THE HOMEPLACE

by Gilbert, Morris

  Elizabeth was glad to see the excitement in her husband’s eyes. He had always been this way, excited about opportunities, whether small or large, and his eagerness had drawn her to him in the first place.

  But she was the cautious one, and now she said gently, “But where are we going to get the money to do all that?”

  “I’m going into the bank to borrow it tomorrow. Too late today.”

  “But this seems like a bad time for a thing like this.”

  Forrest lifted his eyebrows with surprise. “A bad time? No, it’s a great time! This opportunity is right before us, sweetheart, and I need to grab it. I may never get another chance to get into the big time.”

  Elizabeth kept her tone gentle. “But things are so unsteady. There’s something in the paper almost every day about the market going up and then coming down. No one knows what’s going to happen.”

  “No matter what happens to those stocks and bonds, we’re going to need lumber, and I can make enough in a year if I get more equipment and hire some good men. I could pay it off quick and then I’ll have money to do some things for you.”

  “I don’t need anything. Really.”

  “Don’t need anything?! Why, you need one of those new gas cook-stoves,” Forrest said. “I’m tired of watchin’ you struggle with all those heavy chunks of wood.”

  “You know I don’t mind that.”

  “I know you don’t, but I hate to see you have to work so hard. And like I said, the kids are going to need things too. Clothes for school, and first thing you know, Lanie’ll be needing to go to college, and we couldn’t afford to send her the way things are.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s gonna be great, Elizabeth, you’ll see.”

  Elizabeth saw that he was caught up with the thing. “Maybe we need to think about it, not rush into it.”

  “There are two more guys waiting to jump on this contract with Mr. Langley. First come, first served.”

  Weariness settled over Elizabeth. Fatigue was not a familiar part of her life. She worked hard, bore her children, and had always been blessed with strength, but this child she carried sapped all her energy. She smiled as best she could and put her hand on Forrest’s cheek. “Well, I see you want to do this thing. We’ll just pray that it will work out.”

  “It’ll work out,” Forrest said. “Now where’s Lanie?”

  “I think she’s outside gathering vegetables.”

  “I’m going to tell her about this. And I’m going to take her to the bank with me tomorrow.”

  “To the bank?”

  “Yes. I want to start doing more things with the kids.”

  Forrest jumped up and left the room, and Elizabeth watched him go, not sure Forrest’s plan was the right thing to do.

  School lasted for an eternity, or so it seemed to Lanie. She wore her best dress, and many people noticed. Victor Sixkiller, the vet’s son, grinned at her, his teeth white against his copper skin. “You look all dressed up to go to a funeral, Lanie. What’s the occasion?”

  “My daddy’s taking me out to eat at the restaurant. We’re going out to do some business,” she said importantly.

  Victor’s eyes widened. “The only time my dad lets me help him is to clean up the mess there at his office.”

  In English class, Miss Dunsmore stared at her for a moment and then smiled. “You look so pretty, Lanie. Is that a new dress?”

  “Oh, no, I’ve had it a while. I’m leaving school at noon today.

  Daddy and I are going to do some things and then going out to eat together.”

  “That’s wonderful! Is it a reward of some kind?”

  “No, he said it was because I’ve worked so hard all this year.”

  “Well, he’s exactly right. You have worked hard.”

  Helen Langley rolled her eyes at Lanie but said nothing about her dress. Her brother Roger looked at Lanie and winked. “You’re lookin’ good today, Lanie.”

  “Thank you, Roger.”

  “You still pushing me with those grades? Now, you don’t want to beat me for the grand award. It wouldn’t look right for a freshman to beat a senior.” He saw Lanie’s smile disappear and he laughed. “That’s all right. You do your best, Lanie.”

  She finally got through her classes and at noon went outside, where her father was waiting. “I cleaned up the seat of the old truck so it wouldn’t get your dress dirty,” he said as she got in. “Try to look as smart as you can because we’ve got to convince Miss Effie to let us have a bunch of money.”

  “Do you think she will?”

  “We won’t know until we try, but I think we’ve got a good chance.”

  Planter’s Bank was located on the corner of North Bedford Forest Avenue and Main Street. The sturdy-looking red-brick building had been built right after the Civil War. It stood opposite the town square and the courthouse.

  As the two of them entered, Lanie looked around the bank. Along one side of the open floor was a row of tellers’ cages, each shielded by a thin grillwork. To the right were tall tables, containing inkwells and pens. Several desks for the loan officers sat to the left. A door had a placard on it that said “President.”

  “Hello, Lanie.” Lanie turned to see Cora Johnson smiling at her. She was sitting at one of the desks and got up at once. “It’s so good to see you.”

  “Hello, Miss Johnson.” Cora Johnson was once Lanie’s Sunday school teacher, and Lanie had always liked her. Cora was the younger sister of the bank’s president, Effie Johnson. Their father died when Cora was just a baby, and Effie took over the bank and kept it running.

  “How are you, Mr. Freeman?”

  “Fine. We’d like to see Miss Effie if she’s not busy.”

  “I don’t think she is. Let me go check.”

  Cora walked to the back. She was an attractive woman of thirty-five with light brown hair and soft brown eyes. Lanie had always envied Cora’s beautiful complexion, but not the ugly clothes that hid the woman’s trim figure.

  Cora soon returned. “Come in, Mr. Forrest, and you too, Lanie.”

  The two entered, and Cora closed the door behind them. “Howdy, Miss Effie,” Forrest said. “I see you know my oldest girl, Lanie.”

  “Of course I do. I see her every Sunday at church.” Effie Johnson was a tall woman, gaunt and stern. She had steel gray hair, and her eyes were sharp and quick. She was all business as a rule. She was also a staunch Baptist. If she had been a man, she would have been a deacon, but since Baptists didn’t allow women to be deacons, she pretty well managed church things without any office. She was on every committee, and because she was smarter than most of the men, she usually got what she wanted. It was fortunate for the church that she was a good woman, always on the side of right. “I hear you’re setting records at school, Lanie.

  I’m always glad to hear that.”

  “Thank you, Miss Johnson. I’m trying hard.”

  A rare smile touched Effie Johnson’s face. “All of us at the church are very proud of you. Hope you win the grand award.”

  Then Effie’s face resumed its stern expression. She motioned for them to sit. “What can I do for you today, Brother Freeman?”

  Forrest began nervously. He twisted his hat around in his big hands and talked, describing his good opportunity. When he had laid it all out, he said, “So I need to borrow enough money to buy some new equipment and to hire some new hands. It’s really a great opportunity, Miss Effie.”

  “Well, Brother Freeman, this is not the best time to plunge into a new venture. You’ve read the papers. Things are very unsteady in the business world.”

  “Yes, ma’am, I know that, but this is a sure thing. You know Mr. Langley. He’s not going to let anything bad happen. Those trees are solid enough, and there’s always going to be a market for lumber. Mr. Langley wouldn’t be paying to cut them down if he didn’t think he could sell the timber.”

  “I’m sure Mr. Langley knows his business, but as I see it, he’s not risking anything, and you would be risking almo
st everything.”

  “I don’t understand you, Miss Effie.”

  “Well, this is a large sum of money you’re talking about. Do you have any collateral?”

  “Just my place.”

  “But that could be dangerous. You could lose it. You’ve got about five acres there, haven’t you?”

  “Yes, ma’am, that’s right.”

  “Why don’t you sell it all off except the lot that your house is on? The town is expanding that way. You could chop it into lots and sell them off individually.”

  Forrest’s discomfort showed in his hat, now nearly wrung into uselessness. “I don’t think I’d care to do that, ma’am. You see, that’s the last of the plantation that my great-grandpa owned. He had to start sellin’ it off after the war, and now all we’ve got left of it is the five acres.”

  Effie Johnson studied the man and the girl. She knew the family well. They were good people, and it was for this reason she hesitated. She knew the world of business and was disturbed about the economic winds blowing across the country. No one in Fairhope knew better than she how fragile was the structure that held the economic side of America together. Finally she said, “I would advise against this, Brother Freeman. Things could turn very bad.”

  Forrest looked down at his feet, and when he looked up, anxiety creased his face. “I would appreciate it if you would help me with this, Miss Effie. A fellow like me doesn’t have many chances, and this is the only one that I see comin’ my way.”

  Effie Johnson sighed. “Very well. I’ll have the papers drawn up. I’ll have the survey done on your property. You’ll have to sign a paper, and you know that if you can’t make your payments, we would have to take action. It’s not something I’d like to do, especially with a fellow believer, but I’m responsible to the depositors.”

  “You won’t have to worry about that,” Forrest said with relief. “We can do it! I’m a hard worker, Miss Effie, you know that.”

  “I know that, Brother Freeman, otherwise I wouldn’t even consider the loan. Well, come back tomorrow, and I’ll have the papers ready. I think I can get Mr. Bruten to do the survey. It’s a simple enough matter.”

  “I sure do thank you, ma’am. I really do.”

  “I hope I’m doing you a favor,” Effie said. She rose and extended her hand. Her hand was swallowed by Forrest’s, and she felt the strength and the hardness of his palm. Lord, I hope I’m doing the right thing. “You keep up the good work, Lanie. I’m very proud of you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am,” Lanie said.

  Forrest and Lanie left the office. “Everything go all right?” Cora asked from her desk.

  “Just fine.” Forrest smiled down at her. “Me and this girl are going to go into business in a big way.”

  “I’m glad to hear it.” Cora smiled, and her whole face lit up.

  The Dew Drop Inn occupied the corner of Robert E. Lee Avenue and Main Street. Windows lined two sides and red-and-white-checkered cloths covered the tables. As it was the only place to eat in Fairhope, it did a brisk business.

  Forrest and Lanie were greeted by Myrtle Poindexter—Sister Myrtle as she was called by everyone in Fairhope, a title given to her as pastor of the Fire Baptized Pentecostal Church on the edge of town. She was a big woman with leather lungs who greeted strangers with, “Well, sister or brother, have you been saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost?”

  Many first-time visitors to the Dew Drop Inn were shocked beyond bounds, but none of this troubled Sister Myrtle.

  “Well, praise God, praise the Lord O my soul, if it ain’t Brother Forrest and Sister Lanie! Come in and set down and tell me what the good Lord’s done for you today.”

  Forrest grinned and said, “The Lord’s been real good to us today, Sister Myrtle. I’m bringin’ this pretty young lady out to celebrate.”

  “Well, you set yourselves down right here.” Sister Myrtle’s voice filled the café so that the other customers were part of the conversation whether they joined in or not.

  “Howdy, Forrest!” Charlie Poindexter came out of the kitchen wearing a white apron and a St. Louis Cardinals baseball cap. “What’s happenin’?” Charlie, a thin man with long legs and arms, was a fine cook. He and Myrtle started the café with her doing the cooking and him waiting on tables, but that didn’t last long, for she was a notoriously terrible cook.

  “Howdy, Charlie. Just doing some celebrating. We want the best you got today.”

  “You name it, and I’ll cook it.”

  “Praise God, the special is good today,” Sister Myrtle said. “Roast beef, mashed potatoes and gravy, and green beans and squash.”

  “How does that sound, Lanie?” Forrest said.

  “Good, Daddy.”

  “We’ll have that then and some big red soda pops.”

  Forrest carried on a conversation with Sheriff Jessup, seated at the next table. When Forrest mentioned that he was getting new vehicles, Jessup winked and said, “Well, you won’t have to put an ad in the paper. Everything that’s said in this place gets told around. I wonder who does all that gossipin’?”

  Sister Myrtle came out with two large red Nehi sodas and plunked them down on the table in front of Forrest and Lanie harder than usual. She glanced at the sheriff and said, “I wouldn’t be castin’ no stones about gossipin’ if I was you, Pardue! You got a tongue long enough to sit in the livin’ room and lick the skillet back in the kitchen.”

  Pardue laughed. “I reckon you’re right about that, Sister. Reckon if I come over to your church you can straighten me out?”

  Sister Myrtle’s eyes gleamed. She walked over and put her heavy hand on Pardue’s shoulder. “We can get you sanctified in no time, young man. A law enforcement officer ought to be a sanctified feller.”

  “Why, I think I’m a pretty good Christian.”

  Sister Myrtle sniffed. “Pride goeth before a fall. You think I don’t know about you carryin’ on with Minnie Sellings?”

  “We’re just good friends.” Pardue winked again at Forrest, who was amused by the conversation.

  “Good friends my foot! Don’t you know the Bible says that a strange woman leads a man straight down into the pit?”

  All the customers were, at that point, subjected to a sermon on the horrors of strange women and what they could do to men. She made several trips to the kitchen to bring out food, but when she stepped into the kitchen, she simply raised her voice.

  “She can holler loud enough to make your hair fall out,” Sheriff Jessup said, smiling.

  “Good woman,” Forrest said.

  “Yes, she is. Need more like her.”

  Forrest and Lanie enjoyed their meal. Such outings were rare for the Freeman family, and Forrest said once, “When our ship really comes in, we’re going to eat out, the whole bunch of us, once a week, right here.”

  “The other kids won’t like it that you’ve brought just me here today.”

  “I’m going to do something fun with all the others too. It’s my New Year’s resolution.”

  “But it’s not New Year’s. It’s only May.”

  “I know, but I’m making mine early. I’m going to take Davis to St. Louis to see the Cardinals play. Then I’m going to take Maeva to that circus in Fort Smith. I’ll have to go over there to pick up a new truck anyway, and then Cody and me will go on an overnight campin’ trip.”

  “But can we afford all that, Daddy?”

  “I’ll tell you, honey, the good times are just about to start.”

  Charlie brought in two dishes of fresh strawberries. “I think you’re gonna like this,” he said. “I’m doin’ it different. It’s my own special way of servin’ strawberry shortcake.”

  “What’s this?” Forrest asked.

  “Them long strips is pie crust. Crumble ’em up in that bowl and dump you some of these juicy strawberries in there. Let the juice kind of saturate and swish around. Then you put a big dollop of whipped cream right on top of it.”

  Lanie and her father fol
lowed the instructions, and when Lanie tasted her first bite, she cried out, “This is so good, Mr. Charlie!”

  “Strawberries ain’t fit to eat no other way but with pie crust broke up like that,” Charlie announced. “So you’re gettin’ into the big time, buyin’ more trucks. That right, Forrest?”

  “Yep, that’s it.”

  “But don’t that take a lot of money?”

  “Already taken care of. Lanie and me just arranged a loan with Miss Effie down at the Planter’s Bank.”

  Sister Myrtle came to stand over the two eating their strawberries.

  “Brother, have you fasted and prayed about gettin’ into this business?”

  “Why, I figure it’s an opportunity.”

  Sister Myrtle frowned. “I don’t hold with borrowing money.”

  “You have to borrow money to make money, Sister Myrtle,” For-rest protested.

  “Well, I won’t meddle,” Sister Myrtle said.

  “Won’t meddle!” Charlie stared at her and laughed out loud.

  “Why, you meddle all the time!”

  “I’d like to know when.”

  “You’ve been meddlin’ with me ever since you first talked me into marryin’ you.”

  All the men in the café laughed, and Sister Myrtle’s face turned red. “You chased me for a year before I’d even let you set on my front porch, Charlie Poindexter! Now, you behave!”

  “Well, I will, but you meddle all the time.”

  Sister Myrtle’s face assumed a pious look. “Maybe I do, but it’s for their own good. Now, get back in the kitchen. I’ll handle these customers.”

  Forrest was gone most of the time during the month of May, busy with two new trucks, hired hands, and Otis Langley’s lumber. But he came in early on May 26, graduation night at McKinley High School.

  Despite Lanie’s protests, everyone was certain that she would win the scholar’s award for the freshman class, so they all washed and put on their best clothes. Elizabeth could not go, but she insisted that For-rest not stay home with her.

  The Freemans happened to reach the front doors of the high school at the same time as the Langley family did. Mr. Langley was a big man with brown hair and dark eyes. “Hello, Forrest,” he said. “That cutting is going good, isn’t it?”