The Persecution of Mildred Dunlap

by Paulette Mahurin

  “Don’t be thinking of saying anything about her to me that’s not nice!” Charley held up his fist to Gus’s face.

  “Hey. Hey there now. I didn’t mean anything. I was just repeating what I had heard. I didn’t think it would bother you this much.”

  “Well now you know different.” Charley was fuming.

  “Okay, Charley. You sure are hot under the collar. Calm down. If you’re happy, then old Gus is happy. How’s about a little drink?” Gus went to the end of the counter, bent down, and brought up a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. He filled the glasses and handed one to Charley. “Here you go. Let what was said be bygones. I didn’t mean any harm.”

  Charley grabbed the glass, brought it to his lips, and threw it down with a hard swallow. “Okay Gus. You remember what I said. I’m not kidding here.”

  “Sure thing, Charley.” Gus took a swallow from his glass. “Another?”

  “No, that’s enough for me.”

  “Well, what can I do for you?” asked Gus.

  “That tin of biscuits over there.” He pointed to a row of fancy tins on a nearby shelf. “How much?”

  “Don’t pay me nothing. You take it with my apologies to smooth the words we had between us.”

  Charley hesitated. With a slight frown he took the tin, gave a nod to Gus and left the store.

  By noon the entire town had heard about Charley and Mildred.

  “When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.” OSCAR WILDE

  10

  It was a day like any other for Ben Thorndike. He awoke, had breakfast with Rose and the kids, then made his way to Spivey’s General Store to pick up supplies. The project on the barn at the Dunlap’s ranch was underway and he was glad he’d gotten an early start before winter set in, which would make outside construction impossible.

  Gus was talking with a group of women but when he saw Ben he moved away and went to greet him.

  “You’ve got an early crowd here, Gus.”

  “Ben, I got some new things in I want to show you.” Gus gently moved him to the back of the store out of earshot from the others and pretended to be pointing out some merchandise.

  “You heading out to Mildred’s now?” Gus asked.

  “After I get a few things here. Why?”

  “The town’s in an uproar that shows no sign of quitting any time soon. It’s a little out of control. I mentioned it to Charley, which upset him.”

  Ben looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

  Gus relayed what he had heard from Madeline. “Now these ladies are here getting fixings to have a baking party today and you can guess what they’re going to be cooking up inside those busy little heads of theirs. Thought you ought to know. Never been anything like this involving Mildred before.”

  Ben nodded. “Oh man.”

  After he purchased what he needed, Ben made his way out to Mildred’s, not sure what to do. Although he felt protective of Mildred, he had never gotten into her affairs before, but this was different. He did not want to see her ambushed when she went into town, and he definitely did not want turmoil coming back to Edra either with all that she had already lived through. He decided he needed to say something and that would best be coming from him. He made his way to the front door and knocked.

  “Morning, Ben,” greeted Edra as she swung open the door.

  “Morning, Edra. Is Mildred in?”

  “Why yes, let me get her.”

  Edra called to Mildred that Ben was there to see her, and then returned to the kitchen to finish cleaning up from breakfast. She made a point to stay within listening range.

  “Morning, Ben. How’s the barn coming along?”

  “Just fine, Mildred. No problems.” He paused. “Not there at least.”

  “Is there something else wrong?” Mildred asked curiously.

  Ben felt his nerves getting the better of him. His hands were sweating and he felt a tight constriction in his throat. “Mildred,” he sighed, “I don’t like to be into your business, but I heard something disturbing in town and wanted you to hear it from a friend.”

  Mildred stepped back. “Come on in, Ben. Would you like a cup of tea?”

  He walked through the door past Mildred and nodded at Edra, who had reentered the dining room.

  “Some tea?” Mildred repeated as Ben sat on the couch.

  “No, no thank you.”

  Mildred perched on a chair across from him. “What’s on your mind, Ben?”

  He shook his head indicating how difficult this was for him. His eyes widened. “I’m going to just come out with it. Gus told me the women in town are in an uproar over you out at the lake with Charley. Some nasty things being said. I really don’t want to repeat all of it, but if you…”

  “You don’t need to repeat anymore. Thank you, Ben. I appreciate your loyalty.”

  “Sure thing, Mildred. Sorry I had to bring this to you. Well, I’ll be getting back to work now.”

  He stood. So did Mildred. “You did right,” she said as she walked him to the door. She gazed after him thoughtfully as he walked off toward the barn.

  The conversation hit Edra with a jolt. Nasty things? What were they? Oh God. Acid poured into her stomach as adrenaline rushed through her body. The little bit of relief she had felt over supporting Mildred’s visit with the Whitmores, out at the lake, vanished like a carcass plucked away by vultures with each word Ben uttered. It wasn’t so much the bad news about Mildred that worried her, she’d heard that before, but rather the tone in Ben’s voice that gave her a fright. He was not an alarmist, yet he spoke with a concealed agitation belying the calm he was trying to project. It was the undeniable energy in his words that struck Edra and cast a pall over what they were doing.

  Mildred saw the color leave Edra’s face. “You okay?”

  “I just need to be alone for a bit,” Edra mumbled as she moved to the bedroom.

  Mildred followed her and watched as she reclined on the only bed in the room, the only one in the entire house. The other bedroom had been converted to an office that Mildred used to take care of ranch business. No one had ever entered those two back rooms that they had converted after Mildred’s parents died.

  What would people think if they saw this? Was it a mistake to get rid of the bed in the spare room? Since the Wilde telegraph, new thoughts like this added to Edra’s worry. Broaching the topic with Mildred was met with resistance, so after the third or forth attempt she gave up saying anything, causing her insides to fester.

  Mildred sat on the bed next to Edra and gently stroked her forehead. “We knew this could happen. It’s what we want. Let them talk all they want about Charley and me. That’s the whole point.”

  “We don’t know all they’re saying,” Edra cried. “Mil, I hate this…”

  “Let it out, honey.”

  Anger mingled with sorrow, Edra pulled back from Mildred’s touch. “I don’t want to! Why’d we have to disrupt our lives with this stupid plan? Leave me alone.”

  “I’m not leaving you alone.”

  Edra screamed, “I’m so mad! Why can’t people just leave us alone? What’d we ever do to anyone!” She broke down in tears.

  Mildred felt Edra’s pain. It was also her pain. Her anger. Her grief. Her frustration. To say anything about how she felt was to risk aggravating Edra more, so she did what she always did, she continued to suppress her own feelings to be strong. She also knew that it was futile to get Edra to see reason, that Charley would never show an interest and the plan would work, a fact she was sure was already happening. She had to let Edra’s emotions run their course, which she did as she sat there watching her sob until she fell into an exhausted sleep, then quietly left the bedroom.

  While Edra was sleeping, Charley had arrived unexpectedly to find Mildred on the front porch reading a book.

  Startled, she rose from her chair. “Charley.”

  He handed her the tin of biscuits. “Brought you these.”

  Neurons
fired at rapid pace, heat flushed through her veins, pupils widened, and her heart sped up as she tried to think what to do. Once again, caught off guard without sufficient time to think was unnerving. She couldn’t have Edra wake up to find Charley there and didn’t know how to turn him down. What the hell are you doing here anyway? You can’t be coming out here uninvited! All she could think to say was, “Edra’s not feeling well. We better keep our voices down.”

  “I was hoping we could catch a bite to eat. I guess it’s not a good time.”

  “No, it really isn’t…” She caught herself. She had an idea, which might just be the opportunity she needed to calm things and stop the uninvited visits. “On second thought, if we go now, it should be okay. I can’t leave her for too long.”

  “That’d be fine, Mildred. Only if you’re sure.”

  “Just give me a minute to get my hat.” She left him on the porch and went inside to leave Edra a note. Went out with Charley. I’m going to take care of everything. Be back soon. Trust me. Mil.

  When Edra woke, it was to an empty house. In the living room next to a fancy tin of biscuits was a note addressed to her. As she began reading, Ben’s buckboard leaving the property distracted her from seeing the whole message. “You went out with him! Oh my God! After what I just went through…” She crumpled the note and threw it to the floor. “You left me…to be with him!” She exploded, stomped around aimlessly, stormed into the kitchen, grabbed a butcher knife near the sink, and smashed it into the cutting board, screaming, “God damn you, Charley!” The next hit of the knife slipped on the wet board and jabbed her other palm, causing a deep gash. “Good!” she screamed. “Bleed! Go on and bleed!”

  She threw the knife into the sink with such force that it bounced back in the air, barely missing her and landing on the floor. The path of the knife caused her to jerk back and come to her senses. She grabbed a towel and wrapped her palm tightly as she helplessly sank to the floor in a crying heap.

  “America is the only country that went from barbarism to decadence without civilization in between.” OSCAR WILDE

  11

  On the ride into town, Mildred felt disturbed over Edra’s reaction. She was glad for the time it took to regain her composure. The slightest display of emotion on her part would undoubtedly be misconstrued and twisted into something against her. She didn’t want to fuel the hatred anymore than she absolutely had to, and knew that what was important was to keep the focus on what she needed to accomplish with Charley.

  “I thought we’d grab a bite at Barney’s. They have some mighty good meat loaf and mashed potatoes.”

  “That sounds just fine, Charley.” Her gut was in knots; the last thing she felt like doing was eating.

  “Went there two nights ago and had me some of Pat’s great apple pie,” Charley droned. “Clotted cream and all. But hey, Mildred, you could have some of Pat’s chocolate cake.”

  “Yes, that would be nice.” Will you stop talking about food!

  As they drove down the main street past the stagecoach office, bank, blacksmith, and on to Barney Green’s Hotel and Café, she saw several people stop and take notice of them. She thought she overhead Jake Cummings squeal, Well, I’ll be damned. A dry heat in the air brought an uncomfortable moisture to her underarms that she hoped wouldn’t show. She squirmed to readjust her position on the hard seat and felt relieved when Charley parked the buggy. He got out, walked around to Mildred’s side, and helped her down. He looked through the window and noticed Pat Green serving customers. “Pat’s here today. I’m sure that means apple pie!”

  As Charley held open the door, Mildred nodded and stepped in. A hush fell over the room followed by a few whispers from a table in the back where Sam and Hanah Larue were seated. Mildred averted her eyes, glancing downward. Charley motioned to an empty table in a private corner near the front. “How’s that over there?”

  “That’d be fine,” Mildred replied in a near whisper, following Charley as he made his way to the table. She was glad the room was overly large to allow ample space between the tables. Last thing she wanted was someone close enough to breathe down her back. It was bad enough necks were craned and ears focused on them, even if eyes avoided them. Nothing more than whispers continued for several minutes, broken by Pat’s laughter coming from the kitchen, which heightened Mildred’s discomfort. The sound of a wooden chair sliding on the worn floor of lumber, followed by another, then footsteps moving in their direction behind Charley sent a surge of intense warmth to Mildred’s belly, until they moved on past and out through the door. The couple must have been waiting, after paying their bill, to take in the sight of the new pair in town, the joke of the town. What’s taking Pat so long? Mildred wanted to eat and leave, and get back to Edra who was preoccupying her mind.

  “Yes, they do have meat loaf.” He watched her read the daily menu. “What’ll ya have?”

  “I’m not all that hungry. We had a late breakfast. Let’s see.”

  Charley interrupted Mildred’s thought. “How about a sandwich then? Eat what you like and wrap the rest to take back?”

  Just as Mildred looked again at the menu, Pat Green approached the table. “Charley, have you decided what you’re having?”

  “Mildred?” Charley asked, deferring to her.

  “What kind of sandwiches do you have?”

  “The usual,” Pat replied shaking her head, indicating that she thought Mildred’s question was stupid.

  Charley piped up, “The usual is chicken, ham, and roast beef.”

  Mildred felt resentment for Pat’s rudeness, like Satchel earlier at the telegraph office when he showed her so little attention, and Annabel at the lake who refused to acknowledge her. It was one thing for Annabel to ignore her but to her it was unthinkable to embarrass a customer. She was disgusted that she had to take the abuse and could not just get up and walk out. She was aware they were drawing attention from the other customers. Her only comfort was the idea that Charley felt the same as these people and sooner or later would want to stop seeing her. What she couldn’t fathom was why he wanted to spend time with her now when he could have any available woman in town at his side. He’s just not ready but when he is, my plan will be complete. Maybe he’s after my money? I don’t care what his motive is…just get it over with! She sucked in a breath of air then spoke calmly to Pat. “I’ll have a chicken sandwich. Thank you.”

  Pat made a note of the order without looking at Mildred. “Meat loaf for you, Charley? Made it myself this morning.”

  “Yes.”

  Pat jotted down Charley’s order and headed back to the kitchen, laughing.

  Charley looked at Mildred with concern, an expression that he understood Mildred might have been upset with Pat’s treatment of her. “You okay?”

  “Yes.”

  “She was lacking her manners with you,” Charley said with sympathy. “I never like that sort of thing. I’m sorry for ya, Mildred.”

  Although she ignored his comment, she noted what seemed a genuine tone of sympathy, which confused her.

  Charley continued. “I can understand you not wanting to say nothing in here.”

  Mildred looked at Charley and shook her head. “It’s okay, Charley.” She lowered her voice. “I don’t have to live with people who aren’t fond of me.”

  He nodded approval at her reply. He knew her plain looks fed town talk and that she didn’t have friends because of it. He remembered what Gus had said. Charley knew what she looked like, her face overly full with a thinning hairline, wrinkles around her eyes and the ridge of her mouth from working out in the sun, and some mannerisms that he felt were a bit too manly, but he didn’t care. He didn’t care that she wore dark clothes that covered her from neck to ankle and were not flattering for a woman’s figure. What he saw in her, what he felt with her, was not a physical attraction, like the passion with Emma; rather something else drew him to her. It was something alive and fresh and spoke to him in a new way and he liked it, a lot. It bothered
him what people said about her, how they treated her without giving her a chance.

  He was glad when Pat finally approached with their order and wondered if she kept them waiting on purpose. “Man, that looks good.” Pat placed the dishes on the table and then left without saying a word. “And smell that gravy,” Charley added, making an attempt to lighten up the situation.

  They ate in silence as people came and left, icy stares adding to Mildred’s discomfort.

  Pat approached the table. “Dessert? Apple pie for you, Charley?”

  Charley gave Pat a solemn look. “Nothing else. This should cover it,” he said as he handed her payment for the meal.

  Pat smiled at Charley. “Ya’ll come back now.”

  Charley helped Mildred out of her seat. They left and climbed back into the buggy. On the way to Mildred’s place, close to thirty minutes had gone by in silence until Mildred said, “Thank you for taking me out, Charley.”

  He replied. “Wish it were more pleasant for you. I don’t know how you put up with all that nonsense.”

  “Had it all my life. You get used to it.”

  He shook his head and was at a loss for what to say.

  Once again, what seemed like empathy on his part confused her. It was an unintended action that presented a doubt on how her plan would turn out, which she quickly dismissed as ridiculous. In a soft voice, she said, “I need to tell you something, Charley, and sure do hope you understand.”

  “Sure, Mildred.”

  “Edra’s had a rough life. I think just about everyone in town knows what she’s been through.”

  Charley nodded. He noticed an inflection in her voice when she mentioned Edra’s name, a softness.

  “I try to keep a watch on her. I don’t think it’s a good idea for anyone to come out to the ranch unannounced. It might scare her.”

  Charley replied in a concerned tone, “I completely forgot about that when I came around, Mildred. I just wanted to pay my respects and thank you for being kind to me. I won’t come around anymore.”