TEN
LAURA JACKSON SAT in her bay window knitting each day. Ever since Earl died, she kept glued to that chair and to that window. Life happened out there. And it was far more interesting than what happened in her house. If you looked hard enough, you could begin to learn secrets. Laura liked secrets.
When you knew a secret, you possessed a weapon. It was self-defense, really.
Laura was far sighted, so she squinted when it came to her knitting, but she could catch details across the street with a sharp glance.
For example, Laura noticed when her neighbor Tammy had gone off with her son in the afternoon. She eyed her watch, an old Chanel timepiece that had been in the family since the war. It was too late for soccer practice, so Jabari was spending the night at a friend’s.
Laura guessed it wasn’t with Randall. Her suspicions were confirmed when in the evening, she noticed a familiar car entering Tammy’s driveway. Not Randall’s car.
She clicked her lamp off, her breath heaving as she anticipated the secret she was about to unveil. Tammy Powers never failed to provide. That poor woman was hopeless. If it weren’t for Laura, well, how could she ever have coped?
Laura hustled to the window, as fast as her arthritic hips could carry her. She pressed her face to the glass and peered out the window as she watched a tall man with dark brown hair exit his car.
Her breath fogged up the glass, obscuring her vision for a moment. As she rubbed frantically with the hem of her sweater, she realized she was too late to identify who the man was.
She bustled back to her chair and picked the phone up off the hook.
Any news about Tammy was worth calling Doris about. Laura sank into her chair, tilting up her tortoiseshell glasses through her pale strawberry blonde hair.
Laura watched, waiting for Doris to answer as she kept her eyes wide open, staring across the street for more details.
“Doris,” she whispered, “You wouldn’t believe what I just saw.”
Blue light filtered in from the street, illuminating her eyes which were glinting black orbs in the darkness.
“Laura? What is it?”
“Tammy Powers with a gentleman caller.”
“Again?”
“Yes.”
“Randall?”
“Of course not.”
“That slut!” Doris swore, mumbling and apologizing for the word’s escape.
“I think she’s with a white man Doris.”
“A white man?”
“I know,” Laura whispered, as if she were at risk of being heard, “He might be… He might be one of the boys down at Willowcrest.”
“A student?!” Doris exclaimed.
Laura rolled her eyes. Doris could be such a nimrod sometimes.
“No,” Laura huffed, “A teacher.”
“Well it can’t be Williston,” Doris mused, “He’s a good Christian boy.”
“They all get tempted by girls like that,” Laura muttered, a deep bitterness in her voice.
Doris nodded, “You better march over there and find out more missy.”
“Oh I will Doris… Make sure you call Cindy and let her know.”
“Yes ma’am.”
They hung up and Laura approached the window again. The car… She eyed the license plate and committed the number to memory as best she could. Laura hustled to her notepad on the dining table and scribbled the number down.
Time to call Doris back.
Tammy thought she could keep secrets but that wouldn’t work. Laura spoke with Doris again, but hastily rushed her off the phone. There was someone more important she had to speak to.
Stephanie Wagner had asked Laura to keep an eye on Tammy and report anything interesting. Laura didn’t know Stephanie’s stake in Tammy’s affairs, but she trusted the woman’s smile and girl-next-door appearance.
Stephanie didn’t pick up the phone, so Laura retired to her armchair where she fixated across the street waiting for something else to happen. There, she fell asleep.
In the morning, the car was gone, but the news was still fresh off the press. Laura dialed Stephanie giddily after her morning cup of Earl Grey.
When Stephanie picked up, the shrieking kids created a noisy din in the background, nearly preventing Laura from hearing a word.
“Good morning dear, how are the kids,” Laura said.
Stephanie huffed, “Well we just finished morning prayer and I just cannot get Jessica to stop whining!”
“Try a bit of whiskey in the oatmeal," Laura croaked.
Stephanie rolled her eyes. If this old bird was calling her so early, it had better be good.
"Is everything alright Laura?"
"Yes, yes it is."
Silence. Stephanie felt her chest tighten with rage. Would this old bird just spit it out already?
Stephanie huffed, "God knows you need the beauty sleep, so why the early call?"
"I saw something interesting last night."
"You're going to have to narrow that down," Stephanie snapped.
Laura smirked, "Tammy Powers is sleeping with a man. A white man in this town."
Stephanie smiled.
"SHUT UP JESSICA!" Stephanie screamed before turning her attention back to Laura.
"Did you catch who?"
"No. Probably someone's husband."
Stephanie huffed, "Well it wasn't mine was it you daft cow?"
"No, no, no," Laura assured her.
"What car was it? Make? Model?" Stephanie asked.
This was good. Tammy Powers had been making her attempt at a comeback from her fall from grace and Stephanie wouldn't have it. That uppity girl was too big for her britches and attempting to make waves in the wrong town.
"I have it written down. Doris is looking into it."
Stephanie squealed, "Thank you, Laura! You know what, I’ll drop by later with some chocolate chip cookies. Rest up. I'll be over soon."
Stephanie needed to get to work on the town’s rumor mill ASAP. This was information she couldn’t go without.