Hearing myself ramble on and on made everything sound overly dramatic and I was afraid I sounded like a spoiled brat who was complaining when I ought to be appreciative of all he’d done.
Aunt Ruth brushed a strand of hair back off of my forehead, and she said, “Sonny, you’ll always compare everyone to your daddy, you know that, right? No one will ever measure up to him in your eyes. And it’s true, there are adults who have no idea how to act around children and I would agree with you, he’s one of them. I don’t think he knows how to act right around adults either, for that matter.”
I took a breath, and let it out. “You ought to see his house. It looks like a museum on the inside. I didn’t like it when Daddy and I went over there. He had wallpaper that showed animals being killed.”
She hugged me and said, “Keep in mind, your mama’s smart. She’s always thinking about you kids. You need to trust her.”
With that, she picked up her suitcase, and turned to leave the room.
“Oh, and Sonny, one last thing.”
“Ma’am?”
“You know I teach about science and all, right?”
I nodded.
“You probably couldn’t find water with this drought. The water tables are really low. Remember?”
My eyes filled. I didn’t want her to go for one thing and now she’d given me hope. Memories of her past visits started flashing through my mind, how it had been making homemade ice cream under the oak tree. How Daddy, Ross, and Trent would take turns cranking the handle until it wouldn’t move, and how Mama would lift out the wooden paddle and we would gather around using our fingers to scoop ice cream off and then eat as much as we could hold, bowlful after bowlful. I could almost smell the hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, and feel the warm night air as we sat on the back porch to watch fireflies flickering, pinpoints of yellow light like tiny candles underneath the trees. Aunt Ruth made the sweetest, best lemonade. She had a loud, infectious laugh. I liked how she walked with a long stride, and swung her hands in a carefree manner. Aunt Ruth’s visits were part of our summer, and now she was leaving after just getting here. There was a finality to the precisely tucked bedspread, as if she’d never slept there, and her decisiveness about leaving was as if she believed she was unwelcome, all ’cause of Mr. Fowler. If I had to say there was something Mr. Fowler was good at, it was driving everyone away.
I lay on the cot, miserable knowing she’d been extra quiet, not wanting to wake me until the last minute so I couldn’t argue about it.
I said, “Wait.”
I got up and threw on the work clothes I’d had on before changing into my dress. I didn’t care about the dirt stains on the knees, or the dribble of chocolate milk down the front of my shirt. I didn’t bother to brush my teeth or my hair either as I hurried down the hallway with her, leaning my head on her shoulder for as long as I could. Mama was in the kitchen pouring cups of coffee, and without a word, she handed Aunt Ruth one of the cups. The thing that had been said, long past, yet still hurtful, had grown into something even bigger now when Mama’s eyes landed on Aunt Ruth’s suitcase. She looked offended, but so did Aunt Ruth. She drank the cup of coffee without a word, gave Mama a quick hug good-bye, me one last smile, and then she walked out.
I stood on the back porch, watching her car roll down our driveway just as a sliver of orange broke the horizon, signaling another sweltering day. She put her arm out and waved at me. I lifted my hand and waved back, and sat with a dejected flop on the porch swing. Mr. Fowler’s presence was always causing some sort of commotion, either directly or indirectly. It made no sense why Mama couldn’t see this.
Chapter 18
Aunt Ruth had been gone only a couple of days when the mail carrier gave a quick honk in the late afternoon, which signaled there was a package. Mama went out to the mailbox and came back in carrying a box and wearing a smile.
“Look what I have!” she said in a cheerful voice she’d been using, doing what Ross called “putting lipstick on a pig,” and trying to make it appear everything was just fine.
I’d tried to call Daniel to talk to him about what I’d found out, but he was never at home, and I could picture him sitting over at his elderly neighbor’s, stuffing himself on cookies and watching movies with her. I resented the fact he’d not bothered to try and call me at all. Mama handed the box to me with the name of some company I’d never heard of stamped in the upper left-hand corner.
She said in a singsong voice, “I bet I know what this is.”
I did too. I dreaded opening it up, and sort of sat there staring at it.
Ross said, “Want me to cut the tape?”
I nodded. He took out his pocketknife and cut through it, and then stood back. It appeared everyone was waiting on me. I lifted the top and pulled back the paper. Inside were two copper L-shaped rods. They looked nothing, nothing like the willow branch.
Mama said, “Well, they’re certainly official like.”
I picked them up and looked them over, holding each one a little awkwardly.
Trent said, “Boy, you sure are gonna look even more weird walking around outside with them shiny things.”
For once, he was right. I was going to look weird. Underneath the shipping paper was a small booklet that showed how you were supposed to hold them. Like pistols, with the short ends in your hands, the long ends pointing out straight. I read further, and according to the instructions, the ends would cross one over the other, making an X if you located water, oil, or whatever it was you thought you should try and find. I found this odd. We’d only used the willow branch to find water, while the booklet suggested for you to “have fun!” and hinted at it being like a magic trick. I quickly dropped them back into the box.
Mama said, “That’s real nice, don’t you think, Sonny? Frank’s trying to get along, and make things right in his own way. Make sure you thank him when you see him.”
I said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Ross said, “Don’t you want to try them? See if they’ll work?”
“Not right now.”
Mama said, “She will, maybe later, right, Sonny? Now, don’t forget to thank him.”
I sighed and stared at the copper rods, uncertain if I’d find water with them no matter what Aunt Ruth said. It was as if Mr. Fowler was telling me in his typical underhanded way what I did was only a game, a hoax, or, like the instructions hinted at, a magic trick. In other words, not real.
I picked up the box and said, “I’m gonna go put them in my room so I don’t lose them.”
Mama tapped a cigarette out of her pack and said, “Good idea.”
On my way, I considered detouring out to the backyard and dropping them down the well. I didn’t want a stinking thing from Frank Fowler, but doing something like that was too chancy. He was liable to ask me to get them, and then what would I say? I went into my room where Dolly eyed me from her spot on the bed.
I spoke out loud to her, holding up the box. “What you reckon I’m supposed to do with these?”
She gave me a blank stare, and I said, “Exactly.”
I opened the closet door, and shoved them way into the back. I didn’t care what anybody said. I wouldn’t never use them.
Soon as I saw Mr. Fowler, I quickly thanked him as Mama had asked. I wanted it over and done with so I could go on and forget about them.
“Did you try them?”
“Not yet.”
“They cost me a pretty penny.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I repeated my thank-you again.
Mama said, “Maybe you could try this evening, after your chores are done?”
I played with my ponytail. I wanted to make Mama happy, but it wasn’t like I could snap my fingers and it happened.
I was cautious when I replied, “I might.”
I hoped something would come up or they’d forget. His idea to buy them was his own doing, and I didn’t feel obligated to entertain him. I was sure he’d only wanted the opportunity to do what h
e was best at, point out how he’d been right all along about my not really having any ability to find water. I could hear him now.
“See? Even with them special rods I bought her, she ain’t able to do it.”
Oddly enough it was Trent who saved me. By nightfall, he wasn’t feeling well, and Mama’s attention turned to nursing him. When she announced he had a high fever, Mr. Fowler, worried he’d catch whatever it was, hightailed it back to his place. He called the next morning to see if “the coast was clear,” and Mama said, “Not yet. Give it another day.”
I could only imagine what Operator Eunice must’ve thought at their choice of words, about how Mrs. Creech and Mr. Fowler had “something going on.”
I didn’t want Trent to be sick, but I will admit, I wasn’t wishing for his fever to go away either, no matter what anybody thought of the phone calls. I tried Daniel again and finally, he answered. I told him about my burned-up willow branch, and how I was certain it had been Mr. Fowler.
“He did it, Daniel, I know he did.”
“Yeah.”
“Can you believe it?”
“Yeah, I can.”
I also told him about the new dowsing rods and about Aunt Ruth. “There’s a lot you been missing!”
Daniel said, “That’s something about your aunt and your daddy.”
“Yeah.”
“You reckon them rods are gonna work?”
“I don’t know. I don’t really care. I ain’t using them.”
His voice grew cautious. “Why not?”
“I just ain’t.”
“Ain’t you curious? What if they worked?”
I’d never considered that possibility.
“Why don’t we meet near the pond? We’d have to be careful. Mr. Fowler’s been out there checking on the irrigation.”
“Nah. I can’t.”
“Why not?”
Silence.
“Oh, come on. Just cut down that path on Turtle Pond Road that leads to the back field, and I’ll meet you by that huge pine tree. Say around four o’clock?”
I was being pushy, which Daniel hated.
“He could show up all of the sudden, like you said. He might as well be living over there as it is anyway. It’s like he owns the place.”
“Geez, don’t say that!”
“It’s true, ain’t it?”
“I don’t want to think about it.”
Daniel was quiet, and I was quiet. I was sort of aggravated now, and about to tell him to forget it, that I had to go, when he said, “Maybe I’ll come tomorrow.”
My heart skipped a beat—or three. “You will?”
“I ain’t promising. I’ll try.”
That was enough for me. After we hung up, I ran into my room and grabbed Dolly off the bed. I danced around with her, excited, even if it meant taking a chance.
* * *
I thumbed through the Sears catalog while sitting by the phone, and after Mama went by a time or two, she finally said, “Sonny, what are you doing?”
“Nothing.”
“How about you go check on them hens. Get them eggs up.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Like she did sometimes, she guessed exactly what I was doing. “If Daniel calls, I’ll let you know. Don’t you two be up to nothing. He ain’t allowed to come back over here yet.”
“No, ma’am.”
How Mama figured this stuff out was anybody’s guess. No sooner was I in the chicken coop bent over and reaching under a stubborn hen when she hollered out the back door, “Phone!”
I ran back across the yard, and slowed down to a walk when I got up on the porch so I wouldn’t look too eager. When I went by Mama, she raised an eyebrow in warning. I kept my answers to Daniel cryptic.
He said, “I reckon I’ll come, if you still want.”
“Okay.”
“At the pond?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be there in about an hour.”
“Okay.”
I went back outside, adopting a certain nonchalance as I passed by Mama who was now sweeping the back side of the porch. I quickly gathered the eggs, took them into the kitchen, and set the basket on the counter, then went to my room for the copper rods which would make my trip to the pond legitimate.
As I passed Mama, I held them up. “I’m gonna go down to the pond to look at the new irrigation, and to try out the rods.”
She looked as if she approved.
She smiled and said, “Frank will be glad you’ve tried them.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I walked down the tractor path slow but when I got out of sight of the house, I took off running fast as I could, my feet smacking against the dried dirt, and stirring up the dust. Once there, the usual peacefulness was replaced by the rackety generator and pump working nearby, squirting water out of the pipes laid along the rows. We’d have to move it all again tomorrow. Mr. Fowler bought enough pipework to wet about five acres at a time, which meant by the time we’d done all fifty over the course of a few days, it would be time to move everything all over again.
In the long run, I supposed I’d rather have it than not, even if it had been expensive. We’d worked too hard to see it all go to waste. I pulled off my penny loafers, set the copper rods down beside me, and sat with my feet hanging off the edge of the dock, my toes skimming the coolness. Before too long Daniel came into view, his bike bumping along the uneven path causing the fender to rattle. I was unexpectedly shy. I gave him a little wave, and he returned it. He coasted over, getting close to me, while his eyes darted about like he thought Mr. Fowler might be hiding somewhere. In the distance I could hear the generators working the irrigation over at his place too, and it seemed no matter where I went on the farm, there were reminders of his presence everywhere.
I spoke first. “Hey.”
“Hey.”
He straddled his bike, holding onto the handlebars like he was thinking about leaving.
I looked over my shoulder at him again and said, “Ain’t you gonna come and sit down?”
It was like we’d forgot once again how to act around one another. He sighed, and got off, knocking the kickstand into place. He dropped down beside me with a thud, and we were quiet for a few minutes, watching where fish and turtles kissed the surface, creating small circular ripples, some close enough to reach my toes. The tree frogs were going crazy, their noise competing with the cicadas and the nearby equipment. The smell of pond water mixed with the sweet odor of wild grapes growing thick and heavy, their vines creeping along the tree trunks, allowing the fruit to hang thick from the branches. Birds, deer, and anything else that could get to them ate them up almost as quick as they could ripen. I wished I’d thought to grab a handful to eat while I waited ’cause they’d be gone before too long.
After a while, I said, “What’s been going on over at your place?”
Daniel rolled his eyes. “The usual. Except one thing happened I ain’t told nobody about yet.”
“What’s that?”
“Sarah’s gone.”
“What?”
“Yeah. Brenda said she’s done run off with some man.”
“Gosh, Daniel!”
I didn’t know how to react since it was the most unlikely thing for him to have said.
He shrugged and said, “Ain’t like it’s no surprise it happened, considering how boy crazy she is. She falls in love with anyone who looks at her twice.”
I remembered her crush on Ross.
“Have y’all heard from her?”
“Once. She called and said she was in Georgia.”
“Did your mama call the police?”
Daniel looked at me like I was crazy.
“Brenda said she’s on her own, said she’s sixteen, and far as she’s concerned she’s made her bed, now she can lie in it.”
“Oh.”
“Yeah. Sarah’s just as hardheaded. She ain’t called since.”
I didn’t know what to make of Daniel’s news. We
sat quiet until he changed the subject.
He pointed at the copper dowsers. “You tried them newfangled rods yet?”
“No. I only brought’em so Mama wouldn’t think I was up to something.”
We were sitting close enough so that our shoulders touched if one of us moved a certain way. Eventually I leaned into him like I was trying to push him off, and he returned the pressure. We kept it up until we both got to giggling. It relieved the stiff awkwardness and took away the unease we’d initially had with each other.
I said, “Wanna go swimming?”
Daniel gave me an assessing sort of look, then broke the gaze and said, “Nah. I don’t feel like it.”
“Oh, come on. It’s hot.”
“You can. I’m not.”
“Well, it ain’t no fun to swim alone.”
Daniel looked uncomfortable. Feeling a bit put out, I stood up and removed my T-shirt and shorts.
Daniel said, “Geez, Sonny!”
“It ain’t like I’m naked. I got on an undershirt and my underwear.”
“Well. It ain’t right.”
“What ain’t right?”
“Being out here with no clothes on.”
“We’ve done it before without anything on at all. Come on, dare you!”
Daniel hated when I threw out the dare ’cause then he had to step up or put up with me the rest of the day. He shivered, and then made a face like he would when he was confronted by something he didn’t like. Where was the Daniel I knew? The boy who did whatever I wanted, who challenged me, who made me laugh at his carefree, funny antics? His change of behavior made me self-conscious. I crossed my arms and sat balled up.
I said, “Gosh. Not even a dare will do it? Since when did you get to be so prissy?”
He glared at me. “Don’t say that.”
Seizing on his reaction, I slapped my hands against the wood, and yelled with glee, “Prissy! Through and through!”
He grabbed for me, but I jumped to my feet and into the water, feeling sure he’d follow. I popped up to find him still standing on the dock giving me that same hard look. I couldn’t let well enough alone.
The Forgiving Kind Page 17
