Chapter Sixteen
The rain that drenched the beach had done the same to downtown Erstwhile as the storm moved through one area of town to the other. The crown of the road that ran down the middle of Maine Street had be-gun to dry with help from the newly emergent sun. Dark wet asphalt ran along the sides. In the curbs, small streams of water trickled into the storm drains. Precipitation that moments earlier had gushed from the gutter-spouts only dripped onto the sidewalk. Richard stared through the front window of the store. The glare created by the sun’s rays reflecting off numerous pools of water mesmerized him. Days like this were not uncommon to him. Steam rose from the street and disappeared. Heat created the storm and then reclaimed its offspring. Customers were few after such a circumstance. He decided a walk might help his apathy.
Richard opened the door and the bell atop the frame rang. The warm sun on his face felt refreshing. He walked north wearing a hollow smile. His thoughts were of the date later that night with Susan. The only way to confront the demons in their relationship was to ask about her feelings for Ralph and what they meant for him. Spending another night at Merlin’s was not appealing. His wife had become all too ordinary. She no longer captivated him.
Richard continued his walk, occasionally passing shop owners who had come outside to enjoy what the day had to offer. Dennis owned an unfinished furniture shop. He was replacing rocking chairs on the side-walk that he removed just before the rain began. La-Donna owned a restaurant and was rewriting the specials of the day on a chalkboard. It was still wet and she struggled to keep the chalk from caking and falling away from the board. There was no one in the cell phone store. It appeared that whoever was supposed to be staffing it decided to leave for the day.
Richard was lost in his thoughts. The other shop owners said nothing to him as he passed. He had grown accustomed to being made to feel unwelcome. It was easily ignored. Every relationship he ever had seemed to be nothing more than a signpost on life’s highway; a point of reference.
When he reached the northern end of Maine Street, where it intersected First Avenue, Richard crossed and began to walk back toward the store. Shop owners on this side were doing the same as their counterparts across the way, re-displaying their wares on the wet, steamy sidewalk. Sweat began to bead on his forehead.
Walking and staring upward, he watched the clouds as they cleared, revealing the familiar light-blue canvas of sky. He found himself longing for the dry air of fall that everyone had gotten a taste of days earlier. A pretty young lady walked by without him noticing. She noticed him, though.
The girl turned around and called to him as they passed one another. “Hey mister.”
Her summon did not pierce his consciousness at first. After a couple of seconds he realized that someone was speaking to him. Richard stopped and turned around. “Yes, ma’am?”
“Are you the man who owns the mercantile shop across the street?” the girl asked, as she pointed in the direction of the store.
“Yes, I am.”
The young lady smiled and extended her hand in friendship. “My name is Talitha Keys.”
Richard took a couple steps closer and shook her hand. “I’m Richard Styles.”
“Have you gotten used to living in a town this small yet?” she asked with a mischievous grin on her face. Her eyes were warm and inviting.
“To be honest Talitha, it’s been a much bigger adjustment than we had planned for,” Richard said.
She laughed. The smile quickly dissolved from her face. “Everyone in our community knows the kind of man you are.”
Richard smiled nervously and replied, “I’m not sure what you mean by that.”
“Don’t worry. It’s a good thing. The black folks in this town know about the kindness that you show everyone. It didn’t take long for one and all to hear how you carried Minnie Johnson’s groceries to her car for her; much less extending her credit. Treating people with respect and dignity goes a long way, even in Erst-while.”
“Well, I’ve always made an effort to treat people the way I would want to be treated.” Richard ached knowing that his words were not completely true. When he met Susan he found what it meant to be genuine and the peace it provided. He wished for the same growth from every encounter he had. His desire did nothing to change his past and he knew it.
“That’s a good policy to have, but it has a tendency to create trouble for people who don’t under-stand how this town operates.” She paused. “That’s why I stopped you. I wanted to let you know the rumors some residents of Erstwhile are spreading about you and your wife.” Richard did not respond. She saw the curious look on his face and continued. “The first one is that you’re drug dealers bringing stuff in from your connections in Orlando. You’re up here to push your product onto the young people of this community.”
“That’s insane!”
“I know. But it is a function of the kindness you show people.”
“I don’t understand.” Richard was incredulous.
“The man you hired to do work on your beach house while you were still living in Orlando … ”
“Stephen Talquin?” Richard interrupted.
“Yes. Well, he’s probably the biggest drug ad-dict this town has ever seen. His folks have plenty of money, so he doesn’t have to work.”
“And by being nice to him, I have placed my wife and me on a short list of undesirables?” Richard asked.
“A very short list,” Talitha said. “When people don’t have the capacity for understanding, the truth be-comes a casualty.”
He was disturbed by Talitha’s comments. How-ever, he had been too preoccupied to notice anything outside of the burden of being Richard Styles and it showed. “What should I do about it?” His willingness to acquiesce was offered up to her passionately. “How can I change?”
“Just be very cautious. Don’t allow them to isolate you, because once they do, they’ve won the war.” Talitha smiled warmly. “But even if they do succeed in branding you an outcast, you’ll always be welcome on our side of the tracks.” The better part of her conscience took over. “Well, it’s not like all of them are talking; only those select few. Regardless, you’re seen as a carpet-bagger by all.”
Richard laughed at what he assumed was an exaggeration. “Aren’t you being a bit melodramatic?”
“Not at all,” she said without hesitation. “Let me tell you a story about a family, not unlike yours, that moved here last year. They came from Atlanta and had roots in this town, just like you. The wife’s grandfather had been the superintendent of schools for forty years. They too wanted to simplify their lives and get back to basics and felt Erstwhile would be the best place to accomplish all of their life’s goals. The only problem was that around here that is tantamount to having a basic ignorance about most everything.”
“What happened?” Richard asked.
“To make a long story short, the husband and wife were out jogging one day. Since they ran at different paces, they had taken different routes. They each had the misfortune of running by the same house at different times. Each of them was viciously attacked by a rottweiler.”
Richard’s heart sank. “Don’t tell me they were killed.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Talitha said. “Both of them had some pretty nasty bites, but the true travesty was that the dumb-ass redneck who owned the dog tried to place the blame on them for getting his dog riled-up.”
Richard laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding.”
Talitha shook her head. “It gets even better. When the couple couldn’t get this guy to take responsibility for his dog’s actions, they hired an attorney.”
“How did they want the man to take responsibility? I mean, was it within reason?” Richard asked, trying to remain objective.
“They wanted the guy to pay their medical bills.”
“That seems pretty reasonable to me!”
“One would think!” Talitha agreed. “Anyway, the attorney they hired used stall tactics and put them off as long as he could. And why, might you ask? The attorney they hired was not only the brother-in-law of the redneck’s attorney, but they served together on the Board of Directors of the Paper Maker’s Union at the mill.”
“So how did this couple find out about the relationship between the two attorneys?”
Talitha smiled. “Let’s just say a little birdie told them, and we’ll leave it at that.”
“So how does this story end?” Richard asked. “Happily, I hope.”
Talitha pointed to the middle of Maine Street. “Do you see those skid marks on the road?”
He looked to where she pointed. “Yes.”
“The couple got smart. They fired the local attorney and hired one out of Atlanta. They got a huge settlement and bought a Porsche with some of the money. Those skid marks,” she once again pointed to the middle of Maine Street, “lead all the way back to Atlanta.”
“I guess they wanted to leave something behind for the citizens of Erstwhile to remember them by, huh?”
Talitha smiled. She then looked up and down Maine Street at all the storefronts. “I don’t want to alarm you, and don’t turn around, but every shop owner out here is staring at us.”
“Really?”
Talitha and Richard laughed together; each a little more expressively than they may have under normal circumstances. They were simpatico.
She imitated the redneck dialect that most residents of Erstwhile spoke with, “It ain’t no good for a white man to be talking to no black woman in public and be happy doin’ it.”
Richard laughed. “You know, I like your style.”
“What is it you like the most?”
“You don’t let these people get you down.”
“You can’t, Mr. Styles.”
“Please, call me Richard.” He grinned at the realization that this was the first conversation he had with a resident of Erstwhile that was of substance. He em-braced the prospect of finding a new friend. “Tell me about you. Did you grow up here?”
“Would you like to go into the coffee shop and get a cup of coffee while we talk?” Talitha asked.
Richard replied, “I don’t want to be rude, but no. I want to stand out here on the street with you and talk so that everyone who passes can see us.”
She smiled, “I like your style, Richard.” She continued, “Yes, I was born and raised here. I graduated at the top of my class in high school, scored a fifteen hundred on the SAT and got a full ride to Tulane University.”
“Tulane! Great school!” It felt good to him to offer positive affirmation to someone.
“And now I’m back here.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, why? Erstwhile has nothing to offer someone of your caliber.”
“Family. My family is the reason I have been so successful, and they need me right now. There will be plenty of time for my own accomplishments later.”
“What kind of work do you do?”
“I work at the phone company.”
Richard shook his head. “I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but that’s beneath you.”
“I’m not going to do that forever. If I stay here, one day I’ll own every building on this street,” Talitha boasted confidently as she motioned with her arms across the backdrop of Maine Street.
Richard smiled. He felt himself being drawn into this woman. Her smile was infectious. Her positive energy drew him in like a magnet. He was starved for anything that would give him the emotional boost he craved. “So, have you saved any money for a down payment on your first purchase?”
“I have a little, but it’s been tough. The phone company doesn’t pay that well and my grandmother has been sick. I’ve had to pay for her doctor bills and medications.”
Richard’s eyes swept the length of Maine Street. “Which building would you buy first?”
“Yours,” Talitha said without hesitation. “The way I have it figured, my first business should be in consumer staples, something for which there will always be a demand. Then I’ll venture into a more entertainment-oriented business like buying that old theatre.” Talitha pointed to an old dilapidated building directly across the street from where they stood. The marquis was dented and the neon letters that once spelled the name of the theatre, Bijou, looked as if they had not been cared for in decades. “And, unlike others in Erst-while, I’ll pay you fair market value.”
Richard was so enamored with her that he for-got about what troubled him. Her effervescent smile pushed all of the demons from his mind.
Before parting ways Talitha felt led to pass along advice that her grandmother had given her years earlier. “Richard, humans spend a lot of energy either trying to cling to their ideals or trying to escape their bonds. Those who do neither are without direction and are doomed.”