When the good Lord took them home, my sisters and I decided to put the store up for sale with the conditions that the new owner keep the store looking as it always had. As soon as Miss Lulubelle BonClarken put a bid in for purchase, we knew that the historical setting of the store would be preserved. Lulubelle had always been the best customer and was always complimenting Mama on her attention to perfection when it came to the placement of goods. My sisters and I still visit the General Market regularly and are abundantly pleased with the way Lulubelle has maintained the essence of what Mama and Daddy created. Lulubelle is now the business mind of the store and her best friend, Marylou Maybelline Margaret Smith, helps by running the drug counter. Ms. Smith, or Maude as we call her, has a smile that would embarrass the sun. She can light up anybody's day. She's also very careful to honor discretion when a d'Oasian wanders in in search of embarrassing ointments or the occasional over-the-counter pregnancy test.
Shaquanda gets into the General Market more often than Caliope or myself, as the Jackson 5-Hour Martinizing is right next door. I have to confess to you and I hope Shaquanda won't mind my telling that Shaquanda is not her given name. She was actually born Pleasant Alice Praleen, but in the ninth grade she decided that she hated her name and wanted it changed. Mama and Daddy were always supportive of whatever we girls put our mind to. They asked Pleasant what she wanted to change her name to. Pleasant didn't really know but got a bright idea and ran upstairs to retrieve the Scrabble game box. She returned and pulled out the bag full of letters, stuck her hand in and brought out what letters she could hold. The letters were thrown onto the kitchen table - S - K - W - A - N - H - D - A. Mama and Daddy watched as their eldest moved the letters around in search of something that pleased her. She ultimately produced SHAKWANDA. Pleasant took a liking to the name but wasn't in love with the spelling. She settled for SHAQUANDA and as she leaned over the table to ponder, her hair fell into her face; thus, Braid. Shaquanda Braid Praleen was born. Mama and Daddy gave her a wink of approval and took her to the courthouse the next day to make things official.
Shaquanda got married the day after graduating from d'Oasis High. She and Cash Jackson had been seeing each other since the eighth grade. Senior year of high school, the two were inseparable. As you can guess, Cash's parents owned the Jackson 5-Hour Martinizing next to the General Market. Shaquanda and Cash had a lovely marriage of 12 years. Cash had been lost in the overseas war that we don't speak of. He'd left Shaquanda with a certain sum of money and she took over the duties of running the Martinizing. Poor thing wore black for over a year. She and Cash had always been a very loving couple. She's professed to become a spinster but I can tell you that she has gone out with a couple of gentlemen in the last year. It's not like it isn't general knowledge.
Sister Caliope, as you know, spent some time away from d'Oasis - the whole ashram thing. We believe she may have escaped town because, of all of us, she hated our last name the most. She always said her name sounded like some stilted candy that nobody buys - Caliope Rose Praleen. To make things worse, she was gifted one of those monogram sweaters in the tenth grade and since they put the last name in the middle her sweater read CPR. Well, a day wouldn't go by that I didn't walk down the street past the high school and see some pubescent boy making himself pass out in hopes of some mouth-to-mouth with my sister. Mama would make her wear that sweater because it was a gift and utilizing a gift from someone is always a blessed way to show appreciation.
During Caliope's first year at d'Oasis Vo-Tech, she met Jim Butterworth and her heart turned over. They were like two peas in a pod. You have to know that there is a strong bond when a man waits for his girl to return home from an ashram. Right after Caliope returned, Jim looked her up and they continued where things left off. He even helped her open the Terra Firma Floristry. They're still as married as can be, though we don't see a great deal of Jim since he works one of those oil rigs in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico most of the time. But Caliope is as happy as a clam. She has a great man and a great job and is home where she belongs. I know some of you are thinking that you've seen Caliope around town with Mr. Chester Hottentot but let it be known that Chester is Jim's best friend and agreed to watch after Caliope while Jim is away. There is nothing untowards happening there.
As for me, I was always content to be a part of the Praleen family - you know middle children are often the ones to find their own contentment. I didn't much care for our last name either, but I wasn't going to make a stink about it. Anywho, I spent my high school years being chased by Dresden Fedderhopp. Well, he was a sweet boy but was never much to look at - if you know what I mean. One odd Tuesday at the Eat It, Too Bakery, I was sitting at what would become my regular booth (with Meemaw, Effie and Teensy) and I looked over to the counter to see Dresden perched on a stool with this quirky little smile that made my heart flip. I quickly left the Eat It, Too because I was only one day away from leaving for college with Ginny Sarah Beth Pickles. I ran home and told Mama what happened and she hugged me and rocked me and told me things would be okay.
Later that evening, Dresden came knocking at our door and Mama sent me to the porch with him to face the music. Well, we talked and laughed and held hands until 11:30 that night when Daddy announced that it was time for Dresden to depart. We promised to be pen pals while I was away at university and pen pals we stayed. We would spend all our time together during summer vacations and Dresden would come up to visit me once a year during the school term. It was a proper visit, mind you. His parents came along and they all stayed at the hotel by the entrance to the university.
As soon as I graduated and returned to d'Oasis, Dresden and I were married by Hasselbeck Pond. It was the most beautiful of days and I told Caliope and Shaquanda they could wear whatever dress they thought appropriate as my bridesmaids. I cannot stomach those tacky bridesmaid's dresses that a soul can't ever wear again. As mauve is my favorite color, my sisters honored me by wearing dresses in shades of mauve. How does one describe the most beautiful day in one's life?
My sweet Dresden, who was one of five attorney's in town, went to be with the Lord over seven years ago. He was a sweet, sweet man but I could never get him away from his favorite pastimes of eating, drinking Bourbon and smoking unfiltered cigarettes. I knew those things weren't good for him but he truly was a happy man until his final day. I keep the sweetest picture of him on my dresser with that quirky little smile he gave me every single morning.
Until tomorrow...don't be tacky...Peggy.
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