Mrs. Adams looked down at her plate, her fingers idly clicking against the tabletop. “Where’s Charlotte now?”
“I have no idea. I’m trying to locate her as well.” Although she hadn’t told Chloe that part of her plan yet.
Mrs. Adams nodded and looked at her. “Once upon a time, I used to be best friends with Charlotte.”
Michelle jerked back, hitting the back of her chair. How had the poster woman for June Cleaver ever managed to be friends with a drug addict? Then again, she had no idea how long Chloe’s mother had been using.
“We’d been friends since junior high.” She took a sip of milk. “That’s when my family moved from Kodiak to Freedom Lake. They didn’t like how violent the city was becoming and thought it would be better to raise us in a smaller town.”
Michelle nodded to show she was paying attention. And she truly was, but the shock over the two unlikely women being best friends was just a little disconcerting.
“Our friendship changed our junior year of high school.”
“The year she got pregnant,” Michelle murmured. She sat forward, listening intently with the hope that Mrs. Adams would pass along anything helpful.
“Right. Before she got pregnant, there was this boy.” A sigh fell from her lips. “He was handsome. The senior jock every girl wanted to know.” She paused, for effect. “Black or white.”
Michelle raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything.
“Classmates used to call Charlotte and I ebony and ivory, but they meant no harm. Racism was almost eradicated. And I mean almost.” The woman shifted in her seat. “You see, John was white and when people realized he was interested in Charlotte, trouble soon followed.”
Oh no. Michelle was no stranger to racism being a Black female, but the thought of racism in Freedom Lake blew her away. For as long as she could remember, the town seemed to be unified, despite the fact it originated as a Black only resort. Of course, it had its ups and downs, but those were in the minor.
“What happened?” she asked softly.
“They were harassed. People broke into their lockers and left things...well, let’s just say items no one should have to see, no matter the age. They also received hate mail. After a month of it, they stopped talking at school and life resumed to normal.”
Why did she get the feeling there was more to the story?
“Did they stop dating?” Her heart ached at facing such odds. She didn’t know how interracial couples faced such racism. How was Chloe going to handle this?
“No. I thought they had, but I caught them hanging out by the lake one afternoon. Charlotte later confided to me that they met there often. If anyone else came by, they would just ignore each other. If the place was empty, they would sit on one of the benches.”
Michelle gave a small smile. She couldn’t help but wonder if it was the same bench where she and Guy used to meet. Who knew how many people thought that spot was significant only to them.
“Then what happened? Chloe was raised by her grandmother. There was no happily ever after in her life.”
Mrs. Adams sighed and rubbed her hand back and forth along her forehead. “John’s parents found out.”
“And...” she prodded gently.
“They were upset. Forbade him to see her. A week later, she found out she was pregnant.” Mrs. Adams licked her lips and took a sip of the milk. “She asked me to deliver a message to him. She needed to see John and tell him in person. He agreed to meet at their spot.”
Mrs. Adams’s hands shook as she took another sip of milk. It was obvious to Michelle how affected she was. Could this story get any worse?
“I drove to the Lake with Charlotte hiding in my back seat. John was at the bench waiting. I remember how Charlotte had jumped out. She threw her arms around him, but he didn’t hug her back. I don’t know what I was thinking, but I got out the car. I...I wanted to give her moral support. Instead, I intruded on a moment no one should be privy to.”
“What happened?” Michelle croaked. She felt like she was there, in the midst of the story, not sitting at a table drinking milk and eating cookies.
“He told her it wasn’t his. And that she had no business talking to him. That she wasn’t fit to be in his presence.” She covered her mouth as if reliving the scene all over again. “I knew...I knew it was his mother who filled his head with that nonsense, but the damage had been done. Charlotte was never the same after that. It was like he snuffed out the light in her. She didn’t laugh or smile anymore. She became a broken woman.”
“What is his last name? Does he still live in Freedom Lake?”
Mrs. Adams blinked as if coming out of a trance. “Davenport. John Davenport.”
Michele arched an eyebrow. “Of the Davenports on Prosperity Ridge?”
Mrs. Adams nodded.
Everyone knew the Davenports. They had moved to Freedom Lake in the seventies because of the location. It wasn’t until after settling into their home that the number of African Americans living in Freedom Lake began to unsettle them. They had tried buying up property to run folks out of town, but after meeting resistance from the rest of the community, they gave up. Instead, they chose to buy up local businesses whenever one folded. They owned a majority of the downtown businesses, but didn’t run a single one.
Michelle didn’t have anything against them. When she had first moved to Freedom Lake, Mr. and Mrs. Davenport were known as the town’s recluses. They had become estranged from the community. They rarely came out of their house and no one ever visited. No one.
“So where
