Chapter 11: The Truth Part 2
Lisa followed the girl inside the house and they soon entered a cozy little dining room. Three other people were inside. One was a woman with brown hair like her daughter. One was a emo teenager who was glued to her phone. The last person was a man who reminded Lisa of Ned Flanders back home. They were all sitting at the table waiting on the girl.
"The coast is clear although they left a little present." The girl scowled.
"You poor dear." The woman got up and approached Lisa. "You must have been freezing out there." She turned to the girl. "Are you sure she's with Rosanne?"
"She said so herself." The girl hissed.
The women paused to think for a moment. "Before anything else, I think I should make some tea." The woman went into the kitchen and Lisa was left alone with the scowling girl. She felt like she wanted to talk to someone but between the girl who hated her guts for no apparent reason, the teenager who didn't seem to even notice she was there, and the man looking too miserable to say anything, Lisa was stuck in a sea of awkwardness.
"I'll go see how she's doing." She smiled sheepishly and made her way into the kitchen. The woman was almost finished making the tea and Lisa's attention was immediately grabbed by a picture of a woman in WWII plane gear hanging over the adjacent counter.
"You like?" The woman asked sweetly. "That was my mother. She was a Night Witch"
"Your mom was a Night Witch?" Lisa couldn't believe her ears. "That's so amazing!"
"There's a lot more badass women in history than most people know about." The woman continued as she gathered everything on a tray. "I'm currently working on a book about historical women."
"You sure have a lot of feminine pride." Lisa chirped. "It's so surprising that your married to a guy like him." The woman's smile turned into a frown although her eyes remained soft.
"I-I'm sorry!" Lisa flustered. "I didn't mean it like that!"
"It's okay." The woman reassured Lisa. "I understand. But if I may ask a favor, listen to my husband's side of the story as well."
Lisa was soon seated at the table along with the family.
"First, I'd like to introduce my family properly." The woman began. "My name is Beatrice." She turned to her husband who was still sulking. "This is Steven, my husband.". She then turned to her two daughters. "This is my oldest, Zelda and my youngest, Sarah."
"It's very nice to meet you." Steven finally managed to stammer out.
"Yeah! Real nice." Sarah followed in a painfully sarcastic tone.
Zelda just waved without taking her eyes off the phone or speaking.
"It's nice to meet you all." Lisa greeted. "My name is Lisa."
"Now Lisa I'm sure you've heard some nasty rumors about my husband." Beatrice continued. "But I think it's only fair that you hear his side of the story."
"Ok." Lisa agreed uneasily.
Steven looked at his wife in visible fear.
"It's ok dear." She reassured him.
Steven nodded and turned to Lisa. "It all began when I was ordering a coffee from the BtarSucks that Zelda used to work at. I was enjoying a delicious sip of mocha and whipped cream when I accidently walked into Roseanne. It's my fault, I know and I apologized profusely but she just glared at me and said I made the biggest mistake of my life and by George she was right!"
"What happened?" Lisa asked worryingly.
"She started telling everyone that I groped her on purpose!" Steven cried. "I lost my job because of the scandal and Zelda got fired for trying to defend me!"
Zelda didn't say anything but uttered an annoyed grunt.
"No one will listen to us and soon we'll lose our house! And if that wasn't bad enough, she's suing us for pain and suffering!" Steven was on the verge of tears.
Lisa couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rosanne was so nice to her when they met and she had so many followers. There was no way she could be this heartless.
"Do you have any proof?" Lisa blurted out without meaning to, causing the family to look at her in shock.
Zelda, who's face had been obscured by her phone this entire time, looked up at Lisa, her uncovered eye glaring at her very soul. She messed around on the phone for a few more seconds and turned the screen to Lisa. It was a video which Zelda started playing and it appeared to be CCTV footage of the incident. To Lisa's horror, the events played out exactly like Steven had described. He was innocent and Rosanne was ruining his family's life for this.
"I hacked into the security footage and converted it into my phone." Zelda explained. "That's why they fired me."
"But if they have this footage, why didn't they-
"Because all the other bitches that work there follow Rosanne. They destroyed the original footage."
"Zelda! Language!" Beatrice scolded.
"But you still have a copy!" Lisa exclaimed. "Why don't you come forward and end this nightmare?"
"Believe me. Nothing would make me happier." Zelda hissed. "But Dad won't let me."
"Really?" Lisa turned to Steven. "Why?"
"Because as much as she might deserve it, ruining Rosanne's reputation isn't the answer. I know it's stupid but I just can't stand the thought of someone else going through what we're going through, even Rosanne. If only there was someway to get her to confess herself."
Lisa took a few moments to collect herself. Then she racked her brain for any idea on what to do. Finally, she thought of something. It was risky but if it worked, it would fix everything.
"I have an idea." Lisa said. "But I need your help."
(If your confused about Night Witches, look them up. They were awesome!)