Tasha
Alexis met Jennie at the front door of the hospital.
“I’ve told you all I know. Someone beat her, Jennie, beat her badly, and she won’t tell anyone—not me, the nurse, or the social worker—what happened. The nurse called the police before I arrived, but Tasha has nothing to say to them.”
As they reached Tasha’s floor, Alexis stopped to make a call while Jennie went to the room. She found a nurse placing a sign on Tasha’s door, limiting visitors to immediate family.
“She really needs her rest,” the nurse said, eying Jennie.
“My daughter called me to come…”
“Mom, is there a problem?” Alexis hurried over. Jennie’s lower lip began to tremble. Alexis had never before called her Mom. It was always Jennie.
The nurse patted her shoulder. “It’ll be all right, Ms. Lindsay. Your daughter is pretty banged up, but she’ll be all right. Go on in.” She turned to Alexis. “Let’s not overwhelm your sister with visitors. Let your mom go in alone.”
Ms. Lindsay. Jennie sighed. Never again, that’s what Tasha had told her.
She peeked into Tasha’s room. Tasha was asleep, but the glow from a small fluorescent light above the bed fell across her face. Jennie shook her head. Even from the door she could see the purple bruises covering Tasha’s left cheek.
She looked around the room. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the blinds had been closed so Tasha could sleep. The television hanging from the ceiling had been turned off. The room appeared as dismal as Jennie felt.
“I’ll be back shortly,” Jennie told the nurse as she and Alexis headed toward the elevator. “Here’s my number. Will you please call me if she wakes before I get back?”
Jennie and Alexis rode down in silence as Jennie thought of what must have happened.
“How is she?” Kara had insisted on driving Jennie to Atlanta. She jumped to her feet as the elevator door opened and dashed across the lobby.
Jennie wiped tears from her eyes. “Pretty beaten up. She’s asleep. They gave her a tranquilizer, and she’ll be out for a while.” She turned to Alexis. “Did she tell you anything more?”
“Not much. Right before she drifted off, she mumbled something about a fight in a bar, that she didn’t run soon enough, I thought she said your name. I asked if she wanted me to call Ryan, her boyfriend, and I think she said, ‘Don’t call that pig.’” Alexis shook her head. “She was pretty out of it by then and she drifted off.”
“Let’s get some coffee,” Kara suggested. “You can go back in a little while.”
“I can’t ask you to stay here all day.”
Kara held up her e-reader. “I’ve plenty to entertain me.”
“Jennie, do you mind if I leave?” Alexis’s face showed her concern. “I have a couple of things I really need to do. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.”
“Go. I’ll phone you when I know more.” Jennie hugged Alexis. “Thank you for calling. Thank you…” She wiped her eyes.
“I’ll stay.”
“Jennie shook her head. “No, Kara is with me. I’ll be fine. Go.”
Sitting in the coffee shop, Jennie stared blankly into her cup. “It’s my fault, isn’t it? What happened to Tasha? She was beaten after you took me away from the Anchor.”
“Did you tell her you were going there last night?”
“Of course I didn’t tell her,” Jennie exclaimed. “I didn’t know I was going to the Anchor. Not until I walked out of that restroom humming ‘Anchors Aweigh.’” She paused, swirling the coffee around in the cup. “I would never have told the children about…that part of my life.”
She raised her head, focusing on a picture hanging on the wall.
“She told Alexis there was a fight. I caused it didn’t I? They were angry when I left, and they took it out on the other women. If I hadn’t stopped my medicine, if I had controlled myself, if I hadn’t tried to…to do it with a roomful of men…I’m totally worthless,” she almost shouted, causing people to turn and look. “I should have known what would happen. I shouldn’t have left her there. I should be the one in that bed upstairs.”
“Jennie, calm down. Calm down, or you will be in a bed upstairs.” Kara rushed around the table and wrapped her arms around Jennie.
“It wasn’t your fault. We dragged you out, and you weren’t thinking clearly when we pulled you away. In any case, there’s no way you could have known…”
“Ryan is her boyfriend.” Jennie growled. “Alexis said she called him a pig. If he did this to her…”
Jennie started to stand, but Kara pulled her back into her chair.
“Dr. Wilson gave you a tranquilizer, Valium, in case you became anxious. Take one. Now.”
***
Two hours later, Jennie was sitting beside Tasha’s bed.
“What are you doing here?”
Jennie jumped when she heard Tasha. She reached to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, but Tasha turned away.
“Alexis called me. She thought someone should be here with you.”
Tasha stared at her.
“An adult,” Jennie added. “To make decisions.”
Tasha continued to stare. “You’re not even related to me.” Jennie could barely hear her voice. “You can’t make any decisions. Besides, I’m an adult, and I’m not going to die.” She turned onto her side, away from Jennie. She wailed in pain. “I wish I had, though…Oh, I hurt.”
“Who did this, Tasha?”
“Go away. I don’t need you. I saw more than enough of you last night.”
I know you did, Jennie thought.
“It was your fault, you know,” Tasha growled. “Those…those animals…after your performance, they were so worked up, so horny, so angry you when you left…” She turned her head toward the wall. “Go away.”
“Why wouldn’t you let Alexis call your father?”
After a minute of silence, Jennie decided Tasha was going to ignore her. She stood and picked up her bag.
“I’ll be outside.”
As she reached the door, she heard Tasha move and she paused, looking back at her.
“I can’t tell Dad what those pigs…your pigs did to me,” she whispered. “I don’t want him to know I was ever at your bar…Oh, I hurt all over,” she moaned.
“Please tell me what happened.” Jennie sat down again and waited while Tasha lay silent for several minutes.
“It’s not the first time I’ve been to the Anchor, you know.”
Jennie would have missed the words had they been anywhere other than a hospital, but it was so quiet that even Tasha’s pained whisper rose above the silence.
“I knew it was where you used to work, and a couple of us, four of us, I guess, drove over one night to check it out. They had cheap drinks, and we had a really good time.”
She groaned as she changed her position. “It hurts if I don’t move,” she murmured. “It hurts if I do.”
Jennie leaned over and rearranged the covers.
“A couple of us went back a few times. Last night, Ryan and I had been to a party. A couple of his friends were with us…”
“Ryan was the blond boy?”
Tasha turned away. “That’s right,” she snapped. “You met Ryan.”
“Tasha, I’m sorry…”
“Doesn’t matter.”
After a moment, she turned back to Jennie. “I told him about this cool bar and told him he might enjoy dropping in.” She shook her head. “He loved it. Started talking to some of the regulars, ordered drinks…We had been there less than half an hour and he was trading stories with them, laughing, becoming best buddies. Then you showed up…May I have some water?”
Jennie poured a glass full. She placed one hand under Tasha’s head and gently raised it, then held the bendy straw to her lips.
“Thanks.” Tasha took a long drink from the cup, draining it almost all the way.
Jennie moved the cup, refilled it, and set it on the table beside Tasha.
“
I couldn’t believe it when I saw you. If you hadn’t come by Alexis’s place earlier, I wouldn’t have recognized you. I almost dropped my drink when you leaned over the bar and flashed the room.”
Jennie felt tears forming in her eyes.
“Then Ryan let out that wolf whistle. I ducked my head when you turned to look. I wanted to leave, and we were near the door, but when Curt began to talk about you and I turned to ask Ryan if we could go, his buddies were standing on the table shouting at him, daring him to…to do it with you. Ryan was already up at the bar, drooling over you.”
“I’m so sorry, honey. I wasn’t thinking clearly. When I’m manic, I do things…”
“You know, there really is a photograph of you on the wall. Did you know that?”
“Everything covered will be made known,” Jennie mumbled. It was in the Bible somewhere. Never had she imagined anyone she knew would ever set foot in the Anchor, would ever know what she had been.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing. Go on.”
“You were wearing…you were almost naked.”
Jennie nodded. “What happened, Tasha?”
“The guys were disgusting, you know? Packed around you. Watching you like it was a circus act, or something. And Ryan…You know, I really liked him. He drank a little too much sometimes, but he seemed to be a really nice guy.” She shook her head as if to clear the image from her mind. “He really thought he was going to do it. With you. On the bar with everyone watching.”
Tasha tried to sit up in bed. “Ow!” She pressed her hand against her side, and groaned.
“How could you do that, Jennie?” she demanded. “How could you…? Dad loves you, Jennie. He’s planning to ask you to marry—I didn’t say that. Forget I said that…How could you act like a…a tramp?” She was crying. “You’re not, are you? Really? You weren’t serious, were you?”
She didn’t wait for a reply.
“Those two women showed up and dragged you away. When the door closed, for a second, no one moved. It was like they were frozen in time, and the Anchor was as quiet as a church. Then I heard a rumble. It began quietly and it grew louder and louder. It was as if every guy in the room was roaring like a wounded bear or something. They were angry, Jennie. I could see it on their faces. They were ready for a show and if you weren’t going to give them one, well, they wanted someone to take your place.” She bit her lip and looked as if she was going to cry.
“A couple of them grabbed at the waitresses. One of them, Sandy, was near the bar and she bolted for Curt’s office. The other one, her name is Vickie, she was across the room and two guys caught her as she started to run. They lifted her over their heads and carried her to the bar. She was kicking, screaming. She scratched one guy’s face and drew blood. Ryan was still there. He reached out to take her, but she slipped out of their hands, landed on the bar, and kicked Ryan. He doubled over, howling. Curt pulled Vickie away and pushed her toward the back with Sandy.” Tasha was breathing hard and tears were running down her cheeks. “It all happened so fast.”
“Calm down, Tasha, Calm down.”
“I ran for the door, but one of the guys snagged my collar and dragged me to the middle of the room. He ripped my tunic off over my head and he pinned me down on a table and…and he touched me, while another one yanked my leggings down I kicked them. I scratched and I bit.” She paused to wipe her eyes. “I thought of what Mom would have done, and I fought as hard as I could, but there were two guys, then there were five, then more. They choked me, hit me, punched me. They wanted me to stop struggling so that they could…There were too many of them. They were all around me. Their hands were all over me…” Her eyes stared into Jennie’s. “How could you—how could anyone—ask for that, Jennie?”
“I’ll take care of Curt Woodard.” Jennie sprang to her feet, the chair toppling to the floor behind her. “I’ll cut his little…”
“Jennie, no.” Tasha grabbed for her, but tumbled back on the bed. “I can’t. That hurts. It hurts so bad.”
Jennie was picking up her coat, thinking Curt would already be at the bar.
“Jennie, stop.” She held out her hand. “Curt rescued me. He rescued me.”
Jennie halted in mid-step, turning around, a scowl on her face.
“He jumped across the bar and pushed guys out of the way. He was carrying a pistol.” She gulped. “Ryan had climbed on the table. Curt pointed the pistol at him and he ran like a rabbit. Then Curt fired at the ceiling and everyone cleared out. I wouldn’t let him call the EMTs, but he insisted I let Vickie drive me home.”
Jennie let out a deep breath. She righted her chair and sank into it. She dropped her head into her hands. “Good. I always liked Curt.”
Her hand went to her mouth as she realized how her rapidly mood had changed. She looked up at Tasha, terrified. “I really am crazy.”
A nurse tapped on the door as she pushed it open.
“Good, you’re awake. I thought I heard voices. How are you feeling?”
“Like a truck hit me.”
“That’s what it looks like, honey. I need to check your vitals.”
The nurse gave Tasha medication for pain. “This will make you sleepy, honey, but I think that will be good. You can talk all you want tomorrow.” She looked pointedly at Jennie as she left the room, closing the door behind her.
“I should let you rest…” Jennie stood to leave.
“No. Please. Stay a little while. At least until I’m asleep. It…it feels good to get this off my chest…”
Jennie sat, and they did not speak for several minutes. She thought Tasha must be almost asleep, until she spoke in a quiet voice Jennie could barely hear.
“Jennie? What were you doing at the Anchor last night?”
“I was…doing exactly what it looked like.”
“You acted like a tramp.”
Jennie’s eyes began to water.
“Are you? A tramp? Is that what you do for…a good time?”
Jennie shook her head as tears rolled down her cheeks. “No. Oh no…Not in a long time, anyway.”
“Then why were you there last night?”
Jennie turned away. “I…I don’t really know. I stopped taking my medication. I told you that. Well, I…I changed, I guess. I didn’t think I had, but…last night, I was manic. I flirted with guys at the party, and then I headed for the Anchor. When I’m manic, I don’t see things clearly, I don’t think clearly…I’m really messed up, Tasha.”
“Why did you stop your medicine?”
“I wanted to prove to…myself I didn’t need it to function, that I was not dependent on it.”
Tasha sat upright. “Ow. Oh. I have to stop doing that.”
Jennie helped her lie back, and she smoothed the covers over her. “Let me go now. We can talk later.”
“Jennie.” Tasha reached out to stop her. “It was my fault, wasn’t it? I told you that you would get sick again. I made fun of you for needing the meds.”
Jennie sat, but she didn’t reply.
“I’m right, aren’t I? It was my fault.”
“It was not your fault. You did give me those articles to read. We did talk about my medication.” Jennie nodded. “But I was the one who decided to stop taking it, Tasha. I was the one who flushed the pills down the toilet.” She smoothed Tasha’s hair.
“Last night, I was the one who thought it would be cool to go to the Rusty Anchor rather than drive home. I was the one who showed myself off, who got the guys all worked up. I’m to blame for what happened to you. I’m to blame for it all, not you.”
“But I should never have done those things, Jennie…I didn’t like you for the longest time, you know. I thought you were trying to break up Mom’s marriage.”
“I would never have done that,” Jennie exclaimed. “No. Your mom always invited me…”
“I know, but I was a kid when you first showed up, and that’s what I thought. My feelings never changed. I was trying to hurt you, to make you feel ba
dly about yourself…I wanted you to go away.”
Jennie took her hand. “What changed? I thought we’d been getting along so well for the past couple of months. You had never let me take you out on your birthday before last fall.”
“Nothing changed…I told Alexis I went out to dinner for the free food, but, really, well, all of my sisters think you’re so cool. Dad loves you…I decided that maybe I was wrong, but still…”
“I’m glad you gave me another chance.” Jennie squeezed her hand.
Tasha closed her eyes and Jennie sat in silence for several moments.
“I know I have no right to ask, but have you told your father about last night?”
“When those women burst through the door, I was taking photographs of you. They showed…well, they were really raunchy.”
Jennie nodded. She had glimpsed the picture on Tasha phone.
“I…was getting ready to send them to Dad.”
“Oh no.” Jennie’s heart sank, thinking of Thomas’s reaction.
“I was…well, I was shocked, Jennie, and I was really angry at you.” She looked away. “I thought I could finally get you out of my life forever. I had my finger on SEND when I stopped you at the door…I didn’t push it…I’m glad. That would have been a terrible thing to do to Dad. It would have killed him.”
She shook her head. “I can be so dumb sometimes.” She turned back to Jennie. “I know I was wrong about you, Jennie. I’ll delete the pictures. They will all be our secret.”
Jennie shook her head. “I have to tell him, Tasha, tell him what happened.”
“No you don’t. He’ll never know.”
“I never in a million years would have thought you would see me last night, that you would have seen the photograph on the wall, that you would ever have even been in the Anchor. You can’t say your dad will never know.”
“Who would tell him?”
“Ryan?”
“Ryan will never meet dad.” Tasha shook her head. “Trust me.”
“You don’t know that. Besides, it could be someone else. There could have been a teacher from Emory there last night…”
“No.” Tasha shook her head.
“Or someone from Tech or Agnes Scott or from any of twenty other colleges near Atlanta.”
Once and Future Wife Page 22