by Vicky Jones
“Why the hell should I give a shit? What’s that to me? If you care so much, then start performin’. It’s on you, Lucy. One more complaint about you and I’ll fire someone, I goddamn swear it.” Frank pointed his dirty fingernail at her, then stormed out.
Chapter 15
“Morning, Trish, how was your night?” Lucy asked as she walked into the bar that Thursday morning.
“OK. Yours?” she replied without looking up.
“Same. What you doing here so early anyway?”
“Frank offered me some extra shifts cleaning up. Need every nickel I can earn at the moment.” She looked up from the floor she was sweeping and leaned on the broom handle. “Tommy’s not getting any better. The medicine he needs every month ain’t cheap.”
“How’s your mom doing? How many days has it been now?” Lucy asked.
“Thirty-seven dry. But I’m worried that the more I leave her alone, the more likely she’ll be tempted again.” Trish wiped a tear from her eye and carried on sweeping the floor, with more vigor this time.
“I wish I could help,” Lucy said.
“Well, you know what, you actually can.” Trish’s expression hardened as she looked up at Lucy. “I heard you and Frank arguing last night. He needs you to try more. I can’t lose my job, Lucy. I just know I’d be the first one he kicks out. You need to get your shit together for all our sakes. So if you really wanna help, then that’s how.” Trish clattered the broom against the wall and stomped off into the back room.
“There you go, Mrs. Crawford. Your tailpipe’s all fixed up and as shiny as a new penny now. It shouldn’t give you any more trouble,” Harry announced as he walked out of his office. Keys outstretched, he handed them to her and watched as she reached into her wallet for the fee.
“No charge,” he said, waving away the bills she was holding out to him. “It was only a small job. Least I could do after…” He watched as she put the bills back in her wallet and placed it back inside her purse. She took out a handkerchief and dabbed her moist eyes.
“Thank you, Harry. I sure do appreciate it. Money’s gon’ be tight from now on,” Mrs. Crawford said, her trembling voice trailing off as she blew her nose.
“I’m so sorry, Richard didn’t come home. I was hoping I’d see him step off that bus one day, but…” Harry stumbled over his words.
“Well… he’d appreciate your kindness, as do I.” Mrs. Crawford looked over as Marcie approached them from her desk in the office.
“Hi Mary. I’m real sorry about your husband. He was a wonderful man.”
“Thank you, Marcie. Gosh, you’re so lucky to have Harry,” Mrs. Crawford replied, smiling through her sadness. She took her keys from Harry, nodded her goodbyes to the two of them, then drove away.
“What’s up, honey?” Marcie asked. She linked her arm with her husband’s.
“Just wish I could do more to help folks like Mary.”
Marcie looked at Harry. “Now, don’t you go feeling bad. You’re the best mechanic in Mississippi. That’s how you help them. It’s not your fault that out of the three wars this country has fought this century, one you were two young to fight and the other two you were too old to fight. The Lord above timed you just right and I for one am mighty grateful for that stroke of good fortune. Your place is here. With me.” She put her arms around his neck and pulled him into her. “What about this as an idea? Why don’t you give the boys Friday afternoons off? We don’t get much business then anyway and you could do some good by sending them home to their families at noon. Howard Johnson’s won’t need to bring in food that day so instead we could use that money to keep the guys’ pay the same. Think of the morale it will generate in town. What do you think? We could try it?” Marcie smiled up at her husband who appeared to be mulling over the idea.
“You think we can afford to do that?” he replied.
“I do the books, remember? If you stop giving Frank your money all the time, we’d be able to do it,” Marcie said with a smile.
“Yeah, I know. Well, if you think it’ll work, I’ll call a meeting this afternoon and tell the boys the good news.”
Harry kissed his wife on the cheek and strolled back to his workbench. Marcie watched as he carried his weight mainly on his good leg and reminded herself just how lucky she was not to have to contemplate a similar future to what poor Mrs. Crawford was now forced to do.
“What’s the matter with you? You’ve hardly said a word since dinner.” Dorothy had stopped darning a sock and looked up at Shona who was staring at the TV.
“Huh? Oh, nothing. It’s just… Well, the guys invited me over to the bar again tonight but…” Shona began.
“But what? Oh, I know that place is a dive, Shona, but you’re twenty-two years old. You should be out having fun. Maybe you could keep an eye on your new friend while you’re there?”
“Maybe. It’s just all the questions that come with socializing, Dorothy.” Shona exhaled and shook her head. “I don’t know what it is but folks in small towns just always seem to wanna know your life story. I’ve already told them the basics, but they always wanna dig a little further down. More than I wanna go into, you know?”
Dorothy nodded.
“And anything they don’t like, they hold against you for the rest of your days. That’s why I try to keep myself to myself. But it’s getting harder each day.” Shona’s voice trailed off as she leaned on her hand.
Dorothy placed the sock down on her lap and turned to face her.
“Now you listen here. I am sixty-eight years old and have lived in this small town my whole life. I go there to do my grocery shopping, pay my bills and mail my letters. Then I come home. Do you know how many times I’ve been asked questions about my life over the years? Hundreds. It’s what folks do. Some want to pass the time, some just want the latest gossip, but you know what else, Shona?”
“What?”
“Some people actually just want to get to know you because they think you’re an interesting person.” Dorothy jabbed her finger at Shona, then picked her sock and needle up again. “So you go out with your friends tonight, Shona. That’s an order. And if any of them ask questions you don’t wanna answer, you don’t. OK? No one can force you to tell them your life story.”
“OK.” Shona rose out of her chair and kissed the old lady on the cheek. As she reached the front room door, she turned back. “Dorothy?”
“Yeah?” she replied, inspecting the sock.
“Thank you. I won’t be late.”
“Hey. Haven’t seen you in here for a while.” Lucy grinned and put down the cloth she was wiping the bar with.
“I know,” Shona replied as she sat down in front of her.
“Well, it’s real good to see you. What can I get you to drink?” Lucy watched Shona pick at the edges of a coaster and scan the room.
“Oh, um… just a soda, please.”
“You wan’ ice? And maybe a bourbon shot in there too?” Lucy asked.
“Ice, please. I’ll take a raincheck on the bourbon,” Shona replied, mirroring Lucy’s smile.
Lucy passed Shona her drink, and Shona reached into her pocket to pay. “On the house.”
Shona put the dime away. “Thanks.”
“So how was your day?” Lucy asked, leaning forwards on the bar.
Before Shona could answer, a man’s gravelly voice bellowed across the bar. “Hey! Lucy! It’s you, isn’t it? Loose Lucy. The guys have been tellin’ me 'bout you. They say you’re the best in the business. What time you workin’ tonight?” he slurred. Before he could say another word, the giant hulking figure of Chuck wrapped his arm around the man’s neck and dragged him out of the bar.
“Time you took a walk, pal,” he hissed. He looked over to the bar. “Sorry about him, Lucy.”
Lucy nodded her thanks to Chuck. Unable to hide her red face, she turned her back on Shona and began wiping down the bottles on the shelf behind the bar.
“Who was that?” Shona asked after a few moments of st
aring at the back of her head. “Lucy? Why’d he say all that?”
“I don’t know. Back in a minute.” Lucy lifted the bar hatch and scurried out of sight.
“Wait.” Shona jumped up off her stool, then looked at Norm, who shrugged as he picked up the cloth Lucy had dropped and began wiping a glass.
“Hey Shona, you wanna shoot some pool? I got a dollar says you can’t beat me. Not once,” Jonny called over to her, snapping her out of her bewilderment at Lucy’s sudden departure.
“Yeah, OK then, Jonny. Might as well,” Shona replied.
Jonny passed her the cue he’d been holding out for her, his optimistic smile glowing. “You can go first.”
“You might regret that,” Shona joked, sinking two balls straight off her first shot. “You ready to lose that dollar?”
“What’s up with you?” Frank asked, seeing his girlfriend standing by the restroom door.
“Nothing. Some guy being a jerk. It’s OK, Chuck threw him out, like always. What’s got you so giddy?” Lucy asked, noticing his wide grin.
“These magic hands, my darlin’, have just won us a lot of money. I can finally get that kitchen sorted and I’m gon’ treat you too.” He reached down and pulled her into him by her wrists. Twirling her around him, he kissed her messily on the cheek. “I’m gon’ get a drink, go upstairs and you… you make yourself all pretty. No work for you tonight, I want you all to myself. I’ve earned it.”
Lucy freed herself from his sweaty grip and smiled, strangely grateful that it was only Frank she was entertaining tonight rather than a complete stranger. The words that had been shouted to her in the bar were still playing in her mind.
The worse part, though, was that Shona had heard them too.
“You have a nice time?” Dorothy called out, hearing Shona close the front door with a thud a few hours later.
“Kinda,” Shona replied. “Oh, I’m gon’ fix that door properly this weekend. It’s been coming off its hinges again since the other night,” she added.
“Yeah. Slamming it in a temper tantrum’ll do that,” Dorothy said, the corners of her mouth turning upwards into a tiny smile as she looked back down at her newspaper. “Why only kinda?”
“Oh, nothing. I think I might head on up. You need me to help you?” She walked over to the high-backed chair Dorothy was seated in and held out her arm.
“Yes please. You’re a good girl, Shona. Always looking after me.” Gripping on to Shona’s arm, Dorothy pushed her body up out of the chair with her other hand.
“Well, you’re good to me too. Those sandwiches were delicious. Thank you for making them for me.”
“You’re welcome. I never had my own children to do it for.”
Reaching the top of the stairs, Shona gave Dorothy a hug goodnight, then watched the old lady disappear into her bedroom. Walking into her own room, Shona sighed with exhaustion. Sitting on the edge of her bed, she removed her boots, then stood up to take her nightshirt out of her drawer. Lying it on the bed, she began to undress.
“Oh, I forgot to ask—” Dorothy pushed open Shona’s bedroom door, just as she was lifting her undershirt over her head. Wrenching it down as quickly as she could, Shona felt sheer horror at the look on Dorothy’s face. “Never mind… It can wait till morning. Goodnight.” As quickly as she’d burst in, Dorothy disappeared, closing the door behind her.
Shona’s shaking fingers held on to the hem of her undershirt as she stared at the closed door. But it was too late. Dorothy had already seen the scars.
Chapter 16
Breakfast was the quietest it had been the whole time Shona had lived there. Dorothy had served the bacon, Shona had said thank you, then Dorothy had set a plateful of toast down in the middle of the table.
After several minutes of polite smiles and awkward silence, Dorothy swallowed the mouthful of toast she’d been chewing.
“Those marks. How did you get them?”
“I don’t wanna talk about it right now,” Shona murmured.
“You know, when we were in Gulfport, I tried to make it clear that you could tell me anything and I wouldn’t judge.” Dorothy paused. “And you did. You told me all about your past. But you never mentioned… This.” Her gaze was fixed on Shona’s trembling face.
“I should get to work.”
Rising out of her seat, Shona pushed her chair under the table. She walked out of the kitchen and tugged on the front door, closing it quietly behind her.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Marcie said, walking up behind Shona with a small envelope of wages in her outstretched hand. “Say, you’ve been quiet all morning. Everything OK?”
“Yeah. Just had a lot of jobs to get done,” Shona replied, smiling her thanks and placing the brown envelope in her top pocket.
“So I see. You’ve been doing great here since you started. Harry’s so pleased with you. You’ve picked stuff up real quick. I’ll be honest, the guys didn’t know how it’d be having a woman working with them, especially Doug. But even he’s now taken a shine to you after his accident n’all. And young Jonny over there, well, you don’t need me to tell you how giddy you got him over you.” Marcie waved over to the floppy-haired mechanic who waved back, then smoothed his hair down. “He’s been working with Harry since he was knee-high to a grasshopper, but in all that time I ain’t never seen him gush over a girl like he has you. He’s a sweet boy. Like the son we never had.” Marcie’s eyes misted over for a second before refocusing on Shona’s reactions.
“I went over to the bar last night. Ended up playing pool with him,” Shona replied, turning her wrench over in her palm.
“And…?” Marcie leaned in and playfully shoved Shona. “Why, he’s as cute as a button. You could do a lot worse, you know. Most of the guys around here look like they’ve been hit by the ugly stick. Apart from my Harry, of course,” she added, staring over at him and smiling.
“I normally keep work separate, ma’am. Hope that’s OK with everyone?”
“Of course. Jonny will just have to work a little harder on you.” She winked.
Shona smiled, rubbing her hand over the back of her neck.
“Oh, well now, where are my manners. There’s me matchmaking and I haven’t even asked you if you’re already courting.” Marcie hung her hands on her hips, her eyebrows raised as she waited for a response. Just as the silence between them began to lengthen, Lucy hollered Shona’s name from across the street.
“Well, you’re all finished up for the week. Off you go.” Marcie reached over to pat Shona on the arm then said her goodbyes and walked back into her office. Shona, after putting all of her tools away in the correct slots in the chest headed over to the front door of Chasers where Lucy was waiting.
“Hey. You all done for the day?” Lucy asked.
“Yeah. You finish early on a Friday too?”
“Umm… Well, no actually. I wasn’t feeling too good this morning so I didn’t make it in,” Lucy said, her cheeks burning. “I’ve been a little down lately and… Well, now, listen to me bellyaching. I haven’t even offered you a drink yet. You wanna come inside?” Lucy brushed a lock of lank hair out of her dull, tired eyes.
“Won’t that boyfriend of yours be annoyed if he catches me hanging around you?”
“That man ain’t the boss o’me. I do as I please.” With her hands clamped on her hips, Lucy stared Shona dead in the eye. “And you know what? I think it’s high time we had a little fun around here for a change, you and me. Cheer us both up. Life can’t all be about work, especially as we both have the whole afternoon off. So, apart from beating me and Jonny in every game we play, what other kinds of things do you like to do, Shona?”
“Nothing really. Back home though I used to like to ride. Give me a wild horse and I’ll break him in a day,” Shona replied, her eyes gazing out into the distance.
“Well, I ain’t got no stallion hidden away down that alley over there, but why don’t we go for a drive or something? Get out of this town. Or go sit by the river may
be?”
“Another time. I should get back to Dorothy. But how ‘bout I come over here later? I’ll be just another paying customer so Frank can’t get all uppity about it.”
Lucy blushed.
“Who was that guy yesterday? He called you ‘Loose Lucy’ or something?” Shona’s brow wrinkled.
Lucy froze for a second. “No one. He… has a stutter that’s all. Couldn’t quite get my name out right,” she said, wiping a strand of hair away from her left eye. “I’d better go back in. I’ll see you later, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Shona replied to the back of Lucy’s head as the door of the bar closed behind her.
“Hey Norm, is Lucy around?” Shona asked as she walked up behind the bartender. It was just after five o’clock that Friday afternoon.
“In the basement. You can go down if you want.”
Shona headed over to the far corner of the bar, passing Chuck who was drinking on his own. He watched closely as she descended the steps.
“Hey.” Shona’s voice echoed as she walked into the damp, cold basement. “What happened over there?” she said, pointing to a wet patch of wall.
“Oh, hi. Yeah, I think we got a leak from the restroom faucet. I gotta move these before we have any more stock damaged. Frank says he’s sorting it out, but…”
As Lucy moved a barrel away from the wall, Shona leaped towards her.
“Look out,” she yelled, grabbing Lucy and twisting her away from the large chunk of masonry that had fallen away from the wall.
“That was close,” Lucy gasped, still wrapped in Shona’s arms. Letting her go gently, Shona brushed the flakes of plaster out of her own clothes, then cleared her throat as she pointed to a little bit stuck in Lucy’s hair. Picking it out, Lucy noticed the wall was now letting in a steady trickle of water.