Wall of Silence

by Dorey Whittaker

  “Mrs. Reiner, where is Steve these days? I don’t see photos of him all grown up.”

  A pained look crossed Mrs. Reiner’s face but was quickly replaced with a gentle acceptance as she said, “The summer after his graduation, Steve was kind of lost. He would never tell me what had happened that changed his outlook on life so drastically, but a mother knows when something is wrong. He had loved baseball his whole life, but suddenly it no longer mattered to him. He had been offered a partial scholarship to the city college but, for some reason, he wanted to get away from here.”

  Looking over at the last photo she had of Steve, she continued. “Soon after your dad was taken away, my Steve joined the Marines and went off to boot camp. I got several letters from him, and he sounded like things were getting better, but then one weekend he and a friend took a motorcycle ride into town, lost control of the bike and slid in front of a big semi. They were both killed.”

  “I’m so very sorry; I didn’t know. I liked Steve. He was always kind to Lisa and me.” Then, wanting to change the subject, she said, “Mrs. Reiner, I wanted to thank you for sending that lovely candy dish. It was so nice of you to do that. I was wondering—I know it’s short notice—but I would love it if you would come to our wedding this Saturday.”

  “It would be my pleasure.” Mrs. Reiner beamed. “I’m so glad that you found such a nice young man. We knew it was pretty hard for you over there.” She nodded in the direction of next door. “I had called the police so many times they started threatening me with harassment, until that one night. I never understood why they let your father get away with so much before they finally did something. How is your family?”

  Being quite sure Mrs. Reiner didn’t know about her dad going back to prison, she didn’t intend to bring that up. “Mother is fine. She lives downtown and still has her same job.”

  Mrs. Reiner sensed that Susan did not want to talk about her family, but she wanted to let this young girl know that she had tried. “You know, I always felt guilty that I couldn’t do anything for you girls. The whole neighborhood was afraid of your father, and the police were not doing anything about him. It’s good that times have changed a little. I think today, if something like that was going on, the police would do something a little more quickly.”

  “Well, let’s hope so anyway.” Susan forced a polite smile but made it obvious she didn’t want to discuss the past. Her feelings were already a little raw, and Mrs. Reiner, sensing this, quickly changed the subject. They visited for a few more minutes, and then, as they were leaving, Susan handed her the invitation. “I do hope you can come. It would be nice to have someone at my wedding who knew me as a child.”

  Assuring them she would indeed come to the wedding, she watched them drive away, and thought, I wonder whatever happened to her older sister. I’m curious if Susan even knows where Lisa is these days.

  Chapter 16

  Susan and Carol Anne spent Thursday evening packing Susan’s suitcase and going over the different lists of things they needed to remember. There was everything going to the plantation, things for the honeymoon, things Carol Anne had to bring back home after the wedding, and the list of everyone Susan wanted to be sure to personally thank during the reception.

  “I’m afraid I’ll be so emotional at the wedding that I’ll forget someone. There are so many people who have helped make this day special I want to remember to thank every one of them during the reception, not just in a note later.”

  They hung her wedding gown from the canopy, laid out on the bed all the undergarments she would need, and placed her shoes on the floor. Her headpiece was laid across the pillow, and just as they were sure they had everything accounted for, there came a knock at the door. Fearing someone might see the wedding gown, Carol Anne blocked the door and asked, “Who is it?”

  “It’s me, Scott. Don’t worry, I know I’m not allowed in, but Susan, can you come out for a few minutes? I haven’t had five minutes alone with you in days.”

  His sister and mother had kept them both busy all week with lists of things to do. Even with everyone’s help, there were still many last minute details to handle. Even when they were together they were busy doing wedding things.

  “I’m trying on some new clothes, Scott,” Susan shouted. “Give me five minutes, okay?”

  Not wanting him to see any of the cute outfits she had bought for the honeymoon, she slipped on a pair of jeans and the USC sweatshirt Carol Anne had given her and headed downstairs.

  Scott gave her a kiss as they met in the kitchen. “I know you have lots to do tonight, and we’re both going to be very busy tomorrow. I need five minutes with you without doing wedding stuff. Let’s go out back where we won’t be interrupted.”

  The past few days had been hard on Scott, and Susan could see that he was tired. He had three very important projects at work that he was trying to finish before they left.

  They walked out to the pool and sat on the swing. She could almost feel his exhaustion, and it worried her. “Are you all right?”

  “Sure, what makes you ask?”

  “You seem terribly tired,” Susan said. “We don’t need you getting sick right before the wedding.”

  She knew he was working on something important and the pressure was really getting to him. “I honestly don’t mind if we have to postpone our honeymoon. We can do it later if there’s a problem with work.”

  Hearing Susan suggest postponing their honeymoon was more painful than he could have imagined. He stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the swing. “Susan, I’m trying my hardest to get these contracts settled so that doesn’t happen. These people are playing hardball, and if I can’t get them to settle by tomorrow, I can’t leave town. It would cost my father a lot of money, but even more importantly, it would cost lots of our employees their jobs. I just can’t do that to them.”

  He was obviously very upset about this, and she felt awful that she had been so busy all week she hadn’t noticed the tension on his face. “Scott, we can go later in the summer. We don’t have to go right now. Please, I don’t want you to worry about disappointing me. I’m fine with it, honest.”

  “Honey, I knew you’d understand, and I do appreciate your attitude. I so wanted everything to be perfect. There still is a faint chance we can close this tomorrow morning, but I can’t push too hard or I’ll give us away. I don’t dare let them get wind of our wedding and honeymoon plans or they’ll really use that against us in a squeeze play. I’m so sorry about this, but I couldn’t wait until we got to the plantation to tell you the honeymoon might be off.”

  “Sweetheart, we’ll still have a honeymoon. It just won’t be in Manhattan. As long as we’re together, that’s all I want.”

  They sat on the swing for an hour talking about their dreams and enjoying being together. He was so proud of her. He had known she would take the news well, but he was going to do everything in his power to get that contract signed tomorrow.

  As he walked her back to the house, he took her in his arms, kissed her, and whispered, “The next time I see you, young lady, will be at our rehearsal. This has been a very long seven months. I can’t really believe it’s almost here. I need to get some sleep because tomorrow I’ll need my wits about me. Good night, sweetheart. I love you.”

  As she quietly headed up the stairs, she decided she would continue packing as if they were going, not mentioning the honeymoon problem to Carol Anne. She knew Scott was upset about it, and there was no reason for anyone else to know.

  She and Carol Anne packed and talked until almost one o’clock in the morning. When they climbed into bed, confident that everything that possibly could be forgotten was on a list, and every list had been checked at least twice, they turned off the lights. They continued to talk for another hour or so; they both were much too excited to sleep.

  ***

  Friday morning was slow in starting for the girls. Since they had plenty of time today, they had decided not to set the alarm. They
had everything under control and, besides, they could not check into their cabin at the plantation until two o’clock.

  The smell of coffee and fresh rolls greeted them. They tried to stay in bed, going over everything that was going to happen that day, but their stomachs were responding to the wonderful smells coming up from the kitchen. They finally got up around nine and headed downstairs.

  Mrs. Thomas had been up for hours. She had squeezed fresh orange juice and made cinnamon rolls and coffee. The three of them sat in the kitchen, enjoying the peace and quiet, knowing everything was well in hand. Susan looked over at the clock and realized Scott would be walking into that important meeting right about then. She quietly closed her eyes and asked God to be with him. She wasn’t asking God to save their honeymoon. She wanted Scott to remain calm and not let the outcome of that meeting spoil the wedding for him.

  By one o’clock they had everything in the van. Mrs. Thomas stood there looking at the van and started to laugh. “With all these clothes hanging everywhere, boy am I glad I decided to take all the decorations out to the plantation yesterday. There would not have been any room for us to sit.”

  Carol Anne did not want to take any chances that her brother would see the wedding gown before the ceremony. “Mom, it’s after one. We need to get all this stuff in the cabin before Scott shows up, so we’d better get going.”

  She was so anxious to see her brother’s face the first time he saw his bride in her dress. Not even Caroline had seen it. Helen Browden had carefully wrapped it at the shop and had arranged for one of her workers to come out to the plantation Saturday morning and steam press it. She was so thankful for how well the ad display had come out and she wanted to make sure the dress was absolutely perfect on Susan’s wedding day.

  The girls spent the afternoon walking around the grounds, greeting the bridesmaids and groomsmen as they arrived, and then they hurried to dress for the rehearsal dinner. Just before getting dressed, Susan noticed Scott’s car pulling in the drive and wondered how his day had gone. While all the girls giggled and told stories of love and romance, Susan’s mind was on Scott. She knew he would not allow his disappointment to ruin this time for her, but she wanted to somehow convince him she didn’t care if the honeymoon was postponed. As she pondered her dilemma, the phone suddenly rang.

  Before she had a chance to answer, she heard Scott’s voice. “Ms. Miller, would you care to join me under the weeping willow tree in about fifteen minutes? I have checked with the manager, and the entire wedding party has checked in, so we’re all here and ready to go.”

  She couldn’t tell if Scott was really this happy or if he was simply putting on an act for her. Either way she wasn’t going to ask any questions. There would be time enough for bad news. Right now they were going to relax and have a great time.

  “Scott, I thought the plan was that we would all meet at five.”

  “That’s right. Everyone else will come at five. I want you there fifteen minutes earlier. So tell my sister to stay with the others and you come alone. Sweetheart, do you realize this is the very last night I will have to kiss you goodbye at the end of the evening?”

  There was such laughter in his voice that it almost made her want to cry. What a change from last night.

  “If I only have fifteen minutes I’d better hurry. I love you, Scott.”

  She quickly explained to the girls that she was going on ahead. This made them all start giggling again. This was going to be a fun night, and everyone was excited.

  Scott was leaning against the willow when she walked up. Because of the barbecue, tonight’s dress was casual and Scott looked great. He had on new dress jeans, a white shirt, and a tan jacket. His hair was blond with a slight curl to it, and his blue eyes were simply shining as she walked up to him.

  She loved to tease him, and he was so cute tonight. “Hello, handsome. You doing anything for the next sixty years or so?”

  “As a matter of fact, I’m going to be rather busy. You see, I have this girl. She and I are going to be very busy loving each other.” Standing there looking at his bride-to-be, Scott could hardly take a breath. “I can’t believe it’s here. I’m scared I’ll wake up and find out it’s another one of my dreams. I’ve been doing that a lot these past few months. Why don’t you come here and give me a kiss so I can be sure this is real?”

  After a minute or so, Scott cleared his throat. Taking a slender box out of his inside jacket pocket, he looked into those eyes he had come to cherish. “Susan, I wanted to get you something special as a wedding gift. Something that represented how I feel.”

  Opening the box, she discovered an exquisite pearl necklace. She lifted it out, gently rubbing her finger across the pearls. “Oh, Scott, this is gorgeous. Would you mind if I wore these tomorrow on our wedding day?”

  “That’s why I wanted to give them to you tonight. By the way, I have some news for you. Because I was stressing out and pushing so hard to get those guys to close the deal, they were pushing back. After I told you about maybe delaying the honeymoon, I was able to walk into that meeting more clearheaded. Actually, what really happened was that when I lightened up and didn’t push, they thought I knew something that might stop the deal for them and they started pushing to sign the contracts. Everything was signed and in Dad’s hands by noon. We’re going to Manhattan! Thank you for being so understanding. Not every girl would have reacted as you did.”

  A few minutes later, the rest of the wedding party came walking up. Mr. Thomas, seeing the happy couple passionately kissing, oblivious to anyone else, cleared his throat very loudly and said, “Why don’t you save some of that for tomorrow, son?”

  “Oh, there will be plenty left for tomorrow and every tomorrow after that.” With all the teasing he had been getting, Scott was getting good at comebacks. “If everyone’s here, let’s get this rehearsal started.”

  Mrs. Randal walked everyone through the entry three times, making sure they all understood where they belonged. She then turned the rehearsal over to Reverend Allan, who began reviewing the actual ceremony. When everyone was satisfied they knew exactly what they were to do, the rehearsal was over.

  Mr. Thomas then stood up and announced, “It is now Mrs. Thomas’s and my pleasure to invite everyone down to the gazebo for dinner. I don’t know about the rest of you, but that barbecue smell has been driving me absolutely crazy for hours. Let’s eat!”

  All in all, the evening was a total success. Everyone had a good time. The food was great, the weather perfect, and the atmosphere intoxicating. By eleven, the party was winding down, and almost everyone was back in their room. Scott and Susan decided to take a short walk down by the lake before saying good night. As they walked along the water, they talked about how the evening had gone. They laughed at how efficient Mrs. Randal had been and how much fun she was having. They were also thankful for all her hard work. She had handled details they would have overlooked.

  The full moon’s shimmering light across the lake was spectacular. It was so quiet. All you could hear was the occasional hoot of an owl or a distant sound of a dog and the soothing sound of the water slapping against the trunk of an old fallen tree. They sat on the log and listened to the night sounds.

  Scott mused, “In fourteen more hours, you and I will be man and wife.”

  They talked until almost midnight, and then Scott walked Susan to her cabin and kissed her good night. “The next time I see you will be when you are walking down the aisle to me. I hope I don’t start crying. You’d better keep that big beautiful smile on your face or I’ll fall apart.”

  She loved this about him. He wasn’t afraid to show his emotions. Scott was so sentimental about everything related to love.

  With one final good night kiss, he headed to his room a very happy man.

  Chapter 17

  Saturday morning, Susan was stirred by the sound of workers pounding tent stakes into the ground. She lay there for a moment or two, realizing this was her wedding day and that noise was
a very sweet sound. Carol Anne was still asleep, so Susan slipped out of bed and sat by the window, watching the men as they lifted the huge white tent canopy into place.

  The morning was barely started, but the birds were excited by the men’s activity and were singing and chirping. The sky was a clear brilliant blue, and azalea bushes, lining either side of the grassy meadow, created a colorful and fragrant frame. One could imagine the huge weeping willow tree standing at the far end was like a master, keeping charge over everything.

  She remembered the first Saturday Scott, Carol Anne, and she had driven up here looking for treasures. They had stopped to watch a lovely wedding taking place here. She remembered watching that bride as she walked from this very cabin and headed for the canopy. Now it was her turn. Today she was the bride, and Scott was going to be waiting for her.

  Carol Anne woke up and noticed Susan peeking out the window. “Good morning, Susan.

  Happy wedding day. Is the canopy up yet?”

  Susan turned from the window, jumped on the bed, and gave her best friend a big hug. This was the day she had been waiting for. Today she would belong to Scott, and he would belong to her. Never again would she feel alone and lost. “You take your time waking up, Carol Anne. I’m going to jump in the shower before breakfast so I’ll be ready when the hairdresser shows up at ten o’clock. We aren’t to go to breakfast until eight o’clock, so when I get out of the shower, there will still be plenty of time to call the girls and make sure they’re up and moving.”

  Carol Anne climbed out of bed and peeked out the window. “Isn’t it great that they put the bride’s cabin right at the back edge of the meadow? This way you can see how everything is coming along without anyone seeing you. You’ll be able to watch the guests arriving and hear the music. I’ve been in three weddings, and every time the bride was closed up in some room away from everything. None of them could hear the soloist. This is perfectly wonderful, but you’d better get in that shower. We don’t want time getting away from us today. Scott would never forgive me if I didn’t keep you on schedule.”