“I can’t believe this. This is too much. I’ve never…What the hell are we going to do? I have to think; I…what?” A tear slides down my cheek.
“Sam said not to let Bonnie do anything rash, to tell her we’ll be over there as soon as we can.” Ruby’s eyes bug out of her head. “She knew…” We exchange a look. I frantically take a puff, looking in amazement at how my hand shakes.
“This is so nuts! What the hell should I tell Bonnie? To put on a nice outfit, brew a fresh pot of coffee and we’ll be right over? Come on over and have some coffee…with a dead body?” My voice cracks.
“Tell her to wait and we’ll ring her back in a moment or two. Tell her not to ring anyone until she speaks with us. Do it!” Ruby says with more oomph than I knew she had.
“Bonnie…listen…Ruby and I need to think here. We’ll call you back in a few minutes, okay?
“Okay…but hurry. I’m so afraid,” she chokes out in a desperate voice.
“I promise, okay?”
“Sure…okay.”
“Oh, and Bonnie?”
“Yes.”
“Don’t do anything crazy, like leave or…Just sit tight, all right?”
“Okay…’Bye.” The phone goes dead.
I hang it up and it rings the second it hits the wall. “Eve…Sam here.” I shoot a look at Ruby.
“How the hell?…Oh…right.” I shake my head, wondering when I’m going to wake up and realize this is all a dream.
“This is not a dream, girl. Now listen up: Bonnie is going to be just fine, but we all got to support her with this thing.”
“Oh, Sam…I don’t know…” I put my cigarette out in my coffee, take a sip and gag.
“Girl, I have been down this lonely road of drunk womanizers plenty. Besides…it wasn’t anything that Bonnie did. You got that?”
“Okay, okay…but Jesus…he’s dead…Couldn’t be from her vacuum cleaner?”
“Not likely. Now listen up!”
“I’m listening.” I wish I was drinking something stronger than coffee.
“Stick to coffee. Now, it’s pretty simple as to what’s going to come down. You and Ruby get over to Bonnie’s and—”
“My God—won’t we be considered accomplices or something? What a fucking nightmare!”
“It’s been her nightmare for a long time and now…it’s about over,” Sam says in a way I have to take notice of—like it had to be this way. “I got Lilly coming in the door here and we’ll be there soon as we can.”
“But…shouldn’t someone tell the cops? Shouldn’t we call…”
“Eve, would you let me finish?”
“Sorry. Right…sure. Go ahead.”
“Soon as you calm down Bonnie, call nine-one-one and just tell them Al Smitters needs an ambulance.”
“But…what about Bonnie and her vacuum and…”
“Don’t you worry none about that. Just tell them to come get…him. You understand me?”
“Yes, I do.”
“Good. Now we’re on our way, but it’s going to be a bit, so…so you call back Bonnie soon as we’re done here and then get on over there so she’s not alone—with him. It may be a while before an ambulance can get over from Bayfield.”
“Right. You and Lilly meet us over to Bonnie’s then…And Sam?”
“Yes child.”
“Bonnie’s going to be all right…isn’t she?”
“For the first time, both her and that lost soul of a man…I think peace has come for both their tired souls. We just gotta help Bonnie be strong now, that’s all.”
“See you at Bonnie’s then.” We good-bye and I hand the phone to Ruby.
“Oh Lord…I just want to wake up all over again.” I sit down and light up a fresh smoke. “Let’s see if I have this straight…” Adjusting my robe and pushing my hair up out of the way, I explain. “Bonnie was cleaning her house—correction: vacuuming her house—when Al comes at her all hot and horny, not to mention drunk out of his mind. I figure he grabbed her, threw her around a bit…maybe slugged her too.” Ruby gasps.
I continue with my description of the scene. “They fight…he swings…she runs…he grabs…she struggles and then BLAM! She freaks out and after holding in all that hate and fear for all those years—she hits him back with her trusty Hoover…maybe the thing’s even running…but it sounds like…like it was his time and that she was supposed to be there. It’s so weird. Then afterwards…after she knows he’s…gone…” I take a deep breath and say very slowly, “She sighs and sighs and sighs.”
I slowly exhale, imagining the scene: the whir of the vacuum competing with Bonnie’s sobbing and Al, lying there, all his meanness finally gone. Bonnie, in slow motion, sliding slowly to the floor, wondering, “When did things get so bad.”
“Good heavens, Eve.” Ruby adjusts her necklace for the hundredth time since I began my story. “Horrible—horrible—simply horrible. The poor woman.”
“God…can you imagine? Right in front of you—just like that. Poof and he’s toast.” I get up and move around, nervously picking up a spoon and walking around the entire stump table tapping the pots and pans hanging above it for therapy. I feel like exploding. I feel—I just wonder how she feels. Then I realize we need to be there with her.
“Sam is on her way with Lilly. I’m to call back Bonnie and let her know we’re on our way over and then Sam says we should call nine-one-one and tell them we need an ambulance for Mr. Smitters.”
“Well I think that sounds logical. Considering. Don’t you?”
“But Sam didn’t say anything about Bonnie hitting him back and—”
“I should think the less said about that, the better.” Ruby shrugs and we look at one another like we’re guilty and…are we?
“But I heard Bonnie say…” I stammer, trying to make sense out of this.
“I think”—Ruby rises, takes our mugs to the sink, then turns to face me—“I think that we should support Bonnie and leave the entire affair up to the authorities.”
“No kidding.” I turn toward the living room. Then turn back.
“I’ll get dressed now, ring Bonnie and tell her we’re on our way over. Scoot!”
“Jesus…but, well…you know he’s been drinking for years. Why even Dorothy’s heard about him way down in Eau Claire.” Ruby shakes her head. “Let me call her back—I feel it should be me.” I dial the phone; Bonnie picks up on the first hint of a ring.
“Yes—hello.” Her voice is so small.
“It’s me, Eve…Um…you doing all right there, Bonnie?” I’m picturing Al slumped over on the floor with the tube from the vacuum nearby. I shake my head and—the image is gone.
“Yes…fine. Considering.” She laughs weakly.
“Ruby and I are on our way over—okay?”
“Sure.” There’s a pause while she takes a big breath. “Thank you Eve; thank you.” The line goes dead.
I hand the phone to Ruby, who gives me a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup and for the first time in my entire life, I set it down on the counter. So she gently places Rocky into my arms and we dash upstairs to change.
Ruby and I are heading down our winding drive on our way to Bonnie’s place. I’m letting her drive; I just feel so odd. I’m seeing my mom’s face again. Her death was so peaceful, but you never forget the goneness afterward. I sat there holding her hand until a nurse came and slipped it from mine. I instinctively am holding my own hand now and realize it and try to relax the thoughts away and to…
“You all right, darling?” Ruby asks as the van clumps into gear. We’re passing over the little wooden bridge. The creek has a mist floating above it and for a moment, off in the trees, I swear I see the shape of a woman. I shake my head and look again—nothing.
“I’m just remembering…dead stuff. Like in that stupid movie that gave us the creeps for weeks.”
“I see dead people!” We say at the same time, then laugh and boy does that feel good.
“Now be a love and unlatch the gate, hmm?�
��
“Right.” I hop out of the van, open the gate, then close it after Ruby pulls the van over next to the sun sign. I slam the door closed and suddenly feel better, stronger.
“Put the pedal to the metal,” I say, and she does and of course it takes the van a bit to get going, but we do. I root around, find my tape of Michael Franks and pop it in. His voice is so soothing. He softly croons “Dragonfly Summer.” We head south along North Shore Drive toward La Pointe.
“Oh look.” Ruby points to her left and toots the horn. “Charlie’s out fussing with one of his birdhouses.” We wave to the handsome man and he—paintbrush in hand—waves back.
“What will her life be like?” I ponder out loud. “Bonnie’s been with Al since fricking high school. Can you imagine?”
“I think perhaps we should focus on the present situation of Al not yet even in his grave, for God’s sake! He was a man…a human…a person with…I simply can’t bring myself to speak ill of the dead. Not yet. Those poor people.”
“No kidding—you’re right,” I agree, but with little conviction. I mean, I saw the bruises and what about the wounds on the inside? I know Ruby though and this is really a very sad day.
“You know”—I have my head half in my shoulder bag—“I’m not exactly sure just where the hell Bonnie and Al live—lived. I mean…” I light a cigarette and feel the cancer-causing serenity. These things are going to kill me. I take one more puff and put it out.
“I don’t think it’ll be too awfully difficult to find,” Ruby notes. “We’ve only to keep a lookout for that dreadful station wagon of hers.”
“Hey, this isn’t exactly a limo here.” I snap the visor on my side up and the yellow fringe with little hanging balls I tucked around the windshield comes undone. We chuckle.
“I know it’s a few blocks from the Liquor Lounge, so turn here.” I point down a side street off Main and sure enough, there’s Bonnie’s wagon parked outside a tired-looking faded yellow bungalow. The white shutters on one window are just about to slip off. But there’s a neatness to the yard—not a leaf out of place. We pull up along the street and hop out.
“The sky is getting awfully dark.” Ruby gasps as a bolt of lightning snaps and crackles across the sky directly above the house. Oh boy.
I reach up to knock but change my mind and try the door instead. “Hello? Bonnie, it’s—”
Bonnie rushes out of the darkness, grabbing me in a tight hug. She’s so frail, even though much taller than I. There’s just a hint of a woman wrapped up tight in a big blue sweater that I notice is inside out.
“Oh Eve.” Bonnie’s voice is a hoarse whisper; her eyes are red and puffy as hell. I pull away and she immediately crosses her arms in front of her, pulling herself in. She “Hellos” Ruby, then steps aside for us to enter.
I’m surprised by how charming the living room is—small and sparse, but I can see there are good bones here. It’s a typical Craftsman-style house with open rooms and lots of wooden built-ins. Everywhere you look—covering the mantle, on shelves and in several hutches—are trophies. Tons and tons of trophies. I’m doing everything I can to avoid looking down—but where the hell is…he?
“I’d offer you something, but he’s…” Bonnie snivels, brushes hair from her face and then adjusts her body. She becomes a bit taller. “He’s in the kitchen, in front of the refrigerator.” She stammers this fact. Ruby and I exchange a look of, “Now what?”
I sigh. “Where’s the phone?” Bonnie points toward the back of the house. “Not in the kitchen?” I accuse, then think better of myself and grab Ruby by the wrist and we head off through the dining room and around and into—the kitchen. If I think too much about all this, I’ll…I don’t know…throw up maybe. The air in here is so tight.
“Watch for Sam; we’re just going to call the sheriff or police or…” I manage to say over my shoulder while hauling Ruby beside me. We stand on the threshold of the tidy little kitchen and both of us stop short. Ruby smacks into me and I nearly trip over the big lump lying on top of a fuzzy green rug. The offending vacuum is parked neatly over in a corner. The phone seems to be miles away, over by the back door, which I really would like to dash out of.
“Thank heavens she thought to cover him.” Ruby sidesteps the pink chenille–covered Al, and joins me at the phone.
“I really can’t get over how everyone has these old dial phones here,” I remark to the black plastic phone, its curly cord is all twisted.
“If you haven’t a direct line when the power goes,” Ruby says while wrestling to open the back door, “then you’re shit out of luck!” The door yanks open and we both gladly gulp in the damp, stormy air.
“Hello, I’d like to…There’s been a vacuum…I mean…accident…” Ruby snatches the phone from me and explains the situation. In her clipped Brit way it sounds so less awful, like reporting the accidental demise of a soufflé that up and fell.
“There—that’s done. Someone from the police station will be here shortly as well as an ambulance. The ambulance will be a bit as they’ve got to take the ferry over from Bayfield.”
“Let’s go out front and see how Bonnie’s doing,” I exit the kitchen with Ruby on my heels.
Bonnie rises from a rocking chair, quickly crossing the room toward us.
“I don’t know why I didn’t just call them myself. I wasn’t sure what…” Her frightened eyes implore me to what? Forgive her? “I simply didn’t—He’s always had this power over me. I can’t explain it.”
“Dear child.” Ruby reaches for Bonnie’s hands. Holds them like a precious treasure. “You needn’t be afraid any longer.”
Then the dam lets loose and Bonnie crumples into Ruby’s tiny arms. Ruby leads her over to her couch, carefully sitting next to her, cradling her convulsing body.
I head over to the large picture window and sling open the drapes. The storm is still in the brewing stage. A few rumbles of thunder but no rain. My God, how in the world did I get myself wrapped up in all this? How do people get so twisted up together, and how is it that somehow you survive. Ruby’s a big fan of the “surrender” concept and—I look over at them—it seems to work for her, but me, I’m just not really made that way.
Yet I do see how so much crap in life can land in your lap and you have to either accept it and move on, so to speak, or jump up and either run, or at least try to change things. I guess it boils down to whether you’re the victim or not. Can you be a victim and still be a hero? Being a woman—hell, being a human—is such a drag sometimes.
“Hey,” I say too loudly. I’ve never been so relieved. “Here comes the ambulance with Sam and Lilly right behind.” I look down and notice that in my rush I put on one green and one blue Ked.
“Thank heavens,” Ruby remarks. “You let us handle things; you’re in no shape…”
Bonnie closes her eyes for a moment and I’m sure she’s going to pass out or something. Instead she pulls herself up. Pushes her hair back, out of the way and accepting a tissue from Ruby, blows her nose ever so politely.
“I’m fine.” Her voice is stronger. I look at Ruby and we shrug. “I’m really fine now.” She takes a deep breath and all three of us head toward the front door.
The ambulance has hauled Al away. He was declared dead by a very kind young man who gently gave the news to Bonnie. She mumbled a tearful “I know,” and they left with him. The young man also offered her something to calm her down, but she declined. I had all I could do not to butt in and ask for several somethings for myself. Ruby saw me step forward and shot me one of her looks.
“Lilly and me”—Sam motions for Lilly to follow—“we gonna brew up a big pot of Jamaican coffee.” They head back to Bonnie’s kitchen and we hear drawers and cupboards being opened and closed.
“Exactly what’s in Jamaican coffee?” I ask. Both Bonnie and Ruby shrug.
The smell of coffee starts to permeate the living room and draws us back into the kitchen. The three of us stand in the dining room and peer into
the kitchen where Sam and Lilly have set up a lovely table. I notice the green rug where Al—never mind—but the rug is in the shape of a big lily pad with a red dragonfly in the middle. I smile and realize the vacuum has been put away as well. Good.
A knock at the front door is followed by a creak and a slam. Marsha rushes into the kitchen all out of breath, her hair dripping wet.
“I was in the shower”—Sam hands her a towel—“when my machine picked up and the man I rent from told me he was looking at something with his telescope and was watching an ambulance pull up to Bonnie’s and…What the hell happened? You okay?”
“Pull up a chair sister,” Sam directs. We all find chairs here and there, reassembling around the worn Formica table. “A mug of this and things are gonna smooth out a bit.” After pouring all around, she plunks the pot down in the center and we reach and lift and tentatively sip.
“Oh my.” Ruby blinks her eyes a bit. “I believe I’m going to enjoy this.”
“This is…strong,” Lilly lisps. We nod agreement. “Would you mind if…” Lilly disappears into the living room and returns with her shiny purse. She snaps it open, roots around inside, then holds up a crumpled pack. “If I smoke?”
“Al never allowed it in—” Bonnie catches herself. Clears her throat, pulls a plastic orange ashtray out of a drawer and puts it in the middle of the table. “Could I have one of those?”
Needless to say, everyone but Marsha lights up. She’s trying to quit—who isn’t? Looking around the table and feeling calmer all the time, thanks to Sam’s “brew,” I am grateful to be here. Grateful and more than that, I’m realizing that this bunch of women, in all our different shapes and sizes, are a family.
“Listen, Bonnie,” Marsha says, waving away smoke. “I’ll help with the—you know—arrangements and—”
“We’ll all help,” I break in and mean it. “I’ve got an idea.”
“Oh dear,” Ruby says with a sigh.
“By any chance have you got a big trunk?” I ask Bonnie. I put out my cigarette.
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