“My life hasn’t been quite as exciting or glamorous as yours, I’m afraid. Just doing hair at a salon and living in this crappy town. That’s really about it.”
“C’mon, there’s got to be more than that! You make it sound like this is the most boring place on earth!
“And you would disagree?”
Tom chuckled. “You got me there, I have to admit. Anyway, I was wondering if we could get together for a drink or something. I know it sounds sort of weird and on short notice but it’s really important.”
“Sure. But I can’t leave home-my kids are here and I can’t trust them by themselves. Why don’t you just come out to my home?”
“Great!” Tom said. “How do I get there?”
“Just take Route 52 west until you’re almost to the Adams County line then take a right on Slow Possum Hollow. I’m about three miles from the highway in a white mobile home. You can’t miss it.”
“That sounds easy enough. Is it okay if I come now? There’s supposed to be a storm blowing in and I have to get back to Columbus soon.”
“Sure. I’m not doing anything but the laundry.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon.”
“See you, Tom.”
Tom was thrilled-it had almost been too easy. He was surprised that Mindy would be so willing to see him after all these years. Especially after what had happened so long ago.
He closed the phone and started the engine. He was already headed in the direction of the west side so he pulled out and proceeded along Second Street until he reached the bridge crossing the Scioto River. Glancing at the dashboard clock, he estimated that he would reach the Adams County line in about thirty minutes. That would make it around 2:40. Hopefully he wouldn’t have to stay long to get his answers. That storm wasn’t going to hold out forever.
As he drove, Tom flashed back to Mindy Conkel and his one- night stand with her twenty years ago. She would have been around twenty or so at the time, making her about forty now. He wondered how much she had aged since then. She would probably be overweight with an outrageously outdated hairstyle, he thought, like the majority of the women around this hillbilly town. There was a unique quality of Smithtown that set it apart from any place he’d ever seen: the place was in an eternal time warp. Whatever was happening in the rest of the country would be about ten years ahead of where Smithtown was at that time, socially and politically. It was as though the little river town was an eternal time capsule, reflecting the way the world had been ten years past.
Tom spotted the first flurry about ten miles from the Adams County line. In another five minutes, it began spitting snow. He checked the clock nervously, realizing that this would indeed have to be a brief encounter with Mindy Conkel Gossett. Not only did he want to avoid driving in a snowstorm, he didn’t want Peg to be calling him endlessly, worrying about his making it home safely.
He sped up to sixty-five, hoping the highway patrol hadn’t set any speed traps up ahead. In another few minutes, he spotted the sign for Slow Possum Road as he whizzed by the tiny two-lane road. Cursing, he continued until he reached the first driveway he could find, pulled into it, backed out and backtracked to Slow Possum.
The road was incredibly rough-a mixture of dirt, gravel and decaying asphalt. Dodging crater-sized potholes, he carefully negotiated the winding road that ran parallel to a swift running creek. He realized that he was actually in Shawnee State Forest when he spotted one of the familiar wooden marker signs along the way, indicating a specific trail. He passed a two-room shack that blatantly reminded him that he was on the fringe of Appalachia, where the ugliness of poverty still prevailed amidst the enchanting beauty of the forest.
Just as he was about to glance at his odometer, he spotted a white mobile home on his right. It was at the end of a dirt road that forked off then ran over a small, ramshackle bridge before dead-ending ten yards to the east of the trailer.
Tom pulled onto the road and held his breath as he crossed over the bridge. He could feel the thing sway sickeningly from side to side as the Jeep deposited its full weight upon its fragile rotting boards. On the other side, he saw a ten-year-old blue Honda Civic parked around the back of the trailer and pulled up beside it.
Tom got out and strode toward the small covered patio, aware of a face peering through one of the windows. It was a young boy, about eight or nine, with longish blonde, unkempt hair. Tom had just stepped onto the patio when the inside door opened. The boy stared at him from behind the door curiously, making no effort to open the storm door. Tom smiled at the boy, who suddenly turned around to look behind him. He heard Mindy say, “Let the man in, Jason, for crying out loud!”
The boy grasped the handle and opened the door about a foot. Tom stood there awkwardly, not sure whether to go on in or not.
“Come on in, Tom. My son doesn’t seem to understand English.”
Jason turned and ran away as Tom took hold of the door. He stepped inside, noticing the beige shag carpet and smell of laundry detergent at the same time.
“I’m loading the drier, Tom. Make yourself comfortable and I’ll be there in a minute,” he heard Mindy holler from a room to his right.
“Okay,” Tom replied. He headed across the living room to a sofa and sat down.
The mobile home seemed twice as large as it looked from the outside. The living room was good sized with a couple of vinyl upholstered chairs, a coffee table, an end table and a big flat screen television set. To his left was a spacious kitchen, spotlessly clean and equipped with slightly dated appliances.
He noticed several framed photos hanging on the wall above the television, stood up and went over to examine them. There was one small black and white picture of an elderly couple, perhaps Mindy’s grandparents, hanging beside a much larger framed family photo. Tom drew closer and saw Mindy and a middle-aged man standing directly behind two children sitting in matching chairs: Jason and a girl who apparently was Jason’s older sister of around twelve or thirteen. Mindy herself looked damn good-much better than Tom would ever have guessed. The man standing beside her seemed camera shy and awkward, forcing himself to smile as if he would be elbowed if he didn’t.
Mindy’s father? Tom wondered.
He looked at the remaining pair of photographs on the wall, which were both 8x10 portraits of the two children.
There were no other photos on the wall.
Tom looked around, anxiously hoping to spot a photo of an older child somewhere-an older son or daughter who would be around nineteen by now…
He saw no more family photos.
Mindy suddenly entered the room. Tom was barely able to repress a gasp when he saw her. She looked even better than she did in the photo. She wore tight jeans and a white oversized oxford shirt, unbuttoned a third of the way down from the top. Her hair was tied in a rather loose ponytail, long strands of blonde falling randomly onto her shoulders. Her eyes were large and blue, her skin radiant with just enough age lines to complement her mature good looks. And her full lips were just as pouty and sensuous as they had been on that fateful night.
Mindy was still in fact, a frigging knockout “Hi, Tom,” she smiled, approaching him and throwing her arms around him.
Tom felt her soft, firm breasts press against his chest as he held her close.
“Hi, Mindy.”
They held each other a bit longer than necessary, and Tom felt himself actually regret letting go of her. She stood back and looked him over from head to toe.
“You look damn good, Tom. In fact, you look about the same as you did twenty years ago!”
“Right,” he replied. “Except for this large growth above my belt, which seems to have taken on a life of its own. You look absolutely awesome, Mindy. And I must say, even better than you did twenty years ago!”
She smiled warmly. “Why thanks, Tom. I haven’t been complimented like that in a long time.”
“You’ve got to be kidding!” Tom said in genuine disbelief.
“I shit you not. Anyw
ay, have a seat. Would you like something to drink? Coffee, a beer?”
“Coffee would be great if you have some handy.”
“I just brewed a fresh pot a few minutes ago. How do you take it?”
“Black.”
“I’ll be back in a flash.”
Tom stared at her beautiful ass as Mindy made her way over to the kitchen. He was mesmerized by her looks and wondered why he hadn’t taken this girl a little more seriously all those years ago. Then he recalled the fact that Mindy Conkel really hadn’t been his type. At least not personality-wise. She was much too extraverted if not downright slutty for him to have considered any kind of lasting relationship with her. Yes, she had been drunk and no doubt more forward than usual, but her drink-fueled behavior and blind lust had left Tom feeling zero emotional attachment and little respect for her after that crazy night.
Mindy Conkel had been just what he needed and nothing more: an easy one-night stand.
She returned to the living room, set a mug of steaming coffee on the coffee table in front of him then sat down on the sofa. She leaned back against the arm of the sofa and swung her long legs up, encircling them with an arm at the knees. After taking a sip of coffee, she motioned toward the rear of the mobile home and cast him a conspiratorial smile.
“My son is incredibly shy around strangers. That’s why he hesitated to let you in. He’ll make the scene though soon enough and you then you can meet him properly. He’s as curious as he is shy and literally can’t stand still for over five minutes at a time.”
“I see. He’s a good-looking boy,” Tom said. “Looks a lot like his mother.”
“Thanks. Some people think he looks more like Charlie. I think he looks a bit like us both.”
“I noticed a girl in the picture over there. Your daughter, I presume?”
“Yeah, that’s Josie. She’ll be showing up pretty soon, actually. She’s been over at a friends but just called to say that she was getting ready to head home.”
“What grade are your kids in?”
“Jason’s in fourth; Josie’s in seventh.”
“Well they sure seem to be nice kids,” Tom said, not sure what else to say.
“Thanks, they are. How old are your kids?”
“My girl, Kelli, is seven and Tyler is five.”
“That’s great-isn’t having children a wonderful gift?” she said, eying him oddly.
“Yes, it is.” Tom paused a moment then said, “Um, I’ve been wondering, Mindy, what ever happened to-“
“Our baby?” she interjected.
Tom’s heart skipped a beat as he stared at Mindy, trying hard to read what she was thinking behind those blue eyes. He detected a note of sadness-or was it remorse? He wasn’t sure. All he knew was that in a moment he was going to discover the fate of his child. The one he had forsaken so long ago.
Mindy looked away a moment, then turned back and gazed at him intently.
“I had an abortion,” she declared flatly.
Tom was stunned. She may as well have slapped his face.
The child in his dream, his Erin, had never existed. She had never even had a chance…
“You mean, you never had the baby?” he asked lamely.
“Yes, Tom. That’s exactly what I mean.”
“But why not?”
She stared at him reproachfully and Tom realized how stupid his question must have sounded to her.
“You have to be kidding, right, Tom? It’s not like you made any indication that you wanted me to keep the child back then. In fact, if I remember correctly, you didn’t even give it a second thought.”
She was right, of course. He had blown off the matter like batting away an annoying fly. But he had never considered for a moment that she would abort the child. In fact he had Tom looked away from Mindy, trying his damnedest not to let his emotions show. The cold, hard truth reared its ugly head: he had in fact not given any of this any thought back then! He had simply told Mindy to go away and not to bother him with it, not considering the possible consequences for even a moment of his precious time.
Could he really blame her for not having the child?
“I’m sorry, Mindy. I understand why you did what you did. I was a total asshole about it. I just wish that-”
“That I would have told you I was having an abortion? And what good do you suppose that would have done?”
She had taken the words right out of his mouth. And again, she was dead right. Had Mindy called back to tell him that she was going to have an abortion, he would have simply told her it was fine with him, to go ahead and do it. He may have actually had the decency to offer to pay for it. But he would not have wanted her to have the child-that much he knew. He had been much too busy with his life in the Big Apple to even give that the slightest consideration.
But still… Didn’t he at least have some say in the matter? She could have at least given him the option to oppose the abortion, for chrissakes! After all, it had taken both of them to make the baby.
“I think you should have called me first, at least,” he finally said.
“Why? So you could tell me that I had your permission to murder our child? Because you know as well as I do that you would not have wanted to be a father to that baby. Nor would you have offered to help pay any of the expenses in raising it. C’mon Tom, admit it!”
Tom lowered his head and replied, “You’re probably right.”
He looked into her eyes again. He saw a single tear stream down her cheek and drop off of her chin. He scooted over on the sofa and put his arms around her. He held her close.
“God Mindy, I’m so sorry. I was such a jerk back then. It’s just that I didn’t want to believe I had gotten you pregnant in the first place. I mean, look at the odds! We’d only been together that one night and surely you were-”
She pushed him away. “Screwing other guys? Is that what you were going to say, Tom?”
Tom felt as low as he could go.
“Screw you, Tom! Just for your information, you were the first guy I had gone to bed with in over six months! That is how far off you were in your brilliant deduction of the situation. Granted, I was drunk and aggressive that night in the bar-it’s not like I don’t like to go out and have a good time once in a while-but that doesn’t make me a slut. Which is apparently what you thought I was.”
Her words stung. And as he considered the intensity with which she argued her case, he knew that it was all probably true. He had unfairly misjudged this girl-big time.
And had he known then what he knew now…
“All I can say is that I’m sorry, Mindy. I obviously was wrong about a lot of things back then.”
“Listen, Tom. You have no idea how many times I’ve thought back to the day I had the abortion. I think of how my life could have been different if I wouldn’t have done it. Had I kept the child, maybe I would never have made the mistake of hooking up with Charlie. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and have no regrets whatsoever about the beautiful children Charlie and I made together. But that man has ruined my life. He abused me in ways I can’t even begin to explain. I’m afraid of him every time I get up in the morning- terrified that he is going to get out of prison and murder me and the children. The man is a maniac! And he is going to get out of prison one of these days-he only got five years. And then he’s going to find me and kill all of us. I just know it!”
Tom winced. It now hit home just how much his actions twenty years ago had changed this woman’s entire life. He felt weak and sick to his stomach.
What a selfish prick he’d been!
He was momentarily speechless. He wanted nothing more than to explain to Mindy that he had changed since then, and if he had it all to do again, he would never have left her in the lurch like that. He would have offered to support the child and do the responsible thing…
But all of this would just sound like so much drivel to Mindy Conkel Gossett. Even if she believed him, which he doubted she would, what difference would
it make? What had happened had happened-there was no turning back the hands of time.
“I’m so sorry, Mindy,” he said again.
“It’s okay, Tom. I’ve long since learned how to live with it and get on with my life. We were both young and foolish back then and I probably got what I deserved. The Lord saw to it that I paid for my mistakes.”
Tom wanted to protest, but didn’t. At that moment, he wanted to take Mindy in his arms and apologize a hundred times over for ruining her life. And tell her that he didn’t deserve her forgiveness, for what he had done simply wasn’t forgivable. And that she was wrong in thinking that she deserved the miserable life she had been living thanks to Charlie Gossett.
In fact, he wanted to tell her that if anyone deserved to be punished for all of this, it would be his own lame ass…
But Tom kept these thoughts and words to himself. Instead, he decided that he would simply thank Mindy for seeing him on such short notice, wish her well, then get back on road before the storm hit.
And that is just what he did.
CHAPTER 21
There was a good four inches of snow on the ground by the time he approached the Columbus city limits. Tom was thankful for the lack of heavy traffic on I-71 as he proceeded north on the slick freeway at forty-five miles an hour.
He tried Tracy’s home number and got her voicemail again. Shit! he thought. Why hadn’t he ever stored her cell phone number into his contacts? The battery strength indicator was showing a single flickering bar. His power was all but shot.
He cursed again and flipped the phone shut, feeling like Captain Kirk unable to reach the Enterprise.
“We are in grave need of some dilithium crystals here, Scotty,” he murmured to the Jeep’s vacant interior.
Tom planned on going directly to Tracy’s apartment whether he reached her or not. He was about to crawl out of his skin. He needed to talk to her-to let her know how he felt about things.
He pulled onto the Hudson Street exit and headed west at the light. When he reached Summit Street, he hung a left and noted that none of the streets had been plowed or salted yet. It looked like a ghost town.
See Tom Run Page 18
