fell softly around her heart-shaped face. “No time for a comb-out now,” she said wryly, turning to Tate, who was standing right behind her, combing his own damp hair. “Thanks to you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said, patting her rear. He held the Vagabond’s door open for her. “Hey, what are we going to do about the billing? Is it Tate and Gina, or Gina and Tate?”
“The show was my idea,” Gina pointed out, following him down the steps. She stopped to untie Moonpie. “So I think I get to be on top.”
He took his dog’s leash in one hand, and his partner’s in the other. “Seems to me you’ve already been on top tonight.”
“Don’t be crude,” Gina said. “We’ll take turns. All right?”
D’John feathered concealer under his eyes, gave his nose and cheeks a final dusting of powder, and after a moment’s careful consideration, applied a second coat of mascara to his already luxuriant eyelashes.
He stepped back from the mirror to evaluate his handiwork. “Not bad,” he mused. As a final touch, he flicked the powder brush over his forehead. “Don’t want to blind ’em with my patina the first time out,” he reasoned.
“You look fabulous,” Lisa said, standing in the doorway to the dressing room. “Now let’s go. It’s time.”
Val was waiting for them, speaking into her headset. “Go get ’em, killer,” she said, slapping him on the butt.
D’John coughed and cleared his throat. He adjusted his shirt collar and coughed again. Then he bounded out from the wings and onto the kitchen set.
“Good evening, everybody,” he said in a cheery voice he hardly recognized. “My name is D’John, and I want to welcome you to the premiere of an exciting new Cooking Channel production.”
He pointed to the red light hanging over the set. “Now, when that light flashes green, I want you all to cheer and clap like crazy, and make our hosts feel right at home. All right?”
He looked offstage. Gina and Tate stood in the wings, toe to toe, smiling into each other’s eyes. Lisa, who was standing beside them, nodded.
“Okay!” D’John boomed. “Give it up, please, for Eat, Drink and Be Married—with Gina Foxton and Tate Moody!”
Reggie’s Simply Sinful Tomato Soup Chocolate Cake
½ cup butter
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup powdered cocoa
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup warm tap water
1 can (10 ¾ oz.) condensed tomato soup
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a 9x13-inch baking pan.
&n
bsp; In a large mixing bowl cream together butter and sugar; add eggs, beating until fluffy. In a small bowl mix together dry ingredients, including cocoa.
Mix tomato soup and water together.
Add dry and wet ingredients alternately to the butter/sugar bowl. Bake 30 minutes and let cool before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 stick butter, softened
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon milk or cream
Cream butter and cream cheese together, then beat in powdered sugar. Add vanilla, and thin frosting out with milk as needed.
Tate’s Grilled Ginger Peachy
Four peaches, unpeeled, halved, and pitted
Lemon juice
4 tablespoons melted unsalted butter
2 tablespoons sorghum syrup (or real maple syrup if sorghum is unavailable)
½ teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger
Brush lemon juice on cut surface of peach halves.
In bowl, combine melted butter, syrup, and ginger. Gently toss peach halves in the mixture to coat evenly.
Grill over medium-high heat until slightly charred—one to two minutes. Turn.
Can be served over ice cream, or topped with real whipped cream and caramel sauce.
Tate and Gina’s Brunswick Stew
This recipe is designed to serve 6 to 8 people, but Tate and Gina mostly fix it for a big crowd, so multiply ingredients proportionately if that’s what you want to do too. Because Tate hunts birds, he might also throw in some quail or dove breasts, or some venison. Perfect for a crisp fall day or a chilly football Sunday.
1 whole chicken, cut up
1 onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 lb. cooked pork (this can be any kind of pork roast, chops, etc.)
2 cups frozen or fresh corn, cut off the cob
1 lb. cubed small red potatoes, unpeeled
1 small bag baby peeled carrots
1 lb. fresh or frozen green beans
2 cans Ro-Tel original recipe tomatoes
1 cup barbecue sauce
1–2 cups chicken broth
Place chicken, celery, and onions in large pot. Add enough water to cover well. Add salt and pepper, then cover and simmer until the meat falls off the bones. Remove the chicken pieces and let cool. Add vegetables and cooked pork to broth in pot and cook for approximately 2 hours or until tender, stirring frequently because the tomatoes may burn.
Remove the chicken from the bones and add it to the stew, along with barbecue sauce, and more chicken broth if necessary to make a soupier consistency. Serve with corn bread and tangy coleslaw.
Acknowledgments
As always, I’m indebted to dozens of people who helped this particular Dish become a reality. Martha Giddens Nesbit and Brandon Branch enabled me to watch the fabulous Paula Deen in action. Thanks again, Paula! John “Crawfish” Crawford of the Skidaway Institute of Oceanography gave me priceless information on the wild edibles of coastal barrier islands. The Scribblers of Raleigh, Margaret Maron, Sarah Shaber, and Brenda Witchger gave essential advice, brainstorming sessions, and support when I needed it most. Pat and Patti Callahan Henry opened their beautiful home on Daufuskie Island for research and retreat, and Ron and Leuveda Garner and Diane Kaufman of Mermaid Cottages gave me cozy nests on Tybee.
I’m the luckiest writer on earth to have Carolyn Marino of HarperCollins and Stuart Krichevsky of SKLA in my corner. Their unwavering support and tough love always pulls me through the roughest patches and darkest days.
And for my family, Tom, Andy, Katie, and Mark, no words are enough to express my thanks and love.
About the Author
MARY KAY ANDREWS is the national bestselling author of Blue Christmas, Savannah Breeze, Hissy Fit, Little Bitty Lies, and Savannah Blues. A former journalist for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, she lives in Atlanta, Georgia.
www.marykayandrews.com
Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.
ALSO BY MARY KAY ANDREWS
Blue Christmas
Savannah Breeze
Hissy Fit
Little Bitty Lies
Savannah Blues
Credits
Jacket Illustration by Helen Chapman
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEEP DISH. Copyright © 2008 by Whodunnit, Inc. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
ePub edition January 2008 ISBN 9780061743139
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Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Dedication
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Cha
pter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Epilogue
Reggie’s Simply Sinful Tomato Soup Chocolate Cake
Cream Cheese Frosting
Tate’s Grilled Ginger Peachy
Tate and Gina’s Brunswick Stew
Acknowledgments
About the Author
ALSO BY MARY KAY ANDREWS
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher