The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

by Paulette Mahurin

  “Come here. I need to talk to you.” Edra made no motion toward her towel.

  Mildred moved to cover her with the towel that she was holding.

  Edra resisted.

  “What’s gotten into you?” asked Mildred.

  Edra rose, letting the towel fall to the ground. “Mildred.” She stretched out her arms.

  “Edra. Stop that.”

  “I’ll die if you don’t touch me.” She moved her face close to Mildred’s and placed her lips gently upon her cousin’s. “Please, I love you.”

  Mildred pulled away. “This is wrong.” The words belied how she felt. She was bursting inside.

  “How can my loving you be wrong? Please.” Edra gently moved back to Mildred.

  “What if someone comes…”

  “No one ever comes here.”

  Max Dunlap had seen this attraction forming between the girls before they discovered it together. He had recognized the same kind of relating that he noticed when his older brother Ben was around the neighbor’s boy, Jessie Buckstorm, back in Ohio. Max had known that he would have to take care of his daughter and niece in ways they would never understand until they were older. He had his wife school them at the ranch. He took them out daily and taught them how to shoot guns and rifles and tend to ranch business. He saw the seeds that were planted well before the bloom, and he dedicated his life to taking care to protect what the girls would grow into.

  “The secret of life is to appreciate the pleasure of being terribly, terribly deceived.” OSCAR WILDE

  6

  The closest house to the Dunlap’s ranch was the Whitmore’s, a couple of miles away, on the other side of a hill. Through the years Frank Whitmore had shown up with questions about things that needed repair or issues involving rent payments, so it was not unusual that he appeared asking to see Mildred, since it was she who dealt with her tenants. When Frank discovered that Edra was home alone, he left without leaving a message.

  “Frank came by,” she said to Mildred later.

  “What did he want?”

  “Didn’t say,” Edna replied as she removed a steeping tea ball from a pot of tea and poured herself a cup. “Want one?”

  “No. He just showed up here then left? That’s not like him.”

  “You going over there?” Edra took a sip of tea.

  “No, just leave it. If he needs something he’ll come back.”

  “So how did it go with Charley? What happened with Mabel?”

  “I told you not to worry, didn’t I?”

  “Well?”

  Mildred relayed the events that had occurred at Charley’s.

  Edra listened and felt uneasy. It was the same disquiet she experienced when Mildred initially brought up the plan. She didn’t like being talked into something on the fly, without time to think things through and weigh all the possibilities, but Mildred convinced her that with all the hatred flying about they needed to be proactive. “I don’t know about all this…I think we rushed…” Something stuck in her craw that she was unable to put her finger on.

  “Don’t worry. Everything’s working out just fine.”

  “I don’t know, Mil. My gut is telling me different.” She hesitated before asking, “Maybe we should think this over?”

  “There’s nothing to rethink. We’ve set it in motion and it’ll work. There’s no other way or we’d have thought of it.” Mildred saw how distressed Edra was. “You’re getting all worked up over nothing. You know the rant Josie goes on over our not going to church…” She went on to remind Edra about all they’d heard from their ranch hand Ben through the years, about accusations on how they lived in sin because they didn’t go to church. “If Josie was up in arms about that, can you imagine what she’d do if she suspected us…”

  “Why’s Josie targeting you? Surely we’re not the only ones who don’t go.”

  “I don’t know why she has a bee in her bonnet over me. Some things you can’t explain.”

  “I hope you’re right about all this.”

  That night Edra tossed and turned in a fitful sleep, keeping Mildred awake. What she couldn’t make sense of that was bothering her from earlier in the day came to her in a screaming nightmare. “The bed!”

  “Edra,” Mildred whispered to calm her.

  “Huh,” she mumbled back.

  “You’re having a bad dream. Come here.” Mildred pulled Edra into her arms.

  “Mil…” Edra, still half-asleep, nuzzled into Mildred’s chest. “I’m afraid.”

  “Shhhhhhh. It’s going to be okay. Try to get back to sleep.” Mildred stroked her back till she slept again. Next morning, upon waking Mildred said to her, “You had a rough night…you screamed about a bed in the middle of the night.”

  “I had a nightmare. I just can’t get my mind off…” Edra was reluctant to bring up what she dreamt.

  “Did you want to say something else?”

  “Not really.”

  “You sure?”

  “There is one thing…” She burst into tears. “Oh God. What if someone comes in and sees the bed. I think we should put another one back in the den.”

  Mildred sat up straight, tensed, and spoke with a command. “That’s what your dream was about?”

  “Yes.”

  “That is never going to happen. Rest assured. Never!”

  “We can’t predict…what if something does happen…we’re not prepared.”

  “Edra. No way in hell. Our home is where I draw the line. We’ve been safe and we’ll continue to be safe.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Edra wiped her eyes.

  “As sure as I am that I love you, that’s how sure I am. I refuse to even entertain…”

  “I’m sorry but I…”

  “You’ve nothing to be sorry about. You’ve done nothing wrong, Edra. You just need to calm down and trust me a little more. I’ve thought this all through. All we’re doing is setting up appearances and so far everything is working out just like I hoped. Once people get the notion I like Charley, we’ve accomplished what we wanted to. Won’t be long after that he rejects me.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  “You know I am. You just need to calm down.”

  Edra felt ashamed she brought it up. “I’ll try.”

  Mildred put a hand through Edra’s hair and softened her tone. “That’s my girl. That’s all I ask of you. Just try to keep perspective.” She made a motion to get out of bed then turned back to Edra. “Let’s take the horses out today. Some fresh air will do us good.”

  “I thought you had some things to do with Ben.”

  “I should be done by midday.”

  “Okay.”

  Mildred finished her work by three in the afternoon and the women saddled up their horses, Mildred on Lil with Edra on Slim. They rode to a cool spot near a stream with running water by several full-grown pinyon trees. Edra halted Slim. “Let’s tie them up here.”

  “It’s a relief to get out.” Mildred dismounted from Lil and pulled a wool blanket out of her saddlebag. She was relieved to see that the rash on Lil’s side was healing. She recalled the day when she went in to town to order the medicine for Lil, and all the unanticipated events that set in motion the fear-driven plan that threatened irrevocably to disrupt their lives. Mildred had doubts but didn’t dare share them with Edra and fuel her anxiety even more. She had to keep a check on what she was feeling, continue to be positive, be the strong one, and believe in her conviction that Charley would never show an interest. She knew that anything anyone had to say about her moves on him would be far less painful than the alternative. She would endure whatever she had to, to protect Edra and their relationship.

  As Edra helped lay out the blanket, Mildred watched her move, the grace as she sat and stretched her arms upward to the cumulus clouds drifting by, and then reclined to take in the deep blue sky and the intensity of the sun. A bird sounded its presence as it chased a few of the remaining clouds on their way to another dance. The trees c
ast a welcoming shade as a place to rest. Edra’s radiant green eyes softened into a sleepy haze as her lids gently closed, her full lips parted, and a sweet soft sound of peaceful breathing filled the air. Mildred gently stroked the sunlit hair cascading down Edra’s back. She was overwhelmed with a sense of loving peace, that all was right with the world when they were together. This was short-lived before the doubts resurfaced. She hated the duplicity of her plan that went against her moral fiber. She hated all the years of having to misrepresent who she was and their relationship.

  Edra looked so vulnerable, arms wide open inviting in what may come, so different from her protective guarding when around others. It took her years to open to Mildred and learn to trust again. She loved and trusted no other human being. Mildred hated having to pretend to protect her but worse she feared the futility of doing nothing. She had to reassure her. A breeze picked up, awakening Edra. She sat up then stretched. “I needed that.” She felt a chill. “It’s cooling down.”

  Mildred noticed that the sun had dropped toward the horizon.

  Edra stretched her arms. “We better get going back.”

  “Just a minute,” Mildred hesitated, “taking the ride, just being here brought me some perspective.”

  “What?” Edra was still groggy.

  “I don’t want you to lose any more sleep. Everything’s going to work out…”

  Edra reached for her sweater. “I don’t know… Something still doesn’t feel right.”

  “Can’t let our minds take over and sabotage what we worked out. I know it’s going to work.”

  “What if it backfires?” Edra questioned.

  “How? There’s no way.”

  “What if Charley takes a liking to you?”

  Mildred laughed. “There’s no way in hell Charley is ever going to take a liking to me.”

  “I don’t know...”

  “Edra, you’re so naive,” laughed Mildred.

  “You’re making fun of me?”

  “No, I’m not. Come on Edra, look at me.” She waved a hand over the length of her body, patted her protruding belly, and pulled her receding hairline back.

  “Stop messing around. This is serious. What if Charley sees you the way I do?”

  “Never going to happen.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Edra looked worried.

  “I won’t let this get out of hand. How many times have we been over this? Look at the facts. They speak for themselves. Charley is just coming out of his loss with Emma. They were the couple of the town and nobody’s ever shown an interest in me.”

  “I have.”

  “You know what I mean. I’m not someone a man would be interested in.”

  Edra was about to say something else then hesitated. “I hope you’re right.”

  When the women arrived home there was a note attached to their front door. “What’s that?” asked Edra.

  “From Ben. He stopped by while we were out to have a look at the barn.”

  “And?”

  “He’ll go over it with me tomorrow when he’s here.”

  Ben Thorndike was a loyal hand on the Dunlap’s ranch under Mildred’s parents. While Max and Sadie were alive, he helped with the cattle, did any number of odd jobs, and oversaw construction projects that the ranch needed. He continued on with the same chores with the exception of tending to the cattle, which Mildred sold off after her parents died. He was a closed-mouth employee with no delusions about how important his job was. He had a good thing going working for the wealthiest woman in Red River Pass. He would never let his wife Rose forget their good fortune when economic times turned bad and Mildred financed many of the townspeople to sustain them through the long hard winters. She steered clear of the local gossipers’ dirt at Ben’s urging and avoided giving input, but had an ear to the ground when shopping in town. The women tried to pump her for gossip but she knew better, with the constant reminder from Ben who told her on numerous occasions, “Don’t be asking what is none of your business and don’t be talking about Mildred to any of those ladies, who have nothing better to do with their time than bang their lips together in other people’s lives. That’s nothing but trouble, Rose. Do you hear me?” Despite all this, Rose never hesitated to pass along what she heard in town to Ben. He’d had an earful of late about Mildred’s helping Charley.

  “Morning, Mildred,” Ben said as he stepped onto the porch where Mildred was drinking a cup of tea.

  “Ben.”

  “I took a look at the barn yesterday and wrote up here what we need to do.”

  “And?”

  “The rain last winter took its toll. There’s an awful lot of wood rot. My best guess is we’re going to have to replace the entire siding all the way down to the piers supporting the structure, which could cost a small fortune in supplies and labor.”

  Ben had the authority to tend to regular ranch business but this was beyond his working budget and he needed permission to get estimates and go ahead with repairs.

  “Let’s take a look.”

  Edra watched through the front window as they walked to the barn. She closed the curtain and sat down in a chair by the window. She had been preoccupied for the past two days with a sick feeling accompanying thoughts that would not quit. She recalled Mildred saying to her on more than one occasion, “I am a spinster who no one in their right mind would be interested in.” But Edra knew how she felt and what a wonderful woman Mildred was, selflessly helping others in the face of ridicule and ingratitude. If she loved her, then it was not out of the question that someone else might feel the same. She could not bear to lose her and felt threatened by what might happen if their plan backfired. Mildred’s continued attempts to reassure her did not alleviate the niggling feeling in her gut that would not let her rest.

  Mildred returned and found Edra deep in thought. “We have quite a project on the barn.”

  Edra didn’t respond.

  “Also got some encouraging news from Ben. Seems that Rose overheard some of the women talking about Charley doing better. Said he ran into Frank who mentioned that Charley was grateful for me bringing over little Mabel.”

  Edra caught the tail end of what Mildred was saying. “What?”

  “We were right about Josie. That woman can’t keep her mouth shut.”

  Half paying attention, Edra asked, “What are you talking about?”

  “It’s Josie keeping the stir up about that Wilde fellow. She is the one we need to watch out for…and that tea sisterhood she hangs around with. Turns my stomach they have nothing better to do with their lives than look for the next life they can ruin. Vicious. We just have to be sure to fill her head with what we want in it. Seems that our plan is working.”

  “What do you mean?

  “Josie mentioned to her gaggle of frenzied followers that Charley is happy I came to visit.”

  “Ben told you that?” She anxiously continued, “Charley’s happy…”

  Mildred caught Edra’s response, like an infection in her chest, tightening her airway. “Hey now, don’t be giving any thought to anything Josie says. All we’ve got to be concerned with is planting the idea in her head that I like Charley. That’ll take care of the rest of the town,” Mildred laughed.

  “I don’t see what’s so funny…what if he really is happy? What if he’s starting to like you?”

  “It’s never going to happen. I’ve never been surer of …” She caught herself in this exaggeration that was an obvious attempt to appease Edra. “You weren’t there when I heard what people were saying. Not so much the words but the vengeance in their voices. They wanted blood. Josie is the worst of them.” Her face flushed. “If she ever gets wind…if anyone does…it’d be no better than what the Parker boys did. Those little brats…running those good folk out of town. Not to mention the suicide. Next time it could be worse.” She was getting worked up and knew she had to calm herself. “There’s no easy answer, Edra. We need to keep the focus on why we’re doing it and not run off into someth
ing that’s not…that’s never going to happen as far as Charley is concerned. I won’t let it.”

  Edra’s heart sank. “And if it does?”

  “I won’t let it.” Mildred moved closer to Edra. “Please trust in my love for you.”

  She knew Mildred was right. Most of the small-minded people in town would give an eyetooth to see Mildred ruined. There was a lot of jealousy and hostility over Mildred being wealthy and controlling the purse strings in the community. She was already a target and Edra knew that what Mildred feared was that the story the town conjured up about them, that she was too traumatized and Mildred too homely to be in a relationship with a man, would not hold water were anyone to suspect them. This was something neither of them ever wanted to face.

  “The plan is the only solution.” Mildred looked intently at Edra. “If you can think of something better, I’m all ears.”

  “You know I can’t.”

  “Then stop worrying.”

  Helene was relieved that she had managed to talk Frank into going over to the Dunlap’s ranch to see Mildred. It took some doing to get her point across. She had her own plan in mind, to hook Charley up with Mildred, which might give her a chance of getting her hands on some of Mildred’s money.

  “I can’t manage the kids and Charley. You’ve got your hands full here. What’s the harm if they spend time together? Ease it up for us.”

  “Helene, you better not be up to any trouble. Mildred’s been good to us.”

  “Well then we can be good right back to her. Help along her friendship with Charley. She could use a friend. Sounds like a nice arrangement for everyone.”

  “Don’t be messing with this. We get on her wrong side, we risk losing everything. Everything, woman! Do you understand that?”

  “Sure thing, Frank. Just let nature take its course. What harm is there inviting them on a picnic with us?”

  “You’re not going to let up till I go over there, are you? Oh never mind.”

  “America had often been discovered before Columbus, but it had always been hushed up.” OSCAR WILDE