Page 45 of The Women of Oak Ridge
CHAPTER SIXTEEN:MAE
BY WEDNESDAY EVENING,I was beyond worried about Sissy.
I told myself every morning I awoke to an empty bed across from mine that she and Clive were living it up as newlyweds, without a care in the world. Yet somewhere deep inside me, I didn’t believe it. Sissy wasn’t the type of person to run off and get married without telling anyone, especially me. Even if they had eloped, wouldn’t she have called or sent word, knowing I’d be concerned when she didn’t return from Knoxville?
But if they hadn’t run off together, where were they?
I’d spoken with Mrs. Kepple again yesterday morning. The dorm mother had stopped me in the lobby when I came downstairs and asked if Sissy had returned. She’d frowned at my negative answer.
“I must tell you this is most unusual,” she said, clearly vexed. “I will have to report her absence to the administration if she doesn’t return soon. They’ll need to terminate her employment at Y-12.”
Thursday morning I boarded the bus to K-25 with oneobjective: to discover if Clive Morrison had returned from Knoxville. I’d gone to Mr. Colby’s office yesterday and asked in a roundabout way if he’d seen Clive, pretending I needed to speak to him about something related to the job, but my boss, busy looking over technical drawings of the pipe gallery, had offered an impatient shake of his head.
“Why would I know anything about Morrison? Ask his supervisor, Captain Barger.”
I’d never met the captain, but I was determined to locate the military officer today and find out once and for all what was going on. Surely he would know if Clive and Sissy had eloped, especially if Clive had taken time off for an impromptu honeymoon.
My plotting, however, came to a screeching halt shortly after lunchtime when I nearly ran Clive down with my bicycle. Mr. Colby had sent me on an errand, but I was so distracted with my personal mission that I didn’t notice him when I turned a corner. I dodged around him, slammed on the brakes, and skidded to a stop.
“Hello, Mae.” He gave me his usual pasted-on smile. “You’re in a hurry.”
My mouth hung open while I stared at him, catching flies as Mama would say.
“Where have you been?” I blurted, ignoring pleasantries. “I’ve been worried sick about Sissy. She should have called me or Mrs. Kepple to let us know the two of you wouldn’t be back right away. Did you elope? Has she moved into your trailer already?”
Accusation laced my words, but I didn’t care. He’d kept my roommate away from her friends with no consideration as to how concerned we would be when she didn’t return home. His feelings were of little consequence to me at this point. I’d be even more furious if he said they weren’t married. Sissy’s reputation would be forever ruined when word got out she’d spent the past four days with him without the benefit of marriage.
Yet instead of the guilt his face should have worn, Clive gave me a puzzled look. “Elope? What are you talking about, Mae? Sissy and I broke up Saturday.”
The floor seemed to tilt, and I stumbled backwards.
I studied him, struggling to figure out if he was jesting or not. “No, that’s not true. You took her to Knoxville with the intention of proposing to her. When she didn’t come home that night, I assumed the two of you had eloped.”
His brow shot up. “Good grief, Mae. Who told you that wild tale? Sissy?”
I could only stare at him.
What was going on? Why was Clive acting as though he hadn’t seen Sissy lately?
“If you didn’t elope with Sissy, then where is she?”
It took a moment for him to answer. My heart nearly stopped as his expression grew serious.
“Are you telling me she didn’t return to the dorm Saturday afternoon?”
Tangible fear poured over me with the implications that came with his question.
“Sissy is missing, Clive.” Panic tightened my throat. “I haven’t seen her since you picked her up for your outing to Knoxville.”
“Whoa, now.” He raised his hand. “I didn’t take her to Knoxville. I’d told her I needed to talk to her about something, which was that I didn’t think we should see each other anymore.”
I gasped in disbelief. “Youbroke up withher?”
He nodded. “I realized we didn’t have much in common. She’s a swell girl, and we had some fun times, but I knew she wasn’t the one for me.” He paused. “She took it kind of hard. Cried and begged me to reconsider, but I told her she’d find the right guy soon. I’m sure it won’t be long before she’s dating someone else.”
My mind spun, completely bewildered. “If you didn’t take her to Knoxville, then where is she?”
He seemed genuinely confused. “I don’t know. I didn’t want to break up with her in public, so we drove to the river and parked like we usually do. We were there a couple hours before she was ready to return to the dorm. I dropped her off sometime in the afternoon because I had to work the late shift.”
