My Lips Are Sealed (A Work of Fiction)

Sarah's revelation shocked Lizette.  The two of them were standing in the church kitchen arranging things for the Ladies Fellowship luncheon.  Right there...holy ground adjacent...Sarah said what she said. She grabbed Lizette's hands in hers and begged her not to divulge the secret.  The pair had been friends all of our lives...there isn't a whole lot that they did know about one another.  There was actual fear in Sarah's eyes.  

"Of course, honey.  Don't worry...my lips are sealed.  I'm sure no one will even notice." 

For a moment, Lizette thought the earth might open up and swallow her whole.  Her vision got the slightest bit spotty.  A quick glance at the clock snapped her back to reality.  She could hear the strains of the benediction hymn floating into the social hall from the sanctuary.  In short order, the ladies of Sweet Briar Baptist Church made their way into the room.

There was great excitement amongst them.  The annual Ladies Fellowship luncheon was a popular event and always well attended.  The seats around each of the tables quickly filled and Mrs. Anna Jane Bledsoe asked the blessing.  Mrs. Anna Jane was the oldest of the Sweet Briar church ladies.  Her great grandparents were founding members of the church and at the blessed age of ninety-seven, she was was more mentally spry than a good many of those gathered in that room.  She was widely adored and well respected, but it was common knowledge that she did not suffer fools lightly. A large number of those in attendance had passed through Mrs. Anna Jane's history class as 9th graders.  Lizette was one of them.  With the "amen" said, a line formed at the buffet table.

Sweet Briar was known to have some of the best cooks in Fieldstone County.  Every meal that the church hosted was a feast.  The Ladies Fellowship luncheon was no exception.  Lizette surveyed the buffet table as she walked along the line, greeting her church sisters as they served their plates.  Everything you would expect to see at a proper luncheon for Southern church ladies was on the table and a few things that might surprise you.  The food was arranged starting with finger foods and appetizers, then moving on to cold salads, then in the middle was fried chicken from Berthene's Cafe.  Berthene's was an institution in Fieldstone County.  It was a roadside stop...nothing fancy, but the food...especially the fried chicken...was always good.  Berthene's was closed on Sundays, but she always made special arrangements for this particular luncheon.  After the chicken, were bowls and dishes of various vegetables.  Last but not lease, came the desserts.  Even the most dietary disciplined of Sweet Briar's Ladies Fellowship didn't stand a chance with the dessert selection.  Lizette fixed her own plate and sat down in a seat next to Mrs. Anna Jane to enjoy her lunch.  

"Lizette, evera-thin' is just beautiful! You and your team have done well!"

"Mrs. Anna Jane, that is the sweetest thing.  I appreciate that so much."

"There's just one little thing.  Just a little thing, really. I hate to bother you with it."

"Oh, it's no bother.  Please...what is it?"

"I hate to say anna-thin', but there is somethin' off with Sarah Grayhook's chick'n salad!"

Lizette quickly took a sip of her icy cold sweet tea and mentally counted to ten.

"Are you certain you have Sarah's chicken salad, Mrs. Anna Jane?  There are a few different dishes of it."

"Lizette, I know good and well that I chose Sarah Grayhook's.  She brought it on her grandmama's Sunday china! Let me remind you, Sarah's grandmama and I were the best of friends...I was the maid of honor in her weddin'...I helped her choose that pattern."

Lizette's eyes darted quickly around the table to see if this conversation with Mrs. Anna Jane had drawn any attention from those seated near them.  Thankfully, it seemed unnoticed.  She took another sip of her tea.

"Mrs. Anna Jane, I'm not sure it's anything to worry about.  Perhaps try another of the chicken salads...maybe it will be more to your liking."

"I don't want anotha chick'n salad.  Sarah Grayhook's are my favorite and they have been for years.  I am telling you somethin' is off and you know it!  You are runnin' your finger along your jawline just like you used to when you were in ninth grade and hadn't finished your history homework."

Hang it all!  Lizette's infamous tell.  For the most part, she had eliminated it from her life but there were certain people who brought out her childhood nervous tick.  Anna Jane Bledsoe was one of them.

"I promise you, Mrs. Anna Jane, it's nothing worth making a fuss.  You'll be just fine.  Let's just enjoy the luncheon.  Oh, look! It's time for Jayma and Charlotte to sing their duet."

Jayma and Charlotte were Mrs. Anna Jane's great nieces.  Lizette was thankful for the distraction.  Before the girls finished their sweet rendition of "His Eye Is On The Sparrow," Lizette slipped away from her place at the table to make her way to the front of the room.  She took the microphone offered to her by Jayma and began her closing remarks.

"Y'all...I am so glad to see all of your beautiful faces in this room.  This is one of my favorite events of our Ladies Fellowship calendar.  Your time and presence are a gift.  We have take home plates available.  Please feel free to sit and visit, if you have the time...or if you need to scoot on home, you go right ahead.  Thank you for being here and I look forward to our next gathering."

The team members assigned to clean up began moving through the room clearing plates and picking up emptied serving dishes.  Those who needed to leave did just that, but Lizette was pleased to see that a good number of the women were lingering with friends and enjoying good conversation.  From the corner of her eye, Lizette spied Mrs. Anna Jane making a bee-line for Sarah and there was nothing Lizette could do to intervene.  It was still an undeniable fact that a body would have to get up terribly early to pull the wool over Mrs. Anna Jane Bledsoe's eyes.  Poor Sarah was in for it.  Lizette watched the encounter from her place across the room.  In her arms, she cradled Perry Grace Montgomery's infant son.  This was Perry Grace's first social event since the baby's arrival eight weeks prior.  To be honest, Lizette was glad to be trapped by this bundle of blue.  She had been on the receiving end of more than one of Mrs. Anna Jane's interrogations and while she wouldn't wish such an encounter on anyone, it didn't hurt her feelings to be well outside of the line of fire.

Thankfully, Jayma and Charlotte appeared out of nowhere to retrieve their great aunt and make a collective departure.  Little John Clayton began to stir in Lizette's arms, making it apparent that he was ready for his own lunch.  She handed his darling self off to his mama and made her way across the room. There was a relieved expression on Sarah's face that Lizette found quite comical.  She worked very hard to keep from snickering, but Sarah could read Lizette's face better than just about anyone.

"Go ahead...get your giggles out, Lizette Dasher.  It's about to get the best of you!"  

With her soul sister's permission, Lizette exhaled into a fit of giggles. These were the best kind of giggles...the kind that leave you momentarily light headed, with the faintest ache in your belly.

"I'm sorry, shug!  I'm not laughing at you.  You know I'd take a bullet for you.  I should have guessed that if anyone would have noticed, it would have been Mrs. Anna Jane.  We should all be so blessed with that kind of mental acuity at the well ripened age of ninety-seven."

"I don't know about that, Lizette.  Wouldn't it be nice to be a little more care free and absent minded at ninety-seven?  A little more relaxed?"  

"Well, of course, you're right. I guess an upset in a body's routine and expectations becomes more startling at Mrs. Anna Jane's age."

"Oh, forever more, Lizette!  It's just chicken salad.  It's not like I chopped down that cantankerous old bat's camellia bushes!"

"Sarah Pickens Grayhook!  Remember...we are still on church property.  Not that I disagree with you entirely, but try to maintain a bit of your home training.  Your mama would roll in her grave if she heard you talk about Mrs. Anna Jane that way."  Lizette's eyes were twinkling as she lovingly chided her friend.

"Well, since we are using our full government names...Florence Lizette Dasher...I'll have you know that Mama was of the same opinion about Mrs. Anna Jane Bledsoe.  Mrs. Anna Jane and Grandmama Eatonton might have been the best of friends, but she's always been TOO much."

"One thing I can be certain of...I'll bet you never send you never send Merritt Grayhook to the store ever again."

Merritt was Sarah's seventeen year old son.  The boy was brilliant but sometimes, didn't seem to have the sense God gave to a goose.

"I wrote it down because I know that boy is sca-ttered.  He's been reading since he was three years old. I wrote DUKE'S MAYO.  Why he brough home MIRACLE WHIP is beyond me.  Thank you for not ratting me...or Merritt...out to Mrs. Anna Jane.  Just another reason for me to love you forever, Lizette."

"My lips are sealed, darlin'.  I promise.  But if you ever use my full government name in wide open spaces, again, all bets are off!"