Pearl (7 page)

“Baby, you see me all the time.” He buttoned his Levi’s, the jeans that made her skin shiver. “Is this about me going out with my buddies tonight?” Roy cracked open a beer, taking a gulp and placing it on his makeshift vanity.
 

She shook her head, her eyes wandering to the stack of empty beer cans in the corner. She tried not to be concerned about the growing pile. She just never knew Roy liked beer as much as he seemed to on the farm.
 

 
“No, I don’t care that you go out with your friends.”

“I told you that you could come, but you wouldn’t have any fun. Just a bunch of lazy guys hanging around.” Roy checked his reflection in the hanging mirror over the window. He fluffed his black hair out of his eyes, and wet the sides to keep off his ears.
 

“It’s okay,” she answered, not wanting to be the girl who made her boyfriend stay home.

“What, then? You wanna take a trip or something? Go camping or to the beach, just the two of us? Do you really want me to ask Darren for some time off?” He crawled back to her and nestled his face in her hair. “I will if it’s that important to you.”

Pearl smiled through the hesitation in his voice. “Oh, yes. I would love that.”

She squealed in delight and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to her.

“Okay, okay,” he said, easing himself off the bed. “You know I gotta go. You’d better get back before Granny realizes you’re gone.” Roy took one last swig and tossed the can into the heap in the corner.

Pearl stood up, reaching for her yellow flowered sundress. Roy came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Whoa, looks like someone has been enjoying Granny’s cooking,” he said, giving her belly a little pat.

Pearl looked down at her flat stomach. Shyly she pulled the dress over her head, covering her naked body from Roy. She tried a smile with a light shrug. “Afraid I’ll become a fat farm wife?”
 

He laughed. “Might be a little late for that.”

He gave her a quick kiss, still chuckling to himself. He walked out of the door, leaving her standing in the middle of the chicken coop with her fingers digging into her skin, pushing her belly back in.

CHAPTER 6

Three months after her arrival in Oregon, Pearl sent home her first letter. She had written many letters, but not one of them made it to her father and Billy. She spent a week taking photos of the farm, capturing the alluring beauty of the open fields and high pine and oak trees. She especially enjoyed taking photos of Granny baking pie, and Vernie pruning her lilies. The children posed expectantly, acting as perfect angels with smiles that could fool anyone. Even Cindy gave her one shot, over the shoulder with her long red hair sweeping the middle of her back. And of course there was a photo with Roy. She posed happily with him as the picture of a perfect couple, as well as action shots of him and Darren hard at work on the tractor and tending the cattle. With the printed photos in hand, all that was left was to write the letter.
 

She told her father and Billy of the beauty of Oregon, how it lay right next to California, so the weather was always sunny. The beaches were hot, and she loved to swim in the ocean. It was a life of luxury, with nothing to do but find ways to pass the day away. She lay in the fields reading books she always wanted to read, played games with the children, and helped Vernie in the garden. She promised she missed home, but knew that here with Roy was her destiny. He was building them a future, a home of extravagance where she could hire house cleaners and cooks. She couldn’t wait for Billy and her father to visit—they were welcome any time. There was plenty of room. She was sure Roy would build them a house, too.
 

And yet through all of these promises of hope to see them, somehow she forgot to send the letter with a return address.

She dropped off the envelope at the Mullington post office and walked into Fitch’s, the only grocery store in a twenty-mile radius. List in hand, Pearl knew better than to ever venture from it, since Granny always checked the receipt. She had been doing Granny’s shopping for the past month, once a week on Friday afternoons. She craved this time. The simplicity of shopping was nice, but getting out of the house was even better. She sometimes forgot an item just so she could return the next day.

“Hey, Pearl.” She turned to the familiar voice.

“Hey, Benny,” she answered. “Aren’t you supposed to be in school?”

Benny Fitch was the owner’s son, only a couple years younger than Pearl and still in high school, which had begun the week before. He was a gangly boy, sweet but awkward, with brown shaggy hair and round glasses over hazel eyes. His clothes hung on him a couple sizes too big, and his feet were the size of both of Pearl’s put together.

“Ya, out early today. Only have morning classes this semester.” He grabbed for the can of olives out of Pearl’s reach and tossed them in her cart.
 

Pearl felt a twinge of jealousy at hearing of his ease with school. There were no short days, no terms, or much of anything fun when it came to her homeschooling.

“Hey, my dad says…”

Pearl tuned him out as her attention was directed to the swinging door, or, more accurately, the girl entering through the door. She couldn’t have been any older than Pearl, and yet the bounce in her step and kick of her hips placed her worlds ahead. Her long dark hair sprang in curls covering her shoulders and down her back. She was beautiful, like someone Pearl expected to see in a movie, not in a small town in the middle of nowhere. There was something so striking about her that Pearl couldn’t turn her eyes away. The girl caught her staring and smiled.
 

“Hey, Benny Fitch,” she said, sliding up beside them.

“Hey, there, Sammie,” he replied, his cheeks blushing as her arm grazed his.

“Hot day out, huh?” She smiled coyly.

“Unusually hot, heard it’s supposed to be in the nineties. You’d think it’d be cooling down for fall.” Benny let his eyes glide over Sammie’s tight tank top and short white shorts.

“Wouldn’t doubt it. I can’t remember a time when my thighs dripped with so much sweat.”

Benny gulped loudly as Pearl’s own gaze landed on Sammie’s legs.

“What it would be like to be droplets of sweat on those thighs,” Benny said, before realizing it was out loud. His face flushed as he turned his head away.

“Oh, Benny!” Sammie giggled, and she gave Pearl a quick wink, her only acknowledgement that she’d noticed Pearl standing there.

Benny cleared his throat. Pearl was finding this all too amusing and smiled at his stammered question.

“What, what can I do for you today, Sammie?”

“I wanted to come by and tell you that Jesse Holmes is having a party up on Sis More Hill tonight, and I’d really like it if you’d come.”

Benny crossed his arms over his shoulders, his confidence coming back. “You want me to come to a party with you?”

She nodded her head. “Of course I do.”

“Well, all right.”
 

“I suppose we will need something to drink, don’t you think?” she asked, twirling a curl around her finger. “And I’d really like some smokes to make sure I drink plenty.”

Benny threw his hands up. “Ah, damn it, Sammie, you know how much trouble I got into the last time I sold you cigarettes! If I get caught again, my dad says he’s going to send me away to the army.”

Sammie leaned into the nervous Benny, her breasts resting on his arm. “But your daddy ain’t here today, Benny.”

Benny bit his lip while thinking. “He just knows these things. Hey, Pearl, you’re eighteen, aren’t you?”

Pearl hadn’t moved since the girl walked in.

“You’re name is Pearl?” The girl smiled at her. “What, are your parents some kind of old hippies?” Her eyes widened. “Ooh, look at those lips! I would kill for your lips!”

Something about the girl made Pearl step out of her closed shell and open up.

“I’m eighteen. I’ll buy your smokes.” She turned to Benny. “Just as long as they’re on a separate transaction.”

“No problem,” he said gratefully.
 

The girl shrieked, wrapping her arms around Pearl. “You’re the best!” She pulled back, digging into her purse. “I have the money. It’s not like I’ll be doing this forever.” She gave Benny a smirk. “I turn eighteen in a few months.”

Pearl handed Benny the cash, asking for a pack of Camel Lights and Virginia Slims. When her shopping was done, Pearl loaded the bags into the bed of the truck. She didn’t know the girl was behind her until she heard her voice.
 

“That was really cool of you. You didn’t have to do that, you know.”

Pearl shrugged. “I know.”

Sammie stuck out her hand. “I’m Sammie Lynn Taylor. I live up on Oak County Road. I don’t think I’ve seen you around, and I know everybody.”

Pearl took her hand and introduced herself, telling Sammie she lived at Jumping Creek.

Sammie stared at her a moment in uncertainty. “Are you Roy Blackwood’s girl everyone is talking about?”

Pearl blushed. “You know Roy?”

She giggled. “Who doesn’t know Roy? Best-looking guy to ever come out of Oregon.” Sammie leaned against Pearl’s truck. “Thought he moved a few years ago. I had heard he was back but hadn’t seen it for myself.”

“Yeah, we met in Arizona. That’s where I’m from.” Pearl wondered just how Sammie knew Roy.

“I used to go with one of his friends. Roy’s sure something, ain’t he?”

Pearl smiled.
Yes, yes he is
, she thought to herself.

“Well, tell Roy Sammie Lynn says hi. Hey, maybe you two should come down to the party tonight. Bet there are a few people who would love to meet the girl who stole Roy’s heart.”

Pearl thought for a moment. Getting off the farm for a night did sound intriguing.

“I don’t know,” Pearl said. “Roy works so early, he’s usually crashed out by ten.”

Sammie nudged her in the side. “Then come by yourself. Who wants to sit around on a Friday night? We’ll come pick you up.”

“I doubt Roy would let me go alone.”

Sammie smiled her flirtatious smile. “Roy will be asleep.” She turned and walked away. “I’ll be at the bottom of the driveway at eleven.”

Pearl watched the sun drift out of the sky and fall behind the hills. When Roy fell asleep just after ten, she sneaked out of his bed, leaving him naked and snoring on top of the sheets. She crept out of the door and back to Granny’s and tiptoed through the silent house. She searched through her clothes for the most desirable outfit she could find. A low-cut spaghetti-strap sundress would have to do. The lilac color complemented her skin, and the seam of the dress caressed her mid-thigh and showed off the tone in her legs. It had been a while since she had felt the need to touch up her face with lip gloss and blush. No one seemed to notice on the farm if her hair was even brushed. She slipped on her strappy heels, excited to finally have an excuse to wear them. She looked herself over, feeling satisfied with the outcome. She could walk into a party, and no one would be surprised that she was Roy Blackwood’s girl.

Sammie was waiting at the bottom of the driveway at eleven, as promised, with a car full of boys.

“Hot damn, you are one gorgeous thing!” Sammie cried out.
 

Pearl smiled, holding her head high, believing for once it was true, though nothing could compare to how Sammie looked in tight jeans and a see-through cream lace camisole.

 
“Davie, get your ass out of the front seat and let her sit down.” Sammie glared at the boy. He huffed a little, mumbling something under his breath before squeezing in with the other two boys in the back seat.

Pearl settled in. As excited as she was for the night to begin, she also expected to see lights come flying down the driveway behind them. She took a deep breath, counted the seconds until Sammie pulled away, and then let her breath and anxiety go.

“Well, don’t be rude,” Sammie scolded the boys. “Introduce yourselves.”

Sammie was a girl who got her way.
 

The boy who gave up his seat nodded at Pearl. “I’m Davie.” He was short and a little on the heavy side, with spiky blond hair and nice teeth.

The boy in the middle, the best-looking of the bunch, leaned forward and simply said, “Jason.”

The one on the end, rolling a joint, was Kevin.

“We got some weed back there if you want,” Sammie offered.

Pearl shook her head politely, instead lighting a cigarette.

“How long you been with Roy Blackwood?” Jason asked.

“Almost two years.”

“Man, I remember him in high school. He was older than me, in my brother’s grade. He could kick the shit out of anyone who looked at him the wrong way.”

Pearl tried to imagine Roy in a fight. She had never even heard him raise his voice.

Kevin lit his joint and laughed. “Remember that one time he nailed that freshman for accidentally spilling milk on him? That kid transferred schools after that.”

“Man, I would,” Jason replied.

Pearl sat quietly smoking her cigarette. There was no point in telling these adolescent boys that people grow up and change.

“I heard he’s been making some noise with those Miller boys and causing a real scene down at Wriggs,” Kevin said.

Davie, the fat one who had been quiet until now, said, “My brother played poker with him the other night, said he hasn’t changed a bit.”
 

Pearl shifted nervously in her seat. Sammie caught sight of her and said, “Shut up back there. He wasn’t that bad.”

“You all know about his parents, right? What his dad did?” Kevin asked.

Sammie slammed on the brakes, causing the boys to fly forward.
 

“I said, shut the fuck up!”
 

Pearl steadied her trembling fingers as she lit another smoke. It was the most she had ever heard of Roy’s parents.
 

The boys sat back and silently passed their joint.

They drove deeper into the country, down roads Pearl could never find her way out of. By the time they reached the party, Pearl was ready for a drink. A tall redheaded boy stood at the gate, handing out cups for cash.