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Dorrie felt nervous walking into the police station. She had never been in a police station before and had no idea what to expect. “It’ll be fun,” Jessica told her. Dorrie wasn’t sure it was going to be fun but she did feel that it all might be connected and the woman might be in trouble. Now as she walked up to the counter, she realized she had no idea what to say or even what she was hoping to do there.
“May I help you?” asked the woman at the window. Dorrie looked around. The place was quiet and calm. The people there must be regulars. They moved to the vending machines and restrooms with an air of familiarity. She thought she was probably the only one who felt nervous and possibly the only one who hadn’t been there before.
“May I speak to Officer Conway?” Dorrie asked.
“He just came in. I’ll see if he can talk to you.” With that the woman picked up the phone. Dorrie was surprised the woman hadn’t asked her name or why she wanted to talk to Officer Conway. Maybe they don’t ask those things in the middle of the station, she shrugged. Then the woman hung up the phone. “You can go in” she said pointing to one of the side offices.
Ray had told Dorrie about Officer Conway. He was one of Ray’s regular customers for his atomic coffee, and they were friendly.
“How may I help you?” Officer Conway asked as she entered the office. Ray told Dorrie that Officer Conway was like a big friendly bear. She had only ever seen him from a distance but now as he stood there to greet her, she realized he was a good foot taller than her modest 5’3”. He had thick gray hair and she imagined that in another setting he would be the kind of man who could comfortably wear a beard but in his blue uniform he was clean shaven.
“Can I help you.” he repeated. Dorrie blinked suddenly aware of how stupid her information was but she was already there and she remembered what she felt when she held the ring, Pain? fear? Whatever it was that made her quickly put it in a box so she decided to just dive in with her story. Maybe it would help the woman.
“I heard about the woman you found standing by the river. I was wondering about her,” she began.
“Do you know her?” he asked, obviously confused.
“No, I guess it is strange I should wonder about her, but I found something outside my shop today.” She told him about the ring.
“I doubt they are connected. I mean, I don’t know why anyone would have left a ring at your door, but this woman said she was just thinking about things. I only stopped because there was that woman last week who almost drowned.
Dorrie remembered reading in the paper about a woman who jumped into the river after really heavy rains. She was only saved because people were standing on the shore and could help get her out. The woman had told the police that she hadn’t meant to hurt herself; she just didn’t think the water was that rough.
“A lot of people think you can just swim in the river, but after heavy rains it is deceiving. Each year a few people die doing it,” continued Officer Conway. “I wanted to be sure she knew it could be deadly.”
Dorrie knew how the high waters after heavy rains could be mesmerizing. She was glad the woman hadn’t jumped in.
“But like I said, she wasn’t planning on jumping in. She was just thinking about things.” Officer Conway shuffled some papers on his desk. Dorrie took that as her cue to go.
“Well, that’s understandable,” she nodded. “Thanks for your time.”
“No problem. I’m sure she’ll turn up, the woman with the ring I mean. Or maybe you just got a nice ring.”
Dorrie smiled and said goodbye. It had been kind of a crazy idea. There are a lot of people who stand by the river to think about things. She had been one of them herself this morning. Still, the experience surprised her. If she had been the police officer, she would have asked to see the ring or taken a description in case it was stolen. But he hadn’t seemed concerned and she guessed they have enough to do without looking for crime. Then she realized that even if he had asked, she hadn’t brought the ring with her. Curious, that was very unlike her. She was usually much more open with people. She decided that maybe it was OK to not be so open this time. ‘I am still trying to learn that lesson,’ she thought shaking her head a little at how many years it had been.
When she got outside the sun was shining even though it was still gently raining. She had learned from living in Portland that if you look toward the dark side of the sky when the sun is shining through the rain you will see a rainbow. This city is known as the city of bridges but Dorrie also thought it as the city of rainbows in spring. She looked behind her toward the police station and sure enough a large rainbow spread across the sky. She walked back to the shop from the station backwards half of the time just to enjoy it. When she finally got to the shop using her crablike shuffle, Jessica greeted her with a smile. “I sold two necklaces.”
“Great!”
“That lady who is always wearing a hundred bracelets and necklaces bought them.”
“Lydia.”
Jessica nodded and swung her backpack over her shoulder. “I have to go to class now so tell me all about the station tomorrow.” Jessica blew a kiss and went out of the door. Dorrie smiled and sat down at the counter. She looked at the sales receipt in the register, $57. That was exactly the amount of her electric bill.
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Carol sat on the bench by the river. She took off her rain poncho. Finally, the sun was out and maybe her clothes would dry. She took a sip of the warm coffee in her hand. A person walking by had given it to her. Again, the kindness of strangers and the thought warmed her even more than the coffee.
As she stared out at the green leaves all around her, it seemed as though she had managed to walk into a whole different world from the one she had fled. Maybe she really did escape it. A day or two had passed since she had seen the image of the woman that haunted her.
How strange that had been. A few months ago, the image appeared out of nowhere. Just one day it came to her mind. It was the image of a young blonde- haired woman lying peacefully in bed. It had taken a few minutes for Carol to realize the woman was dead. There was no blood or bruises or signs of trauma. Even her eyes were closed as though the she was asleep. Carol was never really sure how she knew the woman was dead. But she knew she was.
Even then it hadn’t frightened her. While she had a lot of loses in her own life, she didn’t know any young woman who had died. Still feeling detached from it, she scanned the body to see if there was anything about her that she recognized.
That is when she noticed the ring on the woman’s finger. It was a diamond ring with a simple band. It was pretty but not very unusual. Yet somehow, she knew it was the same ring she wore on her own finger. The same ring he had given her. That is when she started to become afraid.