A Thousand Voices by Lisa Wingate

Author:Lisa Wingate
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2007-05-20T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 14

Touring the small town of Clayton with Shasta turned out to be an exercise in patience. Shasta wanted to show me the local landmarks, everything from the drive-in to the grocery store. Everywhere she went, she knew people, and people knew her, and we stopped to talk. Half of the people in town were related to Shasta, and the other half had either taught her in school, coached her in softball, had her in Sunday school years ago, gone to high school with her, or knew her because of the murals she’d painted on several buildings in the area.

“We did those back in high school as a community service project,” she said with a backhanded wave toward a mural on an old brick building downtown. “They so totally stink. One of these days I’m going to come down here with a sandblaster and blow them away.”

“You shouldn’t.” I was only halfway focused on the painted scene of a stream winding through a village of traditional Choctaw round houses with cone-shaped thatch roofs. “It’s beautiful. It’s really good.” Studying the painting, I tried not to dwell on the fact that my tour with Shasta had blown two huge holes in my plans. I’d learned that there was no branch of my bank in tiny Clayton, or anywhere around that Shasta knew of, and that the county courthouse was forty-five miles away. “The courthouse is a lot farther away than I thought,” I admitted, raising my wrist to check my watch, then realizing I didn’t have a watch. “I thought it was nearby.”

“Guess I should have explained that earlier,” Shasta said apologetically. “We don’t think anything of making that drive. Around here, you drive to do pretty much anything. We’re just used to it.”

Leaning in the car window, I glanced at the clock. It was already nine thirty. “I guess I have time to make it down there and back,” I said, thinking that I was supposed to meet Jace at twelve thirty. But there was still the problem of money. Getting birth records copied at the courthouse would undoubtedly cost a few dollars, and I had almost no money left. What if they wouldn’t take an out-of-state check? “I really need to cash a check somewhere before I go.”

“Oh.” Shasta chewed her bottom lip. “I’d do it for you, but Cody and I never have any money in our account. Hmmm…My friend Kristin works down at the dollar store. She’ll cash a check for us.” Giving the mural one last disgusted sneer, she started down the street with her hair swinging from side to side like a length of silky black cloth.

I jogged after her, catching up as she pulled open a door and walked into an old-fashioned five-and-dime like she owned the place. I waited a discreet distance away while she cornered the girl behind the counter, a stocky redhead with braces and curly hair. It quickly became clear that the clerk was concerned about cashing a check. Shasta gave her a sales pitch.

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