Tempus Fugit
By Mavis Applewater
For disclaimers see part one.
Thanks to my beta reader Mary! Who I forgot to thank for working herself to the bone with the first two installments.
As always this is for Heather.
Part Four 1959
This was the year Fidel Castro became the Prime Minster of Cuba and my father saw it as the end of civilization. Of course this was the same man who believed the government pamphlet that said we could survive a nuclear attack by hiding under a table. The upside was Xerox had introduced the first paper copier. Truly a life saver for a young college student. Only trouble was finding one. Alaska and Hawaii became States and I was excelling in my classes. And February 3rd would later be known as the day the music died. The only other dark cloud looming over me was the dull lake Connie and I were still paddling down.
Connie was right I had no clue as to how she felt about things. I begged her to tell me. She thought I should be able to figure it out on my own. Then she just seemed to give up. We settled into a routine. It was weird, I no longer felt guilty. I just stayed with her. I think my guilty feelings dissipated when I returned to school in January. Ever since I started insisting on picking up my own mail, I got a lot more mail.
I never confronted Connie over it. Never flipped my wig. I didn't want to know if she was bagging my mail. School was great even if I felt as if my romance had been produced by Xerox. Every romantic moment we shared was just a photocopy of the day before. Some small part of me hoped that it would change.
The really freaky thing was that before we started dating Connie was a blast and ahalf to hang out with. The second we slept together it was like someone flipped a switch and she was a whole new person. The person she became was a sneaky candy ass whiner. It drove me up the wall. Yes, I was still friends with my ex. Yes, what happened to her inspired me to try and get into law school but for the love of God, it wasn't like Connie didn't have a past. I made the mistake of mentioning that only once. She wigged out and I boogied out of the room so fast I left skid marks. I never brought up her ex or the fact that she had been cruising Mabel's long before we ever hooked up.
"Hey Druette your major is Government isn't it?" Tina, who was the newest member of our house, called out while I was hiding in the common room one night.
"Last time I checked." I shrugged looking up from my book.
"That's always surprised me," Blair interrupted. "I would have guessed English by the way you just devour books. Speaking of which?"
"No, you can't borrow anything." I flatly refused tired of chasing the pesky brunette down for my stuff. "Tina you were saying?"
"I've been working on this paper and it just seems so far fetched," she timidly began handing me the draft she had been toiling over.
"No, this looks good," I complimented her after quickly scanning the paper.
"So, it's true?" Tina gaped. "John Hancock was a rum runner?"
"Absolutely." I confirmed still glancing at her paper.
"He was one of the founding fathers of our country!" Blair tried to argue appalled by the notion.
"It is why he became one of our founding fathers," I laughed. "See you got it right here. The British were taxing him. He kept sneaking in wine and other spirits to avoid paying the tariff. Eight years before the revolution his sloop, the Liberty, was seized by customs officers. He didn't want to pay the tax and became a revolutionary. You got it all in here. We fought the war because of taxes. After we won the country was in so much debt that our government started taxing things like alcohol which led to bootlegging."
"So our country was founded on," Tina almost laughed.
"Hooch." I beamed brightly. My smile slipping when Connie entered the room. "Among other things."
"I swear the more I learn the more disillusioned I become," Blair shook her head. "But speaking of hooch." She wiggled her brow. "Anyone interested in a night out tomorrow?"
"Uhm," I hesitated casting a glance over at Connie. I hated that I just couldn't say yes or no without checking with her first.
"We're under aged," Tina sputtered.
"Ah freshman," Blair giggled. "It seems like only yesterday."
"Or just last year." I snickered. "There are places that we can go where they won't care, Tina."
"So, who's up for a little road trip?" Blair encouraged.
"Sure," Connie answered for the both of us.
I didn't end up going out the following night. I had too much studying to do. The rest of the gang including Connie went out. I found it odd that I rarely studied in my room. The only time I had felt comfortable in my own room was when Connie wasn't around. "This isn't good." I groaned after I finished my studies and climbed into bed.
I was still pulling my Nancy Drew act. I tracked down two women that I really needed to talk to. The first was an eighteen year old waif named Dotty Mazier. After seeing her mug shots and the photos from the hospital of the hard edged youngster I wasn't prepared for the young woman who agreed to meet with me at the Blue Dinner in between her shifts. I was expecting the street thug I had seen in the grainy black and white photographs. Dotty's age was the only thing I could give Laurie the slightest hint of slack for. At the time she didn't look like she was a teenager. When I met her she still failed to reflect her youth. Still the edginess was vacant.
"Thank you for agreeing to meet with me," I offered sipping my coffee. It was evident that her years on the street were behind her. Still there was a hint of bitterness lingering around her. It had been an arduous task in tracking her down. I was more than a little surprised when I got a letter from her agreeing to meet with me.
"I have to be honest; when I got your letter I was ready to tell you to pound sand," she coolly addressed me lighting up a cigarette. "So what are you studying? Trying to be one of those do gooders who try to keep kids from ending up like me? Cause if you are then God bless you."
"No," I confessed stirring my coffee. "I'm trying to help a friend."
"God Bless you even more," she took a long drag on her cigarette while I lit my own. "If I had one friend looking out for me then maybe I wouldn't have ended up on the streets. How can I help you?"
"All I am asking for is that you be completely honest with me," I carefully began. "I hate bringing this up." I apologized since it was more than apparent that this woman was trying to get her life together. "Could you tell me what happened back in December of '56?"
"It was cold that winter," she began seeming to drift away. "I hate the cold. I'm saving my tips so I can relocate to maybe Arizona or someplace like that. I had been on the streets for a few years living with my boyfriend. Or should I say the bum who said he loved me, while he kept me high and sent me out to earn his paycheck."
I was shocked. In my little cloister I never imagined that a child so young could have been forced into such depravity. It was one of those times I realized I knew nothing about the real world.
"So Clyde, that was his name, sent me out even though it was colder than a witch's tit cause he needed money," she continued her voice devoid of emotion. "When that fancy car pulled up I thought I had scored and could call it an early night. When I saw that the John was a woman I was thrilled. I figured I could let her fondle me a little bit and then I'd rip her off. I was a little afraid she might be some holy roller who wanted to talk some sense into me. Like that would have worked."
"But she wasn't there to save you soul," I grimly noted.
"Not this one," she frowned. "She was a piece of work. She wanted the full cookie ride. Fine I needed the money. I already had my hands on her purse not that she noticed. That chick was a freak show. She didn't want to make out or anything just gropes me then out of the blue she cold cocked me. She was pissed off at someone. Lucky me I got to be her substitute punching bag. I didn't even fight back; it wasn't like it was the first time. I was just worried that Clyde would be pissed cause my face had gotten messed up. In the back of my mind I thought good maybe I'd get a night off. She wailed on me like there was no tomorrow. I was hoping that there wouldn't be. She started choking me and that's when the cop showed up. I figured little Miss Butter won't melt in my mouth could talk her way out of it. That's when I tucked her purse under my arm and reached for the door. I could have made a quick get away but the cop was concerned and came over to check on me. She was out of there. That cop wasn't half bad he even took me to the hospital; most would have just arrested me or kicked me to the curb. The judge sent me to Juvie. Met a nice lady there, Sister Steven, she was the one who helped me get my act together. That's the whole story."
"Thank you," I nodded as I began to lay out my photos. "I just need to ask you a couple more questions then I'll get out of your hair. Could you pick out which girl attacked you and which car she was driving?"
"The girl is the same in both pictures," she shrugged before tapping her finger on the photo of Laurie's car. "That's the car. Saw the dent from my spot across the street. Kind of twisted but seeing a nice car like that messed up it kind of made me smile. I figured serves that freak right."
"Just one more question," I promised laying down a sizable tip. "The person who attacked you did you notice if they were right handed or left handed?"
"Right handed." She instantly confirmed.
"Are you sure?"
"If someone wrapped their hand around your throat would you forget which hand they used?" She offered without a blink of an eye. "What gives? I mean so far I've just confirmed what that snot nosed Detective said happened. How is that gonna help anyone."
"These two women are identical twins," I explained holding up the pictures. "The one who went to prison for what happened to you is left handed."
"Son of a bitch," she snarled. "What can I do?"
"A signed statement, preferably notarized explaining everything you just said might help." I pleaded.
"You got it just tell me where and when."
When I got back to school Connie asked how it went which was a little odd. Whenever Ginny came up in conversation Connie was less than interested in the subject of my former flame. I told her and even she was amazed at how poorly Ginny's case had been handled. My next step was to try and track down the other victim. It was hard. The report was sketchy as to how this woman and Laurie crossed paths.
When I finally tracked her down I was giddy. She was just a little older than me and a graduate student at Columbia. Connie was ticked off when I didn't invite her along for the road trip. No matter how many times I explained to her it wasn't a pleasure trip she just didn't get it.
I contacted Miss Patty Markham and was relieved when she agreed to meet with me. I drove down to New York the following weekend. "Miss Markham." I politely greeted her at the coffee house she had suggested.
"Patty." She corrected me as I took my seat.
"Ellen," I smiled in response while extracting my notes and photos. "Thank you for talking to me. I know this must be unnerving having all of this brought up now."
"Don't sweat it kid," she reassured me with a warm smile. I paused thinking that this woman was positively enchanting. I shook my head reminding myself that I had a girlfriend. "So this is about what happened in '56? Talk about a nightmare."
"Could you tell me what happened?" I encouraged.
"It was Thanksgiving break," she began with a soft sigh again I reminded myself that I had a girlfriend. "I had enough of my family and snuck out to hit the Kit Kat in Boston."
"The gay bar?" I choked before smiling.
"Does that shock you?" She teased me with a knowing grin. "I wouldn't think that it would."
"No it doesn't," I confirmed her suspicions. "You were saying?"
"Yeah the Kit Kat, great place," she said. "Well I was there for about a half an hour when this total hottie comes in. She looked a little young, but still you never know. I had been watching her since she waltzed through the door. Then she sends me a drink. I thought I just found my ticket to heaven. She introduced herself we drank a little more and then she invited me for a drive. I knew what it meant. But hell where else could we go. We ended up parked in her Chevy down by the Charles. Everything was just dandy until... I never saw the slap coming. After that she just went wild. At first I thought she was a closet case who hated all of us because she couldn't accept who she was. I thought she was going to kill me. For the first time in my life I was happy to see the cops pull up. Not that they were any help. They pulled their usual routine pulling us out of the car checking our ID's, questioning us over and over again and writing down the plate number and our names. They didn't care when I told them that she attacked me. They just told us to hit the bricks adding a few choice words about us before driving off leaving me alone with that psycho. I could still see their taillights when she demanded I get back into the car. I told her to fold it into three corners and shove it where the sun didn't shine. I took off running; thankfully the hospital is just over the hill. The doctors called the cops. This Detective Jarworski shows up and treats me like a criminal. I felt like dirt. I took a taxi back to club, got my car and tried to pretend that it had never happened. A couple weeks later the same Detective shows up at my parent's house. Suddenly he's interested. I wasn't. I just wanted to forget until he threatens to tell my parents what happened. He took me to the station and made me sign a statement. I kept waiting for him to show up again, but I never heard from him again. Until I got your letter. Kind of freaked me out."
"I'm sorry that you went through that," I choked out placing the pictures before her. "I just have a few more questions and then I'll leave you alone. You said the girl introduced herself what was her name?"
"Virginia." She sneered.
"Could you look at these photos and tell me which one of these girls was Virginia and which car you were in?"
"Are you telling me that there are two of them?" She shivered. "I can't tell one from the other but the car I remember a big ass dent in the back."
"One more question I promise," I sighed wearily. "The woman who attacked you do you know if she was right handed or left handed?"
"Right handed," she confirmed. "I'm left handed and I always notice which hand people use. Kind of hard to miss when it is slapping you in the face. Where is this going?"
"This is Virginia Swenson," I explain holding up Ginny's picture. "And like you she's left handed. She was also my girlfriend and at the time you were attacked she was at my house after having Sunday dinner with my family."
"What were her lawyer's smoking?" Patty spat out.
During the winter of '59 right before Connie and I were ready to call it a day, I knew we had reached the end as one night we invited two friends from the poetry club back to our room. Blair and Tina were like minded souls. We opened a couple of bottles of cheap wine. When we emptied the first one I suggested a game of spin the bottle. Our guests were a little stunned, but since Connie didn't object they went along with it. After our little party Connie and I realized that during the impromptu get together neither of us possessed a desire to touch the other, and it was the happiest we had been for almost a year. So after the mini-orgy we decided to stay friends, but we weren't meant to be a couple.
We did end up becoming really good friends even after I met and hooked up with Carrie. Carrie and I lasted almost two years and discovered what it was like to be in a real relationship, and I discovered more about life in the gay bars. A wonderful world I never knew existed where I could go dancing with women and when single could meet women. I discovered dating and all the fun and pitfalls that went along with it. College not only provided me with the thirst for knowledge I had been seeking but also sated the long time craving to discover who I was.
During my four years at Smith never once did I sever my connection with Ginny. We stayed constant pen pals and dear friends through thick and thin. At times I think I got to know her better than I knew myself. She would always be special to me. The only time I got angry with her was when she got into trouble. It happened twice, once for having alcohol in her cell. I never found out what the second infraction was but it sealed Ginny's fate. She was forced to serve the full five years.
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