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bought,” she laughed at the absurdity of the next
theory. “For fuck’s sake, I even had one guy say that sightings of
Bigfoot skyrocketed right before the people in the town
disappeared. He accused me of trying to hide the fact that the
government kidnapped everyone in the town to turn them into
Sasquatch super soldiers.”
    Rachel chuckled and then gave Stephen an
apologetic glance.
    “It’s nuts,” said Alma and couldn’t help but
smile.
    Steve looked pensive. “I’ve never heard
anything about a Greek boat. What was that one about?”
    Alma shook her head and laughed in
exasperation. “You don’t get it. That’s the point, it was bullshit.
All of it is just bullshit. Just like the 9-11 conspiracies, and
the faked moon landings, and the magic bullet that killed Kennedy.
People turn things into conspiracies because they have some
deep-seated notion that the world is more mystical than it really
is. The people of Widowsfield disappeared because they were
involved in a drug ring that went bad. That’s it. And my brother
was kidnapped in the middle of the night, from his bedroom, and not
by some creatures in the fog.” She was frantic now, and had trouble
keeping herself from crying. She got up and got ready to leave.
“Look, I’m sorry, but I can’t help you. I’m sorry. Good luck and
everything, but I’m going to go. Okay? I’m sorry.”
    Stephen got up, but Rachel was faster and
motioned for him to sit back down. “It’s okay, Alma. Don’t be
sorry. I understand.”
    “I just,” Alma tried to explain herself. “I
just left that part of my life behind me, and I’ve been trying to
move on ever since. I just wish I could. Every damn year it all
starts up again.”
    “I can imagine,” said Rachel as she walked
to the front of the restaurant with Alma. “I’m so sorry to have
dragged you into this. We never meant to hurt you.”
    “I know,” said Alma. “I don’t blame you. I’m
not mad or anything, I just want to put that part of my life to
death.” She meant to say, ‘to bed,’ and was surprised by her
violent wording.
    Rachel didn’t pick up on the Freudian slip.
“I get that, but if you ever want to talk about it, or anything,
please don’t hesitate to call. Here, take my card.”
    Alma took the business card, if only to be
polite.
    “That’s the one. The cell phone number on
there is my personal phone too.” She rolled her eyes and shrugged.
“They don’t even buy us our own cell phones, if you can believe it.
We have to supply our own.”
    “I hope the whole website thing works out
for you,” said Alma. “You guys seem like nice people. Sorry I’m
being so weird about this.”
    “No, don’t worry about it.” Rachel waved off
Alma’s apology.
    “Who knows, maybe one of these days I’ll be
ready to talk about it. Maybe that’d be good for me, but I’m just
not ready for it now.” Alma lingered because she felt guilty.
    “I understand,” said Rachel. “But if you
ever do, you know, want to talk, you’ve got my card. I’m a good
listener.”
    Alma got to the exit and looked back at the
two. Rachel still stood in the middle of the restaurant, and had a
look of concern that reminded Alma of a mother watching her child
go away to college. Stephen seemed frustrated, but not angry, and
continued to eat his fried pork. They were a good looking couple,
and seemed kind. If circumstances were different, Alma might’ve
enjoyed getting to know them. However, the fact that they wanted to
dissect Alma’s past made them seem parasitic and dangerous. She
waved goodbye, feeling a unique mix of regret and disdain at
leaving them behind.
    She sighed and started to walk through the
parking lot, but then jogged, eager to get as far from them as
possible. She fumbled with her purse to find the keys to her Subaru
Outback. Emotions swirled, sorrow battled with anger, calm fought
frenzy, and she wasn’t sure if she was about to cry, scream, or
laugh. “What the fuck,” she muttered