Josie's Chronicle

Chapter 14: Nope, it Wasn't a mistake.

    Valerie and her house guests spent three months looking for a suitable place for Nana Jay n Mama Wil to live. It had to be large enough for them to live together and still have enough space to be alone. They found a place eight blocks from Valerie's place.
   Ray volunteered to help with the move, which was silly because there wasn't anything to move. She suspected that he had a crush on Wilamina. He came every day since he got back. He gave no explanations about where he'd been to either woman, even when Nana Jay asked about Joe's visit.
   Wilamina was flattered by the attention, but she was, in truth, a married woman. Nana Jay told her to just enjoy the company, and so she did.
   They went on walks and shared meals. He was a perfect mystery man. He was tall, dark complected, with hazel eyes.
He didn't talk much about himself or his job. She trusted him because of how he'd taken care of her after she'd left Joe. Ray never spoke of her bruises or the abuse he could have guessed about. He allowed her to be herself, the self she'd lost many years ago, before Josie was born. Ray gave her a reason not to wallow. She woke each morning with a goal of presenting her best self to the world. She giggled. She wasn't doing it for the world. She giggled again.

    Nana Jay interrupted her thoughts with a touch on her shoulder.
"Thinking about Ray? What are you two doing today?"

  Wilamina shrugged. "I don't think I'll see him today. He has to work."

     Nana Jay put her mug on the counter. She filled it with chocolate milk and put it into the microwave. "You know, and it's just my opinion, but you should get some type of counseling before getting into a new relationship. Heck, you need counseling for you. You've been through a lot, daughter."

    Wilamina knew she was right. She also knew that she wasn't ready for the trauma of it all just yet.
   So she changed the subject. "My grandbaby will soon be 5 months old, IF I kept the right count. I wonder if it's a boy or a girl.

Nana Jay took a sip from her cup and smiled at her daughter. This is one subject she wasn't going to let go of. This was too important.
 
    Wilamina looked at her mom, "I promise to get assistance. I'll even get Val to help me."
  Nana Jay smiled and nodded. She knew she'd have to stay on top of this one or it would slip through the cracks.

                      III

    Joe sat just outside of the Police station intake area, waiting for the detective to come get the picture of Wilamina. None of this had been as easy as he'd needed it to be. It had also been difficult to get a picture. He'd had to go through her things and came up with one from Josephina's party. He sighed. He hoped he didn't have to explain that it was an old picture. It wasn't dated, so it shouldn't be an issue. The picture also showed a faint shadow of a healing bruise on her cheek, but he was certain that the police would think it was a shadow or something.
    He toyed with the idea of just walking out and forgetting the whole mess, but he knew the police wouldn't forget. He sat for almost an hour before Sgt.
Knight walked over to him.

    She introduced herself and asked him to follow her.

Joe stood and thrust the picture towards her. "I'm in a hurry , ma'am. I've got things to tend to since I don't have any help nowadays. Just take this and let me know when you find her." He tipped his hat and headed for the door.

    "Sir, I really think you should come with me, " she said sternly.

    Joe turned to face her. He disliked women in positions of power. They were misguided and always needed men to be weak and compliant, like his mother. Death had been a godsend for his dad. Joe hated his mother.
  
   "Are you okay, sir?" Sgt. Knight stepped towards him and took the photo. She used it to point towards the hallway closest to them. "This way sir."