The Beach House

by Vicky Jones

  “Well, hello there. It’s Shona, isn’t it? You’re new in town, ain’t ya?” Lula’s eyes glowed.

  Shona walked straight past her and to the other end of the bar. “Whiskey. Neat,” she barked. Receiving her shot, she downed it in one, then demanded another.

  Lula sauntered over and slouched on a bar stool next to her. “We’ve been wonderin’ when you and your,” she paused and looked over to the booth where Edie and Dee were staring over open-mouthed, “friend…er…sister were gonna come in here and introduce yourselves. I’m Lula, that over there in the stripy cardigan is Edie and that black girl in the white shirt next to her is called Dee.”

  Shona stared down at her shot, then drank it.

  “We see you’ve bought the garage. I’ll be honest, that’s ruffled a few feathers around here. Not least the owner of this bar so I’d keep an eye on that door if I were you. She’s wantin’ to have a little chat with you about it.” Lula chuckled at her mock threat.

  Shona looked up and gave Lula a look that could have killed her on the spot. “I don’t want any trouble. I don’t want no chat. I’m just here for the whiskey.”

  “Hey, cool it. I dig you,” Lula replied. “Next one’s on me, OK?”

  “No thanks.” Shona slammed her glass down.

  Lula nodded and went back over to the booth, slumping down into her seat. Dee put her arm around her. “Shame. That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile in weeks, Lula.”

  “Yeah, well, I shouldn’t have bothered. That girl’s got issues. And attitude.”

  “Two peas in a pod there then, ain’t ya?” Dee joked, squeezing Lula in close to her to which Lula couldn’t help but smile.

  “Very funny.” Lula slapped Dee on her arm, then looked back over to Shona who seemed to be lost completely in her thoughts. “Damn, though, that new girl is fine.”

  Edie laughed. “Yeah, you got that right.” She pulled her glasses to the end of her nose and peeked over the frames. “She’s cute, but she’s got some kinda story to her. She must, to wanna get loaded like that.” Edie nodded over to the bar where Janice was serving Shona yet another shot.

  “I’d like to know more about her story,” Lula said, winking.

  “Well, I tell you one thing, girls. I hope our new piece o’ fresh meat ain’t still here when Bertie gets back or you’re gonna see a whole different kinda attitude around this place,” Edie warned.

  “Dorothy, it’s me. Shona.”

  Shona, standing outside Bertie’s bar, held the payphone receiver away from her ear as Dorothy let out her familiar shriek of pleasure at hearing her voice. But after a few minutes of stunted silences and one-word replies to her questions, Dorothy finally asked Shona what was wrong.

  “Oh Dorothy, I don’t know what to do. We were just getting settled here.” She took a huge breath and leaned one hand on the cubicle wall in front of her. “Chloe’s having a baby.” The line went quiet. “Dorothy please. Tell me what I should do. I feel so bad. I just walked out when she told me. I just left her on her own.”

  “You listen to me, Shona. Sober up and go home. She’s gon’ need you now more than ever.”

  Chloe was fast asleep on the couch by the time Shona had walked the half a mile back to the beach house, thinking better of driving with half a bottle of whiskey in her system. Her head felt a little clearer after her conversation with Dorothy. Shona leaned down and lifted Chloe’s head up so she could sit down and lay it in her lap. Chloe stirred as Shona started to stroke her hair. “I’m here, baby. I’ll always be here, no matter what. We’ll get through this. Together.” She pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over to both of them and watched Chloe sleep.

  A few hours later, Chloe stirred and opened her eyes. Looking up, she saw Shona’s sleeping face and smiled. “You came home to me,” she whispered, relieved more than anything. Sitting up, she replaced the blanket over Shona’s body and headed into the kitchen to switch on the coffee pot.

  “I didn’t mean to run out on you last night,” Shona’s voice piped up from the kitchen doorway, startling Chloe into almost dropping the pot.

  “I know. It was a shock to me too, when I found out about…” She placed her free hand over her stomach. “I can’t even imagine what you must be thinking. Especially given who the father is.”

  Shona felt her guts twist.

  “But that’s in the past now. We got to look forward,” Chloe said.

  “I know. It’s just…” Shona stared down at her boots. For a moment she looked lost. “I was worried you wouldn’t want me anymore. That you’d think I’d be no good at raising a kid. That I wasn’t enough.”

  Chloe put the pot down on the counter and rushed over to Shona, wrapping her arms around her. “Don’t you say dumb things like that, y’hear?” she said, her grip tight around Shona’s back. “I need you more now than ever. I don’t wanna run away from this and I don’t want you thinking you gotta run either. We are done running.” She peeled Shona’s body away from her and held her face in her hands. “I want us to be a family. All three of us. I wanna be with you always, Shona. You’re my heart, you understand? I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Shona placed her hand on Chloe’s stomach and looked down at it, as if she were trying to picture what was going on inside. Her face was one of puzzled amazement.

  Chapter 10

  “Morning, Blanche,” Doctor Thomas said with a smile as his receptionist handed him the files for his first three patients of the day. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, Doctor Thomas, I’ll send your nine o’clock in just as soon as she’s here,” Blanche gushed. She was in her mid-fifties, widowed, with blue rinsed hair and a plump body, but she still thought the young, dashing doctor would look twice at her. Even though she was married, Nurse Marion also thought the same.

  “Good morning, Doctor Thomas. How are you today?” Marion asked, leaning over the edge of Blanche’s desk.

  Appearing not to hear her, Doctor Thomas continued to read through the patient files. Marion grunted, then leaned into Blanche. “As I was saying, I definitely think there’s something going on with that Clark girl. Didn’t you notice how she left here the other day? Like she’d seen a ghost, she was that pale.”

  “For God’s sake, Marion, please. Just do your job and get ready for my nine o’clock,” Doctor Thomas said. He left the two women behind him gobsmacked at his outburst and closed his office door.

  “Well…” Marion spluttered, her hands on her hips, her mouth hanging open like a guppy fish.

  “Touched a nerve, I think there, talking about Mrs. Clark.” Blanche noticed. “I think the good doctor might have a bit of a crush. Let’s find out what her story is, shall we? I’ll pull her file,” she added with a wink.

  Shona pulled up to the garage, feeling a mixture of emotions. She’d spent the weekend talking over their plans for the coming months and how they were going to cope with the changes to their lives. Shona also, from the second she stepped out into the parking lot, felt the eyes of the town on her once again. Taking a deep breath, she clicked open the padlock and opened up the garage for its first morning of business. Across the street, the blinds to the doctor’s office twitched.

  “Doctor Thomas, can I have a word with you? It’s just I noticed something in Mrs. Clark’s notes and…well, she’s with child and I ain’t seen no sign of a husband in the last few weeks she’s been in town.” Nurse Marion ran a short red fingernail over the edge of Chloe’s file.

  “Marion, please don’t concern yourself with my patient’s confidential information. Our only job is to care that mother and baby are healthy and free from harm. That’s it. And you’d do well to remember my stance on that,” Doctor Thomas replied.

  “Well, I just think it’s strange is all. She comes into town with that young blonde woman who’s just opened the garage, from underneath everyone’s noses,” she added with an air of scorn in her voice. “I mean, don’t you think that’s strange? That they have the money to buy
that place? Without a husband in sight for either of them.” Marion nodded her head and folded her arms. Doctor Thomas exhaled.

  “Marion, it may have escaped your attention, with your own husband not taking the draft, but there was a war on over in Korea not too long ago. Maybe they lost their husbands in that? You consider that? As far as I see it, it’s none of our business,” he said, emphasizing every word. “As long as the baby comes out healthy and is well cared for, that’s the end of our involvement. I don’t want no sour grapes in my office just ‘cos you lost that garage to a better offer. Now, I don’t want to hear another word on the subject. Understand?”

  “Yes sir,” Marion replied, her cheeks reddening.

  “Lawrence, get the hell in here now!”

  Sheriff Everett bellowed out of his office into the noisy police station where Deputy Lawrence and his fellow officers were sharing yet another tale of his antics out on patrol last night. He dragged himself away and into Everett’s office, sinking down in the chair opposite the desk. Everett glared at Lawrence from the other side of the desk a few seconds before letting out a long breath of frustration.

  “Why is the first thing that my assistant tells me this morning a story of how you’d been drinking on watch last night? She had a call from a guy you pulled over. Said you were more loaded than he was.”

  “Well, that guy’s tellin’ lies, boss,” Lawrence protested.

  “Oh really? Well I got it on good authority that earlier you bought a six pack of suds from the store.” Everett crossed his arms over his chest and set his lips. “You gon’ deny that too? God damn it. It’s like looking after a child. Go home, Jake. You’re suspended for two days, without pay.” Everett walked over to his office door and opened it wide.

  “Sir, you can’t do that. I’m the best you got on this force. I got a feelin’ trouble’s stirrin’ over at that dyke bar. You need me out there,” Lawrence rose out of his chair and stood in front of Everett, his dark eyes blazing.

  “I need officers I can trust to protect and serve, not pick fights with local business owners without evidence or just cause. You leave folks alone and be back in two days, sober and reformed like I asked. No excuses or I’ll have your badge for good, y’hear?”

  Lawrence slid past Everett whose muscular, six-foot frame almost filled the doorway.

  “You got my beers in there, Marion?” Jake Lawrence asked his wife as she returned home carrying two brown bags of groceries.

  “What are you doing home?” Marion asked, walking straight passed him and into the kitchen, setting the bags down on the counter. “Your shift finish early?”

  “Somethin’ like that. Where’s my beer?”

  Marion walked back over to him reclining on the couch watching TV and handed him an open bottle of beer. She perched on the end of the couch and stared, waiting for him to ask about her day, even though he rarely did.

  “You wanna hear some gossip from town?” she began. Lawrence grunted. “Well, I was speaking to Edie at the store and apparently…” Marion stopped chirping away when she noticed the sharp look her husband was giving her.

  “For God’s sake, woman, shut up. I’ve had a hard day and the last thing I need is for you to bore me to death with some tittle-tattle you heard from someone I couldn’t give a damn about. Now, shouldn’t you be in there fixin’ your man his dinner?” He pointed to the kitchen doorway behind her. “And quit yappin’, will ya, the game’s just started,” he added, turning his gaze back to the TV.

  Chapter 11

  “Well, I just don’t have a clue how to fix cars, young lady. My husband did all that, but now he’s over in Bakersfield, a good half hour drive away. I gotta be there by two this afternoon. He’ll be expecting me. Mr. Perkins used to help me out every now and again, but he was a little strange. Probably thought being a judge’s wife I’d be looking out for ways to catch him out. D’you think you could help me out, sweetheart?”

  Minnie Barker was sixty-six years old, with light brown hair tightly permed and cut short against her small head. She wore a fitted plaid beige suit and pumps. Her thin mouth was wrinkled at the corners, yet her soft brown eyes twinkled as she looked down that Tuesday morning at the edge of a set of creepers peeking out from underneath her Toyota.

  “Well, Mrs. Barker, I think I know what’s causing you the trouble. If you leave her with me for an hour or so, I’ll get her all fixed up for you,” Shona slid out and looked up at Minnie’s face, which glowed.

  “Oh, why thank you so much.” She paused as a cloud of worry appeared to cross her face. “Do you have any idea how much it’s going to cost? I don’t have a lot of cash on me,” she said, running the strap of her purse through her fingers.

  “For you, ma’am, no charge.” Shona cocked her head towards the sign she’d put up in the front yard. “Judge Barker fits into the lawmen category by my reckoning, so I’d be honored to ensure his wife is safe on my watch.” She tipped her cap to Minnie who beamed a huge smile back.

  “You’re a gem, young Shona. I don’t quite know how to thank you. And when I tell William what you’ve done, I’m sure he’ll be grateful too. At least let me give you a tip.” She began to rifle through her purse.

  “No need, ma’am. It’s my pleasure,” Shona assured, pushing Minnie’s dollar bill-laden hand gently back to her.

  “Thank you. I’ll be back in an hour or so.”

  Shona watched her totter across to the diner, then, smiling, sank back down to her set of creepers. Just as she was about to slide back underneath the Toyota, a shadow appeared over her, blocking out the light.

  “Thought it was about time I came over to say hello,” the figure announced. Shona looked up to see Bertie’s piercing ice-blue eyes staring down at her.

  “Can I help you?” Shona asked, her eyes taking in the formidable sight of Bertie who was wearing oversized turn-up jeans and a buttoned up blue and white checked shirt. On her feet were heavy black boots with the laces wrapped around the ankles and tied in two solid-looking double bows. Shona had rarely seen another woman who dressed similarly to her.

  “Can you help me?” Bertie repeated. Her gaze then travelled around the garage parking lot and into the open doors of the workshop. “Must be nice to have the money just to bypass auctions.” Shona stood up. “The name’s Bertie. I own the bar over there. My girls told me you been there already?”

  “Yeah.” Shona wiped her hands on a cloth she’d taken out from the back pocket of her overalls.

  “I was gonna buy this place.” Bertie took a step forward towards Shona. “Had the money all ready to make an offer at the auction. But then I saw the sign had been taken down.” She began to walk around the garage, picking up Shona’s wrenches and inspecting them before placing them back down. Running a fat finger over the edge of one of the work benches inside, she looked down at the layer of brake dust she’d collected. “And I go make a call to ol’ man Perkins.” She eyeballed Shona and placed both hands on her hips. “Says a young brunette lady offered him the full asking price, and some. Just so he’d take it off the market.” Bertie waited for a response from Shona. It didn’t come. “The brunette your…” Bertie paused and sucked in the corners of her mouth. “Sister then?”

  Shona looked down at her boots and clenched her teeth together. “Look, I’m just here, same as you, trying to run a business.”

  Bertie snorted and walked towards Shona. “You bought this place from under me. I had big ideas for this place, then you two swoop in.” She stood toe-to-toe with Shona, then pressed her face so close their noses were almost touching. “You expect me to believe she’s your sister?” She gave a menacing lopsided grin. “I came round to say hi the other day, but your doors were closed. I thought to myself, why, that’s mighty strange. Losing custom like that? Especially as your truck was still parked in the lot outside.” Bertie paused while Shona thought back to that day. As soon as Shona registered why, and the sinking feeling she felt flashed it across her eyes, Bertie gave a sly smile. �
�Yeah, so I went around the back to see if anyone was around. I looked through the window and there I see something that no two sisters should be doing. Even in private.”

  Shona clenched her jaw and swallowed. That damn window, she thought.

  “Don’t worry,” Bertie winked, “I won’t rat on you both.” She moved away and surveyed the area around them. “I’m the oldest of four sisters. I’m very protective of the women around me, and my girls over there in my bar. I’m not looking for trouble either. Just wanted to meet the person who stole my new business from under my nose. Us girls gotta stick together. There’s a greater enemy out there.” She motioned for Shona to look over at the patrol car parked outside the bakery. “So, I tell you what, Shona. I’ll cut you some slack with this place if you come by to the bar once in a while. The girls have been dying to meet the new dyke in town.” Bertie leaned in to whisper into Shona’s ear. “Bring that gorgeous brunette with you as well, Chloe is it?”

  Bertie left Shona and headed back over to the bar.

  “Here we go again,” Shona whispered to herself.

  “So if it hadn’t have been for young Shona then I never would have got the truck going again. She’s an angel, that girl.”

  It was half past one that same afternoon and Minnie had spent the last half an hour or so gushing over Shona, after arriving at her husband’s side with time to spare.

  “She sounds it,” Judge Barker replied, his gratitude evident in his smiling gray eyes. “I’m glad my girl’s being looked after. Puts my mind at rest, being stuck here,” he continued, setting his lips as he looked around the neat garden of his retirement home. His physical health had deteriorated over the last year and, after he suffered the latest in a long line of strokes three months ago, Minnie found herself with no choice but to bring him here.