Seasons (33 page)

“Wyn! Someone just threw a brick through my bedroom window. It had a note on it that said ‘From a friend.’ Do you think that
trashy Jaci Winters did it?”

“Linda?” Wynola asked groggily. “Where have you been? I’ve been trying to call you. Didn’t you get my messages?” Wynola became
more alert as she talked. “Linda! Did you do something stupid like vandalizing Jaci’s truck?”

“So, what if I did! I told you I’m going to get that hussy. She’s not getting the message so I had to do something to get
her attention.”

Wynola’s stomach began to roll. After receiving a call from Ed Shannon, her husband had torn into her about her harassment
of Jaci Winters, demanding to know if she was really foolish enough to do something like that. Her answer left him shaking
his head, and he’d told her she was on her own. Her thoughts had been in turmoil ever since. But she was in too deep to stop
at this point.

“Why!” Wynola screamed, as she got up, took the phone, and left the room to keep from waking her husband. “That was just plain
foolish. Linda, you need to back off and move on. The man doesn’t want you! Even if we do get rid of Jaci, he still won’t
want you. Leave it alone!”

“Huh! It’s not even about that fool J.P. anymore. It’s a matter of principle now. I’m going to show that little nobody that
I’m a woman of my word. I told her I was going to get her for attacking me, and I’m going to do it.”

“Linda . . .” Wynola sighed tiredly. “You’re the one who attacked her, remember? She was just defending herself. Look. I can’t
help you anymore. And you need to forget this. Honey, I think you should consider moving back home. After all, you don’t have
a job or anything else holding you here.”

“I’m looking for another job, and I’m not going anywhere until I deal with Jaci Winters.”

Wynola realized her sister was not thinking rationally, and she hung up the phone and quickly dialed another number. “Hey,
Sis, I’m sorry to wake you up but we’ve got a problem! Linda again. She’s stalking and attacking people again.” Wynola took
care not to mention the extent of her own part in Linda’s actions. “We need to get her out of town fast before she gets herself
in more trouble than we want to deal with. I’m about sick of this girl. We should have never allowed her to come to Houston.
She causes problems everywhere she goes. I hate to send her back to Mama and Daddy—Lord knows they’re tired of her and too
old to have this problem dumped on them. But the people she’s messing with this time . . . she could end up in prison.”

The next morning Linda entered the garage, happily on her way to a job interview, and discovered all four tires on her car
were flat. Terrified, she ran back into the house. The car was in the garage, which was locked, but somehow someone had gotten
in and cut all her tires. It chilled her to the bone to think that whoever had been there could have also entered the townhouse.
Linda was scared!

Three days later, she removed the extensive barricades she had placed in front of the locked door and came out of her bedroom,
then walked down the stairs where she stood in amazement. The exterior doors stood wide open and the curtains were blowing
out of the open windows. She screamed and ran back up the stairs to the bedroom and picked up the telephone. Someone had been
in her house! Had left all her doors and windows open for anyone or anything to get in. They were getting closer and closer
to her. There was no way she could continue living in that house alone.

Hysterical, Linda screamed into the phone, “Wyn! Somebody keeps getting in here. They got in the garage and cut my tires the
other night. And just now, I went downstairs and found all the doors and windows open. Somebody’s coming in here and evidently
they have a key because they’re not breaking in, and I haven’t heard a thing. I’m scared, Wyn! I can’t stay here by myself.”

Suddenly it occurred to Linda that it had been days since her last attack on Jaci. She’d been forced to switch from the offensive
to the defensive mode. “I’m calling the police on Jaci! I know it’s her behind this.”

“Hold on, Linda, don’t do that!” Wynola yelled. “Jaci hasn’t even been in town this week. If you start making unsubstantiated
allegations against her, you could be sued. No, honey. I’ve talked to Mama and Daddy, and we all think the best thing for
you to do is move back home. Me and Sister are taking off a few days to help you get packed and moved.”

“I told you, I’m not going anywhere. I was thinking I could stay with you for a few days until . . .”

“Yes, you are going!” Wynola said through clenched teeth. “Don’t you understand? It’s over, Linda. You’re going if we have
to drag you.”

Wynola carried out her promise to move Linda back to New Orleans. She returned to work the next week relieved that Linda was
out of Houston and with their parents who promised to get professional counseling for her—again. Now, she hoped, things could
return to normal. But Wynola’s relief was short-lived and was quickly replaced with a feeling of uneasiness when she noticed
that everyone avoided her and whispered as she passed them in the corridor. Something was up. Her heart sank when she found
a summons from Ed Shannon waiting for her.

“Wynola. Come in and have a seat,” Ed told her cordially. After she sat down, he continued. “Wynola, I’m forced to do something
today that doesn’t bring me any pleasure. However, based on your actions recently, I’m in the position where I have no choice.”
He handed her a letter with a stack of items attached to it.

Parts of the letter jumped out . . .

In light of your poor judgment . . . unjustified harassment of an employee . . . falsified evidence to substantiate misconduct
by an employee . . . maliciously seeking to slander, discredit and wrongfully dismiss an employee, . . . you are hereby requested
to submit your resignation immediately. Your refusal to voluntarily resign will lead to action by the department and the mayor’s
office to formally force your removal through civil service procedures.

The letter was countersigned by the mayor, indicating his approval. There was more, but she stopped reading at that point
to look at the attached documents. As she perused the documents, she tried to form an argument in her mind to defend herself.
But when she saw the contents, she knew there was no use. The papers included statements from two department managers, who
described their witnessed unfair treatment of Jaci Winters by Wynola; several letters of support for Jaci Winters from citizens,
who demanded the department stop unfair disciplinary actions against Jaci Winters; a copy of the bogus letter from “Jean White”;
a copy of the denied leave request from Jaci; a copy of the police arrest records, along with records of reported threats
and attacks made on Jaci Winters with Linda Adams as the prime suspect; and a document showing Linda Adams to be the sister
of Wynola Dickson.

Wynola stood and almost staggered out of Ed’s office without a word. She walked as if shell-shocked down the corridor leading
to her office. Her cushy, high-paid position was gone. Twenty-five years down the drain. As she walked unseeingly, she remembered
Jaci’s declaration that she had turned Wynola over to God. Now, it seemed Jaci and her God had won. Wynola’s heart hardened.
Maybe she had been too hasty in getting Linda out of town. Perhaps if she had helped Linda more in getting rid of Jaci, she
would still have her job. But just wait! She was going to fix Jaci and her precious God too!

J
aci’s family reunion was held in Riverwood the last weekend in April. In spite of everything going on in her life, Jaci decided
to attend. Her accumulated vacation time had reached maximum levels and she was at the point of losing some days if she didn’t
use them. She took two weeks off because in addition to the reunion, she also needed to do some serious work on her wedding
and to get her house in order. She decided to lease her house rather than sell it. Not only did she have to pack everything
and get ready to move, but she was also having work done to get the house ready for the tenant.

She worked ceaselessly in the house Monday through Wednesday. She then got ready for the drive to Riverwood and the reunion,
which would begin that Friday night. The more she thought about it, the more excited she became. Her cousins all planned to
attend and Jaci looked forward to spending some time with them.

She and Jason left Houston just after daybreak Friday morning. Jaci wanted to arrive early enough to visit with her father’s
mother, Grandmother Winters, who was in a nursing home, as well as other family members.

Six hours later, Jaci fought the urge to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming. Riverwood! She was in Riverwood—with Jason!
Though only a few hundred miles in distance, Riverwood was a world away from Houston.

How much, Jaci wondered, did her relationship with Jason have to do with her decision to attend the reunion?

So much had occurred since she left Riverwood filled with hopes and dreams. Now, she simply wanted to savor the good memories
that engulfed her as they drove from house to house, finally ending up at her brother’s. Jaci wandered to the back of the
house and sat down on the bed, remembering . . .

It seemed as though from birth, the cousins . . . seven of them . . . were enveloped in a mystical kind of charm that no one
outside the group could understand or infiltrate. Maybe it had something to do with them all being born the same year. Maybe
it was because they spent more time with Grampa and Grammy than their siblings and had the benefit of more of their wisdom
and prayers. Maybe it was because they all looked so much alike that most people outside of the family didn’t know which child
belonged to what parent.

Seven brothers and sisters had all had babies born during one year, much to the delight of the babies’ Winslow grandparents.
Four sisters had given birth to four daughters, and three brothers had fathered three sons. Those babies had, at some point,
been breast-fed by each of the mothers. And thus had proceeded their lives, sharing every experience all the way from birth
to college.

Jaci smiled as she recalled some of the mischievous things they had done.
Lord, it’s a wonder we all survived.
Although they’d had every intention of staying in close contact with one another, it hadn’t turned out that way. For years,
they’d only managed quick hugs when they saw each other on brief trips to Riverwood, or occasional calls to get updates on
their lives.

It had only been over the past several years that the cousins had begun reconnecting and reestablishing their closeness, and
in the process, discovered that life had lost its charm after they had gone their separate ways. Jaci had prayed that their
difficult seasons would soon be behind them. Again she chuckled as she recalled some of their youthful shenanigans and admitted
her gratefulness for experiencing them. She had survived many tough ordeals by drawing on the strength, ingenuity, and creativity
developed while growing up with her cousins.

Meanwhile, at another Riverwood home not far from where she was, a conversation about Jaci was taking place. “Is Jace coming?
I heard she was, but I won’t believe it until I see her.”

“Yeah. Somebody told me she was already here. I think I’ll call around and find out.”

As Jaci sat reminiscing in the bedroom, each of her cousins came to the forefront of her mind. Kevin . . . called Buddy because
Grampa had nicknamed him Little Buddy the first time he saw him. Robert . . . dubbed Big Ben after he got into a skirmish
after a basketball game with a big player named Big Ben from a rival school. David . . . labeled Dusty after he fell into
a large sawmill barrel filled with wood shavings and dust and looked like a human dust mop when he was fished out. Regina
. . . shortened to Gina, and probably the one who kept them from getting into more trouble than they did. Anita . . . called
Nita by everyone, and the one they had all been protective toward. Catherine Joy . . . mostly called C.J., but was often called
Red because of her hair color and a temper that lived up to that name.

While growing up the seven cousins had been villains to some—heroes to others—always into something! They were all musically
inclined and played either the piano or guitar, and they were singers as well. Typically, the cousins capitalized on their
talent by forming a singing group in high school. And not surprisingly, they had become reasonably popular and in demand.

Anticipation filled her, and Jaci knew she was having one of her “moments.” There was no other place on earth she’d rather
be than Riverwood. Before the thought was complete, she heard the phone ring, and her brother yelled out that it was for her.

A few minutes later, she grabbed Jason’s keys and ran out the door.

“I’ll be back! I’m going to see my cousins,” she called over her shoulder.

Munroe and Valerie Hilliard’s house had been the cousins’ hangout when they were in high school. In fact, Munroe had encouraged
them to form the singing group. Now, their house was the obvious place for the cousins to meet. Some were already there, and
others, like Jaci, were on their way.

Minutes after their greetings, the cousins sized one another up. “You cut your hair off.” “Where all that gray hair come from?”
“Oh yeah, where
is
your hair?” “You eatin’ good these days, I see.” “How many brats you got?” “Hey, are you kidding, I got grand brats now!”

They eventually settled down, and more than two hours passed unnoticed as they talked, ate, cried, and talked some more.

Back at her brother’s house, Jason’s concern grew. Jaci had been gone for hours. “Do you think we should go look for Jaci?
She’s been gone so long; something must have happened. I’m kind of worried about her.”

Her brother and his wife laughed. “Heck naw! You don’t know country folks, huh? She’s stuck at somebody’s house and if we
show up, we’ll be stuck there too. That’s probably why she didn’t take you with her.”