My Water Path

by Timothy Joseph

  Jacob slapped me on the back as Fat Cop walked onboard, saying loudly, “Now Jory, don’t be scared. Uncle Jacob will take care of everything.”

  “Uncle Jacob,” I emphasized ‘uncle’, “this policeman wants to know why I spend so much time with Mayhew and his grandfather. I told him you worked a lot and that’s why I’m not always staying with you, and you and Moses are good friends.”

  Jacob reached his hand out to the fat policeman. “How are you, officer? What did Jory do now? He’s a pretty good boy, but sometimes gets into a bit of trouble.”

  They shook hands. Fat Cop said, “Mac. Officer Mac.”

  “Well, nice to meet you, Officer Mac.” Jacob let go of his hand and patted Mac on the shoulder a couple of times as if they were good friends.

  I looked over at Max. Max glanced at the cop and winked at me. He approached and introduced himself to Fat Mac while reaching out his hand. The cop gave Max a look of insult and never raised his hand.

  Mac looked back at Jacob. “I’m hearing this boy lives with darkies and goes to the colored school. That’s where I picked him up.”

  I said, “I tried to explain that you and Moses are good friends and he looks after me a lot and it’s easier for me to go to school with Mayhew.”

  “Shut up, boy,” Fat Mac said.

  I saw Jacob tense. Fat Mac said, “If he be living with you, why’s he done going to a colored school, and why does he stay with them niggers?”

  “Jory has been living with me since his daddy, my brother, died, sometime back. He’s right. Moses, the saw sharpener, and me are good friends. Jory and Mayhew are best friends and there ain’t nothing wrong with that, and he spends a lot of time with them while I work. There ain’t a thing wrong with them being best buddies.”

  “I hear he’s living with them.”

  “No, he ain’t. He lives with me.”

  I heard an outboard motor and looked out over the river; there was Moses, aiming right at us, the motor wide open. “Uncle Jacob, here comes Moses.” I knew we were in trouble, for Moses and Jacob had never met.

  Jacob looked out and waved. Moses waved back. Moses killed the motor and the boat drifted to the tug. Jacob said, loudly, “Hello, Moses. Good to see you, my ole friend. How’s Bess doing?”

  Jacob reached down, grabbed his hand, and helped Moses onto the tug. Jacob spread his arms and grabbed Moses into a hug.

  As if they had always been friends, Moses said, “Bess is fine. She sends her best. How’s the diesel repair going these days?”

  “Keeping me and Max just too damn busy. Don’t get no time to myself. Don’t know what I do without you looking after my nephew for me.” He looked over at the cop. “Oh, Moses, this is Officer Mac.”

  “I be pleased to meet you, Officer Mac, mighty pleased.” He reached out to shake hands, but again, no such thing.

  Fat Mac looked at Moses. “I be hearing this boy done lives with you.”

  “Why, Jory stays overnight once in a while and spends a lot of time with us. Jacob, he be paying me and Bess to watch the lad for him. We sure does need the money, and we be glad to do it for him. I sures don’t want to lose the money we gets. We takes good care of him, Officer, really good care. You can be certain of that.”

  “Why’s he go to the colored school?”

  “Because we’s too far away from town. We’s not be able to get him to the white school, and I takes my two grandchildren to school, so Jory go there, too.”

  I couldn’t believe Moses was killing the English language. He would never talk that way. Then I realized, and I had to hide my smile. Moses was playing the game.

  “A white boy can’t be going to no colored school. You need to get him to the white school.”

  Jacob looked at Mac. “Well, Officer Mac, I’ll see what I can do about that, but I don’t believe there’s any law that says he must attend a white school.”

  Fat Mac pointed his finger at Jacob. “What kind of uncle is you? You find a way to get him to the white school where he can get a decent learning. You hear me?”

  I looked at Jacob. I could see the fire building in his eyes. Moses saw it, too. He put his hand on Jacob’s shoulder. “Jacob, let’s be seeing if we can’t figure a ways to get Jory to the white school.”

  Fat Mac said, “You bring that boy up as a white boy, not no nigger.”

  Jacob’s body instantly straightened, his knuckles white. Moses stepped between Jacob and Fat Mac, saying in a gentle voice, “Jory’s uncle and me will do our best, Officer. We’s do our very best, okay?”

  Max walked over and patted Fat Mac on the shoulder. “Officer Mac, if’n yous ever have motor problems, Jacob here can fix it just fine. T’ain’t a motor around he don’t know how to fix.”

  “Keep that dirty hand off me, boy,” Fat Mac spat. He looked at Jacob. “Get this kid out of that darky school, you hear me? I’ll be checking that school.”

  Fat Mac turned and headed down the gangplank to his police car. We all stood fuming, watching him drive off; everyone, that is, except Moses.

  Moses smiled. “Jacob, it is my great pleasure to meet you and Max. Jory has told me nothing but good things about you two. Says that no one knows as much as you about tugs and diesel repair.”

  “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” Jacob wiped his open hand across his chest. “Need to clean my hand of that stinkin’ cop.” He wiped twice, reached out, and took Moses’ hand.

  Moses smiled. “I surely owe you one, Mr. Jacob. Thank you much.”

  “No need to thank me. Jory here is worth it.”

  Moses turned and greeted Max, shaking his hand and thanking him, too.

  Max said, “Whew! I was betting yous was about to take that cop’s head off, Jacob. He sure was asking for it, and yous was ready.”

  “That idiot, fat slob. Believe me, I wanted to dump him in the river after I ripped out his tongue.”

  Moses gripped Jacob’s shoulder. “Wouldn’t have done any good.”

  I looked up at them. “I’m sorry for the trouble I caused.”

  Jacob squatted down and grabbed my shoulders. “Don’t you worry, Jory. You got yourself a grandpa and an uncle that ain’t ever going to let you down. Ain’t that right, Moses?”

  “That’s rightly so,” Moses replied.

  I reached out and gave Jacob a hug. He smiled and hugged me tightly. I was scared of what was surely to come.

  30

  Christmas

  LUCILLA,MAYHEW, AND I headed into the woods with an ax. The goal? To find a nice Christmas tree. It wasn’t long before we agreed on a pretty blue spruce. Bess cleared out a corner in the living room, and Moses made a stand. We spent the evening making decorations out of colored paper, popcorn strung with needle and thread, tinfoil, clothespins painted with water paints, wood chips, dried berries we had collected from bushes and trees, and even tin toys. We cut and painted paper stars and shapes and placed an old saw blade painted as a star on the top. I loved that Christmas tree.

  On one of our Saturdays with Jacob, I had gone to the Five and Dime and hardware store to buy gifts. I made Mayhew promise not to say anything about them, and when we got back, I left everything in the boat until I could sneak the presents into our bedroom. The woman at the store wrapped each one and wrote the intended’s initials on them so I wouldn’t get them mixed up.

  Christmas morning came, and Mayhew and Lucilla were terribly excited. Moses had the wood stove going strong, and Bess came in with a tray with hot chocolate in a teapot and a dish with five kinds of Christmas cookies. She put them on the coffee table. “Okay, everyone, Papa has something to say.”

  I followed everyone to where Moses was sitting in his rocking chair. He spread his arms. Bess took one of his hands, and Lucilla the other. Mayhew held hands with Bess and reached out for me. I took his hand and reached for Lucilla’s to complete our handholding circle.

  Moses took his time and looked at each of us. “This is a special Christmas for us this year, for we have gained an
other member of our family, Jory. We are proud to have him be part of us, and we thank you, Lord, for bringing him to this family. I want to thank you for my Bess, for all the wonderful ways she takes care of us, and for loving us.” He looked at Bess and nodded to her.

  “I want to thank you for my Lucilla and Mayhew. They do bring me joy, and Bess and I just couldn’t be happy without them. I ask you to watch over my family, Bess, Lucilla, Mayhew, and Jory. They are my whole life, and the only present I ever need is for you to keep them safe. Thank you, Lord, for this special Christmas.”

  Bess said, “Thank you, Lord, for my Moses, and for my three children. I’m the luckiest woman there ever be, having this family.”

  Moses said, “Amen.” We all repeated it. He said, “I reckon it’s time to open our presents.”

  Mayhew and Lucilla headed over to the tree and handed each one of us a gift. I unwrapped a stocking cap with a big, thick rim Bess made. It was beautiful and fit perfectly. I put it on and pulled it over my ears. “I love it, Grandma,” I said, grinning goofily. She smiled. We each got one in our favorite color, not to mention a matching scarf and mittens. I got up and gave Bess a big hug.

  “Put on your mittens,” Bess said to me. I stuck my hand in one and felt a piece of paper, pulled it out, and read it. I smiled. It said, “One big pot of chicken and dumplings.”

  More gifts were handed out, and I held a long, thin package. Moses said, “Don’t open it yet. There’s one like it under the tree for you, Mayhew. Go get it.”

  He did and we opened them together. Moses had made each of us a knife. He used his grinder to shape and sharpen the blade, and the handles were made out of pieces of deer antler. They were in sheaths of leather, and each had two slits to slip in a belt. I removed it from the sheath, studied the beautiful, perfectly shaped blade that came to a sharp point with a slight upturn. On the blade was engraved “Jory, my Grandson.” Under it was a small heart. It was the most gorgeous knife in the entire world. I turned it over, and on the other side of the blade was engraved “Papa Moses.”

  “Wow!” Mayhew said. “This is neat, Papa. Thank you.” He got up and gave his grandfather a hug.

  “Now, Mayhew, this knife is very sharp. You must promise me you will be very careful. It’s not a toy—you treat it with respect.”

  “Yes, Papa, I promise.”

  I kept staring at the knife. I thought about how proud my dad would be to see this and how much he would thank Moses, like in the dream. My eyes got all blurry thinking about my daddy. I missed him so much. I slid the knife slowly into the sheath, tied the leather strap around the handle, and squeezed it with both hands. Eyes wet, I looked up at Moses. He gave me his beautiful smile and special wink. I got up and put my arm around my grandpa. He squeezed me hard.

  “Thank you, Papa.” I shuddered and struggled to hold back the tears.

  “You’re welcome, son.” He knew I was about to cry so he said, loudly, “Okay, there’s more presents, let’s see what we have.” I blinked back the tears.

  I went into the bedroom and pulled the bags out from under the bed. I gave Mayhew and Lucilla their packages. They opened them and quickly put them on; winter coats with big hoods. They had zippers and snaps. They spun in place, showing them off, and Lucilla laughed with delight.

  I handed Bess a big bag.

  “Jory, what did you go and do?” She unwrapped the blue porcelain coffeepot with a basket in it for the coffee grounds. “Oh, my, this is so beautiful. I’ve seen these before.” Then she unwrapped a set of three stainless steel mixing bowls, and her hand went to her mouth. She opened a package with a new spatula, big mixing spoon, an eggbeater with a bright red handle, and a ladle.

  “Lord help me,” she said.

  “Do you like them, Grandma?” Lucilla asked.

  “I love them. Jory, you come here, young man,” she said in a stern voice. I thought she was upset with me. I walked to her. She reached out and hugged me hard. “I don’t want you buying me things, Jory. All I want is your love, that’s all. Please.”

  “I just want to make you happy,” I said.

  “But you are what makes me happy, not things—you!” She kissed me, sniffing. “But I sure do love these. Thank you, son.”

  I handed a small box to Moses. He opened it up and found a chrome twenty-five foot tape measure. “Oh, my,” he murmured. He pulled it out a few feet and watched it go back in. “Why, I’ve never had a tape measure. This is a beauty.”

  Moses appraised his second package, a much longer thing, and glanced at me with his eyebrows raised. He unwrapped a shiny new crosscut saw. I had told the man at the hardware store I wanted the best handsaw he had, and as I watched Moses look at the brand on the blade, I knew I’d done good.

  “My goodness, this is an Atkins Perfection Silver Steel. This is one of the best saws there is. How’d you ever get this? Jory, I can’t accept this. You need to be taking it back.”

  “I can’t, Papa. You have to keep it. I carved your name in the handle.”

  He turned the saw over and saw “To My Grandpa Moses, From Jory.”

  He looked at Bess. “What are we going to do with this boy?”

  She only smiled.

  Mayhew opened an army compass that folded up and had some sort of aiming thing on it to figure out where you were. He was really excited and showed Lucilla and Moses. Lucilla opened up a green purse with a long strap. Excited, she showed it to Bess, who made over it all jealous-like.

  We finished opening our presents and Bess said, “I’ll heat up the hot chocolate, and I think we need some cookies.” That got a cheer from the whole room.

  When Christmas day was over, I climbed up into my bed and closed my tired eyes.

  “Goodnight, Jory,” Mayhew said. “Thanks for my things.”

  “Goodnight, Mayhew. You’re welcome. Thank you for making me such a neat fishing pole.”

  The only thing that could have made Christmas better was if my dad was passing out his gifts as well. I fell asleep happy for the family I had, but sad for the family I did not.

  31

  Flute

  IT WAS JUST AFTER LUNCH at school and Miss Lucy told us to take out our history books and homework. We were all busy getting out our supplies when Charlie yelled out, “The policemen are here. They just drove up.” He had gone to get his books by the window and saw them coming up the road.

  I got up and ran to the utility closet, got inside, and closed the door. I didn’t know what Miss Lucy would do. I heard the classroom door open and slam shut, then heard the cop ask, “Where’s that white boy? I hear he’s back here again.”

  I held my breath, slowly squatted down in the closet, and put my hand over my head. “No, sir,” Miss Lucy said, “he’s not here in class, as you can see.”

  I heard footsteps. “Kid, do you know where he is? Has he been here?” I didn’t know which student he was asking, and could only imagine a finger pointing to the closet. More footsteps. “He goes to school here, doesn’t he? Answer me, child.”

  “You’re scaring my students,” Miss Lucy said. “Please, they’re only children. I told you, he’s not here.”

  More stomping across the floor. My heart pounded as my eyes slammed shut, waiting for the door to be yanked open.

  “I’ll be back,” the cop said loudly. The front door slammed shut.

  I didn’t move.

  A couple of minutes later, the closet door opened and Miss Lucy looked down at me. “You can come out, Jory. They just drove away.”

  Some of the kids raised their arms and cheered. Then everyone clapped. I was proud no one turned me in. Miss Lucy said, “I think we should turn our chairs to face the windows so we can keep an eye out for visitors, don’t you?”

  Everyone yelled, “Yes!” and we did.

  Before school let out for the summer, the policemen returned on four different occasions. We were not always at school, but when we were, I hid, thanks to someone’s watchful eye.

  * * *

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nbsp; We took our report cards home. Lucilla was anxious to show Bess and Moses her grades, but Mayhew was anything but happy. Lucilla couldn’t wait and tried to show Moses in the boat on the way home. He said he’d look at it right when we got home. I looked at Mayhew, and he gave me a depressing look of dismay.

  As soon as Moses walked in the kitchen, Lucilla handed him her card. He sat at the table as Mayhew and I walked on by. “Hold on boys,” he said, “I want to see yours, too.”

  He was proud of Lucilla and made a fuss over her grades. She had earned all As except for a B in arithmetic. Moses looked at Mayhew and held his hand out. Mayhew slowly put the card in his hand. He had an A in conduct, but the rest were Cs and a D in arithmetic. Moses talked about the need to study harder, try harder, and not dislike school. He was diplomatic and never scolded Mayhew.

  “We need to work on the arithmetic,” Moses said.

  “Why? I will never be any good at anything. I ain’t even a grain of sand, so why do I need to know numbers?”

  Moses put his arm around Mayhew and rubbed his head. “Now, Mayhew, what in tarnation made you say such a thing, let alone feel that way? You are correct, you’re not a grain of sand. You, Lucilla, and Jory are the holes in the flute through which the music of life flows, and you are each responsible for the melody streaming from the flute. Mayhew, the musician doesn’t create beautiful music without study and ambition, and it’s all you need. And you have us here to help you.”

  Mayhew frowned. “I’m no flute—I’m nobody.”

  Moses squeezed him. “And if you were a nobody, do you think I’d love you this much?”

  “My dad’s a nobody.”

  “So that’s what this is about. Well, you listen to me, Mayhew. You are Mayhew, no one else but Mayhew. And guess who will determine what you become? That’s right, Mayhew. Your daddy determined what he became, and you will be the opposite. And we’re going to all help you. Isn’t that right?” He looked at Lucilla and me.

  Lucilla said, “Yup, we sure will.”