Tainted Waters

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Sixteen

"That was rude, Samantha," Dori said as she gently closed the car door.

Sam cringed as her mom snapped on her seatbelt. "Sorry." It wasn't her fault that the man was still as much a jerk as he'd been when she was little. Even back then she couldn't stand him. The scar on his finger was a good reminder to her that she was a fighter. And would not take lightly to being bullied. The only good thing that had come from the conversation was that the gossip mill about her getting fired wasn't as rampant as she'd thought. Or George would have known about it. And shoved it in her face. As she turned to look at her mom, her gaze was snagged, out the passenger window, by Cathy's dad approaching George, very determined.

Something's up.

"Mom, you're right, I was out of line. I'm just going to apologize." She jumped out of the car before her mom could comment, but Sam knew she'd approve of the concept. Not so much, if she knew that wasn't Sam's real goal.

Sam walked along the side of the thinning group that was still standing on the front lawn. The space between her and the men was still too wide for her to hear anything. Deciding to take the direct approach, she headed straight for them. Neither one looked her way. About ten feet away and just around the corner from where they were talking, she knelt down to smell and look at the blooming rose bush. Her eyes opened wide as she listened.

"She wasn't supposed to be there, Randy."

"She's old. How did I know she was devious?"

"Your problem. He will not be happy."

"Come on, George, she was old, deaf, blind. She didn't see anything."

"You tell that to him. Don't make it my problem."

"All right, but I got you what you wanted. So, I thought maybe you could put in a good word for me."

"Not the time or place, Randy."

The sound of the door clicking shut alerted her to the fact that the two men were done. Before she could move, Randy came storming around the corner. She ducked her head, frantically trying to come up with what to say. He walked right past her. A heartbeat later, she stood up and strode to her car, without a backward glance. The whole time, she could almost feel a target painted on her back. There was something very unnerving about what she'd just listened to. Only she really wasn't sure what she'd heard, just that it didn't feel right.

Who was old, deaf, and blind? Mrs. MacNeil? Randy sounded scared.

"Did you straighten it out?"

What? Sam's fingers tightened around the seatbelt as she clicked it into place. It took a minute for her to figure out what her mom was asking her. "Y-ya. I just didn't like that he was hitting on you."

"Ssht, Samantha. That's my business."

Chastised, Sam closed her mouth. Not that she didn't want her mom to date, she'd love that. She hated to think of her being all alone. It was just she didn't want it to be Mr. Assenby. He'd always been mean to her. As a kid, she used to dance around and sing all the time and he had hated it. One time, when he had been over at their house, she'd been doing just that, twirling and humming. He'd waited until no one was watching and then grabbed her arm hard and shook her, telling her to get lost. He'd surprised her and scared her. The next time he'd grabbed her, she'd been prepared.

Her head, feeling ready to explode in confusion, the stuffy air inside the car, drained what little energy she had left. She turned on the air conditioner, put the car in gear and backed out. "Mom, did it bother you to be here today?"

Her mom shook her head. "Dear, I've been to many funerals, this isn't—"

"No. I meant here. This place."

She turned to look at the building they'd just left. "No. Well, at first maybe. I have been to other funerals here. But I always think of your dad when I come here."

"Me too."

"It was nice of George to come and say hello."

She bit her tongue preventing herself from blurting out her first reaction. Taking a breath, she asked, "Do you talk to him much? I've never asked, but how did he and dad become partners?"

Her mom shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. "Dad asked him and he said yes. They met at college. Your dad was finishing his Funeral Director and Embalmer Licensure Program. And George was finishing his Business Administration Diploma. Your dad didn't like the business end of the job and George did."

Sam pulled out of the parking lot. They drove in silence for a while. The questions she had about her father would have filled a stadium, but then so would the raw pain she felt whenever she thought of him and what he'd done.

"Mom. Do you ever go to the lake?"

"No, dear, I don't. I haven't been there since about '93."

Which Sam knew was the year after her dad had died. "Why not? That place used to mean so much to all of us. We used to have so much fun there."

She was silent for a long time. "Yes. At one time it was a good place. But it … I can't … it has many bad memories."

"So why haven't you sold it?"

Her mom looked away. "In the beginning … uhm … your dad …" She paused for a moment. "George always wanted to buy it, but I just couldn't give it up. I don't know, Sam. I don't know what to do with it. It's just been easier to ignore. To pretend it doesn't exist. I …" Her shoulders sagged.

"George wants to buy it?"

"Yes. In the beginning, it was because … because it would have been one less burden, you know with raising all you kids. I almost gave it to him."

A cold chill settled in her stomach.

"George still wants to own it, though?"

"Oh, he offers every now and then, but I don't take him too seriously. I think he's just being nice. He knows none of us use it anymore. He hired someone to cut the grass for me. So, it's been well kept up. I'm so glad, I just haven't had to think about it."

"Has anyone else ever offered to buy it?"

"A while ago, I got a letter from a law firm, actually a couple of times, but I never paid much attention to it."

"Could I … look after it?"

"The cabin? I don't know … the other kids—"

"We don't have to tell them. I just want to spend some time there. Okay?"

"I'd rather you didn't."

Too late for that.

"Mom, please. I need to get away. My life sucks and I'm sure you're tired of telling your friends and the family when they ask what I'm up to? and you have to reply nothing. Again. I really want to get my act together and I think it would be a good place to do it. Okay?"

Her mom blew out a heavy breath. "All right but keep it to yourself. The groundskeeper comes on Tuesdays, so don't be there on that day. That way no one will know."

"I guess I'll have to make sure I don't leave my stuff lying around then either when he cleans the cabin." She was just fishing to see who all she had to worry about.

"I don't have anyone cleaning it. It has to have a foot of dust on everything. You'll have a lot of wiping up to do. No one's been in there in almost twenty years. Are you sure you want to do this?"

Sam was glad that she was driving, so she had something to preoccupy her because she wasn't sure if she could hide her excitement. She signaled as they turned onto her mom's street.

"It'll be good for me. Character building, right?" Hearing her mom chuckle made her smile. That's what she'd always told them as kids when she had been trying to get them to do their chores.

"Okay, dear. Come in, so I can give you the key. Get a copy made for yourself and give me back the original."

She didn't have the heart to tell her she'd already done that. With taking DD out there, she'd just wanted it in case. She hadn't used it until the most recent trip out there, though. This just might get her on her feet once and for all, set a career path for herself. No more job-hopping.

"Does anyone else have one?"

"Nope. I have both." Her mom kicked off her shoes before moving around the end of the counter.

"I'll get it. Where is it?" Which she already knew.

After getting the key to unlock the cabinet, she went out onto the porch and opened the locked cabinet. Everything was labeled which was good since there had to be about twenty keys, most she was sure could have been thrown out. She took the one she needed and grabbed another one that was marked bedroom door and slipped the two keys into her pocket.

Locking up the cabinet, she returned the main key to her mom. "Thank you. I'll get it back to you tomorrow. Okay?" She kissed her mom's cheek before turning to leave. As she was heading out the door, she noticed the stack of newspapers. She realized she hadn't checked for her other article that was supposed to run in last Friday's paper.

Flipping through them, she decided she'd take the last three weeks of papers, none of which she'd read. "Can I have these?"

"Sure, they're heading to recycling, anyway."

She walked outside and down the five steps, then turned around. Her mom was leaning on the railing.

"Are they doing some building up at the lake?"

"Not that I know of. Why do you ask?"

"It just always struck me as odd that all the other lakes around here have a lot of development happening, except for that one."

"That's because it's so shallow. There are also lots of weeds. It really needs dredging. I think that was mentioned once, but it got quashed. No motorboats allowed. And anyone who has a lake lot wants to at least own a motorboat, even if they never use it."

"Oh. Love you." Sam waved, wiggling her fingers over her shoulder as she walked to her vehicle.

"Love you too, dear. Take care."

It wasn't until she was in her car and looking through the windshield that she noticed the lines in her mother's face. Not the aging lines but the lines of stress, of worry, of having to raise five kids on her own. Sam wondered how she'd ever done it, while she herself couldn't even hold down a job.

Taking out her cell phone, she quickly texted Cathy, keeping a promise that she'd let her know how the funeral went.

service was nice lots of people missed u.

She waited a few minutes but realized that her friend might be awhile getting back to her.