Chapter 5
Christine stood before the mirror the following morning studying herself. Have I really changed that much? she asked herself. Those last few moments with Carter Wilson were etched indelibly on her mind. She had never talked to anybody that way in her life! No one had ever accused her of being a bitch, but Carter was absolutely right. She had been a bitch with him, a real bitch! Was it something deep inside her emerging for the first time? Was she, in truth, a real bitch?
The lonely, confused woman stared blankly into the mirror, trying to understand her true nature. She had always been what people called "easy going." Seldom had she ever allowed anybody to see her anger in any situation. Had she let people use her all of these years? Had she let them push her around?
Christine had no doubts about being justified in what she had said and done to Carter Wilson. He was a pig, a red-necked pig who used anybody and everybody to his own ends. And the way he had tried to humiliate her! No, she had not been unfair with him. The arrogant, self-centered Carter Wilsons of this world deserved far worse than she had given him. And Christine was relatively sure he wouldn't bother her any more.
As she walked into the bedroom to get dressed, Christine had a painful reminder of her sexual encounter with Carter. Her vagina was so sore from being stretched and ravaged by his giant penis it hurt to walk. Christine could still not understand how she could despise the man so much, yet still react to his sheer physical use of her body.
It was after ten when she finished her third cup of coffee and started making up her shopping list. The front doorbell rang, and Christine wondered who in the world it could be! It was much too early for the first swimming class. She opened the door to find Jane Loud standing nervously on the doorstep.
"Christine," Mrs. Loud began with a note of anxiety, "I hate to bother you, but I wonder if I could talk to you for a moment."
"Sure, Jane," Christine returned with a smile. "Come on in and have a cup of hot coffee - I just made some."
"Well, if it's made," Jane Loud replied, following Christine into the den. "Please don't go to any trouble."
"No trouble," Christine assured her. "Sit down and I'll pour us both a cup."
Now what in the world does she want? Christine wondered as she walked into the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. Jane Loud and her husband lived on the corner, and although they enjoyed a friendly relationship with Christine and Larry, they weren't what Christine considered real close friends. For one thing, Jane was one of the local gossips and neighborhood busy bodies, the type of person Christine always tried to avoid becoming involved with. She's probably on some damned committee to raise money for something, Christine told herself as she carried the cups back to the den.
"Cream or sugar?" she asked as she handed the cup of steaming coffee to Jane.
"Black is just fine," Jane replied. "I'm on a diet again, and I'm trying to give up all sweets. I don't know how you keep that magnificent figure, Christine! It's sheer hell for me to lose weight!"
"I suppose I'm just one of the lucky ones who can eat or drink just about anything I want, without gaining a pound," Christine replied modestly.
"I know, and it seems so unfair!" Jane exclaimed with a pout. "You never have been a big eater."
"Oh, I like food, Jane," Christine said with a small laugh, wondering when the other woman would get to the point of her visit. "But I have never had a big appetite, if that's what you mean."
"Exactly! That's what makes it seem so unfair," Jane replied. "But I'd better tell you why I came. I'm afraid it's rather serious, and I hate to bother you."
"Serious?" Christine prompted.
"Yes. I've just come from police head-quarters."
"Police?" Christine queried, her interest now fully captured.
"I'd better begin at the beginning," Jane said, taking a sip of the hot coffee and then setting the cup on the end table. "Two of the neighborhood boys got into trouble this morning."
"Who?" she asked "Ronnie Anderson and the Wilson boy," Jane replied.
"Bobby Wilson?" Christine asked with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
"Right. Nobody's quite sure who was responsible, but the boys went and "borrowed" Mr. Conright's car."
"Ronnie and Bobby?"
"Yes. The police caught them driving at seventy miles an hour on Harper's road. "Ronnie was driving, and Bobby claims it was all Ronnie's idea. Mr. Conright is in the habit of leaving his keys in the car when it's in the garage. It seems the boys opened his garage about seven-thirty this morning and took the car."
"Where were they going?" Christine asked, finding the whole situation too difficult to believe.
"For a joy ride, according to Bobby. They say they intended to return the car before Mr. Conright left for work at nine. The police picked them up at eight-forty-five, took them down to the police station, and then called their parents." "Oh, how awful!"
"It's been a very busy, emotional morning, believe me!" Jane sighed. "Carter Wilson left town at six this morning and won't be back for at least several weeks. I was having coffee with Diane when the police called. You can imagine how upset she was!"
"I can say so!" Christine said. "Are the boys in jail?"
"No, no," Jane said quickly. "Diane and I talked Mr. Conright out of pressing charges. He was very reasonable, considering. He had every right to sign a complaint of a stolen car and the two boys would have been held. But he agreed to drop everything. The boys have to pay him for the gas they used, and they have to help him on his farm outside of town on weekends."
"That was nice of him," Christine sighed. "I don't know the Conrights very well, but they've always seemed like decent people."
"Oh, they are!" Jane assured her. "A lot of the men on this block would have filed stolen car charges against the boys, believe me!"
"I suppose so," Christine lied, not really believing anybody she knew on the block would actually send two really nice kids to jail over what was hardly more than a boyish prank rather than a vicious criminal act. "Would you like more coffee?"
"Oh, dear me, no!" Jane said. "I'll really have to run. The house is a mess and I'd planned to do some mending today. You see, Diane asked me to drop by to ask you for a favor."
"I'll be glad to do anything I can," Christine said sincerely.
"Well, what with Carter gone, Mrs. Wilson wants to be sure Bobby really gets impressed with just how serious this affair was, and that he's never to do anything so terrible again. " "I can understand that," Christine said.
"And Diane says she has had a problem communicating with Bobby lately," Jane continued. "She feels he doesn't pay very much attention to what she says. She could call Carter and ask him to come home to handle the boy, but she hates to do that when this contract he's on is so important to them, and he'd be furious and maybe do something terrible to Bobby. " "I don't see. " Christine prompted, impatiently, wondering if talky Jane Loud was capable of ever coming to the point!
"Well, Diane feels that you have a good influence over Bobby. Bobby talks about you a lot at home and he certainly seems to respect you. Diane thinks that if you sat him down and had a long, serious talk with the boy, he'd listen to you."
"Well ... Jane, I really don't know that he'd pay more attention to me than he would to his own mother," Christine replied hesitantly.
"Diane is sure he will!" Jane insisted. "And it is true that outsiders often carry more weight with youngsters than the family does, Christine. I know, it's a terrible burden to place on you. Diane would have come herself to ask you, but she thought it would be better if Bobby didn't know she had asked you to do this. You know - he will think you're talking to him as a friend, and not just because his parents put you up to it... " "I can see that," Christine remarked. "But do you think he'd really listen to me?" "Diane thinks so, and she knows her own boy better than either of us do. You've become a neighborhood hero with the younger generation because of this swimming thing, Christine. I honestly believe the young people will listen to you."
"Well ... " Christine remarked, stalling. "I've also talked to Lorena Anderson," Jane continued. "Ronnie is in one of your classes, too, isn't he?"
"Yes, he and Bobby are in the advanced group."
"Lorena says Ronnie really likes you. She called her husband at the bakery and he said he was too busy to come this morning. Can you imagine that? His son is arrested for stealing a car - and he's too damn busy to come home! The Andersons are on the verge of a divorce, you know. And from the way Lorena talked this morning, this may be the last straw as far as she's concerned! When I told her Diane and I were going to ask you to talk to Bobby, she said she'd really appreciate it if you'd include Ronnie and talk to both of them at the same time."
"Good heavens, Jane, do you want me to get involved in a divorce situation?"
"Of course not, Christine!" Jane replied quickly. "All we'd like you to do is talk to the two boys together - try to make them understand how serious this incident was. They're both basically good boys, Christine. If they understand how serious something like this is, they won't be likely to do it again."
"I suppose I could have a talk with them after swimming class," Christine said slowly. "But, goodness Jane, I can't promise very much!"
"We know that, Christine," Jane said warmly. "But we all think you can help."
"I'll try," Christine replied. "That's all I can do. Look, swimming classes end at five-thirty and the two boys are in the last class. Why don't I fix some hamburgers or something and talk to them then? You can tell Diane and Lorena to skip dinner for the boys. That way, we won't be rushed. I haven't the slightest idea how I'm going to tackle this!"
"You'll come up with an idea, don't worry," Jane said, rising and picking up her purse. "I think the hamburgers are a good idea. The boys will be more relaxed and more receptive. I'll call Diane and Lorena as soon as I get home. I know they'll appreciate what you're doing, Christine!"
Christine had no sooner closed the door behind Jane Loud than the phone rang. It was a long distance call from her sister, Carol. In a near hysterical voice, Carol announced that her eight-year marriage was at an end and that she was filing for divorce! In a long and difficult conversation, Christine learned that Carol's husband had come "out of the closet" - revealing himself as a homosexual - after Carol caught him with a man in a motel the night before. He had begged Carol to stay married to him because she was the perfect front for his abnormal behavior, but Carol had been unhappy for years and refused to stay even another day in the same house with him.
"Sure, Carol," Christine said into the phone, "you can stay with me. You know I'd love to have you. Larry won't be home for at least a month, so it won't be a bother at all. Okay, sweetheart, I'll expect you tomorrow afternoon. Bye, bye."
Is the whole damned world falling apart today? Christine asked herself as she hung up. What next, for heaven's sake?
Glancing at the clock, she jumped up and made a hurried shopping list. With Carol coming to stay with her, she'd need to get more food in the house. And she had to buy hamburger and buns for the boys this afternoon: What in the world was she going to say to those two boys? How was she going to handle it?
The lines at the supermarket were long, and by the time Christine got home she found the four girls in her first swimming class waiting at the front door.
"Go on out by the pool, but don't get in the water yet!" she said as the girls helped her carry the groceries inside. "I'll change into a swimming suit and be with you in a minute."
"Mrs. Gorman," Linda, the cute young blonde who lived down the street, said, "would it be all right if I changed to your last class today?"
"That's a boy's class, Linda," Christine replied, wondering why Linda would make such a request.
"I know," the girl replied coolly.
"Well, go on out by the pool and we'll talk about it later, Linda. I can't keep the others waiting, and there will be another class arriving pretty soon."
Christine wondered why in the world Linda wanted to change to a boy's class? She rushed back to the bedroom and changed quickly, then began her first of four classes for the afternoon.