terms of Charlotte’s will.”
“I loved my daughter,” Charles began. “But no matter what my feelings for Charlotte were, I can’tuphold her will. We...just feel that Charlotte was under some ... undesirable influences” — Lily feltCharles’s disapproving stare. “ — when she wrote the will. And it was bad enough for those influences toaffect my daughter. There’s no way I’m going to let them affect my granddaughter!”
Lily was seething. They always made it sound as though Lily had converted Charlotte...corruptedher into leading an “undesirable” lifestyle. Charlotte had known she was a dyke since she was twelveyears old! “Charlotte was a grown woman —”
“I think what Daddy is saying,” Mike interrupted as he headed for the door, “is that we alreadyhave a lawyer. Maybe you should think of hiring one, too.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that, funny boy.” Big Ben was making no effort to hide his anger.
“We’ve got us a lawyer. We was hoping we wouldn’t have to use him, but there’s just no talking to somepeople. I believe you can find your way back to the interstate exit. And I reckon the next time we’ll seeyou will be in the Faulkner County Courthouse.”
Mike glowered at Big Ben. “Fine. This seems like a decent town. I’m sure they’ll do the rightthing.”
Big Ben grinned. “I’m sure they will, too. Don’t let the door hit your ass on the way out, now.”
After the Maycombs’ car had backed out of the driveway, Big Ben said, “Okay, who wants a beernow that the Baptists is gone?”
Everybody but Mimi raised a hand.
CHAPTER 9
“Ganny!” Mimi squealed when Lily opened the front door for Granny McGilly, who was weigheddown with a heavy-looking cardboard box.
“Here, let me take that for you,” Lily said, relieving the old woman of the box’s weight.
“That’s just a few little ole things I thought you could use to brighten the place up a little ... apicture or two, a few little gewgaws. I’m getting to the age where little things like that just look likeclutter to me. I thought maybe you could use ’em.”
“Well, thank you.” Lily looked at the framed picture that was sticking up out of the box: aVictorian print of a golden-haired female angel guiding two dimple-faced children across a bridge. It waskitschy, but Lily kind of liked it. “Nice picture.”
“That pitcher’d been hanging in my bedroom for years, but yesterday, I got to looking at it, and itput me in mind of Mimi — in all this trouble you’re having, it seems like she needs her a guardian angel.”
Lily was touched. Since the disastrous dinner with the Maycombs, all the McGilly clan had rallied