Chapter 22

The soothing sound of leaves rustling in the gentle dusk breeze was quickly interrupted as Lee forced the entry door of the entry door of the store to the open position. The beautiful red head stepped outward, holding the door open to allow her equally impressive and much taller friend to exit behind her. As the girls completed their egress of the store, Lee decided to initiate a conversation regarding the request of their presence in the Kankers trailer.

"This surely is interesting," said Lee, "I wonder what this is all about."

"Calm down LeeLee," said Lindsay, "It's not like your mom hasn't asked us to help her with something before. Maybe she just needs help cleaning the trailer...or picking out a new wardrobe for your Aunt Katie!"

"Wishful thinking Liz," said Lee, "I wish it was that easy. She asked us to do our best to come back without Marie and May. Thankfully those two are too busy making out with those stupid Slurpees to care."

Eventually, the girls made their way back into the RV park. As the two girls approached the trailer, Lee delivered one final utterance.

"I will say this," said Lee, "There ain't nothing my mom can do or say in there that will surprise me anymore than being introduced to my Aunt Katie."

At the conclusion of her statement, Lee reached for the screen door in an attempt to open it to gain access into the trailer. However, just as she was about to take hold of the silver handle, the inner door flung open with force, revealing Tabby standing behind.

"Come on girls," said Tabby as she held the screen door open, standing to the side and allowing the girls to pass, "There's something important we need to discuss."

Lee and Lindsay shared an expression of confusion, as Tabby seemed to become even more distressed.

"In the trailer, now!" said Tabby in an authoritative manner.

Following Tabby's demand, the two girls proceeded to climb the stairs, entering the aluminum structure. As Tabby closed the door behind her, the sound of footsteps filled the air as Kate began descending the stairs.

"Geez," said Kate in a slow hoarse voice, taking slow careful steps to avoid loosing her balance in the midst of her newfound euphoria, "I leave for five minutes and you are down here talkin' to yourself...are you sure you weren't supposed to be the one..."

As the living room came into view, Kate suddenly ceased speaking. In a state of surprise, she released the orange empty pill bottle cradled in her right hand, using the same hand to cover her mouth in shock. Her red, partially unfocused eyes honed in on Lindsay, whose tall frame and pretty face seemed very familiar.

"Lord and Heaven above...," said Kate as she collapsed to a seated position. She proceeded to dip her head, placing her palms together as she did so, simultaneously reciting John 4:1 (from the Holy Bible) at a rapid pace.

Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.

"Calm down Heroine Harriet!" yelled Tabby from across the room, using a match to ignite a cigarette as she did so, "You ain't seeing no spirits!"

Kate rose to a standing position as she pointed towards Lindsay.

"B...but...that's..." said Kate in a quivering voice, her hand shaking as she did so.

"Tiffany Lindsay Statorowski," said Tabby, "Chuck and Tiffs baby girl. As you can probably tell, she takes after Tiff to the T, in looks and intelligence."

Tabby took a puff of her cigarette, after which she adopted a sly smile.

"Fool me twice, shame on you," said Tabby in a sarcastic manner.

Kate lowered her hand, continuing to stare at Lindsay with surprised expression.

"Wow," said Kate as she took a few slow steps toward Lindsay's position, "Little T...where the hell has time gone? Nice meet you again, I haven't seen you since you were this big."

Kate held her hands outward, spaced apart as if to demonstrate Lindsay's size as a baby.

"Nice to meet you Ms. Kanker," said Lindsay.

The women's conversation was quickly interrupted, as Tabby decided to interject.

"Alright, alright," said Tabby, "There will be plenty of time for reunions later, but it's time to get serious. Have a seat girls."

Lee and Lindsay took their seats on the couch, crossing their right legs over their left as they shared an expression of confusion.

"Please listen carefully," said Tabby in a serious voice as she approached the girls position, with Kate following suit, "I need you two to swear on two promises. First, everything we are about to discuss does not leave this trailer, and stays between us four women. Second, there needs to be nothing but honesty moving forward, is that clear?"

After a momentary pause, both girls proceeded to shake their heads up and down.

"Okay," said Tabby as she took a puff of her cigarette, "Now...what happened between you two and the woman you know as Edyta last Christmas Eve?"

The two girls simultaneously adopted an expression of distress. Acknowledging their mutual anxiety, Tabby leaned down towards them.

"Girls, this is serious," said Tabby in a gentle voice, "This is not the time to hold anything in. Tell me what happened."

After a few moments, Lee decided to finally provide an answer.

"She was crazy," said Lee, "She...she...was hurting Lindsay, so we decided to do something about it."

Lindsay bit her bottom lip as Tabby and Kate shared a nervous glance.

"What?" asked Tabby as she placed her hand on Lee's shoulders, "What did you do?"

Lee swallowed.

"We discovered that she was involved with some kind of prostitution ring," said Lee, "We found out the leaders phone number, called them and reported a tip that she owed money. Then we..."

"I knew it," said Tabby as she suddenly rose to her feet, "I fucking knew it."

"No..." said Kate, "Oh God no..."

"Geez, what's the big deal!" yelled Lee, "I told ya back then that I took care of it and got her out of everyone's hair once and for all, you think you'd be happy!"

"Well I most certainly didn't think you'd put a hit on her using a pack of dangerous criminals!" yelled Tabby, "How was I supposed to know what you meant!?"

Tabby took a long draw of her cigarette, after which she emitted a sigh.

"Girls," said Tabby, "None of this is your fault. I take full responsibility, but it is only fair that I explain to you the implications of your actions."

Tabby began making her way towards the kitchen.

"It's a long story," said Tabby as she retrieved four cups from the cupboard, "I'll heat up some tea for us to enjoy while we figure this little problem out."

Tabby turned back towards the girls with a serious expression, making a particular point to stare into Lindsay's eyes with determination.

"If either of you have anything else you'd like to get off your chest while we're at it," said Tabby, "Now is the time."