by Jack July
“Yep, let’s go get ’em.”
Jack scooped up Sam, and they walked across the road. Leon shouted, “Granny, that’s enough.”
“It’s nuff when I say it’s nuff. Get back here, boy; ain’t done with you.”
Bogus stepped behind Jack and Leon. Leon reached out and took her broom, “Granny, enough.”
“Well, thank you gentlemen. I believe I have made a bad first impression. I am Bogus,” he said while extending his hand. “You must be Amy’s father.”
“Leon, good to meet you.”
“And you must be Amy’s Uncle Jack.”
“Yep, nice to meet you.”
“And this um, lady would be?”
“Madder than a hornet,” said an angry Granny Patches.
“Yes, well I—” Suddenly the screen door across the street burst open and with a delightful squeal, a barefoot Amy loped across the road like a graceful gazelle in jean shorts and a T-shirt, wet hair falling down her back. She leapt into Bogus’ arms and began to kiss him with little pecks on his face.
“What the...?” mumbled Leon.
While everyone stood and stared, Amy announced, “I would like y’all to meet my boyfriend, Bogus.”
“Boyfriend?” Jack and Leon said in stereo.
“Yeah,” said a grinning Amy.
Leon looked at him a little shocked, “Just how old are you?”
“Does it really matter, Daddy?”
“Well, hell, yes it does.”
Bogus smiled and said, “I’m forty-two.”
“Daddy, that’s rude.”
Bogus shrugged and said, “No, my dear, it’s okay. I’m sure your father has several questions.”
“Damn right I do. You’re old enough to be her father.”
“Daddy, stop,” said Amy as her smile began to go away.
“Just where are you from?” asked Leon suspiciously.
“I’m from Poland.”
“You go to Church?”
“Yes, I’m Catholic.”
“CATHOLIC? Oh hell no. Amy, he ain’t even a Christian.”
“Daddy, that’s enough,” Amy growled.
Leon became animated and barked, “Enough? Oh, oh, hell no. You get your old heathen ass back in that thing, and get the hell off this hill ’fore you get an ass whippin!”
Amy looked at Jack and said under her breath, “Uncle Jack, a little help.”
Jack didn’t really want to get involved, but he did. “Cuz, let’s just relax a minute. Let’s give this fella a chance. Maybe we can sit down and talk for a while.”
Bogus looked at Jack, gave him a little smile and said, “You know, we studied you.”
“What? Where?”
“Sennybridge.”
“Sennybridge?” Then Jack thought to himself, He’s SAS.
“Yes, and Vauxhall Cross.”
A shocked recognition flashed accross Jack’s face and he thought, SIS? Then he asked, “5 or 6?”
“Oh, a bit of both.”
“Oh, OH, yeah, well, Cuz, uh, we need to talk for a moment.”
“Ain’t nothing to talk about.”
“Well, yeah, there sorta is. Let’s let Amy talk to her friend, and we’ll step across the road.”
Leon pointed at Bogus and said, “Your ass better be gone when I get back.” Then he turned and walked back across the road.
Amy held up her hands and exclaimed, “What happened to y’all’s manners?”
Bogus smiled, “He seems very protective.”
Amy shook her head, “Yeah, if that’s what you want to call it.”
“I can leave; I will see you later.”
“No, not yet. Let’s see what Uncle Jack can do with him.”
“Why cain’t she date a regular man?” asked a frustrated Leon.
“Cause she’s not a regular woman. B’sides, you know what he is?”
“Don’t care,” said Leon.
“Well you should, because Amy loves him. That should be good enough. Don’t make her choose. You might regret her choice.”
That last comment got Leon to thinking about a young Braxton man who’d married a certain Katherine Dunn, much to her parents’ dismay. “All right, what is he?”
“If he’s who I think he is, I read about him and a few others. They were called the Lions of Poland. They were trained by the Americans and the British to assassinate communists in Poland during the cold war. He is partly responsible for the fall of the Berlin wall. You know those movies Joe likes, the ones with double O seven, James Bond? He’s the real one. You, me and half this town couldn’t do anything with that boy.”
Leon nodded and after calming down, begrudgingly decided to give him a chance. They began to make their way across the street, when Jack’s wife Carla Jo pulled into Granny’s driveway. She got out and was looking at the big white Sikorsky with the red Z on the side. She began to walk toward Amy, when her mouth fell open and her walk slowed. Amy whispered to Bogus, “That’s my aunt, Carla Jo. We talked about her; she practically raised me.”
Bogus nodded, and as she got closer Bogus looked to Amy and said, “Who is this beautiful creature that approaches us?”
Her mouth shaped words but nothing came out. Amy said, “Aunt Carla Jo, this is Boguslaw Zielinski.”
Her head began to nod, while she still looked for words. Bogus reached out, took her hand, caressed it and gave it a small kiss. She broke out in uncontrollable giggles. “I...I...can’t believe it’s you.”
Jack and Leon looked at each other as if to say, “What in the hell…?”
“Nor I you. I have heard much about you from Amy. I am glad to meet you,” said Bogus with the smooth voice and sparkling eyes.
“The pleasure is mine,” said Carla Jo. Jack started to say something, and Carla Jo looked over her shoulder and gave him a “Shush” sort of look.
“Why are you here?” asked Carla Jo.
Bogus took Amy’s hand and said, “I am here to see the woman I love.”
“Love?” She looked back at Amy and asked “Boguslaw Zielinski is your boyfriend?”
Amy shrugged and said, “I wanted to punch him in the head when we first met.”
Bogus laughed. Then Carla Jo said, “I’ve read about you in magazines. They say you are the most eligible bachelor on the planet. Why her?”
“Thanks a lot,” said Amy with a laugh.
“That’s not what I meant,” Carlo Jo said, embarrassed.
“Zielinski,” said Amy’s daddy with a little forcefulness.
“Sir, please, call me Bogus.”
“Yeah, well, I reckon we got a bit to talk about. Why don’t you come on over and sit down.”
“Yes, sir.”
Amy looked over at her Uncle Jack and mouthed the words, “Thank You.”
As the men walked toward the porch, Carla Jo stood up on her tiptoes and whispered to Amy, “When you get a boyfriend, you don’t mess around, do ya?”
Amy shrugged and said, “I didn’t look for him, he chased me.”
Carla Jo watched the men walk across the road. Something occurred to her. “Is he here for the reason I think he’s here.”
“Yep, you know the tradition.”
“Oh my God, you’re going to marry Boguslaw Zielinski.”
Amy took a deep breath and said, “Maybe. He’s gotta get past Daddy first.”
Chapter 9
Bogus and Leon were about the same size. Amy gave him some Camo pants, a NASCAR T-shirt, and borrowed a pair of her daddy’s hunting boots. They went for a walk around the property, down in the hollow, behind the old barn and along the old road that wound through the 300+ acres.
“Cotton,” said Bogus, wiggling in his clothes. “What an interesting feeling.”
Amy laughed and said, “Well, if
you’re gonna hang out with the rednecks, you better dress like one.”
“This is beautiful,” he said as they stood on the top of the hill looking out across the landscape.
“Yep, it is. This is where I grew up. I’ve hunted these woods a thousand times. Back when we didn’t have much, it’s how we fed ourselves. Look down there, see his eye?” Bogus scanned the woods and saw nothing. “No, look,” she pointed across the hollow. “Next to that farthest tree, see the little glint? That’s his eye.” Bogus didn’t see it. Then the little buck walked across the road.
“What a beautiful animal,” said Bogus, a bit amazed.
“Yeah, they taste good too.”
“Yes, well, with your skills I’m sure we will never starve.”
She chuckled and softly elbowed him in the ribs.
“Your father and I had a wonderful conversation. When he found out my father was a coal miner, and I shared what I knew about the industry, he started to um, warm up to me.”
“Did you ask him?”
“Yes.”
“ANNND?”
“He didn’t say yes and he didn’t say no. It was more a grunt.”
“Well, that’s a start.”
“I think I’ve done enough,” Bogus removed a small box from his pocket and dropped to one knee. “Amy Lynn Braxton, will you—”
“Stop, just stop,” Amy said as she reached for the ring box and shut it without seeing what was inside. “Stand up.”
“What? What is the matter?”
“I have some things to tell you first. Things that may make you change your mind. She began to tremble.
“Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”
“The director all but said I would lose my job if I married you.”
“Oh yes, Adele. I spoke to her yesterday.”
“She called you?”
“Yes, yes she did. I assured her that I could keep our relationship out of the public eye.”
“Was that it?”
“No. She said if I hurt you, she would hang my scrotum from the flagpole at Langley.”
Amy laughed and said, “Oh my gosh, she didn’t.”
“Oh yes, yes she did.”
A few moments later, sadness came over Amy’s face. She had steeled herself for this because she knew it could be the deal breaker. She murmured, “There is something else.”
“It doesn’t involve my scrotum does it?”
“No.” She didn’t laugh.
“Oh come on, that was funny.”
“Yeah, well, this isn’t.”
“I’m listening,”
“When I was fourteen, I was attacked by four boys. They did really bad things to me. They tore me up, inside. While I was healing, the doctor said...” Amy paused and took a deep breath. “He said there is a possibility that I can never have children.”
Bogus turned and looked away. It did matter, because that’s what he wanted: a family, a cadre of little blonde Zielinskis.
“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I should have said something long ago. I just...” Her eyes went misty as she fought off the tears, “I love you, I am so sorry, I was hoping you would love me enough that it wouldn’t matter.”
He looked out across the landscape, contemplating what she had said. She saw his body language, how it had changed, and she knew it was over. When he turned back toward her, she had already begun the first light sobs before breaking down. Her chin was on her chest, as he reached for her and lifted her chin. “It does matter. I want a family, but,” he paused and wiped her tears, “no family I could ever have would be complete without you. We will do everything possible to give you a child, but if that doesn’t work, there are millions of babies who pray every day for a mother like you.”
She grabbed him, hugged him tight and buried her face in his shoulder, sobbing with relief. He held her, whispering calming reassurances in her ear. When she finally stood back up straight, Bogus smiled and said, “Okay, then, let me finish what I started.” He dropped to one knee, pulled out the ring box, opened it and said, “Amy Lynn Braxton, will you marry me?”
With red eyes and a tear-streaked face, Amy said, “Oh, I reckon.”
He slid the ring on her finger, and they stood and hugged, then kissed, for a very long time. When they finally stopped, Amy held up her hand and looked at the ring. “Oh, thank you so much. I was sure you would get some big thing. This is perfect, just perfect. What is that stone? A ruby? The way it sparkles...it’s so pretty.”
“No, that is a red diamond, and those triangular shaped ones flanking it are pink diamonds.”
“I have never heard of a red diamond, except the coffee,” She said with a laugh.
“Yes, well, that’s because there are not many of them.”
Amy stood gazing at it and whispered, “It’s perfect, so perfect. You did good.”
“Thank you.”
“Let’s go back to the house. I wanna show everyone.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
They got back to Leon’s just as the men were getting in Jack’s truck, “Hey, Bogus,” Jack called out. “We are going to load up Joe’s car and take it to the track, how about a hand?”
He looked at Amy and she said, “Sure, yeah, go. Have fun. You can meet my brother. I’ll come out later.”
Bogus gave her a kiss and got in the truck. Jack asked, “You ever been to a stock car race?”
“No, I have not, but I do enjoy all sorts of competition.”
Leon smiled. “This’ll be good.”
Amy sat in the kitchen, looking at her ring, feeding Samuel, listening to recorded lessons on the language of Farsi, and repeating them out loud when Carla Jo knocked on the door. “Come in!” Amy called.
Carla Jo walked in and sat down at the kitchen table close to Amy. She grabbed Sam and pulled him onto her lap. “Hi, little man,” she said, tickling him as he laughed. Then she saw it. “You got the ring? He gave you a ring?”
“Yes, here.” She took it off and handed it to Carla Jo.
“This is beautiful. Pink diamonds? Those cost a fortune. What is that stone in the middle? It’s spectacular.”
“Isn’t it? Bogus said that’s a red diamond.”
Carla Jo nearly sucked the air out of the room when she inhaled, then she said under her breath, “He didn’t, did he?” She kept looking at it and said, “Oh yeah, he did. Amy, do you know what this is?”
“Well, yeah. A red diamond.”
“You really don’t know, do you?”
“What?”
“Red diamonds are the most rare. They are so rare that each one any bigger than a quarter carat has its own name. The Hancock Diamond, .95 carats, went up for auction two or three months ago. I saw it in the Wall Street Journal. Amy, this is the Hancock Diamond.”
“Okay, well, the man has taste.”
“Taste? Amy, this stone was bought in Geneva at an auction for 7.6 million dollars.”
“Here comes the airplane,” said Amy while making a whoosh sound, trying to get a spoonful of mashed potatoes past Sam’s tight lips. “I think he’s done.”
“Amy, are you listening to me?”
“Yeah, I hear ya. I just don’t care. I would have been happy with a simple band.”
Carla Jo sat shaking her head. Amy put Sam down and said, “Do you really want to know why I love him? He has a best friend who travels with him. His name is Manchin. Manchin was his neighbor when he was a boy in Warsaw. He has Down syndrome, so the communists put him in a home, a home where the kids froze, starved or were beaten to death. Bogus put himself at risk, taking him blankets and food, making sure they knew that someone cared about Manchin, that way they were less likely to beat him. When Bogus had enough money, he got him out and he’s been living with him ever since. Manchin actually has a job and owns 5% of Zielinsk
i International. Bogus has a huge heart and does so much for so many people, and takes none of the credit. He is also very smart and very funny, and yes, he is handsome. The money? I have a job. I don’t need him. I’d be happy in a trailer on the other side of that hollow. So there, now you know.”
“I’m sorry. I bought into all the magazine articles about him.” Carla Jo thought for a moment and said, “Why do you think he loves you?”
Amy laughed and said, “I can tell you why. ’Cause I don’t put up with his crap. He’s got some of that too.”
Carla Jo laughed and said, “Yeah, don’t they all.”
Chapter 10
The big red four-door Chevy dually with the fifth wheel trailer pulled into the 5/8-mile oval asphalt track at the historic Alabama State Fairgrounds. Between 1958 and 1968, a total of eight NASCAR races were run at the Fairgrounds Raceway. During the same period, Bobby Allison had moved to Hueytown from Miami, Florida, and convinced his brother Donnie and fellow racer Red Farmer to join him in founding a new race shop. The so-called Alabama Gang dominated the races at the Fairgrounds track, but other legends of the sport also recorded wins, including Fireball Roberts, Richard Petty and Ned Jarrett. Joseph Murphy Braxton was working hard to follow in those legendary footsteps.
Leon, Jack and Bogus unloaded the black #33 Chevrolet, jacked it up, put it on safety stands, and fired the motor. Jack shifted through the gears to make sure everything in the driveline was working, while Leon was under the hood marking the headers with a wax crayon, watching it melt and making sure the engine was firing on all cylinders. Bogus paid close attention and helped when he could. He ran for tools, stacked tires, and pulled the wagon with the gas cans to the fuel pumps for race gas. Leon stuck a Hoosier Tire ball cap on his head, and Bogus traversed the pits in anonymity. He was just another crew guy doing his thing. After forty-five minutes of preparation, the car was ready for qualifying. The men were sitting on folding chairs next to the car when Jack asked Bogus, “Well, what do ya think?”
“This is very exciting. I have never done anything like this.”
“Good, glad you are enjoying yourself.” Jack reached in the cooler and handed Bogus a Dr. Pepper.
