Chapter Four

 

A sweet couple in their sixties ran the motel in town. The rooms were well kept and there was a pool out back. There wasn’t much to it, 10 rooms and a common area with a television and a couple of tables where guests could eat breakfast. The couple lived in the house next door.

“Are you in town for long?” Asked the old man behind the counter with a scuffed-up voice while signing her in.

“Not long! I had car trouble. I’m waiting for them to fix it. I don’t know exactly how long it’s going to take.”

“Oh, I see” said the man. He handed her the keys. “Well, you can pay day by day if you wish. There’s toast, yogurt, eggs, and some fruit in the fridge if you want breakfast. You can help yourself. Over there, you’ve got tea and coffee and in the cupboard, is cereal, oatmeal, beans. And, there’s your microwave and toaster.”

“Great! Thank you.”

“Let us know if you need anything, darling. I’m Ed and my wife is Carole. She’s doing some laundry right now, but you’ll meet her soon enough.”

Thank you, Ed. I’m Brook.”

“You have yourself a good evening, Brook.”

“You too Ed.”

Although the motel was small, it was actually fresh and homely. It had a working shower and she had spent long enough in there to wash away the grit, dirt, and grime of a couple days on the road plus the added adventure of Evansville. The warm water trickling down her nearly perfect young body was soothing, all the grim from the past two days washed away. Her hair had been a mess since she had been driving with the top down, although pulled up and clipped into a bun. She streaked her hair every monthly visit at Layers, a posh and trendy salon for the younger crowd, where she went with her besties to hang. They had their hair done and got “mani/pedis” while chatting and flipping through their phones talking about the latest trends. The thought made her open her eye, with the water dripping down from the top of her head, she realized she was no longer in the lap of luxury. Maybe I’ll get a manicure tomorrow, she thought.

She sat on her bed, slowly dosing off while watching television. She didn’t realize until then how tired she really was. It was nice to get out of those sticky clothes. Her skin was still warm underneath the robe from the steamy shower. Even though it was only seven o’clock, Brook turned off the lights and slid under the covers. Ah! She thought. She went to sleep feeling much better than she did when she woke up that morning.

 

***

 

It was early morning and Brook was just squirming around under her blanket, slowly stretching her arms and legs, feeling revived. She slept better than she had slept in months. Being with Brad was exhausting. She felt like she had aged quite a bit being married to him. Only now was she starting to feel like a young woman again. She jumped out of bed, feeling pretty good, pulled out some clothes she had stuffed into her bag, and had even found time to add a little make-up. Just her eyes, nothing more. But it was enough to make her feel good. Her hair now smelt sweet and fresh rather than like someone had smeared a packet of burnt grease through it. Maybe she was exaggerating but whatever, she actually felt great.

She made her way to the common area and made herself a bowl of oatmeal. She sat quietly watching the sunrise over the mountains top in the distance. It was nearly seven in the morning. The sound of a door opening in the kitchen area and footsteps and humming, then the sound of the fridge door opening and closing. The person was carrying paper boxes and plastic bags by the sound of it. Carole walked into the common area and saw Brook at the table eating.

“Oh! Good morning there!” Carole was a loud talker, almost shouting all her words as though the other person couldn’t hear her, when in fact, it was Carole that was hard of hearing. Carole wore a hearing aid but never had it set right. “I’m Carole, you must be Brook, I help run this place. Ed told me you came in last night.”

“Yes! Good morning.”

“What are you eating there?” She looked over at Brook’s bowl. “Let me fix you up some eggs and toast.”

“Oh, that’s okay, you don’t have to do that.”

“Nonsense, it’s my pleasure! And it’s going to taste better than that sad bowl of oatmeal you’re eating. Do you like white bread or brown?” She turned on the stove and put a pot of coffee on.

“Brown.”

Carole popped the bread into the toaster.

“How do you like your eggs?”

“Sunnyside. But I’m not picky.”

“Sunnyside, it is.” Carole yells out the order as though she were a short order cook. She fried the eggs with a great big smile, humming some tune, Brook could not recognize.

Carole brought over the eggs and toast with a basket of individual sized pre-packaged butter. Brook grabbed a set of cutleries from bins by the toaster. Carole had some work to do but thought the thing to do was to sit down. She grabbed herself a yogurt from the fridge and sat down to keep Brook company, at least for a few minutes.

“Are you here on business?” Carole’s voice filled the large empty room of the common area.

“Oh, no!” laughed Brook. “Why do you ask?”

“That’s what Ed thought. He said you looked fancy. But now, I see, I think he meant pretty.”

“No, my car broke down, I was driving through town, just driving.”

“Just driving, eh? I hope driving to someplace.” She laughed. “Since you’re here, take advantage of the pool we have out back. It’s going to be a hot week.”

“Oh, I would but I didn’t pack a bathing suit.”

“There’s a shop in town, I’m sure they will have something in your size. And there is a mall in the next town. It’s got lots of shops for young girls like you, if you can get there, that is. No skinny dipping! I don’t like my Ed looking at naked women, not even myself!” She let out a loud chuckle as she got up from the table.”

Brook laughed “I’ll check out the shops. Thank you.”

“Have a great day, dear.” Carole made her way to the kitchen to continue her morning chores.

“Thanks, you too!”

 

***

 

Brook decided to head into town, even though she thought it might be too early and that everything would be closed. The sun had lighted up the streets, someone was walking their dog and waved at her from across the way. She waved back and smiled. It was a beautiful morning for a stroll. The air was warm with a nice soft breeze rattling the leaves in the trees. Brook, still had no plan but for the first time since she left home, she didn’t have a care in the world. She could hear a car driving up behind her, it slowed and stopped next to her. It was Sheryl from the diner. Sheryl rolled down the passenger window.

“Good morning, it’s me, Sheryl, from the diner?”

“Good morning. Hi.”

Sheryl reached across the passenger seat to shake her hand. “You want a ride?”

Brook smiled. Although she was enjoying her walk, it was nice to have some company. “Sure! Thanks.” She got into Sheryl’s old mustang and they started driving.

“So, I hear your car is in real bad shape. Don’t worry, though. If anyone can fix it, it’s Deacon. Uh! That man.” Sheryl jumped at the opportunity to talk about Deacon. This was probably her only chance, since she’s got her in the car, alone.

“Yes, that’s what I heard. But it might take a while, though.”

“Oh, well Deacon has never been the same since his wife died. He used to be faster at his job. Back then, he was on fire.” Sheryl loved to gossip.

“He lost his wife? He was married?” Brook did not consider Deacon’s history nor that it could affect her in any way.

“Yes! His high school sweetheart. They were married for five years.”

“How did she die?”

“A freak car accident.” Sheryl turned and looked Brook straight in the eye, as though she was reporting something major. “Deacon blamed himself. He never got over it.”

“Why would he blame himself? What happened?”

Sheryl now has her full attention, which she loved. She enjoyed dangling a piece of juicy gossip in front of people until they bit, then she knew their full attention was on her. “Well, being a mechanic and all, he should have been able to fix her car properly. Something about the wheel shaft seizing, the wheel popped off, she lost control of the brakes and ran right into a semi.” Again, looking over at Brook with her eyes wide open, as though the news would shock the other person. Of course, Sheryl had a way of embellishing her stories and glaze over the facts.

“Oh, my God!” Brook was in disbelief and completely fell for Sheryl’s drama.

“Um, I know. It was awful. Everybody in town was shocked. Some say he was guilty of manslaughter. Like he did it on purpose because they had been fighting.” Sheryl embellished just a little more, looking for an angle in the story that she could lead Brook into seeing the bad side of Deacon. But Brook didn’t fall for it.

“Well, an accident is an accident.”

Since she didn’t bite, Sheryl immediately agreed. “That’s what I say! It was just an accident!” She continued to look for another angle. Deacon was never the same after that. I mean, he was des-troy-ed.” She put emphasis on the word and looked over at Brook to see her reaction. “He started drinking again and getting into fights with everybody.”

“Really?” Brook was intrigued. She was interested in what Deacon was like. He was a mystery to her thus far.

“Well, Deacon was always a drunk. I mean, he would drink morning, noon, and night. And he got violent when he was drunk.” Sheryl changed to a more serious tone now. “I mean, no one knew what went on in that house.” She added. Sheryl knew very well that Deacon loved Annabelle with all his might and never laid a hand on her. But she wanted to plant a seed in Brook’s mind. Since it was true that no one knew what went on in that house, Sheryl thought it was okay to say it. She wanted to talk more but it was a short drive into town. They had driven pass the diner and reached the main intersection. She turned to Brook. “Well, where can I drop ya?”

Brook shook her head in disarray from the story and tried to gather her thoughts. She couldn’t believe that Deacon had a history of hitting his wife. She was disappointed to hear that her sexy mechanic turned out to be a bum. “Oh, I can get off here, I really have no plans.”

“Well, nothing’s open until 9 AM, except for the church and the diner. We open at eight. You comin’ in for breakfast?”

“Uh, I’m not sure. Maybe later. Thanks for the ride!”

“It’s my pleasure!” Sheryl smiled with pleasure. She was happy with herself.

 

***

 

Brook walked into the church after moments of hesitation on the street corner. She had been feeling good, her thoughts were getting clearer and she had a date to look forward to. Now, all of that clarity and hope was knocked out from underneath her. She wasn’t sure about anything and found herself lost once again.

The church was dimly lighted. She slowly walked down the nave and sat down on a bench near the middle. She was alone. Maybe I should pray, she thought. Dear God, please help me—. At that moment, the priest walked in. He went to put his bible and notes up on the podium in preparation for Saturday morning mass, which began at 10 AM. “Oh, hello.” Father Mathew spotted Brook.

“Hello. Uh, I was just—”

He walked up to her. “No need to worry my child. Are you here for the morning mass?”

“No, father. I was just—”

“Trying to pray?”

“Yes.”

“Yes, of course. Don’t let me bother you.”

“Except, I don’t really know what to say.”

Father Mathew had seen this many times. Those who didn’t quite know how to pray, really just needed someone to talk to. He sat down next to her. “You can start with me if that makes it easier.”

“Well, I was feeling pretty good. I mean, not great. I still am getting a divorce. The man, I thought I loved was a completely different person than who I thought he was. All the luxury my parents had built for me, for us, he completely destroyed because he betrayed his employer and got caught. So, now he’s in prison. And I drove out here to clear my head, then I hear this story about a man, who I just met, but it turns out, he’s a terrible person too.”

“I see.” Father Mathew tried to put the pieces together among her babbling. “And where did you hear about this information about the man you just met?”

“From someone in town.”

“I see.” Father Mathew took a moment. “Well, I can tell you this.”

“What?” She was desperate for someone turn it all around for her.

“Not every story is related. Correct me if I am wrong, but the story between you and your husband is unrelated to the story about this new man. You are connecting these two stories in a moment of grief. Step back from it a bit, so you can see the big picture.” He tried to help her without telling her what to do. “And I think hearing something from a third part, is called—gossip.” He lifted his brow, hoping she would realize she was being a bit silly.

She chuckled a bit. “I guess you are right.”

“And, you know I don’t believe in divorce.”

Brook opened her mouth ready to tell him all the reasons why she was getting a divorce but Father Mathew interrupted. “But, I am modern enough to know that marriage these days is more difficult than ever. And that if you follow your heart, it will lead you straight to God.”

“Thank you.” Brook smiled. She felt better about Deacon’s history. She got up to leave.

“You’re welcome, my child.”

Brook spent the day wandering around the town, she went window shopping, for once, she felt like she didn’t need to take action. She sat at a bench to do some people watching. She treated herself to some coffee and a slice of cake as though she was really on some kind of holiday in Paris.