Embracing Darkness (52 page)

Everyone
dropped
their
clothes
and
charged
Cornelius,
who
was
now
just
as
naked
as
they
were.
Hoisting
him
over
their
heads,
they
marched
him
out
to
the
street.
Car
drivers
couldn’t
believe
their
eyes.
The
angry
mob
hung
Cornelius
Russo
upside
down
by
the
feet
near
the
fountain
in
the
community’s
central
park.
He
stayed
there
for
the
next
twenty-four
hours,
and
no
one
would
help
him
down,
not
even
the
police
who
just
mocked
him
as
they
walked
by.

In
the
end
it
was
Cornelius
Russo
who
had
been
defeated.
He
was
eventually
cut
down
by
the
Pilsner
Asylum
and
taken
away
in
a
straightjacket
while
screaming,
“BUT
HE’S
A
SHE!
I
MEAN,
SHE’S
A
HE!”

As
for
the
man
who
had
impersonated
Henrietta
Townsend,
he
had
the
whole
night
to
think
of
an
alibi.
Earlier
Willoughby
had
told
Henrietta
of
Cornelius’s
ridiculous
accusation:
“He
actually
pointed
to
a
man
sitting
in
front
of
us
and
said
that
you
were
he.”

The
young
man
who
had
been
Henrietta
Townsend
reflected
back
on
the
first
time
he’d
gone
into
the
Willoughby
Real
Estate
Agency.
“I’m
sorry,
but
we
aren’t
looking
for
any
 . . .
,”
Willoughby
said
and
then
stopped.
The
man
noticed
that
Mr.
Willoughby’s
attention
had
been
sidetracked
by
a
sexy
young
woman
walking
past
the
agency’s
main
window.
It
was
then
that
Mr.
Henry
Townsend
decided
to
put
one
over
on
Willoughby
for
refusing
to
hire
a
man.

“Preposterous,”
said
Henrietta
Townsend,
who
was
happy
that
she
had
fooled
Mr.
Willoughby
into
offering
full
employment
based
on
the
ability
to
charm
and
deceive
during
a
depression
in
which
it
was
hard
for
a
man
to
find
work,
but
not
a
lovely
woman
so
long
as
there
was
an
employer
to
be
charmed.

As I was expecting it, I took all the subsequent criticism and incessant questioning in stride that day in the tree. I entertained all questions from my brothers, no matter how juvenile they sounded. As I expanded on everything from how Henrietta got away with having fake breasts to how much a single theater ticket cost each patron, I neatly shuffled my papers into numerical order, among which was the first page that read in bold lettering, THE UNFORTUNATE CASE OF CORNELIUS S. RUSSO, BY OLIVER MITCHELL, and tucked them back into the empty folder I had taken off of Father Poole’s desk.

As I closed it, I smiled and said, “My tale has come to an end.” giving the boys a clear opportunity to cheer and applaud, which they did, and with great enthusiasm. We sat in the maple a while longer, laughing about the story I’d just read them, and then we began talking about the things boys our age were apt to talk about away from female ears.

The girls continued their search for the box until finally Jessie exclaimed, “HERE! IT’S RIGHT HERE!” She picked it up and brought the tattered box over to Swell.

“Happy Birthday, Jess,” Swell said, almost apologetically.

“Aw, thanks,” replied Jessie. “Gee, you didn’t need to do that!”

“You’re my best friend, aren’t you? I think it’s good for best friends to do nice things for one another. Besides, my birthday’s in six weeks!”

The two girls ran to the Benson porch, disappearing behind the front door. “Oh, Swell, it’s beautiful,” Jessie said. The crystal angel inside the box was damaged, but regardless of its condition Jessie loved it. She put it on top of the shelf just to the left of her headboard where the picture of her mother and father sat.

“Do you miss them?” Swell asked.

“It’s kind of hard to miss someone you don’t know,” replied Jessie. “But if you mean, do I wish they were around?”

Swell nodded.

“Let’s just say that today is my birthday, and I can’t tell you whether that’s what I’m wishing for, because if I do it won’t come true.”

She winked at Swell, who winked back at her in return.

“Hey, I’ve got news for you!” Swell said jovially.

“Oh!” Jessie gasped. “Don’t hold back another second!”

“Well, you know I like Billy Norwin.”

It was all Jessie could do to keep from frowning. She knew that Swell always acted fairly show-offish in front of Billy, but she never thought Swell would admit her interest in him, mainly because Jessie thought Swell knew that she too liked Billy and that they, being best friends, had a mutual understanding that neither one would pursue him.

“Sure I know,” Jessie said, trying to sound giggly and happy. “I’ve known for months ever since you two met.”

Swell giggled back. “Last Sunday I was sitting out on the porch with my father sipping iced tea and talking about old times with my mother, God rest her soul. Anyway, Billy came outside to walk General Lee. When I waved to him, he walked over.”

At first Jessie thought of responding with,
Why
would
you
wave,
and
why
would
Billy
come
over
to
you
if
you
did?

“So,” Sue Ellen continued, “Billy came over and tied the dog up to our mailbox post.”

Jessie caught herself rolling her eyes. Hoping not to give away her feelings at that moment, she turned back to her friend and made it appear as though she were fully attentive.

“Billy waved hello to me,” Swell went on, “and smiled at me ever so sweetly. I said, ‘Hi, Billy. Nice night, isn’t it?’ and he smiled at me again and agreed that it was. Jess, I was so excited that he’d finally come over to see me.”

Then Jessie thought of saying,
Yeah,
he
only
came
over
to
be
neighborly
because
you
and
your
old
man
waved
to
him.
What
was
he
supposed
to
do?
Just
wave
and
keep
walking?
Jessie knew, however, that she was jealous of her friend. After all, she wasn’t exactly sure how Billy felt about either of them. If Billy had to choose between the two of them, she was convinced, he’d be bound to pick Sue Ellen because she’d filled out far more than Jessie, who still looked like a teenage boy in overalls.

Sue Ellen continued, “So daddy goes inside after he and Billy talked a little about finances and how important school is and Billy’s going to college one day. Daddy says that Billy’s a fine boy with a superb mind!”

Jessie wanted out of this conversation. She was starting to feel unwell.

“Anyway,” Swell said, barely pausing for a breath, “Billy sat on the steps, and he and I chatted. We talked about school, the war, life in general. He said that he had no desire to fight the Krauts or the Japs. He’d rather just stay local and open up his own business. I got off my chair and sat down next to him. I put my hand on his thigh and told him that sounded like a noble thing to do. JESSIE, DID YOU HEAR ME? I SAID I TOUCHED BILLY NORWIN’S THIGH!”

“I heard you.” Jessie replied dully.

“What’s the matter, Jess?” said Swell, not sounding as concerned as she did before when she’d asked whether Jessie missed her parents.

“It’s just that I’m very hot up here. Let’s go over to the rectory kitchen. Mrs. Keats always has some fresh lemonade in the fridge.”

Jessie went to get off the bed, but Swell seized her by the arm and pulled her back down again. “But you haven’t heard the best part, Jess! I mean, this part is sure to flip your wig!”

Although no one could hear what she was about to confide, Swell leaped off the bed and walked over to the Victrola that sat on top of Jessie’s bureau. She turned it on and put the needle on the record, which was “Take the A Train” by Duke Ellington. Swell raised the volume and went back to sit on Jessie’s pillow.

Jessie sighed. “I’m listening, Swell. Go on,” she said with even less enthusiasm than a moment before.

“Well, Billy brought his hand up and laid it over mine. Then he leaned over and… AND HE KISSED ME ON THE LIPS! OH, JESS! I WANTED TO DIE!”

Yeah,
I’m
kinda
hoping
you
might
do
that
right
now
, Jessie thought, now finding herself humming the melody of her Duke Ellington record.

“And we kissed for a long time,” Swell added. “We kissed for what seemed like an eternity! And then he said that he would come again the following night if I wanted him to. I told him I did. For the next three nights he came. And then on Wednesday night it happened! IT HAPPENED. OH, JESS! IT HAPPENED!”

Jessie’s heart sank down to her feet. “What happened?” she said slowly, as if trying to think of something else to say before Sue Ellen confirmed what Jessie already feared. That they had done IT, the only IT there is when you’re a teenager.

“He told me he had a dollar,” said Swell.

“Sorry?” replied Jessie.

“He told me he was horny as hell. I told him he didn’t have to pay me, but he insisted, saying that he didn’t expect anything from me in return. Well, naturally at first I was crushed, thinking he didn’t see me in the same way I saw him. But then it happened. We did it. Billy Norwin and I did it. And I got a dollar out of it! Whether or not Billy loved me, I didn’t care anymore!”

Jessie couldn’t find words to respond, so she stayed silent with her mouth wide open.