Page 2 of Sutton and the CEO Forever

Mama gave my hand a squeeze. “This is going to be a fantastic day, Button.”

Some kids might have thought they were too old to be called a baby name like Button. But I didn’t care. When Mama called me that she would absentmindedly caress my cheek and often kiss my temple. We didn’t have much, but we did have each other. And Mama said there were plenty of folks who had all the riches in the world, but they didn't do what we do—love.

“Should have known you’d be here, Earl,” Mama teased as we approached our elderly neighbor.

Earl was throwing back a cold beer at ten in the morning. He seemed in a jovial mood as he ruffled my ponytail. “Hey there, squirt.”

I grinned at him and opened my mouth to speak. But before I could utter a word, I heard Martha, his wife’s, sour voice from behind me say. “Why are you talking to that trash, Earl?”

I looked around us, but there weren't any trash bins. I couldn’t imagine what she was talking about. The only thing Earl had been speaking to was people—Mama and me.

Martha approached Earl, tight-lipped and cross as ever. “Stand up straight, girl.”

Immediately I looked at Mama to see how to act. But she simply smiled at the older woman. I didn’t understand it one little bit. Martha was Earl’s wife and quite possibly one of the orneriest women in the entire universe. I liked her just about as well as I liked Father Montgomery, and that wasn’t saying very much.

“Afternoon, Martha,” Mama replied as if she hadn’t heard the older woman tell me what to do.

I never could understand why Mama was so nice to everybody, especially Martha. It didn’t make a lick of sense. I thought she was an old biddy. But I tried to follow Mama’s example and didn’t retaliate by sticking out my tongue. At least, I don’t think Martha saw me.

“You look mighty pretty in that dress, Sutton,” Earl said, trying to smooth the tension.

A wide smile broke across my face. “Thank you, Earl! Mama found it at the thrift shop. Isn’t it the prettiest thing you’ve ever seen?”

Before Earl could answer, Mama let out a mangled cry and snatched my arm rather hard. The pinch made tears spring to my eyes.

“Ouch! Mama, you’re hurting me!” I cried out.

But Mama wasn’t paying any heed to what I was saying. One minute we were standing at the foot of the fair, and the next moment Mama was dragging me away.

“Mama, stop! Please!” I pleaded with her as the fair began to shrink in the background. “I’ll be good. I swear I’ll be good!”

Mama didn’t stop, nor did she explain. If anything, she started to move faster away from town.

When I let out a scream, Mama clamped her hand over my mouth and began to drag me behind her slightly. Suddenly the tears of disappointment turned into tears of fear. What was happening? Why was my mother acting so strangely?

She didn’t release me until we were safely back in the trailer. Mama had locked the door and then pulled all of the shades. I continued to cry, but she ignored me like I wasn’t even there. Her movements were jerky, and her skin looked pale.

Suddenly it occurred to me that maybe our leaving had nothing to do with me at all. I swallowed hard and then asked, “Mama, why did we have to go?”

She looked over at me with confusion and then sadness. She moved over to the worn sofa and motioned for me to come and sit beside her with a sigh.

“Do you know that I love you, Sutton?”

I knew that Mama was serious right now because she only called me Sutton when she was angry or said something important.

“I know, Mama. I love you too.”

She nodded. “I know, baby. But there are some people out there, bad people, that would do anything they could to take you away from me. I won’t let that happen. I’m sorry about the fair today, truly I am.”

“There were bad people there?” I asked innocently.

She nodded. “I was careful that they didn’t see us, but we will need to stay out of sight for a few days.”

I knew this game well. Mama and I had played it in the past. Sometimes we would pretend that there was lava outside or crocodiles. You had to play quietly and keep the lights off most of the time. Mama had a small television that she would plug in under the table. Then she would drape blankets over the outside so that nobody could see into our fort no matter what.

“Should I get the TV?” I asked.

She nodded and got to her feet. But instead of going to the cabinet with the blankets, she went over to her purse and took out a pill bottle. She counted out two white pills and then took them with a glass of water.

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