Stolen Lives

by Joy Redmond

  “We didn’t know she was going to meet your daddy. All we knew—” Aunt July began, and then stopped in midsentence. “I’ll tell you what. We can talk all about that night when we’re done eating, okay? That will give me a chance to think back and make sure I’ve got all the facts straight. I’ve never lied to you before, and I promise I won’t lie to you now.”

  Nodding her approval, Ali said, “I guess I can wait a little longer, but I just need to learn the truth. Mama Jane didn’t live long enough to tell me the whole story, but she told me a lot. You don’t even know how Polly treated her and why she had to come back here, do you?”

  “No, she never told us anything,” Aunt July responded. “She was too busy hating us. You and I can tell each other lots of things after dinner, apparently.”

  “You know, Mama Jane told me that my daddy was dead, but she was drunk when she said it, so I couldn’t tell if she was telling me the truth,” Ali said.

  “Well, I think he may be dead,” Aunt July said as she began setting the table. “Otherwise he would have come around here over the past fifteen years, don’t you think? Nobody has seen hide nor hair of him, and he never tried to find you. I’m worried that you’re just causing yourself more heartache.”

  “I’ll give it up when I have proof that he’s dead,” Ali said flatly, “but I can’t do anything until I find out who he is.”

  Aunt July sighed heavily as she sat at the table. “Well, we’ll talk a lot more later. For now, let’s eat. I’m about starved to death.”

  “That’s all I can ask,” Ali said. “I’ll get it all put together someday. I know I will.”

  After dinner, they went out of the kitchen and sat in the living room. Ali was about to hear how it had all begun—and how it had ended.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Aunt July sat down on the couch and Ali eagerly sat in a nearby rocker, wondering if her aunt’s story was going to match Mama Jane’s.

  “Ali, your mama was always a handful, from the time she was able to walk and talk,” Aunt July began. “As her older sister, I did my best to take care of her and protect her, and there were even times when I took the blame for something she did so she wouldn’t get a spanking. That girl was full of tomfoolery, I tell ya.

  “By the time she was a teenager I’d moved into this house and was working for the Hawkins, but every Sunday when I spent the day with Ma and Pa, all I heard about was her wicked ways.”

  “Wicked—according to my mean grandparents,” Ali scoffed.

  “No,” Aunt July said firmly. “According to the Bible, the things she did were wicked, and Ma and Pa used the Bible to try to raise us girls right.”

  “Okay,” Ali conceded, “but this conversation isn’t about the Bible. It’s about the night Grandpa and Grandma kept Mama Jane from meeting my daddy.”

  Aunt July cleared her throat and continued, “Well, this is what I remember about that night, and I’ll take the blame for it. So if you’ve got to be mad at somebody, you can be mad at me, not at Ma and Pa.”

  “Why?” Ali asked, looking confused. “They were the ones who locked her in a closet. That was downright cruel, it seems to me.”

  “May I finish, please?” Aunt July asked. “When I’m done, you can decide who you want to blame, but I also hope you’ll try to see it from our point of view back then. There’s always more than one side to any story.”

  “Okay,” Ali agreed. “Go ahead.”

  “The Hawkins were out of town for a few days, so I decided to go out to the farm and stay with Ma and Pa. Jane was glad to see me and it was good to see her, too. That night, after everyone was in bed, I was almost asleep when I heard Jane talking to Polly. Your mama was leaning out of the window and whispering, but I could still hear what she was saying. She was telling Polly to wait another thirty minutes to make sure everybody was asleep. After that, she planned to toss her suitcase out the window and then she’d jump out too. At first I thought I’d just let it go because I didn’t want to get Jane in trouble.”

  “But you didn’t let it go, did you?” Ali asked, already knowing the answer.

  “Not after what I heard Jane say next. She told Polly she was going to meet the love of her life; they were running away and never coming back. I didn’t know who the man was, but I didn’t want Jane to run off. I was trying to protect her from ruining her life.”

  “So you’re the one who locked Mama Jane in the closet?” Ali asked, trying to remember the details of what her mother had told her.

  “No, I couldn’t have done that, even if it had occurred to me. Jane was a wildcat when she made up her mind to something. But I did sneak out of the room while Jane was leaning out the window and told Ma and Pa what I heard. They ran into the bedroom and Pa grabbed her. She fought like a tiger, and she was actually more than Pa could handle.”

  As Ali smiled at the thought of Mama Jane beating Grandpa in a fight, Aunt July continued, “She was getting the best of Pa until Ma joined in the fight. It took both of them to drag her across the room, but they finally shoved her in the closet and locked the door.”

  “So Grandma was just as mean as Grandpa,” Ali said thoughtfully. “I always wondered about that. I hate both of them!”

  “Now, Ali, you don’t mean that,” Aunt July said. “It was a long time ago, and they were just parents trying to save their daughter from making a huge mistake. You have no idea what Jane was like back then.”

  “I know more than you think,” Ali countered, “but what I want to know is why you didn’t let her out. She told me she kicked a slat out of the door.”

  “Pa made me go downstairs and sleep on the couch, Aunt July explained. “He said if I went back to Jane’s room, he’d give me the beating of my life. I was scared, and like I said, I didn’t want Jane to run away.” She paused for a moment, and then added, “But I’ll admit that hearing her scream and beat on that door just broke my heart. It’s something I’ll never forget.”

  Ali said defiantly, “Well, she did get out! She climbed out the window and made it to town, but the train had already left.”

  “No, Ali,” Aunt July said softly. “She didn’t go to town. She just went back to bed after she broke out of the closet.”

  “She did too get out!” Ali said firmly. “She told me so—and when she got to the station, she found out that my daddy didn’t love her enough to wait for her. If you ask me, she should have just caught the next train out of there, even if she wasn’t with my daddy. She didn’t have anything left to lose.”

  “Ali, she was only seventeen,” countered Aunt July, “but let’s get back to the closet. When the banging finally stopped, I figured she’d given up, so I went to sleep. The next morning, when Pa went in to check on her, he found her in her bed, and it didn’t look like she’d gone anywhere. We just thought that maybe she’d finally come to her senses.”

  “Well, you thought wrong,” Ali said. “When she realized that my daddy was gone, she didn’t think she had any choice but to go back home—and she never forgave you for that. In fact, I’m not sure I ever will, either. Going off with my daddy was the best thing she could have done. You destroyed three lives that night! Did your Bible tell you to do that?”

  Aunt July looked at Ali in silence for a long moment, until Ali finally asked, “Well, did Mama Jane say my daddy’s name when she was talking to Polly?”

  “I’m afraid not,” Aunt July said sadly. “She just told Polly she was going to meet him.”

  At that, Ali had heard all she could take. She stood and hurried out of the room, determined not to let Aunt July see her cry. Mr. Puss followed as she walked quickly to her bedroom and slammed the door. She lay back on the bed, Mr. Puss beside her. “I hate all of them, Mr. Puss—I really do!” Ali sobbed, burying her face in the cat’s warm fur. Mr. Puss purred and it was sweet music to Ali’s ears as she fell asleep.

  That night, Ali dreamed about Mama Jane. She was on a train, sitting beside a man and smiling broadly. The man’s features were un
clear, but she could clearly see Mama Jane holding the man’s hand and she could feel the love that was passing between them. It was beautiful—and tragic at the same time.

  The next morning, she almost felt as if she had spent the night on a train beside Mama Jane and her daddy. She hoped she could have the same dream again sometime—and she hoped she’d someday be able to make out his face. She ambled out of her bedroom, Mr. Puss at her heels, and went into the bathroom where she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She looked more like Mama Jane every day, and that made her happy, because Mama Jane was a beautiful woman.

  “Ali, I’m glad you’re up,” Aunt July called from the kitchen. “I’ve almost got breakfast ready.”

  Ali dressed and headed into the kitchen where she filled Mr. Puss’ bowl with Friskies. Then she took a seat at the table as Aunt July placed a bowl of scrambled eggs and a plate of hot toast in front of her. After saying “Amen” following Aunt July’s blessing, Ali smeared extra butter and homemade strawberry jelly on her toast.

  “I make good jelly, if I do say so myself,” Ali said with a smile.

  “That you do, honey,” Aunt July agreed. “You’ve become quite the young woman over the past two years. With your gardening, cooking, and sewing skills, you’ll make some lucky young man a good wife someday—and you’ll be a good mother, too.”

  “But how am I supposed to find that lucky young man when I’m not even allowed to date?” Ali protested. “You won’t even let a boy come over and sit on the front porch with me—and as for children, they’re the last thing I want.”

  Aunt July said sharply, “I told you that you can date when you’re sixteen, and that’s only a year away. But let me tell you this. You won’t be dating just any boys. I’ll have to meet them and know something about their background. I might even need to meet his parents before I give my approval—”

  Ali interrupted, “Is there nothing you won’t do to embarrass me? Nobody checks out a boy’s pedigree before he’s allowed to date a girl!”

  “It’s for your own good, Ali,” Aunt July said firmly as she began clearing the table. “Finish your breakfast, because we’ve got to get started making some skirts for school. We’ve only got three days.”

  After the kitchen was clean, Ali followed Aunt July to the sewing room, dreading to see the hideous patterns she had probably picked out. Once in the room, she saw that the beautiful blue evening gown she and Toots had helped make was still hanging on the rack. “I can’t understand why the lady who ordered this dress never came back for it. It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen,” Ali said, touching the dress lovingly.

  “I have no idea, dear,” Aunt July replied, “but you and Toots did a great job sewing on the sequins.” Then Aunt July pointed to several stacks of material and said, “Here’s what I bought to make your skirts with. I hope you approve.”

  Ali’s eyes widened as she saw that all of the material was tweeds of various colors—and there was no cotton in sight. “Aunt July!” Ali exclaimed. “I love it! It’s exactly the kind of stuff all the girls are wearing!”

  Aunt July smiled as she held up a pattern slip. “This seems to be the style girls are wearing, don’t you think?” she asked. “I thought we’d give it a try. What do you think?”

  Ali could barely comprehend what was happening. “Oh my! You mean you’re going to make me straight skirts?”

  “That I am, child,” Aunt July said, “but let’s get something straight. They won’t be skintight.”

  “Okay,” Ali agreed, not daring to press her luck. “What about blouses? Do I have to wear long sleeves that are two sizes too big?”

  “No,” Aunt July replied, shaking her head. “I’m going to allow you to wear sweaters, but they won’t be skintight, either. They’ll have to fit a little loosely.”

  “I can live with that,” Ali agreed happily. “What about shoes? Do I have to keep wearing those ugly old oxfords?”

  “You can start out by wearing your sandals,” said Aunt July, “and then you can wear flats. I know socks are out of style, so you’ll have to wear pantyhose. No bare legs, understood?”

  “Understood,” Ali said, wondering what was wrong with bare legs if she had on a skirt. She was going to be dressed in style, even if everything was a little too big—but it was a vast improvement from what she had been wearing for so long. For the first time in a long while, she felt as if there was hope for a better life.

  Together, Ali and Aunt July made several skirts, and when Ali tried them on, Aunt July said, “Well, they’re a little more snug than I’d like, but if you don’t gain any more weight, I guess they’ll be okay.”

  Ali smiled as she looked at herself in the full-length mirror. Then she asked the next question she had been dreading. “How long do they have to be?”

  “We’ll hem them just above the knee, but not one inch shorter,” Aunt July said firmly. You’re not going to wear them so short that your panties will show when you bend over.”

  Ali smiled and said, “Nancy’s husband calls them duck skirts. He says they just barely cover the quack.”

  “My goodness! What a thing to say,” Aunt July gasped. “I don’t like all the things you hear at Toots’ house, but she’s your best friend, so I have to accept her—and her family.”

  “Thank you, Aunt July,” Ali said. “They’re the only real friends I have in the world.”

  * * *

  The first day of school, Ali admired herself in the mirror, and for the first time since seventh grade, she didn’t feel like a complete freak. When she was ready to leave for school, she and Aunt July went out to the garage and got into the old car. Aunt July turned the key, but the engine wouldn’t turn over. She tried several times, but it refused to start. “Well, I guess it finally died for the last time,” Aunt July said with resignation. “I’m not going to put another dime into this thing. I guess you’re going to have to walk to school this morning.”

  “No problem!” Ali squealed as she jumped out of the car, her purse over her shoulder, her notebook in her arms. As she headed quickly toward Toots’ house, she hoped Toots hadn’t left for school yet. She was out of breath by the time she reached the front door. She knocked, then opened the door and stepped inside before anyone answered. As she was stepping into the living room, Toots emerged from the kitchen.

  “Ali!” Toots said as she ran across the floor and gave her friend a hug. “How did you escape from Aunt July?”

  “The old car wouldn’t start, so until Aunt July decides what to do next, I’ll be walking to school with you, just like we used to. We’ve got a few more blocks to walk since we’re genuine high school girls now, but you know how I love to walk, and—”

  “Wait a minute,” Toots interrupted. “Look at you! A pretty skirt, a nice pullover, and you’re wearing sandals. Does Aunt July know how you’re dressed?”

  “She sure does,” replied Ali with a huge smile. “Can you believe it? I’ll never have to break my neck changing clothes every morning and afternoon again!”

  “Get outta here!” Toots said in disbelief. “I think your Aunt is delirious. Does she have a fever?”

  “You know, she’s been a lot different since she and Grandpa had that falling out. She’s still got a long way to go before she’s completely human, but she’s definitely making progress. I wanted to paint my toenails, but she had a cow, and she won’t even talk about makeup—which reminds me. Can I borrow some of yours before we take off?”

  “Sure, but make it fast. We don’t want to be late on our first day. While you’re putting your face on, I’ll get you a couple pieces of bacon. Mama still cooks extra, just like she used to.”

  Ali came out of the bathroom and Toots handed her two pieces of bacon. Ali quickly shoved the delicious bacon into her mouth as they hurried out the door and began the long walk to the high school. Ali was a bit nervous but she was thrilled to have finally reached what she hoped would be the best four years of her school life.

  The
first day of high school was more fun than Ali had expected, but it was very different from grade school. There were more than 300 students at Morrisville High and it would take a while to find her way around since she had to change classrooms five times a day. The girls were nice enough to her, and several boys asked her for a date, but she shyly declined them all, even though she was sure that all the other freshmen girls were probably allowed to date.

  When Ali came home from school on Friday, there were several cars in front of the house. Chills ran down her spine as she slowly made her way to the front porch. Her feet felt like lead as she opened the front door. She stood frozen when she saw several church sisters sitting on the couch. Aunt July was blowing her nose in a handkerchief and her eyes were red and swollen. The other women were also crying.

  Aunt July looked at Ali and said, “Please sit down, child. I’m afraid I have some terrible news.”

  Ali slowly headed toward the rocker, her heart in her throat. What could this be about? She couldn’t even guess since she hadn’t pulled a stunt that would require a sermon and visit from the church sisters. Maybe Aunt July had found out she was wearing makeup to school. Were the church sisters going to flog her?

  “Ali, Ma and Pa were on their way to see us—” Aunt July began, but her voice seemed to fail midway through the sentence. Dabbing at her eyes, she tried again. “Nobody knows quite how it happened, but their car went over the side of a cliff and burst into flames at the bottom of the ravine.”

  As Ali tried to comprehend the situation, Aunt July sobbed, “And they were both killed instantly.”

  “Oh, no!” Ali said, genuinely in shock. “Oh, Aunt July, I’m so sorry.”

  Ali stood and walked over to where Aunt July was sitting on the couch. As she bent down to give her aunt a hug, Aunt July choked, “Since we didn’t go to church last Sunday, the last words I said to Pa were hateful ones. Oh, Lord, please forgive me.”