On the way home Rose could talk about nothing else. “Benjamin, we have to go to Franklin and get her. She should be here with her family, not living with strangers. She doesn’t even know that our mama has died.”
Benjamin’s eyes didn’t leave the road ahead. “She left of her own accord. She’ll come home when she’s ready.”
“Benjamin, why did Pearl leave? I know you know more than you let on. You disappeared at the same time and when you came home you didn’t even seem surprised that Pearl was gone.”
“You’re getting all worked up over nothing, Rose. She probably just ran off with some boy. Don’t let your imagination run away with you.”
“I didn’t imagine the bloody sheets I found or that bloody stain on her mattress. What happened, Benjamin?”
“I don’t know anymore than you do. Now either talk about something else or shut up.”
* * *
Madeline and Rose sat together in the front porch swing sipping iced tea. Sarah sat in her rocking chair at the other end of the porch shelling peas. The girls spoke softly and tried to ignore Sarah’s disapproving glances.
“What are you going to do if you find her? What are you going to say to her? What makes you think you can convince her to come home?”
“It would help if I knew why she left in the first place. I’m sure Benjamin knows more than he’s saying.” The very mention of Benjamin’s name always got Madeline riled up.
“Have you ever considered that Benjamin might have been behind her leaving?” said Madeline, loud enough for Sarah to hear her from the other end of the porch.
“Shhhh! What do you mean, Madeline,” said Rose, lowering her voice to a whisper.
Madeline noticed Sarah had stopped shelling peas and seemed to be listening to their conversation. She leaned closer to Rose and spoke so Sarah could not hear. “There was something going on between Pearl and Benjamin. I never could figure it out. He hardly ever said a word to her but when they were in the same room he never took his eyes off her and Pearl always acted like there was a water moccasin in the room.”
Rose leaned back in the swing and took a sip of her iced tea. She looked out at the creek and tried to picture Benjamin and Pearl together. If what Madeline was saying as true it would explain everything but she refused to believe it.
* * *
Madeline was still arguing with Rose when she inexpertly jerked the truck to a stop in front of Beasley’s Diner. “You’re making a mistake, Rose. You haven’t seen Pearl in almost two years. What do you think she’s going to say to you when you show up unexpected with your suitcase in your hand?”
Rose didn’t answer. She was staring through the plate glass window of the diner waiting for her sister to come into view. Maybe Madeline was right, but in the months since Pearl ran away Rose had felt like a part of her was missing. While she and Pearl had never displayed affection to one another there had been an undeniable bond. Now she wondered why she had been so blind to what Benjamin had done to Pearl. When she allowed herself to open her mind to the possibility that what Madeline said was true, everything became clear. Benjamin’s stares and scornful remarks. Pearl acting skittish and nervous around Benjamin. The blood. That wasn’t menstrual blood. They shared their cycles. Always had. Regular as the moon. Why hadn’t she realized it before?
Rose was jolted out of her reflections by the sudden appearance of her sister. She was wearing a gold uniform – almost the same color as her hair. Pearl was balancing a tray in her right hand and holding a coffee pot in her left. She looked thin.
“I’ve got to go, Madeline. Thanks for the ride. I know you think I’m crazy but this is the right thing to do.” Rose jumped out of the truck before Madeline could say anything more. She reached into the bed of the truck for her suitcase and tapped on the side of the truck twice – a signal for Madeline to go.
She stood in the street holding her suitcase for several minutes after Madeline pulled away. Part of her was sure she was doing the right thing. Another part was sure she was making a terrible mistake. “I can’t stand here forever. Might as well get on with it,” she muttered to herself as she pushed through the door of the diner, holding her suitcase before her like a shield.
“Afternoon, Miss. Will you be wanting lunch?” A plump woman put down her magazine and lumbered with some difficulty from her perch behind the cash register. “You can leave your valise here behind the counter. It will be safe.” The woman was smiling at her. “You look might familiar to me. Are you from around these parts?”
“No. I’m not. I’ve traveled a distance today.”
“Well, let’s just put your bag here and get you something to eat.” Without waiting for a response she took Rose’s suitcase and stowed it behind the counter. “You can wash up in the restroom over there and I’ll have Pearl brew up some fresh coffee. You look worn out, honey.”
At the mention of her sister’s name Rose caught her breath. She was surprised the kind faced woman couldn’t hear her heart pounding in her chest but she just stood there smiling as Rose walked toward the restroom.
Rose stared at herself in the mirror. “What were you thinking? What makes you think you have the right to stroll in here and…”
Rose’s conversation with her reflection was interrupted when the door opened and another face appeared in the mirror. Rose’s first thought was how alike their faces were. When she had seen Pearl everyday she only saw the differences. Now she found herself looking into her own face.
“Hello, Pearl.”
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