TWELVE
LAURA JACKSON HEARD Tammy scream. She was in the kitchen, spreading cream cheese on her cucumber sandwiches when she heard a piercing yell. The average housewife would have rushed to the street in fear. Laura smiled. Yelling was good. Yelling meant something was happening.
She finished spreading her cheese and she hobbled over to her armchair in the kitchen. Her cat, a calico named Salty, sat on the chair with a dead mouse between its teeth. Laura glared at the cat but did nothing to move either the Calico or the mouse from the chair.
She stood close to the window, pulling the curtain in front of her so she was just out of sight as she ate her sandwiches and watched the scene unfurl.
The car she recognized as Randall’s. When he burst into the street running for his life, Laura enjoyed a hearty bite.
Oh this was good.
Laura's curiosity was piqued. She knew Tammy trusted her enough to reveal the truth of what had happened. All she would have to do was go over there playing the concerned neighbor. It was a costume, just like a policeman has his costume that tells you to fear him, just like a teacher has a costume telling you she's a kind-hearted lass underneath it all.
Laura slipped on her costume and her favorite mask: a smile.
She wore a pink fuzzy bathrobe in her pink fuzzy slippers but she didn’t give a damn. This was hardly an outfit to make a house call in, but it would add to the impression she was trying to give Tammy. She wanted to find out exactly what was happening. This type of information would be beyond juicy.
Laura knocked on Tammy’s door. Tammy stood up and answered it. She was certain it wasn’t Randall, but she didn’t know who it was. When Tammy opened up, she saw her old neighbor’s smiling face. Tammy was thankful that she had someone to come check on her. She had been feeling beyond terrified since Randall had left. Tammy liked her neighbor Miss Jackson. She always stayed out of trouble. Tammy let her neighbor Ms. Jackson in.
“Here, I heard the huge commotion over here. Is everything okay? Is your son home?” Laura Jackson asked.
Tammy was still shaking visibly. “Everything’s fine… Sort of. My son’s father came over here and I guess he was a little bit upset about something. Everyone stayed unharmed though,” Tammy said. She tried to force a smile.
Laura Jackson saw that this is her way in. She could tell Tammy wanted to talk about this and here she was, the friendly neighbor coming over to see if everything was okay. She had a distinct advantage. She offered Tammy, “Would you like me to stay over for a little while? You seem a bit frightened honey plus, you can tell me anything! I am your neighbor after all.”
Tammy figured that she had no other choice but to take up for Jackson’s offer. She had no one to talk to and she desperately needed someone. This wasn’t the kind of chat she could have with her son. Plus, Tammy was scared that Randall would come back. If he did, she definitely wanted witnesses.
“I would really appreciate that Laura,” Tammy said. she gave her aging neighbor a giant hug.
“Why don’t you sit down for a bit Tammy, I’ll make us some tea,” Laura offered. Tammy agreed and her neighbor got to work preparing a hot pot of jasmine tea.
As Laura puttered around the kitchen, she began to ask Tammy questions.
“So dear, if you don’t find it too nosy… Why on earth was Randall’s upset with you? He seemed beyond angry… I mean!” Laura asked.
Tammy didn’t even think that Laura would be feeding her story directly into the rumor mill. She figured that old woman just had no one to talk to; she wanted the story simply for entertainment, perhaps to get Tammy to open up but definitely not for anything malicious.
Tammy replied, “It’s complicated. I try to keep Jabari in his life and in exchange for that he typically keeps out of my way. But I forgot that Randall really and truly believes that he owns me. I try not to do anything he doesn’t approve of. But he still accuses me of being a bad influence on his son.”
“You? A bad influence? Why it’s been quiet as hell in this house for years. As far as I see, you’re the best mother on this whole street… I mean!” Laura exclaimed.
Her plan was working. Laura smiled. She loved how easy it was for her to get folks to open up. The skill had only come in her later years, but it was a skill she was grateful for all the same.
Tammy cleared her throat, "It has been quiet. Mrs. Jackson, I must admit, there’s a new man in my life and maybe Randall isn’t wrong to be worried.”
Tammy hated to concede like this but perhaps Randall had a point. She had been moving quickly with Victor. Was that really what was best for their son?
Laura saw her “in” plain as day.
“A man? Well I mean! That’s not the worst thing in the world. I doubt you would be picking from the bottom of the barrel again. I mean… Randall was bad enough, but surely this you man you’re seeing is a good match. Hopefully, he’s appropriate.”
Laura had a good feeling she was about to hear something juicy. If Tammy was banging someone’s husband, she would have that name in an instant.
With that, she would have the ability to blackmail and bribe even more people in the town. The thought made her giddy. Laura maintained a calm exterior. Playing poker with the book club every week for years had clearly paid off.
“I don’t know if he is appropriate. Ms. Jackson. That’s what I’m worried about. I not supposed to say a word of this to anyone but I think I should tell you who it is. You’ll understand why there’s so much at risk. You’ll understand why my ex is so angry,” Tammy started.
She couldn’t believe she was about to tell Laura Jackson everything. Tammy put her worries out of her mind. This was just a harmless old woman who had always been there for Tammy when she needed her help. How could you ever make new friends he didn’t trust them with at least one of your secrets.
Laura cleared her throat and brought tea to the living room where Tammy was sitting.
“Well dear, let’s carry on. Now let me have some tea perhaps it will make you feel better to talk about it,” Laura said with a smile as she served Tammy her hot cup.
Tammy told Laura about the parent-teacher conference where she first met Victor. She told Laura about the ambiguity of their date. she told her about that first night when they had met up again. She told her about how Victor made her feel and how different he was from any man she had ever known.
On top of that, Tammy confessed to her neighbor how lonely she had been. She confessed to her how she wasn’t sure she could raise Jabari alone and just making it this far had been a shock to her. She confessed how desperate she was for some of the burdens to be taken off her shoulders and how now that she saw a chance she didn’t care how taboo it was she wanted to go for it. Victor seems like he was interested and he seemed like he could provide her with everything she dreamed of and more when it came to love.
While Tammy confessed this, her neighbor listened, hanging on to every single word that she could remember.
This wasn't what Laura had expected but it was good enough. Tammy had been seeing a teacher at Willowcrest prep, where she had just pulled strings to get her son a seat. If she could sleep with one of her son’s teachers, presumably to boost grades, who knew who else she had slept with?
Stephanie would be overjoyed to hear this little tidbit. Maybe she'd even do as she asked and have her husband come look at Laura's wi-fi.
After her confession, Laura shared the best advice she could with Tammy. Heck, if she wasn't genuine about that, she'd blow her cover. Tammy wondered why she hadn’t sought her neighbor’s help before. She received comfort. She received validation. She received a hot cup of tea and a lot of love. It was just what she needed after an encounter with Randall. Maybe Laura was the one person in this town she could befriend. While some of the other younger people were judgmental, Laura wasn’t. She believed it being a good neighbor and providing a listening ear. How many people could say they are so lucky to live right next door to someone who was so kind?
It was already late evening so after a nice long chat, Tammy said goodbye to her neighbor and ushered her out the door. Tammy wanted to get to bed early. She locked all the doors and double checked all the windows. Tonight she was terrified to be home all alone. Laura Jackson had promised that she would keep an eye out for Tammy but she was still not completely safe. She just wanted her son to get back home so her life could go back to normal.
But the moment Laura Jackson returned to her place, shut behind the private doors of her ranch-style home, she was very different from the kind of comforting neighbor Tammy had seen. Under the cover of darkness, this innocent suburban hausfrau became a gossip who would raise the dead to keep a story alive. Once she had closed her door behind her, she called Stephanie. This couldn't wait until daylight.