The Angel's Song

by Roberta Kagan

  For the past six months, Viola had begun dating a young man who worked in the mines. His name was Amos Heart and he was a member of the church. A kind man who accepted little May as if she were his own.

  May was growing, but not nearly as fast as Caroline, who was full of spirit, sometimes ornery, and springing up like a weed. They were both beautiful girls, Caroline with her fiery green eyes and bright red hair, May with her doe-like brown eyes and soft golden brown hair. But the older the children grew, the more Aiden was sure that his original diagnosis of May was correct. She was a delightful child with a sweet and gentle disposition. However, there was a curve to her spine and she was not even half the size of Caroline who was only one year older. He watched them when they were at play and his heart ached for little May.

  Would this condition of hers make her life difficult? he often wondered. And if it did, how hard would it be for her to find a husband and happiness? Often, Aiden would go out onto the land and speak to God on May’s behalf, asking him to watch over her and to help her as she grew up.

  For the most part, Cyrus was content. He gained weight and his marriage was satisfying. Cyrus had finally settled down. All of the wildness of his youth was but a memory now. Instead of looking for new adventures to excite his fancy, he found his mind was directed towards the future of the children. He didn’t want to see them marry men who worked long hours in the dark belly of the mine. Nor did he want to see them grow old and gray before their time with worry about their husbands’ safety and health. Unlike Aiden and Alice, Cyrus Hunt had seen the world and he wanted his girls to get an education rather than spend their lives in the impoverished world of Mudwater Creek. He talked to Ashlyn about the girls’ futures and she agreed that there was much more that they could do with their lives if they were properly educated. Ashlyn made it a point to take a half hour out of her daily chores in order to read to the children. She already had begun to teach them their letters. But Cyrus wanted more for them. He longed to see them go to a real school and have opportunities that he never had. He decided to discuss it with Aiden.

  That Sunday after church, the family gathered at Aiden’s house for their Sunday dinner. While Ashlyn and Alice prepared the food, Viola took the two girls outside to play. Aiden and Cyrus were alone on the porch.

  “I was giving some thought to the girls’ futures.”

  “You mean them little babies? They’re awful young to be thinkin about their future.”

  “Yes, they are young. But it’s not too soon. You see, I want to get them some education.”

  “Ain’t Ashlyn teachin em to read?”

  “She is. But I was thinking that maybe Ashlyn and I would move to the city. I could get a job and put the girls into a school.”

  “Oh … I don’t know,” Aiden said. “There’s all kinds a folks in the city. They’s safe here.”

  “Are they though? They’ll grow up and marry miners who are constantly in danger of dying young. If they go to school, they could become nurses or teachers. They might marry lawyers or accountants.”

  “Cyrus … you’re askin me to take a child from its mama and send her off to a school far away? Ain’t you happy here? I thought that things been real good for all of us since you been back.”

  “They have and I am happy here. But I want so much more for these children than we ever had. I want to give them a chance for a better life.”

  “Our life been good enough for our Pa and for his Pa’s Pa. Why ain’t it good enough for them?”

  “Look at this place, would you? So many of the folks here are still living without electricity. Some of the houses still have a dirt floor. I want better for our children than we had. I want them to have the opportunity to choose what they want to do and where they want to live.”

  Aiden let Cyrus’s words penetrate deep into his mind. Aiden never considered what life outside of Mudwater Creek would have been like. But now, as he thought about May’s condition, he wondered if she might not fare better in a bigger city. People in this backward town would be kind to May because most of them loved the Hunt family. But when it came to allowing their sons to marry her, Aiden knew that would be a different story. They would secretly whisper their fears that their grandchildren would be born with May’s condition. And some of them might even fear that her dwarfism was contagious. She would never completely fit in, and she’d be lucky to find a husband at all.

  “Where’d you wanna take ‘em?” Aiden asked, rubbing the stubble on his chin.

  “Richmond, I think,” Cyrus said.

  “Richmond, good heavens man. Richmond is so far away from here.”

  “I know and I’m going to miss you. But Ashlyn read about a job there in one of the newspapers she reads every week. I wrote them a letter and they want to talk to me in person. So I’m going to take a trip there and see if I can get hired.”

  “Doin what?”

  “Managing a store that sells leather goods.”

  “And you want to take the children to Richmond with you and Ashlyn?”

  “Only because I think it would be the best thing for them.”

  Aiden nodded. “You might just be right.” He stroked his chin again. Then he said, “Sit down, brother. Before I give this my blessing, I want to talk to you. I don’t know if you noticed anything unusual about May but there is something I think you oughtta know.”

  “Like what?” Cyrus asked, sitting down on the stairs of Aiden’s porch.

  Aiden sat beside him. He heaved a sigh then said, “You see how small she is?”

  “Yeah, she’s petite. But it’s nice for a girl to be small.”

  “I think it might be more than just that, Cyrus. I am thinkin’ she might be a dwarf.”

  “You mean she won’t get any bigger?”

  “She’ll get bigger. But she ain’t gonna ever get big as other gals her age. She’s always gonna be a real small. That’s if’n I’m right that she is a dwarf.”

  “You never took her to a doctor to find out for sure?”

  “Come on, Cyrus. You lived here. You know’d that a soul’d have to be dyin’ to go to a doctor. No, she ain’t seen no doctor over somethin’ like this. But you just go on and take a look at the way her back’s a little bit swayed and her legs are a little bit bowed. I know’d you see all that, don’t you?”

  “I guess so. So what are you saying?”

  “I’m only tryin to tell you what to expect when she’s grown if’n you decide you’re taken her with you.”

  “I’d take her anyway.”

  “Then I’ll give it my blessing. But you cain’t do nothin without talkin to Viola about it. All this has gotta be all right by her. After all, you takin’ her child so far away from her. She’s gonna need to see why this move would be better fer May in the long run.”

  “I’ll talk to her,” Cyrus said. “As soon as I get back from Richmond and I’m sure I got the job.”

  “Right smart of you. Ain’t no sense in bringin’ all this stuff up lesson you’re sure you’re goin.”

  “I’m hopin that you and Alice will come and visit us?”

  “If you move, we’ll come. We wasted too many years apart, my brother.”

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  Aiden needn’t have worried. Cyrus didn’t get the job. He returned to Mudwater Creek a little dejected but relieved at the same time.

  “I tried,” Cyrus told Aiden. “But in a way, I’m glad to be staying here. I wanted to earn more money so I could send you and Alice some. But I guess it just wasn’t meant to be.”

  “It wasn’t God’s will. We’ll get by, we always have,” Aiden smiled.

  “I suppose you’re right.”

  “I reckon so,” Aiden said, patting Cyrus’s shoulder. “But you recollect how we was both sayin that the girls oughta get themselves an education?”

  “Yes, I remember.”

  “Well, you was right about that. I done give’d it plenty of thought while you was gone.”

  “As soon as th
ey’re old enough, I could take them into town with me every morning when I go to work. Then I could drop them off at the schoolhouse. It’s not a big fancy school like it would have been in Richmond but they’d learn to read and write and they’ll learn arithmetic. It’ll help them to be able to count money,” Cyrus said.

  “I think that’d be a mighty good idea,” Aiden said.

  BOOK THREE

  Mudwater Creek, 1951

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  “Come on, you silly goose. Why are you sitting in the science lab when it’s such a beautiful day outside? Let’s get out and see what kind of trouble we can get into,” Caroline said as she stood over her cousin May, who was mixing something gray-green in a test tube.

  “Give me five minutes to finish, please?”

  “Oh heck, you’re just a waste of time. If you’re going to hang around here then I’m leaving. I’m going to see what the boys are doing at the park.”

  “You brought your guitar with you?” May said, glancing over at the guitar case in Caroline’s hand.

  “But of course. I’m gonna be a country singer like the ones on the radio. And the whole damn world will know my name.”

  “You’re a very good singer,” May said.

  “Come on. Please … May,” Caroline begged. “Pretty please? You’re wasting the whole day. Let’s just go.”

  “All right. Give me a few minutes so I can clean up and I’ll go with you.”

  “Hold on.” Caroline winked. “Watch this,” she said to May. Then she turned to a shy awkward looking boy who was sitting at his desk reading.

  “Honey,” Caroline said to him. He didn’t look up. “Honey, you! I’m talking to you.” She touched his arm and he jumped as if she startled him. Caroline gave May a quick glance and a giggle. “Would you please do me a big favor, handsome? Would you just clean up that girl’s mess over there? You see, she’s my cousin and I can’t leave school until she is with me. So would you do it for me?” Caroline leaned against the boy and rubbed her breasts on his arm.

  “Sure. Yes. Of course,” the boy stammered.

  “Well, I do thank you. You’re a real gentleman. Maybe I’ll let you take me for a soda some time.”

  “I’d like that,” the boy said, his eyes beaming.

  She gave him her biggest smile then turned to May. “NO excuses now, sweetheart. Let’s go.”

  May shrugged her shoulders and turned to the boy. “Thanks, Matt,” she said.

  “Sure, May.”

  May took her books and followed Caroline out of the school.

  As they headed towards the park, a big-boned girl with blond hair was standing outside the entrance leaning on the fence. She was surrounded by a group of other girls. She was talking as if she were in control of everyone and everything, and they were listening intently as if her every word had the power to destroy them. Everyone in school knew the big-boned blonde. She was the most popular girl in the junior class. Her name was Earline Utterman. “Your cousin’s so short. She looks like a freak,” Earline yelled out. The rest of the girls surrounding Earline started giggling.

  “Shut up you bitch before I make you sorry you ever said that.” Caroline turned to look directly at Earline.

  Most of Earline’s fellow high school students were afraid of her. Looking at her closely, one could not say she was actually pretty. However, she kept herself well-groomed. She was used to people being afraid of her. But when she saw that Caroline wasn’t scared of her and she wasn’t going to back down, Earline shut her mouth and didn’t say another word.

  ’Sides that you’re ugly,” Caroline said laughing. “You shouldn’t be critical of anyone else cause someone might just point out that fact.”

  Neither May or Caroline spoke for a few minutes.

  “Am I a freak?” May asked as she and Caroline turned the corner leaving Earline and her gang of followers behind.

  “No, you are certainly not,” Caroline said. “No cousin of mine is a freak.” Caroline put her arm around May’s shoulder. “She’s just jealous of you because you’re petite, pretty, and feminine, and she’s a big old ox. Heck, she’s built like a man.”

  “Let’s face it, Carol, I am short,” May said. “And I think I’m done growing. In fact, I talked to Mrs. Henry, my science teacher, and she said I might have a medical condition. I might be a dwarf.”

  “You don’t have that,” Caroline said firmly. “Don’t even say it.”

  “But Carol, I probably should face the facts.”

  “NO you should not. You don’t have that as long as you don’t believe you have it. ’Sides, you are so pretty. And being a little thing only makes you prettier.”

  “You really think so?”

  “I know so,” Caroline said, nodding her head as they walked toward the park in silence. Finally, she stopped and turned to look at May. “That’s why you’re so interested in science, isn’t it? It’s because you think you have some sort of disease and you want to know what can be done to cure it. Right?”

  “Yes,” May said. “Yes.” She looked down at the walkway. “I wish I could be like you. You’re so darn pretty and confident. You’re tall and you have such a lovely figure.”

  “Tell me more, I love the flattery,” Caroline joked. But when she looked down into May’s face she saw that May was crying. “Oh geez. I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to fluff off your feelings. Come here and give me a hug.”

  Caroline bent down to hug her cousin.

  “You’ve been like a mom to me all these years. I don’t know what I’d ever do without you,” May said.

  “Well, let’s hope you never have to find out cause I don’t plan on dying anytime soon. I have a whole full life ahead of me … and so do you!”

  They arrived at the park where a group of boys sat playing guitars and harmonicas. Some boys were drumming on their books and one was singing a popular song. They stopped when they saw Caroline.

  “Hey, Carol. Come on over and jam with us,” one of the boys said.

  “Don’t mind if I do.” She smiled then she turned to May. “How’s my lipstick?”

  “It’s very red.”

  “Well yeah, no kidding,” Caroline giggled. “But is it smeared?”

  “Nope. You look gorgeous as always,” May said.

  “I love you for being my fan,” Caroline said, planting a kiss on top of May’s head. Then she ran over to the group of boys. May followed, walking slowly.

  May stood on the sidelines watching her cousin with a mixture of jealousy, fierce love, and admiration. It was hard not to be a little jealous of Carol. She was everything every girl longed to be. Every fellow that they knew wanted to date her. But Cyrus, her Paw, was strict. He always told both of the girls, “I was a young man once. I know what these fellows are after and I am going to keep them away from you two as long as I can.”

  Well, he need not worry about me. The boys aren’t breaking down the door to go out with me, May thought.

  She knew deep down that Cyrus wasn’t referring to her when he said boys wanted something. She thought that she would be lucky to find any boyfriend at all. It made her feel bad that her grandfather, Preacher Aiden, was always trying to get her married off to one of the fellows from his church. None of them were ever interested. They were afraid to have babies with her. Medical care was expensive, and none of the men in Mudwater Creek were willing to risk having a child with a medical condition.

  Although it hurt her feelings, the fact was she really wouldn’t have wanted to marry any of them anyway. May had other plans, other dreams. She longed to go to college. She had a deep-seated need to learn. She prayed that someday she would be a scientist, someday she would leave this backward place and make friends in a world where she could be accepted for her intelligence and willingness to work hard.

  Was there such a place? She often wondered. Was there a town or city where being a dwarf wouldn’t make any difference to a girl’s chances of meeting and marrying the boy of her dreams? Or was she j
ust hoping against all odds?

  May watched Caroline playing the guitar and she realized that she really was Caroline’s biggest fan. The two girls sat together with all the boys on the cool grass until the sun began to set. Then they got up and left. Cyrus had begun to allow them to stay after school once they were in high school. But they knew they had to be home before dark or he would be mighty angry, and so they raced each other back up the hill to Mudwater Creek.

  Caroline would graduate from high school that year but she had not made any plans for her future. She wasn’t interested in furthering her education but she was also certain that she had no interest in marrying any of the boys in Mudwater Creek who were constantly trying to court her. May reminded her constantly that there were at least a dozen handsome fellows who would give their right arm to marry her. Caroline Hunt was considered the prettiest girl in town and plenty of the boys would have willingly overlooked the fact that her cousin was a dwarf and that the condition might run in her gene pool. These young men wanted Caroline so badly that many of them chose to say that May’s handicap was caused by her mother having been injured during a mudslide.

  Caroline knew that her father and mother would have to struggle to find enough money for her to further her education if she chose to do so. Her grades weren’t good enough for her to get any kind of assistance. Cyrus often said that he wanted her to go on in school or at least to find a trade. But the truth was that he didn’t have the means so it was expected that she would marry and have a family. Even though she loved her parents and truly adored her cousin, Caroline knew that once she graduated she had to run away. If she didn’t go, her uncle and her father would start scouting prospective husbands for her and before she knew it, she would be saying I do and be stuck living in Mudwater for the rest of her days.