Page 42 of Broken Bayou

There’s a long pause. I hear her labored breathing, like she’s just come in from running. “I don’t know where to start.”

“It’s okay, Mama. Just start at the beginning.”

She clears her throat. “Mabry was upset that night you went out with that boy.”

I lean harder into the old oak. I remember Mama being upset, too, more like jealous. The way she’d grabbed Mabry’s arm. The cocky look she’d given me from the driver’s seat.Don’t wait up.

“Where did you go that night?” I say, my jaw tightening.

“A bar.”

“With Mabry?” I try to keep my voice light, but it’s starting to harden as much as my jaw.

“Yeah. She slept in the booth while my boss and I had drinks.”

My stomach clenches. The picture in Mabry’s sketchbook. Mama and a man. “What the hell?”

“Listen, it was harmless. I knew the owner.”

I shut my eyes a moment. Harmless for her, not Mabry. I open my eyes. “Then what?”

“Then my boss says he needs a ride back to the office. So I gave him a ride.”

“What time was it?”

“I don’t know. That was a long time ago. Why are you dragging this up?”

I ignore her question. “So you gave your boss a ride?”

“Yes.”

“At night to an empty office.”

“Willa, I . . . yes . . . I gave him a ride.”

“With Mabry.”

“Yes, with Mabry.”

“Why was your face bruised that night?” I say, hoping to throw her off and get an honest answer.

“Was it?”

“It was.”

“I don’t remember.”

There’s her first lie. I hear the stutter in her voice, the pause as she tries to think of what to say next.

“Okay, let’s back up.” I bring my hands to my eyes and squeeze. “What happened when you took him to the office? Did he run off? Did he go inside?”

“Well, no ... yes. Kind of.”

“Mama, I’m losing patience. You need to tell me—”

“He fell, okay?”

“What do you mean he fell?”