Small Town Gossip

Anna Wright buttoned up her cardigan and pulled her purse from the hook. She pulled out her phone on the way up the basement apartment stairs to the door. The breakfast rush was over and her shift had just ended after the clean up. There was a text from her father Morgan.

Hey Anna Banana, can you grab my mail from my postal box. I’m driving to a protest in Alberta to meet Sunny this week and I forgot to ask you before I left.

Anna rolled her eyes. Sunny was Sunshine Meadow, her father’s on again off again whatever non label they were referring to it as this week. Morgan Wright was thought to be a bit of a crackpot conspiracy theory junkie amongst the Cedar Point residents but Sunshine Meadow was even further away from reality. The two of them together were too much to deal with. Anna felt sorry for the Albertans and chuckled to herself as she stepped outside and locked her door.

Jogging up the street was Stephanie’s brother Ryan. Anna mock frowned at him and tapped at her wrist pretending to be gesturing to a watch. Ryan’s run typically happened as her early shift started. She saw him go by most mornings.

Ryan smirked and nodded at her “Yeah I know. Ask Lee about it. Late night for the drunk tank. Supposed to be my night off.”

Anna sighed “Shit, not again. Is he out?”

Ryan laughed “Few hours and a pot of coffee but I think he’s banned from the Black Hole again for awhile. Cleared out the bar pretty early in the night and JD was not happy.”

Anna shook her head “Was it a fight or was he just his usual charming self?”

Ryan rolled his neck from side to side and then leaned to the right pulling his left foot up behind his body in a hamstring stretch “Looked like it started as a thing with a girl, then it went bad, then he bugged the girl until she and her friend screamed for a bouncer and it all hit the fan. That’s what JD saw anyway. This is all off the record of course, just a heads up because maybe you should check on him.”

Anna readjusted her purse on her shoulder “Who was the girl?”

“One of the hairdressers from Luxe. She’s new I think, kinda hot. A bunch of them were there.”

“Hmmm alright. Maybe I’ll go for a haircut and see if they’re still gossiping about it. Then I’ll go check on Lee. Thanks Ryan. Have a good run.”

Ryan had shifted to his other foot to stretch his right hamstring “Always do. See ya Anna.”

Anna walked around the Lavender Dreams B&B down Galley Crescent to the Luxe hair salon at the corner of Main Street. She sauntered up to the desk and spoke to Tracy, one of the long time hair dressers of the establishment. Tracy was a small framed short haired blonde woman.  Anna pointed at the unruly auburn mop on her head “Hi Tracy, do you have any openings for a walk in today?”

Tracy smiled “Yeah I can take you right now. Do you want to go short again or stick with the chin length but a bit more under control?”

Anna laughed “It’s never under control but sure, do your best. Since I seem to only have 2 hairstyles we can just alternate.”

She followed Tracy to the sinks and settled in to have her scalp roughly scrubbed and then lightly massaged. The warm repetition of the sprayer going over her head lulled her into a needed moment of relaxation. Tracy tightly wrapped her head in a towel and ushered her to a chair. The relaxation dissipated as the cut and conversation began.

“Lee Chen Wright is your brother right?”

So much for casually listening in and gleaming the details. A small town keeps no secrets. Anna kept her expression neutral as she made eye contact with Tracy in the mirror and replied “Uh huh. Half brother. You know him?”

Tracy pursed her lips, her eyes going wide for a moment and then she lowered her voice and said “Well…I do now. He and Brandy who works here had a bit of a thing. She broke it off last night and he totally freaked on her. We were all at the bar. It was bad…like call the cops bad. I mean he didn’t hit her or anything but they were yelling and then the bouncers….I think one of them hit Lee and then he broke a bottle. It was a mess. Candy called in sick today. Don’t take this the wrong way…but you seem really sane….”

Anna smiled awkwardly “Compared to my family, I get that a lot. Lee’s complicated and more so if he’s had a few drinks. But he can also be a good guy. I’m sorry you saw him at his worst.”

Tracey pulled up a section of hair and cut in little precise snips “Whatever, men right? Brandy sure has rotten luck.  Our towns a bit dry that way. Am I right?” She giggled.

Anna shrugged “I dunno. Not really putting myself out there right now but I’ll take your word for it.”

Tracy raised one eyebrow and then rolled right into the next bit of gossip about the previous night “Speaking of men, there was some weird guy in the Black Hole dirty dancing with Megan after all the crazy went down. He was kinda creepy looking, just kind of emerged from the shadows. I don’t think she served us a drink all night. Old JD doesn’t seem to care that his daughter grinds it with the tourists every Saturday night. He’s usually pissed himself though so maybe he can’t see that far.”

Anna grimaced quietly, debating whether or not she should mention this tale to Tamela. The topic of her sister’s promiscuity and her father’s drinking was never going to be a good conversation.

Tracy proceeded to snip and tousle and blow dry with snippets of town gossip after that. Anna was thankful for the conversation turning away from her own family and was eager to pay up and go check on Lee. She exhaled slowly as she walked down the back walkway to her brother’s bachelor apartment. She sent a text about halfway there with no reply offered. There was no point in calling as Lee rarely answered the phone anyway. Maybe he was still sleeping it off. Anna knocked loudly at the door a few times but Lee never answered.  She gave up and slid her phone back into her purse.

Anna rounded Galley Crescent to Main at the other end and started walking towards the lighthouse. She decided to cut through the parking lot by the walk in clinic and walk along the ocean. The sound of the waves and the salty air were soothing to her. She stopped briefly to stand and look out across the water. The tide was going out. There was a smattering of fishing boats past the harbour and people of all ages gathered at the ends of the docks to fish as well. A bicycle bell chimed beside her as a gaggle of children whipped by on their way to the beach. Anna continued her walk in the wake of their shouts and laughter. She peered into Sakura’s as she passed looking for Stephanie. There was no sign of her but Garrett noticed her from behind the counter and started waving after breaking into a wide friendly smile. She grinned and waved back and then cut through the next parking lot past Chen’s to the lighthouse. The grocery store was a bustle of activity, as usual. She’d have to come back and wade through it to get to her father’s post box. But first she climbed the hill. The view from Beacon Hill road was always breathtaking at any time of day or night. She paused to look down at the town and catch her breath and then continued on to the lighthouse to get the mailbox key. Morgan had put a scrawled sign on the door closing the museum for refurbishments. He often did this after the busy season to take a bit of a break. Sometimes he fixed up a few of the exhibits while the sign was up and sometimes he chose not to.

Anna used her key and let herself in. The museum was a bit spooky when it was closed. Some of the townsfolk were convinced the place was haunted. With the breeze of the outside door closing behind her the skeleton of a dolphin that hung from the ceiling in the lobby swayed and creaked. Anna felt her breath quicken for a second and she darted a look up and then shook her head.

“Just the wind…” she murmered.

She wasted no time in dashing behind the counter to the doorway into her father’s spartan accommodations. The main room was a combination living room, kitchen and dining room. Morgan used a wood stove for heating his living space and cooking even though the building was wired for modern electricity. He was never a fan of the idea of upgrading because he loved to stoke the fire. As a child Anna had thought it like time travelling to come and stay here.  She went to the old desk past the dining table and took out the key from the drawer.  As she made her way back across the room she heard an odd scuff from her sneaker and felt like she was kicking loose debris. Anna looked down and noticed not just carpet dirt but large chunks of earth on one corner of the carpet. She puzzled at it momentarily and then shrugged it off. Her father was notoriously lax at housekeeping. As she locked up the lighthouse a light rain began to drizzle on her. The air cooled rapidly as she descended the hill.

A chime rang out as she pushed the door open at Chen’s. She walked to the post boxes and gathered the mail. It was mostly a pile of bills, some of them appearing urgent. The children who had bicycled past her were in the candy section nearby, expressing themselves with great enthusiasm. Ushi Chen was behind the cash counter peering down at them as she rubbed one temple with two fingers. A particularly rowdy red haired boy laughed loudly and tossed some sort of slime candy at unsuspecting dark haired girl squatting in front of the Reece’s peanut butter cups. The girl yelled in protest and shoved the boy. Ushi looked mildly rabid. Her name meant bull in Chinese and it went almost too well with her personality. She was a robust woman in her mid 50s with wispy chin length jet black hair and an intense face that rarely cracked a smile.

“Hey cut it out!” Ushi shouted “This is a store not a playground. You throw it around, you buy it!”

A silence fell over the children as the red haired boy sheepishly went to the counter and fished through his pocket change. He fell short and Ushi’s stare was like a death ray. Anna gulped and walked over, leaving Morgan’s mailbox hanging open. She cleared her throat and then carefully asked “How much do you need buddy?”

The boy shrank into himself and squeaked out “Fifty five cents.”

Anna pulled out her change purse and augmented his payment, sighing at Ushi. The rest of the kids quietly filed out the door and the boy followed after looking back briefly and saying a very quiet thank you.

Ushi turned the death ray on Anna “Great. You want to help the kid be a bigger brat? He could have worked it off sweeping the floor.”

Anna stepped back a bit but replied “Ushi, he’s just a kid. He got a bit silly. It happens. Speaking of kids, have you seen Lee today?”

Ushi scoffed “No, and his stupid landlord called here too. Tell him to pay his rent if you get a hold of him.”

Anna sighed “Before you hear it from anyone else, he got into a bit of a situation last night at the Black Hole. It sounds pretty minor compared to…..well…”

Ushi flew off the handle again and started ranting “You see? THAT’s what happens when you let them become brats! They turn into criminals! I should have made him go to military school in China!”

Anna took a few more steps back and headed towards the still open mailbox “Alright well…uh….now you know. Sorry…see you later.”

She could hear Ushi still grumbling as she turned her back and almost pictured smoke coming out from the severe woman’s nostrils. Anna scooped up the mail and shut the box quickly before veering to the other end of the store to exit through the opposite doors. Michael Chen was in the produce section talking to en employee about something in the display cooler. Michael was about 10 years younger than Ushi as there had been a lot of Chens in Cedar Point born into their family. He had similar physical traits but was the polar opposite of Ushi in persona; always having a smile for everyone he met which extended to the warmth of his eyes. He was joking with the worker now and they both laughed. Michael saw Anna and waved cheerily “Have a great day Anna!”

She smiled back “Thanks, you too.”

As she went outside she glanced back up towards the lighthouse. If her father was just texting her today, she’d probably have to grab the mail again in a day or two. She decided to hold onto this pile and deliver the whole lot after her next mail run. She pulled out her phone and checked for messages. There was still no reply from Lee.  There was a text from Stephanie though, inviting her for a late lunch at Sakura’s. Anna texted back, deciding to go de - stress with her friend. It was a well known fact that sushi cured all.