by Ward, Vivian
At dinner time, I went outside with Natalie and told her it was time to come in to eat. She was eager to have a home cooked meal. They’d feasted on campfire hot dogs, roasted marshmallows, cold sandwiches and pop tarts for an entire week. No sooner than I sat her plate in front of her, she was scarfing down her fried chicken and mashed potatoes. I’d just sat down to eat with her when the phone rang.
“Hello?”
“Hey babe, are you busy?”
“I was about to eat. Why? Where are you?”
“I’m coming over. I have some exciting news I want to share with you. Did you pick up Natalie yet?”
“Yes, she’s eating dinner right now. What’s so important?”
“I’ll be there in about 20 minutes. I’ll tell you then.”
After we had hung up, I made Jeff a plate and sat down to eat with Nat. She was already on her second plate.
“You must have been starving,” I signed to her as she greedily gulped down her food.
She nodded her head, “Yes, I’m so hungry. This is excellent, mom.”
I smiled. That little girl has always loved my cooking and she’s never been a picky eater. After she was through with her second plate, she scraped it and put it in the sink.
“May I go to my room to draw? I want to make you a picture of camp.”
“Yes, that’s fine. Jeff is coming over soon. You can show him when he gets here.”
When Jeff came in, he was carrying a large manila folder.
“What’s that?” I asked pointing to the folder.
“This, my dear, is our future,” he began to open it and show me the contents. “These are the documents that the development went through and the date that we’ll make a public announcement in the town square to the entire city. I’d like for you to join me and be my guest to the event.”
“I don’t know, Jeff. It’s not a very good idea. What if the town’s not very receptive to me being your date?”
“Judy, I think you’ve failed to see that I don’t care who’s receptive to what I do, think or like. If anything happens, police will be there, and I’ll be there to protect you. This is important to me. Please, come with me.”
His ocean-blue eyes were begging me to join him.
“Okay, I’ll come. When is it?”
“Tomorrow afternoon at 4 PM. And Natalie will have a great time. They’re having free popcorn, soda, and hot dogs.”
I laughed, “I think she’s all hot dogged out. That’s pretty much all they ate at camp last week. You should’ve seen her wolf down her food.”
“Oh, well she can have popcorn, then. Where is she anyway?”
“In her room drawing a picture from camp. She wants to show you when she’s done.”
“She’s a sweet girl, kind of like her mom,” he held me in his arms. “Have you given any more thought of what we talked about when you were at my house?”
“What?”
“Us getting married and you two coming to live with me.”
“I’ve thought about it, but I’m scared, Jeff.”
“What are you scared of? You know I’ll take care of you two and you’ll be safe.”
“It’s not just that. I feel guilty…about Thomas.”
He kissed my cheek as he took my hand in his. “Judy, he would want you two to be happy and well-cared for. I promise that those are my intentions.”
Before I could reply, Natalie walked into the kitchen, proudly displaying her sketch of what their camp looked like. It looked so realistic and professional; her talent was actually developing.
“Is this your campsite?” I asked as I studied the picture. There were logs placed strategically around a campfire that was surrounded by big rocks.
“Yes, but I haven’t drawn the people or colored it yet. I wanted to show you what I’ve done so far. Is it good?” she asked.
“That’s amazing!” Jeff signed to her.
Natalie grinned as he praised her for her hard work. She was so happy that he’d learned how to sign so he’d be able to talk to her.
“I’m going to go work on it some more. I’ll show you the people when I have them drawn.”
“Okay, have fun,” I told her as she skipped down the hall back to her room.
Jeff stayed to eat his plate of dinner and hang out for a little while as we watched TV. He helped me put Nat to bed and then he headed out for the night. Even after my head hit the pillow, I couldn’t stop thinking about what he said. I prayed to God, asking him to help guide me in the right direction before I talked to Thomas.
Thomas, I know you’re watching over us from heaven. I’m sure you’ve seen Nat and me with Jeff. I know he’s not someone you’d ever picture me with, but he’s such a good man. Granted, I would’ve never thought that about him at first, especially after you passed away and I had to deal with him directly instead of you. He’s actually helped Nat and me in ways that I can’t even begin to thank him for. I’ve fallen in love with him, Thomas, but I’m scared. I don’t want to betray you. Please give me a sign that it’s all right to move on. I need your blessing. I miss you and love you.
Shortly after I prayed for things, I fell fast asleep. For the first time since I was attacked, I slept hard. I was surprised when I woke up to find Nat in the kitchen helping herself to a bowl of cereal. She hadn't even tried to wake me up.
“Good morning, baby. Do you want some eggs?”
“No, thank you. I made myself cereal so you could sleep. You looked exhausted,” she signed to me.
“I was drained,” I admitted to her. “I guess I slept better knowing you were home. We have to go to the town square today with Jeff this afternoon. You should wear that white dress with the ruffled skirt.”
“Why? What are we going there for?”
“They’re announcing the development to the town today. It officially passed yesterday. We’ll have to start packing soon to move out of here,” I frowned at her.
“But this is daddy’s house. We can’t leave. I don’t want to.”
“Neither do I baby, but we can’t stay. They’re clearing everything,” I waved my hand around the room, “to make room for the apartments and shopping center.”
She frowned and put her spoon into her cereal bowl as her shoulders slumped forward. Her face looked so sad, defeated.
“Hey, don’t be sorry baby. We’re going to move into a beautiful place. I promise. And you’ll make lots of new friends and everything.”
“Can I go draw?” she asked.
I told her she could before she disappeared down the hall to her room. Clearing the breakfast table, I called Jeff to let him know we’d be there and asked him if we could have dinner afterward.
“I was going to ask you the same thing,” he laughed. “Yeah, that sounds good. I’ll see you this afternoon.”
§
We arrived at the town square to make the big announcement to the town. Everybody was there, including the mayor, police, all the business owners and almost all the residents of the city. Jeff met Nat and me by the ice cream shop, Super Scoops, and brought us to the podium where he was making the announcement.
“What’s wrong?” he asked me.
“I’m so nervous. I don’t know why; maybe because I’ve not wanted to be around people since…you know.”
“It’s fine. This is a safe place. See, there’s police on each side of the podium,” he pointed, “and I’m right here. Nothing’s going to happen.”
“I know, I’m just being silly I guess.”
He placed his hand in the small of my back, leading us to the podium in front of the large crowd. As we approached the microphone, he introduced us to everyone.
“And this is Officer Tungston,” he said as I shook the officer’s hand. “This is the city councilman, Scott Jones,” I shook his hand, “And of course, you know Mayor Goodwin.”
As I reached out to shake the mayor’s hand, I became startled and drew my hand back. I remembered! I remembered what I hadn’t been able to remember s
ince I woke up after the attack. He had thick, yellow, chewed-up fingernails just like my attacker. As I stood back staring at him, I noticed how heavy he was. His gut protruded through the front of his blazer; every button on his shirt threatened to pop off at a moment’s notice. It was him!
I covered my mouth as I ran away, grabbing Nat’s hand dragging her along with me in the process. Jeff called after us, but I wasn’t stopping until I knew we were safe. Out of breath and well past Super Scoops, I stopped and tried to draw in deep breaths as I was bent over with my hands on my knees. Bewildered, Nat looked at me with a concerned look on her face.
“What’s wrong mom? What is it?”
I looked up and saw Jeff running towards us as he continued calling my name. As I tried to take cleansing breaths, a surge of adrenaline coursed through my veins as my mind went into replay mode. Flashbacks of the attack plagued my mind, causing an anxiety attack. Jeff put his hand on my back in an attempt to calm me down.
“Hey, calm down. Deep breaths. Breathe in and breathe out,” he said holding my hair away from my face as he fanned air in my direction. “What happened back there?”
I leaned against the brick wall as onlookers stared at me like I was a crazy woman. A small crowd was beginning to gather, but Jeff made them leave.
“I remembered something from my attack,” I said still trying to draw in deep breaths. “The night that I was ambushed, I remembered trying to memorize things about the man, but I couldn’t remember much other than he was overweight and white. But when I shook Mayor Goodwin’s hand, I saw his nails. He was the one that attacked me,” I looked around to see if anyone had overheard me.
“What? Are you serious? How do you know for sure it was him?”
“His hands. You don’t forget what the hand looks like that beat your face repeatedly until you black out.”
“Are you one hundred percent sure it was him?”
“Yes,” I shook my head. “I know it was him. I don’t know how I didn’t realize it was him sooner. I’m such a fool!” I broke down.
“You’re not a fool, Judy. There’s nothing that would’ve indicated to you that he’d done it. I’m going to summons one of the officers over here. I’ll be right back, and don’t move a muscle.”
I watched Jeff walk through the crowd as he approached one of the officers. Within minutes, they were walking back towards me as Natalie cajoled me while we waited near the curb.
“Ms. Clay, I’m officer Nottingham. Mr. Pincetti said that you were attacked earlier last week, and you recognized the man who did it?”
“Yes, but…oh, God,” loud sobs escaped my mouth. “I don’t want to cause a scene right here, not now.”
“It’s important that you tell me who you believe attacked you, Ms. Clay,” he took out a pen and notepad from his breast pocket as he got into position to write.
I looked around, making sure no one was within an earshot and whispered, “It was Mayor Goodwin.”
The officer looked stunned. “I’m sorry, ma’am, can you repeat that?”
“You heard me the first time. The look on your face told me you did. What’s going to happen?”
“Ma’am, is there any way you can prove that he attacked you? That’s a far-reaching accusation to say the mayor of Nevada attacked you.”
I thought for a moment. How in the hell am I going to prove the mayor did this to me? I know he did it. Then it clicked. “During the attack, he was on top of me—punching my face. When I was trying to defend myself, I scratched him behind his left ear. I’m sure I got him good too because I had blood on my hands from it.”
The officer looked at Jeff to see if I was serious. Jeff nodded, “If she says it happened, I believe her. She’s got no reason to lie.”
“I need to ask that you stay right here until I return,” the officer said as he tucked his notepad and pen back into his shirt pocket.
We watched as he walked away and talked into the radio on his shoulder. The mayor was visible from where we were standing. Three officers approached him, led him away from the podium and cuffed him when they got near the corner before they brought him over to us.
“What? This is ridiculous,” the mayor protested. “I’d never hurt anyone, especially a woman!”
When the cops brought him over to their cruisers that were parked nearby, Officer Nottingham stopped them before they put him in the backseat of the squad car. I watched him check behind Mayor Goodwin’s left ear before he gave an affirmative nod.
Officer Nottingham walked back over to us and said, “Ms. Clay, you were correct. He does have a deep scratch behind his left ear. I don’t know if that’s enough to charge him with anything, though. My colleague is taking him down to the station for questioning. We’ll need you to come down to the office this evening to give another statement.”
“Will I have to see him?” I asked.
“No, he’ll be in holding. We’ll have you give your statement in an interview room with one of the detectives. Mr. Pincetti, you’re more than welcome to accompany her down to the station if you’d like.”
“Thank you,” Jeff replied. He turned his attention back to me. “I know you’re shaken up a bit right now, but I need to get back to the crowd to make the announcement. If you want to come with me, you’re more than welcome to; but if you don’t, I’ll understand.”
I wiped my tear-stained cheeks. “No, I’ll come with you. This is a big day for you. You’re making changes that the town hasn’t had in ages, and I want to be right by your side.”
Jeff led us back in front of the large crowd. With Nat and me by his side, he proudly announced the development of Nevada Heights. Everyone from the town cheered and clapped. The air was charged with excitement and celebration. After he had made the announcement, the high school marching band made their debut as the cheerleaders followed behind them, releasing balloons in the air.
§
At the police station, one of the clerks led me to a small room that said ‘Interview Room’ on the door. Jeff waited with Nat in the lobby as I stared at the cold, drab walls of the room while I waited for someone to take my statement. A few moments later, a woman officer walked in with a pad of paper and introduced herself.
“Hello, Ms. Clay. I’m Officer Brooks and I’m here to take your statement about your attacker. Detective Torre has already left for the day so she asked that I record your statement.”
“Okay. What do you need me to tell you?”
“Would you like some water or coffee before we begin?”
“No, thank you. I’d like to get out of here as soon as possible. My daughter and…boyfriend are waiting for me in the lobby.”
“All right. I’ll begin by turning on the recorder and we’ll go from there.”
She sat a small black audio recorder in the center of the table and turned it on.
“This is Officer Jody Brooks and today is August 26th, 1998. I am interviewing Judy Clay about an assault against her that took place a little over a week ago. Ms. Clay, do I have your permission to record your statement regarding the attack that happened to you on or about August 18th, 1998?”
“Yes, you have my permission.”
As the interview wore on, I started to regret not taking her up on her offer for something to drink. Reliving the attack and having a face and a name to put to the man who caused me so much harm sent a wave of emotions through me that I wasn’t ready to deal with yet. She stopped mid-interview to get me a plastic cup of water. After I had recollected my thoughts, she turned the voice recorder back on and continued with the interview. An hour and a half later, I was a wobbly mess and ready to get out of there. The final stage of the interview that she had me complete was picking his mug shot out of a lineup. I pointed to Mayor Goodwin. Relief washed over me as the thought occurred to me that my attacker was behind bars. I was safe tonight.
Jeff and Natalie were patiently waiting in the lobby when I came out of the interview room. She came running up to me as she threw her arms aroun
d me, squeezing me tight. I’d never felt so good in my entire life. My attacker was behind bars, I had my baby and I had a good man who stood behind me no matter what. When we left the police station, we went to a nearby restaurant to grab a bite to eat. After dinner, Jeff drove us home and stayed until Natalie was asleep. He kissed me goodnight and went home with the promise of coming over for breakfast in the morning.
