“Is this the Patchett boy’s child?”
“It’s not a child,” Jade protested. “It’s a… a nothing.”
“Did Neal Patchett put it there?”
“I can’t be sure. There were three of them. Neal was one. The other two were his friends.” Her eyes connected with Georgie’s. “They raped me.”
The woman held her stare for a long time. Then, quietly, she said, “I thought he only raped black girls. Get undressed. I’ll help you.”
* * *
Jade made slow progress down the sidewalk, taking small, careful steps. Her hands were cold and clammy, and she felt feverish. She alternately shivered and perspired. Georgie had urged her not to leave so soon, but she had insisted. Dusk was descending. She would have to think up a reasonable explanation for being late when she picked up Velta at the factory, but she didn’t trouble herself with that now.
With trembling hands she unlocked the car door. For a long while she sat there, staring through the windshield at the fuchsia blossoms on the crepe myrtle, thinking. Eventually, when she felt a little better, she started the car and pulled out into the street, then drove fast until Georgie’s house was far behind her.
She had to see Gary.
She told herself that the worst he could do was reject her, and he had already done that. But if she told him everything about that night, filled in the facts he didn’t know, he might take her back.
The thought of his arms going around her with love and protection caused her to press heavily on the accelerator. Why, she asked herself, had she waited this long to tell him the truth? Gary knew her better than anyone in the world. If she poured out her heart, surely he would see that she had been victimized. She would explain that her reticence had been an attempt to protect him from public scorn. Since he was being scorned anyway, her silence was no longer effective or necessary.
Why let Neal, Hutch, and Lamar have that much control over their lives? Gary and she were strong, young, and intelligent. Together, safe and secure in each other’s love, they could put this episode behind them, leave Palmetto forever, and build a future.
The thought of physical lovemaking was daunting. But Gary was tender. He would be patient until all her fears and reluctance were abolished.
She nursed no illusions that life from now on would be easy. She would be asking a lot of Gary. He would have to be willing to accept the unacceptable. Which he would, if he loved her enough—and she had to believe that he did. He was dating someone else, but each time she had seen him, before he had a chance to slip on his mask of indifference, Jade had read in his brown eyes a painful yearning that matched her own. Focusing on that gave her courage as she sped through the twilight.
Lit from the inside, the windows of the Parker house made it look like a snaggle-toothed jack-o-lantern. Jade saw Mrs. Parker peer through the kitchen window when she heard the car pull up and stop. Since it was a warm, balmy evening, Gary’s younger brothers and sisters were still outside, playing in the yard. Otis was driving a tractor toward the house from across a field.
Jade alighted, surprised to discover that her knees were weak. It was silly to get this nervous over seeing Gary. He had been as hurt as she by their breakup. She clung to the hope that he would be as eager to reconcile.
Mrs. Parker waved at her from behind the screened kitchen window. “Jade, where’ve you been keeping yourself? I haven’t seen you in ages!”
“I know,” she said, smiling for the first time in months and hugging Gary’s little sisters. At least his family was willing to take her back. “I’ve missed all of you so much.”
“Guess what, Jade? Joey finally learned to pee in the potty.”
“How wonderful!”
“But he still has to wear diapers sometimes.”
“I know how to skate now, Jade.”
Jade reacted to each piece of good news, making much ado over the trivialities that were so important to them. “Where’s your big brother?” His car was there, so she knew he was around somewhere.
“He’s in the barn.”
“Mama told him to slop the hog before supper.”
“Well, I’d like to go see him now.” Jade gently moved the children aside.
“Are you staying for supper?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“Mama,” one of the boys shouted toward the house, “can Jade stay for supper?”
Jade waved at Otis as she crossed the yard, being careful of where she stepped. Otis removed his hat and waved it high over his head in greeting. She was encouraged by the warm reception Gary’s family had given her. Either they hadn’t heard the rumors about her or had refused to believe them.