Lily jumps off the couch and points. “I love you more than I ever have!”
Twisting around on the sofa, May grabs onto the back of it. “Gee Sable, I’m terribly sorry you had to go through all that for me. But I’m glad you did!”
Sable adjusts her glasses to gain control of herself. “Don’t be too glad. Your Father is on his way right this minute to gather you up.”
Peter leaps from the sofa like it licked him. “Right this very minute?”
“I’d say so. There isn’t much time!”
Hank turns to Gertie, “This looks like goodbye. But I’ll be calling you.” He doesn’t ask if that’s okay.
It’s not for lack of moxie that I walk to ask May, “Can I call on you tomorrow afternoon?” It’s out of respect and because I can’t chance her playing hard to get with so little time on my hands. “You see, the fair is in town and I sure would like to take you.”
Her smile lights up the world, then fades. “Oh but...I’m not sure how Mother will...you know what? Never mind. I’ll be there. I’m not sure how I’ll manage but perhaps I can talk her into it. In fact, I know I can!”
“You sure?”
“Yes!”
Hank grabs my arm to hurry me up. “Say everybody, that’s a swell idea. How ‘bout we all go?”
I look at him as the room all but cheers, the answer a resounding affirmative.
Peter and Marv walk out with us as Hank says, “It’s settled then! We’ll meet you gals by the Ferris wheel at three o’clock sharp!”
As soon as we’re out the door, the four of us break into a run, jumping into two vehicles.
I ask Hank with the choice to turn left or right before me, “Do you know which way May lives?”
“I sure don’t. But if you go right that’s more toward the warehouses, less of a chance that you’ll drive past her father.”
I turn the wheel and stamp the gas pedal.
He chuckles, “How’d you like that Ferris wheel idea?”
Headlights from a Ford passing us on the other side make us tense, but it’s a woman driver, so I relax and tell him, “I was hoping to spend some time alone with May since I have so little time.”
“I could see that. Heck, anybody could!” He swats my arm but I keep my eyes on the road. “Only now she doesn’t have to convince her Mother to let her go! She’ll be with her girlfriends and what Mother would say no to that?”
My eyebrows fly up. “Well look at you.”
“Smart, huh?”
“Looks like you’ve grown up after all.”
Hank laughs, “With you gone so long, someone had to fill your shoes!”
10
MAY
“M ay, perhaps you better get away from the door,” Gertie warns me.
But I want to watch him drive off, and the convertible makes that easy. “Isn’t he dreamy?”
“May, be sensible!”
“Oh alright,” I sigh, rejoining my friends as if it’s been just the four of us all night long. He’s disappeared anyhow. No use staring at the night sky that’s not the same without him watching it with me. And I won’t let the lonely feeling I just had at his absence creep in. Strangest thing.
Lily leans back, delicately picking at a sandwich. “I’d say that brother of his has some big ideas, hasn’t he?”
Gertie blushes, and turns to me, not wanting to be teased. She doesn’t have the disposition for it. “Say, do you think your Father can give me a ride home?” The telephone rings and we all look over. “That might be my mother now.”
Lily rolls her eyes. “It isn’t mine. She wouldn’t wonder where I was unless I held a bottle in my hand.”
Sable exchanges glances with Gertie and I before she lifts the receiver to answer, “Hello?”
“Why yes, Mrs. Felts, Gertie is here. I’m looking right at her.”
I whisper, “We can drive you, too, Lily, if you need.”
“No thanks. Home is the last place I want to be.”
“We’re having sandwiches, and tea, and a real grown-up night. The dance sure was a yawn. I hope Sister Charlotte didn’t give you any cause to worry about us.” Pause. “Oh no, I sent those boys away as soon as they did us the favor of bringing us home. You see, my parents are away and I can’t have male company.” As she listens to Gertie’s mother say something, Sable sticks her tongue out at Lily. “Well that would do just fine. I’ll tell her. Goodnight Mrs. Felts.”
“What will do just fine?” Gertie asks as Sable hangs up.
Lily interrupts, “I do declare, you are a piece of work!”
“One thing you don’t seem to know about me, Lily Marie Marlow, is that I am loyal as the day is long. Lying isn’t such a big deal if it saves your friends from getting into a jam. As long as the lie isn’t about something awful. I would never lie about stealing, or hurting someone’s property, or—”
“—I thought having boys here when your parents were gone was an atrocity!”
“I will not take your bait! You know very well what I mean!”
“Do I?” Lily smiles and tosses a bit of bread at her head.
Sable swats it away and we all look toward the sound of a car coming up the driveway.
“That’s Father. Are you coming, Gertie?”
“That all depends. What did my Mother say?”
“She said you could stay another half hour if you’d like. Your Father will pick you up then, and I agreed. But if you’d rather go with May.”
I look back, expecting her company and disappointed when I see her sit down in the chair. “You aren't coming?”
“I’d like to stay a little longer, if it’s all the same to you. You don’t mind, do you, May?”
“No, I guess it’s alright.”
Lily tosses bread at me next. “Don’t look so disappointed. We’ll be seeing you tomorrow at the fair. And Marvin will be driving Sable crazy, mooning after her and all. It’ll be a riot. You’ll see.”
My Father’s knock quiets us all.
Gertie whispers, “He sounds mad.”
I force a smile on my face, swinging open the door. He sure left home in a hurry because his sweater vest is buttoned wrong, the wide bottom hem not matching up like it’s meant to. “May Eloise, do you know what a state you’ve gotten your Mother into?”
“I’m awful sorry, Daddy.”
He throws his arm to point at his Ford. As I walk past him, my friends wish me, “Goodnight May!”
It sure was one.
I hurry along, throwing a quick wave behind me. When Father climbs in and starts the pickup, I rest my hands in my lap and wait. He’s a quiet man, but when he’s mad that quality forgets it knows him.
“May Eloise! What in Sam Hill possessed you to leave that dance without calling? You put your Mother in a state. And what’s this I hear about you leaving with four boys?”
With my ears ringing, I keep my eyes on the road. Someone’s got to.
“Gee, I hardly thought it was anything to worry about. They only gave us a ride, and didn’t stay or even come inside. I’d never been in that situation before, so I didn’t see the harm in it.”
“No, you wouldn’t,” he grumbles, silent the rest of the way.
I expect him to grumble about our home being just as good as anyone else’s home, when we park the car. Sable’s is two times the size, and he always remarks on it. Not tonight.
The keys are absolutely yanked from the ignition.
Oh goodness.
I’m in an awful mess, aren’t I?
The fair tomorrow.
What if I’m forbidden to go?
11
JERALD
We stroll into a sitting room lit by the black and white static of a program schedule long gone. Pops was the first of his friends to buy a television set. He believes it’s the next big thing. Bigger than radio. I turn the knob and the room goes black. Been a bit too quiet and dark around here since Pops had that heart attack. Worried Ma, us, and half of Congress.
I fl
ip on a lamp, adjusting the shade from nearly knocking it over in my haste as Hank tosses his hat on the coffee table and quietly asks, “Evening Pops, fall asleep in front of the television?”
He rouses, blinking his exhaustion away. “You boys home? Have a good time?”
“Sure did,” Hank grins. “Where’s Ma hiding?”
“She doesn’t appreciate television. Prefers to read. Says she can’t...”
We all say, “Bear the racket!”
“Your Mother is old fashioned, boys, you know that.”
Hank sits on the sofa’s arm.
I stand with mine crossed. “Say Pop, how ya feelin? Any better?”
His eyes don’t match, “Better every day, Jerald better every day!” He glances between us, sees we’d prefer the truth, and sighs, “I’m tired, but that’s to be expected. The doctor assures me surviving one heart attack means your chances of living past another are higher.”
Hank rubs his head, “Listen here! You need to take better care of yourself!”
“He’s right, Pops. We want you sticking around.”
“Speaking of that. What time is your plane leaving again?”
“Monday at fourteen hundred hours.”
He smiles, “Two o’clock to us non-military folk then.”
“I can drive him, Pops!”
“I’d say not, Hank. Let you drive my car?”
“I’m old enough.”
“In years maybe”
Hank glowers at first, but quickly remembers how close we were to being fatherless. “If you’re tired, is all I’m saying. I’m ready and able, despite what you might think of me. And I would be happy to take Jer. Not happy to see him go, but you get the idea.”
“Yes, son, I do.” He closes his eyes, showing his age.
Hank and I stare at him as his mouth slackens with sleep. I jerk my chin to the stairs and my brother nods, quietly disembarking the sofa-arm and following me up to our rooms. I toss my hat on a hook by the front door. We watch to see if it catches. It always does. Hank slaps my shoulder with approval, saying, “No matter how much I try, mine always falls! You say it’s in the wrist. I think it’s in the attitude.”
The creak of the final stair brings our Mother’s voice around. “Raymond? Is that you?”
“No, Ma, it’s Hank and me.”
“Oh, you’re home. Come visit with me a moment!”
We stroll in to find her sitting up in bed, long-sleeved green nightgown matching the scarf knotted around her pin curls. The book is still opened in her hands.
As I inherited her love of them I ask, “Whatcha readin?” before we even walk in.
“How did you know I was... oh, you’ve spoken with your Father. Is he coming to bed?”
Hank clears his throat. “Still watching his show, I’m afraid. Should be up soon.”
Let Pops rest, that’s the general idea. If he came up here now, she’d want to tell him about her romance novel. And that wouldn’t do. The man has to get well, not aggravated. Especially not by what he calls ‘poppycock.’
Ma holds up her novel to answer my question, happy someone wants to know, “It’s called Gone With The Wind.”
Hank asks, “The movie? I didn’t see it.”
“That came out when I was a senior. That had to be what, 1940? You were only thirteen at the time, so why would you?”
He looks at me. “Has it been that long?”
“Feels more like ten years to me.”
Ma swats the air to offer her opinion. “You know I don’t like moving picture shows. But I cannot believe I hadn’t yet read this.” She looks at the pages. “Perhaps because of all the fuss. Tillie and Jane both have and cannot believe it, either. You know it takes place in Georgia? During the civil war, but in Georgia just the same. Nice to read about our state. Makes it that much more real.”
I plant my shoe on the chest at the end of her bed. “I know of the book, Mother. Though can’t say I’ve read it. And I certainly didn’t see the film, though the girl I was dating at the time wanted to.”
“Why don’t you take it with you, Jer?” Hank grins and swats my arm. “I’ll give you ten dollars if you take that book on the submarine and show the fellas what you’ve got in your bunk!”
“Ten dollars. That’s a steep bet.”
“Enough to make a fella think!”
I chuckle, “You keep your savings. I’m in the middle of reading a book of my own. And I would’ve been farther along if you hadn’t talked me into coming to your dumb dance.”
“Oh dumb dance, was it? You weren’t complaining when you were falling all over May Kearns, now, were you?”
Ma perks up, closing the novel with a finger holding her place. “What’s this now? Who is May Kearns?”
“Pipe down, Hank,” I grumble. But it’s no use. Neither one of them will let go of a subject once it’s live.
“May is a sweet girl, Mother, with bright blue eyes and hair like the sun.” He bats his eyes.
I laugh, shaking my head. “You’re something else.”
“Too poetic for you, Jer? From the looks of things, you were over the moon for her and could do much better in the poetry department if you just opened your mouth and said something about her.”
“Sun. Moon. The way you talk. Which is it?”
“I’ll tell ya what. You pick! Which better describes her, Jer, the sun or the moon?”
Ma sighs, “The only good side of your Father’s predicament is it brought you home. I so miss seeing you boys tease one another. It feels empty and quiet without you here, Jerald. Sometimes I can’t bear it.”
Hank doesn’t argue, and I expected him to make a joke at my expense and keep the mood light. Instead, he shoves his hands in his pockets and rubs the floor with his heel.
Mother pointedly asks, “Is she a nice girl, Jerald?”
“Very nice.”
“And you fancy her?” At my silence she smiles, “I’d like to meet this May.”
“Oh, I don’t know...”
“Well, why shouldn’t I meet her?”
Hank grins at me. “Yeah, Jer, why shouldn’t she?”
“Well, on account of...” I drop my gaze.
“What is it, son? Don’t be glum about it. I am curious who has captured your interest. Can’t think of another time a girl has. Can you, Hank? Or do you know something I don’t. A boy doesn’t tell his mother everything, there isn’t any doubt about that!”
Hank has a gleam in his eye. He knows about the girls I’ve spent occasional and very temporary time with overseas. It was the very first thing he asked to know about, and I was happy to tell him. But that’s the type that happens with a sailor when he’s in foreign countries, especially at wartime, and those dames weren’t the kind you bring home to meet your folks.
As for back here in Georgia, she’s right.
“Are you seeing her again?”
“Perhaps.”
“Would you like to?”
“Perhaps.”
She smacks the blanket. “Jerald Daniel, stop being wishy-washy. If there’s one thing a Cocker isn’t, it’s that!”
“I’m not, Ma. Just private is all.”
“Well that won’t do either!”
Hank winks at me. I curl my lip in return.
Ma knows she won’t get anywhere with me now that I’ve dug my heels in, and she waves me away. “Go on now! I thought your father could aggravate me, but you’re worse.” As we head out she grumbles loud enough to make sure we hear, “Nobody tells me anything anymore!”
In the hall beside a painting of our great-great-grandfather, I sock Hank’s arm and he grabs it, laughing silently and heading off to his room.
In my room, I undress, thinking to myself that I just might do some reading.
Little do I know there’s a blue-eyed gal named May who’ll refuse to let me concentrate.
12
MAY
T he conversation with Mother last night went terribly. I took lessons from Sable and
lied through my teeth the entire time, saying again and again that no boy set foot in that house, cross my heart and hope to die!
She had enough of being angry and sent me to bed. But today I’m getting the silent treatment something awful and it sure is eating at me.
All through breakfast and lunch she talked with Father, and to Matthew and Margaret — the children here with us through the weekend — but when I asked a question she plain ignored me.
If I didn’t know I was guilty I’d be furious. As it stands, I am frustrated, and have gone up to my room where I can scream into my pillow.
A knock startles me, and I call out, “Come in!”
Lily walks in, making me sit bolt upright, hands clutching my poor pillow. She puts a finger to her lips and says loudly, “Oh May, I’m so glad I found you! You have to come quick!” closing the door the next second and whispering, “Did you tell your folks about the fair?” I shake my head. “Good!” In a louder-than-normal voice she says with convincing emotion, “My mom has gone into the hospital and I need to take care of my little brother, Tommy. Only I want to be with her, and he needs a baby sitter, see? Could you help me out? It would mean the world!”
“Of course!” I answer, also loudly before I whisper, “What gives?”
She whispers back, “Gertie took a wild guess that there was no way Mrs. Kearns would let you come to the fair, so we invented a scheme!”
I jump off the bed and run to put a better dress on.
Lily follows me, grabbing my arm. “No, silly, you’ll give it away if you look too good!”
“Perhaps you’re right,” I frown, “But I want to look good for…” I tilt my head rather than say his name aloud.
Lily announces, “Tommy doesn’t care how you look! Forget about that, and let’s go!” She whispers, “And this is very becoming on you. Besides, May, don’t underestimate the power of a girl’s smile. It’s her greatest asset!”
May Cocker (Cocker Brothers Book 24) Page 4
