Page 20 of The Women of Oak Ridge

She reached for the thin gold chain and heart-shaped locket she always wore.

The small case contained a cloudy miniature of her parents on their wedding day.

It had once belonged to her grandmother and passed to Sissy when the woman went on to glory.

I often thought it would be nice to have a sentimental family keepsake, but neither Pa, Mama, nor their families had ever had money for extravagances.

Every dime earned went to more important things, like food and shelter.

Once the necklace was in place, she met my gaze in the mirror, a serious look in her blue eyes. “Clive says there’s something important he wants to talk to me about.”

We stared at one another through the reflection.

“I think he might be planning to propose,” she whispered.

My heart sank. “What will you tell him if he does?”

She turned and gave a slight shrug. “I don’t know, Mae. I thought I was in love with Clive and wanted to marry him. Lately, though...” Her voice trailed.

I didn’t want to hurt Sissy. She was a dear girl, although a bit naive. If she had doubts about Clive, maybe now was the time to voice my own reservations about the odd fellow.

“Sissy, if you’re having second thoughts about Clive, just cancel. You don’t have to go today. You’re under no obligation to continue seeing him.”

She gave a half-hearted nod. “I know. I do like him. Love him, I think. He’s smart and knows so many interesting things about the world. But I... I’m not sure I can... trust him.”

Her faltering words alarmed me. “What do you mean? Has he tried to make you do things you shouldn’t?”

“I don’t mean that.” Her cheeks turned pink. “He’s always a perfect gentleman when we’re together. It’s probably nothin’. I promised him I wouldn’t mention it to anyone.”

Concern swirled through me. “You can tell me, Sissy. I give you my word I won’t say anything to anyone else. Not even Garlyn.”

She hesitated a long moment before she sat on the edge of her bed and faced me. “A few weeks ago, he took me to the trailer where he lives.”

At my widening eyes, she hurried to say, “Nothin’ improper happened. He had a bottle of bootleg rum he’d snuck onto the Reservation, and we drank some. A little later, he walked down to the men’s restroom. While he was gone, I poked around, just looking at this or that.”

She paused, her brow furrowed. “I knocked over a box that was sitting on the counter. Papers fell out. When I picked them up, I noticed some had ‘Confidential’ or ‘Secret’ stamped on them in red ink. I thought it was strange that he’d brought them home, being that everythin’ around here is so hush-hush. ”

I couldn’t agree more.

“When I picked up the last paper, I saw it was handwritten, but I couldn’t read the words.

I don’t think they were English.” Distress washed over her face.

“Clive walked in while I was tidying up the mess I’d made.

He got real angry, Mae. Angrier than I’ve ever seen him.

He grabbed me by the arm and hauled me outside.

It... it scared me,” she said, ending on a shaky whisper.

I didn’t know what to make of the strange story. As far as I knew, Clive’s job allowed him access to restricted areas throughout the Reservation. It made sense that he’d have access to classified documents too. But why become angry with Sissy for simply seeing them?

“He gave you no explanation about the papers?”

She shook her head. “He drove me straight home. We didn’t speak the whole way back to town. I’ve been too afraid to bring it up again.”

My alarm deepened. “I don’t think you should go to Knoxville with him, Sissy. I don’t have a good feeling about this. About Clive.”

“I know he can be a little peculiar, Mae,” she said, her brow knotted, “but I really do care for him. He’s not like the farm boys back home, all rough and rowdy.

He’s smart and has tons of book learning.

I like listening to him talk, even if I don’t always know what he’s talkin’ about.

It was my fault he got upset. If I hadn’t been snooping, I wouldn’t have knocked the box over.

He has an important job, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to mess that up for him. ”

I didn’t like where this was going. “He didn’t need to get angry about an accident, and he shouldn’t have grabbed you. It’s not like you were trying to discover the big secret by looking at the papers. You said yourself he scared you, Sissy. That isn’t good.”

She opened her mouth to reply, but a knock on the door interrupted us. Prudence Thorpe appeared in the opening.

“Clive is downstairs, Sissy.” The nosey young woman’s eyes traveled the length of my roommate, who looked lovely in a new dress, with her golden hair fashioned in a becoming style. “Gracious, Clive looks like he’s dressed for a hike in the woods, but you’re ready for a party. What gives?”

Sissy stood. “Would you please tell him I’ll be right down?”

Prudence pouted, clearly miffed she didn’t get an answer to her inquiry. “Sorry, hon, I’m not going downstairs.” She exited the room without closing the door behind her.

Sissy picked up her purse and coat. Now that the weather had turned cold, her identification badge was pinned to the lapel of the outer garment instead of her dress.

“Sissy, please reconsider—” I began, only to be stopped by her raised hand.

“I’m going to Knoxville with Clive, Mae. I probably shouldn’t have said anything to you. I’m sure I’m just being silly. He’s very sweet, and... I love him.”

Was she trying to convince herself or me?

“Clive said we’d have dinner in town, so it may be late when we get back. Oh, and thank you for offering to do my laundry, Mae. You’re the best.”

I stood and gave her a tight embrace. “I hope you have a fun day,” I said, pulling away to look her in the eye, “but will you do something for me?”

“What’s that?”

“Call Mrs. Kepple if Clive does anything that makes you uncomfortable. She has a car, and we’ll come get you.”

She nodded, her blonde curls bouncing. “I will, Mae. I promise.”

The door clicked closed behind her.