“We have yeast.”
“I’m makin’ me up a batch of home-brew,” Jacob said in a tone that reminded Letty of Patrick when he was sulking.
“Oh. In that case I’ll get more yeast. Need anything else?”
“What I need is fer ya to get down off’n yore high horse ‘n’ act like . . . like . . . act decent-like,” he blurted, sloshing coffee in his saucer as he set his cup down with unnecessary force. “Ya know I ain’t a likin’ it when thin’s is in a twister like they is.”
Letty’s chin went up, her back straightened. She stared straight into her grandfather’s eyes.
“It was your doing, Grandpa.”
“It ain’t no such!”
“I’m going up and get dressed. I want to catch Wallace before he goes out on a call.”
“Wallace? Who’n hell’s that?”
“For crying out loud, Grandpa. He’s been your doctor for years.”
“Doc Hakes? Harumpt! Hell! How’d I know his name was . . . Wallace? You gettin’ cozy with him?”
“Maybe,” Letty threw the word back over her shoulder as she left the room.
* * *
Letty drove the buggy into the area behind the general store where two wagons were already parked.
While she was tying the horse to the hitching rail, Patrick kicked at the dirt with the toe of his shoe, sending dust over Helen’s white stockings. Without a word of complaint, Helen backed away and tried to wipe the dirt away with her handkerchief.
“Patrick!” Letty exclaimed, taking him by the shoulder and spinning him around. “There are times when I could shake you until your teeth rattle. I’m tired of your pouting and I’m tired of you being so inconsiderate to Helen. Apologize, right now.”
“Sorry,” he mumbled and raised dark, resentful eyes to his mother’s face. “I didn’t get to talk to Dolan.”
“That’s no excuse for acting like a spoiled brat.” Letty had been relieved that Mike was not in sight when they left the house. Jacob had hitched the horse to the buggy as he had done the mornings she drove to school.
“He won’t be there when I get back?”
“He’ll be there. I’ve told you that at least three times since we left home.” Letty grabbed her son’s hand and started for the street. Patrick’s steps lagged and she was forced to pull him along. When they reached the walk in front of the stores, she stopped and looked down at him. “You’re not going to ruin this day for Helen and me. You can straighten up and stop pouting, or I will spank you right here on the street, then you’ll go sit in the buggy and wait for us. The choice is yours.”
“I’ll . . . go,” he answered in a bored voice, but when they started walking again, he kept pace, knowing his mother would do exactly as she said.
Helen’s hand squeezed Letty’s tighter and tighter as they approached Doctor Hakes’s office. He had recently relocated in a small frame building at the end of Piedmont’s two-block business district.
“Helen?” Letty questioned gently. “What’s wrong, honey?”
“Will he make me stay here?”
“Of course not. What gave you that idea?”
“The sheriff come once and got me.”
“Honey, the sheriff wanted you to be where someone could take care of you. He’s not going to take you away from me,” Letty said firmly, then to herself, God, help me keep that promise.
A shiny new automobile was parked in front of Doctor Hakes’s office. He was standing beside it, grinning like a schoolboy. It was a side of him Letty had not seen during the five years she had known him.
“How do you like it?”
“You finally bought one,” Letty exclaimed. “I didn’t think you’d ever put poor Molly out to pasture.”
“She’s earned a rest.”
“Does it have a horn?” Patrick asked.
“Sure does. Right here on the side.” Doctor Hakes reached out and pushed down on a plunger atop the shiny brass horn.
“Oooh-gaa! Oooh-gaa!”
The blast was so loud that both Patrick and Helen jumped back, causing the doctor to laugh.
“I’m going to get an electric horn that works off the battery; then all I’ll have to do is press a button.”
“The car is beautiful, Wallace, but won’t you miss being able to sleep while Molly takes you home?” Letty asked teasingly as she ran her fingertips over the shiny black fender.
“Maybe, but you’ve got to keep up with the times.”
“I’ve seen cars like this but never one this new.”
“It’s a Model T. One of the best. It’s got electric headlights and curtains I can snap on in case of a heavy downpour. I can even fold the top back in nice weather and, Letty, look at this double windshield. It will tilt out to let the breeze through, or I can close it. When the glass breaks, I can take out the bolts and replace the whole thing.”
Letty’s smile broadened. “I hope you’re not planning on its breaking right away.”
“I’m not planning on it, but it could happen. There’s even a place on the back for a spare tire, and if I go on a trip, I can get a rack to attach to the running board to store luggage.” He rubbed dust from the hood with the sleeve of his coat. “I ordered it a month ago from Mr. Ford’s plant down in Kansas City. It came in on the train yesterday.”
“Who taught you to drive it?”
“The fellow that opened the gas station. It wasn’t hard. I bet you could do it. Want to try?”
“No! Heavens, no! Good grief. I’ll never forget the ride I took with Doctor Whittier when I first came out here. I was scared to death. Patrick, get off the running board. Don’t—”
“He isn’t hurting anything, Letty. Want to go for a ride? I promise not to scare you to death.”
“You mean ride in the . . . car?” Patrick’s eyes widened at the possibility.
“Why not?” Doctor Hakes opened the back door of the automobile and Patrick scrambled in.
“Keep your feet off the seat, Patrick,” Letty cautioned. “Move over and make room for Helen.”
Doctor Hakes, looking happier than Letty had ever seen him, put his hand beneath her elbow as she stepped up on the running board and into the car. The seats were springy and covered with something that looked like heavy, dark oilcloth.
Letty watched as Wallace moved a lever beneath the steering wheel and took the crank from behind the driver’s seat. The motor fired to life on the first twist and purred softly. Beaming, the doctor got behind the wheel, set the car in motion, and guided it down the street.
Letty turned to find Patrick standing behind her. “For goodness’ sake, Patrick. Sit down.”
“He’s all right, Letty. I’m not going fast.”
“It seems fast to me.”
“Yesterday I took her out on the road north of town and opened her up to forty miles an hour.” He looked at her and grinned like a naughty boy expecting to be chastised. He was not disappointed.
“Wallace Hakes! You’ll get yourself killed, is what you’ll do,” Letty said in her school-teacher voice.
“Would you care, Letty?” The doctor’s serious tone wiped the smile from Letty’s face. She glanced at him. He was staring straight ahead.
“Of course I would, Wallace,” she said seriously. Then with a bit of laughter in her voice, “If I got a good dose of poison ivy, I’d sure hate to go all the way to Boley to see Doc Whittier. He might want to take me for another ride in his touring car.”
They circled the town, and when they came back to the office, stopped.
“I’m goin’ to have me a car when I grow up,” Patrick announced. “I’m goin’ fast. Oooh-gaa! Oooh-gaa!” His mimic of the horn was loud in Letty’s ear.
“Mercy. There’s nothing wrong with that boy’s vocal cords,” she said as Doctor Hakes helped her out of the car.
“Most boys are fascinated by automobiles.”
“Including you.” Letty smiled at him. He held her elbow a moment longer than necessary. “I’d like to spea
k with you for a minute, Wallace,” she said softly, seriously.
“You feeling all right, Letty?”
“I’m fine.” Helen had taken Letty’s hand. She untangled it gently. “Will you keep an eye on Patrick for me, Helen?”
“They can sit in the car.”
“No. They might—”
“It’s all right. They can’t hurt a thing.” Doctor Hakes opened the office door and followed Letty inside. “Sit down, Letty. What’s on your mind?”
“Helen. The child is scared to death her father will come back and she’ll have to go with him. Wallace, I think he was mean to her and her mother.”
“There’s no think about it. I know he was. I saw the marks of a razor strop on Mrs. Weaver and I saw them on Helen.”
“I figured as much. She’s afraid of him. Is there any way I can keep her with me? I’m willing to keep her permanently.”
“You mean adopt her? Not without her father’s consent, and I don’t see him giving it. He’ll be out of jail any day now.”
“If he comes for her, do I have to let her go with him?”
“I’m afraid so. He’s her father.”
“Are you telling me the sheriff will let that . . . that jailbird take her away from a good, decent home and . . . and subject her to . . . I don’t know what?”
“Letty, the law is the law. The courts are very reluctant to take a child from its natural parent. The man can be a convicted bank robber or a no-good whiskey runner, but if he is willing to support the child and the child’s life is in no danger, there is not much we can do.”
“Even if he beats her?”
“He could say it was discipline.”
“Wallace! Whose side are you on?”
“I’m on your side and Helen’s side. I’m just pointing out what you’re up against.”
“You’re the county health officer, Wallace. Can’t you do anything?”
“I’ll write to Mrs. Knight. The governor appointed her to handle cases such as this. She may listen to my recommendation, and then again, she may not.”
“Helen almost went into hysterics one day when . . . I had a little trouble with Oscar Phillips. He grabbed my arm and Helen screamed and screamed.”
“Phillips bothering you?”
“Just that one time. I doubt he’ll do it again.”
“He’s not much good, but he takes care of his kids,” the doctor added drily.
“I’m glad to hear that. What about Helen, Wallace? You know she’s better off with me—”
“I know that. I’ll do what I can.” The door opened and Doctor Hakes stood. “Hello, Mrs. Crews.”
“Hello, Doctor Hakes. I feel so poorly this morning, I had to come. My back has been killing me of late. If you’re busy, I’ll just sit and wait till you’re through with Mrs. Graham.” Mrs. Crews lowered her immense bulk onto a chair. The eyes of the barrel-shaped woman looked like small black buttons in her fat face. They shifted from Letty to the doctor and back again. “I saw you gettin’ a joy ride in Doc’s new car.”
Letty stood. “Yes. It was a treat.”
“You still got the Weaver girl?”
“She was in the car. Didn’t you recognize her?”
“Was that her? Reckon I never seen her so spruced up.”
“I’ll be going. Goodbye, Mrs. Crews. Thank you, Doctor Hakes, for the ride and the . . . advice.”
“Goodbye, Mrs. Graham. Tell Jacob I’ll be out soon.”
Letty stood on the porch outside the door and called to Patrick and Helen. Mrs. Crews was a gossiping old biddy, and before the day was over, everyone in town who hadn’t seen her in the car with Wallace would know about it. Helen came to Letty immediately and took her hand. Patrick, however, had to he pried away from the car.
“How about dinner at the Cattleman Cafe?” Letty had read the menu posted outside when they passed and knew they could get a plate lunch there for fifteen cents.
“I ain’t never eat in no cafe.” Helen looked up at Letty with a bright smile.
“I have never eaten in a cafe,” Letty corrected gently.
“You ain’t—” Letty squeezed Patrick’s hand hard and glared down at him. He felt his mother’s displeasure, swallowed the rest of his disparaging remark, and asked, “After we eat can I get a soda pop?”
“I think so. What do you want, Helen? You can have a soda pop or an ice cream.”
“I don’t care.”
By the middle of the afternoon Patrick was tired and whining to go home. Helen, ever patient and uncomplaining, trailed along beside Letty as she looked over the dry goods in the stores, selected a piece of dress goods, bought thread and ribbon, and thumbed through the pattern books.
It was an effort for Letty to keep her mind away from the farm. Had she prepared enough food for the noon and night meals? Had Grandpa filled the water jars and taken them to the field? Oh, Lordy! She had never in the world thought she would see Mike Dolan again. He had turned her life completely upside down. He hadn’t wanted her five years ago. He didn’t want her now. It was Patrick he was interested in. Damn him. He was the reason she was here in town trying to kill the day.
Before heading for the general store to buy groceries, Letty and Helen waited on the walk in front of the bank while Patrick went behind the building to the public toilet to relieve himself. When he returned they went up the steps and into the mercantile.
“Hello, Mrs. Graham. How are you and young Patrick? Jacob doin’ all right?” Mr. Howard, who owned one of the two grocery stores in town, was a pleasant but shrewd businessman. He always called his customers by name and usually inquired about the health of a family member.
“We’re all fine, Mr. Howard. How’s Mrs. Howard?”
“Good. Real good. Did I see you go by in Doc Hakes’s new Ford car?”
“Yes, he gave us a ride around town. I have a list.” Letty dug into the bag hanging on her arm and brought out a folded paper. “While you’re filling it, I’ll look around. There may be something I forgot to write down.”
“You just go right ahead. Let me see now. Peaches, cornmeal, yeast—” Mr. Howard paused and looked at her over the tops of his spectacles. “I’m sellin’ lots of yeast lately. Haw! Haw! Haw! Folks must be eatin’ nothin’ but bread.”
Letty removed the wooden lid from the candy jar, took out a handful of peppermint sticks, counted them, and handed one each to Patrick and Helen.
“Add ten candy sticks to the bill, Mr. Howard.”
“Sure thing. Got your slips for the sugar? They’re sayin’ by summer we won’t be rationing it no more. Be fine with me. I do hate to turn down a body ’cause they don’t have the slips. Hear her pa’s gettin’ out soon,” he said, tilting his head toward the front of the store where Helen and Patrick stood looking out the door.
“Shh . . .” Letty cautioned, shaking her head.
“Well, now—” Mr. Howard’s face had reddened.
“I don’t want her to know. She’s scared to death of her father.”
“Well, now,” he said again, “I reckon I did hear somethin’ ’bout him bein’ downright mean to his family. Did the little’un say much about it?”
“Hardly anything, but I could tell.”
Mr. Howard waited to see if Letty would say more. When she didn’t, he reached behind him and brought down a box from the shelf.
“Here’s the large box a starch. The bottle a bluing and the sulphur matches is right over here. Mrs. Graham, you got on here a five-gallon can of coal oil. Did you bring the can to exchange?”
“It’s in the buggy.”
“You can pull right up to the back door, Mrs. Graham, and I’ll carry out your order. I got a good price on a hundred pounds of chicken feed,” he said hopefully and named a price.
“I’ll take it. I don’t need it now, but it’ll keep. Add a jug of molasses, and four pounds of raisins. How much is this little bank, Mr. Howard?” Letty ran her fingers over the small iron figure of a hunter holding a rifle and a bear st
anding upright just inches away. When a penny was placed in the right position on the gun barrel and a lever pulled, the rifle would shoot the coin into the bear.
“I’d have to have eighty-five cents for it.”
“Put it in a sack so Patrick won’t see it. Tomorrow is his birthday.”
“He’ll be plumb tickled, I know.”
When everything was boxed, the bill tallied and signed for, Letty called to the children. They went to where they had parked the buggy. After leading the patient horse to the water tank, Letty drove to the back of the store and Mr. Howard loaded her purchases.
“Come again, Mrs. Graham.”
“Thank you, I will.”
On the way out of town, Patrick said, “I’m goin’ to ride on the drag with Dolan when I get home.”
“We’re going to see the Pierces first.”
“Why? I want to go home—”
“Can I play with Celia?” Helen asked.
“If Celia wants to play.”
“They ain’t got no little boys at Pierces.”
“They don’t have any little boys. I’ll swear, Patrick, you’ve tried my patience today. I’m sure you can find something to do while I visit with Oleta and Mrs. Pierce.”
“They got puppies,” Helen said hesitantly.
“Who said?” Patrick demanded.
“Celia.”
“She don’t know nothin’. She’s a girl,” Patrick said sullenly, crossed his arms over his chest, stuck out his lip, and sank down in the seat.
Letty gritted her teeth.
* * *
“Stay for the singin’, Letty,” Oleta begged. “Please stay. The Watkinses and the Tarrs are comin’. Sharon is bringin’ her mandolin.”
“It’ll be too late—”
“Harry will drive you home. Oh, please say you’ll stay. We’ll have enough for a square dance.”
Letty thought about it. She had told Grandpa about the singing. He would know that they were all right and that some of the neighbors would see them home. It would give her a few more hours before she had to face Mike again.
“All right, we’ll stay. But I don’t want you peeved at me when Harry leaves to drive me home.”
“I won’t.” Oleta leaned toward her and whispered, “ ’Cause he’ll be back.”
Ribbon in the Sky Page 14
