Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi

by Nanci Kincaid

  “What kind of snakes?”

  “I don’t know. Snake snakes. Not like back home though, where you can hardly make a move without stepping on a snake.”

  “Poisonous snakes?”

  “I guess so. Don’t hear much about them though. Back home everybody has a personal family catalog of venomous snake stories. But people in California don’t seem to be that big on snake stories.”

  “Or maybe we just don’t know the right people,” Courtney spoke up.

  “You ever been snakebit?” Arnold asked.

  Truely laughed. “Hell yes,” he said. “But not in a literal sense.”

  “So you saying no?”

  “Yes, I’m saying no.”

  “You ever been down to Mississippi, Arnold?” Courtney was gripping a small tree branch as she navigated down the steep hillside. “Did you ever go down to Yazoo City to see your grandmother’s family or anything?”

  “No,” he said. “All we ever did was talk about it. Sometimes my mama get mad at me and threaten to send me down there though. She’d say, ‘You not careful, boy, I’ll send you back down to Mississippi where they get that smart talk out your system in a hurry with a leather strap.’ ”

  “Lo,” Courtney said. “The lore continues …”

  “My grandmama believed you got to beat the devil out of kids. She says the trouble with my mama is she didn’t beat her enough when she was coming up.”

  “Or maybe she beat her too much,” Courtney said.

  “My grandmama think the kids in California are all messed up because their parents ain’t tear up their behinds enough.”

  “You’re killing me here, Arnold,” Courtney said. “Mississippi child rearing is a thing of beauty, isn’t it? Goes hand in hand with all those lynchings.”

  “My grandmama got some stories about that too.”

  “No wonder you’ve never been to Mississippi,” Truely said.

  “I don’t really like the country that much.”

  “The country?”

  “You know. Those country people down there.”

  “Like me and Courtney?”

  “Not ya’ll,” he said. “Ya’ll got some teeth in your head.”

  Truely laughed. “Damn, Arnold.”

  “You seen them people they show on TV. They backward and shit.”

  “Careful, man, you’re talking about our homeland now.”

  “But you left from down there, right?”

  “I guess we did,” Truely said.

  “Must be some reason why then.”

  “Must be,” Truely said.

  ARNOLD CAUGHT THE FIRST FISH of his life. It was a country thing to do, but he liked it anyway. “Got something,” he yelled when he felt the tug on his line. “Got something. I got something!” He was bellowing.

  “Reel it in, man,” Truely said. “Not too fast now. Just steady. Steady.”

  They were fishing catch-and-release. The fish was too small to keep anyway. Truely showed him how to disengage the hook, a somewhat gory procedure with the startled fish gasping and flapping. Arnold had a moment of panic. “Damn thing going to die before I get this hook loose,” he said.

  “Yank it a little,” Truely said. “You try to be gentle like that and he’ll die of your good intentions.”

  “Right.” Arnold yanked then. The hook was out.

  “Now just throw him back in,” Truely instructed.

  Arnold stepped to the water’s edge and released the fish like it was one of God’s most fragile and sensitive creatures. The fish made a small splash and serpentined away.

  “Good job,” Truely said. “Now that fish will have a story to tell.”

  “Me and him both,” Arnold said.

  ARNOLD TOOK TO FISHING. Before the morning was over he’d caught twelve fish, unhooked them and set them free. He was into it. Truely had taken the occasional opportunity to point something out — proper wrist action when casting your line, ways to zigzag the rod to get a good hold on the fish as you reeled in your catch, spots in the lake where fish were likely to congregate unsuspecting, how to read the surface water. It was a satisfying morning.

  Meanwhile Courtney had thrown a blanket underneath some trees so she would be out of the sun, which even after all these years still caused her to freckle and burn. First she had gotten Truely to bait her hooks and then she had propped up her cane poles in the soft bank of the lake where she could keep an eye on the corks, but not necessarily obsess over it. If she got a nibble that morning, she never knew it. Next she set up a little home base on the blanket that resembled a rustic tea party of sorts. She laid out their sandwiches and set out their bottled waters and opened the pig skins and cheese curls. To Courtney presentation counted, even in the woods. Only then, wearing her straw hat and sunglasses, did she lie back on the blanket and read her most recent self-help book, Healing Your Life Through Prayer.

  When they finally paused to eat lunch Truely and Arnold sprawled on the blanket and in relative silence wolfed down their sandwiches and swigged their water and absentmindedly munched bags of fishing food. Fishing is no good at high noon. Even the fish are inclined toward an afternoon nap. “You guys want to pack up and head back — beat the traffic?” Truely asked. “Or we could just take it easy out here for a while, maybe get in another round in the late afternoon.”

  “Let’s stay, man,” Arnold spoke up.

  “Suits me,” Courtney said. “I’m just getting to the good part.” She lifted her book to show them.

  So the three of them lazed around on the blanket, with bellies full and minds wandering. Truely even managed to drift off for a while, something he had not done the night before.

  At one point, after studying the title of Courtney’s book, Arnold nudged her. “You religious or something?” he asked.

  “I’m a Christian if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Yeah, everybody say that. My grandmother say she a Christian. She go to church every time something go wrong — which is pretty regular. My mother — all the mess she stay in — and she still claim she a Christian. Now you got to go some to believe that, right? Even my old man — if ain’t nobody shot him — I believe he try to say he a Christian too.”

  “Well maybe they are,” Courtney said.

  Arnold shook his head.

  “What?” Courtney asked.

  “Too easy.”

  “Does it need to be difficult?”

  “Just me saying I believe in outer space don’t make me a astronaut.”

  “What?”

  “Just saying it don’t make it so.”

  “What about you?” Courtney asked.

  “I don’t say it.”

  “So you’re not saved?”

  “I been to church. I walked the aisle that time with my grandmother.”

  “Really? What happened?”

  “Nothing. I was just a kid.”

  “So you didn’t give your life to Christ?”

  “I don’t think he want my life.”

  “So you don’t think you were saved?”

  “Don’t seem like it to me.”

  Truely, who had overheard them while pretending to sleep, reared his head. “Think you two can save this theological discourse for later? I’m trying to count sheep here.”

  Arnold seemed embarrassed. He went silent.

  “Never mind him, Arnold,” Courtney instructed. “He hates to discuss religion.”

  “You got that right,” Truely said.

  “So, I guess he’s just destined to burn in hell then,” she said.

  Truely picked up a sack of pig skins and threw it at her. She laughed and turned her head. Truely shook his bottle of sparkling water and sprayed her with it.

  “Truely, don’t!” she screamed. But it was too late. She was soaked. “I was teasing,” she shouted. “Can’t you take a joke?” She turned to Arnold. “The man has no sense of humor.”

  Watching without expression, Arnold rolled over as if planning to snooze himself. “Y
a’ll juvenile,” he declared.

  BY THE TIME they finally left the lake that day the sun was setting. Arnold and Truely had gone back at it for a second round. This time Arnold separated himself from Truely, staked out his own area of the lake, and quietly went about the business of fishing. When he caught something he always shouted to let them know. Otherwise it was a quiet afternoon.

  Truely loved being outside this way, casting and reeling, catching and releasing, thinking and not thinking. He was relaxed for the first time in a long while. Even that work-related checklist that tended to crop up in his head whenever given the chance had vanished on this day.

  Courtney finished her book and took a nap on the bank. When she awoke she began packing up the leftover food and gathering up the items they had brought. It was a signal to Truely and Arnold that their time was up. The three of them made the slow careful climb up the hillside, hauling all their belongings, which seemed twice as heavy as they had coming down the path that morning. They loaded the car and drove back to the city. Traffic wasn’t too bad. Truely put the radio on. They drove home in near total silence — the good kind.

  That night they all bunked at Truely’s again. While Truely and Arnold unloaded the car, Courtney walked a couple of blocks toward Market Street to a Thai restaurant she loved and got them some takeout. She also picked up a Subway sandwich, just in case Arnold was not in an adventuresome mood cuisine-wise. That night they sat around and ate and watched TV and Courtney did a load of Truely’s laundry even though he asked her — twice — not to. At one point Arnold’s cell phone rang. It was the first time he had ever gotten a call in their presence. He fished in his baggy pants and retrieved the phone, then stepped out on the terrace and closed the doors to take the call.

  “Who you guess that is?” Courtney asked Truely. She was folding his T-shirts with irritating precision.

  “Don’t know.”

  “You think it’s his mother?”

  “I doubt it.”

  “He says his mother has issues. What’s he talking about?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “Does he have a girlfriend back home?”

  “Don’t know.”

  “What? Is there an echo in here?” Courtney asked.

  ON SUNDAY MORNING Courtney tried to talk Truely and Arnold into going to church someplace in the city. There were no takers. Instead they lounged around most of the afternoon, snacking and watching the Raiders suffer another loss. In protest, Courtney sat out on the terrace and drank coffee and studied her Bible. In the late afternoon, for an early supper, she heated up the leftover Thai food. It brought on such protest from Arnold that she put it away and walked to the market for groceries. When she got back she made turkey sandwiches on focaccia with avocado, red onion and fresh spinach.

  “What’s this?” Arnold asked, lifting the bread to investigate.

  “Don’t ask questions.” She slapped his hand good-naturedly. “Just eat it. It’s good for you.”

  MONDAY MORNING they were all up early. The plan was for Truely to drop Arnold off at the furniture store on his way over to San Jose for a morning meeting. Since he didn’t bring a change of clothes Arnold had had to wear some jeans and a slightly too big sweater of Truely’s to work. He hardly looked like himself without his oversized clothes, which he wore like camouflage. To compensate he tied a bandana on his head, which they had not seen him do before.

  Courtney took it upon herself to pack Arnold a lunch. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and cookies. Like he was a little kid. Truely thought Arnold might balk — but no, he just opened the bag to make sure what it was and said thank you.

  “Don’t worry.” Courtney smiled. “I wouldn’t try to slip anything exotic in on you.”

  Courtney was planning to take off for home later after they left. She said she wanted to finish her second cup of coffee and wait out the morning traffic first. It was only after Truely had dropped Arnold off and was nearly halfway to San Jose that he realized Courtney had never told him her news. “I’ve made a decision,” she’d said. He had forgotten all about it until now. “Wait until I see you,” she’d said.

  Damn. How could he forget to ask her about it?

  Sixteen

  TRUELY AND JAXON spent the afternoon in San Jose meeting with manufacturing company representatives and furniture designers. The eBay offices in San Jose had put in a substantial order but wanted some modifications. The possibilities were exciting. At the end of the day Jaxon’s wife, Melissa, had called to invite Truely for dinner. He accepted. It was always casual and relaxing at Jaxon’s place. His kids and their friends coming and going. Dogs barking. Melissa working her kitchen magic. He went happily.

  When he arrived he saw that Melissa had invited a single friend of hers to join them. Lanie was her name. She directed a nonprofit medical endowment in the city. She was nice. She was attractive. There was nothing wrong with her. And yet when Truely saw her and understood Melissa’s good — but misguided — intentions the evening took on the proportions of climbing Mount Everest. He felt instantly exhausted. He became subdued and managed the basic courtesies just one level above rudeness. The others immediately sensed his discomfort and a collective tension set in that spoiled the evening. Immediately after an awkward, stained dinner Truely made an excuse to leave early. He kissed Melissa, shook Jaxon’s hand and before he could say the required nice to meet you to Lanie, she stood up and said, “I’ll walk you out.” He wished she wouldn’t, but he obliged her with a nod.

  Immediately she began to apologize. “I’m so sorry you got ambushed this way. Melissa thought we might like to meet each other. You know how the happily married always want to heal us lonely single types out here.” She laughed. “Melissa meant well.”

  “Don’t apologize,” Truely said. “I’m lousy at surprises. That’s all.”

  “Melissa had told me so many great things about you. She and Jaxon both. I got caught up in what if, you know. But I have been in your position here tonight — and I know it’s awful. I’m really sorry.”

  “Listen,” he said. “I can see you’re a great person. A guy would be lucky to have dinner with you. I don’t mean to be an ass here. It’s just that I don’t have the social graces required these days.”

  “I understand,” she said. “No hard feelings?”

  “No hard feelings.” He smiled. “If it’s any consolation, I’ll probably start regretting the missed opportunity before I even get home tonight.”

  “Good,” she said. “I hope so.”

  He wasn’t ten miles down the road before Jaxon called his cell. “Look man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Melissa was plotting. She feels terrible about it too. I just want you to know it won’t happen again. That’s a promise.”

  “Good,” Truely said. “You guys put too many of Melissa’s friends through a night like this, subjecting them to an ass like me, and you won’t have any friends left.”

  Jaxon tried to laugh. Truely tried too. And they hung up.

  AS IF TRUELY WERE NOT HUMILIATED and miserable enough, when he got home, as he pulled his car into the underground parking lot of his building, he saw Arnold sitting on the sidewalk there, his girlie red borrowed suitcases by his side. He was clutching a large black trash bag in one hand. If he hadn’t looked closely Truely might have mistaken him for one of the street people that frequented the neighborhood. Truely parked his car and made his way back up to street level. He was definitely not in the mood for this.

  “What are you doing out here?” Truely did not disguise his irritation.

  “I was scared maybe you went out of town or something” Arnold said.

  “Answer the question.”

  “It’s nerve-wracking out here, man. I was about to get scared.”

  “It’s because you have no business sitting out on the street like this, not this time of night. What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I decided to come stay at your place.”

  “That’s not a decision yo
u make without asking me, Arnold. You don’t just show up like this. What’s wrong with Shauna’s place?”

  “I don’t like it over there.”

  “What’s not to like?”

  “I don’t know anybody over there. There’s nobody to talk to.”

  “You know Doug, don’t you?”

  “His girlfriend always over there.”

  “So you just decide to move in here? Just like that?”

  “I won’t be no trouble.”

  “Arnold, I’m not set up for a roommate. I didn’t even have a roommate in college. I like living alone.”

  “Maybe I can do some work around the place. Clean up, you know. Earn my keep.”

  “It’s just not a good idea,” Truely said.

  “On a trial basis, man?” Arnold said. “If we try it awhile and it don’t work out, then I move out.”

  “No, Arnold. I’m sorry.”

  “I’ll won’t bother you none. I’ll keep quiet. I’ll be neat and whatnot. Won’t mess nothing up. You might get to like having me around.”

  “Yeah, and I might get to like a stick in the eye, but I doubt it.”

  “I ain’t going back over there to Shauna’s.”

  “Wasn’t that the whole point of all this geographical upheaval — for you to try being independent?”

  “I ain’t going back over there.”

  “Somebody needs to jerk a knot in you. You know that?”

  “You?”

  “It’s crossed my mind.”

  “If it’s because you might want to bring a lady over here and I’ll be in the way — that’s no problem. You bring a lady over here and I’ll go down in the garage and sleep in the car.”

  “Arnold, where do you come up with this shit?”

  “Look like you could use a little company yourself, man. Those ladies call you. I heard some those messages they leave. But I don’t never hear you call them back.”

  “You ever heard of a hermit, Arnold? That’s me. I’m a hermit. I like being a hermit, okay?”

  “Okay then. I be a hermit with you. Me and you both be hermits.”

  Truely couldn’t decide whether he wanted to laugh or to shake Arnold until his head rattled. But it had been a long day and he was more than dog tired. “Get your damn stuff,” Truely said.