Evil in Hockley Read Free Page A

stepped
up to the till to order. Karen Fosset was dressed in her waitress
uniform on the other side. He remembered the face from three years
ago, but not the bosoms. He couldn’t help but stare then looked out
the window as he ordered. She was about fifteen when he last saw
her in this very spot. His order was filled then he and Sandy sat
at a table.
    She said,
    “You didn’t miss ‘The Twins,’ did
you?”
    “Excuse me?”
    “That’s what the guys around here call
her breasts, ‘The Twins.’”
    “Oh, I didn’t know.”
    “You didn’t notice them? Is that what
you’re trying to tell me?”
    Harry swallowed.
    “No, I noticed, but they’re only
breasts. They’re for kids.”
    Harry laughed then added,
    “She could nurse the whole
county.”
    “That’s not funny. You had to stare
didn’t you? You centered her out. Like everyone else you made her
feel like a freak.”
    “Why are we having this
conversation?”
    “I don’t know Harry. She’s of age you
know. Most women hate her.”
    Harry chuckled.
    “You’re jealous. I’ll have to keep my
eyes to myself around you. You want me to stare at the
floor?”
    “Stare wherever you like just as long
as I’m the one sharing your bed.”
     
    They spent the day together in
Orangeville. It was an old town but was well maintained almost to
perfection. The main street, Broadway, was split in two by an
island that ran the length of the old shopping district. Stores
were refurbished, some knocked down and rebuilt. Tourists labelled
it “Quaint.”
    He took Sandy home to pick up some
clothes then they drove back to his house. They’d done some
shopping during the day so that Sandy could put together a home
cooked meal. That would be another first for Harry in three years:
he’d eaten slop in a mess tent or out of a tin can when on
patrol.
    Roast beef, mashed potatoes with gravy,
and cauliflower, his favourite, were ready four hours later. He ate
his fill then they sat and talked like they used to before he went
overseas.
    If Sandy wanted to make love she’d let
him know with her touch. If she wasn’t in the mood he had the
manners to leave it be. They lay in bed that night barely
touching.
    “I meant it when I said I didn’t want
to think of you overseas. Some soldiers need something to drive
them, I didn’t. I didn’t want to associate you with…”
    “I got it the first time, Harry. You
didn’t want me there in any way shape or form.”
    “Yah.”
    “Do you love me?”
    “More than any other human being
alive.”
    “What does that mean,
exactly?”
    “Hah, don’t get analytic on me. You
can’t analyse every statement I make. Otherwise I may not make
anymore. I’ll become one of those pussy whipped guys who never
expresses an opinion and only agree.”
    “Don’t be silly. You’ll never be pussy
whipped. I don’t think you’ll be around long enough for
that.”
    “Go to sleep.”
    Days pass quickly when you’re with
someone you love. It was the day of Jarrod’s service and both Harry
and Sandy were in a sombre mood. They drove north on Highway 10 to
Shelburne, to Dave and Iris’s home. Their house was located on a
farm that hadn’t been worked in years. Dave was a mechanic running
his business out of a garage in Shelburne.
    Harry was three years older than his
brother Jarrod so both had a different sets of friends when growing
up. He recognized faces but couldn’t put a name to them. No matter,
as they were here to pay last respects to Jarrod before
surrendering his ashes to the wind. The service lasted for an hour
then everyone began to idolize Jarrod. Some admitted not seeing him
in years yet had comments to make. Harry only nodded wanting it all
to end. Sandy was a natural at small talk cutting in on delicate
issues and rescuing him. Then one by one they all had to leave.
Thank God.
    Dave and Iris accepted a quick good
bye: they probably felt as uncomfortable as he did. The old saying,
“Life is for the living, not the dead,”