Page 55 of What You Never Knew

The day is hot, scorching to be exact; we’ve definitely entered a heat wave. Just tying my boat up to Ezra’s dock in the sun causes sweat to roll down my back. Coming around the boathouse to make my way up to Ezra’s apartment, I notice Willa digging in the garden. She’s not wearing a hat, and her face is bright red and shiny with sweat. She really shouldn’t be out in the sun on a hot day like this. She’ll get heatstroke for sure, if she hasn’t already.

Ezra told me to just steer clear of his mother while I’m here, that Judy will take care of everything, but Judy is nowhere to be seen. I can’t just leave her out here if she doesn’t know enough to go inside on her own.

I put my bag down and start a slow approach across the lawn. “Willa?” I say, as cheerfully as possible. “It’s me, June.” This time I definitely do not want her to think I’m my mother. She looks up, confusion on her face, which doesn’t clear even when I’m standing right in front of her. “I think you should go inside. Get out of the sun. It’s very hot out here.”

She gives a weak nod and lets me take her by the arm and help her up. She’s unsteady on her feet and leans against me as we make our way into the stone cottage. It’s cool in the kitchen, and she breathes a soft sigh of relief.

“Why don’t you go sit down in the living room, and I’ll bring you a glass of water?” I offer.

She turns and shuffles off. I go in search of a glass and then, when I find one, fill it to the brim with cold water. Not sure if she’s eaten anything all day, I make her a plate with some grapes and crackers, just in case.

She’s sitting in her chair by the window, staring out at the yard, her hands folded in her lap. I place the plate and glass down on a small side table so that it’s within reach.

She looks up at me, and I can’t tell if she’s still in the present or has disappeared again.

“I could have forgiven him if it weren’t for the girl,” she says quietly.

“Could have forgiven who?” I ask.

“West. I could have forgiven him.” She shakes her head. “But it’s all because of her. The girl. If it hadn’t been for the girl.”

“I’m sorry, Willa, but I don’t know what girl you’re talking about.”

She laughs while at the same time tears appear in her eyes. “Why are you doing this to me?” The tears being to fall now. “What do you want from me? I already gave you everything.” She points at me. “You took everything. All I have left is my son, and you can’t take him too. Do you understand?” She clenches her hands into fists. “I will not let you take him.”

I hear the kitchen door open, and seconds later the neighbor, Judy, appears in the living room, same blue sundress. “Well, what do we have here?” she says, even though it’s quite obvious. “June. Didn’t Ezra tell you to stay away from Willa while you were here?” She sounds like a kindergarten teacher who’s just arrived to break up a fight.

The fact that Ezra told Judy to keep me away from his mother stings. “Willa was out in the sun when I arrived,” I explain calmly, “without a hat and looking on the verge of sunstroke, so I just wanted to get her inside. I did look around for you, but you were nowhere to be seen, so I took it upon myself to get her out of the sun.” I can’t help but get that little dig in.

Willa suddenly stands up, her eyes locked on me and wild. “You stay away from my boy,” she says loudly, white spit collecting at the sides of her mouth. “You stay away from him, do you hear me?”

Judy swoops in and takes Willa’s arm. “Don’t you worry, dear,” she says to Willa. “June’s not going to go near your boy. Ezra’s fine. Just fine.”

“It’s the girl,” Willa says, calmer now. “It’s all because of her.”

Judy gives me a quizzical look, and I just shrug in response. “What girl is that, Willa?” she asks, turning back to face her friend.

Willa lifts her arm and points at me. “That girl. She’s the one.”

Judy motions for me to go into the kitchen and goes back to talking to Willa in a soft, soothing voice, ignoring the talk about the girl. She leads her out of the living room and toward what I assume is Willa’s bedroom. I hear a door close and then only low murmuring.

Not sure what else to do, I flop down at the kitchen table and try to sort through Willa’s wild ramblings to see if anything rings true. She clearly wants me to stay away from Ezra, but what mother wouldn’t want their son to stay away from the daughter of the woman who had an affair with her husband? The girl, though—I can’t figure out why she said I was the girl or what that even means.

“I gave her a sedative,” Judy says, coming into the kitchen, interrupting my thoughts. “She’s out for the count for hours.”

“I really was only trying to help,” I say, a little too defensively. “She could have gotten heatstroke out there.”

“Yeah, well, you don’t tell Ezra that she was out on her own in the sun and I won’t tell him that you got her all worked up again. Deal?”

I really can’t decide if I like this woman or not, but I nod in agreement anyway.

She thumbs toward the door. “Come on over to my place and have a beer.”

I don’t love the idea of spending time with her, but she might know some things, and the offer of a drink is more than appealing right now.

We leave through the kitchen. She locks the back door with a key but then also slides a bolt that’s fastened on the outside of it. “Ezra put this on a little while ago to keep Willa inside. The front door too,” she explains. “For her own safety, you know? So, you don’t have to worry about her getting out in the night while you’re here”. She laughs warmly. “She does like to wander.”

“That’s good. It’s a lot of pressure on Ezra to be the only one taking care of her.” I follow Judy up onto her front porch.