Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers (35 page)

“There was an accident there years ago,” her mother admitted.

“That’s all?” Regina baited her mother, like cheese to a sniffing rat; she watched and waited for the curious animal to come to the trap.

Her mother studied her before she spoke again.

“People were hurt, a few were killed. Why are you asking these questions?”

“Because, Mom, they’re important.” Regina could feel herself beginning to get choked up but still no less direct in her interrogation.

“Why?” her father asked.

“Can you just tell me what happened?” Her parents could see her frustration building.

Her father began. “There isn’t much to tell, Regina.”

Regina’s eyes glowered with a fury that was increasing exponentially by the moment with every attempt of her parents to understate the happening.

“Daddy, please,” Regina pleaded.

“Sit down.” Her father consoled her, preventing the explosion that he predicted may take place in this room if he continued to hold back what he knew. Mr. Dean grabbed his daughter’s hand gently and she allowed him to lead her to one of the wooden chairs at the breakfast table.

“It was a Sunday afternoon when we heard a series of deafening booms, the house shook. No one knew what was happening.” His words gave license to the booming that came crashing down in Regina’s head as the memory floated back to her.

“You remember my good friend Mike Dixon, he worked at Waterford. I knew him since we were kids.” Her father’s words were interrupted with a deep-rooted grief for several seconds before he regained composure.

“I was standing at the window, just watching as people began to filter out of their houses to figure out what was going on
when another series of explosions shook Black Water and then the phone rang, it was Mike. He didn’t have time to explain, he just told me to get my family out of Black Water. Later, after talking to his wife, we discovered that was the second and last call that he made, the first was to his wife.” Her father sighed, releasing all the air from his body. Mrs. Dean listened compassionately then lifted the burden from him by taking over the story.

“We packed up some of our things and took off to Aunt Charlene’s in Edgarton. By the time we bundled into the car a black fog was spreading through the sky mixing with the clouds and before we knew it, the bright day became night. It was the most terrible thing I had ever seen, people were running and screaming. It was like a natural disaster. I remember your father yelling for us to close the windows and the air conditioning vents. I thought it was the end of the world, but I jumped out of the car and ran through the smoke, back into the house to get my mother’s bible. It was awful, no doubt about that. Once we got to Edgarton, we stayed several days. When we received the OK to come back to town, your father came first to be sure that things were safe and then we came shortly thereafter. Parts of the facility were completely destroyed, but it hadn’t been the end of the world and we were all grateful for that, at least. What clean up could be done after such a thing was done and the company moved on. People were devastated, lives had been lost, jobs were lost and no one was sure how Black Water would recover but it did.” Regina’s mother finished her much too tidy recounting of events.

“Did they pay you?” Regina asked the last question that either of her parents had expected; her father sighed.

“Regina, I really don’t see how any of this …” Her mother was interrupted by Regina’s sullen voice.

“Did…they…pay…you?” Regina asked again.

“They did.” Her father admitted reluctantly.

Regina could feel the hopelessness that was creeping up inside her at the mere thought that Eden was not as crazy as Natalie had suggested.

“Why, Daddy?” Her trembling voice hinted at the possibility that she would be unable to hold it together for much longer.

“Why did they pay you?” Regina pushed.

“There was damage to the town, people lost their jobs, some people were hurt. There were several reasons.”

“Was there any damage to our home, Daddy? Did you lose your job? Were you hurt?” Regina asked the series of questions, to which, she already knew the answers.

“No,” he answered.

“So why did they pay you?” Regina asked with a cry.

Regina and her father made eye contact and he could see that hurt was the emotion that fueled her most, not anger. Charlie Dean could not lie to his daughter.

“They said that there may be some temporary and minor side effects from chemicals, but that it was nothing to worry about. The money was just a token of their apology for all of the inconvenience. Once everyone found out that the plant would not reopen, people were scared. What would happen with the loss of jobs? So of course people signed the confidentiality agreement and took the money. What else could we do? After a while we noticed some changes in people, some people were more to themselves, some people left town, some melancholy but it could have been because of the hard economic times, the deaths, it could have been anything. There was nothing so noticeably drastic as to blame it on the explosion itself.

After a few years Riley Co. built the candy factory and the town was finally able to start getting back to normal.” Her father explained further. His naiveté would have been sickening to Regina if it had come from any man besides her beloved father. Normal was the last adjective that Regina would have thought of to describe Black Water.

“Did you notice anything strange, Daddy, did you
notice
anything?” Regina pleaded to receive some acknowledgement beyond the blanket of “nothing major” reasoning.

“Like what?” he asked.

“After the explosion, did you notice anything really
strange
about the people in Black Water?” Regina asked.

“Well …” he said rubbing his head gently, something he often did when he was thinking.

Her mother interjected. “Like he said before, maybe people were a little different, but that is to be expected after an accident like that. People lost their family members, their incomes; things were just not the same around here for a long time. Is this about me?” her mother wanted to know.

“Yes, it’s about you!” Regina lashed out with a scream as she slapped her palm against the table.

“It’s about you, it’s about Lola, and it’s about everything!” She finished, slapping the table three more times to give emphasis to the important points of her rant.

“Lola?” Her mother said as confusion traveled her face. “What do you mean?”

“Glen DeFrank, Mom, was he different? Was he, Mom, huh? Did you know? Did you know?” Regina asked.

“Know what? You think he murdered Lola?” Her mother asked before she hung her head a bit lower than before. “We knew that he was different, Regina. For God’s sake, he lost both of his parents in that explosion. He was sad, but we never ever thought that he would hurt any of you girls, which is why we didn’t stop the lessons. We could have never thought that he would hurt Lola.” Her mother reached out and placed her hand on top of Regina’s and her father grabbed her other hand. Regina pulled away from both of them and used her hands to cover her face and soak up all the tears that were streaming uncontrollably from her eyes.

There was no point in telling them the whole of the truth that was to be known, it would only serve them more pain and as far as Regina could tell, they had been victims of everything just as much as she had been. There was no good in telling them, the money takers, the secret keepers, that they had failed to protect their children and that they had suffered for the unknowing actions of their parents. Regina gathered all of the pieces of herself that were shattered there on the table, pieces that may not have
seemed like much to anyone else, but were all that she had, like a sad bag lady. She backed away from the table.

“Regina, honey …” her father began. Regina held up one hand to keep him from speaking.

“I’m sorry. I don’t blame you, I just want to take a shower and lie down for a little while.” Regina turned and disappeared from the room.

After her shower, in some ways she felt new and refreshed, but in the ways that mattered she still felt damaged. She would sleep in her towel and not bother with pajamas; she wanted nothing to hinder her from sheer undisturbed rest. Regina crawled sleepily under the sheets and comforter of her bed. Her head came to a gentle rest on her pillow and she stared off into the darkness at the back of her closet. She imagined all of the things that could be waiting inside that place and she breathed in and out, her chest rising and falling as fear grew in her one moment and subsided in the next. She blew it out and then drew it back in again until this rhythm of fear and tranquility was overtaken by the soft fluttering of her eyelids. To no avail she struggled to keep her eyes trained on the darkness, watching it, guarding herself, but it crept closer and closer as the slits in her eyes grew thinner and thinner until finally sleep came to her rescue before the darkness could ravage her.

When she woke, the moonlight filtered in through her open window. The house was silent except for the sound of the washing machine thrashing clothes around just down the hall. She looked at the clock: 8:00 p.m. Only one hour and forty-five minutes had passed, but it seemed as if she had been sleep for days, her head was muddled with the mess of what had become her life in the past three days. It took her several minutes to generate the strength to lift her body and plant her feet on the cold floor.

“Mom” Regina called out and waited, but was not availed with any response. She went into her bag and pulled out a pair of her most comfortable stretchy black pants and pulled them up over the layer of goose bumps that rose on her legs, then she put on a black tank top and a brown hooded sweater.

“Mom” Regina called again as she walked out into the hallway, but there was still no answer. Feeling her way along the hall she made it to the top of the stairs, went down and into the kitchen, which usually served as the hub of their home. Regina flipped the light switch and scanned the room to find what she had been looking for, a note on the refrigerator scribbled in purple ink.

Regina, we had to go to your aunt’s house, but we will be back later this evening. Dinner is in the oven. We love you. Mom & Daddy
.

Regina opened the oven with a grunt. Now was not a time when she wanted to be alone, but besides the fact that her aunt’s health was failing and her parents went to Edgarton to check on her often she was sure that her mother needed to vent about the discussion that had taken place to her big sister, Charlene. In the oven, she found a plate wrapped in aluminum foil. Regina peeled the foil back to reveal yet another one of her favorites, Mom’s famous spaghetti and meatballs with garlic toast. The delicious aroma overwhelmed her. Regina took the plate out, placed it in the microwave and it began to heat. She poured herself a tall glass of ice water and gulped down several swallows before the microwave cried out. Regina grabbed the hot plate and began shoveling forks of spaghetti into her mouth. As much as she tried to muster it she was empty of reason, but emotions she was full of. Loneliness filled her heart and she thought of Lola. Although everything about this trip had been about Lola, it somehow felt that she had gotten lost somewhere along the way. Regina remembered the times that she spent with her best friend, the sleepovers, the swimming, exploring in the woods and as she sat there in the dimly lit kitchen she longed for her childhood friend. Regina could almost hear her laugh echoing through the room and she was suddenly taken by shame. Lola deserved none of this and she was the one who had lost the most, she did not deserve what she got from Glen and she did not deserve what she got from Regina and she did not deserve the injustice that was being propelled by all of the secrets that camouflaged themselves shamelessly among truth. A lifeless Regina could no longer fill her stomach with food because it no longer mattered considering the emptiness of her stomach was no
match for the emptiness of her heart. Regina put her plate in the sink, she pulled on a pair of her boots that were left by the front door, grabbed the keys to her father’s car and left the house. The car steered itself and Regina relaxed and pushed all thoughts from her head.

A jack-o-lantern scowled at her from the porch of Lola Rusher’s home when her car finally came to a stop on the curb. The windows of the home were warm with the glow of life inside and the porch light welcomed her. Before she had too much time to think about her visit she found herself on the porch.

Regina was at a loss for what she would say when the door flung open and she stood there emotionally naked at the threshold of the Rusher family home. A harsh breeze rushed passed her causing goose bumps to rise on her entire body; she looked to the sky and saw the dark storm clouds beginning to develop with methodical madness. Her index finger depressed the little, round cream-colored button and she heard the bell ripple through the house. At the sound of the leaves rustling playfully in the yard behind her she scanned the front yard for obscurities. A shadow appeared behind the glass in the door and she heard mumbling before she heard the locks began to clink to allow entry. Light poured over Regina.

“Regina! Are you OK?” Mrs. Rusher asked as she ushered her in from the dark night. The skin around Mrs. Rusher’s eyes was puffy and swollen with the confirmation that she had not stopped crying yet.

“You look terrible,” Mrs. Rusher said; her eyes trained on the dark circles that outlined Regina’s eyes.

Some nerve
, Regina thought to herself.

She tried hard to speak, but it was as if her mouth did not work; her jaws were tense.

“Regina, has something happened? Are you OK?” Mrs. Rusher asked again. Regina could see that Leo was coming into the foyer to check on his mother. Though there was no outward sign of it, on the inside Regina fought hard with her body in order to make it move, in order to generate sound from her throat, she
pressed against the cavities of her own chest, a little voice inside of her screamed and shouted, but there in the Rushers’ foyer all they saw was a silent, empty-eyed girl.