My Water Path

by Timothy Joseph

  The next morning, behind the newly broken windows of the newspaper office, three hatchets were found with notes attached, saying, “We will bury these in your skull.”

  The following newspaper had three pages of citizen responses to his article supporting the newspaper, a copy of the new hatchet threat, and a photo of the hatchets. Under the photo was a bold caption, “Retaliation Justice.” The article promised that if any newspaper staff were harmed, the newspaper and the FBI would hunt down and find those responsible.

  Again, the paper received and printed many positive responses, including three letters from unidentified private investigators saying they would offer their services to the newspaper free of charge. One said anytime the newspaper wanted an extensive file of KKK members and illegal activities, along with times, photos, and dates, they would be provided to the newspaper, for he had been collecting such information for some time.

  62

  Seeking Permission

  JULIE AND I WERE TOGETHER every day for the next month and a half, and it felt as if we had grown up together. We shared enough to know each other’s pasts as if we had lived them, and in many ways we had, only in different circumstances. I learned what she liked, what frightened her. I learned how much trouble her red hair had given her when she was young. I delved into who she was, and she did the same to me.

  Early Saturday morning, I took Julie to meet Moses, Bess, and Lucilla, and I couldn’t wait. Neither could she. It was only a shame Mayhew had to work and couldn’t go with us.

  I had called and asked if it was okay if I brought someone with me. We arrived just as the sun was rising—the sky orange and red. When Julie saw the houseboat there in the cove, she said it must have been a wonderful place to grow up. I told her how right she was.

  We walked onto the front deck. When I reached for the doorknob, Julie asked, “Shouldn’t you knock?”

  “This is my home. They would be offended if I knocked.”

  She grinned.

  I opened the door and we walked in. The lights were on in the kitchen, and with Julie in hand, I called, “I’m home, Grandpa, Grandma. I smell the coffee!”

  “Come on, son. Your coffee is ready,” Bess said as we reached the kitchen.

  Moses slid his chair out and stood. I gave him a hug. “Grandpa, this is Julie, my friend. Julie, this is my grandpa, Moses. And this is my Grandma, Bess.”

  Julie gave Moses a hug. “I’m so, so glad to meet you,” she said. “I know a lot about you both. Thank you for having me here.”

  “It is indeed an honor to meet you, Julie,” said Moses. “Anyone my boy cares for must be a person of high caliber. Welcome to our home—please make it yours.”

  Julie gave Bess a hug. “So happy to meet you, Bess.” She gestured to me. “Thanks to Jory here, I feel like you are my grandma, too.”

  Bess patted her on the back. “Well, I'll tell you what, child, why don’t we just make it so? Moses and I could use another granddaughter.” Bess let go and kissed Julie on the cheek. “Now you two sit yourselves down while I get you coffee and breakfast.”

  A few minutes later, Lucilla walked into the kitchen. Her eyes lit up when she saw me. “Hi, Jory.”

  I got up and gave her a hug. “Hi, sis. How’s it going? I want you to meet Julie. Julie, this is my sister, Lucilla.”

  Julie hugged Lucilla like she was a long lost friend. “Your brother has told me a bunch about you. I’m glad to finally meet you. He was so right, you are so very pretty.”

  We didn’t leave the kitchen for two hours. Julie told them all about her growing up, Fanny-Mae, her home, and her job with the paper, while Moses told her story after story of school, “Uncle” Jacob, the police, and us three kids. Bess and Lucilla added plenty of commentary. We laughed so hard we could hardly eat breakfast. We moved to the living room, and then to the front deck; there was so much to share.

  I took Julie to town with Lucilla, and drove to the dock, hoping maybe Jacob and Max were working. They were. Jacob saw the three of us walking up the ramp to the tug.

  “Hot damn!” he said loudly. “Jory!”

  He came to us, sweaty and exhausted, but his eyes were bright. “Hi, Lucilla. How ya doing, pretty girl?” She smiled and nodded at him.

  He looked at Julie just as he grabbed my forearm, our shared greeting. “And just who have we here?”

  “Julie, this is Jacob, and this is Max,” I said as the other man joined us. “Don’t believe a word they say.”

  As we left the tugboat over an hour later, Lucilla and Julie said their goodbyes and headed down the ramp. I felt Jacob’s hand on my shoulder and turned. He was giving me a thumbs-up.

  “She’s not only wonderful, she’s beautiful.” He punched my arm. “And it’s pretty damn obvious you be in love.” I smiled and nodded, then followed the girls down the ramp and tried to ignore how warm my ears were.

  I took two steps, turned back around (probably for some sarcastic reply I immediately forgot), and Max was standing next to Jacob, their arms on each other’s shoulder, sporting smiles that nearly tore their faces in two. I gave them both a thumbs-up.

  “Thank you, Jacob, Max…for everything.”

  Two thumbs, one white and one black, pointed up.

  * * *

  Bess, of course, had fixed chicken and dumplings for dinner, and we ate like starving maniacs. Afterward, we talked in the living room until I could see Moses was getting tired.

  “Julie,” Bess said, “I’ve prepared fresh beds for you and Lucilla in the boys’ room, and Jory, you can sleep in Lucilla’s room.”

  “Oh, I’ll sleep on the couch. Lucilla doesn’t have to give up her room.”

  Bess smiled. “It was Lucilla’s idea, not mine”.

  Julie gave Lucilla a sneaky look and said, “Does this mean you and I can talk about Jory?” Lucilla laughed.

  When Bess and Moses said they were going to bed, I couldn’t wait to hug them again. I hadn’t been getting my usual daily ration.

  I walked Julie to the front deck. The moonlight glistened off the ripples across the cove and created a sparkling highway on the surface of the water from the deck to the middle of the Mississippi River.

  “How peaceful the river is,” she said. “And to think, had it not been for a storm, we wouldn’t be sitting here today.”

  “The storm was my lucky day. I can close my eyes, Julie, and see as clear as if it happened yesterday. Moses, he saved my life then, and I don’t just mean from the storm.”

  “I know. He’s a wonderful man.”

  “He’s getting old. They both are.”

  We had known each other for only three months, yet I was on Moses’ deck, my deck, holding the hand of the person I wanted to be with for the rest of my life.

  “Jory?”

  I turned to see her looking at me.

  “I’m not going to try and fool myself or you—”

  “What do you mean?” I was afraid of what I might hear.

  “I love you,” she said in a flood of words. “Maybe it’s too fast, I don’t know, but I love you. You know that. I just love you. I never, ever thought I’d feel this way about anyone.”

  Goose bumps coved me. “Julie, heavens.” I scooted off my chair, knelt on one knee in front of her, and we hugged long and hard. She put her hands on my face and gently kissed me, kissed my cheek wet with tears.

  I blinked so I could see her face clearly in the moonlight. “Since I’m already on my knee”—she giggled nervously—“will you be my wife? Will you marry me, Julie?”

  Her eyes glistened. “Sure! Gosh! I mean, yes! Oh. I’m stammering.”

  We kissed more passionately than I thought possible; I shuddered in her arms.

  * * *

  The morning sunrise filled the sky with golden-bottomed clouds. Julie and Lucilla were still asleep. Moses had his coffee in front of him and Bess poured me a cup. She asked if we wanted breakfast, but Moses suggested we wait for the girls.

  That was when I decided to
go for it and said, “Grandpa, Grandma?” They looked up. “Would it be okay with you if I married Julie?”

  For a moment, nothing. Then Bess raised her hands to her mouth. “Oh, I’m so happy for you.”

  Moses smiled. “I knew you two were meant to be together not three minutes after I met her.”

  I smiled. “Last night, on the front deck, I asked Julie to marry me—she said yes.”

  They were ecstatic. We had talked for nearly an hour, nursing our coffees, when Julie and Lucilla came into the kitchen wearing nightgowns and drowsy gazes. Bess went quickly to Julie and grabbed her for a hug.

  “I’m so happy,” she said. “So happy.” Julie glanced at me. I rubbed my ring finger and she smiled. Bess let go and hugged Lucilla. “They are getting married, Lucilla.” Lucilla gasped with glee.

  * * *

  When we got home, Mayhew was there. We walked into the house and Julie ran to him and wrapped him in her arms. He looked at me in such confusion, I started laughing.

  “Mayhew, you’re going to have another sister,” she said. “We’re getting married, and like it or not, I’ll be able to push you around like a big sister is supposed to do.”

  His eyebrows flew to his hairline. “Hot dog!” he said. “Hot dog!”

  “Mayhew,” I said. “Will you be my best man?”

  “Really?” The confusion came back. “What about Russell? He’s such a good friend.”

  “He’s a good friend, but he’s not my brother.”

  I thought Mayhew’s bear hug was going to crush me.

  63

  To Dance

  HE WEDDING WAS LIKE NOTHING I COULD HAVE IMAGINED. Julie had many friends from the newspaper, and they had all wanted to help with the plans, decorations, you name it. On the day, Mayhew picked up Moses, Bess, Miss Lucy, and Lucilla (who Julie had chosen as her maid of honor), while Jacob brought with him Max, and Darleen from the marine office. What I didn’t know was that Julie had asked Moses to give her away, as she no longer had a father to ask. When I saw him arm and arm with Julie, walking slowly down the aisle, I tucked away the image forever in my mind.

  Reporters from the newspaper snapped photo after photo, and looking at all the colored and white people together, the entire occasion made me think of my dad. How I wanted him there in the front row, with my mom, smiling proud. But perhaps they were already there, in Moses and Bess.

  Russell had officers patrolling the area, for the KKK had tried numerous times to stop colored people from entering a church for whites. The reception was in the church basement.

  When Julie pulled a surprisingly flustered Moses to the dance floor and began to dance, I walked over to Bess. “Grandma?” I offered her my hand.

  Everyone watched as Julie and Moses, and Bess and I slowly danced. A few minutes later, we changed partners. I held in my arms my wife and best friend, as Moses and Bess, wife and best friend, danced as we did.

  * * *

  Much took place the next couple of years. We restored Julie’s home, thanks to Mayhew, Russell, and lots of effort from me, Julie, and hired carpenters. When it was finished, I moved everything from Dad’s house and her apartment into our new home. We sold Dad’s house and had a small cottage built next to the pond. One weekend, Mayhew, Lucilla, Julie, and I showed up at the houseboat. We ganged up on Moses and Bess and told them that, in a week, a mover was coming to pack their things, and I laid down a photo of the cottage and pond.

  “This is your new home,” I said.

  Before Moses could open his mouth, Mayhew said, “And Grandpa, Grandma, there’s nothing you can do about it.”

  “Nothing,” Lucilla, Julie, and I said at once.

  “But this has always been our home,” Moses protested. “And we will not be a burden to our children. Never.”

  I smiled wearily and told him I had purchased the property here on the cove, and we would always keep the boat, as a vacation cabin, and we could come back to visit anytime he wanted—all of us would. I told him how they were a burden because they lived three hours away, it was a pain in the butt to have to drive six hours—round trip—to have a cup of coffee with our Grandpa and Grandma, and it would be far easier on all of us with them in the cottage.

  Amid much grumbling from Moses, the move took place. Bess loved the new cottage, and so did Moses (though he wouldn’t admit it at first). We built a covered deck off the back of the cottage with a porch swing that looked out over the pond. It soon became a favorite place for Moses during the heat of the day. He would spend a lot of time there reading, or just swinging with Bess.

  I had a dock built with a deck at the end. The pond was full of bass and bluegill, and Moses could often be seen fishing. With a file, he removed the barb from any hook he used and would release anything he caught. “These fish aren’t for eating,” he said. “They’re my friends, only for catching.”

  In terms of a secret project I had been overseeing, it took many late evenings of work, and thanks to Russell’s help and three trips in his truck, we finished. I summoned Bess and Moses from the cottage one day, told them I had a surprise. They followed me into the house. I pointed to the door of the study. “It’s in there, Grandpa. Go ahead, go on in.”

  Moses opened the French doors, and his hands slowly went to his face as he gazed around like a blind man seeing the day. Bess had the same reaction.

  “Oh, my. For heaven’s sake, will you look at that?” Moses said, eyes glistening. “The Mills’ library, all Mr. Mills’ books in one place again, just like at the plantation.” He walked to a shelf and ran his fingers along the bindings. Shelf after shelf of books smiled back at him.

  * * *

  Lucilla soon graduated from college and started teaching. She insisted on paying back the tuition we had taken care of, and I told her if she paid back one dime, she’d lose a brother, for that was what family was for.

  Soon after we sold Dad’s house, we purchased a small filling station with two repair bays and told Mayhew it was his, and he’d just pay off the loan himself when he settled in. Shocked, he shook his head. “But…”

  “Hey.” I nudged him. “I have an ulterior motive. This means I never have to repair the cars again. That’s now your job. And free gas is kind of nice, too, right?”

  He shoved me back, laughing.

  * * *

  Julie wanted to sit by the pond one perfect fall evening. Holding her hand in mine, we watched the circle of ripples form all around us as bass grabbed mayflies from the surface.

  “Jory,” she said, “you need to learn how to change diapers.”

  Our first child was born in our second year of marriage. She was named Eliza Mae Sheppard, after the two most important women in Julie’s life: her mothers.

  Our son was born the following year, named the same way—Warren Moses Sheppard. He came into this world on April 4, 1968, a day of such joy and such sadness, for on that day, in Memphis, Tennessee, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.

  64

  Black Angel

  THE YEARS FLEW BY. Julie and I were active in every aspect of integration and civil rights. With Moses’ absolute insistence and an extra push by Julie, I ran for mayor. The newspaper endorsed me big time, and I won by a slight margin. This gave me more visibility. Windows were smashed in my car, threats were made, and rocks were tossed through windows in the courthouse downtown where my office was, because of statements I made or publications in the paper. Each time it happened, the News Sentinel published a front-page attack on what this said about the KKK. Russell and his buddies made sure our house was patrolled frequently, and I ensured that the police got funding for automobiles, staff, and equipment.

  One night, by sheer luck and sharp vigilance, one of Russell’s officers saw a known KKK truck with a plank sticking over the tailgate on his way home from his shift. He suspected it was a cross. He followed it in the direction of our home with his lights off and radioed Russell, who called and told me what he was planning. He told me to turn on all the
lights downstairs so they would think we were busy. He said he and two other cars were on the way with six officers. The kids were sleeping in their upstairs bedrooms at the back of the house, and Julie and I went to our bedroom window at the front, left the lights off, and peered out.

  We watched the truck slowly creep up the lane, and three men got out with shovels, while two others sat up in the back of the truck and took out the cross and bales of hay, along with a can of gasoline. They dug a hole and had the cross up in minutes. Just as they were placing the hay bales beneath the cross, the three police cars that had been slowly approaching in the dark instantly appeared in red lights, headlights, and blazing spotlights, but no sirens; Russell didn’t want to frighten the children.

  Russell’s car stopped directly in front of the truck, and another police car tucked in at the back so it could not move. Russell was out of the car and had his pistol drawn, and the other officers had rifles pointed at the five men before they could turn and run. We heard him demand they lie face down or he wouldn’t hesitate to blow their asses to hell. It was as bright as day with all the lights on them. Just as they all were face down, I saw him wave his arm high in the air. Another car sped up to the scene. Two men got out and started shooting photos. Julie recognized them as a reporter and photographer from the newspaper.

  Julie grabbed my arm, and we hurried outside. Russell was standing over one of them, his boot on the back of the man’s head. The man’s face was in the grass. “Boy, would I love to stand on one foot,” Russell said, and I saw him push hard on the man’s head. He was moaning.