Choosing One Moment

by Marja McGraw

  I handed the note to my new mystery-loving friend. “We don’t know if Carrie found it and it was intended for Elsbeth or if it was intended for Carrie. It could have been written long before I arrived, so it doesn’t necessarily mean something is going to happen.”

  The storm front didn’t disappear, but Nathaniel found his voice. It sounded strained and tight. “Has Elsbeth seen it yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “Did she show it to her father?”

  “No.”

  “What’s the matter with you two? Don’t you realize that you’re both in danger? This isn’t something to sneeze at, Carrie. How can we men protect you if you aren’t – “

  I interrupted. “I hate to burst your little bubble, but we can take care of ourselves now that we’re beginning to understand what’s going on. We can be vigilant. In my day women know how to take care of themselves.”

  “Burst what little bubble? What are you talking about?”

  That’s what he took away from my comments? “It’s a figure of speech. If you blow up a balloon and I stick a pin in it, then I’ve burst your bubble. In this case, your balloon is filled with thoughts that we can’t take care of ourselves – that you have to do it.”

  He shook his head in resignation. “Times are sure changing. Although,” he said, thoughtfully, “I might enjoy being around independent women. Now I suppose you’ll tell me that in your day women are lawmen, too.”

  “They are.”

  He made a snorting noise. “I don’t believe it.”

  “Well, it’s true. Women even serve in the military. We can do just about anything a man can do.” I suddenly realized my hands were tight fists that rested on my hips. I calmly unclenched them and dropped them to my sides.

  This man had a lot to learn about the future.

  I picked up the plate of biscuits and reminded myself that this was 1909. Nathaniel took the plate from me, ever the gentleman.

  He sighed and his face relaxed. “I have a lot to learn.”

  We walked in silence for a moment, passing by Mother Possum’s house. Apparently we were each lost in our own thoughts.

  “Oh,” I said. “We’d better go back.”

  Turning, we saw the old woman slowly amble out of her house. I smiled when I saw her shove a stool in front of her rocker and rest her feet on it. She was smiling.

  “You didn’t let her down. Look how happy she is.”

  “I told her I’d bring her a stool and I did. I made it yesterday. Didn’t take long.”

  Before we could greet her, Mother said, “I saw you last night, young man. You chased that actor fella off and I hope he doesn’t come back. I was sorry to see you trip and fall, though.”

  “You saw that?” Nathaniel seemed surprised, and maybe a little embarrassed.

  “Us old folks don’t always sleep so well. I was sitting at my window, wishing I had one of those new-fangled telephones because I saw that fella watching the house again. I would have called the law.”

  She glanced at me before tipping her head back and studying the plate in Nathaniel’s hand.

  “Is that for me?”

  “We brought biscuits. Have you got marmalade?” I asked.

  She nodded. “On the kitchen table.”

  I took the plate in hand. “Do you mind if I go inside?”

  “Of course not, little girl. Don’t forget to put butter on them.”

  I left the two of them to talk while I prepared the snack for Mother Possum. She really didn’t seem to miss much in the neighborhood. She sat on the porch during the day and watched out the window at night when she couldn’t sleep.

  Mother was just finishing a comment when I returned to the porch.

  “…and that Jesse Baker is another one to keep an eye on. He likes his sauce and he likes to watch the girls. If he had his way, I doubt a girl in town would be safe from him. He carries grudges on his shoulders, too. One girl turned him down and he started an ugly rumor about her.”

  “Is that so?” Nathaniel asked. “Which house is Jesse’s?”

  Mother lifted her gnarled old hand and pointed down the road. “He’s in that gray house with the picket fence that’s falling down. You’d think he’d at least keep his fence fixed, wouldn’t you? And that dog of his. Why, that ol’ hound prob’ly wonders where his next vitals are comin’ from. Like I said, Jesse likes his sauce.”

  I assumed she meant that Jesse liked to drink.

  Nathaniel took the plate from me and set it on the table next to the rocking chair.

  Mother Possum nodded a thank you and took a bite of biscuit. “I tell you, Carrie, your mama is the best cook this side of Seattle.”

  “Papa says the same thing.”

  She leaned forward and squinted, looking deeply into my eyes before her glasses slid down her nose. She turned to Nathaniel and smiled.

  “Can you tell us anything else?” he asked.

  “Oh, I can tell you plenty, sonny, but why are you two asking so many questions? I said I’d want answers later on, and now’s the time.”

  “Can you keep a secret?” I asked.

  “Mother Possum keeping a secret? Well, of course I can. Besides, I don’t get that many visitors. Who would I tell?”

  Since I was new here, I let Nathaniel tell the story, from beginning to end, excluding the time travel part. The old woman was listening intently through the entire narrative, and she leaned so far forward that I was afraid she’d fall out of her chair. I prepared myself to catch her, if need be.

  “Well, I’ll be ninety-six soon, and I’ve never heard such a tale as this one. You wouldn’t be funnin’ an old woman, now, would you?”

  “It’s all true,” I said. “Did you know that Nathaniel used to be a lawman? He’s the best one to follow all the leads in this case.”

  She pursed her lips. “I knew there was something different about you, girl. ‘Follow all the leads in the case’? What kinda talk is that?”

  “It’s detective talk,” I said. “He’s going to ask questions and look into anything that might help us figure this out.”

  “Well, I’ll be. Detective talk, is it? This is gettin’ interesting. I may be old, but I’m still as sharp as they come. My ears and eyes are still in good workin’ order, too.” She picked up the empty plate. “Why don’t you two take the dish back to your mama and then come back to see me. Now that I know what’s going on, I’ll think over some of the things I’ve heard and seen. It’s hard to think that someone would want to hurt either of you girls. Maybe I need to do a little detectin’.” She made a tsk tsk sound and leaned back in her rocker, staring at the porch roof.

  I turned back as we were walking away, just in time to see her pick up her pipe and light it.

  Nathaniel followed my lead and looked back at her.

  “She told me she does her best thinking while she smokes her pipe,” I said.

  He nodded his understanding.

  We returned the plate to Mama and she, once again, reminded me that I had chores waiting for me. I just wished I knew what those chores were. Elsbeth could probably help me.

  “Can we go back to Mother Possum’s first?” I asked.

  “You seem to be befriending Mother,” Mama said. “I’m sure she’ll be good for you. She’s always been a common sense woman. Go see her, but don’t take too long. There’s dusting to be done and eggs to be collected. In fact, collect the eggs first.”

  I nodded and left through the back door.

  Nathaniel followed me.

  There was a basket just inside the hen house. Nathaniel helped me collect the eggs, careful not to break them. The chickens squawked and one tried to peck my shoe.

  “Well, this is certainly something new,” I said.

  “You’ll catch on. Don’t you have a hen house in your day?”

  “No. We go to the store and buy them.”

  He tipped his head. “But there are people who have chickens, right?”

  “Some, but not many. Mostly big
businesses supply the stores. I buy the ‘cage free’ eggs because that’s more humane. At least, that’s my opinion.”

  “’Cage free’? What does that mean? Are stores as big as you’re making them sound?”

  “Bigger, but we’ll talk about it later. Right now, let’s take these in to Mama and get back to Mother Possum’s house.”

  We carried the eggs inside and gave them to Mama.

  “You won’t have to milk the cow,” she said. “Elsbeth said she’d take care of that while she was outside.”

  I kept my poker face on and nodded. Milk a cow? Yeah, right, like I’d know how to do that. Somehow I had a feeling that Elsbeth would show me how so she didn’t have to do it every day.

  We returned to Mother Possum’s porch and sat down. She was either still deep in thought or she’d fallen asleep.

  I turned to Nathaniel. “I saw a movie about a stalker once – “

  “A movie?”

  “I’m sure you’ve heard of moving pictures.”

  He nodded.

  “Well, in my day they have sound and color and involved stories.”

  “I was going to go see one once, but I had to work. Our movies don’t have sound or color. I’d like to see one just once though.”

  “So would I.” Mother Possum hadn’t been sleeping. Now she was interested, and I wanted to bite my tongue. “What do you mean by ‘in your day’?”

  Chapter Fifteen

  “I misspoke. I meant that I believe one day moving pictures will have sound and color and…” How was I going to get out of this one? “It seems like everything gets better with time, right? When you were young you didn’t have a washing machine, did you?”

  She shook her head.

  “See? New things are always being invented. Why, I’ll bet someday there’ll be a machine that will dry your clothes for you.”

  “Little missy, now you’re dreamin’. A young lady should be dreamin’ about getting married and having little ones. She oughtn’t to be thinking about inventions.” She stared at me for the umpteenth time. “You’ve never been a dreamer. I said it before and I’ll say it again. There’s something different about you. I’ll figger it out.”

  I’d crossed a line and I knew it. I had to remember to watch what I said.

  Mother Possum looked at me suspiciously, but with renewed interest. “Yep, I’ll figger it out.”

  “She’s just being a silly girl,” Nathaniel said. “You’re right, she is a dreamer, and I have to listen to this nonsense all the time.” He was trying to dig me out of the hole I’d dug for myself.

  “Just a daggone minute, sonny. She said something else. What was the word she used? Stalker. What’s a stalker?”

  Nathaniel jumped in again. “I think I know this one. Just like an animal stalks its prey, sometimes people stalk each other. I’ve seen it in my lawman job.” He turned to me. “That’s what you meant, right?”

  “Yes. I don’t know where I heard that word before, but that’s what I meant.”

  Mother Possum sat up a little straighter. “Hmm. That gives me some new ideas to think on. That actor fella is kinda doin’ some stalking from what I’ve seen. You could prob’ly say Jesse is a stalker, too. He’s always following the girls around, and he makes evil faces at them.”

  “I’ll bet he’s leering at them,” I said. “That’s an evil face, and from the way you’ve described him, he’s kind of a dirty old man.”

  Mother Possum laughed loudly. “My, my. A dirty old man. That would fit him and I want to remember it.”

  “Glad I could give you a laugh,” I said.

  “Whilst you two were gone, I did some detectin’. I like that word.” She glanced in the direction of our house. “Well, maybe I just did some remembering.”

  “What did you come up with?” Nathaniel asked.

  “Maybe something, but maybe nothing. Folks around here don’t realize I’m still able to hear and see. They only see my age.” She patted my arm. “I know that you and your sister don’t get along so well, and I heard you tell Ruth Cameron that you wished your sister would just dry up and blow away like a dead leaf. Now that’s a funny thing to say.”

  “It is kind of odd,” I said.

  “No, little girl. I mean it made me laugh to myself. The reason I remember that is because Ruth said not to worry, that she’d make sure Elsbeth didn’t do things to you. You two were standing right in front of my gate. I wasn’t bein’ nosey, but I couldn’t help but hear. Did your sister make you upset?”

  “Not that I recall,” I lied. “Maybe we weren’t getting along that day.”

  “Do you think Ruth could be the culprit that’s doin’ all these things?”

  “I don’t think so, but I’ll talk to her and make sure.” I didn’t know who Ruth was, but I’d find out in a hurry.

  Mother Possum sat forward in her chair. “Don’t forget, Clarence can be a meanie sometimes. Ruth could have talked him into getting his hands dirty.”

  “Clarence?”

  She gave me a suspicious look, which was happening too often. “Clarence. Ruth’s brother. What’s the matter with you, Carrie? You’re actin’ like this is all new to you.”

  Nathaniel took hold of my hand. “I’ve got her befuddled with all the attention I’ve been giving her. She had me on her mind instead of Clarence.”

  “I think you’re going to be good for her, young man. Maybe you’re the reason I’ve been seeing a different side of her.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Before any of us could say another word, a car drove by. Like yesterday, it made a lot of noise on the rutted road, and it served as an excuse to change the subject.

  “There goes another one of them horseless carriages,” Mother said. “Those blamed things make too much noise. A horse is better.” She put her lips together and nodded affirmation of her own statement.

  While things were quiet I thought about watching Jesse’s house to see what he looked like and to get a feel for his personality. I decided to ask Nathaniel to talk to Ruth and her brother because if Ruth was old Carrie’s friend, she’d definitely notice the differences between me and her.

  Mother Possum made another tsk tsk noise. “How could I forget Willy Rhodes? That scallywag has romantic feelings for Elsbeth, but now that she’s with Daniel he has to keep it to himself. His mama stops in to visit with me from time to time and she said he’s chompin’ at the bit to get rid of Daniel and get together with Elsbeth. Course, nobody has made a move on Daniel, so that mightn’t be the problem. If somebody had waylaid him like they did with Elsbeth, he’d be my first guess.”

  “I’ll talk to Willy, just in case,” Nathaniel said.

  “Well, if you young’uns will forgive me, I’m feelin’ a might tired. Maybe I’ll lean my head back and rest my eyes for a while. And while I’m resting, I’ll see if any other suspicions come to me. I like suspicioning things. It keeps my mind working.”

  I took hold of her hand and squeezed gently. “Thank you, Mother. You’ve given us a lot to look into.”

  She smiled and squeezed back before turning her gaze on Nathaniel. “Where are my manners?” She tapped her foot on the stool. “Did I thank you for my stool?”

  “You did,” he replied.

  “Guess I’m getting a might forgetful in my late years. You’re a good boy.” She leaned her head back and closed her eyes.

  Nathaniel and I took our leave, quietly opening and closing the gate.

  I looked up into his eyes. “I was thinking, you should probably talk to Ruth and Clarence. If I speak to them, they’ll know something is wrong.”

  “I already thought about that. Ruth is Carrie’s only real friend, you know. She’s the only one who can put up with her cantankerous side. And she’s loyal to a fault. Now that I think about it, I wouldn’t put anything past her.”

  “What about her brother? Is he really a bully?”

  “He is. He’s a big one for his age, and he tries to lord it over the other boy
s. He’ll have his hands full with me, though.”

  “Why don’t you walk over to the barn with me? Your brother is there with Papa and Elsbeth. If Papa leaves, we can tell them about the things Mother Possum told us.”

  “Don’t forget your mama has chores for you to do.”

  I smiled. “Elsbeth will have to tell me what those chores are. I have no idea. Besides, with old Carrie’s personality, I can just pitch a fit if Mama isn’t happy with me.”

  “You’d do that?” Nathaniel looked surprised. “Don’t you like your mama?”

  “No, I wouldn’t really do that, and yes, I like Mama. She must have the patience of a saint to deal with old Carrie.”

  Nathaniel glanced down the street, put his hand on my back and herded me to the side of the house. “Ruth is coming down the street. She didn’t see you, so head back to the barn and I’ll tell her you’re not here. Then I’ll casually jaw with her for a few minutes. Maybe I can get some answers.”

  He gave me a gentle shove.

  “Hurry now.”

  I ran back to the barn and stopped suddenly, casually walking inside like I hadn’t been rushing.

  I found Daniel and Elsbeth in a clinch and kissing. I looked around, realizing that Papa must have left.

  I cleared my throat.

  The two broke apart, looking like they felt guilty.

  I laughed. “It’s just me.”

  Daniel rolled his eyes. “I’m glad you’re not Mr. McFerrin. I’d probably have to run for my life.”

  “Where’s Papa?” I asked.

  Elsbeth patted her hair. “He took a walk through the orchard. Papa sure loves his fruit trees. Did Mother Possum have anything to say?”

  “She sure did. The suspects are adding up.”

  I told her about Ruth and Clarence, Jesse the Drinker, and Willy Rhodes. I also reminded them about Eugene, the pushy actor who’d been watching the house.

  “Apparently you’re a real heartbreaker, Elsbeth,” I said.

  Daniel snorted. “Ha! Willy and Eugene want her hand, and Jesse probably wants more than that. Come to think of it, I’m surprised someone is after her instead of me. You’d think one of them would try to get rid of me.”