Maude and Sukie, a Cautionary Tale

CW: References themes of sexual violence against minors.

Maude Pritchard is the neighborhood cookie lady. Whether you've experiencing tendinitis or a migraine, financial difficulties or the loss of a loved one, Maude will show up at your door offering a plate of cookies straight out of the oven and containing her special ingredient of loving-kindness. Maude listens; Maude cares. And, more importantly, Maude doesn't spread your stories around.

Maude is currently retired but, during her earlier years, taught eighth grade English at the local Middle School, or Junior High School as it was called during her career. Generations of families remember her as a strict but fair disciplinarian dispensing wisdom to young minds. Even though one could say that, after living and teaching in that neighborhood for forty years, Maude has the goods on everyone, she'd never think of using such personal information to her advantage. Goodness me, that would be blackmail!

In her retirement years, Maude continues to be of service to her community, volunteering at the library and the Food Pantry. Healthy minds need healthy bodies, as Maude always says. Because Maude feels the need to continue using her teaching skills, she also helps out with an after school program for special needs children.

Maude's house is that yellow Victorian on the corner of Elm and Main Street. It's old but well maintained. Maude mows the lawn herself but hires a handyman for more extensive yard work as well as minor household repairs. His name is Randall Jenkins. Generations of Jenkins have been Maude's students. Randall's father claims he can still recite a Hamlet soliloquy that he was forced to remember in Maude's English class.

There is something good to be said about small towns. People know their neighbors and, when anyone is in need, they come together to help out. There is also something bad to be said about small towns. Lack of exposure to the outside world can result in a limited and unsophisticated mentality and, over time, stagnates the gene pool. Randall's daughter Susan is a prime example. Somewhere, in a past generation of the Jenkins family, first cousins married. It appears that the results of inbreeding have showed up in Susan or Sukie as she is affectionately called. Sukie Jenkins has never been diagnosed. She's just “special” and the town loves Sukie.

It's been a particularly rainy summer. Maude is having trouble with dampness in the basement and calls upon Randall Jenkins to install a sump pump which takes him the better part of a morning. Inevitably, Maude offers him cookies and milk once the job is completed. Now, anyone will gladly take advantage of tea and sympathy when offered and Randall is currently feeling overburdened. He and his wife are at wit's end over Sukie's erratic behavior at home. She feels abandoned because her friends are away at a pricey camp up in the mountains. While the camp experience might be good for their daughter, the Jenkins just can't afford to send her there. So thirteen year old Sukie basically needs something to occupy her time during the summer months.

Immediately Maude comes up with an idea. Send Sukie over to the house for tutoring a few afternoons a week. Maude's extensive library contains several illustrated books guaranteed to capture the interest of a young person with limited intelligence. Under Maude's guidance, Sukie could read the text and thereby improve her vocabulary. Bring your troubles to Maude and she will find a solution, right? Haven't generations of townies called upon the stalwart Maude Pritchard when in need?

The very next afternoon, Sukie arrives on Maude's doorstep for her first tutoring session. Maude is prepared with two beautifully illustrated books published by National Geographic. She invites Sukie into the dining room where the books are spread out on the table but Sukie shows no interest. The girl is withdrawn and unresponsive. Maude is patient. Sukie has always had her own unique way of adapting to new situations. Hoping to attract Sukie's attention, Maude opens one of the books to display a pleasant scene in nature. The girl ignores the book and begins fidgeting in her seat while uttering little sounds of distress. Give her time, Maude thinks, and she calmly begins to read aloud from the text. Sukie remains locked up in her own world. Yet Maude perseveres. If the girl is not yet ready to concentrate on the books, perhaps she can attend to what is near at hand. Maude points out the table's central flower arrangement and names each individual blossom. When this has no effect, Maude tries to engage the girl in conversation, first making a favorable comment on her outfit then asking how she's spending her days during summer vacation. Unfortunately Maude's attempts to draw her out only make the girl more uncomfortable. Sukie's behavior becomes increasingly disturbed; she hugs herself and begins rocking back and forth in the dining room chair. Something is definitely wrong with Sukie and Maude needs to help.

Back in the day, Maude has dealt with problem kids. They often needed mothering. Maude had always found that soothing touch worked well. Stroking a wrist or patting a shoulder reliably had a calming effect. It should be noted that, while Maude might have been a good teacher, she is not a psychiatrist. And, more to the point, Maude is not in touch with the current guidelines about working with adolescents. In Maude's day, a hand placed on a distressed youth's shoulder could have a calming effect. In the current socially and politically correct climate, any hands-on approach is considered inappropriate.

When it becomes clear that talking is having no effect, Maude reaches over and takes hold of Sukie's hand. There is no way that Maude could have anticipated Sukie's reaction. The girl leaps out of her chair, shrieking, and runs to the door. Maude follows in order to see that Sukie makes it home safely. In a later phone call to Mrs. Jenkins, Maude is relieved to learn that Sukie has recovered from her spell of anxiety.

After that, events move quickly. Word gets out. News spreads instantaneously throughout the small town and the melodrama builds with each telling. Sukie has been traumatized at Miss Pritchard's house. The authorities are contacted. It's funny how a small town can turn on its own. Witnesses come forth, recalling how Miss Pritchard had once touched an arm, grabbed a wrist, rubbed a shoulder, and even brushed against a breast. The revelations get creepier and creepier until, in the collective memory, Maude Pritchard becomes a predator. Come to think of it, the woman does live alone, never married, had no children. It stands to reason that she must have been a pervert. . . all these years. . . and nobody ever guessed.

When things go wrong, somebody has to pay. Maude Pritchard is currently serving six months in state prison for child molestation and is registered as a sex offender. Sometimes bad things do happen to good people.

The End