"Nothing else."
Light rain began to spit against Diana's windshield. She put the wipers on intermittently as she drove through the heart of Grainger. A diner, a clothing store, a police station. One long blink, and you'd miss it. Diana went a mile past the town, then made a right onto Pike Road, a narrow two-lane that went out into the unincorporated land around Grainger and showed up on the map as Union Township. It was full dark by then, the headlights carving out a path in the night. The rain picked up, and Diana turned the wipers higher, their rhythmic beating the only sound in the car.
A few miles down the road, she saw the Pine Grove Trailer Park, a dingy looking complex surrounded by a barbed wire fence and a stand of puny trees. The road through Pine Grove was gravel, and the little stones popped and pinged against the underside of her Honda until she eased to a stop in front of number forty-four, a sagging singlewide resting on cinder blocks.
A lone bulb illuminated the porch, its jaundiced glow still attracting the last hearty gnats and moths of the summer. The steps to the front door had been painted white at one time, but as Diana climbed them, she saw that the wood was exposed and warped by rain and sun, the nails rusted and discolored. A battered screen door with a huge dent at its base allowed the sounds of a sitcom's canned laughter to blast out at her. There was no bell so Diana knocked. She couldn't imagine anyone hearing anything over the sound of that TV, so Diana used her best authoritarian police knock, then just called the woman's name.
"Mrs. Todd? Kay Todd?"
Diana waited a moment, her shoulders hunched against the falling rain. She raised her fist again, and the TV volume dropped. She heard a long, hacking cough, then a faint voice.
"Coming."
Diana waited. The closest trailer was lighted up. Diana heard a baby crying, then a harsh shushing from an adult voice. She turned and saw the faint outline of the old woman appearing behind the screen, her form backlit by the trailer's shabby lighting.
"Oh, hello," Kay said, her voice cautious. She looked to either side of Diana, as if she expected her to have brought reinforcements.
"Can I come in?"
Kay hesitated. She looked Diana up and down.
"It's raining, Kay. Come on."
"I didn't know it was raining..."
She undid the eyehook on the door and pushed it open, letting Diana step into a small entryway. The heavy odor of cigarettes hung in the trailer, and when they moved into the cluttered living room, Diana saw a hazy nimbus of smoke around the lamps on either side of the sagging couch.
"Would you like coffee or something?"
"Sure."
Kay didn't invite Diana to sit, so she remained standing.
"Oh, at least take your coat off," Kay said before leaving the room. "You're wet." She even helped Diana with one of the sleeves. It felt like a mother's gesture, and Diana found herself unexpectedly moved by it. "Go ahead and sit. I'll be right back."
Diana sat on the opposite end of the couch from the overflowing ashtray. A half-smoked butt still burned there, its smoke curling toward the ceiling. The TV was muted, and Diana watched a big-haired, blonde actress roll her eyes comically at someone off-screen, her gestures ridiculous and exaggerated. On the wall behind the TV was a framed picture of Jesus, his sacred heart exposed and both burning and pierced with thorns. She had just noticed the family pictures on a shelf across the room when Kay returned with two mugs of coffee in her hands.
"I remember you liked cream, so I added some," she said, setting them down on the coffee table. "Well, it's milk actually. But whole, not that skim stuff." Diana thanked her and took a sip. The trailer was warm, and Diana relaxed a little, though she remained perched on the edge of the couch. Kay took her seat and lit another cigarette, ignoring the coffee. "I know I should quit but..." She shrugged. Too late now. "I'm surprised to see you here," she said. "I thought you'd
Light rain began to spit against Diana's windshield. She put the wipers on intermittently as she drove through the heart of Grainger. A diner, a clothing store, a police station. One long blink, and you'd miss it. Diana went a mile past the town, then made a right onto Pike Road, a narrow two-lane that went out into the unincorporated land around Grainger and showed up on the map as Union Township. It was full dark by then, the headlights carving out a path in the night. The rain picked up, and Diana turned the wipers higher, their rhythmic beating the only sound in the car.
A few miles down the road, she saw the Pine Grove Trailer Park, a dingy looking complex surrounded by a barbed wire fence and a stand of puny trees. The road through Pine Grove was gravel, and the little stones popped and pinged against the underside of her Honda until she eased to a stop in front of number forty-four, a sagging singlewide resting on cinder blocks.
A lone bulb illuminated the porch, its jaundiced glow still attracting the last hearty gnats and moths of the summer. The steps to the front door had been painted white at one time, but as Diana climbed them, she saw that the wood was exposed and warped by rain and sun, the nails rusted and discolored. A battered screen door with a huge dent at its base allowed the sounds of a sitcom's canned laughter to blast out at her. There was no bell so Diana knocked. She couldn't imagine anyone hearing anything over the sound of that TV, so Diana used her best authoritarian police knock, then just called the woman's name.
"Mrs. Todd? Kay Todd?"
Diana waited a moment, her shoulders hunched against the falling rain. She raised her fist again, and the TV volume dropped. She heard a long, hacking cough, then a faint voice.
"Coming."
Diana waited. The closest trailer was lighted up. Diana heard a baby crying, then a harsh shushing from an adult voice. She turned and saw the faint outline of the old woman appearing behind the screen, her form backlit by the trailer's shabby lighting.
"Oh, hello," Kay said, her voice cautious. She looked to either side of Diana, as if she expected her to have brought reinforcements.
"Can I come in?"
Kay hesitated. She looked Diana up and down.
"It's raining, Kay. Come on."
"I didn't know it was raining..."
She undid the eyehook on the door and pushed it open, letting Diana step into a small entryway. The heavy odor of cigarettes hung in the trailer, and when they moved into the cluttered living room, Diana saw a hazy nimbus of smoke around the lamps on either side of the sagging couch.
"Would you like coffee or something?"
"Sure."
Kay didn't invite Diana to sit, so she remained standing.
"Oh, at least take your coat off," Kay said before leaving the room. "You're wet." She even helped Diana with one of the sleeves. It felt like a mother's gesture, and Diana found herself unexpectedly moved by it. "Go ahead and sit. I'll be right back."
Diana sat on the opposite end of the couch from the overflowing ashtray. A half-smoked butt still burned there, its smoke curling toward the ceiling. The TV was muted, and Diana watched a big-haired, blonde actress roll her eyes comically at someone off-screen, her gestures ridiculous and exaggerated. On the wall behind the TV was a framed picture of Jesus, his sacred heart exposed and both burning and pierced with thorns. She had just noticed the family pictures on a shelf across the room when Kay returned with two mugs of coffee in her hands.
"I remember you liked cream, so I added some," she said, setting them down on the coffee table. "Well, it's milk actually. But whole, not that skim stuff." Diana thanked her and took a sip. The trailer was warm, and Diana relaxed a little, though she remained perched on the edge of the couch. Kay took her seat and lit another cigarette, ignoring the coffee. "I know I should quit but..." She shrugged. Too late now. "I'm surprised to see you here," she said. "I thought you'd
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