Giant Men and Violent Women

Love

PRESLEY ANN

The fog surrounds us as we dine together outside. My mother, Hyacinth (my sister-in-law and best friend), and I are seated on the pier at the only fresh game house anyone with any standing would dine in for lunch- Moose Mountain. Wrapped in shawls, we listen to a reggae-folk guitarist and bongo group while we sip on Black Honey, honeycombs sitting prettily inside the clear coffee mugs. We're also have blackberry aperitifs before our food arrives because there's nothing like leaving lunch and feeling tipsy. The misty fog dampens our hair. The fog is thick because we're sitting over Righteous Brook, and where there is mountain water, there is foggy weather. The coils of the outdoor heaters fade from black to bright orange to warm us. My mom, as usual, looks the part of a secretary of state with her lean body, perfectly bouncy espresso-brown hair, and gems in her ears. My sister-in-law, as usual, looks the part of perfection-a long, thin neck and a high bun that showcases killer cheekbones.

But I'm not looking at them right now. Through the fog, I can see only a few tables over from where I sit. And, right now, the head councilman of Darling, Opie Hoffstead, is in deep conversation with his wife, a woman the town has named Hot Stuff. Word around Boston is that she can't seem to keep her legs closed and her dress down. But you didn't hear that from me. I take it that head councilman and Hot Stuff are speaking intensely about what's happening in Boston at this very moment. Boston is all anyone's talking about right now.

"Now, the Mexicans are rioting in Boston," Hyacinth says, looking at her phone.

But I already knew that.

My driver, Boxer, a former bar owner convicted of murder, got me up to speed as he drove me here. Apparently, it was all the prisoners had been talking about, and because of them, the news of the Boston riots had made the rounds before breakfast was over and lunch began.

Boston Riots. Boston is plastered on every news station, showing men with bandanas covering their mouths and women with ski masks covering their faces, breaking bank windows and running stay-at-home moms and their nannies out of coffee shops.

My maid, Nona, was the one to inform Bett, Great Aunt, and Minnie. Great Aunt and Minnie sat in my kitchen with mulberry muffins, talking as though Bett wasn't there, as they spoke of the "illegals" losing their jobs because of the "slaves".

"Not our problem," my mom says now to Hyacinth. Mom sips her blackberry aperitif and wistfully looks around. "I swear, it's just beautiful out here." She says to a diner nearby, "Hi!"

The secretary is here. The eyes are staring. Our table is front and center. Hyacinth sits up a little straighter and raises her chin a bit higher.

Mom might not think that Boston riots are her problem, but it might be soon. Boxer told me that Dartmouth College, located right here in New Hampshire, has caught the riot fever. Hyacinth's mother is the president of Dartmouth, and the students are currently performing a sit-in, opposing what they call The Slave Program. The dignified and deeply conservative Hyacinth is torn. The riots won't just affect Boston. They will affect her mother. It's a well-known fact in my family that Hyacinth's mother does not agree with the program, but she refuses to say so publicly. Smart woman. I would, too.

Governor Wheat's life was ended because he opposed The Slave Program. It's as simple as that. No one might mention it, but the proof is there. Do I know this for sure? Well, of course, I don't. The only people who know for sure why the governor's life was ended is the man who finished it. But chances are, we'll never find him.

Why not? Listen, this murderer waited until the governor went to New York City, one of the largest cities in America, to kill this man. He waited until the governor sat in front of a crowd of people and a bevy of cameras just to finish him in public because he was trying to make a point. This was a warning to us all. The killer wanted the whole nation talking about this. He wanted those who opposed the program to live in fear.