Deep in the Valley (18 page)

“J
ustine!” she called.

Justine came from the back room carrying a beautiful carnation arrangement formed around a small carousel. “June? Hi. How are you? I heard about your accident. I was worried sick. I brought some flowers to your house—the porch was already covered with gifts.”

“Ah, yes. Yes, thank you.” She stretched her memory for which flowers came from Justine, but she hadn’t gone through each item as she should have. She silently berated herself for not making a proper list for thank-you notes. Birdie would be appalled. “Justine, I’m so sorry. I missed our appointment!”

“Well June, that seems reasonable. You were in a car accident, after all.”

“I can see you this morning if you like. We’ll just have Jessie make a dent in the schedule and you come in whenever you want.”

Justine laughed rather brightly. “Now June, don’t go crazy over this, there’s no rush. I’ll make an appointment for sometime next week. I don’t even know how
soon a person should have a first checkup. When’s the earliest I need to be seen? Since I already know my condition.”

First checkup? June thought, frowning. This was a new twist. Far different than the panic of a couple of nights ago, along with the demand for an immediate abortion. Plus Justine looked fabulous, not just better than the other night, when her face had been splotchy from tears and her hair and clothing in disarray from general neglect. This was more than an improvement, this was a whole new Justine. Even her usually ruddy complexion looked rosy. And instead of looking chubby and unpretty, she looked pleasantly roundish and
sensual.
Maybe it was her posture.

“Well,” June said, “that all depends on how you’re feeling.”

“I feel just great,” she said, flashing a bright and healthy smile.

“And…” June faltered. “You’re not very far along, are you?”

“No. Just a month or so. But I can already tell. You know?”

“No morning sickness?”

“Well, at first I felt just ill all over.” She laughed. “At first I wanted to
die!
”

“And you feel better about…things now?” June asked. She’d known some people to blossom with pregnancy, but never like this. If she didn’t know better, she’d think Justine had just spent a couple of months in a health spa. But it had been less than forty-eight hours since she’d seen her. And then Justine had been distraught.

“I’m feeling better about everything, thanks.”

June suddenly believed Justine must have worked something out with Jonathan, which she immediately felt would be a mistake. Either that or she’d successfully murdered him.

“Well, if you’re not in crisis and you’re feeling well, come and see me by six weeks. That should be soon enough.”

“Okay. I’ll call Jessie.”

“Justine, I must say, you’re looking wonderful. Pregnancy must agree with you.”

“Yes, I think it does. I’m hoping it’s a girl.”

“You’ve changed your mind, then? About the—”

“Oh God, yes! I was a little crazed when I came into the clinic the other night. Plus I’d just barely left Jonathan. I had only just told him about the baby. Needless to say, he was in a state of shock. And probably didn’t handle himself very well.”

“Ah. And have you had a chance to work things out with him? A little more rationally?”

She frowned. “No. I don’t plan to ever speak to that big jerk again.”

June leaned wearily on the counter, resting her head on the heel of her hand. Sadie nosed around the store, squeaking. “Nonetheless,” June said in confusion, “you certainly appear born-again, if you don’t mind my phraseology.”

“Born-again! How funny!” She laughed.

“It’s none of my business, but I’m sure curious about the change, your about-face.”

“I owe it to Sam. When I left your clinic the other night, I was still so upset, I didn’t want to go home. I
was afraid my dad would know something was wrong and somehow find out my problem and—you know—kill me. So I came here. Between crying jags, I got a little flower arranging done.

“Then after the fire—your Jeep—Sam brought the fire truck back to town to gas her up, saw the light and came over to see if I was all right. Well, I was
not
all right! I don’t know what it is about Sam. You can just talk to him, you know?”

“You can?”

“He’s so understanding. So gentle. So
wonderful!
”

“He is?”

Justine nodded, but her eyes were rolled skyward. “Oh God, yes! First of all, he made me see that this problem was not a problem at all, but a gift. Anyone who doesn’t see it that way has no respect for humanity. For life. For motherhood.

“Then he told me about how beautiful and sexy and remarkable pregnant women are! How all the curves and padding just makes a woman that much more womanly. Even my complexion has already gotten healthier! Even through all those tears, he could see that.”

“He could, could he?”

“There was really a lot to talk about. I was so hurt and confused and upset, and I was desperate for a clear-headed perspective. So yesterday I closed the shop and went fishing with Sam. By the end of the day I was a new woman. I’m having this baby, June. I’m raising her, I’m going to be a good mother, and at least I’m going to be responsible for my actions. In a loving way.” Then her expression changed to a more bitter twist. “Unlike some pious people I know!”

“Well,” June exclaimed. “If you’re happy, I’m happy!”

“Oh, I am! In fact, I don’t know when I’ve been happier! I’m thinking about asking Sam to be my childbirth coach!”

“Really? I wouldn’t have cast Sam in that role, but—”

“He’d be perfect. I just need to be sure I’m around positive people now. People who are happy for me. People who really care about me.”

“I certainly can’t argue with that. Good for you. You come and see me in a couple of weeks, unless you have a problem—in which case you should call me at once. Okay?”

“Okay. Are
you
feeling all right now?” Justine asked, touching her own head in reference.

“Huh? Oh yeah.” June touched the spot. “It itches. Sadie, come here!” The dog immediately turned and came to June. June crouched, bringing Sadie’s head next to hers. “Look. Twins.”

“How cute,” Justine said.

“See you later, then,” June said.

“Sure, hon.”

Hon?
This was a very strange transformation. But, June had to admit, it was better than what she’d see before.

“Um, Justine, I was just wondering…. Have you told your father?”

“No. Not yet. No hurry on that, I guess. It’s only going to get him riled up, so I’d as soon wait till I
have
to. You know?”

“Oh, I do know! Good luck!”

Still shaking her head in bemusement, June went to
the café. Tom was already there, along with some of the old locals, including Elmer.

“Everything all right?” Tom asked.

“Uh-huh. I had forgotten, Justine left me a beautiful floral arrangement yesterday. A get-well thing. I wanted to thank her.”

“It appeared to be an urgent thank-you,” Tom observed.

But June’s attention was drawn to her father, who glumly stared into his coffee cup and hadn’t even muttered “good morning.”

“What’s the matter with him?” she asked Tom.

“Poker’s been called off.”

“Really? Judge isn’t up to it yet?”

Elmer turned toward them. “Judge is still out, and Sam isn’t coming. That doesn’t leave enough of a table.”

“Oh, too bad. You can come out to dinner if you like. Why isn’t Sam playing?”

“Damned old fool,” Elmer said. “He has a date. Taking Justine to dinner and a movie in Fort Bragg. For God’s sake,” he said in disgust.

“Oh Dad,” June said, laughing. “Sam’s just trying to cheer her up. She was kind of, I don’t know, down in the dumps.”

“Shows what you know,” Elmer said.

“Dad, he’s seventy! Justine is a twenty-six-year-old girl!”

“He said if things go right, he’ll be missing a lot of poker…and he’ll be buying a ring!”

Justine was the youngest of five girls; her mother had died when she was sixteen. Justine suffered her
loss just a year before June’s own mother died, and though they had nothing else in common, June had always felt a kind of bond with the girl because of that. Except it never seemed Justine felt any such bond with June.

Justine’s older sisters married early and left Grace Valley with their husbands in what almost appeared to be a frantic exodus out of the valley, away from the grumpy, shortsighted, widowed Standard Roberts. Stan, as he was called by the locals.

Stan didn’t mix much. He was always a presence at town doings, from fairs to meetings, but he had to be because he owned a large flower farm between the town and coast. He had to protect his interests and sell his wares. Justine got most of her flowers from her father’s farm, and June assumed Stan had helped finance the shop.

Standard was a known grouch and had been even when his kindly and tolerant wife had been living, but he was not a cruel sort, like Gus Craven. Stan was just morose. He’d always had an impatient and gruff tone with his daughters, but June had never known him to be abusive. She made a mental note to be extra observant. If Stan didn’t take well to this pregnancy, she wanted to be a support for Justine.

She wondered how Stan would like the idea of having a seventy-year-old son-in-law. Such a situation might require far more support than even June could muster.

“He didn’t really say that!” she said to her father.

“He did. Said he always thought Justine special.”

“Lord above! You think he’ll ask Standard for her hand?” June asked.

“You think he’ll ask me to pick Standard’s bullets out of his backside?” Elmer retorted.

“This town just keeps getting more eccentric!”

“Eccentric? That what you call it?” Elmer asked. “I would have said psychotic!”

They were both distracted then by the sound of screeching tires as a beige station wagon with one of those Christian fish slapped on the bumper careened through the town. Past the church, the clinic, the café, the police station. It fishtailed to an abrupt stop in front of the Flower Shoppe. Mrs. Clarice Wickham got out. Four bobbing heads remained in the station wagon as Clarice slammed the door and stomped up the steps to the shop.

“Uh-oh,” June said. “Hell hath no fury…”

“Now what’s that about?” Elmer muttered.

But June didn’t answer—she just left her cup on the counter and bolted. She wasn’t even aware of Tom and Elmer following her. “Stay in the car, kids,” June said to the Wickham children as she ran past Clarice’s parked vehicle. By the time she got in the shop door, Clarice was in high gear.

“If you think I’ll stand by and watch you strut and humiliate my family, you’re sadly mistaken, young hussie!”

“Young
hussie?
” Justine said. “Have you any idea what your—”

“I have a reputation to protect! I have innocent children who don’t deserve the kind of cheap, nasty gossip your behavior is bound to bring down on them, and I could be forced to dramatic measures if you don’t agree to just go away quietly and—”

“Go
away?!
”

June’s mouth hung open; she was mesmerized by this display. Clarice’s fists were clenched at her sides and her whole head was red. Her cheeks flamed and her scalp burned through her thinning blond hair. Elmer whispered in June’s ear, “So it’s true then. The pastor and Justine.”

“
Was
true,” she whispered back.

Tom Toopeek was not mesmerized. He was activated. “All right, Clarice, that’s enough. Let’s step outside and talk about this.”

She snatched her arm away angrily when he would have led her. “There’s nothing to talk about—except maybe the way this tart has tried to ruin my husband’s career through lies and blackmail! Arrest her!!”

“Blackmail?” Justine asked dumbly.

“We should talk about your driving first,” Tom said patiently.

“Blackmail?” Justine repeated.

“Slut!” Clarice screamed. “Whore! Tramp! Bawd! Harlot!”

“Bawd?” Justine asked in confusion. “Blackmail?”

“All
right!
” Tom shouted. He grabbed Clarice’s upper arm more forcefully and began to pull her away from Justine’s counter. But the woman started sobbing, covering her face with both hands and wilting before their eyes.

June was astonished. While Jonathan Wickham had managed to piss off a bunch of town women, he definitely had a power over others. That Justine and Clarice could be so swayed by the pastor was shocking. June wondered just how he managed it, and then had a
fleeting regret that he’d never been a patient of hers or she might know.

From the back room, Sam emerged. Calmly. He held a cup of steaming coffee in his hand and had a look of anger in his steely blue eyes. Justine didn’t turn to look at him, but smiled as he came up behind her. He slipped an arm around her shoulders, and as he did so, Justine seemed to grow taller and straighter. Her facial features reflected confidence for maybe the first time in June’s acquaintance with her.

As for Sam, he was stunning. A handsome and powerfully strong man with a tan face, thick, snowy white hair, broad shoulders, flat stomach and remarkable height of at least six foot two, he made Jonathan Wickham look like a wimp by comparison.

Everyone in the room stood fixed and silent as Clarice spent herself on sobs. At long last she looked up, only to find Sam beside Justine. “You!” she said with viciousness. “I might have known
you
would consort with this whore! I told Jonathan it probably isn’t even his! I told him he was being used and—”

June didn’t even see Sam wind up, but his fist came down on Justine’s counter with such force that the glass covering the top cracked into a million veiny lines. Clarice jumped and gasped, and Sam leaned over the counter and squinted his shining eyes. “That’s
it!
” he shouted. “Don’t let me ever hear another foul word come out of your mouth! You and your husband treat this young woman with respect, you hear me? Or you’ll answer to me!”

Clarice sniffed back indignant tears. “You take her part then?”