Elliott

by I D Johnson

  Chapter 7

  Norman, Oklahoma, 1955

  The fall breeze had a bite to it as Elliott headed to his car after school. It had been about a month since Reggie died, maybe a little more than that—he had done his best not to count the days—and all he wanted to do was get home, change clothes, hang out with his brother for a few minutes, and then head to work. Now that he was no longer staying after for football practice, he was working every afternoon and evening at the used car lot, trying to earn more money for college. His old mom, Arlene, had always told him it was pointless to even think about going to college when he was as dumb as the bricks that made up the building, but Peggy believed in him, and he decided he wanted to go to school to figure out what made people tick. Why was Peggy so kind and loving while Arlene was so angry and hateful all the time? What made someone like Marv Smoot get behind the wheel of a truck when he knew he was too wasted to drive? What made someone like Michael Sanderson decide he never even wanted to meet his son?

  “Elliott!”

  The voice behind him was shrill, and it made him freeze in his tracks. He knew who it was, and this wasn’t even the first time in the last few weeks she’d called out to him, but it was the first time she’d sounded like that—frantic, upset perhaps? He turned slowly to see Nancy jogging in his direction, pulling her sweater around her shoulders as she came.

  “Oh, so you’re not deaf after all,” she muttered as she came to a stop in front of him, folding her arms across her chest.

  “Hi, Nancy.” He pushed his hands down deep into the pockets of his letter sweater. “I’m sorry. I’ve just been… busy.”

  “Bullshit.” She was more than frantic. She was pissed. “Listen, I have been calling your house and trying to chase you down at school for a week. I need to talk to you.”

  Elliott realized it had actually been longer than that, but if that was all she was upset about, he could live with it. “I’m sorry. What is it, Nancy?”

  She inhaled deeply through her nostrils, making them flare, and took a step forward before glancing over each shoulder. Then, in a tense voice she said, “I’m late.”

  Confusion washed over him as he puzzled over the brief statement. Did she need a ride somewhere? Was she saying she didn’t have time to talk to him right now? Unsure of what she might mean, he asked, “Late for what?”

  Nancy growled at him, balling her hands into fists. “No, stupid. I’m late. My period.”

  It still took almost a full minute for realization to slap him in the face. “Your what?” he asked, his eyes enlarging. He knew what a period was, of course, but he wasn’t certain if she was saying what he thought she was saying.

  “My period is late, and my period is never late,” she said through clenched teeth. “Elliott—I’m afraid I might be--”

  “Now, just wait there, Nancy.” He didn’t let her finish the statement, couldn’t even hear those words, especially not right now, not with everything going on with Reggie, and football, and his job, and life in general. He had just figured out what he was going to do. There was no way she could possibly be…. “You said—you said it was like dogs. You said if you weren’t on your period….”

  “I know what I said, damn it, Elliott. But I guess I might’ve been wrong.”

  “You might’ve been wrong?” He was truly trying to keep his voice down, but it came out loud and shrill, almost like hers, and a few people several parking spots away turned and looked at them, causing her to smack him in the arm, hard. “Damn it, Nancy. How late are you?”

  “I’m not exactly sure,” she admitted.

  “But you said you’re never late. How do you know that if you don’t know when you’re supposed to start?”

  “I just know I’ve never been worried about it before, that’s all,” she shot back.

  “Well, when was your last… you know.”

  “It was a few weeks before we….”

  “How many weeks?”

  “I’m not sure!” She hit him again. “Maybe two.”

  Elliott inhaled, held it, and let it out slowly. “Well, Nancy, are you sure it was… me?”

  “WHAT!” She hit him again, this time with her fist, right in the bicep, hard enough to make him stagger backward. “How dare you! I’m not some kind of slut!”

  “I’m sorry!” Elliott stammered. They were starting to draw some onlookers now. “Listen, Nancy, why don’t we get in my car and talk about this?”

  “In your car? That’s what got us into this mess in the first place!”

  He wanted to point out that, while she might not be a slut, she had been in at least one other man’s car, recently, for that matter, but he bit his tongue. And she had been the one to drag him over into the back seat, not the other way around. “Have you told your parents?”

  “Hell, no I haven’t told my parents! My father is a deacon in the Baptist Church. He’ll disown me! And my mother will have a heart attack!”

  “Well, Nancy… maybe you should go to a doctor. You need to make sure. And then, if you are pregnant, we’ll figure it out.” He wanted to add if she was sure it was his, but he knew now was not the time to mention that.

  She still looked both angry and flustered, but she nodded. “If I’m pregnant now, I’ll be having this baby right after graduation time, Elliott. I was going to go to accounting school.”

  “I know, Nancy.”

  “I… I was going to be something, not just a stupid mother, walking around pregnant all the damn time, taking care of the kids and ironing her husband’s shirts.”

  “I’m so sorry, Nancy.”

  “You should be! You did this to me. Damn you, Elliott Sanderson!”

  Again, he bit his tongue, not reminding her that she had literally pulled him into the back seat and ripped his pants off. “It’ll be all right, Nancy. Let’s not get too upset before we know for sure.”

  She nodded again. “You can say I need to go to the doctor to find out, Elliott, but I know right now. I know when there’s something foreign in my own body.”

  He imagined that would likely be right. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his unruly hair. How in the world was he going to tell his parents about this? Forget going to college. How would he even finish high school? Nancy was close enough to graduation, but he wasn’t even halfway through his sophomore year. “It’ll be all right, Nancy.” This time, he said it more for himself than for her.

  She shook her head at him and started to walk away before she stopped, and over her shoulder she yelled, “Next time I call, you better answer. On the first ring.”

  Elliott affirmed his understanding and watched her walk away, wondering what in the world he was going to do about this.

  Peggy had made roast beef for dinner, and it was delicious. Elliott tried to chew it thoroughly, trying not to make eye contact with either of his parents. It had been two weeks since Nancy had caught him in the parking lot, and since then, she’d received word back from the doctor that she was going to be a mother in July, and that meant that Elliott was going to be a father.

  He’d told his parents he needed to talk to them about something important after dinner, and they nodded in understanding, though everyone seemed to be taking their sweet time making their way through the roast and yams. Jimmy was going on about some stupid science experiment, and Peggy was doting over every word he said. Elliott swore his baby brother had become even more of a pansy since Peggy had decided he was the sweet little boy she’d always been longing for. He really wished Jimmy would just grow a pair already. He was eleven years old, for crying out loud.

  Frank told them a story about how a cow had gotten loose in the horse pasture and that had everyone laughing, even though Elliott’s chuckle was obviously fake, and Jimmy said he’d rig up some scientific device that would let the cows know when they were in the wrong field. Wasn’t he just precious?

  Finally, an hour after it had begun, dinner was over, and Peggy began to gather up the dirty plates. Elliott volunte
ered to help her out in an effort to move things along, and a few minutes later, Peggy sent Jimmy upstairs as the other three family members took a seat in the living room. “Now, Elliott, what is it you wanted to tell us?” Peggy asked, taking a seat on the sofa and gesturing for him to sit next to her. “Have you decided where you’re going to college?”

  He couldn’t blame her for asking since he had spent quite a bit of time recently talking about what he wanted to do with his life. Ever since Reggie had passed away, he’d been thinking more and more about how he wanted his life to have meaning. Now, he felt like he’d thrown all of that away.

  Elliott cleared his throat and glanced over at Frank who was sitting in his recliner, though the footrest was not up. “No, not exactly,” Elliott stammered. “Something’s happened, and I need to tell you about it. I hope that you’ll try to let me finish before you get too upset.”

  Peggy and Frank exchanged glances. “That’s alarming. Does this have anything to do with Lawson’s Point?”

  Elliott found it strikingly odd that she knew that information and thought back to the people he’d seen in the trees that night. Was her question somehow related to that? “Uh, no.” He wasn’t about to give her every last detail regarding what he was about to say. “It’s just… you know Nancy Farr, right?”

  “Sure. The cheerleader? We know Nancy,” Frank said, his face showing just as much concern as Peggy’s.

  “Well, she, uh, she’s pregnant.”

  Elliott let that set in for a few moments as his parents’ mouths hung open, and they exchanged confused glances. He knew he should say more, but opening his mouth was going to result in some sort of illogical nonsense, so he just waited for them to fill in some of the gaps.

  It was his mother who seemed to get there first. “Are you saying… that is… Nancy is pregnant, and you’re the father?”

  With a hard swallow and a nod, Elliott said, “Apparently.”

  “Wait—what? What does that mean?” Peggy stammered. “Apparently? You either are or you aren’t!”

  He ran a hand through his unruly curls. “I know, Mom. It’s just… she says I am.”

  “And you could be?” Frank asked, begging the obvious question. Since Elliott had never had a discussion about birds or bees with either of these people, perhaps they weren’t sure if he even knew how the whole thing worked. But then, for that matter he wasn’t as sure as he thought he was after what Nancy had told him in the car that night.

  So the answer was a nod and, “Yeah. I could be.”

  “Elliott!” Peggy admonished. “What in the world were you thinking? You’re only sixteen years old! She’s two years older than you! You have high school to finish! You were going to go to college!” Her fists were clenched, and her voice was loud enough that Jimmy could certainly hear from upstairs.

  Frank, always the more placid of the two said, “Calm down, Peggy,” but his face had gone an ashen color. “We are… surprised, Elliott.”

  “I know. I am, too.” That was about all he could manage, but when he looked at Peggy’s face, her lips drawn into a thin line, he knew he’d have to say more. “Listen, I’ll… I’ll do what I need to, okay? I’ll take care of the baby and her. She won’t be a burden to either of you, I promise.”

  “It’s not that!” Peggy shouted, her fingers loose now. “It’s that you’ve essentially ruined your life, Elliott! Take it from someone who knows what that’s like—”

  “Peggy!”

  Elliott had no idea what she meant by that. How had Peggy ruined her life? They lived in a beautiful house in the country, she had a good marriage, and the children she’d wanted, even if they hadn’t come the way she’d wanted them. She didn’t even work anymore. She’d quit whatever it was she had been doing with Janette and Jordan years ago when Elliott and Jimmy had first moved in.

  But that wasn’t the point, and he knew it. “I’ll figure it out….”

  “You won’t figure it out!” Peggy got up now, pacing. “I thought… I thought you knew better than that. I had no idea you were even….”

  “It was just the once.” He could finish the sentence for her. No need for his mother to say it aloud.

  “That’s all it takes,” Frank muttered. “Peggy, why don’t you go check on Jimmy. He’s probably wondering what all of the yelling is about, and let me and Elliott talk man to man.”

  She looked like she’d just been ejected from a royal tea party, but she said nothing, only looked from one face to the other, and then stormed out of the room.

  “Well, that went well,” Elliott mumbled more to himself than his father. He ran his hands down his face and took a deep breath as Frank stared at him.

  “She’s just… she had big hopes for you. That’s all. And that doesn’t mean that you won’t fulfill them, it only means….”

  “It only means whatever I accomplish, I’ll be strapped down with a kid for the rest of my life. I get it. It’s definitely not the way I saw things either, but when you’ve got a girl who looks like Nancy Farr pulling you into the back seat….” He hoped he didn’t have to say the rest.

  “I understand, Son. Believe me, I do. And you’re sure she’s not handing someone else’s responsibility off on you, right?”

  Elliott nodded. “I don’t think so. I mean, she was with Cliff Humphrey, but I think it was too long ago.”

  Frank nodded. “Well, I guess if the baby has your crazy mop of hair, we’ll know.” He reached over and ruffled Elliott’s hair, and instantly, the young man felt a hundred times better.

  “Listen, I’ve got some money saved up. I was intending to go to college. I think that’ll have to be put on hold now. So… I can find a house for Nancy and me to rent.”

  “I’d say you could stay here, but I don’t think Peggy….”

  “No, I know.”

  They were silent for a long time, just staring at the floor, Elliott’s thumbs moving back and forth around each other, before Frank asked, “You’re going to marry her then?”

  “It’s the right thing to do, ain’t it?” he asked, looking up and seeing Frank nod. “I don’t want my kid to be a bastard like me.”

  “Well, there’s not much chance of avoiding that.”

  Elliott could see in Frank’s eyes that he was teasing, trying to lighten the mood, and it made him smile for the first time in a long time. “True,” was about all he could say.

  “Let me handle Peggy. You figure out what you need to do with Nancy.”

  “Thank you, Dad,” Elliott said, the word coming out of his mouth more naturally than it had any of the other times he’d tried to use it.

  Frank nodded, and the two stood, exchanging a handshake, which was about the closest thing to a hug Elliott could expect at the time. Despite the gravity of the situation, he truly did feel, deep down inside, his life wasn’t over. He would manage to do something important with his life. He’d find a way to make all of it work. He just had no idea how.

  Chapter 8

  Norman, Oklahoma, 1957

  “Now, this here is the car you’re lookin’ for,” Elliott said in his best Southern-charmer voice as he walked around a newer Ford model he’d just taken in on a trade the day before. “Look at that interior. Ain’t that clean? And this chrome detailing is to die for.”

  The older man hunched over and inspected the trim around the windows, running his hand around the edge. “She run good?”

  “Purrs like a kitten,” Elliott assured him. “Tell you what, I’ll just go grab the keys, and we’ll have you behind the wheel in a matter of minutes.” He smiled, looking the man in the eye, and Elliott knew immediately he had another sale.

  He spun around and headed to the office to grab the keys, smiling at Sheryl, the receptionist, a cute blonde who never seemed to care too much that her neckline was lower than most women thought acceptable.

  Another salesmen, Peter, was standing in front of the key case. Elliott had never liked the guy. With his sandy blond hair and rugged good looks, he mo
stly targeted women, and it seemed like he was constantly trying to get Elliott in trouble with the boss, Mr. Anderson. Of course, the fact that Elliott sold at least two, sometimes three, cars a day was probably a little intimidating to Peter, since he’d been doing this a lot longer and couldn’t seem to keep up with the kid, but then, that really wasn’t Elliott’s problem.

  “’Scuse me, Pete. Need to grab some keys here, if you don’t mind.”

  “You taking Mr. Cutler for a test drive?” Peter asked, smirking. “He’s been in here half a dozen times in the last week. He’s not really looking to buy. Not yet.”

  “We’ll see about that.” Elliott grabbed the keys he needed and headed back to his customer. He already had the sale—he could see it in the old man’s eyes. He wasn’t sure what it was, but his powers of persuasion seemed to increase the older he got. He could get just about anything he wanted if he looked a person directly in the eye and told him how it was going to be. The only person it didn’t always work on was Nancy, although it did sometimes, which is why she was expecting their second child in a few months. And Peggy. They didn’t speak as much now that he had moved out and dropped out of school. He knew his foster mother was still under the impression that he had ruined his life, and maybe she was right, but the fact that he made top salesman every year he’d worked here, even when he was just part time and still in high school, gave him hope that he’d found his niche.

  A few hours later, he headed home to the small brick bungalow he’d rented when he and Nancy first got married almost two years ago. His favorite part of the day was when his son, Wally, saw his face for the first time in the evening and reached up so his dad could scoop him up. As difficult as it had been to let all of his dreams go and commit to raising his son, he knew he'd made the right decision the second that tiny, wrinkly baby had grabbed his finger. Now, bouncing him in his arms and singing a silly song he’d made up about Wally the walrus, he headed into the kitchen to see what sort of a mood Nancy was in.