Reave, Chapter 2
The Nature of Reave
The nature of Reave is that it is always changing.
CLAUDIA REAVE: And I’ll take the same.
There were once Native Americans here in Reave. Unfortunately the Native Americans were driven out by missionaries, who were in turn driven out by an Air Force base. The Air Force base turned into a prison, which the missionaries eventually took over. The missionaries converted the prison into an orphanage but the orphans chased them out with sharpened forks and mid-size rocks. The orphans were superseded by hipsters who were themselves replaced by yuppies. Some of the yuppies quit being yuppies and became missionaries.
CHAMP WILLIAMS: You have the darnedest blue eyes, Claudia Reave, and don’t you go believing different.
Then, you see, Le Frame’s hot air balloon landed here in Reave, right in the middle of the baseball diamond in Reave Park. And the first thing Le Frame did was show the missionaries the door.
CLAUDIA REAVE: You’re lucky my eyes actually are blue. I know for a fact you said the same thing to Cynthia last week.
CHAMP WILLIAMS: All ’cause I was sub-consciously wishing you were my date and not Cynthia.
CLAUDIA REAVE: You call this a date, Champ Williams? This must be the sorriest date I ever heard of.
The second thing Le Frame did was erect a first-rate whorehouse, right there on Main and Auxiliary. The once wealthy and cruel house of Reave — similar terribly to today’s poor and cruel house of Reave — had fallen a few income brackets from whatever good fortune had led to folks naming the town after them, and all but one of the eight Reave sisters invested in whoring permits.
The eighth Reave sister left town and became a missionary. It is generally believed that Le Frame fears Catherine Reave at least as much as he detests her. The old women of Reave can at times be heard whispering dangerous and unquenchable questions about Catherine Reave. Will she ever return to Reave? If she does, will she put a stop to all the good times?
CHAMP WILLIAMS: You got something else you want to call it?
CLAUDIA REAVE: Let’s call it love and pretend everything will be great forever.
