A Blue Mountain Memory

IXX

The Sunday following Cora's walk with Elijah welcomed nothing but more grief into the young girl's life.

The Davis family put on their church clothes and made their way to the weekly service. Lorna and Baxter walked arm-in-arm, laughing together like an adolescent couple. Cora and Lee dragged behind in silence. Lee protested going to church, but Lorna insisted that the family appear together in public, showing the townsfolk that nothing was wrong.

When they walked into the church and settled into their pew far in the back, most of the congregation shifted their eyes towards Cora. Everyone's conversations quieted to a hushed whisper. Even Minister Reed stood up front talking to Mrs. Forrester, his eyes occasionally darting to the back of the room seemingly hungry for a glance of what everyone else was focused on. Cora seemed to be the only family member to notice. Baxter was already dozing off beside Lorna who brought her knitting along. Lee whipped out a book and was consumed by its pages. He and Baxter had not had much time to themselves with all their extra work at the mill. Baxter was growing exhausted, and Lee was becoming aggravated and restless.

Cora scanned the church, continuously locking eyes with someone from town whose gaze already fixed on her. She looked to the front to see Lottie May Call whispering into her daughter's ear. The pair stared at Cora, stabbing her with their intense gaze. Birdie erupted with laughter, shamelessly pointing to Cora at one point. Next, Lottie May leaned over to Mrs. Mauer, whispering and staring. Cora watched as Lottie May then moved on to Mrs. Hines. Then Mrs. Johnson. Then Mrs. Lennox. When she finished, each woman stared at Cora for several minutes. Some held blank expressions. Some shook their heads in disapproval. Some stared at her in disgust. One woman's eyebrows caved in, and her lower lip jutted out, offering Cora a sympathetic expression. One woman did the sign of the cross and immediately prayed. I hope she's praying for me, Cora thought. Several more women audibly gasped, and murmurs in the church grew louder. Finally, Cora looked over to the Brooks family pew. Beside his father sat Elijah, staring at Cora with a smirk. A conniving smirk. A smirk that told her just whose handy work this was.

Cora spent the entire service picturing the women's reactions. She imagined what kind of venom Lottie May Call was hissing into their eardrums. She imagined how shocked or amused they were. She imagined her reputation slipping from her own grasp into the claws of the townsfolk.

But Cora no longer cared. Part of her knew that her secret would be discovered eventually. She knew that her parents' plan would never work. She knew that her life could no longer be the same.

After the service, Cora's family quickly filed out before the crowd, but Cora noticed her mother had left a knitting needle on the pew. As she bent down to grab it, she felt the breeze of the crowd moving past her. She figured everyone would stand around outside and chat for a few minutes. Cora wondered if, perhaps, she could simply wait for the crowd to disperse before making her way home. When she stood back up, she turned around to see Birdie Call stationed directly behind her.

"So, I heard that Elwood burdened you with child," Birdie said in a prideful tone.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Cora spat.

"Oh, I see. So, it wasn't Elwood... then it must have been your brother. Makes sense. I suppose those kinds of things happen in Yankee families."

Cora's body vibrated with anger. She imagined raising her fist and driving her mother's knitting needle directly into Birdie's ice-cold eye.

"I don't have time for this," was all Cora could manage to respond.

"What? Gotta get home and finish up the nursery? What's the name gonna be? Lee Jr.? Or Baxter Jr.?" Birdie's laugh echoed through the empty church.

Cora had enough and tried to step past Birdie, but Birdie violently grabbed her arm and pulled her close.

"One of these days, I'm gonna sneak up on you and kick you in the belly until that baby's dead body slides right out of your diseased hole."

For the briefest moment, Cora almost wished she would.

"It's a sin to talk like that inside a church," Cora responded.

She ripped her arm from Birdie's grip and left her standing frustrated.

When Cora walked outside the doors, she immediately felt dozens of eyes focused on her.

"I heard it was that Lew boy who's gone missin'."

"Well, I heard it was her brother."

"No, it was the father!"

"I heard she did it with one of Farmer Redd's bulls."

"Someone told me it was actually Kelly Brooks's son, the one who goes to school up north."

"There's no way in hell Elijah Brooks would tumble around in the hay with that kind of girl!"

Cora tried to shut out the whispers as she made her way through the crowd, but every single word snaked into her head, biting poison into her brain.