The Clouds Gather
Roger and I oversleep and miss church. A blue jay wakes me with his raspy screeching complaints. I, on the other hand, have nothing to complain about. I look over and see Roger, awake and lying on his back, staring at the ceiling. I roll over close to him and he cradles me under his arm.
“Nice party?”
“Uh-huh.”
“But?”
“Did you get down to the deck where the kids were hanging out?”
“I never got that far, why?”
“Scott was down there.”
I sit up in bed and switch the light on. “Are you sure?”
“I saw him from a distance, but I’m pretty sure it was him. I never saw him come through the door, or come around the side of the house.”
“Maybe he came with Walter. That was a surprise, wasn’t it?”
“If he came with Walter, he didn’t leave with Walter.”
“Those two don’t seem to get on very well together.”
We sit in silence and I play back all the interactions I saw last night. “So, he must have stayed down by the creek. I certainly never saw him talk to our kids. They were on the patio all night, as far as I know.”
Roger throws back the covers, swinging his feet over to the rug. I shudder at the sudden burst of cold air.
“Oh, sorry.” He tosses me my robe. “Danny told him to stay away.”
“He did?”
“Danny thinks Scott is forcing attention on Sophie that she doesn’t want.”
“Danny told you that?”
Our conversation is interrupted when I hear a ruckus in the yard. Roger and I tie our robes tightly around us and go to the patio door. Garbage spreads from one end of the lawn to the other.
Valerie comes in with Boofus. “Raccoon! We forgot to bring the garbage cans in last night.”
I forget about our conversation until later in the morning, after the mess is cleaned up and everyone has gone out to breakfast. I begged off, saying I wanted a quiet morning to read.
Sophie is still asleep in her room. Now that I have some uninterrupted time, I mull over what Kay said and what Roger told me this morning. I have to do something. I dress quickly and make a show out of opening the garage door. I back my car out, hoping I won’t wake Sophie but that I will catch the attention of anyone who might be watching, waiting for us all to leave. I back out of the driveway into the street and drive away. I park the car at the train depot and walk back to the house, thinking that this is a crazy thing to do; but I have to do something. As I round the corner to the lane, I look up the street. There it is, Scott’s blue van.
Scott better be in that van. If he’s in the house, he’s a dead man. I try to remember where Roger has hidden his revolver. I decide I don’t need it. If he is in the house I will tear him apart with my bare hands. I’m walking fast now. Passing the driveway, I notice that I forgot to close the garage door. That means that Scott could have walked right into the house; we’re terrible about locking the door that leads from the garage into the kitchen.
Even though I can’t see anyone through the front windshield, I march to the driver’s side and pound hard on the sliding door that has no window. I pound so hard, it rocks the van. Slowly, the door slides back. Scott climbs out of the back of the van and stands in front of me.
“Scott.” Relief pours through me. I have no words. For a moment, I feel ridiculous, and then I remember what Kay told me. “Scott, are you spying on Sophie?”
Scott looks pale, thinner than I’ve ever seen him. His eyes try to find a place to go. “Nuh...no! I’m waiting for her to come out.”
“Scott. Sophie doesn’t want to see you. She’s told you that.” That’s a guess. “And Danny has told you to stay away from her. What you are doing has a name. It’s called harassment.”
“I’m not doing anything to her. I’m just waiting for her to come out of the house so I can talk to her.”
“Well, don’t.” I point across the street to the Dolds’ house and see the curtain drop back into place. “You’ve caught the attention of the neighbors. I don’t want to see or hear that you’ve been parked here ever again.”
“Okay.”
I back up to give him room to climb into the driver’s seat, and he drives off. Seconds later, Laura pulls her car into the driveway.
R
“Was that Scott I just saw drive away?” Laura practically jumps out of car.
“That was Scott.”
“Okay, we have to talk. Are we alone?”
“Everyone has gone to breakfast except Sophie. She’s still asleep in the house. Take me to the train depot to get my car and then we’ll talk.”
A short time later, we enter the kitchen through the garage. The house is quiet. Boofus stumps in from the atrium, his nails clicking on the linoleum floor. One good thing about a hound, his nose knows who you are before you come into view so he doesn’t bark. I pat him on the head and give him a treat and he goes back to his blanket.
Behind the closed door of my studio, Laura tells me a story so painful I wish I didn’t have to listen. The night Sophie never came home, Scott somehow intercepted her. Sophie was too upset to explain how he managed to grab her, but she told Laura that Scott drove her up into the hills off Skyline Boulevard. What happened there, Laura isn’t sure. Whatever he did scared Sophie and caused her to feel sick and ashamed.
“Did he rape her?” I try to make sense of what Laura is telling me.
“Dee, I don’t know how far he went. She absolutely did not want to give me details. It’s safe to say he went far enough to upset her.”
“Upset her? She’s been a mess!”
Laura reaches for my hand. “But she’s starting to come out of it. I really don’t think it was rape. More likely he intimidated her.”
“How?”
“He put her in a situation and he took advantage of her. There are ways of forcing attention that make a girl feel just as bad as if she had been raped. Most girls have been in those situations. We just don’t talk about it.”
“But she talked to you about it.”
“She needed someone neutral to hear what happened, someone who wouldn’t overreact.”
“You mean someone who wouldn’t send a posse after Scott, to shoot the little bastard?”
Laura shakes her head at me. “Girls always blame themselves when something like this happens. Sophie needs to forgive herself for being conned, even though it was in no way her fault. She needs to get her nerve back. We’re having lots of armor of God discussions in our group. Sophie is a real encourager to the girls. They look up to her.”
“So, why are you telling me this now?”
“Sophie asked me not to tell you. She wants to deal with this herself. When I thought Scott was just a normal jerk, I figured she could probably handle it. But the more I thought about it, those nails on the driveway? He didn’t take advantage of a situation, he created one. And last night, I saw him sneak up from the creek and hide himself in the crowd. That tells me he has no intention of respecting the rules you gave him. I think you have to tell Roger.”