swear out a complaint.”
“Hell, he enjoyed it. Do you know something? Outside of trying to tell the county police fifteen years ago and Joe, you’re the first person I’ve ever told this to? It became sort of a point of honor to keep it to myself. I guess I told you because … of the clippings and the diary and those scraps you had over me. Now tell me about yourself, Betty. I want to know about my fan club of one.”
“I … I’m not the dramatic one in my family. I’m just a big healthy uncomplicated horse. After I got out of school in Gainesville I came back here and went to work in the yard. I’m sort of a top sergeant or general manager or something. Buddy bosses all the shop work and I take care of everything else. Buddy and I live with mother at the same old house on Grove Road. Johnny Geer rents a room from mother, and we pay our share of the board.”
“Work, and go swimming?”
“And sailing, Alex. In my little Thistle. Called the
Lady Bird
. And that’s about it. It’s enough. We’re all sort of trying to recover from … what happened.”
“I’m very sorry about it, Betty.”
She shrugged. “I guess something was going to happen to her. Nobody knew what it would be. But I do wish it hadn’t been this. Somebody did it. They may be still around. Pretty spooky. Buddy and I have talked about her. I guess we loved her, but not very much. You can’t love anybody who doesn’t want love, who won’t accept it.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve goofed off too long.”
“Come back, will you? Any time at all.”
[unclear] at the yard.”
“I will. And leave your gear here. It isn’t in my way.”
[unclear] right.”
He walked out to the jeep with her. She turned and shook hands with him. Her hand was solid, her gripstrong but feminine. “Hope you’ll stay around a while, Alex.”
“I hope so too.”
“I guess you knew Jenna … pretty well.”
It was a hesitant question and he saw a look of uneasiness, almost of pain, in her eyes before she looked away.
“We were in the same crowd, but I wasn’t somebody special to her. Why?”
“I don’t know. I was just talking.”
“Did they find her very far from this cottage?”
She slid under the wheel and looked up at him. “You can ask questions, Alex, and they’ll be answered because you’re from Ramona. But it isn’t a very healthy place for strangers who come around prying. It’s all over and the town wants it to be forgotten. There was some very … strong meat written. At first the town was excited, but now it’s kind of ashamed. We kept the worst of it away from mother, thank God. And I guess Celia kept Colonel M’Gann from seeing much of it. It wasn’t far from this cottage, Alex. About three hundred yards south. Just opposite that stand of three big Australian pines.”
“How is Colonel M’Gann taking it?”
“I wouldn’t know. Celia wants no part of the Larkin family, and what Celia wants, Celia gets. Not one of us has seen the colonel since … it happened. And I guess that suits Celia perfectly. Her dear brother married so far beneath him. Sorry, but she makes me want to spit. See you later, Alex.”
He watched the jeep until it went out of sight around a bend. At the last moment she looked back and waved. He was pleasured by the picture it made, the faded blue jeep and the spume of white shell dust behind it, and her vivid hair and the warm brown of shoulders and arms and the red of the blouse. As he reached the back door he heard the bridge timbers again after she turned on to the causeway.
He took another can of cool beer out on the porch and he wondered why he felt so utterly relaxed, felt such inner peace. And he decided that telling her the truth had been for him a kind of therapy he had not realized he needed so badly. It was like retching away something that had lain sour and heavy on his stomach. And he thought of the tall spindly child fighting so fiercely for him, and it made him
“Hell, he enjoyed it. Do you know something? Outside of trying to tell the county police fifteen years ago and Joe, you’re the first person I’ve ever told this to? It became sort of a point of honor to keep it to myself. I guess I told you because … of the clippings and the diary and those scraps you had over me. Now tell me about yourself, Betty. I want to know about my fan club of one.”
“I … I’m not the dramatic one in my family. I’m just a big healthy uncomplicated horse. After I got out of school in Gainesville I came back here and went to work in the yard. I’m sort of a top sergeant or general manager or something. Buddy bosses all the shop work and I take care of everything else. Buddy and I live with mother at the same old house on Grove Road. Johnny Geer rents a room from mother, and we pay our share of the board.”
“Work, and go swimming?”
“And sailing, Alex. In my little Thistle. Called the
Lady Bird
. And that’s about it. It’s enough. We’re all sort of trying to recover from … what happened.”
“I’m very sorry about it, Betty.”
She shrugged. “I guess something was going to happen to her. Nobody knew what it would be. But I do wish it hadn’t been this. Somebody did it. They may be still around. Pretty spooky. Buddy and I have talked about her. I guess we loved her, but not very much. You can’t love anybody who doesn’t want love, who won’t accept it.” She looked at her watch. “I’ve goofed off too long.”
“Come back, will you? Any time at all.”
[unclear] at the yard.”
“I will. And leave your gear here. It isn’t in my way.”
[unclear] right.”
He walked out to the jeep with her. She turned and shook hands with him. Her hand was solid, her gripstrong but feminine. “Hope you’ll stay around a while, Alex.”
“I hope so too.”
“I guess you knew Jenna … pretty well.”
It was a hesitant question and he saw a look of uneasiness, almost of pain, in her eyes before she looked away.
“We were in the same crowd, but I wasn’t somebody special to her. Why?”
“I don’t know. I was just talking.”
“Did they find her very far from this cottage?”
She slid under the wheel and looked up at him. “You can ask questions, Alex, and they’ll be answered because you’re from Ramona. But it isn’t a very healthy place for strangers who come around prying. It’s all over and the town wants it to be forgotten. There was some very … strong meat written. At first the town was excited, but now it’s kind of ashamed. We kept the worst of it away from mother, thank God. And I guess Celia kept Colonel M’Gann from seeing much of it. It wasn’t far from this cottage, Alex. About three hundred yards south. Just opposite that stand of three big Australian pines.”
“How is Colonel M’Gann taking it?”
“I wouldn’t know. Celia wants no part of the Larkin family, and what Celia wants, Celia gets. Not one of us has seen the colonel since … it happened. And I guess that suits Celia perfectly. Her dear brother married so far beneath him. Sorry, but she makes me want to spit. See you later, Alex.”
He watched the jeep until it went out of sight around a bend. At the last moment she looked back and waved. He was pleasured by the picture it made, the faded blue jeep and the spume of white shell dust behind it, and her vivid hair and the warm brown of shoulders and arms and the red of the blouse. As he reached the back door he heard the bridge timbers again after she turned on to the causeway.
He took another can of cool beer out on the porch and he wondered why he felt so utterly relaxed, felt such inner peace. And he decided that telling her the truth had been for him a kind of therapy he had not realized he needed so badly. It was like retching away something that had lain sour and heavy on his stomach. And he thought of the tall spindly child fighting so fiercely for him, and it made him
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