ANNA

 

“Friends always asked me where I was from and I’d tell them I’m from Ivory. They’d give me some funny look and say ‘Ivory? Where the hell is that?’ Every single time, without fail, everybody always said the same thing. I think there was one guy who heard of Ivory but everybody else was clueless.”

The older woman gave me a kind smile.

“I was never offended by it though. Ivory’s a small town. A nice little spot in the middle of nowhere. People might not know much about Ivory but I always speak fondly of it. It’s… home.”

She nodded her head and started scribbling some notes on her clipboard, that friendly smile still on her lips.

She looked like she’d lived a comfortable life in Ivory. Despite the wrinkles on her face and white hair, she didn’t seem to have any of the bitterness that I was expecting. Most of the townsfolk in Ivory were just ordinary people trying to live their lives. Jackie wasn’t much different.

“You’ve traveled quite a bit,” she said.

“That’s right. I lived here for a few years when I was in college but I finished school in New York. But I’ve worked in China, Ireland, Australia, Chicago…”

“Getting all the stamps on your passport, I see…”

“It was never about getting my passport stamped,” I said with a giggle. “I just… I just wanted to see the world and do what I could to help.”

Jackie scribbled more notes on her clipboard then looked up at me.

“You said you were going to school here in Ivory but you finished your university studies somewhere else.”

“That’s right.”

“You could have finished your studies here. Why did you leave Ivory?”

She gave me a curious look.

I knew what the answer was but I hesitated for a second.

How do I put this?

I sighed a deep breath through my nose before I responded.

“Sometimes we just need a change of pace.”

“Right. Yet here you are back in Ivory. Why is that?”

“…Sometimes we just need a change of pace.”

I smiled and she did the same.

She looked back at the clipboard she was scribbling her notes on then set it down.

I didn’t know why I was so nervous but I was fidgeting in my seat. I breathed softly through my nose and sat on my hands to avoid making it obvious.

I watched as Jackie reached for a manila folder on her desk. She opened it up and glanced inside of it. She looked up at me for a second before turning her attention back to whatever was inside of the file.

“Do you know what this is?” she asked.

“No,” I said, shaking my head. “I haven’t got a clue.”

“It’s your record.”

“Oh… Right…”

The kind smile on her face had disappeared. She gave me a stern look as she continued to hold the manila folder open in front of her. I stayed calm in my seat.

“Public intoxication. Indecent exposure. Illegal drug possession, though it was a small amount. Says here you even got into a few fights. Nothing incredible, considering the kind of people living around these parts, but still noteworthy.”

I looked down at the ground. I fiddled with my fingers. I wasn’t about to make any excuses but Jackie appeared to be waiting for me to say something.

“Mistakes,” I said. “I made a lot of mistakes when I was younger. I hung out with the wrong crowd. I let peer pressure get to me. I was trying to live in the moment instead of looking at the big picture.”

I turned my head up and Jackie remained staring at me, listening intently.

“I don’t make any excuses for what I did. I did it. I’d tell you spending a few nights in jail aren’t a big deal but they’re something. I understand if you have any reservations about me.”

She turned her head down and looked into my file then closed the folder up. She placed it down on the table and leaned back in her seat.

“That’s why I left,” I said. “I saw an opportunity to get away because I needed some space from… from Ivory. I needed to refocus and find out what’s really important to me.”

“And what’s important to you, Miss Roberts?”

“Being out there… Seeing the world… It made me realize how grateful I should be for what I have. I have a lot to be thankful for. I want to help people. I don’t see a better place to do that than right here in Ivory. My home…”

I didn’t know what she was thinking. She just kept observing me like she was trying to read my thoughts.

I swallowed anxiously and shifted my gaze away from her. I was counting the seconds until this would all be over and done with. When I looked back at her, I saw the smile take its place back on her face.

“You’re right,” she said. “We all make mistakes. You were young and decided to get away from Ivory. It was the right decision.”

“It was. Getting out of this town and seeing the rest of the world gave me a new perspective.”

“I believe you when you say that. I believe you when you say that you really want to help the people here. And if there’s anybody who needs help, it’s the people right here in Ivory. I’d love to have you aboard, Miss Roberts.”

I closed my eyes and sighed a deep breath of relief.

“Thank you, Miss Reynolds.”

“Please. Call me Jackie.”

“Jackie. Of course.”

She stood up from her seat and extended her hand out to me. I shook her hand and felt all of the tension I just had melting away.

“Come on,” she said. “Let me show you around.”

I walked behind the older woman as she left her office. We walked down the hallway until we got back into the main hall of the building.

“We don’t have much space here,” she said. “There are only enough rooms to accommodate so many people. It’s first come, first serve around here. It’s a shame really, considering how many people are struggling out there.”

“Have you talked about getting some funding from the city?”

“City council isn’t interested in putting more money into a homeless shelter. Voters care more about catching criminals and putting them behind bars than taking care of the people here. You’re from Ivory. You should know how that is.”

“I do,” I said with a laugh. “It looks like things haven’t changed.”

She looked up at me and nodded.

“We get by,” she said. “We don’t get much but we get by.”

“I’m here to help. Whatever you need.”

“You’re more than qualified, Miss Roberts. I don’t care about all of the places you’ve traveled to. My only concern is that you’re used to working with these kinds of people.”

I looked around the main room. There were people scattered all around the place. They sat on couches and slept in chairs. Their clothes were dirty. Their hair was unkempt. A lot of them looked like they were just trying to get out of the sun even though they were dealing with worse things in their life.

“I’ve known a lot of people down on their luck,” I said. “Unemployment. Drug addiction. Single mothers with nobody else to turn to. Sometimes these people just need someone they can talk to.”

“I can’t promise you much. Like I said, we get by on donations and whatever city council allocates to us. But I’ve got an open position and you’ll be compensated. It’ll be enough for you to get by.”

“I’m not interested in living a fancy life. It doesn’t seem like there’s any room for that in a place like Ivory.”

“You really are from here.”

She smiled softly at me and put a hand on my arm.

“It’s a pleasure to have you aboard,” she said. “We need all the help we can get. Speaking of which…”

She glanced over my shoulder. I turned around and saw the man approaching me.

He looked tan from spending so much time underneath the Ivory summer sun. Skin wrinkled and blemished. Hair gone. A bit of a gut hanging over his stomach. The old man looked familiar as he walked toward Jackie and me. I suppose the police uniform made him more recognizable than anybody else in town.

“Hello, Miss Reynolds,” the man said. “How are you doing today?”

“I’m doing just fine,” Jackie replied. “I’ve got a new hire. This here is Anna Roberts. Anna, this is Sheriff—”

“Sutton,” I finished her sentence. “Sheriff Sutton.”

The old cop narrowed his eyes at me.

“Do I know you?” he said.

“I don’t know,” I said with a laugh. “I’m sure you know a lot of people, so it’s hard to remember everybody.”

“Anna’s been out of town for almost six years,” Jackie said. “She just came back to Ivory a few days ago.”

Sutton continued eyeballing me. He shook his head at me like he was trying to find the answer in his head.

“Why do you look so familiar?” he said. “We haven’t had a run-in before, have we?”

“We have,” I said. “It was a long time ago.”

There’s no point in hiding it now…

“I spent a lot of time with the Reapers,” I said. “I used to date one of them—”

“Ah!”

He nodded with a smile on his face as if the memory had just come back to him.

“Anna Roberts,” he said. “Brooks’s girlfriend.”

“Ex-girlfriend,” I said with a laugh. “That was a long time ago.”

“You remember her?” Jackie said.

“I’ve been around a long time, Jackie. You do my job long enough, you get to know all of the club members in this town. Remembering the VP of a club isn’t something you could forget so easily.”

“Jon is VP of the Reapers now?” I said.

My eyes widened in surprise. Sutton raised an eyebrow at me. As soon as he did, a smirk formed on his lips.

“That’s right,” he said. “You haven’t spoken to him?”

I shook my head and pursed my lips.

I didn’t care. Not anymore.

“I’ve only been in Ivory for a few days,” I said. “I’ve been trying to get settled in. Honestly, the thought has never crossed my mind.”

“I understand,” Sutton said. “Maybe you should stop by the clubhouse.”

“The Grindhouse? I don’t think that’s such a good idea…”

“It’s up to you. Considering the kind of trouble you and Brooks got into, it only seems appropriate. It wouldn’t hurt to say hello to some old friends.”

Friends. Right…

“Sorry to interrupt your conversation,” Jackie said. “Is there something I can do for you, Sheriff?”

“Right,” he said. “Not here for good news. Looking for a man named Jenkins.”

“Jenkins?”

“He’s a suspect in a store robbery. Homeless. Thought maybe I’d stop by and see if he was around here.”

“No Jenkins here,” Jackie said as she shook her head. “I know everybody in here personally. I check ‘em in myself.”

“All right,” he said. “You take care now. It’s good seeing you again, Anna.”

“You, too…” I said as he walked away.

I stood there and watched the old sheriff disappear out the front door.

“I guess that explains it,” Jackie said.

“Explains what?”

“Your record. Anybody who spends time around a Reaper is bound to get in trouble.”

“Don’t worry,” I said as I put my hands up. “I know what kind of troubles the MCs are in this town. I’m here to help.”

“Maybe you should listen to what Sutton said though.”

“What do you mean?”

“You just got back to Ivory. It wouldn’t hurt to say hello to some old friends.”

Friends. There’s that word again…

I shrugged as I searched for the right way to say it without telling her directly.

“I’ll think about it,” I said.

“Good… Now come here. I’ll show you around the rest of this place. I want you to get settled in quickly. The sooner you’re comfortable here, the better.”

The thoughts of Sutton’s and now Jackie’s suggestion lingered in my head despite having to get work started. I smiled softly at the old woman and gave her a nod.

“Sounds good.”