Marge stood up suddenly and smoothed her black rayon dress. “For starters,” she bristled, “you could tell us why in the world you chose to go to the East Coast of the island instead of the West? Everyone knows it’s dangerous.”
“We went for the surfing,” Cindy answered quickly. “Some friends of Clint’s recommended the place. I don’t have to tell you that Clint loved to surf.”
“He surfed his whole life and nothing happened,” Marge repeated bitterly.
“He surfed rougher places, and was a fantastic swimmer. He was a lifeguard for years. He knew the ocean inside and out.”
Cindy saw Clint’s father’s head bob up and down. She didn’t know if he was sobbing or if he’d fallen asleep. No one else seemed to notice. Marge did, though.
“You see how sick dad is?” she said. “And all this has made it worse.”
“I’m very sorry,” Cindy said again.
Now his mother stood up and walked right up to where Cindy was sitting.
“When was the last time you saw my son alive? What was the last thing you said to each other?” Her eyes were squinting as if a strong light shone on them.
Cindy tried to remind herself to say calm, that his family were all in horrible pain.
She shouldn’t take any of this personally. It was awful, though, to be forced to go back over that afternoon. But she wanted to give them whatever comfort she could.
“I last saw him in the afternoon. We were planning to go surfing together. It was about an hour or so after lunch. We went up to the room to change and I
suddenly began to have bad cramps. I got very tired. So, I lay down for a little nap instead. I planned to nap for about an hour and then go down and meet him on the beach.”
“And?” his mother was relentless.
“And I overslept. I woke three hours later.”
“That doesn’t make sense,” his mother said. “You suddenly had cramps from out of nowhere?”
“That’s what happened,” Cindy replied. “I jumped up, got out of bed and ran down to the beach to join him. He wasn’t there.”
“Where was he?” Ralph questioned.
“He wasn’t there,” Cindy repeated.
“Where do you think he was?” said Marge . “He was dead in the ocean.” She turned on Ralph, who flinched.
“The hour of death,” Ralph continued blankly, “was determined to be around five in the afternoon.”
A long, dark pall hung over the room.
“Where is all of this going?” Ann interrupted.
“When did Cindy get down to the beach?” Ralph asked.
“I got down at about 5:15 or so,” Cindy said.
“None of it makes sense.” his mother started ringing her hands again. “He died a few minutes before you arrived? How is it possible?”
“When I got down there the beach was empty,” Cindy repeated breathlessly. “I ran up and down. I couldn’t find him.”
“Were the two of you fighting? Was he sorry you ever got married?” The words poured out of Marge fitfully.
“That’s enough,” Ann said forcefully, and stood in front of Cindy to protect her from the onslaught. “This visit is over. I don’t know what you’re thinking, but you’re way out of line.”
“Why else wouldn’t a bride go down to the beach with her husband when he’s surfing? Why else would she suddenly have cramps and sleep all afternoon?”
Marge was on a rampage.
“What are you intimating?” Ann asked.
“The facts lead to questions,” Ralph stood up. “We have to ask them. In honor of Clint’s memory, we have to know what really went on.”
Cindy felt herself choking. Was this horrible family accusing her of wrongdoing? From the start they wanted to disrupt the relationship - and even now, after his death?
“There were no witnesses to anything,” Ralph continued. “No one knew you were asleep in your room?”
“The man who ran the hotel, Alex, saw me leave when I ran out to the beach,” Cindy said.
“How convenient,” Marge replied.
“I beg your pardon,” Ann glared at her.
Cindy could barely hold her tongue. “I’ve thought about it myself,” Cindy continued. “Who’s really responsible? There are loopholes here, serious loopholes.” She stared right back at Ralph. “Don’t think I haven’t wondered exactly what happened myself.”
Ralph didn’t so much as blink an eye. Again a strange, dark silence descended over them all. Cindy suddenly looked over at the wall and saw the photograph of her and Clint, smiling together, arm in arm, leaning against their new, small boat they had docked here in the cove. They had been so happy in every way. How could anyone think otherwise? Could Clint see what was going on now? What would it take to make him realize? Wasn’t there something he could do to protect her now?
Cindy wished she had better answers to the questions they’d asked. She flashed back to the hotel room, to the moment she woke up that afternoon. She’d been disoriented. It was not like her to nap that long in the afternoon. And she didn’t usually have cramps. She and Clint had been together every minute of the honeymoon. She’d had no intention of abandoning him. That was the last thing in her heart or mind.
She was not going to share these facts with the family, though, or defend herself in any way. It would only make things worse. Clearly, they hated her and wanted to punish her for everything. They were looking for any detail that could pin her up against the wall.
Once again Ann interrupted the tense situation.
“I think this is enough for now,” she said. “Cindy looks exhausted and so does Clint’s father. “
“When?” his mother suddenly burst out, standing. “When will I know the truth!?”
Chapter 5
After they left, both Cindy and Ann breathed a sigh of relief at exactly the same moment.
“How could someone so wonderful have a family like that?” Cindy said, trembling.
“Sit down, I’ll bring you some tea,” Ann said.
Cindy couldn’t bring herself to sit on the sofa right where his parents had been sitting . “They’re terrifying,” she murmured.
“His family’s struggling with a terrible loss,” Ann said quietly.
“They’re blaming me,” Cindy felt her face grow red.
“Yes, they are,” Ann said without flinching, “Cindy, I really think you should come home.”
For a moment Cindy couldn’t understand what Ann was saying. “I am home,” she said.
“I mean, back to Wisconsin. You could move in with mother for awhile and I would be close by. I can’t stay here forever. Frank is being a darling, but he also needs me. Sooner or later, he’s going to tell me to come back.”
Cindy’s heart dropped at the thought of Ann leaving. In the back of her mind she knew this would be coming. Ann couldn’t stay here forever. She’d been here way longer already than she should have. Tears filled Cindy’s eyes.
“I can’t go back and live with mother,” Cindy said, forlorn. “It wouldn’t work, she wouldn’t be comfortable and neither would I. She needs her space.”
“Well, you can get your own apartment near us. For a year or so anyway. It will help you get back to yourself again. Most of your friends are back home, too. You’ve only been East for a year and a half.”
“This is my home now. And Clint’s.”
“He’s not here anymore.”
“But we bought it together. We picked it out, moved in, put the pictures on the walls. We started to plant the garden together. Clint’s things are all over. How can I just leave everything behind?”
Ann took Cindy’s hands. “Cindy, sweetheart,” she said softly, “Clint’s things are here. But he is not.”
The words didn’t sink in. Cindy couldn’t grasp them. Looking around, she felt as though he were everywhere.
“You need to be close to people who love you, who will take care of you for awhile. You’ve been through a tremendous ordeal,” Ann said.