Tilly

I inhale deeply and watch as a thin grey haze fills the room. Small clouds of heavy smoke swirling around me as if forecasting a change in the weather. Silently waiting for a storm. I narrow my eyes and gaze at the only other person in the small room, then my eyelids close for a moment and a smile spreads on my lips.

“Tilly Saint Jones, now that was a character. Couldn’t stay in place for five seconds even if her life depended on it.”

I look at Marry Lou as she works on her wine. She doesn’t seem to be very interested in the subject. She stretches on the green sofa, her eyes a bit glazed. But then she looks up as if she just heard me.

“People talked a lot about that girl back in the days.”

“Why wouldn’t they, she was a real sight, that one.”

“Yes, Tilly was - special.”

“Don’t smile like that Lou, you’ll get crow’s feet.”

I stare at her for a moment, inspecting her blond curls pinned up like a little piece of art. Some of it slipping out, burgundy heels laying on the floor. She sits in a half lying position, her right arm supporting her head. Her deep emerald eyes narrow like those of a cat.

“Rubbish, I will smile however I want.”

“Do as you please.”

My own eyes wander to the window and the darkness outside, its past twelve and the street seems deserted. I sigh and let my brain sink in the memories. I put down the cigarette and sip on my tonic.

“There was just something about Tilly, pretty girl, but always getting herself into trouble.”

“You used to hang out a lot with her.”

I look at Marry Lou, as she pulls out the pins out of her hair, golden locks falling down her slender shoulders. She seems more relaxed now. Well, I guess that’s what the liquor did. It made us care less about our surrounding and more about our comfort.

“Yes, once upon a blue moon. One could never get bored with that creature. She made everything more fun, while she constantly spent her life running away from herself. Did you know she was married once? She married this businessman from Seattle. She didn’t really care for his money but for the way, he swept her off her feet. Made her feel special. He romanced her and showed her the world. He thought he could keep her. But nothing could keep Tilly in place. Maybe he thought that he would keep his girl entertained. Cause that’s what she was, barely seventeen - but he had the money, so they made it legal. After all, what are over twelve months against the power of real love? Boy, did he have it wrong, four months and she was gone. Like no one ever heard of her, as if she disappeared into thin air. How she managed to run away from such a powerful man? That still remains a mystery.”

“So no one knew?”

“Not officially, but there was gossip, there always is. Most people believed that she had problems and wanted to end herself, but that was just the vile tongues jealous of her new status as Mrs. Edgar Morentine... then again, maybe they were right. Tilly did have problems, so many of them.”

Lou shifts on the sofa and sits up.

“So what actually happened there?”

I light up another cigarette and take off my jacket, the sparkly long dress that I wear under it was a bit uncomfortable but at least it looked good on me.

“As said, there was gossip. But people who were around then, know that the newest Mrs. Morentine was a smart little thing, that could have made things happen if she wanted it badly enough.”

Marry Lou gets more animated, eyes blinking faster.

“So a guy?”.

“Yes, there is always a guy, sweetheart. People said it was the gardener; a strong looking fellow but it was actually his youngest son. Just seventeen but madly in love our little Tilly. She had him wrapped around her finger. He never stood a chance.”

I get up and pour myself another gin and tonic, then I pick up a bottle standing on the floor and pour some wine for Lou. I’m trying to keep her attention awake while she is still animated. She looks up at me and waves a hand at my feet.

“Take off your shoes, darling, this isn’t exactly Milano.”

I do as she says and sit back by the window. I close my eyes and massage my feet. I shouldn’t have spent so many hours in these. The sudden sound of Lou’s voice brings me back.

“So tell me, Katherine. How did T. Saint Jones run away just with the help of a boy? After all, crazy hormones will only get you so far.”

She smiles and sips on the deep ruby liquid, her red lipstick leaving stains on the glass.

“You are thinking like the rest of them. Always not appreciating Tilly’s many, many talents. That girl knew how to get around even at her young age. And she knew that James... let’s call him that, was mad for her, but the thing that was important, was how popular the gardener’s son really was. People were very fond of him. And to get a favor from those people was the easiest thing in the world. Especially when planning an escape.”

I stare at the night behind the thin glass, and lower the zipper of my dress a bit; such a pretty thing but so hard to breathe in. I hear faint rustling sounds and turn my head around. Marry Lou crosses her arms, giving me a funny look.

“Yes?”

“Don’t you think like this story is a bit over the top?”

“No, if anything the story doesn’t have enough facts. There is so much that we don’t know. For example, we know what happened to Tilly in the end. Such sad news, don’t you think?”

“Some of us weren’t that surprised. To be honest, a lot of people thought it would happen sooner.”

“Yes, they didn’t have the same faith in her as I had. They didn’t know how she really was.”

Lou lifts her legs and puts them on the sofa, then strokes the velvet material covering it and furrows her eyebrows.

“Kat, what really happened to Tilly?”

I watch her calmly and see her shiver.

“I think you already know, I think everyone knows.”

“No Kat, I mean why did it happen? Why did she fall?”

“Just like people said, she had problems.”

“But you don’t believe it.”

“Believe in what, Lou?”

“That she took her life because her mind was wrong ... or that she just slipped?”

“Silly girl, a woman like Tilly Saint Jones doesn’t just slip or fall. She doesn’t overdose like the coroner states. I think you and I both know that she had some help with leaving.”

I can see her still shivering as if there was a draft in the room, but she herself doesn’t seem to notice it. She gulps down the entire glass of wine and pours out of what’s left in the bottle. Then she looks at me as if challenging me.

“Tilly was strong. Maybe I didn’t approve of her and gossiped just like the rest of those fools, but that’s the one thing I know for sure. She was strong.”

“Yes, but she was also wild and untamed, too many people trying to kill that quality in her.”

“Katherine?”

“Yes, Lou?”

“Tell me more about Tilly. I want to know her better.”

I light up another cigarette and watch the heavy smoke float lazily in the air.

“Not a problem, we have the whole night for that.”

I smile and empty my glass, running fingers through my thick chocolate brown hair.

“Lou, did I ever tell you how she met that funny fellow, Carl?”

“That painter?”

“Yes, now that guy was amusing. Tilly absolutely adored him. Some she was even close to love.”

“Our little Tilly Saint Jones, in love?”

“Yes, well stranger things happen. But I will tell you one thing. That girl was the wildest of them all. She had adventures that most of us can only dream about. It’s a shame that some didn’t appreciate her the way that they should.”

My voice turns cold as Lou asks with a sudden intensity that wasn’t there before.

“Please, tell me more about her?”

My lips stretch out into a smile and I loosen my dress even more. This story might take a while.

“As said, we have the whole night, and there is much to say about Tilly. So back to that Carl guy. Now that one I really liked, he always made her smile....”

(A slightly ajar door to the room closes, as smoke still lingers in the air and two women talk more. Their voices low in an empty house. The view moves to the hall and then outside. The lock on the front door clicks shut, and the night slowly turns into morning.)

And to this day people still wonder. What did really happen to Tilly Saint Jones? That crazy, unstoppable girl. That’s something no one knows for certain, but people gossip.

After all these years they still gossip.

(The picture slowly grows dark, and a fade out on the scene.)

The end.