Hope Springs - 05 - Wedding Cake

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Hope Springs - 05 - Wedding Cake Page 17

by Lynne Hinton


  “I’m telling you that it’s just hard, complicated. A woman like Christine, she’s locked up in her mind. It’s hard to do different after you’ve lived your whole life in that kind of thinking.” Darlene shook her head. “It’s hard to change when you only know one way. And she only knows one way. She only knows violence. Look, Christine at least now knows that you’re here, and that’s important. She knows there’s a place where she can get to.”

  “And so does he.” Charlotte wiped her eyes again and then rubbed her forehead with her fingers. “Carla said she saw the lights in the driveway at two this morning. That means somebody picked her up. That was probably him, don’t you think?”

  Darlene glanced down at the floor. She knew how dangerous it was when the perpetrators knew the address of the shelter.

  “St. Mary’s has been here too long. We need another place. We need a gate and security. We need another place,” Charlotte repeated, dropping back in her chair.

  “He won’t remember where he picked her up.” Darlene tried to sound convincing. She knew, however, just like Charlotte, that these men, these violent spouses and boyfriends, would do anything, kill or hurt anybody, if they thought someone was hiding their women. When she had moved into the shelter months before there was a security guard, but due to budget cuts, they had to let him go. “He’s got what he wanted,” she added, trying to remain upbeat and positive. “He has no reason to come back.”

  Charlotte closed her eyes and massaged her temples. “I need to call the police to let them know,” she said with a sigh. “There’s likely to be another 911 call from the home address in the next few weeks.”

  She opened a drawer and pulled out a page of names and contacts. She picked up the phone and dialed a number. “I swear, doing this work really makes a woman want to stay single,” she said to Darlene as she waited for an answer on the other end of the line.

  She made the report, explaining the details to the officer on duty. When she hung up the phone, Darlene was still sitting across from her and appeared as if she wanted to talk about something.

  “So, tell me about your date with Officer Love.” She knew that Charlotte had gone out the previous night because Carla had announced it to the women at dinner. Charlotte never told anyone when she had a date, but since Carla had moved into the shelter, the women always seemed to know.

  “We had a fight,” Charlotte responded. Though she usually was not one to share details of her private life, she and Darlene had become friends over the months that Darlene had been a resident at St. Mary’s. Besides, after Christine had left in the middle of the night and after such a horrible night with Donovan, she needed to talk to someone.

  “Oh,” Darlene said, sounding surprised. “About what?” she asked.

  “My work, this place.” She rolled her eyes.

  “Carla?” Darlene added.

  Charlotte glanced up. She was glad to have Darlene as a friend, but she suddenly realized the implications of the conversation. She knew better than to talk about one resident at the shelter with another. She didn’t answer.

  “It’s okay. You don’t have to say but it’s pretty obvious,” Darlene noted. “Carla and Donovan are way too chummy for exes.”

  “You want a cup of coffee?” Charlotte asked, hoping for that line of questioning to end.

  Darlene shook her head. “You tell him how you feel?” she asked, not following suit with Charlotte. “Is that why you fought?”

  Charlotte got up from her seat and went over to the coffeepot on the small table in the corner of her office. She poured a cup and sat back down. “It’s really not a good thing for us to be discussing,” she pointed out.

  “It’s all right, I’m not saying anything to anybody,” Darlene said. “Does he know how awkward this is for you?” she asked.

  Charlotte hesitated before answering. She was tired. She had not slept much since the argument. “He feels responsible for her,” she finally replied.

  “Of course he does,” Darlene noted. “He’s her first love, her ex-husband, a police officer, and a Navajo. That’s a lot of ties that bind,” she added.

  Charlotte smiled. “All true.”

  Darlene studied Charlotte. “That doesn’t mean he loves her or wants to be back with her.”

  Charlotte shrugged, took a sip. “Honestly, I really shouldn’t be talking to you about this. It’s not professional for the executive director to be discussing one resident with another resident.”

  “I’m no longer a resident, remember? Today’s my moving day,” Darlene noted.

  Charlotte glanced up at Darlene and nodded. She had helped Darlene find an apartment in town. Darlene was enrolled in nursing classes at the community college and had been clean and sober for ten months. She had changed her last name and was starting her new life in a matter of hours. The two of them were planning to go shopping first thing that morning to purchase items for the new place. The shopping trip had been postponed, however, because of the early morning departure of the new resident. Charlotte cleared her throat. “And this should be a day of celebration, not a day of mourning or commiseration.”

  “It’s a day,” Darlene responded. “And most days have celebrations and commiserations,” she added.

  Charlotte smiled. “True,” she said.

  “So, answer me, have you told Donovan how you feel?” Darlene asked again.

  Charlotte looked at Darlene, trying to decide if she was going to talk about this with her or not. “He knows that I’m uncomfortable with the relationship,” she replied.

  Darlene nodded. “And he just thinks you’re being jealous?” she asked.

  “I don’t know exactly what he thinks,” Darlene answered. “I got a feeling that the two of them are up to something, but he won’t tell me what it is. He denies that there’s anything between them.”

  “You mean like the two of them are planning some revenge?” Darlene asked.

  Charlotte studied Darlene, trying to see if she had heard something.

  “I’m just guessing,” Darlene explained. “Carla’s not mentioned anything to me,” she added, understanding what the look on Charlotte’s face meant.

  “I don’t know. I’ve just got a funny feeling about things,” Charlotte said. “They just seem to have something important they talk about together, a lot.”

  “And you asked him about it?” Darlene was curious.

  “He said that they were just trying to figure out where she could go and what she can do to stay away from her husband.”

  There was a pause.

  “Carla has a place to go,” Darlene said.

  Charlotte shook her head. “Her sister said no. Her mother doesn’t have room. We talked about that.”

  Darlene waited. “That’s not true,” she said. “Her sister said yes.” She hesitated. “Carla said no,” she explained.

  Charlotte looked surprised but then she shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” she responded. “She gets to choose where she wants to go. She leaves when she finds suitable housing, a safe and comfortable living situation,” she added.

  “Her sister has a three-bedroom house in Farmington. She can get Carla a job at the restaurant she manages. She wants Carla to live with her because she needs help with the mortgage and her little boy.”

  This was news Charlotte hadn’t heard. She had been told that Carla’s sister had a studio apartment and that they didn’t get along and that her sister was unemployed and a deadbeat. Carla had told her that she had no possible housing opportunities with any family members.

  “She’s staying here because of Donovan,” Darlene explained.

  Charlotte shook her head. “You shouldn’t be telling me this,” she said. “I shouldn’t be talking to you about this,” she added.

  Darlene shrugged. “I just thought you should know. Carla talks way too much and she said that she didn’t want to leave Gallup just yet. She said she’s working things out with Donovan.”

  “What does that mean?” Charlott
e asked, now interested in what Darlene had to say.

  Darlene shrugged. “I don’t know. It could be what you’re thinking, something about revenge.” She stopped. “Or it could be their relationship. I get the feeling she isn’t over her first husband.”

  The two women looked at each other.

  “Well, I can’t do anything about Carla and Donovan. They need to figure things out for themselves. If they want to get back together, then they will. If they’re planning some act of vengeance against her husband, I can’t stop that either. Nothing I can say will change things.” Charlotte drank her coffee and set her cup on the desk.

  “You can tell Carla to go live with her sister,” Darlene said.

  “Because I want her away from Donovan? Because I don’t trust her alone with my boyfriend?” Charlotte asked. “I’m not that underhanded,” she said. “I just don’t work that way.”

  Darlene stretched her legs in front of her and lifted her arms high above her head, clasped her fingers together, and then dropped them behind her head. “I’m just saying, Carla isn’t telling you the truth about her sister and that living arrangement. And she’s better now and her husband is locked up. If she was anybody else, wouldn’t you have urged her to move on?”

  Charlotte thought about the question. She shook her head again. “I think I am not meant to be involved with Donovan, or with any other man, for that matter.” She stood up from her chair and sorted a few papers together, stuck them in a folder, and placed them in a box at the corner of the desk. “I know too much,” she added. “I’m not sure I can ever fully trust a man after all I’ve seen here.”

  Darlene leaned forward in her chair. “That doesn’t sound like the optimistic, hopeful shelter executive director I know. Weren’t you the one who told me I could beat my addictions to drugs and to violent men? Weren’t you the woman who said I was the only one who could decide what I wanted with my life and then go and get it? And yes, if I remember correctly, weren’t you the one who said there is enough good love out there in the world that I didn’t ever have to settle for bad love or being alone again?”

  Charlotte studied the woman sitting before her. She had, indeed, been the one to say all those things to the resident at the shelter. She had always been the one filled with hope for the women at St. Mary’s. She had always believed that life could be different for all of them if they really wanted to change. She looked away and put the contact list back in the drawer beside her.

  “We are getting ready to get you on your way to a brand-new life. You have done amazing work, and things for you are going to be different.” She picked up her purse and grabbed her car keys. “But Darlene, I’ve learned that some things don’t change.” She walked around the desk. “Maybe I’m just not meant to be in love. Maybe I’m one of those women like Christine and I’m just stuck in my thinking. And right now I’m thinking it’s not so bad being alone.”

  Darlene didn’t respond. She stood up.

  “So, let’s go get you some towels and a mop. You have a new life to start!” And Charlotte smiled and headed out the door while Darlene stood waiting. Finally she followed Charlotte, and the two of them left St. Mary’s.

  Maria’s Wedding Puffs

  1¼ cups small-curd cottage cheese

  2¼ cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

  1 small onion, minced

  ¼ teaspoon salt

  ½ cup chopped green chiles

  2 eggs

  ¾ cup water

  ¾ cup flour

  pepper to taste

  Mix first five ingredients until well blended. Chill the mix until firm. Beat together eggs, water, and pepper. Add flour and blend thoroughly. Chill this batter until thick. Form the cheese mixture into small balls. Then dip them in the batter, making sure that they are completely covered. Fry them in 3 inches of hot oil until golden. Drain and serve immediately.

  —Maria Roybal

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Well, what happened to the two of them?” Beatrice had called St. Mary’s after spending only a few hours with Charlotte, who had just come back to Hope Springs. She knew there had been a split but she had been unable to get any details from Charlotte. All Charlotte had said was that she and Donovan just decided to quit seeing each other. “Did he break up with her because she can’t cook, because she’s a minister?”

  “Isn’t she there?” Maria asked. She was very uncomfortable talking about this subject with Beatrice. She knew that Charlotte had flown back to North Carolina for her friend’s wedding renewal service. She glanced at the clock and knew that Charlotte should have been back in her hometown for a number of hours. Maria and Gilbert had taken her to Albuquerque to the airport. “Can’t you ask her these questions?”

  “Well, of course she’s here, Maria,” Beatrice huffed into the phone. “You know that. How else would I have known they broke up? And of course I have asked her these questions,” she added. “She’s just not talking.”

  “Ah,” Maria responded. “Charlotte, es la más cuidadita.”

  “Yes, she is the silent one but I need to know details,” Beatrice explained. “What happened between her and the policeman?”

  “Sister Charlotte should tell you herself,” Maria noted, trying to sound professional. She didn’t want to get in trouble again for telling too much information to Charlotte’s friends in North Carolina.

  “Maria Roybal, you know that Charlotte isn’t going to tell us anything. So fill me in, what happened with her and her officer? Was he taking money from the bad guys? Was he running some scam that she found out about?”

  Maria sighed into the phone. “Señor, perdóname,” she said, and made the sign of the cross on her chest.

  “Is it the ex-wife? It’s her, isn’t it? What, did she cause trouble again? Did they become involved?” She paused. “Wait a minute. Wasn’t she supposed to move out on her own last month?”

  “I cannot talk about the ex-wife,” Maria answered. She waited.

  “Okay, what can you talk about?” Beatrice understood Maria wouldn’t talk about Carla.

  “I can talk about a stubborn woman who would rather live her life as a lonely old maid than try to make things work with a responsible, loving man.”

  “Charlotte?” Bea responded. “She did this?” she asked. “She broke up with him?”

  “Sí’.” Maria answered. “But why?” Beatrice asked. “She is stubborn, I say.”

  “But had something happened?” Beatrice wanted to know. “Was she still upset about his first marriage?” She hesitated and then added, “That first marriage that I know you can’t talk about. Didn’t she think they were doing something together in secret? Did she catch him in a lie?”

  “You still watching dirty television movies?” Maria asked.

  “No, I am not watching dirty television movies,” Beatrice replied.

  There was a pause.

  “You get arrested for stealing the cable?” Maria asked. She had heard from Charlotte about Beatrice’s television arrangement. The two of them had laughed about it.

  “No, I did not get arrested,” Beatrice responded. There was a pause. “I just got the bill is all,” she added.

  “How much was the bill?” Maria asked.

  Beatrice cleared her throat. “We are not talking about my utilities at the moment. I want to know what happened with Charlotte and her beau. Did she catch him cheating on her?”

  “She didn’t catch him in anything.” Maria answered. “He tried to explain how he and you know who were just trying to find her a condo in Arizona and that he didn’t love her, just wanted to protect her. But Sister Charlotte would have none of it, said that they could never make it work because of their too many differences.”

  “She said that?” Beatrice asked, sounding very surprised. “Charlotte loves their differences. She made that very clear when she told me about him. Why would she say that?”

  “I don’t know for sure,” Maria replied. “But I have my thoughts,” she added.<
br />
  “Well, let’s hear them,” Beatrice responded. Maria waited, trying to decide if she should talk to Beatrice about her ideas. She knew Gilbert was tired of hearing them. She looked around to see if anyone else was listening to her conversation. No one was at the shelter. She forged ahead. “All she sees here is bad marriages that end in violence. All she sees is controlling husbands. She thinks she would end up like these girls.”

  “But the policeman wouldn’t beat her.” Beatrice paused. “Would he?” She gasped. “He didn’t hit her, did he?” she shouted.

  “No, no, no,” Maria yelled into the receiver. “Officer Sanchez would never raise his hand. It’s her. It’s Charlotte. She just doesn’t want to get hurt and all she sees is women who get hurt.” Maria made a clucking noise. “I try to get her to come to church, to the couples’ class with women her age, come to book club, see other people happy and in love, but she spends all her time here. But then, maybe I helped this happen. I said too much to her about Officer Sanchez. I should have minded my own business.”

  Beatrice thought about what Maria was saying. “When did this happen?” she asked.

  Maria hesitated. “Three weeks ago,” she replied.

  “Three weeks?” Beatrice asked, sounding surprised. “And she never said anything to me all these times we’ve talked in three weeks?” Beatrice recalled they had spoken a number of times to discuss the renewal ceremony and Charlotte’s travel itinerary. She was shocked to know that in all those conversations Charlotte had not mentioned the breakup.

  “She didn’t tell me until last weekend. I asked her if she was bringing Donovan to a party in town, it’s a carnival at my church for children, and Charlotte always goes and takes the children from the shelter. It’s a lot of fun, with nice foods like those puffs I told you about, one of those big blow-up bouncy houses with all those balloons and balls inside, and face painting and—”

  “I get it, Maria, a carnival, I get it,” Beatrice interrupted. “And that was when she said they broke up?”

 

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