Page 23 of The Women of Oak Ridge

SISSY’S BED WAS EMPTY when I awoke Sunday morning.

With a yawn, I sat up and stretched. Groggily, I scanned the room, trying to remember if she was scheduled to work. With rotating shifts, it was hard to keep track sometimes.

I’d gone to bed early last night, exhausted.

The chore of doing laundry had become a frustrating, all-day affair.

In mid-cycle, the washing machine broke down.

Mrs. Kepple called maintenance, but they couldn’t come right away.

I’d had to wring out sopping, soapy clothes, only to discover the wait for another washer was twice as long.

My patience had evaporated. I’d hauled the wet laundry upstairs to the bathroom and hand rinsed everything in the tub.

Then I’d lugged it back down and found an empty clothesline outside in between the dormitories.

By the time everything was dry and I’d ironed out the wrinkles on two of Sissy’s dresses, I was bone-tired.

A glance at my wristwatch on the nightstand told me it was a little after seven o’clock.

I remembered that Sissy and I planned to attend services at Chapel on the Hill before I started my shift at noon.

Maybe she rose early and was in the shower, although the fact that her bed was already made was unusual.

Neither of us put much effort into housekeeping.

Someone routinely cleaned floors and bathrooms throughout the dorm, otherwise we’d be living among mounds of dust bunnies and dried mud.

I changed into Mama’s Sunday-go-to-meetin’-made-over dress, added a sweater, and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Chattering girls stood in line for the showers, but Sissy was not among them.

I returned to our room, sat on my unmade bed, and studied her neat coverlet.

Had she gone to work earlier than usual? It wasn’t outside of the realm of possibilities. A nasty virus was going around, with many employees at each of the plants unable to attend to their duties. Perhaps she’d received word she was needed.

I stood and walked to the closet we shared.

Her coat and the new dress she’d worn yesterday on her outing with Clive weren’t hanging up, so she must still be wearing them.

Like many of the women who worked at Y-12 monitoring cubicles, Sissy changed into coveralls once she was at the plant, then changed back into her street clothes when her shift ended.

If she’d gone directly to work after she returned from Knoxville, that would account for why nothing in her closet had been disturbed.

I donned my coat and made my way to the cafeteria, hoping she’d be there.

She wasn’t.

I ate a hasty breakfast and returned to the dorm.

No Sissy.

At a quarter to ten, I walked up the hill, past Jackson Square and the Guest House, to the chapel.

Services in the small church were well attended, no matter the time of day or the denomination, and I squeezed onto a bench near the back.

A search of the room, however, told me my roommate was not there.

Worry began to creep into the edges of my mind, and I couldn’t focus on what the preacher was saying.

Where was Sissy? Yes, she could be at work already, but it seemed odd that she hadn’t mentioned anything about the need to go in earlier.

We didn’t often leave notes for one another, but we had on occasions when we knew we wouldn’t cross paths.

When the service ended, I hurried back to our room. Still empty.

After I readied for work, I scribbled a note to Sissy and left it on her bed. I didn’t admonish her for not coming home last night, but I did tell her I’d been worried when she didn’t meet me at the church service as planned.

The bus ride to K-25 took twice as long due to a flat tire, requiring riders to transfer to a second bus. Mr. Colby wasn’t happy when I finally arrived, late.

“A dozen people are out sick,” he said, unusually gruff. “We’ll be busy today.”

He was right.

I don’t know how many miles I traveled on my bicycle, but I was beat when it was finally time to clock out for the day. Yet even though I’d constantly been on the go, Sissy’s absence was never far from my mind. I felt an urgency to get back to the dorm and make sure all was well with her.

Garlyn was waiting for me at the security portal.

“I thought we could have dinner at the snack bar,” he said once we were seated on the bus. “They have a new cook and everyone is raving about the hamburgers.”

“Sure.” I gave a distracted nod.

His keen gaze traveled over my face. “What’s wrong?”

Exhaustion and worry crashed over me at the genuine concern in his voice. My vision blurred with tears. “I don’t think Sissy came home last night,” I whispered.

I hadn’t wanted to admit it at first, assuming she’d simply gone to work early. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I didn’t believe that scenario.

My gut twisted.

The only logical explanation was that she’d spent the night with Clive.

Garlyn’s brow tugged into a frown. “That’s not like her.”

“I know.” I sniffled. Garlyn took a handkerchief from his pocket and handed it to me. “Thank you,” I said and blew my nose.

Over the din of passengers’ voices and the bus’s noisy engine, I told him about Sissy’s trip to Knoxville with Clive.

I didn’t say anything about their relationship or her concerns, even though I knew I could trust Garlyn.

I was still hopeful she would break up with Clive soon.

Yet if she’d spent the night with him, that wasn’t likely to happen now.

“Did you see Clive today?” I’d looked for him all afternoon but hadn’t run into him.

Garlyn shook his head. “I was in meetings in the admin building most of the day.”

I mulled over the situation. I needed to know more about the odd fellow my roommate may have compromised herself with. Especially if there were consequences—the kind that would arrive in nine months. Would he stand by her?

“What do you know about Clive?”

I’d avoided that question until now. I never wanted to put Garlyn in the awkward position of divulging—or withholding—information he didn’t feel comfortable sharing with me.

But after Sissy’s admission regarding her confused feelings for Clive, coupled with his strange behavior, I needed to know as much as I could about Clive Morrison.

I was determined to convince Sissy he wasn’t the man for her.

He checked to make sure no one was listening, lowered his voice, and said, “I know he joined the Army while he was in engineering school somewhere up north. He was assigned to the SEDs and came to Oak Ridge about the same time I did. He’s part of the health physics department.

He’s a smart guy. Not real friendly. Does his job well.

Never causes trouble. Captain Barger seems to like him, since he approved Clive’s request to bunk in a trailer instead of the barracks. ”

“Why would the captain grant his request?” I asked. “It doesn’t seem fair to the rest of you.”

“I heard it was because Clive is allergic to something in the barracks. He claimed it was making him sick.” Garlyn gave a shrug. “Seems kinda lame to me. The guys think he just wanted his own place.”

I appreciated the trust Garlyn showed by sharing this information.

He could find himself in a world of trouble if someone found out.

How I wished I could tell him about the top secret documents Sissy found in Clive’s trailer.

It may not mean anything, since I didn’t know if Clive’s clearance as a health physics officer included authorization to remove confidential papers from K-25 and other restricted areas.

The fact that he became angry when Sissy saw them could simply be due to the air of secrecy we all lived and worked under every day.

But I couldn’t tell Garlyn. I’d made a promise to Sissy not to share that information with anyone, so I kept it to myself.

We exited the bus at the terminal in town and made our way to my dormitory.

While he waited in the lobby, I hurried upstairs.

The door to our room was locked, a sure sign Sissy wasn’t inside.

My shoulders slumped when I found everything exactly how I’d left it that morning.

The note I’d written still lay on her bed, unread.

Nothing had been removed from her closet that I could tell.

Her purse wasn’t on the shelf, and her laundry hamper was empty.

Clearly, Sissy had not been back to our room while I was at work.

A knot of fear began to form in my belly. When I returned downstairs, Garlyn’s brow tugged into a frown when our eyes met.

“She isn’t here?”

I shook my head and met his gaze. “I’m starting to get worried, Garlyn. This isn’t like Sissy at all. What if there’s been an accident? Would anyone know to contact me?”

“Maybe you should talk to your housemother. She might know something since you were at work all day.”

I agreed.

Mrs. Kepple’s smile of greeting fled when I inquired if the woman had a message for me from Sissy.

When she questioned me further, I had to confess that my roommate hadn’t returned to the dorm last night, although I didn’t mention the trip to Knoxville with Clive.

Rumors spread like wildfire, especially if they were juicy.

If word reached Prudence Thorpe that Sissy may have spent the night with a man, the entire Reservation would know about it, and my roommate’s reputation would be forever sullied.

“I’m sure she must’ve had to work a double shift at Y-12,” I said, hoping that was indeed the explanation for her absence. “So many girls are down with the virus. Quite a lot of people were out from K-25, too.”

Mrs. Kepple didn’t appear convinced, but she agreed that was a possibility.

“I want to be informed when Sissy returns.” Her stern voice reminded me of Mama’s when I’d done something wrong. “We have rules we must abide by. If Sissy’s work schedule changes and she’ll be out past curfew, she needs to let you or me know.”

Garlyn was in the lobby waiting for me after I exited Mrs. Kepple’s small office, located behind the dormitory attendant’s desk. A group of women stood at the counter, chatting with the attendant while she shoved letters and messages into mailboxes behind her.

“Mrs. Kepple hasn’t heard from Sissy,” I whispered once we were out of their earshot. “I fear I may have caused a problem for my roommate. Our housemother wants to speak with her as soon as she returns.”

He gave a sympathetic look. “It’s not your fault, Mae. Sissy should have let you know she wouldn’t be back. It’s not as if you reported her. You’re concerned, as any good roommate would be. She’ll understand.”

I appreciated his encouragement. “I hope you’re right. I’d hate for Mrs. Kepple to evict Sissy because of this. Last week, a girl down the hall was told to pack her bags and move out because she kept missing curfew.”

By the time we reached the snack bar, a line of hungry patrons extended out the door. It appeared most of Oak Ridge had heard about the new cook’s juicy burgers. Garlyn offered to take me to the cafeteria instead, but I didn’t mind the wait. I wasn’t looking forward to returning to an empty room.

Garlyn walked me back to the dorm just before curfew. We both agreed the burger was tasty, but I hadn’t been able to enjoy it. My mind was on Sissy.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t very good company tonight,” I said as we stood outside on the sidewalk, holding hands.

“I bet Sissy’s upstairs right now. She’ll have a whopper of a story, too.”

I knew his grin was meant to cheer me up. “Mrs. Kepple will no doubt give her a lecture. I may give her one too.”

Garlyn gave my fingers a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow after work, Mae.”

Despite my reluctance to confront Sissy, I rushed upstairs. I needed to know she was safe and sound.

My heart sank when I walked into a darkened room.

I simply stood in the open doorway, my feet anchored to the floor. Light from the hallway illuminated Sissy’s empty bed and my note. I didn’t know what to think or feel.

Where was she?

If she and Clive had car trouble and were forced to remain in Knoxville until it was repaired, she would have sent word to me. Or even if there hadn’t been car trouble but they’d decided to stay in Knoxville another day, she could have let me know so I wouldn’t worry.

A shocking thought suddenly sprang to my mind, and I practically choked on it.

Had Sissy and Clive eloped?

That awful possibility hadn’t occurred to me until this very moment, but it made complete sense.

Sissy had confessed that Clive wanted to talk to her about something important.

Maybe he’d planned the whole thing as a surprise.

I could well imagine sweet Sissy unable to say no.

My roommate could at this very moment be Mrs. Clive Morrison, basking in newly wedded bliss, without a care for me or Mrs. Kepple.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Knoxville hadn’t been their destination at all.

They could’ve driven to Nashville for a honeymoon, for all I knew.

Aggravation quickly replaced my earlier concern.

I flicked on the light and closed the door with more force than necessary.

Here I’d been worried about Sissy, anxious to know if everything was well, while she and Clive may have snuck off and gotten married without telling anyone.

It was the only logical explanation for her continued absence.

I fumed as I readied for bed, muttering about Sissy’s foolishness. What would her mama say when Sissy confessed what she’d done? I could imagine my own mama’s reaction to such news. I didn’t envy Sissy having to write a letter to her family with the stunning announcement.

Sleep fought to claim me after I crawled under cold sheets, and my heavy eyelids closed. My last coherent thought, however, nearly made me cry.

When Sissy returned to Oak Ridge and moved into Clive’s trailer, I’d have to get a new roommate. I’d miss late night chats and giggles with my friend.