Wrapped Up In A Weeping Willow

by Tonya Kappes

  “Coach.” The man’s face held concern. His head thrust forward, he strained to make out Harper, just a few yards ahead of him. “We’ve been looking all over for you.”

  The cop’s dotted freckles across his nose and over his cheeks and eyes were a bit familiar to Harper, but she couldn’t place where she might know him.

  “Well, I don’t know why.” The Coach walked up to the cop and put his hand out to shake it. “I wanted a good breakfast and something is terribly wrong. Did Trudy have a fire since last week and I didn’t know about it?”

  “Somethin’ like that,” he said in his Southern drawl, his eyes squinted toward Harper. “We can talk about it on the way to the house.” The cop encouraged the Coach to step over to the squad car. “Who is this?” the cop asked.

  Harper’s mind was working overtime. She didn’t understand what was going on and why the cops would be looking for her grandfather. And especially when he’d put him in the car.

  “I’m Harper. And I’m very capable of taking my grandfather to the farm.” She pulled her shoulders and lifted her jaw, standing firm.

  “Stop that,” the Coach interrupted. “This here is my granddaughter, Poppy.”

  “Poppy? Is that really you?” The cop grinned from ear to ear. Harper smiled, trying to wrap her head around what was going on.

  “Is Allen Funt going to come out and tell me to smile?” She laughed nervously.

  “Ha! Candid Camera!” The cop laughed. “I get it.”

  Only Harper wasn’t kidding. The Coach had showed up at the facility, driving the Caddy, and now Trudy’s was closed up tight. Then the cop. She felt like she was on the old Candid Camera show she and the Coach used to love. And it would have been something the Coach would have loved to be on.

  “Hell,” the cop cursed under his smile, making her even more nervous. “I haven’t seen you in ages. Years! Scooter Burls!”

  “Scooter?” Harper took a quick, sharp breath and pulled her hands through her hair to make it a little more presentable. Memories of Scooter Burls brought a wry, twisted smile to her face.

  Smile bigger. You always look prettier when you smile. Her mama’s words rang in her head as if her mama was standing right there, using her elbow to nudge Harper’s side.

  Harper’s lips parted and she planted a big grin across her lips.

  Scooter had been one of the gang of friends who’d hung around together in her youth. He was definitely not the first person she wanted to see.

  “How the hell are ya?” Scooter drew her into a big bear hug. “Everybody is going to shit themselves when they hear you are back in town.”

  “Please don’t.” She pulled away, shook her head, and then cleared her throat. “Please don’t tell anyone. I haven’t told my parents I’m back yet.”

  “Oh, sure.” The creases between his brows furrowed. “I get it. But we have got to get this big guy back to the home.”

  “I’ve got him. I’m going to be staying with him at the farm, so it’s fine. I’m just sorry Mama called about him.” Harper didn’t even think about her mom checking on the Coach like she did every night before she went to bed. She was just so happy for the rescue from Pine Crest.

  “Nah, I have to take him back to the home. I’ve got orders.” Scooter gestured between him and the Coach. “But we need to catch up.” He patted the Coach on the back. “Coach, you are getting good at sneaking out.”

  “What is going on here, Scooter?” Harper wasn’t interested in catching up with what Scooter had been doing over the last ten years. She could see with her own two eyes he had become a Hudson Hollow cop and that was catching up as far as she was concerned. “You mean home as in the farm?” she asked for clarification.

  Scooter’s brows hooded like a hawk’s. He ran his hand over his short, bristly red hair, his face betraying a certain tension, a secret held rigidly under control.

  “Coach, why don’t you get up front?” Scooter pointed to the cruiser. “I’ll let you flip the lights on.” Scooter grinned. “He loves the lights.”

  The Coach didn’t bother saying anything to Harper before he trotted over to the cruiser and got in. It was like his personality had gone from Papaw to a childlike state in an instant.

  “Um. . .” Scooter looked down at his feet. “I guess what I’ve heard all these years are true, that you haven’t been around.”

  “I’ve been a little busy with my show.” Harper felt like she was in the hot seat. “Tell me what is going on.” Her heart thumped against her rib cage in anticipation.

  “About a year ago there was a bad storm that came on real fast. It flooded everything within hours. Your mama couldn’t get down the road to check on your grandfather and came down to the station, throwing all sorts of hell. I grabbed my boat and headed out his way. I found him on the dock fishing while the water was clear up to the big oak in his front yard.” Scooter looked up into Harper’s eyes. She felt a sudden chill. “He didn’t know his name or where he was, just that he was hungry and knew to catch fish.”

  Her heart went into sudden shock. A lump formed in her throat and she tried to swallow. Her chest heaved up and down. Her eyes teared. She sucked in a deep breath, preparing herself for what else was going to come out of Scooter’s mouth.

  “Aw, Poppy. He was all confused and I got him in the boat. I had an ambulance waiting on dry land because I thought he might’ve had a stroke or somethin’. They took him off and did all sorts of testing. I heard your mama took him to some specialists and he’s got that memory-forgetting disease.” Scooter snapped his finger. “Um. . .”

  “Dementia?” Harper asked. She winced, as if her flesh had been ripped.

  “That’s it!” He gave one good snap before he pointed at her. “Dementia. He can’t live on his own, and the Sunshine Home is a great place. A few of his buddies are even there. The sun comes up in the morning over the lake and it’s beautiful.”

  “But he knew me and he came and got me.” Harper shook her head. None of this made sense to her. The Coach had been completely coherent over the past few hours.

  “Where did he come get you?” Scooter adjusted his shoulder and rested his hand on his gun holster.

  “It doesn’t matter.” Harper shrugged it off. She felt a whisper of terror rush through her. She asked, “What about the farm?”

  Harper didn’t want to ask too many questions but didn’t know what to do. Where was she going to go? She wasn’t about to drive back to the facility. The past few hours had made her feel good being with her grandfather. She hadn’t felt that good in weeks.

  “The farm is still there.” Scooter’s brows furrowed again. “That’s where you got the car.”

  “Yeah. The car.” Harper gulped. “I’m just confused because when he came to get me at the. . .” She had to come up with a good answer. If anyone found out how the Coach had driven hours to find her, they would lock him up for sure. “I was at the bus station.”

  God, Harper hoped the bus station was still located on the outskirts of the lake.

  “At this time in the morning?” Scooter asked. He interchanged glances between Harper and his cruiser.

  “Yeah. It was the only time I could get in.” Harper’s lies continued to mount. “Listen, I’m sure my parents didn’t want me to be alarmed and I didn’t tell them I was coming. I had sent a letter to my papaw, which I’m sure my mom took to him at Sunshine.”

  The last time Harper went to Sunshine was when she was in the Girl Scouts and they went there to fulfill their citizenship award and get a new badge for their sashes. The only thing she could remember was the smell. And it was not a pleasant one.

  “I didn’t know buses ran this early.” His questioning eyes studied her for a second before he started talking again. “Well, he loves you.” Scooter smiled. “I’m sorry. I wish I could let you drive him back, but there was a call out for him and I’ve got to fill out a report and everything. Be sure to tell your mama I said hello.”

  “I’ll do that. Thank
s, Scooter.” Harper put her hand on his arm and squeezed. “And I appreciate your not telling anyone I’m in town.”

  “Oh.” Scooter grinned. “I get it. You’re a big celebrity and all. You want your privacy.”

  “Something like that.” Harper gave a warm smile back.

  Scooter gave a wave and started walking back toward the cruiser. The Coach was smiling, sitting in the passenger seat.

  She wasn’t so sure Scooter would keep a secret. She didn’t recall him having loose lips in high school, but it was a very small town and gossip was as important to the life of Hudson Hollow as the church.

  “Poppy.” Scooter turned around. “It would be a lot of fun if the gang got together while you were in town, but I’ll leave that up to you.”

  “Thanks, Scooter.” Harper walked over to the passenger side. “I’ll think about it.” She opened the door and leaned in. She put her arms around the Coach’s neck and squeezed. She whispered, “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow. I love you.”

  “I love you, Poppy seed.” He kissed her cheek. “Now, go get that hair fixed.” He winked.

  Chapter Nine

  “What on earth just happened?” Harper asked out loud, gulping back tears. “I think I’m better off in the nut house.” She groaned and tapped her forehead on the steering wheel.

  For a moment she felt like she was in some sort of nightmare and questioned whether the past few hours, past few days, had really happened as she sat alone in the Caddy.

  “Scooter Burls is a police officer?” She peeled her head off the wheel and watched as the taillights on Scooter’s cruiser faded around the curve heading east into town on their way to Sunshine.

  “I could take off.” Harper bit her lip and looked back at the road that had led them here. “Or I can go to the farm and get some sleep before I make any decisions.”

  She used the pads of her fingers and tapped her cheekbones, trying to push some blood flow into the dark circles under her eyes. There weren’t enough cucumbers in the Coach’s garden to stick on those big circles.

  Reluctantly, Harper put the car in drive and proceeded east onto Main Street and straight into Hudson Hollow. She rolled down the window and drove slowly as the past caught up to her, forgetting about the years she had spent running away from it.

  Driving down Main Street was like stepping back in time. The four-story steeple of the courthouse stood above the rest of the old brick buildings and pierced the turquoise sky filled with golden radiance.

  Harper gulped for air as the town curled around her like the vinca vine twisted down from the hanging flower basket filled with vibrant and fragrant colorful bursts of purples, reds, yellows, and whites.

  Old brick buildings lined each side. Harper let off the gas and allowed the old Caddy to roll at a snail’s pace, the memories burning her mind. She could almost see Bunny Brewster playing Loretta Lynn when she passed the window of HH FM. On the opposite side of the street was Corner Baptist Church, where she’d spent most of her free time, along with the rest of Hudson Hollow.

  Martin’s Department Store still had the same wooden, headless mannequins sporting last year’s trends, bringing a smile to Harper’s lips. As much as things had changed, Hudson Hollow was still the same.

  The light turned red. Harper turned her head and looked across the street as someone flipped on the lights of the drugstore. Harper rubbernecked to see if the stools at the fountain shop in the drugstore were still there.

  “Aw.” Harper’s heart leaped. Many times between Sunday school and church, she’d spend some time twirling around those stools with a real cherry Coke poured by the soda jerk. Next to the drugstore was Goodlett’s Furniture, where everyone in Hudson Hollow went to shop. For some unknown reason, they sold bobby socks, too. Mary Louise bought Harper every color of the rainbow and made her pull them plum up to her knees.

  The small southern town tugged at her heart. A tug she’d thought she’d left behind a long time ago. She sped up, not allowing herself to look around anymore. It was too much to bear, especially after what she had just found out about her papaw and seeing Scooter. She was confidant a good bath was all she needed, and a little food along with a little sleep.

  Harper had almost forgotten just how beautiful her old Kentucky home was. The luscious grass was still nice and green even though the backdrop of trees painted a beautiful fall portrait. The Kentucky Fence Post ran along both sides of the two-lane highway leading out to Hudson Hollow Lake and the Coach’s farm.

  The lake came into view. Every few feet, a log cabin would barely be visible through the trees. Many of them looked to be rented by seasonal tourists. Many of them probably made reservations through Harper’s parents’ realty and rental company.

  Hudson Hollow Lake was a Kentucky treasure. Not only did the lake have wonderful fishing, it had amazing water sports. The small-town charm and antique shops in Hudson Hollow were located in some of the most beautiful countryside anyone had ever seen.

  The Coach owned lakefront property on one side of the two-lane highway and the old farmhouse and farm were across the street.

  The 1830s farmhouse came into view as soon as Harper turned into the gravel driveway.

  Harper couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t believe her eyes.

  The trees and bushes along the gravel drive were overgrown on both sides. The smell and the green splintered broken branches hung down from the trees where she was sure her grandfather had cleared the path with the Caddy when he had driven down the path last night on his mission to find her.

  The white clapboard didn’t need to be painted but could stand to use a good power wash. The red front door looked to be faded and the columns holding up the tin roof on the front porch looked to be rotting.

  Her heart felt heavy. She wasn’t sure how much more she could endure. The Coach was in a nursing home and his house, which was once the envy of all Hudson Hollow residents, was broken. Broken like her. Broken like the Coach. Broken.

  The black shutters were either missing or hanging off or faded from the sun or all of the above. The manicured lawn was high. The bushes were overgrown past the railing on the wraparound porch. Nothing a little scrubbing and pruning couldn’t fix, Harper told herself, trying to keep a positive attitude.

  It was all she had. That and the cash in the crease of the Bible. But there was no way she had enough cash to have someone fix up the house.

  The morning sun was moving up over the back of the house. This had always been her favorite time of the day on the farm. She remembered how the sun glowed over Hudson Hollow Lake perfectly, and how the droplets of morning dew were always positioned on the tips of the manicured lawn, filling her heart with southern comfort as the farm woodpecker made his morning call.

  Not today. The tall grass hung down wet from the heavy dew and the air around her was eerily silent.

  With a heavy heart, she got out of the car and walked over to the big oak tree in the front yard. The old car tire still hung by the thick rope the Coach had hung around the thick branch way up in the middle of the tree for her to enjoy endless hours of swinging.

  “Kids today don’t have the same kinda fun we did.” The Coach had insisted Harper have an outside childhood when she was there. “You play them video games, go to those rock concerts enough with your mama. You need to get your feet dirty! Calluses on your hands!” he yelled from the tree as he shimmied up like a squirrel to hang the rope.

  She opened the pillowcase and dug out the ring, putting in on her finger. If she needed quick cash, she figured she could pawn it. She put the pillowcase full of her existence on the ground and, using both hands, she pushed the tire away from her body. The rope grinding around the big branch made her smile, bringing back many memories of her swinging, even as a teenager.

  She resisted the urge to hop on. Instead, she grabbed the pillowcase and walked around the side of the house, where her papaw had taken so much pride in his vegetable garden, hoping to be able to pluck something fresh t
o eat. The tall cornstalks were the only veggie she could make out. The rest was just a big mess of weeds and God knew what else. Even the spectacular view of the lake, which was what made the farm so desirable, was barely visible from the overgrown bluegrass.

  The more she walked around, the more upset she got. She brushed the tears from her cheeks and took a step past the tire swing just to see the lake.

  The entire time she was driving, the image of sitting on the porch with a cup of coffee in the morning as her papaw sang his silly, childish songs from the kitchen had been diminished.

  Every morning she would run down to the lake and stop at the edge of the dock, nearly tipping in a few times. She was eager to find her two-liter plastic Coke bottle standing straight up like a soldier in the lake. If it was straight up, it meant there was a fish hooked on the line securely tied around the bottleneck, and that meant supper.

  Sweetly sings the donkey at the break of day,

  If you do not feed him, this is what he’ll say

  Hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw, hee-haw.

  The Coach’s voice echoed in her head as it used to echo into the hollow, over the grass and gliding across the crystal lake to get her attention.

  “It’s up!” A young Harper would scream up to the house when she saw the two-liter bottle sticking straight up out of the lake, jerking up and down as the fish at the end of the hook squirmed to get free.

  “So is your breakfast,” the Coach would holler back. “That fish ain’t going nowhere. Now get on up here and eat, ya hear?”

  She’d take one last look at the two-liter as it bobbed up and down, tugging left and then right as the fish tried to free itself. She’d scamper back up to the front porch and plop down into one of the white rockers while the Coach was in the other. A table between them had two plates of food on it. Young Harper devoured her food so she could keep an eye on her fish while the Coach took his time, slowly rocking back and forth and drinking his coffee.