by T. L. Haddix
Just as Lauren came out of the kitchen, the front door opened and a young, slightly rough-looking man came in carrying a toddler. The baby squealed loudly when he saw the pregnant woman at the counter. He reached out so fast the man almost dropped him, and the woman hurried over to take the babbling child.
Charlie grinned at the young family, noticing that most everyone else in the café did so as well. Turning to Lauren, he was shocked by the horrified look on her face.
“Lauren? What’s wrong?”
The older woman, her attention on the baby, hadn’t noticed Lauren’s arrival, but when Charlie reached out to touch Lauren’s arm, the woman’s head jerked around and her eyes narrowed.
“You!”
She started toward Lauren with blood in her eye, and Charlie stepped in front of her, blocking her path.
“Is that your little slut back there?” The woman made no effort to lower her voice. “That whore don’t need no protecting. She don’t deserve it, not from any man. It was her that destroyed my Carl. Get out of my way!”
She raised her hands to shove him aside, but before she could touch him, the young man rushed to where they stood and stopped her, firmly grasping her arm.
“What in the world are you going on about?” he asked in a hushed voice as Janet hurried over from the cash register. All activity in the dining room had stopped, and every eye was on them.
Charlie felt Lauren’s hands on his back as she stepped out from behind him to face the woman, though she kept him between the others and herself. Drawing in a deep breath, she spoke, her voice shaky at first, but gaining strength.
“Troy, take your mother and your family and get out of here. You aren’t welcome in my shop.”
The old woman hissed at her words, struggling against her son’s grip, while the young girl tried to soothe her screaming baby.
“You little slut, you can’t be happy unless there’s a man panting after you. You and that no-good daughter of mine are just the same.” Looking at Charlie with pity and revulsion, she shook her head. “You probably don’t have any idea what kind of trouble she is, but you’ll learn. This whole town will learn about her and that daughter of mine. I’ll see to it. You’ll both pay for what you did to me and Carl.”
She finally allowed Troy to turn her and, shaking off his hand, hurried out of the café. The girl quickly followed with the baby.
“Get out of here, Troy,” Lauren repeated as he stood there sneering at her. He started to speak, but Charlie stepped up to him, pushing him back with his body.
“I suggest you take the lady’s advice, son.” Keeping his voice low, he stared Troy straight in the eye. After a few seconds, the younger man lowered his gaze and walked out the door without further incident.
“What the hell was that all about?” Janet asked quietly, obviously concerned. She shot Charlie a look before her gaze moved back to Lauren’s face. Seeing how pale Lauren had grown, his mouth tightened.
Lauren cleared her throat, squeezing Janet’s arm. “I’ll explain later.” She addressed the customers, who were shocked by the spectacle they had just witnessed.
“Never let it be said that we don’t provide an entertaining break.” Her words set off a ripple of laughter. “Seriously, we don’t have incidents like this happen very often, thank God. Anyone who’s interested can see Janet for free refills before you leave. I’m sorry you all had to witness this.”
Taking her arm, Charlie steered her toward the kitchen. “Janet, we’re going to take a few minutes.” Helga and Sarah, the new server, were standing at the door, alerted by the raised voices. They moved back into the kitchen when Charlie and Lauren entered.
“Could you get a pot of hot, sweet tea and send it up to the office?”
Sarah nodded and quickly moved to get the water on, assuring him she would bring it right up.
“I’m assuming these stairs go to the office?”
Lauren nodded, and he ushered her ahead of him up the stairs. As they climbed, he forced himself to focus on his breathing and calm down, knowing that his being upset wouldn’t help Lauren.
Once upstairs, she headed straight ahead and through the door to her office. It was in the front of the building, overlooking the street and park below. Closing the door he watched her without speaking. She walked over and picked up one of the pillows arranged on the window seat, hugging it close and twisting it in her hands. Suddenly, she threw the pillow across the room, and Charlie could see the meltdown begin.
“Damn them,” she whispered fiercely before dissolving in tears. She covered her face with her hands and sank down on the window seat.
Before he could move across to her there was a knock on the door. He opened it to admit Sarah. She placed the tea tray on the edge of Lauren’s desk and left, shooting her boss a concerned look.
After closing the door again, he walked over to the desk and pulled out the chair, setting it in front of Lauren. He grabbed a box of tissues and sat down. Cautiously, he placed his hands lightly on her knees and squeezed.
“Just let it out.”
With an embarrassed nod, she took the box of tissues. After a few minutes, she blew her nose and drew in a shuddering, hiccupping breath, then tossed the used tissues into the garbage can.
He tipped her chin up and pulled a clean tissue out of the box, using it to gently wipe her face. “Look at me.” When she did, he studied her, the misery in her eyes breaking his heart. “How about a cup of tea?” Lauren hesitated but finally nodded. He poured a cup of tea and handed it to her. She took a sip, and grimaced at its sweetness.
“Drink up,” Charlie told her. “You need the sugar.” She sighed but drank again, more deeply this time. As he watched the color come back into her cheeks, he tamped down the guilt and frustration he felt, knowing what he had to do. Though he hated to add to Lauren’s distress, Charlie didn’t plan on leaving until he found out exactly what just happened. He just hoped he would be able to question her gently enough to not destroy their budding relationship.
~ * * * ~
After a few more sips of the tea, Lauren was feeling much less shaky. She handed the cup to Charlie and sat back against the remaining pillows, drained. She felt old and tired, and more than anything in the world, she wanted to go home and crawl in bed. Looking at Charlie’s worried face, she knew that wasn’t an option.
“Why don’t you tell me what just happened down there?” His voice was gentle, but firm.
She swallowed, staring down at her hands as she plucked at the hem of her shirt. “Remember that day in the park, when I thought I’d seen a ‘ghost’?” When he nodded, she continued. “Well, that woman was the ‘ghost.’”
“Who is she?”
“It’s a little complicated,” Lauren hedged. “My aunt Shannon married Earl Vernon. That woman is Mary Margaret Vernon. Her husband, Carl, is Earl’s brother. Follow me?”
“Yeah. So she’s sort of an aunt through marriage, but not really, right?”
“Something like that.”
“So why’d she say those things to you?” His face turned a little red. “I don’t want to bring up what we argued about a couple of weeks ago, but you know I don’t believe you’re promiscuous. Right?”
She sat up a little straighter. “I know.”
He took one of her hands, rubbing it between his own. Seeing that he wasn’t going to budge until she talked, she tried to figure out how to start.
“Her daughter Margie was my best friend until the summer I turned sixteen.”
“What happened to change that?”
Lauren felt herself grow unnaturally calm. Involuntarily, her hands tightened around Charlie’s. This was not a discussion she’d thought to have with him so soon, or under these circumstances.
“That was the summer Margie’s father tried to rape me.”
Chapter Thirteen
Lauren forced herself to meet his gaze, watching steadily as her words sank in and made their impact.
A muscle tightened in h
is jaw, and he inhaled slowly, eyes closed. “Son of a bitch. And the wife blames you, is that it?”
Seeing that he wasn’t going to judge or blame her, she relaxed a little. “Of course. She certainly wasn’t going to blame him.”
“I’ll never understand why some women won’t believe the man they’re with could do such a thing.”
“You’ve seen this before?”
“Too many times. There are a lot of women out there who’ll choose their man over their children, even if there’s plenty of evidence the kids are telling the truth. It’s one of the worst things parents can do to their children, to fail to believe them and protect them. God, Lauren, I’m so sorry.”
She looked away for a minute and he let her have the time. “Aside from that day in the park, today’s the first time in thirteen years that I’ve seen her. She’s so old now. I knew she was back. Word came down through the family. However, knowing and seeing are two very different things.”
“Did he ever go to prison for what he did to you?”
“No, he was never even arrested.”
“I guess that would put a damper on your relationship with Margie. Have the two of you ever reconciled?”
Lauren’s smile was sad, and she pulled her hands away. “I haven’t seen or heard from Margie since that night. See, apparently he’d been doing more than just trying to rape her. I knew something was wrong by the way she was acting, the things she was doing, but I didn’t know until that night what the story was. When I fought back, it woke up everyone in the house, and her mother came in and started screaming about me being just like Margie. That’s when I knew what he’d done to her.”
Tears pricked her eyes, but they didn’t fall. “None of us knew, not my parents, my aunt Shannon. She hadn’t told us. We would have helped her if she had just told us.”
Just then, there was another knock on the door. Clearing her throat, she wiped at her cheeks and called for the person to come in. The door opened slowly and Janet looked inside, a concerned look on her face.
“I just wanted to check on you. Are you okay?”
Lauren held out her hand to the older woman who hurried over. She gave Janet a hug and Charlie scooted back. “I’m fine.”
“This has something to do with your cousin when you were a teenager, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, it does. But I’m okay. I’m handling it.”
Janet studied Lauren’s face before heading back downstairs. She patted Charlie on the shoulder as she passed him.
“Don’t worry about the lunch crowd. Between Sarah and me, we’ve got it covered. That girl’s a wonder.” With a smile, she closed the door.
They sat for a minute, not talking, as they listened to her footsteps fade away.
“You should take her advice. Take it easy the rest of the day. You’ve had quite a shock.”
Lauren picked at a loose thread on her slacks. “I have too much paperwork to catch up on. Besides, I need to keep busy. I will stay up here, though, at least for a while. It will give me a little time alone to think.” She smiled awkwardly. “David wants me to think about investigating Carl, see if he’s done anything since he left here.”
Charlie considered the idea. “I’d say that sounds reasonable. Especially given what just happened.”
“I know. I just—what if he has? And I have to come forward, to testify? What’s that going to do to Ava?”
His voice quiet, he asked the question she’d been asking herself. “What’s it going to do to Ava if you don’t take every step possible to find out if there are more victims out there? Wouldn’t she want you to do whatever you could, to help other women who’d gone through what you did?”
Lauren closed her eyes. “Yes, she would,” she whispered. She opened her eyes when he touched her arm. His hand slid down to grasp hers.
“I can help you, if you’ll let me. This is what I do—chasing people through the system, figuring out what they’ve done, where they’ve left traces in the system. I’m good at my job. Let me help, please.”
She looked up at him, startled by the intensity in his gaze. Although her first instinct was to turn the offer down, she wavered. Something about the way he was looking at her made her hesitate. “I don’t know if I can tell you everything you need to know. I don’t know if I can open myself that much.”
He swallowed. “You don’t have to tell me exact details, not if you don’t want to. All I would need is names, dates of birth, that sort of thing. You don’t have to decide right this minute. I’ll be around.”
“Okay. I’ll let you know.” She stood, and Charlie rose with her. He held onto her arm until she looked up at him. As they stared at each other, he carefully placed his free hand on her face. His fingers caressed her skin.
“I’m sorry.” Seeing her confused look, he continued. “About what you went through that summer. You didn’t deserve it. Neither did your cousin.” Bending down, he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. The tenderness in the kiss brought fresh tears to her eyes.
Drawing back, he moved toward the door. “I guess I’d better head out.” His reluctance to leave was obvious, and he turned back to face her. “You know you can call me, right? I don’t just mean like for a date or if you decide to let me help, although that would be fine, too. But if you ever need to talk, or rant, or anything, you can call me. Days, weekends, middle of the night—I’ll be there.”
As the meaning behind his words sank in, Lauren felt warm for the first time since the confrontation had occurred. “I’ll remember that.”
“Please do.” He stared at her for a few more seconds, then finally turned and opened the door. Still, he hesitated.
Not letting herself chicken out, Lauren rushed over before he could leave, stopping him with her movement.
“Thank you.” Her voice was a bare whisper as she leaned up against the door frame. “For being here.”
“Any time.” With one last tense smile, he headed down the stairs.
She stood there and watched him go, keeping her eyes on the steps even after he had disappeared. Exhausted, she rested her head against the wood of the door frame and closed her eyes. When her cell phone rang behind her, she groaned and went back into the office to pick it up off her desk. Seeing that it was her mother, she answered, dreading the explanation she knew she would have to give. By now, word of the scene had probably spread all around town, and Lauren didn’t even want to think about what the repercussions might be.
Chapter Fourteen
Troy gave a prayer of thanks as he pulled the car into the farmhouse’s driveway. The tension inside the vehicle was palpable, the situation having deteriorated more and more with every mile that passed. The baby had sobbed for most of the drive, finally exhausting himself and falling asleep.
His mother wouldn’t answer any of his questions about what had happened back in Leroy and kept her arms crossed and her gaze fixed out the window as he drove. The only time she had responded at all was when he snapped at Iris. He was sure both women would make him pay for that.
When he pulled the car up to the porch, Iris jumped out with Jamie, and rushed inside the house. He watched her go, pounding the steering wheel with his fist a couple of times in frustration.
“Dammit.” He glared at his mother. “Are you ready to talk now?”
Mary Margaret raised her chin and sneered at him. He was taken aback by the pure hatred that shone in her eyes. “Don’t you dare raise your voice to me like that again, boy. You hear me?” He slowly nodded, deciding that he perhaps hadn’t taken the best approach with her. She fumbled with the door handle before opening it and getting out.
Left alone in the car, he turned off the motor and got out as well, following his mother into the house.
Patricia, Mary Margaret’s sister, met them in the hall. In a hushed voice she asked, “Is everything okay with the new baby? Iris came in here in tears and didn’t say a word to me, just headed upstairs.”
“She’s okay, and so is the baby,” Tr
oy told her.
His mother laid her purse down on the table. “I’m going to check on Carl.”
She quietly walked down the hall toward his bedroom. Troy and Patricia watched her go. Gesturing, his aunt urged him into the kitchen. “You want coffee?” She went over to the counter and topped her own cup.
“That’d be nice.” Sitting down at the worn table, he rested his head in his hands, thanking her when she sat the mug down in front of him. Taking a cautious sip, he sat back.
“What’s going on, Troy? What happened?”
“All I know is that Iris and Mommy went into that little coffee place in Leroy and that Taylor girl, Lauren was there. Mommy got real upset when she saw her, and it got a little ugly.” Hearing his mother coming back down the hall, he stopped talking, waiting to see which direction she would go. When Mary Margaret came into the kitchen and sat down, Patricia jumped up and got her a cup of coffee.
“Do you want anything else?”
“No. I guess Troy told you who we ran into.” She kept her gaze on the chipped mug in front of her.
“Yes, he did. He said it was Lauren, Shannon’s niece. That must have been a shock for you.” She reached out and touched her sister’s hand.
Jerking away, Mary Margaret glared at her. “Don’t you mention that whore’s name in this house, you hear me? I don’t ever want to hear it spoken again. Her or that other one, either.” Taken aback by her vehemence, Patricia just nodded.
Troy’s mind was working furiously. “Mommy, what did you mean about both of them getting what was coming to them? You said the whole town would know about them. What’d you mean?”
Getting up from the table, she picked up her mug and his. She carried them over to the sink and rinsed them. “Never you mind about what I said. It ain’t nothing you need to worry about.” Drying her hands on the kitchen towel, she turned back to them.