Laughter in the Wind (15 page)

Olivia puttered around in the kitchen making coffee then brought in two steaming cups and placed them on coasters on the end table between the sofa and the easy chair. She sighed deeply as she sank down onto the end of the sofa, kicked her shoes off and curled her legs up under her.

Olivia sipped her coffee in silence and Rebecca didn’t push her. She continued to pet the cat.

“Yesterday was a nightmare,” Olivia finally began. “It started out okay. You knew my parents were coming to visit and Uncle Steve and his family live here in the city, so they were at Grandmama’s also.” She paused to sip coffee.

“Mom and Grandmama were busy in the dining room setting the table, so I cornered Uncle Steve in the living room. I mentioned I had a friend in Springtown and that got his attention. Before he knew it, he admitted he had been there before.”

“Wow,” Rebecca said. “I wonder what he was doing there? It’s not exactly a tourist attraction.”

“That’s what I was wondering, too. I pushed a little harder and asked if he knew any of the Farthings from Springtown. For a second I thought he’d swallowed his tongue. He turned beet red then really white, like he was going to pass out. He denied it, but I know he knows more than he’d say.”

“What set your grandmama off?” Rebecca asked, guessing it was something Olivia had said.

“Well, I think she overheard me say the name Farthing. I thought I heard a gasp and when I turned around, she was standing in the doorway. But she didn’t say anything, just walked back toward the dining room. Then, during our dinner, Mom asked how my trip out of town had been, you know, the weekend I stayed with you. I’d told her I met you in Rockford, so I guess that’s where she thought you lived. I was telling them about your family’s farming operation and about how large your extended family is. Then Grandmama asked where you lived. I guess she put it together with what she’d overheard earlier. Well, I guess I took a page from Uncle Steve’s book, because I answered before I even thought about it.”

She took another sip of coffee then continued. “Grandmama gave Mom and Uncle Steve a funny look when I said Springtown then she asked how I knew you. I guess she read more into it than I meant to give away. I said you were my good friend, that we met at a meeting and hit it off. Maybe something showed in my face or my Mom’s face, I don’t know. But Grandmama went off the deep end. She said she wouldn’t stand for one of her granddaughters to carry on with some female country bumpkin from a little hick town where people didn’t know right from wrong.

“I’m sorry,” Olivia said as she saw the brief flicker of pain cross Rebecca’s face at the insult to her and her home town.

“It’ll be okay,” Rebecca reassured her. “Keep on with your story.”

“Well, that’s about the end of it. Grandmama grabbed her chest and kind of stared off into space then she slid down in her chair. Uncle Steve was sitting next to her and he caught her before she fell into the floor. I don’t think she passed out completely, but she couldn’t sit up by herself. Dad ran to the phone and called 911, and Mom and Uncle Steve tended to Grandmama until the paramedics came and took over. I thought maybe my parents would talk to me about what happened while we were driving to the hospital but they didn’t say anything, except after you called. Mom asked who’d called and I said it was you. All she said was, ‘Okay.’”

Rebecca had been sipping her coffee when Olivia finished her story and she looked up in time to see a tear trickle down Olivia’s cheek. She set Pooh in the chair and rose to sit beside Olivia on the sofa. Olivia put her head under Rebecca’s chin and cried softly into the front of her soft flannel shirt. Rebecca held her and gently stroked her hair and her back, gently making shushing sounds to soothe her as Olivia released some of the pain she had been holding inside. Eventually the tears subsided but still they sat together, Olivia seeming to draw strength from the comfort of Rebecca’s arms around her. “You know you can’t be responsible for how other people react, don’t you?” Rebecca asked her quietly.

“I know, but I still feel guilty.” Olivia sniffled a little. “I love my Grandmama and I feel like I just lost her, somehow.”

“Are you going to the hospital today?” Rebecca asked softly.

“No. Mom said she was going this morning and would be coming here this afternoon to let me know how Grandmama is doing. She and Dad stayed at Grandmama’s house last night. She suggested it might be best to wait a couple of days before I try going to see her so maybe she’ll cool down a little bit.”

“Is it okay that I’m here today?” Rebecca asked, suddenly worried she may have added to Olivia’s troubles. “Will your mom be upset?”

“I don’t know if it’s okay with her,” Olivia said, her voice suddenly filled with determination. “But it’s okay with me. Before yesterday, I would have said it wouldn’t upset her but now I don’t know. I think the time has come, though, for me to stand my ground. You being here is part of who I am, part of my life. They’re going to have to learn to accept that.” Olivia’s eyes had an unyielding look and while Rebecca was worried about a possible confrontation, she was also proud of Olivia’s decision to stand strong.

Family was very important to Rebecca and she hoped she never had to decide between her family and her freedom to live her own life. If so, she might need lessons from Olivia with her inner steel. “You know I’ll do whatever you want,” Rebecca offered. “I can disappear while she’s here or I’ll stand beside you for moral support, it’s your call.”

“Right now, what I want you to do is…” Olivia said, as the expression on her face changed to one of excitement. She pulled out of Rebecca’s embrace and stood. “Grab your coat and come shopping with me again.”

“Shopping, again?” Rebecca tried not to whine. “But I thought you said—”

“Grocery shopping, you goofball! I know you love food, so surely you can stand some grocery shopping.” Olivia laughed and pulled her to the door.

Chapter Twelve

Rebecca had never been to an organic market, but as they searched the aisles for something that screamed lunch
,
she decided if she had to live in a city, she would frequent this kind of place. It was like shopping at a giant farmers market, only cleaner and all indoors.

They agreed on several ingredients for a chef’s salad and when they returned to Olivia’s apartment, they shared the work of putting together their meal. Rebecca filled two glasses with cherry Coke, their one indiscretion with the healthy meal.

They carried the fruits of their labor to the table and sat close together to eat. Rebecca rubbed her knee against Olivia’s, hoping the contact was causing the same riot of sensations in Olivia as it was in her. Olivia didn’t say anything, just looked up from her salad and smiled that funny smile. “Let’s listen to some music,” Olivia suggested after lunch. She showed Rebecca her collection of CDs in a tower beside her stereo. “I’ve got stuff downloaded onto my computer, if you don’t see something you like there.”

Rebecca chose several CDs. Olivia placed them into the stereo then randomized their play order. When the music started, Olivia said, “Do you dance? I mean, it’s okay if you don’t, because I’d love to teach you.” She smiled suggestively.

Rebecca had been to school dances before but had done more talking than dancing. “I’m not sure you could call it dancing,” she admitted, fighting the blush overtaking her cheeks at Olivia’s light flirting.

“Okay,” Olivia laughed. “Well, let’s find out.” She pulled Rebecca to the middle of the room and started moving to the music. Rebecca attempted to imitate her moves but could tell from the laughter in Olivia’s eyes that her dancing left something to be desired.

“That’s it,” she said, laughing as the song ended. “I think you’ve had enough fun at my expense.”

Olivia grabbed her hand. “Wait, one more. This is a slow one. Let me lead, just hold on and follow me.”

As foolish as she felt during the faster dance, this slow dance with Olivia felt much more like something she could learn to appreciate. She felt awkward and stiff at first, but soon the feel of Olivia’s soft body under her hands, her breath against her neck, her head resting on Rebecca’s shoulder as they moved back and forth around the small room, had Rebecca worrying less about her dancing skills and more about how to get closer. She followed Olivia’s lead and found herself able to move with her to the beat. She was disappointed when the song ended and another fast song began. Rebecca didn’t release Olivia’s hand as she stepped over to the sofa and Olivia didn’t protest, sitting down sideways across her lap. Rebecca had just touched her lips to Olivia’s when the doorbell rang. Rebecca jumped at the sound. Olivia just groaned in disappointment.

“Oh, no. That’s probably Mom,” Olivia said, rising slowly to her feet. She turned the music down, looked around the room to be sure everything was in order and gave Rebecca a reassuring nod and wink before she went to open the door.

Rebecca heard her greet her mother and Olivia introduced them as her mother entered the room. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Harmon,” Rebecca said politely, standing and reaching out to shake her hand.

“You can call me Eliza if you like,” she said warmly. “I understand you and Olivia are becoming quite close,” she continued, gently moving the cat from his perch and settling into the easy chair. She placed her coat beside her chair, but Olivia retrieved it and hung it on the coat rack before returning to her seat on the sofa, sitting stiffly beside Rebecca.

Eliza addressed Rebecca briefly before turning her attention to her daughter. “I’m glad Olivia has someone to lean on right now.” She continued without pause, “Olivia, I hope you believe you’re not responsible for Grandmama’s heart attack. She has to accept full responsibility for it. This morning the doctor said her heart was a ticking time bomb, but if she’d taken the medicine she’d been prescribed, this heart attack would have probably never happened. Also, I want you to know that I don’t agree with Grandmama. She said some very hurtful things to you yesterday and she had no right.”

Rebecca saw tears escaping, slowly trickling down Olivia’s face. She reached out and squeezed her hand, pulling it over onto her thigh so she could keep it between her own hands.

Eliza noticed the caring gesture and smiled slightly before she continued, this time more slowly and in a gentler tone. “It’s hard to explain, but Grandmama thinks she’s justified in the way she feels. You know Gran raised her as a single parent. And she never knew her father. But there’s a part of her story she doesn’t want anyone to know. I think it’s about time you learned her whole story.”

Olivia wiped her tears with a tissue and gave her mother her full attention. Rebecca was equally caught up by the tone of Eliza’s voice, anticipating a deep secret about to be revealed.

“I know you overheard me talking to your uncle on the phone that day and I assume that’s what got your curiosity aroused. Uncle Steve told me you were asking questions about Springtown and the Farthings. He never could keep a secret,” she complained. “Anyway, Mary Farthing from Springtown and your Gran were friends all those years ago. When Gran was growing older, she told me all about it. Mary, or MJ, as Gran called her, had moved to St. Louis to attend a business school then stayed here in the city to work. She met Gran while she was in school. They fell in love, you see.”

Eliza only paused momentarily as Olivia and Rebecca both gasped. “At that time it was dangerous for two women to be exposed as lovers. But they’d taken the risk and lived in the same house together for five years in the late nineteen twenties and early thirties, until Mary died. They tried to keep it a secret, but rumors got out and even after Mary died people still talked.”

Both Rebecca and Olivia sat stunned at the news, an undreamed of possibility when they had speculated about what might have been.

“What happened to her, Mom?” Olivia whispered. “How did she die?”

“During childbirth,” her mother explained.

It took a few moments for Olivia to grasp the import of her explanation. Then she gasped and exclaimed, “Oh, my gosh! You mean…? I knew I recognized the date on that headstone.”

Rebecca still had a puzzled expression on her face, and now Eliza did too.

“What do you mean, on the headstone? You’ve seen Mary Farthing’s headstone?” she questioned.

“Yes, Mom! Rebecca took me to Peacock Cemetery and we figured out from that old picture of Gran’s who MJ was from the house in the background.”

Rebecca was still feeling like she had missed something important. “Can we back up a minute?” she interrupted. “What’s this about the date on the headstone?”

Olivia was practically bouncing as she waited for her mother to explain. “Mary Farthing died giving birth to Grandmama. Olivia recognized her birth date as Mary’s date of death. But why were you in Peacock Cemetery?”

“Wow!” Rebecca let the word slip out. Now she hastened to recover and explain about the cemetery. “I took her to see it when she came to visit. It’s in a field right by my uncle’s house and it’s supposed to be haunted. But if Mary was Grandmama’s mother, then was Ralph her father?”

Eliza looked puzzled. “Ralph who?”

“Remember, Mom? I told you we had an old picture with Gran and Mary in it. Well, there was this guy standing beside Mary and the back of the picture identified him as Ralph. We found out the Farthings had a farm hand named Ralph Dunlop.”

“Honestly girls, I don’t know. I asked Gran once who my grandfather was and she didn’t answer. I know she heard me, but she turned her back to me and walked out of the room. I thought I heard her crying, but I couldn’t be sure. She never told me and I was too afraid of upsetting her to ask. I doubt it was a planned pregnancy. The stigma of being an unwed mother would have only added to that associated with two unwed young women spending their lives together.”

Rebecca thought any of the other ways she could think of for a woman to become pregnant in nineteen thirty-two would be sufficient to cause her lover to weep.
Had Mary been seeing a man behind Gran’s back? Had Mary been raped?