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59 10 The next morning, Sadie sat with her arms resting on top of the steering wheel, watching Emma stare at her sister’s house. Goldie’s car, a station wagon that had lost its luster decades ago, rested under the carport. Sadie had driven from Eucha to Tahlequah in record time, picked up Emma and returned north to Liberty—and it was only 8:30 a.m. Emma had been so anxious to get into Goldie’s house and now she sat frozen, gripping the Explorer’s armrest. “The last time I talked to Goldie,” she said, “we got into a terrible argument. I shouldn’t have said the things I did. I feel awful.” She looked at Sadie with sad eyes. “What am I supposed to do now?” A feeling of helplessness grew in the pit of Sadie’s stomach. “I don’t know, Emma. But if you want to go back to the hotel, I’ll take you.” Silence fell between the two women again before Emma finally spoke. “You’ve got more things to do than chauffeur me all over the county. Where were you going from here?” “To the café,” she said. “The man is coming to replace the broken glass today, and I’ve got to get things ready so I can open. You’re welcome to come along.” “You wouldn’t mind?” asked Emma. “I’m not sure I’m ready to be alone in that house yet.” She raised her glasses and rubbed her eyes. “I’d be glad to have your company, Emma, and besides, I’d love to have your input on some things at the café. I’ll take you back to Tahlequah later today, and you can stay there as long as you want . . . until you decide what to do.” Emma’s face brightened as Sadie gave the Explorer some gas and the two traveled down the street en route to the café. When they turned the last corner, Sadie grew concerned. She could see several vehicles parked near the restaurant. The plywood had already been replaced with a new 60 plate-glass window, and lights shown from inside the café. People walked in and out of the front door. “What the—?” Sadie made a u-turn in front of the café and stuck the nose of her vehicle into the last open space. “Oh, dear me,” exclaimed Emma. “This must be the people Goldie told me about. She called them—” Emma’s words hung in the air as Sadie jumped out of the car and swept through the front door of her new business. “Hey, what’s going on in here?” she yelled. Just as the door closed behind her, one of the sawmill workers emptied the last of a pot of coffee into Virgil Wilson’s cup, then held the pot in midair as if toasting the new arrival. “Morning, Miss Sadie,” he said. “Come on in. I’ll have another pot ready in no time. Don’t worry about a thing.” “What are you doing?” she demanded. The door behind her opened and Emma firmly moved Sadie out of the way. “Come on over here and sit down, honey. I think I can explain.” Sadie marched behind the counter and surveyed the area to see if anything was missing. At Emma’s continued urging, she finally climbed onto one of the red vinyl-covered stools next to her at the counter. The men had gathered around two small tables they had pushed together to create one long surface. Sadie thought they looked like charter members of the local overalls-and-white-tee-shirts club. Other than the sawmill workers, she didn’t recognize anyone until she noticed Red sitting in his normal place at the end of the counter sipping coffee from a saucer. Sadie felt as if she had entered a fourth dimension. Everyone around her seemed to be going about their business completely unaware of her presence until one of the men pushed coffee cups in front of her and Emma and started pouring coffee. A drop or two accidentally sloshed onto Sadie’s hand and the reality of the hot liquid brought her mind back to the present. “Ouch,” she said as she wiped her hand on her jeans, then repeated, “What are you doing?” The man had already slid around the end of the counter, delivering more steaming brew to the other men at the long table. He replaced the coffeepot...
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