AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why were you looking for them?” she asks.
“We weren’t. Finn was looking for information about the fire for his article. I’m the one who stumbled on this photo. This is the first time he’s seeing it.”
“He doesn’t look so happy about it. This town specializes in keeping secrets.” With that statement, she lumps me in with the rest of them. I suppose I deserve it.
Finn hands the picture back to Sally and leans back in his chair. She takes it and settles it on her lap. I’m not getting it back, and neither is the town. There’s a note of resignation in their demeanor like they were both duped, and the joke is over. Both sit with arms crossed, staring in opposite directions like one might on a particularly bad date. When you’ve run out of things to talk about and quickly discover that you have nothing in common.
Except the way they gnaw on the same spot on separate lower lips gives a strong hint that they might have more in common than most.
“What do we do now?” Finn asks the question, head down, voice low like a teenager caught after curfew.
“We don’t do nothing,” Sally says. “It is what it is, and you’d do well to learn it.” In her estimation, that’s that, and the conversation is over. Sally Gertie is used to being dismissed, but this time we’re the ones being told to leave. Finn doesn’t move. I don’t either.
“You’re not going to fight?” Maybe I’m overstepping, but I’m in this now whether I want to be or not. Tossing down our collective cards and conceding seems like the worst possible outcome. “There’s a possibility that someone stole your child, covered it up, and spent thirty years hiding that secret, and you’re not going to fight?” I barely hear Finn’s soft“Billi…”because I’m on a tangent. “You should hire an attorney and go after the people in charge. You should sue.”
She slaps the arm of her chair with a surprisingly strong smack.
“You think I didn’t try that already? I hired a lawyer, but he dropped me after a week on the case. Claimed he had more pressing things to attend to, but I’m not stupid. The second my complaint was filed, the town leaders got on the phone, and strong-armed him out of working for me. After he quit, no one would help. Found a lot willing not to, though. Most people spat on me when I went to town. All the local markets closed their doors to me, so I have to do all my shopping twenty minutes away. That doesn’t even touch the surface on the harassment.”
“Harassment?” It’s a wasted question that I already know the answer to.
“You saw the side of my house. I’ve painted over it more times than years you’ve been alive, but the words just come back.” I remember seeing them a while ago:Witch, Freak, God Hates You. The only word there today was “Die,” and I wanted to do exactly that the moment I saw it. “People get brave when the sun goes down,” she says.
“That isn’t bravery,” Finn says in a flash of anger. “Sounds like this town is made up of a bunch of cowards.” I don’t disagree.
“Call it what you want,” Sally says, “but that don’t change the facts.”
She’s right. People will continue being awful because it’s the way things have been forever. Learned behavior doesn’t become unlearned just because you want it to.
“So, what happens now?” I say, looking at her.
She shrugs. “Probably nothing, the same way things always are.”
Finn isn’t the “drop it” sort of person. “And if I don’t want to leave the past alone? If I decide I want to pursue the truth myself?”
Sally looks at him, chin set in a hard line, eyes sunken and hollow. Years of loss will wear on a person, both inside and out. “Then you know where to find me. You can see yourself out.”
Conversation over. The ball is now in Finn’s court.
Finn came here to write a newspaper article for a thirty-year memorial service, a feel-good fluff piece meant to honor fallen heroes and stir old emotions. But he’s leaving as the main character in a horror story filled with villains. Maybe the sole redeeming character because Sally is taking herself out of the game.
Finn stands up and walks outside, taking himself out of it too.
With my heart pounding out a heavy rhythm, I stand too, turning to face Sally one more time. She hasn’t moved from her chair. I don’t suspect she will for a while.
“I’m not sure what happens next, but would you mind if I stop by to check on you from time to time? This town has been awful to you, but I’d like to make amends for myself. Please forgive me, Ms. Gertie. For being so terrible.” Maybe I imagine it, but her eyes momentarily take on a watery sheen. She blinks and looks away but gives a single nod. It’s a start. A small one, but the pistol still fired. For now, that’s enough.
It’s time for me to unlearn some things.
Without another word, I open the front door and see myself out, halting just outside the door at the sight of my own heartbreak.
Finn leans over his Audi, throwing up in the dirt.
It’s then that I realize…just because you’re the main character in a story doesn’t mean you get a happy ending.
24
Twenty years ago, 1978
