Pearl by C.E. Weisman Page A

watching the shadows drift across her face. She was about to ask more, but the sound of a car engine disrupted her thoughts.
    “Do you hear that?” Vernie asked. “Why, if I know one thing, it would be that Cindy Blackwood needs a favor.”
    Cindy’s white Honda pulled into the driveway. Two bouncing children bolted from the car. Cindy stuck out a leg. Her shorts so short there was almost no point in wearing them. Her tight red tank top clashed with her hair and showed just enough cleavage to believe she was doing more than a little grocery shopping.  
    “Oh, Vernie, I need help!” she called out.
    “Got that right,” Vernie whispered to Pearl.
    Cindy glared at Pearl’s light giggle. “I have to run into town. Can you watch the kids?”
    “You know I’m always here to help,” Vernie said as the kids rushed up the steps and pounced on Vernie. “I’m awfully busy today, need to trim some hedges, but Pearl is here with me to help.”
    Cindy kept her gaze tight on Vernie. “I would really appreciate it if you watched them.”
    Pearl glared at Cindy. If Vernie approved, she’d walk right up and spit her face.  
    Vernie nodded. “I’ll be here.”
    Cindy shut the door, tearing up the engine. “Oh, Vernie, you are just the best!”
    The car sped off, leaving a cloud of dust down the gravel road. The kids ran up and down the stairs, chasing each other and tackling Vernie.  
    “All right, all right,” Vernie said with smile. “You two up and to the table. You should have a healthy snack for once.”
    Vernie stood and made her way to the door, the children already inside. Pearl sat, staring out at the speeding car.  
    “Why does she hate me so much?” Pearl mumbled.
    Vernie paused, turning from the doorway. “Why, Pearl, I thought you would have figured that out by now.”
    Pearl looked up to see Vernie smile widely in amusement. “That nasty woman doesn’t like you ’cause you up and stole her man.”
    Vernie walked through the doorway, shutting the screen door behind her. Pearl sat there, stunned, her cigarette left burning in her fingers.
     
    “Roy, when do you think we will get our own place together?” Pearl asked as she watched him dress. It was dark, and even in the coolest of summer nights the chicken coop seemed to suck all of Oregon’s hot air inside. The coop cleaned up surprisingly well, and yet the stench of rotted wood mixed with chicken feed and muck hung in the humid air. Roy had found old carpet in the shed to cover the ground with mix-and-match rugs to fill in gaps the carpet didn’t cover. He had one recliner chair with an old black and white TV set, and the same dresser from his childhood. The bed was the best part of the room. Big and full, brand new, with downy pillows that were just too hot for summer but perfect for cold winters. Lying on top of the fluffy comforter, Pearl fanned her naked body with Roy’s hat.  
    “What’s the rush, baby?” Roy cocked his head to look at her, yet his gaze always seemed to wander over her bare skin.  
    “I moved here to be with you. I just feel like I never get to see you at all.”
    The nights she spent with him became fewer and fewer. They had gone on one date since they arrived, and it was merely on a drive to an abandoned field, where they made love in the daytime in the back of his truck. She believed in Roy, trusted him completely, but after her talk with Vernie today, she began to wonder what Roy had left behind when he moved to Arizona. It made her sick to think Roy had ever been with Cindy, and it was a question she did not dare ask him. Now that it was clear that Cindy was still in love with Roy, they needed their distance. They needed off this farm to be in a place where she knew he always came home to her.  
    “Baby, you see me all the time.” He buttoned his Levi’s, the jeans that made her skin shiver. “Is this about me going out with my buddies tonight?” Roy cracked open a beer, taking a gulp and placing it on