Thunder's Shadow

by Abagail Eldan

  As if she had been following my thoughts, anxiety filled Marla’s eyes. “I’m glad you came over. We need to decide what to do about Sylvia.”

  Laurie and I both quit rocking and turned to fully face Marla. She stopped swinging and leaned forward, toward us. “I think I can get her to leave you alone,” she said to me.

  “Wish you could get her to leave me alone... or just to leave,” Laurie said.

  “I might be able to kill two birds with one stone. We’ll have to see.”

  “What’s the plan?” I asked.

  “Invite her over to your house. Don’t let her know Laurie and I will be there. Let me handle the rest.”

  Laurie’s eyes brightened at the words, and she propped her elbows on her knees. “She needs taking down a notch. I don’t understand how anybody can be so cotton-picking mean.”

  Marla’s eyes softened. “Sylvia has had a difficult life.”

  I snorted and Marla censured me with her look. I rarely argued with Marla, but I couldn’t agree with her now. “How can you say that? Her parents gave her everything she wanted!”

  Marla nodded her head, her eyes thoughtful. “True... everything she wanted but not everything she needed.”

  I was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

  “Her parents...” She cast a glance at Laurie, uncertainty in her eyes.

  Laurie grimaced. “I ain’t a child. Go ahead and say what you were gonna.”

  “Well...” She paused, her eyes darting between Laurie and me. “There were a lot of rumors. Jay knows I don’t like to gossip, but I’ll tell you, so perhaps you’ll understand. And, besides, this was more than rumors. Everyone knew.”

  Like everyone had known about my Aunt Liza... everyone but me.

  “Go ahead,” I prompted.

  Marla remained quiet for a moment, and her eyes took on a faraway look. And then she sighed.

  Chapter 23—The Plan

  Marla smiled, but her eyes remained sad. “Sylvia’s parents were involved in a scandal.”

  Laurie’s eyes widened. “A sex scandal?”

  Marla grimaced. “Yes, it was. It involved exchanging spouses at parties — well, there’s no need to go into detail. Civic leaders, our local representative, even a few church leaders, were caught up in it.”

  I was shocked, too. I’d never heard of such a thing.

  “Most of it was swept under the rug. My parents suspect the behavior is still occurring, although the couples are being more discrete. Sylvia, of course, was mortified, whether she wanted to admit it or not.” Marla scoffed. “The way her parents acted, I don’t believe they’ve ever cared for anyone but themselves. When we were younger, my parents were... friends with them. Since we were the same age, Sylvia and I spent a great deal of time together.”

  “Really?” I asked. Marla had never told me.

  Her head nodded, sorrowfully. “I never saw any affection bestowed upon her. I think my parents remained friends with them in an effort to help Sylvia. They hoped we... I... could have a good influence on her.” She shrugged her shoulders. “It didn’t work out. And it tainted my parents’ reputation. Eventually, they had to break off the friendship.”

  Laurie’s eyes became thoughtful. “Didn’t Sylvia have aunts, uncles, cousins... other family members?”

  “She does have family. However, the only ones her parents associate with are those who share the same kind of lifestyle.”

  I offered a prayer of thanks to God. My childhood had been no picnic, but I had always had Zeke, Aunt Jenny, Uncle Colt, Laurie, and William. And later Aunt Liza and Uncle Howard. God had blessed me with family who cared.

  I pushed my hair back from my face and took a sip of tea before I spoke. “It doesn’t make sense, though. If her parents were as you describe them, why would they kick Sylvia out?”

  “I’m not sure... perhaps they care about their image. They do try to retain a facade of respectability. And they do fool some people. Poor Sylvia.”

  Laurie tilted her head, and her eyes darkened. “Poor Sylvia, my foot. It don’t matter how a person’s raised. Being raised in a pigpen don’t make you a hog. You can wash yourself off and do better.”

  Marla nodded. “I agree. I’m not making excuses for Sylvia. I’m just explaining why she has made poor choices.”

  “We’re going to have to be going,” I said, before Laurie could respond to Marla’s words. “I made some cookies to take to Mr. Paul and Mr. Aaron and wanted to run by and drop them off.”

  “I wish y’all could stay longer,” Marla said.

  No matter how much she said she loved it there, it was easy to see she was lonely. It probably would do her good to have Grace move down for company. “Wish we could, too, but we’ve got to get going. Thanks for the tea.”

  “You’re welcome. When are you going to invite Sylvia over?”

  “The sooner, the better,” Laurie said darkly.

  I nodded in agreement. “Saturday, about four?”

  “I’ll be there,” Marla said.

  When we reached the bottom of the steps, I turned and saw the lonesome look in Marla’s face had returned. I moved back up. “Marla, I know you’re busy with Mr. Drake, but Laurie and I were going to organize Dr. Driscoll’s office tomorrow. Would you like to help?”

  Her face brightened. “Sure. Then, we can all have lunch together.”

  “Sounds great. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

  Laurie and I left. After we’d driven down the road a piece, Laurie spoke.

  “It doesn’t matter how much Marla tries to whitewash Sylvia, she’s...” Laurie burst into tears.

  I had never seen Laurie like this before, crying so easily. I pulled over by the side of the road, but Laurie was already brushing the tears away.

  “Sorry,” she mumbled.

  “Why are you so upset?”

  “Sylvia’s ruined my brother’s life. When he comes back from the war, there she will be, waiting to make his life miserable.”

  “You never know, Laurie. She might turn over a new leaf.”

  “I doubt it. You can’t make a purse out of a sow’s ear.”

  Secretly, I agreed with her but didn’t voice my thoughts. I pulled back on the dirt road, and we drove to the Hutchinson’s farm. A car was there ahead of us. Sylvia’s car.

  “What is Sylvia doing here?” Laurie asked.

  I shrugged. Grabbing the plate of cookies, I got out, and we headed to the front door. The sounds of giggling came from inside. Laurie and I exchanged looks before I knocked on the door.

  Mr. Aaron opened the door, and when he saw us, his cheeks reddened. He recovered his composure quickly. “You girls come on in. Sylvia dropped by to visit.”

  He ushered us in to the living room where Sylvia was sitting on the couch. She looked surprised but unembarrassed.

  “Hi, Sylvia,” I said.

  Laurie nodded in her direction but didn’t speak. I walked toward the kitchen, and Mr. Aaron followed me.

  “I made you and Mr. Paul some cookies. Just a little thank you for taking care of me.”

  “You didn’t have to do that, but thank you.” Mr. Aaron flashed me the smile, so much like Michael’s, it made my heart constrict.

  “Where’s Mr. Paul?”

  “He had to run into town for some supplies.”

  I nodded. Had Sylvia known Mr. Paul wasn’t going to be there when she came over? Had Mr. Aaron arranged for Sylvia to come over? I searched his kind eyes and couldn’t believe he was capable of that.

  “We can’t stay. I just wanted to drop the cookies off.”

  Mr. Aaron nodded. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he didn’t speak.

  Laurie came into the kitchen. “Jay, I’ve got to get home and help Momma with supper.”

  “I’m ready,” I said and followed her to the front door.

  Sylvia still sat on the couch, watching us. Neither she nor Mr. Aaron spoke to explain her presence.

  “Glad you came by,” Mr. Aaron said, alth
ough his uneasiness belied his words. “And thanks for the cookies.”

  He followed us onto the porch and stood there until we drove out of sight.

  Laurie turned wide eyes to me. “What was Sylvia doing there?”

  “I have no idea. Mr. Aaron didn’t say.”

  “You reckon she’s after him?”

  The thought had crossed my mind. “Maybe... but I hope not.”

  “It might be the other way around.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He might be after her,” Laurie said.

  “I don’t believe that.”

  “Well, most men don’t have a whole lot of sense when women like Sylvia come around.” Laurie’s face registered her disgust.

  “But he’s old enough to be her father!”

  “Sylvia will flirt with anything with pants on, and Mr. Aaron is a good-looking man.”

  I pressed my lips together. If she was after someone, why did it have to be Mr. Aaron? Michael’s uncle!

  “I hope he has more sense than to get involved with her.”

  “William didn’t have enough sense, did he?”

  “No, I guess not, but Mr. Aaron is older and hopefully wiser...”

  Surely he would not fall into the trap. But worry gnawed my stomach.

  Chapter 24—Organizing

  Marla picked Laurie and me up the next day, Friday, since her car was roomier. It took us until lunch to clean out and organize the examining room and Mr. Driscoll’s office. I waited to enlist Dr. Driscoll’s help for his desk, not daring to touch his papers without him present.

  He’d also have to help me later when we got around to the bookkeeping. We found lots of surprises in and on his desk — two bills that were long overdue, twenty dollars tucked in the back of one of the drawers, the elusive schedule at the bottom of the second drawer, and the carcass of a dead mouse under a pile of catalogues. Several pages of catalogue had been gnawed and pieces of shredded paper were everywhere. No telling how many nests were scattered around this place.

  I carried the papers we had sorted to Velma and got her to work filing them. A sour look crossed her face, but she didn’t complain.

  While I had helped Dr. Driscoll clean off his desk, Marla and Laurie pulled everything off the shelves in the examining room. Both worked quietly, rarely speaking. When I finished in Dr. Driscoll’s office, they wiped off the shelves while I sorted the supplies.

  Some of the supplies were seriously outdated. I didn’t want to throw them away without consulting Dr. Driscoll, so I packed them in boxes to be stored. Some of the equipment was broken beyond repair, and it was thrown in the trash.

  Laurie and Marla put the supplies on the shelves as I directed. I was surprised how quickly we finished. It was true that many hands made light work.

  Dr. Driscoll came in and checked on us. “Where are the gauzes?” he asked.

  I showed him.

  “The syringes, the needles?”

  “Right over there.” Before he had a chance to ask, I showed him how I had stored the rest of the supplies and explained the reasoning, how it would make it easier when working with the animals. He asked a few more questions and then nodded once.

  He pulled me aside. “Take your friends to the C&C and tell them to charge it on my account.”

  “Thank you, sir.” A smile crept across my face. “I’ll be back after lunch and tackle the bookkeeping.”

  “Fine,” he said, without smiling, and walked away.

  I found the girls around the rusty sink in the back room, washing away some of the grime.

  “Guess what, ladies?”

  “What?” Marla asked with a smile.

  Laurie’s eyes narrowed. “Go ahead and tell us. You look like the canary that swallowed the cat.”

  I laughed. “You’ve got it backwards. It’s the cat that swallowed the canary.”

  She twisted her mouth in a position of disgust. “Nope.” She watched me closely. “Definitely the canary.”

  Marla touched her arm lightly. “What’s wrong, Laurie? You sound out of sorts,”

  “Nothing.” Laurie shook her head. “Go ahead, Jay. What were you going to tell us?”

  I looked at Laurie doubtfully. What had put her in such a bad mood? I decided to ignore her for now. “We get our lunch paid for. Courtesy of Dr. Driscoll.”

  “Where?’ Laurie asked.

  “C&C’s,” I answered.

  Her eyes brightened at that. “I’ve always wanted to eat there.”

  “Great. Let me get washed up. You won’t believe the disgusting things I found on Dr. Driscoll’s desk.”

  Marla’s silvery laugh filled the small room. “We probably have a good idea, don’t we Laurie?”

  Laurie glumly nodded, her better mood already evaporating. I scrubbed my hands and arms and splashed water on my face. Thankfully, Marla had had the good sense to bring clean rags, so I was able to dry off without fear of using the towels hanging near the sink. No telling what might be lingering on them.

  I hesitated before we went out. “Do you think we need to invite Velma?”

  Marla’s yes-that-would-be-nice response was overridden with Laurie’s forceful “no.” Marla and I exchanged glances, but I thought it best not to pursue the why right now — not where Velma might overhear us.

  We had a good lunch, and Laurie’s spirits improved. There really wasn’t a lot left for Marla and Laurie to do, so Marla decided to drive Laurie home and then come back for me. They left, and I returned to the office.

  Velma still shuffled through the papers. I didn’t see Dr. Driscoll around — he must have also gone to lunch.

  I leaned on the countertop. “Do you need any help?”

  “No, thanks.” Her red lips firmly closed after she spoke.

  I was at a loss of what to do, not being able to start on the bookkeeping until Dr. Driscoll returned. I supposed I could clean up the sink and the area around it. After rummaging around in the back and not finding any cleaning supplies, I headed to the front again. “Velma, do we have anything to clean the sink with?”

  “Not that I know of. Suppose you could go buy something.”

  “Do you have petty cash?”

  “Petty cash?”

  “Yes. Small amounts of money kept on the premises for times like this.”

  “No. You’ll have to speak to Uncle... Dr. Driscoll.”

  “All right. Are you sure you don’t need help? I’ve run out of jobs to do, until he gets back.”

  She grimaced but forced a smile. “Pull up a chair.”

  I got the straight-back, cowhide chair from her uncle’s office and dragged it around the counter. After settling in and plastering a smile on, I turned to her. “What would you like for me to do?”

  “You’re the one in charge,” she said with a sneer.

  “Did I do something wrong, Velma? If I did, I’m sorry. I’m just trying to help your uncle...”

  She studied my face for a moment before dropping her eyes. “I’m sorry. It’s not you.”

  “What’s wrong, then?” I waited patiently for her to answer.

  “I didn’t realize Laurie was your cousin.”

  “Oh.” Obviously, something was amiss between the two. I was at a loss at what it could be. Laurie was feisty but I couldn’t imagine her deliberately hurting anyone.

  Velma sighed and ran a hand through her thick blonde hair, in its page-boy cut. “We double-dated one time.”

  My mouth fell open. Laurie had never mentioned a boy to me, had never expressed an interest in a boy. I had no idea she ever dated. I tried to imagine it but failed to get an image of my tomboy, pigtailed cousin out on a date.

  Anger crossed Velma’s face as her gaze slipped to beyond my shoulder, as if she relived the experience. “My boyfriend is five years older than I am...” Her eyes refocused on me. “I think your cousin is still in high school?”

  “Yes. She graduates this year.” I looked down at my hands and mumbled, “If she quits skipping sc
hool.”

  “What?”

  I waved a hand. “Nothing. Go on with your story.” I couldn’t wait to hear what Laurie had done.

  “That means Walter is eight years older than she is. I had no idea he would be interested in her... I mean, look at her and look at me.” Her eyes widened in horror, and she placed a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that about your cousin.”

  I understood her confusion. Why would a guy find Laurie, with her sprinkling of freckles, her braids, her country talk, more attractive than Velma with her flawless makeup and painted nails? I was at a loss, too.

  “How was it you were double dating with Laurie and... who was she with?”

  “Oh, Jack someone. Walter met him hunting, and they hit it off. Anyway, we went to dinner and the picture show.” She gritted her teeth.

  Jack... she must mean Jack Watson. He was in Laurie’s class. “You don’t mean she flirted with your boyfriend...”

  “Walter. No...” Wrinkles appeared across her forehead as she drew her brows together. “I don’t think your cousin knows how to flirt.”

  I laughed. I couldn’t help it. I shook my head. “No, I can’t imagine her flirting.”

  “But they hit it off. Walter said that she was just a kid... that he wasn’t going to date her. I was so jealous, I said some things I shouldn’t have. Anyway, I haven’t seen Laurie since that night... that was over a year ago, not until today. Walter and I are still dating, but he’s changed.”

  “I’m sure you have nothing to worry about. Laurie is just a kid.” Did I really believe that? She was only a couple of years younger than me... but she seemed much younger.