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Friday, March 6, 2015

Portland, Oregon

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It was a hot and glorious early spring day. The sky was blue for once. The only clouds marring the hazy Portland sky were small and puffy, floating East, high over Mt. Hood which stood proud and white in the distance. With any luck, the nice weather would persist through the weekend. It was time to get out and have some spring fun!

Tanya Jones took a deep breath of the heady scent of hyacinth before she went back inside to finish preparing the snack for her young daughters. She left Rose playing in the back yard as she chopped up the apples and oranges into small pieces and arranged them onto three small plates.

She’d barely finished the last one when she heard the brakes of the school bus as it stopped outside a few houses down.

“Come, Rose!” she called to the toddler, still playing. “Skye is here!” The girl came quickly, and Tanya scooped her up and stepped outside onto the front porch and waved so that the matronly bus driver could see someone was home to meet the first grader.

Skye stepped off the bus and hurried along the sidewalk and up the short path. The driver waved to Tanya and drove away.

“This is for you,” Skye said handing her a sealed envelope. “Mrs Underwood said you should read it right away.”

“Thank you,” Tanya said taking the message. “Now let's get inside.”

“Can I build a tipi and live in it all weekend?” Skye asked.

“You can build a tipi, but you’ll have to sleep in your bed at night.”

She brightened and ran to her room, coming back down a few minutes later laden with her favorite blankets.

Tanya sat on the back porch and watched Skye set up garden poles. Rose ran after her, dragging her favorite blanket. Surprisingly, Skye seemed keen to let her sister help.

The envelope in Tanya’s hand seemed to weigh more heavily. She put it down on the table next to her, beside the potted fuchsia Frank had got her for their first anniversary. It only had a few green leaves left on it, seemingly struggling to return with the spring – similar to her marriage. She sighed.

Skye finished putting the final blanket around the pole frame, securing it with clothespins. Rose’s blanket was immediately put to use as the three-year-old lay upon it and rolled it over herself and pretended to fall asleep.

Skye ran past Tanya, then reemerged with the two plates of snack. She took the plates out to the tipi and handed one to Rose, who sat up to eat the nibbles, suddenly far more exciting than they had been just a bit ago!

Skye returned, and came back out with the third plate which she handed to Tanya. “Mom, you need to have your snack too!”

Tanya smiled and thanked her thoughtful child.

“Do you want chocolate milk, Mom?” she asked.

“Yes, please.”

Skye came back out a moment later with a plastic cup half-filled with chocolate milk and an ice cube.

“Thank you, Skye.”

But the child was already back inside, emerging a moment later with two more cups of the same.

“Mom, you should read your note. Mrs. Underwood said you needed to read it right away – you should listen to her because my teacher is very smart!”

Skye hurried across the yard back to her tipi, leaving Tanya in silence, nearly stunned by the child’s words. She knew she couldn’t scold Skye. The girl wasn’t being naughty, just forthcoming – as she'd always been. Tanya opened the note – hoping that Skye wasn't in some sort of trouble. Her hands began to tremble with the first words.

Mrs. Jones,
Forgive me the frankness of this note. As a teacher, I am trained to notice things and I am worried about you. Your daughter is unusually afraid of being wrong – or people getting angry with her. I gently asked her if people normally get very angry with her for being wrong and she said (please don't be angry with her) that you are sometimes hurt by your husband for being wrong... and that he gets very angry with both of you.

Tanya’s hands shook violently as memories of the previous night's tirade from her husband flooded back into her mind. Tears seeped from her eyes and threatened to overflow; she had to blink them away quite forcefully in order to read the remainder of the note.

I'm a survivor of domestic abuse and I just want you to know that you are not alone. I can find you help if you need it. If there's ever anything you need, please don't hesitate to ask.
Mrs. Underwood

Sobs threatened to overcome her. Tanya wasn't happy in her marriage, but Mrs. Underwood didn't understand the whole situation. How stupid and unlovable she was – if only Mrs. Underwood knew her properly, she wouldn't like her either. And how would she survive with two little girls – all on her own? She felt that she needed to write a note back, but she had no idea how to even begin.

There was a knock on the door.

Tanya dried her tears with her sleeve, then stood. She looked at the girls, happily setting up their home in their tipi. She hurried to the front door just as the doorbell rang. She opened the door to see her beautiful neighbor, Evana. Tanya had always admired the short, matronly woman who must have been part Native from her skin tone, her rounded nose, and her long, black hair.

“Just wondered if you'd seen my package come in today?” Evana asked with a smile.

“No, sorry.”

“That's okay,” Evana said. “I'm sure it will come tomorrow then.”

“I hope so,” Tanya said about to close the door.

“Are you okay?” she asked in a way that belied the fact that she wasn't anticipating a delivery at all.

“Sure,” Tanya answered, in cover mode. “Why?”

“I heard you fighting last night. Just wanted to make sure that you didn't get the short end of the stick.”

“I'm okay,” Tanya said turning red with embarrassment, hoping that the bruise on her arm wasn’t showing. She had chosen her t-shirt that morning with care.

“I'm sure you are,” Evana said smoothly. “Just remember, if you ever need any help, I'm only next door. Any time, day or night. Okay?”

Tanya just nodded trying not to let her see how hurt she was inside. If she was forced to say anything further, she knew the tears would flood out. She knew she was terribly unhappy, but she equally knew that she had the power to fix it. All she had to do was to become a better wife. Then, Frank would love her better.

Thankfully, Evana didn't say anything further and left.

Tanya returned to the porch, the tears pouring from her eyes, wetting her cheeks. She tore the note up into dozens of pieces as her tears streamed. If Frank knew people were worried about her, he would punish her for sure.

She sipped the chocolate milk, her hand shaking so much that she was sure she would drop the cup. Still, the sweetness seemed to be what she needed as she watched the girls play, oblivious to the agony of their mother.

♥♥♥