Gretta smiled, wondering what Shauna would say if she knew what she had planned for herself. It didn’t include living next door for much longer. But she was pleased her friend had agreed to go party so easily. Shauna deserved a good party, and tonight was going to be special; she was going to see to that personally.
13
Susie turned onto the state road leading to Sunset Lake, a road that every Radford high school kid was familiar with. As she slowed the car looking for the park turnoff, Susie briefly wondered what Kenny was doing. Her boyfriend of two years had refused to go to the party with her, insisting instead on going out with his druggie friends. He was probably passed out at Sabrina’s house, while the rest of his stoner friends smoked themselves into another night of oblivion.
Susie refused to go to the stoner parties. She had tried to convince Kenny that the drugs, and that crowd, were not what he needed. He was probably with Sabrina right at this very moment, she assumed. The thought made her more sad than angry, realizing at that moment that she had lost the battle. In two days she would leave for school, and Kenny would keep going in the same direction, never leaving Radford, smoking and drinking himself to sleep every night and waiting for his parents to die so he could begin blowing his inheritance. Susie had no intention of being around that kind of life, having no desire to return to Radford once she left. Kenny had been cool for a short while, but now she saw him for the loser he really was. Susie had much bigger hopes for herself.
Money was never going to be a problem for Susie Turner Hall. Her mother was the granddaughter of Alexander Turner, the founder of Turner Steel Corporation, as well as the former United States Secretary of Commerce. Turner Steel, one of the last of the original steel mills in America that had not been sold off to foreigners, was the largest employer in Radford, the only reason the town even existed. Control of the company had remained in the Turner family throughout the various depressions and recessions, and now with Susie’s father, H. Tucker Hall serving as CEO, the company was flourishing.
Susie had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth, and would soon be worth more money than she could possibly spend in a lifetime. Upon her twenty-first birthday she would become a multi-millionaire; then again at 25, at 30, and so on throughout the remainder of her life.
Her dad was the main man in Radford. Since Susie was a small child, he had worked 16 hour days at the mill, trying to follow in the footsteps of greatness established by Alexander Turner and carried down through the last half-century by a number of lesser Turners. H. Tucker had married the boss’ daughter with the sole purpose of climbing the ladder directly into the only seat of power in Radford. What he hadn’t realized at the time of the marriage was that it would take a bit longer than he had expected. His father-in-law had not been a complete fool, and H. Tucker had been forced to work extremely hard for the job he coveted. The hard work had eventually paid dividends, not only for H. Tucker, but for the entire company.
Following the utter chaos of the Carter Administration, Turner Steel nearly went bankrupt, along with many other American companies. Under the guidance of Susie’s grandfather and with the aid of H. Tucker, the company fought off two separate hostile takeover attempts, and turned away a German conglomerate who craved the corporation as an addition to its other holdings.
The turbulent period forced Granddad Turner into retirement, and presented H. Tucker with his golden egg. He was named president of Turner Steel, the downside being that he continued to be a neglectful husband and father.
Susie had selected the University of Texas for one reason. It was the farthest school from Radford that had offered her a chance to play basketball. She was more than willing to give up her hometown, absolutely ready to leave behind her boyfriend, even knew she was losing her two best friends. But she wasn’t ready just yet to give up basketball. Texas offered her an opportunity to play ball four more years, and she had jumped at the chance.
She looked over at Andy, who sat against the door, a beer in his hand, staring out the side window. Since dating Kenny, Susie had never gone out on him even once, even when she was sure he was sleeping with everything and everybody he could. Susie had been faithful for two years. Now, with two days remaining before her scheduled departure to Austin, and with Andy available for the rest of the evening, maybe it was time to see what someone else was like. Kenny was history, and Andy was beautiful; and, until tonight, untouchable. Tonight might prove very interesting for both of them.
Susie was glad that Tammy and Jody were with her tonight. The three had been best friends since grade school, were known as the “Three Amigos” at school, a name that fit perfectly. She was going to miss her buds terribly. But it was one of the things she was going to have to learn to deal with in her quest for happiness and her search for something besides the prospect of turning out like her parents.
14
The show turned out to be a good one, a super-hero movie, Iron Man, with Robert Downey, Jr. They gorged themselves on popcorn and junk, each one thinking that this was the end of their childhoods. Shauna knew she was going to be busy trying to juggle school and her job at Greenway, Short, as well as raising Carl.
Gretta had plans, and unfortunately they didn’t include the same things that Shauna was going to be involved with. Her plans included a one-way ticket to California, with no intention of ever returning to Radford. She needed something different, something exciting. The only future she could envision in Radford was her job at the library, or maybe a secretary job at the steel mill, working 30 years for that retirement check that everyone in town coveted. That picture left her cold, feeling depressed every time it raised its ugly little head. Nope, she was going to California and create something for herself. With a little luck, she might find work doing bit parts for television, or maybe making commercials. Performing made her feel more alive than anything she had ever been involved in. She wanted more, and was determined to go for it. California was calling, and she was ready to answer.
The clouds had dissipated by the time they walked out of the movie theater. The night was gorgeous, a bright, beautiful full moon illuminating the sky, enough breeze to keep things cool. Looking at her watch, Gretta saw it was still a little early to hit the club.
“Are you hungry?” she asked as they walked across the half-full parking lot. She found her key and unlocked the door, sliding in and reaching across to unlock Shauna’s side.
“I’m bloated on candy. I may never eat again. Are you?”
“Nope, I’m good. It’s still too early to go bar-hopping. Any ideas?” Gretta asked, starting the car and waiting for her friend to answer.
“Let’s drive out by the lake. By the time we get out there and back it will be about time to go to the club. You got any gas?” Shauna asked, looking at the gauges.
Gretta tapped the glass cover of the gas gauge, the arrow remaining pointed at the empty line. “The gauge is broke, but I think I filled it up Monday, so there should be plenty.” She pulled out into traffic, pointing the car east, heading toward Sunset Lake.
Sunset was located 15 miles outside of Radford, part of a state park complex. The compound included a pretty fair 18-hole golf course, a public swimming pool, and several nice picnic areas. The lake itself was good size, and on weekends the boat rental and paddle boat concessions did a brisk business. On one end of the lake there was a roped off swimming area, complete with two large water slides, the area manned by life guards during summer daylight hours. But at night, the lake closed down and the area was patrolled on an irregular basis by park rangers. For years, the Radford teens had used it as the perfect party and make-out spot.
Gretta turned onto the side road leading toward the west end of the lake, the forest suddenly isolating the vehicle from the busy highway, the overhead trees blocking out much of the moonlight. The girls felt the familiar feeling of solitude that was a part of the excitement of the lake. The car hadn’t traveled more than a half-mile into the wilderness when it coughed, cut ou
t, restarted, and cut out again. Gretta pumped the gas pedal without luck and let the stalled car coast slowly to the side of the road.
“Damn, damn, damn, I knew we should have brought your car. This piece of garbage does this every time. Just give it a minute and it’ll start. Damn.” She was going on and on talking to herself, angry and embarrassed. She opened the door and got out, kicking the side of the car.
Shauna, laughing nervously, got out of the passenger side, noticing for the first time how dark it was getting to be, the first signs of dread surfacing, her emotions bordering on fear.
“Gret, I think maybe we’re in trouble,” she told her friend. “This is about the time that maybe spending some money on a cell phone might have been a good idea. We’re 15 miles from nowhere, out of gas, and I’m scared crapless in the dark.”
“I told you I got gas this week, Shauna. There’s no way it’s out of gas. It’ll start in a sec. Have some faith, girl.” She didn’t sound as sure of herself as she had back at the movie theater. She slid back into the seat, turned the key, and listened to the motor grind, the battery running down until there was nothing but the ‘click…click…click’ of the dead alternator. She slid back out, looked at Shauna, and didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.
“Great, just great. Two little ol’ black girls stuck out here a million miles from nowhere. And I hate walking. So, any suggestions? You’re the one with the brains.”
Shauna looked at her friend, the hang-dog expression on Gretta’s face causing her to chuckle. “I think we have two choices. We can walk toward the lake and hope that we run into some kids that will help us, which is a pretty good bet. Or we can walk back to the road, and hope we don’t get picked up by some drunk cowboy wannabe or rednecks in a pickup truck. Which also is a pretty good bet. I vote for the lake. I think there’s a pay phone somewhere down there, and if all else fails, we can call someone to come get us.”
”I vote for the lake, too. At least if we run into some kids, we might know them. I don’t feel like chancing the redneck, pick-up truck thing. I’m not up to that tonight. Let me get my purse and keys. Lock that door.”
The girls retrieved their belongings, locked the car doors, and began walking down the dark road toward the lake.
15
Jody Reed stared out the left rear window of the Lincoln, the Styrofoam beer cooler sitting between her knees, her second beer of the night in her right hand. Condensation from the aluminum can was dripping down her leg, the girl unaware of the moisture.
She was wearing pleated green shorts, belted at the waist, a sleeveless pull-over black blouse, and black Nike tennis shoes with white ankle-high socks. The redhead was always dressed as though she had just walked off the page of a Vogue ad. Susie and Tammy knew that Jody could care less about how she looked, never gave a bit of thought or attention to her wardrobe. She was one of those unique people who looked great in whatever she wore, setting the styles among the high school girls without ever knowing she was even remotely responsible.
She sipped her beer, not looking or talking to anyone else in the car. Her friends were accustomed to these moments of moodiness, had learned to take them for granted, although it could be disconcerting to others. Jody didn’t care how others regarded her, had never been concerned with things like that. She had more than enough problems within her own head to worry about what was going on in someone else’s.
She was thinking that time was running out for a couple of major decisions she had been contemplating over the summer, and she knew that it was time to form the foundation of her future. As she stared out the window, she was thinking that she probably shouldn’t be here, should have stayed home and got her head screwed on straight. But she had wanted to see Rod and Andy one last time, had been friends with them almost her entire life. Andy and Rod were about the only two guys who had respected her choice to live life on her own terms, without regard for the pressures of her peers. While in high school, most every girl at St. Margaret’s had been involved in some form of extracurricular activity; Susie had her sports, Tammy was a cheerleader, others in drama, or speech, or any of the many extra-curricular activities offered by the private school. Everyone was involved, except Jody Reed. Jody, at least in her mind, was on a mission. In almost everyone else’s mind, she was just very peculiar.
The redhead spent the majority of her high school years in the high school’s library, or else frequenting one of the branches of the city library, searching for answers to every problem that troubled or confused her, anything that muddled her mind. Her head was constantly filled with questions, sometimes coming perilously close to convincing her that she was insane. She hated to be baffled, wanted to know every answer to every question, felt a need to solve every problem ever faced by mankind. A favorite game was to second guess the monumental decisions made by world leaders during crisis situations, setting up scenarios based on her perpetual question; ‘What if it had happened like this instead?’
The girl had been named St. Margaret’s valedictorian, and surprised nobody by turning the honor down, never offering an explanation for the slight, never discussing it with family or friends. Her parents were never aware of the honor. She had her own agenda, and she didn’t want to be bothered by someone else’s.
She had applied at several colleges and been accepted at each and every one. She had finally decided on the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. Her decision had thrilled her parents, especially her father, a life-long Irish football fan. Jody had visited the campus on two different occasions, was pre-enrolled, and had been offered a job in the library. She had already been given a dorm assignment, and met her roommate for her freshman year.
And then came the first complication. She had decided a month ago, following more than a year of intense self-scrutiny and soul-searching that she had been chosen for a religious vocation, called by God to do His service. Secretly, without her parents or friends suspecting what she was doing, she started an intense correspondence with the Mother Superior of the Order of the Sisters of Ursuline, located in Paola, Kansas. Her letters were filled with hundreds of questions, the girl digging for the answers that she needed to work out this conflict inside for her. At the Mother Superior’s insistence, Jody had made a brief, overnight visit to the convent. While there, she had been accepted as a novice, and was slated to begin studies in September.
Throughout the summer, Jody had second-guessed herself several times, questioning the validity of a religious vocation, knowing down deep that she was being called for something, just not exactly sure what the call was, or even who it was from. She did know that if it was God calling, she damn sure better answer. She was 99 percent decided on Kansas versus South Bend, but that one percent was killing her. Tomorrow, or at the latest the day after, she was going to have to spring the news on her parents, whatever the news was. If she choice Paola, her dad was going to go through the roof.
The second complication, and far more confusing to the girl, concerned her sexuality; or her lack of any.
The redhead, the most beautiful of all the girls in an all-girl high school, had never felt the least bit interest in boys. Not in junior high when all her friends would sit around and compare notes and fantasies about the different boys at St. Luke’s; not when first Tammy, and then Susie had begun experimenting with sex; never had Jody had the faintest urge to be around boys, let alone date one, or hold hands, or kiss one. She had never attended a school dance, including her proms, had never had even one date in high school.
She could not imagine for one second the attraction of letting a boy touch her, the thought making her nauseous. She was fairly certain that she would never be with a man other than in friendship. She preferred to describe herself as asexual, although in the back of her mind she had some very real doubts about the validity of that conclusion.
What made her question her sexuality was the feelings she sometimes got around girls. She had first noticed it during her freshman year, the first of t
wo mandatory years that St. Margaret girls attended gym classes. She had never told anyone else about these feelings or thoughts, but they had continued throughout high school. She had never acted on any of the urges she felt toward females, and planned on keeping all her feelings buried deep inside of her confused head.
It was this dilemma that had ignited her summer-long search through the extensive data on lesbianism. As of yet she had not reached a conclusion concerning her sexuality, whether she was a lesbian, asexual, normal, or whatever. Maybe just a really odd girl, she mused.
Tonight she sat in the back seat of the Lincoln, not paying any attention to the others, lost in her thoughts about the upcoming conversation with her parents. If she decided on the convent, they were going to take her decision really hard. Her dad would offer every enticement possible to talk her out of it, anything to get her on a plane to South Bend. Appearance was much too important to those entrenched in the Turner Steel family, and her dad, a high-ranking executive, was as deep into Turner as anyone in Radford. A child going to Notre Dame looked good, and if nothing else, her parents loved to look good.
The road was dark, the headlights cutting through the black night, the giant trees blocking out the full moon. Susie slowed the car down, knowing the road was full of sharp turns and curves.
Andy said something she didn’t catch, her attention drawn to the red car sitting on the side of the road, apparently abandoned. She slowed to a crawl as she passed by; looking to be sure nobody was in trouble.
“Not a good place to park,” Andy said, looking back at the car.” Must have run out of gas.”
Several hundred yards farther down the road, the headlights picked up the shadow of two figures walking in the direction of the lake, keeping off to the left side of the road. Susie slowed again, passing by the pair, noticing that they were blacks, having no intention of stopping.
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