The River's Edge

by Tina Sears

  “She’s the only one who lives here year round anymore and owns all that land over there.” Wendy pointed to an open field.

  Tall grass danced in the breeze. It seemed to me that the grass could be the hair on a giant’s head peeking up from below the earth.

  “I heard she killed her husband and inherited this place. No one ever sees her and there’s a rumor that she only comes out at night.”

  Mystery hung in the air.

  “There are so many cats,” I said.

  “Keep your eyes open for Crazy Mary,” Wendy warned.

  “Why?” I kept my attention on the cats.

  “She hates kids, and she doesn’t like visitors, either.”

  I walked to the steps and reached out to pet an orange cat. Wendy stayed on the road, watching me closely, while Paige followed me. “Well, we’re not visiting her; we’re visiting the cats, right, Paige?”

  “Yep,” Paige said.

  “That’s just a technicality,” Wendy said. “I’m not visiting the cats, you guys are. I don’t want to have anything to do with it, especially with Crazy Mary.”

  “What’s her story anyway? Do you think she really killed her husband?”

  “I don’t know. That’s what people say. Why else would she be such a loner?”

  “She can’t be all bad, if she’s feeding all these cats,” I said. “I don’t trust people who don’t like animals. You can tell a lot about people by the way they treat animals.”

  “I didn’t say she murdered her cats.”

  A cat brushed up against my leg and I jumped. I could tell it was a kitten as a tiny flash of black disappeared under the porch. A minute later another cat jumped up on the railing of the porch and meowed at us.

  “Look at that pretty black-and-white one,” I said. I walked slowly up the steps toward it. As soon as I got close enough to touch it, the cat jumped back down and disappeared under the porch.

  “Looks like it doesn’t like you,” Wendy said.

  “Here kitty, kitty.” I looked as hard as I could under the porch, but it was too dark and all I could see were two pairs of gleaming eyes. A tiny meow came from deep beneath the house.

  “Here kitty, kitty,” Paige said, following me around.

  “Come on. Let’s go,” Wendy said nervously.

  “It’s okay. I want to see the cats.”

  “That’s not a good idea.”

  “I’m just going to . . .” I heard a ping against a window, scaring me silly, and we ran back to where Wendy was standing on the dirt road in front of the house. Then we heard another ping and looked at each other in disbelief.

  “What was that?” I asked.

  “I don’t know. We’d better get back, though,” Wendy said.

  I looked in the direction of the noise. My eyes widened when an older woman peeked from behind the curtain of an upstairs window, then disappeared quickly.

  “I saw her!” I said, tugging on Wendy’s sleeve.

  “What?” Wendy asked.

  “She was right there in the window,” I said, pointing up to the second story.

  We heard a girl laugh. We turned around and saw Julie hiding behind the weeping willow tree with a handful of little rocks. She stepped out from the tree.

  “Scared you, didn’t I? You should have seen your faces,” she said, laughing at us.

  “That wasn’t funny, Julie,” I said, turning to leave.

  “Not so brave today, are you, New Girl?”

  I walked to the end of the dirt road and could barely make out the name on the weathered mailbox. It read, “Weaver.”

  That night in bed, I reviewed everything in my head and the three things that kept coming back to me were—the woman behind the curtain, Julie, and my mother.

  I wondered about the woman behind the curtain and what secrets, what horrors kept her locked inside her house.

  I thought about Julie and how much I wanted to be like her.

  And, I thought about my mother. I finally realized how alone she must feel, because now I was in the same boat.

  Chapter Four

  Elephant in the Room

  ON FRIDAY NIGHT, we had big doings—a dance at the camp’s pavilion. It was the first dance of the summer and a time of excitement. Wendy put on a yellow sundress and encouraged me to wear one, too, but I told her I hadn’t worn a dress in years and wasn’t about to start now. Instead, I wore blue plaid shorts and a white cotton shirt. Paige wore a matching short set with sunflowers on it, which brought out her brown eyes and hair.

  I looked at Wendy, all dressed up for the occasion. “Well, you think you’re all that, and a piece of pie.”

  “Shut up,” she said, hitting my shoulder.

  When we were ready, we gathered on the porch.

  “Well, don’t you girls look pretty,” Uncle Butch said. I was beginning to feel like I was part of a family again.

  We walked to the pavilion together, which was across the big grassy field at the edge of the camp where the cottages ended. Inside, picnic tables lined the edges of the pavilion. In the center was a dance floor and against the back wall was a band. On the far left was a small concession stand. Huge white ceiling fans hung overhead, cooling us from the heat.

  People trickled in from all directions, young and old alike. We chose the table closest to the door and sat down while my aunt and uncle stood at the edge of the table greeting people as they entered. I looked around for Julie and the gang, but didn’t see them.

  Uncle Butch put down a bottle wrapped in a brown paper bag and some plastic red cups. Then he threw down a pack of Lucky Strike cigarettes.

  “Alice, Bob! Over here,” he called, motioning the couple over. They also had a brown bag and plastic cups.

  I recognized the woman as the mother of the twins, Cody and Callie. She had long blond hair parted in the middle and wore a flowered sundress that ended above her knees.

  “They’re no doubt trying to get in as much practice as possible to win the dance contest this year,” Uncle Butch muttered to Aunt Lori, covering his mouth with the back of his hand as he spoke.

  “Don’t be an old fart,” Aunt Lori said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.

  “I see Dr. Ferguson made it with his new wife. She’s probably thinking that she done hit the jack pot marrying him. How many does that make now, three?” Uncle Butch asked.

  “You’re incorrigible,” Aunt Lori said.

  Dr. Ferguson was older and wore a beige suit with a straw hat that covered his thinning grey hair. He had round spectacles and a chubby face. He also had a grey mustache and a round belly, with the chain of a pocket watch stretched across his front. He pulled out a silver flask and took a long pull from it, then offered it to the young lady by his side. She shook her head and locked an elbow around his.

  Before long, the pavilion was full and the wooden floor squeaked under the weight. We sat across from Cody and Callie. They looked like six-year-old angels sitting across from us with their blond curls outlining their faces. The light shined through their hair, creating halos around their heads.

  “Paige likes Cody,” Wendy whispered above the noise.

  “Do not.”

  “Do too.”

  I looked around for the gang again, worried they wouldn’t show. The crowd blocked my view but after a few minutes, I finally saw them on the other side of the pavilion in the back. They stood by the picnic table next to the exit. I waved and Reds waved back. This was the first time I had seen him without his Reds baseball cap. He was cute.

  “Wendy, go to the snack bar and get us a bottle of pop and a bucket of ice,” Uncle Butch said, handing her a ten.

  “Hey,” Reds said as he approached us. “Come over to our table. We got some . . .” He put his thumb to his lip and tilted his head back.

  Wendy seemed to understand immediately what he was implying, but I was puzzled.

  “Alcohol,” she whispered in my ear.

  “Oh,” I said.

  “We’ll be right ov
er, as soon as I get this back to my dad,” Wendy said.

  “Get us some pop and ice, too, and bring it over when you come,” Reds said, disappearing into the crowd.

  Wendy set the Coke and ice on the table while Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch were busy talking. We hightailed it back toward the snack bar, eager to meet up with the gang. Paige, who was talking to Cody and Callie, didn’t notice us leave.

  The singer blew into the microphone and the excitement grew. A loud popping noise echoed from the speakers. “Let’s get this party started.”

  Hands clapped, feet stomped, and the dance floor came alive with the first song as we ordered from the pimply kid behind the concession counter. A black-haired girl behind the counter looked at me curiously. I turned to the dance floor and saw Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch dancing, the crowd shifting to the sides to give them room.

  “Hey, look,” I said, nudging Wendy’s shirt sleeve.

  “Yep, there they go,” Wendy said.

  “What dance is that?” I asked.

  “It’s called the jitterbug. They’ll be at it all night.”

  I hung onto every movement as they danced in the center of the floor. They moved so closely to the beat of the music that they became the music. I wondered if I would ever be able to dance like that. They became a single unit of grace. Other couples danced together, but Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch stole the show with their fancy footwork and elaborate turns.

  “How do two people dance like that without talking, without knowing what the other is going to do?” I asked, impressed.

  “They’ve been dancing together like that a long time,” Wendy said, unimpressed.

  After we ordered the Coke and ice, we weaved our way over to the gang. Julie was standing at the head of the table with Tommy. Freckles leaned against the picnic table, a camouflage backpack next to his feet.

  “Well, well, look who it is, New Girl and Wendy,” Julie said.

  Reds walked up from behind. “Leave them alone, Julie. They brought the pop and ice.”

  I liked Reds. He was always sticking up for us.

  Wendy placed the Coke and ice in front of Julie. She was the tootsie roll center in a lollipop crowd. Everyone circled around her, wanting to be by her side. She had a way about her that seemed magical. You know, the one that had it, whatever that was. You knew it when you spotted it, or were in the presence of it, but it was too difficult to explain.

  She was wearing a mini skirt and a tight shirt. She looked like a cheerleader. All that was missing were the pom-poms. Rah, rah, ree, kick ’em in the knee. Rah, rah, rass . . . kick ’em in the other knee. She had red-painted fingernails with matching toenails. She looked so grown up. And well, I didn’t. I should have re-thought the dressing up thing.

  “Put ice in the cups,” Julie said to me.

  I filled each cup with ice, handed them to Julie, who filled them with Coke and handed them to Freckles, who then added what looked like whiskey. It was a sophisticated assembly line and I felt important. I was deliriously happy to be in her circle. The pounding of the drum echoed in my heart, beating forcefully against my chest. It was loud and magical. Other kids looked at me with jealous eyes as I huddled around the queen.

  Freckles handed a cup to each of us.

  I took mine hesitantly. “Thanks,” I said meekly and glanced over to see if Aunt Lori and Uncle Butch were watching. They were too busy dancing to notice anything we were doing. Julie took a sip, then looked at me.

  “Well, New Girl, you going to look at it or drink it?” Julie asked.

  I put the cup to my lips and swallowed as everyone watched. It burned my throat all the way to my stomach and left me breathless. I faked a smile and nodded my head. “That’s good.”

  First smoking, now drinking. I was surely going to hell for this, and I hoped it was worth it. I was breaking all my mom’s rules in the first week.

  With music pulsing in my ears, I swayed back and forth with the beat. Julie leaned close to Tommy and whispered in his ear. Flirting came easy to her and she practiced it often. She swiped the loose hair from her forehead. I turned into her hair, trying to listen through the corn silk strands draped close to her face, but I still couldn’t hear her.

  After their drinks were finished, Julie and Tommy moved onto the dance floor. Their hips moved to the beat as they moved back and forth rhythmically. They looked good dancing together because they were both tall. Tommy held up his hand and Julie turned under his arm, flipping her hair across his face as she did.

  Next, Owl and Wendy paired up. Owl looked a little reluctant, but before the song was halfway through, they were dancing sloppily next to Julie and Tommy. I took a gulp from my drink and my stomach fluttered as Reds approached me from the other side of the table.

  “Come on, let’s dance,” he said. He held out his sweaty hand.

  “I don’t know how . . .” I started, but he took my hand and pulled me gently onto the dance floor. My heart started beating faster.

  Julie saw me, gave me the thumbs-up sign, and smiled. Reds and I were surrounded by the dancing crowd and I was trying to keep up, but mostly we stumbled around each other. When he raised his hand for me to turn right, I turned left and lost my balance. I tried to find my place and grow light on my feet, but it was no use. His hands sweated in mine and he wasn’t bending at the knees.

  I was feeling the heat in my cheeks, either from embarrassment or the whiskey, I didn’t know which. We were struggling. Flame-faced, we finally gave up and went back to our picnic table where Freckles was waiting.

  I really noticed Reds then. He had black hair in a thick crop of curls. His eyes were emerald green. He smiled, revealing even white teeth. I forgot my shyness and smiled back. My head felt light as I got caught up in the excitement of the evening. It felt good. I released some of the anxiety I had been carrying around all week worrying about my mom.

  Reds put his hand on my shoulder, guiding me through the crowd toward the exit in the back. Outside, he held my hand while we left the dancing to everyone else. The music wasn’t as loud, but I still had a hard time hearing him.

  “Want a cigarette?” Reds asked.

  “What?”

  “Cigarette?” he asked, handing the pack to me.

  “No.” I felt awkward. I no sooner got the word out before he leaned over and kissed me on the lips. He smelled like cigarettes and tasted like whiskey. I didn’t like it.

  The screen door slammed and I looked in that direction, glad for the interruption.

  “There you are,” Julie said as she came over and draped her arm sloppily around my shoulder. I could smell her hair. It smelled as if lemons and oranges danced together creating the perfect citrusy aroma.

  When we got back inside, I watched my aunt and uncle dance some more. Paige and Cody had locked elbows and were twirling in the middle of the dance floor. Callie was twirling by herself next to them.

  At eight o’clock, the singer spoke into the microphone. “Okay, kids, anyone who’s not eighteen or older, it’s time for you to leave.” When we didn’t shuffle out fast enough, he repeated, “All those younger than eighteen, we have to say good night.”

  Julie whispered something into Wendy’s ear as Uncle Butch waved us over from across the dance floor. Wendy grabbed my arm and I waved bye to everyone. I followed Wendy through the dispersing crowd. Parents huddled their children outside, giving last instructions. Alice was talking to a girl who looked like she was a couple of years older than us. I guessed she was Cody and Callie’s babysitter. It seemed all the kids were outside now, being shooed away.

  Uncle Butch followed us outside the pavilion to give us our instructions while Aunt Lori stayed inside. “Get Paige to bed and you can stay up another hour, but you can’t leave the cottage.” Uncle Butch swayed while he was speaking. A warm breeze enveloped me. As we started to leave, I heard Uncle Butch’s voice.

  “Hey, Alice. Have you ever seen my imitation of an elephant?”

  I turned around to see what was ha
ppening. He was standing with both pockets turned inside out of his pants. Then he pretended to unzip his fly. “Get it?”

  “You’re incorrigible,” Alice said, waving him away with a swoosh of her hand.

  That was the second time I heard that word in one night. Obviously, Uncle Butch was a pretty good example of it.

  He raised both hands toward the sky. “Oh, come on, it’s funny . . .”

  Wendy grabbed my hand and we double-timed it back to the cottage, Paige running behind us to catch up. We put Paige to bed and waited for her to fall asleep. Fifteen long minutes passed before she fluttered into dreamland.

  “Okay, here’s the deal,” Wendy whispered. “We’re meeting the gang in the game room over there.” She pointed out the window to our next destination. It was a cinder block building just off to the left of Uncle Butch’s cottage.

  “What if Paige wakes up, or your parents come back?”

  “Don’t worry.” She hiccupped. “We can see the cottage from there, so if that happens, we’ll just sneak in through the back door.”

  We entered the game room, and everyone was already there. The room had two pinball machines against the far wall and a pool table was in the center of the room. Julie and Tommy were holding hands, leaning against it.

  Freckles finished pouring the last of the whiskey into our cups and held up the empty bottle. “Let’s play spin the bottle.”

  We sat in a circle, boy—girl fashion. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. My head felt light, like I could fly away. I felt the heat in my cheeks and the tips of my ears. I couldn’t stop smiling, even though nothing was really all that funny. My heart raced, but the whiskey stilled my inhibitions until I could no longer think of a good reason not to play.