The Devil Has Dimples (12 page)

“We can stop the search any time,” he said.

“Can we?”  I looked around the room.  “It seems to have
developed into a life of its own.”

Grant sighed.  “You’re right about that.  This is a small
town and unfortunately, your father is a hot topic.  And it will remain a hot
topic until he’s known.”

“I don’t want anyone hurt.”

Grant gave my fingers a slight squeeze.

“We can’t shape the past.  If someone gets hurt, it’s not
your fault.”

“I don’t want Bitsy hurt.  She’s so sweet.”

Grant released my hand.  “Bitsy has put up with Silas’s
foolishness all her life.  I’m just hoping that Naomi is way off target on this
one.”

We spotted Naomi coming to our table with two soup cups.

“Me, too.”  I said.  “Me, too.”

We sat in silence and ate in silence.  If Grant’s mind was
like mine, it wasn’t silent.

Then the door opened behind me.  I noticed a change in Grant
instantly.  He was on alert.

I turned around.  Shit.  It was Tina.

She strolled over to our table, undulating like a bowling
ball going from alley to alley.

She stopped at our table and let out a big sigh.

Oh, please!  Enter that girl in the next acting class,
she was going way overboard.

“Grant, I thought we had dinner arrangements for tonight.” 
She pouted when she talked.  It was rather amazing to watch.  Maybe she did
take acting lessons.  Not good lessons, but lessons nonetheless.

Grant was uncomfortable.  He coughed, then shuffled in his
seat a little.  I wondered how he acted in court.  Did they have ‘dinner
arrangements’ tonight?  This little show was going to be interesting.

“No.  You must have misunderstood,” he said.

The worm was squirming on the hook.  I wondered how he was
going to get out of this.

Little Miss Pouty Face said.  “I don’t think so.”

It’s a good thing my foot was under the table, or else I
could easily have drop kicked her.  I sure wanted to.

So I did the next best thing.  I gave her my sweetest smile
and said.  “Get out.  We’re dining.  Alone.”

That did it.

The she-cat actually snarled at me.

“He’s mine.”

“You can have him.  But we’re eating now, so would you leave
us alone.  You’re giving me indigestion.”

Oh, the look she gave me.  Assault with a deadly weapon, a
gaze that would send me to hell, never to return in a million years.

Like that would work.

I smiled back, even more sweetly.

She snarled at me again.  Then she turned that anger in
Grant’s direction.  “Nine o’clock.  Do you understand?”

Maybe she should have been the attorney.  She had some
definite killer instincts.

Tina the Shark, an apt  nickname I think, spun around and
stomped out.

Needless to say, my appetite was dead.  I pushed my plate back
and waited for Grant to finish a few more bites.  Apparently, the confrontation
didn’t bother him as much as a missed meal might.  I wonder what his true
feeling concerning Tina-bitch were?  Maybe it was time to find out.

“So when are you two tying the knot?”

“What?”

If a man could shriek, he came close.  He was definitely
rattled.  I picked up my tea to give me some thinking room.

“Joanna has you practically engaged.”

He snorted.  “That will be the day.”

I laughed.  Apparently there was only one love bird in that
duo.  Love bird my butt, more like a vulture.

Later, as we walked out the door, Naomi captured us.

“Are you mad at me?”

I turned.

“No.  It’s just that Bitsy has been so sweet to me, I
wouldn’t want to hurt her.”

Naomi backed up a step, her eyes large.  “But, Bitsy knows
all about that night.  She’s the one who told me.”

It was our turn to be startled.

Grant replied first.  “Exactly what are you talking about?”

Naomi glanced behind her at the full room.  “I’ll come and
see you when my shift is over with at nine, the story is way too long for right
now.”

“We’ll wait.”  Grant said.

“Thanks.”  Naomi gave us both a smile as the door closed.

The click of the door behind us seemed final.

“This is one story I want to hear.”  Grant said.

“It should be interesting.  But don’t you have to be
somewhere at nine?”

“She can wait.”

Oh.  I smelled big trouble here.  I don’t think that Miss
Shark would like that remark.  Which did not bother me one bit.

* * *

“Well, it’s like this.”  Naomi sat at the table with an icy drink
in front of her, lighting a cigarette.

She took a deep puff and slowly let out the smoke.  “Boy
that tastes good.  I can’t smoke at Hank’s.”

I sat there with my stomach in a turmoil.  Grant didn’t look
too happy either.

“Lighten up kids.”  Naomi said.  “It’s like this.  The night
Bobbie was burned in that horrible fire, you were too young to remember that,
Grant.  Anyway, Silas didn’t come home.  Bitsy got madder than a soaked cat
waiting for him and at dawn when he still wasn’t home, she went looking.”

Naomi paused to take another puff, then flicked her ashes in
an antique ashtray that I found downstairs.

“She discovered his car over there by the roadhouse. 
Course, the roadhouse isn’t there anymore, it got closed down when they found
out they were selling moonshine and not paying any taxes.”

Naomi slapped her knee and laughed aloud.  “You could get hammered
into the next day for about two bucks.”

She took another long drag on her cigarette and savored the
moment.

“And that’s just what Silas had done.  He got so drunk that
he couldn’t even find his car and it was parked right there in front of the
roadhouse.  Apparently, they threw him out when they closed, and he was walking
home, down the middle of the street and Maudie found him and took him to her
place.”

Naomi sucked another drag of cigarette deep into her lungs,
then tapped the ashes off again.

“Now, Maudie should have brought him home.  But she didn’t. 
Bitsy was beside herself, ‘cause she didn’t know where that fool was.  I
personally don’t know why she bothered, cuz Silas isn’t worth spit.  But it
takes all kinds.”

Naomi stopped talking again and took a drink.

“Lord knows he was useless in the sack.”

Grant laughed.  “You sound like that is from personal
experience.”

“Oh, yeah.  Silas was a good-looking fellow in high school. 
He and I danced in the back seat of his ‘49 Chevy more than once.”

I felt sick.

Naomi gave a shy little grin.  “I looked a lot better then
and that was before he started dating Bitsy.”

“I’m sure.”  I said hesitantly.

“So what happened next?”  Grant asked.

“Silas drove home about ten that morning in his own car. 
Bitsy was waiting for him.  She asked him where he spent all night and he said,
‘At Maudie’s’ and Bitsy beamed him with her mama’s cast iron frying pan.  That
knocked him out and she had to call an ambulance cause he was bleeding pretty
bad.  When he woke up, he couldn’t remember a damn thing.  Burnt the daylights
out of Bitsy so she asked Maudie about it.”  She stopped again for a drag on
her cigarette and another drink.

Grant was impatient.  “And?”

“Shoots, Maudie told her that he passed out in her car so
she just drove home and let him sleep it off there.  Bitsy might have bought
that story, but it sure sounds fishy to me.  Silas has to be your father.  The
way I figure it, he’s the only one it could be.”

“Have you told anyone else about your theory?”  I asked.

“You must be nuts, girl!  I wouldn’t breathe a sound of this
to anyone.  Bitsy’s my friend.  Her and Maudie were the only ones who ever
stood by my side when I was down on my luck.  No.  I wouldn’t do a thing to
hurt Bitsy.  But if Silas is your father, Bitsy would be delighted to have a
daughter, all she’s got is boys.”

Naomi looked defiantly at me.  “She would love you.  I know
she would.”

I reached over and placed my hand over Naomi’s arm.  “I know
she would, Naomi.  She’s a lovely, warm-hearted woman.”

Tears started to form in Naomi’s eyes.  “Maybe I should of
just kept my mouth shut.”

Grant leaned forward.  “I’ll ask Silas discreetly.”

Naomi brightened up at that.  “You will?”

“Yes.  Nobody needs to know this whole story.  There are too
many rumors going around town already.  No need to add fuel to a fire that
doesn’t exist.”

“You’re right about that.  If rumors were truth in this
town, there wouldn’t be anything to talk about.”  Naomi stated.

* * *

April 23, 1984

Rumors.

How I hate them!

That’s why I can’t keep my baby.

The rumors concerning her birth would follow her forever.

Forever.  Forever.  Forever.

Every day in school. 

Every Sunday in church. 

Every day for the rest of my baby’s life.

“There’s Maudie’s ‘love child’.”

“There’s Maudie’s ‘bastard.’  I can just hear Joanna’s
voice in my ear.

The only difference is that I truly love my baby’s
father.

With all my heart.

I’m not an evil woman.  Just a woman who opened her heart
to love at the wrong moment.

And got pregnant.

I thought about moving away.  Starting a new life
somewhere else.  Fresh beginnings.

But I’m not a young woman.

I need my friends.

But, I wonder if they would understand.

I don’t think so.

I barely understand it myself.

Oh, Lord.  What am I going to do?

I was curled up on the sofa when Grant returned from driving
Naomi home.  A glass of wine nestled in my hand.  An empty glass sat on the
coffee table next to a plate of crackers and sliced cheese.  An opened wine
bottle with a crystal stopper beckoned Grant.  He reached over and filled up
the glass.

“This is nice,” he said.

“I thought something mellowing might be in order after
Naomi.”

Grant chuckled.  “Naomi is certainly a character.”

“Do you think she’s right?”

Grant looked stern.

“I hope not.”  He stretched out on the opposite sofa.

He continued.  “Silas is okay.  But I just can’t picture
Maudie with him.”

“Any reason why?”

Grant let out a long sigh.  “Maudie was friends with Bitsy,
and I just can’t see her treating a friend that low.”

“I see.”

“I hope so.  Maudie was special to me.”  He drained his
glass.  “I don’t like seeing her in a dark light.”

He looked at me expectantly.  “Can you understand that?”

I twirled my fingertip around the top of the glass.  I spoke
softly.  “I can understand.  From everything I’m hearing, Maudie was a good
person.  I wonder though.  I wonder a lot.”

“I’ll call Silas tomorrow and make an appointment.”

“Can I be there?”

“Yes, you should be there.”  Grant hesitated.  “But he might
not talk in front of you.  He can get close-mouthed at times.”

“Let’s see,” I said.

“Yes, we will.”

“Oh, your fiancée called.”

“Tina?”

“So, she
is
your fiancée.”

He snorted.  “There’s no way in hell I’m ever getting
married, especially to Tina.”

He stalked off and slammed his bedroom door behind him.

How interesting.  What was the real deal with Tina?  Is she
just a “buddy?”  I doubted that.

* * *

The next afternoon, I hurried as I was late.  Silas wanted to
meet after office hours and he didn’t want anyone to see him talking to Grant.

I pumped myself up the stairs as the door at the top
opened.  Alice stepped out, then drew back as I came to the top step.

“They’re inside.”  Alice whispered.

I could hear loud voices from inside Grant’s office.

“Why are they arguing?”

Alice looked at me with compassion in her eyes.  “I don’t
know.  I don’t want to know.  Nothing good can come from your searching.” 
Alice brushed past me and headed down the stairs.  “Nothing good at all.”  She
muttered to herself.

Now what was that all about? Last time we had talked at all,
she was the one all supportive of this search. I watched her thunder down the
stairs that creaked and groaned with each step.  I groaned myself, the argument
seemed to be intensifying inside.

Suddenly, everything became silent.  Except the thudding of
my heart.

Slowly, I walked to Grant’s office door and tapped.

“Come in.”  Grant shouted.

I hesitated, then turned the knob.

Grant was standing at the window, looking out at the
courthouse square.  Silas sat in one of the large leather chairs, his legs
crossed, his elbow stabbing the arm of the chair, his head resting on a fisted
hand.  He turned when I came in and glared at me.

“I’m not your daddy!”  He exclaimed.

“Oh.  I’m so glad.”

Silas seemed startled.  Then his body sank in the chair. I’d
taken all the wind out of his sails.

I nervously sat next to him.  I reached over and touched his
arm with my trembling fingers.

“I really like your wife, and I’m glad you didn’t cheat on
her.”

Silas looked mutinous.  He threw me an angry look then
brushed away my fingers with his hand.  “You don’t know nothing.  And I’m not
telling nothing.”

He jumped up and stalked angrily out of the room, slamming
the door after him.

Grant turned from his view and glanced over at me.

“Thank God he left.  I thought I might throw him out the
window before you came.”

“I thought you were going to wait for me.”