by Chris Vaughn
She was almost asleep and the suddenness of the sound startled her. Her eyes opened wide, and she jerked wide-awake. She knew she heard something, but she wasn't sure what. She rubbed her eyes for a moment and a shadow was moving in front of her eyes that distracted her. The light bulb seemed to be moving back and forth in the glow of the moon. She looked around and decided that the best thing was to not let this pass but to find out what it was. The innocence of a child carries strength of boldness that fades as you become older.
"You can't scare me. I don't care what you are, or who you are. I'm not afraid of you." She watched the light bulb's momentum slow down its swinging, as she strained to hear anything else. Joy realized that nothing else was going to happen she said again, "I'm not afraid now. Remember that, and I'll pray for you."
Joy got back out of bed, and knelt down. She closed her eyes as tight as she could, "God, I'm not gonna be afraid, and if something is in here, I ask you to help it er... him, er... or what... I need sleep, God, and they probably do too. Amen."
Joy spun around and stood up to see if the light bulb had finished it swinging. It was barely moving and her eyes went to the floor. She was the first person to see what had caused the noise... the chair had fallen over and was on its side.
Chapter 2
Jackie Fryar was Joy's best friend and Joy was happy now that they lived closer than ever, which made them both happy and their mothers happy as well since they were good friends. Both of the girls’ mamas occasionally called them 'J & J' since one was rarely seen without the other, if they could work it out. When you are a child in 1952 Georgia, you played with who was close, and didn't care who their parents were, or even the color of their skin. Life was lonely and hard enough on a tobacco farm to be picky with who your friends were, so neither Jackie nor Joy made the distinction, but saw in each other the friend they wanted. Maybe because they were the friend they each needed and more precisely the friend that was available.
School was out for the summer already, so early every morning Jackie or Joy was at the other's house as early as they possibly could be, usually eating breakfast with the other's family. Mrs. Hand and Mrs. Fryar always made sure enough was made for the other one, and it didn't matter since hungry farmers would eat it soon enough. This day, after Joy's fist night in the house, she walked through the connecting fields to Jackie's house and the smell of breakfast. Jackie's father was a share cropper just like her daddy, both raising tobacco to make a living out of the red Georgia clay. About the only difference between the Fryars and the Hands was the color of their skin. They worshiped the same Jesus and worked the same dirt often helping each other out with work or even food; Joy thought about the similarities that morning, but at ten, didn't have the tainted heart to see the difference. Innocence has a way of helping a mind not know the reason of prejudice, because in truth, and Joy knew it all too well, there wasn't a reason to not love the people who loved her.
Joy knocked on the back door. In the South, visitors and salesmen come to the front door; family and friends come to the back. Joy felt like family. She said, "Mama Fryar, can I come in."
"Well, Miss Joy, how are you this morning? Did you have a good night's sleep in that new house?"
"Yes, ma’am, I did and guess what?" Joy asked with excitement.
"What, baby girl?" Mrs. Fryar asked back.
“I’ve got my own room."
"I heard that, girl. I bet you are one happy girl!" Mrs. Fryar pulled a chair out for Joy, put her a plate on the table, and poured her a glass of milk. "How's your mama and daddy doing this mornin'? I'm going over after a while to see if I can help your mama settle in."
"They're good." Joy grabbed her milk, and grabbed a biscuit from the table and began to butter it up.
"JOY!" Jackie ran in the kitchen and the sound of her voice made Joy drop the biscuit on the plate. They grabbed each other and hugged as if they had been away at boarding school for a year and this was reunion day. It had barely been twelve hours since they had last seen each other.
"Girls, I don't know what yall get so worked up about, yall were together all day yesterday," Mrs. Fryar said as she continued her work in the kitchen.
Joy grabbed Jackie's hand and they sat in the same chair. Both girls with coveralls on, that were worn and patched, but during the summer time were great play clothes. Jackie grabbed the other half of the biscuit Joy had started to work on, made it her own, and started putting butter on it.
Mr. Fryar coughed loud as he walked in, "What them girls doing at my table before I eat breakfast?" His voice had the tone of sternness, the glint in his eyes spoke of love. "I can't even get in here before you two are making off with my biscuits." He leaned over their heads and grabbed a piece of bacon just as Mrs. Fryar was placing the plate of bacon on the table. "Now don't yall go eatin’ all my bacon now." He winked at both girls and their giggles were music to his ears as he laughed. "Now what fine plans have you two ladies got planned for today?" He asked as he got to work with his own biscuits, gravy, and bacon.
"I want to play school." Jackie said.
"I want to play church." Joy said.
"We could play dolls? Or listen to the radio?" Jackie said as her voice got higher.
"Let's go over to my house and play in my new room."
"Can I, Mama?" Jackie looked at her mama as she stood at stove and hoped for the answer she wanted. She didn't notice her mama's eyes as they locked with her daddy's. There was a serious look in Jackie's mama's face as Mr. Fryar coughed again.
"Well, why don't yall play here for a while? That sounds like a good idea to me," Mr. Fryar said before mama could interject and say 'no'. "Me and Mr. Hand were going to work some today on getting that fine new house all set up for yall. Don't you think that's a good idea?"
"Jackie, let's play here late, and then go to my house, and you spend the night. Can she please Mrs. Fryar? Pleaassee..." The ‘please’ Joy said was held out like a singer holds a note followed by Jackie piping in with harmony.
"I don't know about that now, Miss Joy. Your mama has an awful lot of work to do in that house and she don't need another mouth to feed, and trouble with another child tonight...." Mrs. Fryar's words had the intention of stopping the conversation, but before she finished saying ‘tonight’ Jackie chimed in.
"Please, Mama. Please." "Please." Both girls were up now begging please. Mrs. Fryar didn't stop a bit but walked through their beggin and continued with work in the kitchen.
Mr. Fryar coughed and cleared his throat gain; the sound made the girls quieten down. This was still the time of children respecting their parents. "I tell you what, girls, I'll talk to your daddy and mama today, Miss Joy, and we might consider it, we'll see. Why don't yall two get you another biscuit, NOT too much of my bacon, and go eat on the porch and let me and Mama talk about a few things."
This small glimmer of hope was all they both needed and both girls grabbed their milk, a couple extra biscuits and some bacon and started out the house to eat on the porch where it was still cool. "No leave that bacon alone now...." Mr. Fryar raised his hand in dramatic fashion as if he was going to spank one of them, but both girls knew that he was in a playful mood. Their giggles trailed down the hall followed by the creak and slam of an old screened front door.
"I don't know how I feel about Jackie spending the night in that house. It ain't right," Jackie's mama said as the sound of a door that slammed had gone away.
"Lord A ’mighty, Clem, it's a house not a haunted parlor. The Hands can't help it that boy killed himself. That wasn't their fault, folks ain't sure if it was his fault, but you can't take it out on the Hands, and you gonna have an awful lot of wailing and moaning if Jackie can't spend the night with Miss Joy... shew.... you are one superstitious woman." Mr. Fryar grabbed a biscuit and some bacon. "Good Lord, them girls took a lot that bacon. They probably eatin it just to spite me," He said with a deep laugh to himself.
"Oh, hush about your bacon. I'll cook some more if you want. I don't
care what you say, that house has been empty too long, and there's too many stories. Plus that boy was accused of dreadful things he had done to a little girl who lived in that house, now you know what I'm talking about."
"I know exactly what you're talking about, and they never did prove anything about anything 'cept he hung himself in that house. But that was a young black boy, and justice don't run too far sometimes around here for us folk. Neither you, nor I, know what the truth and all about all that, but I know if I was in that boy's shoes and they was gonna come after me. I'd have wanted to be dead in that house too, instead of in a jail cell where they beat on you."
Clementine interrupted Rudy, "He shouldn't have hanged himself that just ain't Christian.... Poor boy is in Hell now probably."
Rudy continued, "Clem, he shouldn't have hung himself, but he did. There weren't many folks around here who even cared to help out that boy's family after all that, but you know who helped that black family out... the Hands... Buddy and Mary Hand did. We did too, and you know too, you didn't want to. So don't tell me all about Christian charity now."
"Don't you throw that up to me. Jackie was a little girl and the only thing I could think of is what they said that boy Clevon had done to that girl when she wasn't much old than Jackie is now. I can't stand the thought of something happening to Jackie... Taking liberties with a young girl. It scared me then, and I'm scared now of my little girl being in that house, let alone sleeping in that house."
"Clem, you hush that. Buddy hand is one of the finest men I know. He doesn’t ask what color you are when you need help. He helps."
Mrs. Fryar took her cup of coffee and sat at the table in the spot where the girls had been as she stirred her coffee and poured some into the saucer so it could cool. "Well, he ought to go to church."
"Buddy may not have Sunday Jesus like some, but he does have everyday religion like I like. They are our friends, and I'm not letting some strange old wives’ tale about some ghost story stop me from being his friend or our little girl being with her best friend... heck, her only friend, Clem." Mr. Fryar put his coffee cup down and coughed. "Look at me, Clem. You ain't either. Mary's a good woman, they've been there for us, and we gonna be there for them. Jackie spent the night in the old house they had and they welcomed her like she was their own, and she can spend the night in their new house. Now I got to go work. Put me some biscuits in a bag for my lunch, and I'm going over to the Hand's and see if they need anything. You ought to do it too. If you need to take your Bible and do some praying and scare that ghost away." Rudy chuckled and laughed at his wife. "Your praying scares me away." Mr. Fryar continued his laugh as he walked out to the back porch to put on his work boots.
Joy and Jackie played all day. School with each other as they took turns being the teacher and student, and the dolls being students. They played church too. Joy was the preacher, Jackie sang the songs, and the dolls both accepted Jesus and were baptized. They even took up an offering and collected two cents, three buttons, and several hair ribbons. Mrs. Fryar had them lay down to take a nap after lunch, but that was more to get them out of her hair than to make them sleep. They of course didn't sleep, but kept on giggling and whispering as they talked about spending the night in Joy's room tonight. Clementine Fryar heard all the conversations and plans they spoke of about spending the night and finally had to come to accept the fact that to not allow Jackie to spend the night would be more painful for both girls than the sleepless night of praying she would do tonight.
"Come on now. Let's get your things, Miss Joy, it better be all right with your mama for Jackie to spend the night. You're sure she said this is okay?"
"Um... I know it's okay. Mama doesn’t mind."
"You are a little slow in answerin' me, Joy." Clementine said with a warning.
"I know it will be all right."
"I know you may get your bottom tanned if it ain't all right. We don't want that do we? You could spend the night here with Jackie." Mrs. Fryar was still trying to work the angle of Jackie not spending the night, but she realized it was a losing battle. "Well, we'll see won't we?"
She showed them out of the house and the girls walked in front of her down the back porch steps hand in hand. Clementine Fryar carried Jackie's little bag and talked to herself the whole way. "It does do my heart good to see them together. Maybe the two of them can stay friends all their life, with love like that, there is always hope things can change."
She followed them down the road and through the field to the Hands’ house; in one hand she held Jackie’s bag and in the other her Bible, and all the way quoting scripture under her breath.
Chapter 3
"Mary, you sure you don't mind?" Mrs. Fryar asked.
"Clementine, you know I love Jackie. I'd love for her to stay, and no I'm not mad at Joy. That girl, you know her mind and imagination. She didn't ask me anything about tonight, but I know you knew that as much." Mary chuckled and continued sharing what Joy's plans were from last night. "She wanted her to spend the night last night, but I told her she had to put it off till later. I guess tonight is later." Both women laughed.
"I feel terrible about it though. Like Jackie will be imposing."
"Do you ever feel like Joy is imposing?" Mary Hand asked.
"Never. I love her like my own... but that's different now." Clementine laughed.
"How's it different? You know it ain't no different, but I don't want Joy imposing on y’all any more than you think Jackie would be imposing on us." These were two different women and two different families united by the love of their families, their faith in God, and the harshness of the times they both were born in, and only separated in public by the outside conventions of society.
Clementine Fryar talked and waited for as long as she could before leaving the Hand house. The Hands were like family to Rudy and Clementine and they wouldn't take ‘no’ about staying for dinner, and then after dinner, the four spent time on the porch. The men sat on one side of the porch and enjoyed their cigarettes and talk of the farms, and the women sat on the other in the swing while the radio played from the living room and the sound drifted through the screened door.
"Clem, we need to go. Why don't you go tell Jackie good night and lets us get on home?" Rudy stood up and started down the steps to wait on his wife.
"Give me a minute and I'll be right back." Clementine walked back into the house and headed upstairs. "Shame this house sat for so long. I wouldn't have minded havin' this place."
Shotgun houses didn't take long to get from one end to the other, nor from the bottom of the stairs to the top, but she took extra time to see how much bigger this house was than hers. She walked into the bedroom and looked around. Mary had already decorated as best she could with what furnishings they had been able to save from the fire, and what else had been given to them. There was a faint smell of smoke in the room from the few blankets that has been saved from the fire. Joy and Jackie stiffened up as Clementine came into the room. Joy just knew Mrs. Fryar was going to fuss at her for not being totally honest about her mama knowing about Jackie spending the night.
"Well, girls, let me give yall some good night sugar, and I'll see yall tomorrow." She held her arms wide open and the girls dropped their playing and ran into her arms as she knelt down.
"Goodnight, Mama."
"Goodnight, Mama Fryar."
Both girls kissed Clementine on the cheek and she kissed them back. "Now you two say your prayers tonight, yall hear me. In fact, let's say them before I go." Clementine walked on her knees over to the bed and had each of the girls wrapped in an arm as they all three knelt down. Both girls repeated the same pray they both had learned and was familiar to them, "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray the Lord my soul to keep, if I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take." Then each girl prayed for each other, their parents, their friends, their neighbors, missionaries, any people who had been in fires, and on and on and on.
"Okay, girls, come one now finish
up."
They both giggle and said together, "Amen."
When prayers had been said, they jumped up and got in the bed together, as Clementine tucked them in, and gave them one last kiss. "I'll see you two tomorrow. Sleep good."
"Night, Mama."
"Night, Mama Fryar."
Before Clementine got out of the room, the girls were giggling and talking so she leaned back in to give them a warning. "Now don't yall stay up too late and make Mr. Hand come up here."
"We won't, Mama Fryar," Joy giggled as she said it. Clementine knew that the innocence of their promises of quick good-nights would be met with flashes of threatening and yells up the stairs, before the embers of sleep took the girls.
Clementine Fryar took her time to walk down the steps and with each step she prayed and listened to the girls’ whispers and giggles. After she couldn't stall her leaving any more, she stepped onto the porch and began the long process of leaving. She thanked Buddy and Mary for dinner and allowing Jackie to spend the night, then turned and hugged Mary Hand. Good byes usually in the south were long and drawn out affairs as both families walked and talked to the end of the driveway.
The Fryars walked off into the darkness on their way home, and Buddy and Mary headed off to bed. Mr. Hand hadn't gotten three feet in the house when he could hear the girls’ giggles as they echoed down the stairs. He shouted down the hall, "Now, you two, don't make me come up there. You hear me?" They both instantly hushed and held their breath. Their breath was held for but a moment before their talking continued.
Joy went back with her story she had been telling, "Jackie, I mean it. I heard it fall last night."
"I overheard my daddy say that once a man hung himself in here."
"What?" Jackie gasped.
"But Daddy told Mama that it don't matter anymore. He ain't here anymore," Joy said, "But I think he is, Jackie."
"Don't say that, Joy. That makes me scared," Jackie said.
