Anna Rose shrugged.
Taryn giggled. “She got bored with the whole bar scene for the first time in her life, and she thinks there’s something in the water here in Shamrock that’s affecting her.”
Jorja nodded in agreement. “It could very well be just that. I’ve never wanted to leave church before. Those kids are the same age as the ones in my class back home, but they were little demons tonight. My kids don’t act like that, and if they did, I wouldn’t teach another day. They actually reminded me of the bickering between Diana, Elaine, and Mallory when they came into the shop today, with a touch of when the three of us argue about every little thing.”
“Childish, huh?” Anna Rose asked.
“Yep,” Jorja said. “You aren’t happy in a bar. I’m not happy at church. How’s it affecting you, Taryn?”
“My biological clock is groaning,” she answered. “I wonder if we’re getting a double dose of whatever is in that water when we make tea with it and take showers.”
“You could scrape up five hundred dollars and enter the contest,” Anna Rose said. “You’re already a family of sorts since you help out with Zoe so much.”
Taryn shook her head. “No, thank you. Clinton and I are becoming friends, and I don’t date friends or people that I work with. I tried that, had a broken heart to prove it, and vowed it wouldn’t happen again. How about you two? Y’all ever really get into a serious relationship?”
“Nope, and don’t intend to,” Anna Rose declared. “Why rope myself down to one guy when there’s so many out there?”
Jorja’s face turned so red that Anna Rose could see the glow by the light of the moon. “Fess up, Jorja,” she said. “What was his name, and how did he hurt you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Jorja whispered. “I’ve never told another soul about what happened. It’s too humiliating—and for y’all’s information, part of it is your fault.”
“Have you told Jesus?” Taryn pressured. “If Jesus knows and it’s our fault, then we have to repent.”
“I have. I repented, and then later, I begged forgiveness again because I felt guilty for being relieved,” Jorja answered. “And that’s all you are getting out of me.”
“Well, that’s sure enough a vague answer,” Anna Rose snapped. “I thought we were making progress tonight and talking without arguing.”
Tears began to stream down Jorja’s face. Taryn threw an arm around her shoulders and hugged her, and Anna Rose left the rocking chair and sat down on the other side of her. “It’s okay, Jorja. You don’t have to tell us what happened, but we’re here if you want to talk.”
“I just wanted to do something exciting like y’all, and I disappointed Jesus. Mama and Daddy don’t even know, and ...” She began to sob. “I’ve never talked about it to anyone other than Jesus, not once.”
“Good Lord!” Anna Rose gasped. “Did you kill someone? If you did, we’ll protect you.”
“I kind of did, because I prayed and prayed for a death, and God answered my prayer.” Jorja cried even harder.
“Where’s the body buried?” Taryn whispered.
Jorja finally raised her head. “There wasn’t a body.”
“Get it off your chest,” Taryn said. “Whatever it is, you’ll feel better if you tell someone. If you don’t want to talk to us, then talk to a therapist or your preacher.”
Jorja dried her wet cheeks on the hem of her T-shirt. “Y’all were both gone, but you were like legends here in Shamrock, and I was the wallflower. So, on the night we graduated, Kaitlin invited me to a party, and I decided to go out to the red barn and just see what it was like to be around a fun crowd—and I kind of pretended that I was like y’all. I put on tight jeans and a shirt that was pretty snug. Somebody brought me a beer, and I opened it. It tasted horrible, but I must’ve drank about half of it, and then Ford Chambers handed me a drinkthat he called a bathtub daiquiri. I liked it better than the beer, and so I downed the whole thing. Then he was holding me and dancing with me all nice-like, and I felt like I belonged. I never thought that someone who was so popular would tell me that I looked nice and had beautiful eyes.”
Anna Rose’s quick intake of breath caused Jorja to stare at her. She’d had an ugly couple of years in her life, too, but now wasn’t the time to tell her story. Tonight was all about Jorja.
“What?” Jorja asked.
“He was playing you, and you were so innocent that you didn’t know it,” Taryn answered.
“I figured that out, but not until it was too late,” Jorja said.
“You got drugged, didn’t you?” Taryn asked.
Jorja nodded. “I was aware of something happening, but I felt like I was floating and looking down at what was going on. I should have fought with him, but my arms and legs wouldn’t move; then everything went dark. When I woke up, I was in the back seat of my car with my skirt up over my body, and my underpants were gone. I knew what had happened because I was so sore. I was afraid to go to the doctor, afraid to tell Mama, and afraid of what Daddy would do if he found out. I didn’t know that I was pregnant until I missed my second period and took a test, and I was already getting my things ready for college.” Jorja’s voice quivered.
Anna Rose reached out and took her hand. Bless her cousin’s heart. Anna Rose had been around the block herself and should have recognized the signs long before she did when her bad experience happened. Jorja had been naive and sheltered. She wouldn’t have seen it coming.
“That’s when I prayed and asked God to take the baby to heaven before it was born, and I miscarried at eleven weeks. It was my first week at college, so no one had to know, and I was eighteen, so they couldn’t call Mama or Daddy unless I gave them permission. So Ikind of killed someone, and I’ve lived with the guilt for a decade. Sometimes when I pray, it’s like Jesus doesn’t even want to look at me,” Jorja said.
