Pearl (6 page)

“Oh, baby, what you do to me,” he groaned. He kissed her breasts to her shoulders, her shoulders to her neck. He kissed her lips softly, his eyes lingering on hers.
 

“Don’t ever leave me,” he whispered.

She wrapped her legs tighter around him. “I won’t, Roy. I won’t.”

CHAPTER 5

Summers in the Willamette Valley of Oregon didn’t officially start ’til the Fourth of July. The gloomy clouds disappeared, leaving more than one day of sunshine at a time. By the end of July, the heat was reaching as high as late spring in Arizona. It was around this time that Pearl began to settle in to life on the farm. She wasn’t sure if it would ever truly feel like home, but it was enough to keep her busy and content.
 

She was up at dawn, trudging out to the chicken coop that stood directly beside the one Roy slept in. Granny was always there, in either her slippers covered in plastic wrap or in black rain boots that covered up half her legs and bunched in her house dress. It was the only time Pearl saw her wear anything other than her robe.
 

“Good morning, girls,” Granny coed to the chicks. “Looking so plump and fertile today!” She scattered seed on the ground, greeting each of the many chickens by name.

“Oh, Becky, is that a scratch on your wing?” Granny asked, leaning in toward the hen. “Pearl, come close and look at Becky.”

Pearl set her basket of gathered eggs down and headed toward the hen.
 

“That’s it, be real calm, don’t frighten her,” Granny coached.

Pearl knelt slowly by Becky, extending her hand forward as if to pet her. Becky fluttered her wings, clucking in fright.

“Slowly, Pearl, slowly.”
 

Pearl gritted her teeth as she reached out her hand a little farther. As she lost her balance, her hand jerked forward, and in that split second Becky dug her beak into the top of Pearl’s hand.

“Christ!” Pearl cried. Blood trickled from her wound. She stood abruptly, causing the hens to flutter around her. Becky scattered to the corner, hovering behind the other chickens.
 

“Damn hen,” Pearl cursed, shaking her hand in pain.

Granny took her wrist, examining the cut. “No need for that, Pearl. I have scars all over my arms from these ladies. They are only trying to protect themselves.”

“I think we should have chicken for supper,” Pearl grunted.
 

Granny hid a chuckle. “Go wash up for breakfast. I’ll finish gathering the eggs here.”

It was during the early morning time, before the men came in for breakfast, when Cindy was still in bed and Vernie recovering from last night’s whiskey binge, that Pearl felt grateful that Granny had someone to talk to. Finally someone was there to listen to her stories.
 

“My husband Darryl was caught under a heifer once, sat down right on top of his chest.” Granny cracked another egg into the bowl. “Compare that to a chicken peck.”

Really, it didn’t matter if Pearl listened or not; at least the woman could talk without sounding crazy.
 

“My Uncle Theo cut off three fingers with an axe,” Granny said with a shake of her head. “Two fingers were an accident—one finger was a dare.”

Pearl looked up, startled, unsure she’d heard correctly. Granny hummed away, whisking the eggs in the bowl.

“Keep cutting up those potatoes, Pearl. At this rate we will be eating them with supper, not dinner.”

She always looked forward to dinner. She craved the short time she had with Roy, watching him eat and chatting with him before he fell into his midday nap. He was always so tired at night, leaving her early for his own bed, or some nights not coming at all. She could always rely on dinner and supper. It got her through the day. She did the best she could to ignore Cindy, except when Granny had her eye on her. Then she would smile as if every word that came from Cindy’s bitter mouth was sweet as candy. She couldn’t tell if Cindy was sincere when she complimented Pearl on her hair, or an old sundress she had owned for years, and it no longer mattered. She did not need to be Cindy’s friend. Cindy was what Vernie said the pastor called the Snake, tempter to the devil. Pearl didn’t go to church with Vernie, but she believed the pastor knew what he was talking about.
 

She did feel sorry for Darren. She pitied the way he was screamed at by his wife. Listening to Cindy yell at Darren and the children became so common even Pearl no longer jumped at the sound of her voice. Darren did what he could to stay out of her line of fire, moving through the house like a quiet mouse, as if hiding from a bone-crunching cat.

On the days when Granny would busy herself with bird watching or gardening, Pearl would sneak away before she was needed for dinner. She escaped to see Vernie, who was waiting on the front porch, fanning her double chin with a straw hat.
 

“My precious Pearl!” she exclaimed, “I was just thinking about you.”

By the look of the ashtray, she had been sitting out here a while. All Vernie needed for a good day were her two best friends, Virginia Slims and moonshine whiskey.

“Come and join me on this glorious day. Do you need a drink?” She slipped her apron off over her head, and Pearl could see the beads of sweat gather in a pool in the creases of her chin.

Pearl settled down beside her. There was such ease with Vernie, a comfort Pearl hadn’t felt with many people in her life. She could spend her entire day right on this porch, looking out at the beautiful landscape, and feel completely at peace.
 

“I’d love one of those,” she said, pointing to Vernie’s smokes. “Anything to drink other than whiskey?”

“Ahh, I thought you’d ask,” Vernie said with a wink. She stepped into the house, returning with a tall glass, frothy and bright. “Had this waiting for you.”
 

Pearl took a sip, grimaced, and then smiled. “I like it. What is it?”

“Had some tequila left over, so I whipped you up a little margarita, thought that was more your style.”
 

“Guess I knew the right place to go,” Pearl said, licking the foam and salt from the glass.

 
“I reckon you do, my dear.” She lit a smoke. “Virginia and I always look forward to your company. Oh, lordy, lordy, do you feel that heat, Pearl?” she continued, back to fanning the hot air from her face. “Summer sure is upon us now. One thing to know about us Oregonians, Pearl, is that we complain when it’s too wet, and we complain when it’s too hot. We just can’t seem to be comfortable, and it takes a toll on the spirit to be that unsatisfied all the time.”

Vernie took a sip of her drink, and with the lift of one finger from the glass, pointed out to the scene in front of them. “Sometimes, on days when I get lonely, I love to sit out here and rekindle my spirit. And if I’m lucky, the Lord will shine a little piece of heaven on me, and today it is you.”

Pearl smiled at her friend. Her first and only friend. Vernie had a heart too big for her lumpy soft body. She had seen so much in her fifty-eight years, and that was without leaving the farm. Silence was not a word Vernie knew well, and small talk was never an excuse to fill dead air. Vernie wanted to know it all, wanted to dive deep into what made Pearl tick, and in return share her own stories. Pearl sat back with a smile, taking it all in. All she ever needed was Virginia and Vernie to take her mind away.

“Have you called your father?” Vernie asked, turning serious.

“No,” Pearl lied. The truth was she had. She dialed the number and let it ring three times. By the fourth, her father answered, but her courage was gone. She hung up the phone just as her father said hello.

“Ahh,” Vernie said. “You know, I once went three months without speaking to my father. And we lived on the same land.”

“Were you angry with him?”

Vernie nodded. “Very. But then you realize that anger doesn’t hurt anyone but yourself.”

Pearl stretched her legs over the steps of the porch. “I’m not angry at my dad. I’m just afraid he’s angry with me.”

“You don’t think he would approve of you being here with Roy?”

Pearl shrugged. “Probably not. I guess I just don’t know what to say. I don’t know when I’ll be back to visit. And I don’t want to disappoint him by saying that.” Pearl paused, taking a drag of her cigarette. “I guess I’m scared if I hear their voices, it would be too much, that I’d want to go home.”

Vernie tilted her head in Pearl’s direction. “That sounds like a whole lot of uncertainty, if you ask me. You can’t find home with one foot out the door.”

“I have no intention of leaving here,” Pearl defended herself.
 

Vernie shrugged. “No one ever does.” She sipped her drink. The ice clinked in the glass. “Let me ask you this.”

Pearl cocked her head at Vernie’s pause.

“Is Roy the best guy you know?”

Pearl turned her eyes away and focused on Roy’s small frame in the field. He couldn’t see her from here, but she loved sitting on the porch watching him work, feeling him close, and knowing he was working hard for her and their future.

“He’s the only guy I know,” she answered.

Vernie chuckled lightly. “I have a hard time imagining that. Beauty like you would be knocking all the men to their knees.”

Pearl’s cheeks reddened. “No, it’s not like that. I haven’t been in school since elementary years. No one pays attention to me.”

“Well, Roy did. You met him.”

Pearl finished the last of her drink, the cool liquid freezing her head. “At a gas station.” She laughed. “How romantic is that?”

She had been short $3, and Roy had chipped in. He was the most beautiful man she had ever seen. And he seemed to be just as smitten with her. They talked for hours by the Chevron sign, and by the time Roy said he wanted to see her again, she already knew he was the man she would marry.

“Seems as good a place as any,” Vernie said, lighting another cigarette.

“That was two years ago, when I was sixteen. My dad tried to keep us apart in the beginning, told me Roy was too old for me. There was something about Roy that just never clicked with him. But I couldn’t stay away from him.” Her lips curved up at the memory. “When he said he was moving back to Oregon, I just knew I had to go.”

Vernie wrapped her arm around her shoulders. “And I’m so very happy you did.”

Pearl smiled up at her. “Me, too.”

Vernie gave her a tight squeeze before releasing her to light another smoke.
 

“What about you, Vernie, where’s the great love of your life?”

Vernie’s smile dropped. The cigarette went unlit as she set the lighter down. “Ah, yes. Well, that is a story for another time, with a much stiffer drink.”

Pearl tilted her head toward Vernie, watching the shadows drift across her face. She was about to ask more, but the sound of a car engine disrupted her thoughts.

“Do you hear that?” Vernie asked. “Why, if I know one thing, it would be that Cindy Blackwood needs a favor.”

Cindy’s white Honda pulled into the driveway. Two bouncing children bolted from the car. Cindy stuck out a leg. Her shorts so short there was almost no point in wearing them. Her tight red tank top clashed with her hair and showed just enough cleavage to believe she was doing more than a little grocery shopping.
 

“Oh, Vernie, I need help!” she called out.

“Got that right,” Vernie whispered to Pearl.

Cindy glared at Pearl’s light giggle. “I have to run into town. Can you watch the kids?”

“You know I’m always here to help,” Vernie said as the kids rushed up the steps and pounced on Vernie. “I’m awfully busy today, need to trim some hedges, but Pearl is here with me to help.”

Cindy kept her gaze tight on Vernie. “I would really appreciate it if you watched them.”

Pearl glared at Cindy. If Vernie approved, she’d walk right up and spit her face.
 

Vernie nodded. “I’ll be here.”

Cindy shut the door, tearing up the engine. “Oh, Vernie, you are just the best!”

The car sped off, leaving a cloud of dust down the gravel road. The kids ran up and down the stairs, chasing each other and tackling Vernie.
 

“All right, all right,” Vernie said with smile. “You two up and to the table. You should have a healthy snack for once.”

Vernie stood and made her way to the door, the children already inside. Pearl sat, staring out at the speeding car.
 

“Why does she hate me so much?” Pearl mumbled.

Vernie paused, turning from the doorway. “Why, Pearl, I thought you would have figured that out by now.”

Pearl looked up to see Vernie smile widely in amusement. “That nasty woman doesn’t like you ’cause you up and stole her man.”

Vernie walked through the doorway, shutting the screen door behind her. Pearl sat there, stunned, her cigarette left burning in her fingers.

“Roy, when do you think we will get our own place together?” Pearl asked as she watched him dress. It was dark, and even in the coolest of summer nights the chicken coop seemed to suck all of Oregon’s hot air inside. The coop cleaned up surprisingly well, and yet the stench of rotted wood mixed with chicken feed and muck hung in the humid air. Roy had found old carpet in the shed to cover the ground with mix-and-match rugs to fill in gaps the carpet didn’t cover. He had one recliner chair with an old black and white TV set, and the same dresser from his childhood. The bed was the best part of the room. Big and full, brand new, with downy pillows that were just too hot for summer but perfect for cold winters. Lying on top of the fluffy comforter, Pearl fanned her naked body with Roy’s hat.
 

“What’s the rush, baby?” Roy cocked his head to look at her, yet his gaze always seemed to wander over her bare skin.
 

“I moved here to be with you. I just feel like I never get to see you at all.”

The nights she spent with him became fewer and fewer. They had gone on one date since they arrived, and it was merely on a drive to an abandoned field, where they made love in the daytime in the back of his truck. She believed in Roy, trusted him completely, but after her talk with Vernie today, she began to wonder what Roy had left behind when he moved to Arizona. It made her sick to think Roy had ever been with Cindy, and it was a question she did not dare ask him. Now that it was clear that Cindy was still in love with Roy, they needed their distance. They needed off this farm to be in a place where she knew he always came home to her.