Chapter 10
Jackie couldn't get a flight out of Bangor till the end of the week; a terrible blizzard was raging over White Feather, and the town's tiny airport was declared too hazardous to land on. The family feud that had begun after Mike's blow up with Billy continued unabated for several days, and Billy finally moved out on Christmas, and got a room downtown with another kid Jackie didn't know.
Jackie was left alone in the house with Helen and Mike, neither of whom communicated with the other, except for an occasional angry stare. Jackie spent most of the week-a vacation break between Christmas and New Years-reading confession magazines and watching TV. When she got tired of confessions, she got involved in Madame Bovary, a book Mike had given her. She'd heard from Fred occasionally; the day before she was to leave, he'd come by and Mike wouldn't let him in, so he had to resort to throwing pebbles at Jackie's window, like some boy hero out of an old novel ...
She dove into a Moroccan coat Mike'd given her earlier that Fall, and sneaked out the back way.
Outside, the snow was piled in enormous scoops along the walk, and his Ford looked dwarfed beside the big drifts.
They drove around town, without talking for a while, till Fred finally asked if she was really going back.
"I don't have any other choice. Mike's crazy now-he almost killed me the other night ... this time it was really bad," Jackie sniffed.
"You're kidding-"
"God, it hurt, but I liked it. I figured if I'm getting to enjoy it when he hurts me, it's time to get out--know what I mean?"
"Yeah, I sure do!" her boyfriend gulped.
"Besides, being in that house with him and Helen is like living with two corpses. Even Andre's fed up with it ... I haven't seen him in a couple of days."
"What do Mike and Helen do?"
"Well, they sit around and listen to classical music and drink..."
"Sounds like a drag," the boy said. He turned down a wealthy side street where the Christmas lights were bright and numerous...
"You hear anything about Mike running for the senate?" Jackie said.
"Oh, yeah ... Mon says he doesn't stand a chance with all the rumors going around..."
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Well, I sort of figured you knew!"
"How could I know? I've been stuck in the house like I was a criminal or something ... the only news
I get is what's on TV."
"That's really pathetic."
"Well. . .what's the gossip about Mike?" she said.
Fred swerved into a plowed-out driveway, and turned back down the road toward town.
"Mom says he's got a chick who's a go-go dancer down in Portland ... it's been in all the newspapers. Funny you didn't hear about it. And Sylvia blew the news about our party-but you know that."
"God! You mean he's got somebody else besides me! That's really something!"
"Well, Mike's lucky," Fred said philosophically. "Helen's no good to him, and you're going back to White Feather."
Jackie looked at him angrily. "What I can't understand is why you never got jealous of us. Fred, it was like you didn't care. Once you even watched us make love and you reacted like it was some kind of porno movie!"
"Well, I do care, and you know it, you silly kitten," he said stopping the car at a stop sign and drawing her to him. He kissed her long and hard, but Jackie hardly responded. She was thinking about Mike and that girl he was supposed to have in Portland. Funny, but she'd thought she was the only one: it cheapened everything that had happened, and for the first time she'd gotten into this mess she felt sorry for herself.
Though it was the last time she'd see Fred-she was leaving the next day-she barely gave him a peck on the cheek as she got out of the car and ran up to the house. She knew Fred really liked her, but she still felt he could've given more of himself during her time of crisis. The thing was, everybody existed in their own separate world, and it was hard to make people respond to anything but what affected them. Even she was that way, she reflected as she sneaked up the stairs to her bedroom; maybe she'd been unfair to Mike when they'd first gotten involved. She remembered that afternoon in his office, when she'd teased him into making love to her by sitting on the edge of that chair...
But all that was in the past ... tomorrow she'd be flying back to White Feather. Jackie went to sleep early and rose with the sun; her bags were already packed, and at eight-thirty, Andre was parked outside with Helen and they were going to take her to the airport.