Cabbage Patch Cowboy By
Waddie Greywolf Chapter
11
Madame Pearl Le
Pue (Ms. Pearl)
Waddie, Gip,
Oatie and Clyde were all the time finding sick animals. Sometimes the
animals would come to them. It seemed like they sought the boys out to
give them sanctuary, food, water, and a warm, dry place to rest,
and recuperate from a wound or exhaustion. Some would be
starving, and the boys would feed them until they could take off on
their own. They never tried to make pets of the wild animals. They knew
they belonged in the wild and must return there. Their turn over of
patients became so great they didn't have time to become attached to
any one critter.
Of course, there
was a couple of exceptions; critters they loved and remembered more
than others. Two were barn owls whose mother got shot or poisoned but
never came back to feed her babies. The boys didn't bother to take them
out of their nest. The nest was in the beams at he far end of the
barn. They gently moved the nest over next to the loft, so they
could get to the babies and feed them. They fed the two baby owls until
they were grown, but they didn't have a mother to take them out to
teach them how to hunt for themselves. They were dependant on the boys
for food. The boys didn't mind and took care of them for a couple of
years. They named one, Merlin, and the other, Boo. They were great fun
at Halloween parties. The boys would dress up as magicians and have one
of the owls on their shoulders.
Finally, they
thought of a plan to teach them to hunt. They constructed a large area
on the barn floor of metal flashing they found in an old house they
played in on Ed Bloomquist's property across the creek. They asked Ed
if they could have it and he told them to take it. The owl's favorite
food were live mice the boys would catch in traps. They'd turn a couple
of mice loose every night in the large walled pen they built. The mice
would scurry about trying to find a place to get out but couldn't. The
boys started reducing the food intake of the two owls and after about
two weeks of barely feeding them they came into the barn one morning
and the mice were gone.
They put four in
the next night, and the next morning they were gone. The boys had to
see for themselves. They told Dan, Buck, Don, Lyle and Quinton what
they planned to do, and the five large kids weren't about to let the
four smaller kids have all the fun. They decided they wanted to see
what the boys accomplished. Dr. Dyer even asked if he could bring his
sleeping bag and join them. They were all in the loft spending
the night waiting and watching to see if the owls really were eating
the mice. They put six mice in that night. Sure enough a little after
midnight Boo flew down, grabbed one of the mice and took it to another
beam to eat it. Five minutes later Merlin joined her with his own
mouse. They kept it up until all six mice were gone. The men were
ecstatic. They were congratulating the boys and were quite proud of
them.
Dr. Dyer was so
thrilled he gave a talk to a ladies group in town. They expected him to
talk about medicine, but he told them he had something far more
miraculous to talk about. He kept the women spellbound with his
recounting of being a first hand witness to what the four boys
accomplished. He was amazed at their ingenuity and patience to get
these wild creatures to learn to fend for themselves.
The boys kept
that up and would skip a night leaving mice. Then they'd skip two
nights. Finally the owls were going out at night to find their own
mice, but they always returned to the barn. They would still let the
boys pet them and play with them until,— Boo met Mr. Boo and Merlin met
Mrs. Merlin. The boys fixed wonderful boxes with straw in them on
opposite ends of the barn. They built a landing pad and a small side
entrance to the main nest. It was like the owls knew immediately the
nest boxes were for them. There were four owls in the barn in two
nests. They raised four young that year and did for several years
afterward.
The other
critter the boys became quite fond of was a female skunk they found
almost dead and nursed back to health. They named her Ms. Pearl because
that was the beer Dad Dan, Uncle Buck, Don Rayborn and Lyle Rawlings
liked to drink on hot summer afternoons. The men would sometimes
take several bottles with them when they took the boys swimming and set
them in one of several springs that fed the creek into the limestone
quarry. The water coming up from the ground was ice cold and chilled
their beer down quickly with the cold, clear water running over the
bottles. They never got drunk, but they would get awfully close to each
other. By that time the boys didn't pay them much attention. That was
just what their four dads did in private, and they knew the boys
wouldn't be upset to see them with their arms around each other's
shoulders laying in the cool water. The four men loved each
other, and the boys took great comfort four of the major males in their
lives weren't afraid to show each other a little affection. The boys
knew they could always join them, and get a big arm thrown around them
and a kiss stolen.
The feed bill
for the critter infirmary was exceeding the boys allowances. They ask
if they could put jars for change for 'Sick Critter's Food' at certain
businesses, the sheriff's office, and even Doc Dyer sat one on the
check in counter of the small hospital. By the end of the first
month they had a surplus they carried over to the next month and then
had another gift from the community. It seemed like God, himself, was
providing for their efforts. Dr. Dyer wrote Agatha several letters
detailing the boy's progress. She was thrilled and sent them twenty
dollars in a letter.
Oatie was
elected secretary/treasurer for their enterprise and published accurate
records of donations, expenses and balances carried over to the next
month. The boys ran it strictly as a non-profit, charity organization.
Doctor Dyer wrote a brief account of the good the boys were doing to
help injured, sick animals and return them to the wild. It was
published in the small town newspaper. He recounted their success ratio
was twenty percent better than most hospitals. The boys published an
accounting monthly for anyone to review. It was tacked to the bulletin
board in the sheriff's station.
People and kids
all over the community began to find and bring the boys animals in need
of care. The nearest veterinarian was in a larger town forty-five miles
away. On one of his trips to the area he stopped to visit the boy's
critter hospital. He was as impressed as Dr. Dyer and gave them
lots of helpful advice. He sent them a list of easy to understand books
and government pamphlets on the care of injured wild animals. He
couldn't believe the boys taught tame owls to hunt for themselves. Dr.
Dyer was proud to tell him he was an eye witness.
One afternoon
the boys were devastated to walk into the barn and find every critter
they were caring for dead. Willie shot every critter in their infirmary
with his .22 rifle, except the owls and one other critter he didn't
know about. The owls were asleep in their boxes well hidden from plain
view. The boys saw him running away with his gun in his hand as they
came to the barn. After they buried their critters and shed tears in
each other's arms, they talked it over. They decided not to tell Dad
Dan for fear of what he might do. In the mean time Gip called Lyle
Rawlings and asked him to tell the sheriff and Don Rayborn. They
weren't interested in getting Willie into trouble so much as they
needed advice and help from the sheriff's office because they knew they
were going to have to eventually tell Dan. They asked Lyle if he and
the sheriff would come out as soon as they could so they could tell him.
They knew Dad
Dan would want to go over and pop Willie's head off with a church key.*
The boys were unsure whether they'd have the influence to stop him from
doing something out of blind rage they would all regret. Not only was
it a dastardly thing to do, but Willie trespassed on the Justin's
property to do the foul deed. When they told Dan, he was ready to go
over to Morgan's place with his twelve gage shot gun loaded with rock
salt for scaring crows away and shoot Willie's ass off. It wouldn't
kill him but it sure as Hell would make him wish he was dead. The
boys stood their ground in front of their beloved Dad Dan and tried to
make him listen to reason. Fortunately, Buck, Lyle, Don and Quinton
drove up just in time and talked sense to Dan. The boys weren't going
to let him get into trouble because of his anger. They loved him too
much for that.
The sheriff and
his three deputies arrived at the ranch as quickly as possible to act
as backup for the boys. They weren't there as lawmen, they were there
as Dan and the boy's friends. The boys assured Dan, Willie would get
his, leave it to them; trust them. When Willie got his, if Dan
wasn't satisfied it was pay back enough, the boys swore in front of the
sheriff and his men, all four boys would drop their pants, and Dan
could take his belt to each one. Dan wanted to know what the boys
planned to do. They looked at each other and fell out laughing.
"Don't ask us,
Dad Dan, 'cause you don't wanna' know." giggled Oatie with Clyde
shaking his head in agreement.
"Just trust us,
Dad," Gip begged his dad, "there comes a time when you gotta' trust
your kids. We've heard you say it a hunner't times, ain't we guys?" the
boys nodded in agreement with their brother. The sheriff and his
men backed them up, "You just gotta' trust us on this one, Dad. Don't
ask, because you know we won't lie, and that wouldn't be fair to us.
Tell him, Uncle Buck,— Mr. Rawlings."
"Them boys got a
strong point, brother. You can't deny we've all heard you say that. I
trust 'em. I think they know what they're doing, Dan. How many
times you and I just shook our heads and laughed our ass's off at the
things they've done to Willie. Each one seems to be worse and more
unique than the last. I, for one, can't wait to see what they
plan to do to top Willie's silent disease from a year ago." All the men
fell out laughing again.
"All I can think
to tell you, Dan," added Lyle Rawlings, "instead of going over there
and shoot'n Willie's ass off, we better drop to our damn knees and say
sentence prayers for poor Willie." The men roared with laughter and
even Dan chuckled. He finally gave up the idea of performing a
buttectomy on Willie with his shotgun. He decided to leave it to his
boys.
"You see,
Dad,..." spoke Waddie with a wicked smile on his face, "Willie didn't
shoot quite all the critters."
The boys didn't
elaborate, but somehow, at that moment, as angry as he was, Dan Justin
suddenly had a twinge of sympathy for Willie. Chills ran up Dan's spine
and he got the feeling maybe Lyle's suggestion wasn't such a bad idea.
Dan knew whatever the boys were planning to do to Willie would be God
awful. The men could count on pay-backs times ten. He and Buck learned
a long time ago their boys didn't do anything half-ass'ed.
The boys
befriended Ms. Pearl. They didn't tell anyone about her because they
were worried Dad Dan wouldn't like them helping a stinky cat, Madame
Pearl Le Peu. The boys quickly got use to her pungent smell, and it
went away in time. A dog or coyote got after her and even though
she tried to spray it, she got her back broken and a chunk bitten
out of her left hind leg. She was in bad shape. She was near death and
stunk because she tried to spray the coyote.
Waddie had a way
of humming to animals that seemed to hypnotize them, and they wouldn't
bite even if they were in severe pain. He taught the other boys, and
they got just as good at it; Gip especially; however, being
farm/ranch boys Waddie and Gip were warned constantly about rabid
animals, and to be very careful about handling wild animals which could
possibly be carrying rabies. The boys didn't take any chances with Ms.
Pearl. They eased a long flat shovel under her to gently lift her and
put her into a warm box.
She seemed to
know the boys were trying to help her and didn't make any effort to
resist. She especially liked Oatie and Gip for some reason, but she
came to trust all four boys equally. They carried her to the old barn
where they kept their sick critters; except, they decided to keep
her in the loft; their reasoning being, if she was up high, in her
condition, she wouldn't try to get away until she was healed. They fed
her, provided water for her and Waddie managed to get some flowers of
sulfur power and sulfathisole to help heal her wounds.
Ms. Pearl lay
there, accepted food and water from the boys for several weeks, and
seemed to enjoy their visits. They cleaned up her poop and took a warm
damp rag to gently clean her from time to time. She never made a move
to bite or spray them. Ms. Pearl got better and better. Her back
completely healed; except, she kinda favored her left leg and her back
end looked like a loose caboose when she walked. The flesh and hair
grew back over the flesh wound.
Since she was
nocturnal by nature the boys created a box with a lid that opened and a
made a tunnel out of straw she could crawl through to sleep undisturbed
during the day. When Willie shot all the other critters, Ms. Pearl was
still asleep in her artificial borough in the loft. The boys were
thrilled when Ms. Pearl waddled out in the evening for her food and
water. She allowed the boys to clean her and her bedding. She was
so use to it, she'd back her little butt up to the boy cleaning her.
They'd put fresh straw in her box, pet her gently and talk to her.
They'd encourage her by telling her how much better she looked, and she
was doing great. She wouldn't stay out too long but returned to her box
to rest and recuperate. Sometimes she'd carry an extra chunk of red
meat or dog biscuit back to her nest for a late night snack.
As she got
better, Ms. Pearl would follow the boys everywhere. They had her so
well trained, they could whistle and she knew it meant to hide herself.
She learned her name, and would come to the boy who was calling her.
They weren't going to let Willie hurt her. Let anyone else come around
her or her boys, she'd turn, raise her tail, start thumping her little
back feet, and you damn well better not come closer to her boys than a
good fifteen feet. If you stayed your distance she'd calm down and let
you talk to the boys; however, the minute you made a move closer, her
little butt was turned towards you, and those tiny little feet were
thumping out a warning. The boys loved her and could do anything with
her. They could pick her up, pet her, and give her treats. You
couldn't see her interrelate with the four without knowing she dearly
loved her boys, and was protective of them. The boys never felt so safe
as when Ms. Pearl was with them. They saved her life, and she was
grateful.
One day the boys
decided it was time to share their new best friend with the folks they
loved. It was a fourth of July party at the Justin's. All the deputies,
their wives and kids were there. The usual family folks of the Dyers,
Davenports, Claymores, Ma and Pa Lovejoy, and Tates were there. Even
Uncle Enid drove down to celebrate the fourth with 'her boys.' Morgan
was away from home and of course, as usual, Judy and her kids didn't
show.
The boys were
laughing and giggling about something all morning. They had their heads
together talking amongst themselves, away from the adults, laughing,
giggling and carrying on. Dan and Buck knew they were up to something,
and it was like waiting for the other boot to drop.
Finally, Oatie stood on a picnic table to make an
announcement. Buck and Dan knew they were about to find out
what the fearsome foursome were up to.
"Folks! If I
could have your attention for a moment! It's important everyone listen.
Me and my brothers, Waddie, Gip and Clyde have invited our new best
friend to meet ya'll but you can't get too close. Parents! Please hang
on to your kids, and don't let them run up to us because it could be
disastrous. Our guest is a wild critter we've nursed back to health,
and she won't stand for anyone but her four doctors coming within
fifteen feet of her."
Yonder came
Clyde, Waddie and Gip being followed by their new best friend Madame
Pearl Le Pue. The crowd was stunned. No one dared breathe. They didn't
know whether to shit or run. No one could believe the boys new best
friend was a skunk, and a loaded one at that. Uncle Enid slapped Buck
on the back, and they broke up into gales of laughter.
"Buck,— ya'
oughta lock them Goddamn boys up and throw away the key! They're gonna'
be dangerous when they grow up!" laughed Uncle Enid. That only caused
Buck and the deputies to break up laughing. Then everybody started
laughing. Everyone was dumbfounded. They couldn't believe what they
were seeing. Nobody makes a girlfriend of a loaded skunk. It's just not
done in polite society. It's not like you can take her home and
introduce her to your family. However, the upside is you don't have to
spend much on her for perfume.
Ms. Pearl would
let the boys hold her, play with her, pet her, climb all over them, and
they'd give her treats. She'd jump in their laps and let them do
anything they wanted to her. She loved to have her tummy tickled. Her
idea of heaven was laying on her back in one of the boy's lap,
crunching away on a dog biscuit held between her two little front paws
while one of the boys tickled her tummy. The deputies, Buck, Dan, Doc
Dyer and Uncle Enid were laughing their ass's off. Buck told them,
"You know
exactly what them boys plan to do with that skunk, don't cha'?
Someway,— somehow,— they're gonna' figure out a way to get Ms. Pearl to
spray Willie. I'd be willing to bet a month's pay. Just as sure as God
made little green apples you can count on them boys getting back at
Willie with that damn skunk."
Finally, the
boys called for Ms. Pearl to follow them, and they took her back to the
loft. They trained her to get into a little wooden carrying basket and
lay down so they could tie a rope around the handle and lift her
comfortably to her loft. They called it the 'pearl-a-vator.' They came
back to the party to much congratulations and good wishes for their
critter hospital. Once again Dr. Dyer was really impressed by the boys
and their talent. The boys asked the folks not to talk too much about
what they'd seen that afternoon and they didn't. They all knew
why. They weren't about to jeopardize the boy's plans.
* * * * *
* *
Willie had the
habit of bringing his four cronies home with him every Friday evening,
going into his room and locking his door as usual. They'd have a
bullshit session and talk about girls. Out of habit he hung the key on
a nail next to the door. Willie started keeping his window closed but
never locked. One Friday evening the boys smuggled Ms. Pearl up to
Waddie's room in her basket and let her run around. Then they took her
and put her in Willie's room and closed the window. Ms. Pearl
investigated then decided to crawl under Willie's bed and take a nap.
Willie came home
with his cronies, went into his room and locked the door behind them.
He hooked the key onto the nail by the door and the boys made
themselves comfortable. Ms. Pearl comes waltzing out from under the bed
and sees it's not her four boys and goes into her little foot stomp'n
totentanze.* Two of the boys yelled and headed for the door, but, of
course, it was locked. All they could do was frantically twist and pull
on the knob to no avail. One pushed the other out of the way thinking
he could get the damn thing open.
Willie went for
the key the same time another boy lunged for it, but the key went
flying through the air onto the bed. Willie ran for the key, and that's
all it took for Ms. Pearl to release her version of 'Evening in
Paris.' She got Willie right, smack dab in the face. Willie
dropped the key and, in his confusion he kicked it under the bed. One
of the other boys lunged for it, but Ms. Pearl took deadly aim and got
him, too, right in the kisser. It smelled so bad the other two were
yelling and crying. One of the other boys finally manage to locate the
key, but it was on the other side of Ms. Pearl near the window.
She was between them and the key, still just a' doing her ‘rump thump'n
rumba.'
The boy lunged
across the bed, and managed to toss the key to the other boy nearer the
door. Ms. Pearl was not amused and got both of them in a cross fire
that would have made a western gun slinger green with envy, if not from
the smell. Not only was she accurate, she was deadly accurate. The boys
fogged out of the room and ran downstairs, screaming, hollering and
yelling at the top of their lungs.
"Oh, God! Oh,
God! I'm blind! Oh, God, I'm blind!" Willie cried. The other boys
joined in on the chorus of this geek tragedy. (pun intended) As they
exited the room Willie didn't worry about locking it. They left the
door wide open. Ms. Pearl Texas two-stepped out into the hallway.
Waddie opened his door so the boys could get a good peek at Willie and
his four cronies in their hasty exit. Ms. Pearl saw her boys, strolled
over to them, walked into Waddie's room and crawled into her carry
basket. Waddie gave her a chunk of red meat, patted her on her head,
told her what a wonderful lady she was but admonished her she was going
to get a bad reputation because she had a tendency to wear too much
perfume. Ms. Pearl promptly curled up into a ball and went to sleep.
Her job, here, was done. She was exhausted. She needed a nap. The boys
felt she damn well deserved it.
Judy made Willie
and his crew take off their clothes and throw them in the incinerator.
She threw them each a bar of lie soap and a couple of scrub brushes.
She wouldn't let them back into the house or into the bathrooms until
they washed off some of the stink. They had to rinse each other with
ice cold water from the hose. She made them repeat the procedure four
of five times until their skin was almost raw and blue from the cold
water. She gave them four towels to dry themselves and throw in the
incinerator. She finally let them into the house, but they had to use
the two bathrooms upstairs. Waddie kept his locked, so they had to use
Willie's. Willie told his mother to go fuck herself, two of them were
going to use Dorothy's bathroom. Dorothy quickly evacuated her room to
go stay with a friend. The entire house reeked of skunk. It was, to put
it mildly, a God awful stench. Willie and his boys got into the
bathrooms to try to bathe more of the smell off each other. Judy gave
them all the tomato juice she had to rub on each other and then wash
off. The house reeked of skunk for months. The fearsome foursome didn't
care. They'd taken care of Ms. Pearl for so long they were use to it.
Under the cover
of nightfall, Waddie, Gip, Oatie and Clyde left by way of the window
and down the vine covered trellis. They gently lowered Ms. Pearl, still
in her basket, down to one of the other boys. They slowly made their
way back to the Justin's ranch and returned Ms. Pearl to her temporary
borough. Waddie gave her a nice chunk of red meat to take with her.
When she got to the opening of her little tunnel Ms. Pearl stopped,
turned and every boy swore they saw her wink. Then she turned and
disappeared into her nest. For a lady of breeding and quality, she had
a busy afternoon.
Dan tried to get
the boys to tell him what happened, but they couldn't stop laughing
long enough. They laughed their ass's off every time anyone mentioned
it. Momma Sue and Dan knew the boys had done the deed, because they
heard the screams and yelling all the way to their place; to say
nothing of Ms. Pearl signature fragrance wafting on the evening breeze.
Dan remembered what Buck said, 'the boy's revenge on Willie would be
God awful.' Dan called the sheriff's station. Buck and Lyle hadn't left
for the evening. Dan told Buck to tell Lyle they should have gotten on
their knees and said the sentence prayers for Willie. The boys got
their revenge today.
Buck, Lyle,
Quinton, Don drove by to pick up Linda Sue at the front of Buck's place
and made it out to the Justin’s as fast as they could. The boys were in
the shower bathing each other because they reeked to high heaven but
not nearly as bad as Willie and his crew. It only took them a couple of
rinses with a bar of Ivory. When the boys walked out in clean
clothes and saw their family they all four broke up laughing again.
Oatie was nominated to tell the story, and tell it, he did. Filtered
through Oatie's fertile mind the story became a comic folk-epic
to contend with Beowolf. Oatie had an innate gift of bullshit mixed
with brilliant word play and attention to detail that left no one
standing. They all had to sit down they were laughing so hard as Oatie
told the story.
The story got
all over the damn county. When Oatie told all the deputies at the
sheriff's station including Mrs. Anderson, he had to stop several times
the men were so sore from laughing at his enlarged version of the tale.
Mrs. Anderson was in tears. She'd never heard anything so funny in her
life. Oatie must have told that story a hundred times and each time he
improved on it 'til it couldn't have been more funny. As many times as
they heard Oatie tell the story even the boys would drop on the floor
laughing at Oatie's recounting of "Ms. Pearl's Shoot Out at the Lovejoy
Corral."
Dr. Dyer and his
wife never laughed so hard in their lives. Buck and Linda Sue laughed
every time they heard Oatie tell the story. They laughed so much they
hurt. When Uncle Enid heard Oate's retelling of the story she had to
stop him three or four times before he could go on.
"Didn't I tell
you, Buck!!" she'd slap her leg and break out laughing, "Them boys are
dangerous! They're libel to kill this dirty old lady from laughing so
much."
The only people
who didn't hear about it was Willie, his three cronies, Morgan,
Judy and Dorothy. Of all the people who knew, not a soul ever said a
word to them. The community was tight lipped when it came to protecting
their boys.
Then one day Ms.
Pearl disappeared, and the boys were heartsick. They thought for sure
Willie killed her. The next spring yonder come Ms. Pearl with five kits
trailing along behind her. She brought her family to show her boys. She
was so proud of them, and it seemed like she wanted the boy's approval.
After all, they were part of her family. She just came by to say,
"hello" and "thanks." She spent all afternoon with the boys. Buck got
film of the boys petting and playing with her kits. She let the boys
play with them and pet them. The boys gave her treats and some
for the kids. At the end of the day Ms. Pearl gathered her children,
counted them, was satisfied they were all there, went to each boy, in
turn, to get her head patted, told how wonderful and beautiful
her family was and they were so proud and happy she shared them.
Ms. Pearl turned
and they waddled off. They never saw her again. However, for years, the
boys always remembered Ms. Pearl in their prayers at Thanksgiving to
much giggling and hooting at what some folks thought should've been a
solemn occasion. Buck declared the Old Man was probably sitting at the
table, slapping his knee and laughing his ass off with the rest off
them. Buck was right. When Mr. Urial told the Old Man about Ms. Pearl
the heavens rumbled for three days.
"You know, I
don't know if'n we should've ever gotten those boys together." mused
Buck one afternoon, "Separately they're the sweetest boys you'd ever
want to meet, but together, . . . no one in the damn county’s safe.
I've overheard them talking when they didn't know they were being
listened to, and they throw ideas back and forth to each other like
rice at a wedding. Them kids are fearless. I have a fear, one of these
days, they're gonna' get bored tormenting Willie and he's gonna'
disappear. I guarantee you one damn thing, they'll have a water tight
alibi, and no one will ever find poor Willie."
Willie couldn't
prove it but he had a gut feeling that little bastard Waddie and his
three slimy little friends had something to do with that damn skunk in
his room. He thought it was strange they never found a trace of it
afterward. Willie was determined to get Waddie back big time and
arranged an elaborate plan to once again frame Waddie for something
that would really piss Morgan off.
* * * * *
* *
Whither thou
goest ~
Oatie was
spending several days with Lyle and his wife Mavis on their ranch a
little further down the road from Morgan and the Justin's. It was a hot
early summer day. Lyle and Oatie were out riding fences all morning to
repair anything that needed fixing. They stopped for lunch beside the
creek that ran through most all the men's properties. They watered
their horses and left them to graze in a shaded area. Lyle took out
their lunch Mavis fixed them and a thermos of kool-aid. The men had
lunch, Lyle decided it was too damn hot to ride the fence the
rest of the afternoon, so he and Oatie decided to cool off in the
creek. It wasn't as deep in Lyle's area as the quarry but you could
still swim and certain parts were over Oatie's head. Lyle was playing
around with Oatie and Oatie was giggling like he usually does. They
settled down, and lay together in the cool water on a sand bar.
It was a beautiful afternoon. The katydids were calling to each other
from tree to tree. Lyle and Oatie hadn't had a chance to spend
much quality time with each other of late.
Oatie was laying
in Lyle's arms. They had no qualms about touching each other from all
the naked poker parties at Buck's parent's house. A couple of times
Oatie asked Lyle to stay the night with him in Gip and Waddie's room.
He did, and they slept in each other's arms all night. Lyle couldn't
get Oatie any closer. He fell in love with Oatie. He wanted Oatie to be
his son.
"C. D. ?" Oatie
asked shyly. Out of respect for Mr. Rawlings' position the boys
shortened 'Chief Deputy' to 'C. D.' His deputies picked it up from the
boys, and soon, the entire town was referring to Lyle Rawlings as C. D.
Rawlings.
"Yes, Oatie?"
"Awww,— nothing,
Sir."
Lyle rolled over
on his side facing Oatie whose head was laying on his big arm. He
reached over and bussed a kiss behind Oatie's ear.
"Why don't chu’
go ahead and hear yourself say it, cowboy. We both know what you wanna'
say. 'Sides,— you gotta' know I feel the same damn way 'bout
chu.'"
"Well, C.D.,—
you know I love Uncle Buck, Dad Dan, Quinton, Mr. Rayborn, and all the
other deputies a lot. I really, really do love them with all my heart.
They've all been so damn good to me and my brothers. I love my three
brothers more'n life itself, but, Mr. Rawlings, Sir,..." Oatie had
tears rolling down his cheeks, and Lyle was kissing each one away.
"But,...but,.... I love you special, Mr. Rawlings."
"Oatie, you
don't love me one 'eye-yota' more'n I love you. We're partners, Son,
you and me. We're a team. I'm convinced God meant for us to be
together. Ain't never had this closeness with any man or boy in my
life; not even my own dad. Ain't no one can ever take that away from
us, Oatie. Why,— I can look at you and know what's going through that
bright little mind of yours. I know why you're crying and what else you
wanna' tell me."
"You do?"
"Sure I do! But,
I can't make a wish come true unless I hear it from the other person.
You tell me what's in your heart, and I promise we'll work together to
see it come true."
"Well,— C.D.,—
Sir,— Waddie has three dads,— Gip has three dads,— Clyde has three
dads,— well four, counting you,— and,— well,— they're my dad's,
too,— but,—”
"I can't help
you with this step, Oatie. You have to take this one by yourself, Son.
As much as I'd like to take you by the hand and lead you, it has to
come from you; your mouth; your heart, and 'only' your heart. I
can't say the words for you, Son."
"Goddamn it, Mr.
Rawlings,— I love you so damn much I wish't you were my dad."
Lyle grabbed
Oatie to him, held him close for a good while, then he kissed Oatie
gently on his mouth.
"Damn, Son!
Didn't think you were ever gonna' get that out! What if I told you your
aunts agreed to let Mavis and I adopt you but only if you asked us to."
"Really, Mr.
Rawlings? Really?" Oatie's face lit up. "Well, Sir, I'm ask'n! No,— C.
D.!" Oatie got on his knees in the water and clasp his hands in front
of him, "I'm a' beggin' you, Sir! Please, Mr. Rawlings,— C.D.,— Sir,—
would you, please, consider being my dad? It would be so great to know
I had my own dad."
"In our hearts
we know I've all ready become your dad, Oatie. You and I've known for
sometime we want that for each other. We just had to wait until you
were ready to ask. There has to be a year’s trial period, Mavis and I
agreed to, and at the end of that period, if'n you still want to, we
can officially adopt you. You'll become Oatie Rawlings, our son.
Might as well make it official, Oatie. Hell, everybody in town's
beginning to think you're my son, anyway."
"That's
wonderful, Mr. Rawlings, but do you think my name could be Oatie Justin
Claymore Rawlings."
"Of course,
Oatie! That's perfect! I know two of your dads will be thrilled. It
would be polite to ask the sheriff and the Claymore seniors if you may
take their name. The same with Dan Justin."
"Good idea, Sir.
I plan to, but when do I get to start calling you 'dad,' C. D. and Mrs.
Rawlings 'mom?'"
"Oh, I don't
know," Lyle threw back his head scratching his chin like he was musing
the question, "How's about soon's we seal this deal with a kiss,
cowboy?"
Oatie threw his
arms around Lyle's neck and kissed Lyle Rawlings right on the mouth so
hard and passionately Lyle got roaring hard; so did Oatie.
"See, Dad! I
done told ju’ we love each other." Lyle threw back his head and roared
with laughter.
"I can't gainsay
that, Son! Just look how much I love you!" Oatie and Lyle hugged and
laughed. Oatie grabbed himself a big ole handful of C. D. dick. Lyle
had ample for Oatie to grab.
"I'd say that
was enough love to last a life time, Dad." Oatie giggled. Lyle grabbed
Oatie's considerable amount of love potential, and it was almost rock
hard. It was so big it rarely got fully hard.
"How 'bout
loaning me six inches of that love, Son. You'll never miss it! Shit!
You got enough love there to last two life times, but chu’ know
what? I can't deny, there's just something about having a son
whose got the biggest dick in school." They both broke up laughing,
hugged and kissed again.
"Sounds right to
have you call me ‘dad,’ Son. I sure like to call you ‘son,’ Oatie. I'm
s'damn proud of you. I couldn't a had me a better boy, Oatie. You just
made this old cowboy a very happy man. Did you know you could've had
your choice of ten men in this community who would gladly be your dad;
however, you picked me, old C. D. to be your dad. That means a lot,
Oatie. more'n you'll ever know. Most times a man don't get to choose
the kid God gives him. He has to do the best he can with what he gets.
God let me choose. I chose you, Oatie, to be my son. He gave you a
choice of dads. You chose me. We chose each other. I love you, Son."
"What da' ya'
mean, Dad,— I didn't have no choice. If'n I didn't pick you, you'd lose
your ass at poker." Oatie giggled as Lyle tickled him for his
impertinence. That's one of the things Lyle loved most about Oatie.
When anyone was taking themselves a little too seriously, Oatie had a
giant 'hat pin wit' that would burst their bubble and snap them back to
reality pretty damn quick. But Oatie had his serious side, too.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Son?"
"I love you,
too, more'n stars in the sky." That got Oatie a big hug and a kiss
stolen from him. Lyle stole so damn many kisses from him that
afternoon, Oatie had to restock.
A year later the
papers were filed in the county records that the child, Othal Godfrey
Trent, known as, 'Oatie' Trent, was adopted as the son of Chief Deputy
and Mrs. Lyle T. Rawlings, and his new name from that day forth would
be, Oatie Justin Claymore Rawlings. The Justins were there. All the
Claymores were there. In fact all the members of Oatie's family
including his aunts were there. Even Uncle Enid came for the weekend.
She wouldn't have missed it for the world. She and Buck spent the
weekend laughing together and having a wonderful time.
The following
Sunday after church the Sheriff and Mrs. Buck Claymore were installed
as Godparents to Oatie, Mavis Lyle Rawlings, Clyde Rayborn and Gip
Justin. Lyle, Oatie, Clyde, Don, Gip and Dan were all baptized at the
same ceremony. The whole damn town including Morgan was there. Morgan's
family wasn't. Afterward they had the greatest picnic in the park
anyone could remember. It was a joyous day. Sheriff Buck Claymore set a
new world record for stolen kisses.
The first day of
fifth grade. One of the brightest, well liked kids in school took his
little sister Mavis Lyle by the hand and saw to it she was comfortable
in the first grade. Lyle and Mavis marveled at their closeness and
communication. Mavis Lyle trusted Oatie more than she did her own
parents. She didn't want them to take her to school. She wanted her big
brother Oatie to take her. Mavis and Lyle looked at each other and
smiled. They knew they'd done the right thing for both their kids.
* * * * *
* *
Oh Brother,
wherefor art thou?
Morgan's life
was coming apart at the seams. His boy was being embraced and loved by
a community of people who didn't understand what Morgan was trying to
do for him. He knew on the surface Waddie was a lovable child, but he
would do insidious things his family witnessed. The kid had the
temerity to lie to Morgan with a straight face insisting the other
three of his family were framing him and lied to protect Willie. If
that wasn't bad enough, the kid developed the mental ability to defy
his punishment and refused to admit the truth he was lying. Ever since
Waddie lived that year with Morgan’s brother, Buck, he hadn't been a
bad kid, but the things he would do spoke volumes to Morgan of his
disgust for him and his family.
Morgan loved his
brother, but he knew Buck was taken in by Waddie like the rest of the
community. Sure, the kid seemed to love Morgan, he knew all the words
to say, but Morgan was the only one who really knew underneath, Waddie
carefully planned all his misdeeds to punish Morgan for what Waddie
thought in his childish mind was Morgan's abandoning him in favor of
his family. Why couldn't others see it as clearly as Morgan
could? It was obvious Waddie was jealous of his love for Judy, Willie,
and Dorothy. Waddie simply wanted Morgan for himself. He wasn't willing
to share Morgan, or try to be a part of Morgan's family. The
boy succeeded in alienating an entire community against him and
his family. One thing Morgan couldn't figure out. How was it, he could
whip the child until he bled or passed out without him so much as
flinching to some of his most powerful blows?
To control
Waddie he had to break him and teach him the right way. Waddie wouldn't
come around him for days after one of his whippings. Morgan knew why.
Waddie was punishing him by avoiding him. He refused to cave into
Waddie's game, go find him, and beg him to come home. That would be
admitting weakness on Morgan's part as a good father. Waddie would even
talk his buddies into to feeding and watering Morgan’s livestock and
Buck’s ponies for sometimes a week to ten days. Morgan knew,— yes, he
knew,— Waddie got his buddies to do his chores just to avoid Morgan.
Then, Waddie would come back, hug and kiss him and tell Morgan he
forgave him for punishing him unjustly. Morgan saw it as Waddie's way
of apologizing to him for lying. Waddie would tell Morgan he forgave
him, still loved him, but soon he would not. Then Morgan wouldn't have
a son anymore, and he would never call him 'dad' again.
He tried to
spook Morgan by telling him he'd been visited by an angel and God would
take Waddie away from him. Morgan laughed off the boy's attempts to
scare him with religious mumbo-jumbo. Morgan knew Waddie didn't know
what he was talking about, he would be Morgan's son forever, and Morgan
would have Waddie show him the respect he was due by calling him
'Dad.' Morgan so passionately wanted family he was willing to
sell the devil the only soul in his house who truly loved him.
If, anyone who reads this, has any doubts, that a man's mind can be so
focused on one goal, one great passion, to the exclusion of the rest of
his world, he's quite wrong. There is no man so blind as he who will
not see nor one so deaf as he who will not hear. Morgan could do
neither.
Willie succeeded
in getting his mother and Dorothy to back him one more time but this
time it had to do with the stock Waddie was taking care of for Morgan.
Once again Morgan wouldn't listen to Waddie and allowed Judy to be the
final vote in his punishment. Morgan could understand Waddie doing
something bad to him to try an punish Morgan into seeing things his
way, but he never thought the boy would stoop so low as to injure an
animal in his charge. Waddie saw what was happening, and expected
another beating; however, he refused to let Morgan drag him out to the
barn. He heard a voice inside him.
"I'm with you,
my Son. Let me take over. Your words won't be your own. Don't panic. It
must come to pass, but you'll feel nothing. I'll not desert you."
"Get your
fucking hands off me! I'll walk to the barn like a man. I refuse to be
dragged out there like a Goddamn animal."
Waddie looked at
Morgan with all the fierceness in him he could muster. Morgan hauled
off and slapped Waddie across the face as hard as he could. Waddie's
head didn't even move. Blood was coming from two places on his mouth
and nose, but he felt nothing. He didn't even turn his head away from
Morgan.
"Don't you ever
speak to me that disrespectfully again, you understand?"
"You hit me once
before like that when I was five years old. I almost died because
of it! That won’t ever happen again! You ever hit me again like
that again, you'll be a dead man before the sun sets! Do you
understand?" Waddie didn’t yell at Morgan. He spoke his
words slowly in a voice so calm and determined it shook Morgan to his
core. The way the boy said it, their was no doubt left in Morgan’s
mind, Waddie meant what he said. A chill ran up Morgan’s
spine because he realized he’d stepped across the boundaries of what
the boy would tolerate. He knew Waddie would kill him if he
ever hit him again like that. Morgan tried to stare him down, but even
though the blood was flowing down Waddie’s face he refused to take his
fierce mean gaze away from Morgan's.
"Do you
understand?" yelled Morgan.
"Do YOU
understand?" replied Waddie quietly and forcefully.
Waddie didn't
move, but didn't avert his mean gaze away for a minute. He was
challenging Morgan, but Morgan was afraid to pursue it further.
Morgan finally broke their gaze, and settled for giving Waddie a shove
toward the barn; however, he no longer tried to humiliate Waddie by
dragging him to the barn like and animal. Waddie walked at his
own pace with his head held high in defiance of Morgan like he was a
resigned, proud warrior being marched to his execution.
Waddie didn't try to wipe the blood from his face. It was getting all
over him but inside he was as calm and peaceful as a placid lake
without a ripple. He refused to say another word to Morgan. They
marched to the barn, and Morgan began his tirade.
"If you're
willing to admit you done it, I'll go light on you, Son. Don't make me
have to break you, Waddie."
"Why bother with
a whippin,' Dad. Why don't you just kill me. Go in the house, get your
Goddamn gun, come back out here and shoot me. Kill me! You almost
killed me when I was five years old, but you were relieved you
didn't. Least you didn't have to go to jail for murder. I was
dead, Dad, but I chose to come back for you;— because I loved you. What
difference does it make if you kill me with your gun or with your
insistence that I'm a bad boy what's got a devil in him, and you're the
fucking Pope. That's what you're doing anyway. I'd rather get it over
with than have you kill me bit by bit."
"You still
riding that dead horse! Trying to scare me or threaten me with your God
and angel story! If you’re so close to God,— if you got chu’ an
angel with a direct line to the Old Man,— if you ain’t lying, why don’t
he step in and do something about it?"
"He does!
He’s here with me right now, only you can’t see him. He puts his
hand on me and I never feel one of your hits from your old belt. Why
the Hell do you think I never give into you or admit I’m lying?
Also, I'm older and stronger now, Dad, and I ain't never gonna' admit
to you or no son of a bitch I done something I didn't just so's you can
see me cry, and that asshole step-brother of mine can laugh at me
behind my back for taking a licking for something he done. I was never
guilty any of those times in the past, and I'm not guilty now. He ain't
only laughing at me, Dad, he's laughing at you. So's Judy and Dorothy!
Laughing at what a fool you are to believe them. I'd never do to an
animal what they said I done to that pony. You're taking three sick
people's word over your son's. Thanks a lot, you stupid, hardheaded son
of bitch! You'd rather kill the only love you have in your life so's
you can hear him say he did something he didn't. You're not only
stupid, you're as sick, as meanspirited and as soulless as they are!"
Morgan raised
his hand to hit Waddie again, but there came the same challenging look
in Waddie's eyes he’d seen before that told Morgan if he hit Waddie he
would be a dead man before sunset. Morgan’s blood ran cold. He knew
Waddie well enough to know he didn't make empty threats. Morgan knew,
without a doubt, the boy would kill him. Morgan dropped his hand in
disgust.
"Go get your
gun, Dad. I ain't afraid to die,— but you are! You kill me, then you'll
be rid of me for good, and you won't have to worry about me being a bad
boy no more. You won't have to be frustrated when I walk away from here
without playing your silly game. I won't lie to you no more to get you
to stop beating me. Y'ain't got me to lie to you for neigh on to
five years have ya'? Frustrates the shit out a' ya', don't
it? I know you ain't gonna' listen to me. I know you're probably
horny. You ain't fucked Judy in months. That's what this is all about,
and you know it. It's so's you can get your rocks off beating me. Why
don't you just let me suck you off, and we'll call it even. Either way
you ain't never gonna' get me to admit I done something I didn't."
"I've heard
enough of your garbage. Drop your pants, boy, bend over that bail and
get ready."
Waddie didn’t
hesitate. He complied with Morgan’s demand. Morgan didn't start
in easy and build up. The first couple of blows were as hard as he
could make them. Waddie didn't flinch. Morgan just couldn't understand
it. A grown man would be writhing on the floor in pain.
"Come on, Dad!
You mean-ass, heartless bastard! You can whip me harder than that!
Ain't chu' man enough to make your kid cry when you whip him? Hit me
harder if you think you can. You ain't gonna' win! I'll die before
you'll make me lie again just to get you to stop beating me.
"Shut up,
Waddie!" He whipped Waddie harder. Waddie got up on his elbows and
looked back at his dad who stopped momentarily.
"You're gettin'
off on this ain'cha, old man? Don't think I don't know you get a
hard-on and come in your jeans. That's the real draw ain't it? You
don't give a rat's ass about who's telling the truth anymore, . . . you
won't admit it but you know in your heart I'm telling the truth. You
bring me out here to whip me so's you can get your jollies, don't cha'?
The demented homo inside of you is really enjoying this." Waddie
turned around and looked at Morgan's crotch. "Yeah, I thought so! You
got a hard-on and you're pissing in your pants, huh Dad? C'mon, Dad,
just let me give you a blow job. You don't have to beat my ass to get
your rocks off. This is really why you wanted a son, ain't it? A kid to
take out your frustrations on 'cause the rest of your life is going to
shit. I tell you what, old man, why don't you save us both some
heartache and just come tell me when you need to get your rocks off by
beating my ass? It'ud be a Hell of a lot easier on me. I don't mind
helping a buddy out. You can beat my ass 'til you come.
I've got to be
the stupidest kid on Earth, Dad. You know why? You know why, Dad?
'Cause I can't stop loving you,— you bastard,— you sick son of a bitch.
I love you so Goddamn much if that's what my dad needs to get his
pleasure, I'll damn sure put my ass up there for him to beat until he
comes. There's only one catch, Dad! When you come you have to yell out
how much you love me. If that's the only way I can get your love, I'm
willing to give it to you, no questions asked. If you were a man at all
you'd at least offer to let your kid catch for you. Oh, fuck it,—
what's the use? You don't never listen to me anyway,— ya’ never did,—
get on with your child beating.
What does it
take to convince you those three Goddamn people you got living in your
house are crazy people, Dad? You believe them over me all this damn
time. You don't deserve to have a son. You're nothing but a perverted
child beater. You keep doing it 'cause it's sexually exciting to you.
It has nothing to do with punishment anymore, does it, Dad? You just
love to come home and find Willie, and them two bitches has framed me
again so's you can come out here and beat your kid to get your rocks
off."
Waddie shut up
waiting for the next blows. He'd hoped his words were like the ram's
horns that were blown the day at Jericho when the walls came tumbling
down. There wasn't a chink out of place in Morgan's wall.
"Shut up,
Waddie! Shut, the fuck, up! Shut up before you make me so damn mad I
really do hurt you!"
Waddie started
laughing and laughed at what Morgan said through the next four or five
hits. His ass was beginning to bleed pretty bad.
"I should of
left with that angel when I was dying. I prayed you'd come around and
learn to love and trust me, but you know what, Morgan? You can't even
trust yourself."
"What did you
call me?"
"'Morgan!' 'At's
your name, ain't it?"
"You'll show me
proper respect, young man. You call me 'dad.'"
"I told you the
day would come when I won't call you dad no more and I wouldn't forgive
you either. Well, today's the day! You ain't my dad no more, Morgan,
and I don't forgive you anymore! A dad would never do this to his son!
If you ain't smart enough to tell when your kid's telling the truth,
you don't deserve to have him call you 'dad.' I certainly don't intend
to live with or call any son of a bitch my 'dad' when he won't believe
me. I've never lied to you Morgan until you've whipped me to make me
lie. I’m convinced you ain’t never gonna’ come around to believing in
me. I’ll always be an outsider to your world.
As far as
calling you ‘dad’ is concerned, you show me respect and I'll show you
respect. Until then, Morgan, you can whip me 'til your Goddamn arm
falls off or you kill me first. I ain't gonna' call you dad no more,
ain't gonna' cry, and I sure as Hell ain't gonna' admit to something I
ain't never done. I'd rather die than have that son of a bitch’n
step-brother of mine get away with this. Brother? Hell, that lying,
conniving bastard lives in your house and continues living there no
matter what he's doing to your son, and you don't give a good Goddamn!
You've whipped me so many fuck'n times I lost count. You beat me for
things Willie done because that bitch, him, and his dimwit sister gang
up on me. Boy, you really picked one when you picked Judy to play the
role of my ma. I hope the whore dies, goes to Hell, and burns in a lake
of fire forever."
"Don't say that,
Waddie! That's your ma you're talking about." Waddie turned, looked
Morgan dead in the eye, and wouldn't release his gaze.
"Am I gonna' get
to beat your ass 'til it bleeds for that bold faced lie, Morgen? Admit
it, Morgan! It's a lie! You know Goddamn well it's a lie, Morgan! You
know I know she ain't my damn ma. She told me so! The angel told me,
too, and you know what else he told me, Morgan,— you wanna’ know,
Morgan,— you listening, Morgan? You ain't my Goddamn dad! You can't
have no kids, Morgan! You’re as sterile as a mule. That's why you
married that slut 'cause you wanted a family, and she all ready had
one. Then you talked her into putting her name on my birth certificate."
"That's crazy
talk, Waddie. You made up all that shit! You don't know what the Hell
you're talking about. That's just another one of your fantasies to
separate us further. Of course I'm your dad, and Judy's your mother.
You might as well get use to it! Kids get crazy notions like that when
they ain't happy with their parents. They make up stories about being
adopted, and after a while, they start to believe it."
"You
hypocritical son of a bitch. You stand there, lie to me to my face, and
you think you can beat the truth out of me? Why don't you go beat the
truth out of Willie? I'll tell you what, Morgan, at least be fair about
this. Tell Willie, from now on, no matter whose fault it is, the man
whose time it is to get whipped gets the punishment; alternate back and
forth. You'll see a stop to all this nonsense pretty damn quick. You
know why? 'Cause Willie's a Goddamned, yellow-bellied son of a
bitch. He'll think twice before he tries to set me up again;
especially, if it's his turn next.
It was too
late. Morgan tuned Waddie out. His rage made him refuse to
hear or consider any of the words coming from the boy. Morgan started
really wailing on Waddie's butt. He felt if he didn't make the boy cry
and scream, he didn't have control over him. Truth was, Morgan lost
control of his son several years before. He kept his onslaught of
whipping until Waddie's ass was bleeding more than pretty badly.
It began to look like shredded beef. Waddie was aware of Morgan's belt
hitting his bare ass really hard,— but there was no pain. He could feel
the rush of cool air on his raw skin as the belt approach, but he never
felt it hit. Nevertheless, his body was reacting to the
onslaught. Waddie passed out and collapsed. Morgan didn't expect
that to happen. Subsequently, as Waddie fell from the haybail,
one of Morgan’s last and hardest blows hit Waddie across the back at an
angle and started to bleed profusely.
"Where am I?"
Waddie tried to focus his eyes. Standing in front of him with tears in
his eyes was Mr. Urial with his arms open to him. Waddie went into his
arms and cried his heart out. The big, handsome angel held him tight.
"It's so good to
see you again, child, but it breaks my heart I have to come to you
under these circumstances. I've come to love you so much, Waddie. I
know! I know! The first damn thing we learn in angel training school is
not to fall in love with the people we help. But, damn it! I can't help
it. You try to be so damn good, love him even though you know he ain't
your dad, and that man is blind to you. He's going to wake you up in a
few minutes, you'll have to go through a little more, but the
second time you wake up, get up and walk. You'll be invisible to
everyone, but those I choose to see you.
Don't be afraid,
Son, I’ll be with you. People you know will pass by you, but they won’t
see you. I'll direct you. Walk out to the black top, catch a ride to
the main highway, and hitch from there. A truck driver will pick you up
and help you. He's one of our boys. It's important you don't stay
another night under Morgan's roof,— you must get away, Son. It's time
for you to go."
"Thanks for
being with me, Mr. Urial. I couldn't have made it without you, Sir. I
love you, too, Mr. Urial. God don't mind if you slip up once in a
while. He told me so. It's all right for you to love me 'cause I love
you, too, Mr. Urial. So does my brother, Gip. He said to tell you 'hi'
if'n I ever saw you again and come visit. He won't be so scared next
time. I'll do like you told me, Sir, but 'scuse me, I gotta' go right
now, my dad's waking me up,— "
Waddie woke up
with Morgan wiping his face with a wet rag. He was still angry.
"Soon's I rest a
minute, we'll start again."
Waddie lay there
disgusted. He could feel the cut across his back beginning to hurt but
made no moan. Morgan kept looking at Waddie expecting him to speak but
he didn't. Waddie knew as soon as Morgan started in again Mr. Urial
would take over and try to talk to Morgan. Morgan jerked Waddie
up and around to put him over the hay bail again. He saw Waddie's ass
and back was bleeding pretty damn bad. It didn't deter him. He was
going to conquer his son this time. He was going to break him for the
kid's on good. He started in as hard as ever. Waddie didn't even flinch.
"Whip me harder,
old man. Come on, Morgan! You’re wippin' me good now, Morgan! I can
hear you breathing heavy, Morgan! You're gettin' there! You're gettin'
there! You're just about to come, ain't cha, old man. Bring it on,
Morgan! Whip your son! Beat that meanness out of him! You're his Grand
Inquisitor! Beat the love out of the crazy son of a bitch who loves
you."
Waddie heard
Morgan gasping for breath, and knew he shot his load in his pants.
"Feel better,
Morgan? That load just cost you the last bit of love I had for you.
Hope it was worth it; a treasure for a short live pleasure. Taking your
meanness out on the only one in your Goddamned, fucked up life who
loves you! Here,— let me put my ass up there where you can get a really
good swing at it; maybe, you can come again! Go on, Morgan, kill me! I
don't want to live anymore nohow. I don't wanna’ live without a dad,
and I sure as Hell ain't got no ma.
I told you years
ago, Morgan, you wouldn't know the truth if it bit you on the butt.
You've lied so much you're becoming like Dorothy. You're starting to
believe the lies you tell. You're the one that's lying Morgan, not me.
You're lying to yourself. You believe your own lies, Morgan; but, don't
expect me, too. You don't have a son no more, Morgan. God just took him
away from you. You made a liar out of me, in the sight of God, when you
made me lie all them times I was suppose to have done wrong. You
ain't gonna' make a liar out of me no more, Morgan. I got an angel
standing by my side, protecting me from your perverted insanity. I
haven't felt your belt once since you started."
"Yeah? Then why
did you pass out a while ago?"
"The flesh is
week, Morgan, but you won't touch my soul with your hatred. It’s
stronger than your meanness or those bastards you call family!
God's gonna' punish you, Morgan. He's gonna' take your son away from
you today, because you don't know how to be a dad and protect the one’s
you love. You deserve to lose me, Morgan. You were never meant to be a
father. God saw to that. He made damn sure you couldn't have children,
and this is why, Morgan. I mule was never meant to have an
offspring; neither were you."
Waddie couldn't
feel anything, but he began to hear Morgan weeping softly as once again
he passed out. The boy was getting weak from loss of blood. When Waddie
woke up someone had pulled his pants up, laid him on a bail of hay near
the door of the barn, and put a wet cloth on his forehead. Waddie sat
up. He felt weak and a little dizzy. The voice inside his head
told him,
"Go, Son! Now!"
Waddie sat up, called for his dad, but he wasn't around. Waddie sat
there for a minute, watched his dad walk down the front steps of
the house, look up at Waddie, then he stopped dead in his tracks and
turned white as a sheet. Morgan started running to the barn. Waddie
couldn't take anymore of Morgan’s insanity and thought he'd run for
protection to the Justin's. Morgan ran right past
him. Waddie could've reached out and touched him. The boy almost
panicked, but Morgan didn't even look at him. He remembered what Mr.
Urial told him. He was invisible to his dad. He couldn't see
Waddie. Waddie started walking toward the road. He kept on
walking 'til he came to the gravel road in front of the house. He
walked up the gravel road to the black top. He wasn't on the black top
more than a couple of minutes when Dan Justin and Gip in Dan's pickup
truck passed him but they didn't wave to him. He knew they
couldn’t see him.
Gip had a
strange feeling as his dad and he drove slowly by the Lovejoy place.
There was an old lady coming toward them in an older yellow and white
Ford pickup with groceries in the back. Gip looked out the rear window
of his dad's truck and saw the old lady honk her horn and pull
over. She looked like she was talking to someone outside the
truck, but there was no one there. Suddenly, the passenger door opened
by itself,— then closed by itself. The old lady drove on. She got about
fifteen yards down the black top, and Gip watched the truck disappear.
"Aaahheeee!
Dad,— that yellow truck that just passed us disappeared into thin air.
Look in your mirror, Dad! Do you see it!"
"No, Son, I
don't. She couldn't have gone by our place yet, it's two miles up the
hill. You saw it disappear?"
"I saw that old
lady, who just drove by in the yellow and white Ford, honk her horn,
pull over and it looked like she was talking to somebody. She never
took her hands off the wheel, and I watched the passenger door open by
itself and close by itself. She never took her hands from the steering
wheel, Dad. I saw it! Then she drove off, and the damn truck
disappeared. It just winked out. I didn't blink, Dad! I know what I
saw!" Gip was adamant.
"Maybe the door
was ajar, and she stopped to close it tight, Son, but we should still
be able to see her. Think she ran off the road?"
"No, Dad!
Please,— believe me. She never took her hands off the wheel. The door
opened all the way, slammed shut, she drove away several yards, and
disappeared. I swear to God, Dad, you know I wouldn't lie to you."
Dan saw Gip
suddenly freeze, and all the color left his face. He was ghostly white.
Tears started running down his face. Then he spoke to no one Dan could
see.
"Oh, God, Sir.
Let me go to him. He's my brother, Sir. I love him. He needs me and my
dad."
Dan was stunned,
and pull the truck over. He listened.
"Please! Please,
take care of him, Sir. We love him so much!"
"Mr. Urial,
Son?" Dan asked softly. Gip nodded his head, 'yes,' as tears streamed
down his face.
"Do you want me
to go after them and investigate, Son?"
"No, Sir, I know
who she picked up, and I have to let him go. We have to let him go,
Dad." Gip broke down into heavy sobs so bad he started curling up in a
ball next to his dad. Dan pulled Gip into his arms, and tried to
console his boy. Gip couldn't stop wailing and sobbing. Dan couldn't
get him to stop, Gip was almost hysterical, but more than that, Dan
couldn’t remember ever having heard a person cry with such heartfelt
grief and his boy was. It shook Dan Justin to the bottom of his
soul. It was at that moment he fully realized how much his boy
truly loved his brother. Waddie’s pain had become Gip’s pain.
"Mr. Urial told
me to let him go. He’s with him. He’ll protect him."
"Who, Son?
Waddie?"
"Morgan almost
beat him to death, Dad. Waddie's lost a lot of blood. Mr. Urial
made him invisible to everyone but that lady. Said her name was Mrs.
Jessup. Morgan beat him really, really bad, Dad. Take me home, Dad,—
please! I can't go into town with you; I'm so sorry. You know I love
you, Dad, but that was my brother, and he's run away. Oh, God! If I
could only be with him; not to run away, but to be with him; to help
him, Dad. I know you understand."
"Sure, Son,— I
do understand! We can go into town tomorrow. I'll take you home. We
need to call Buck immediately, anyway. Can we go after them?"
"No, Sir. He
told us not to. Wouldn't do no good. We wouldn't find them anyway. He
made the truck invisible so's we wouldn't follow. Waddie has to be by
himself for a while, he said, and for me and you to be strong and pray
for him."
"Did he tell you
anything else, Son?"
"I won't lie to
you, Dad;— yes, he did, but I can't tell you. Don't ask me to, Dad."
Gip broke into
sobs again. This time, Dan lost it, too, but knew he had to be
strong for his son.
"Shuuuu, Son.
It's gonna' be all right. God knows what he's doing. He'll protect
Waddie. He loves him as much as we do. We have to trust him, Son."
That was it! Dan
had HAD it! He was ready to go shoot Morgan. If Buck didn't have
all his guns he would have. He drove Gip home, and Gip ran to the loft
to be alone to cry. Dan let him go. Gip needed to be by himself
right now, and then he would go to him. Dan had to tell Jimmy Sue and
call Buck.
* * * * * * *
The Kindness of
Strangers ~
Waddie knew they
couldn't see him. It was an empty feeling. Two people he most loved in
his life couldn't even see him. He walked on a bit more and heard a
horn honk behind him. It was a little old lady in a yellow and white
pick up truck loaded with groceries. She was headed for her place on
the other side of the interstate, and could she give him a lift?
Waddie got in and sat on his butt for the first time since his beating.
He ass was wet from the blood and he hesitated sitting on her seat.
"Not to worry,
Son. It's an old truck. The seats are cheap vinyl. Wash right off.
You're dad beat cha' pretty bad this time, didn't nee."
"Yes, Ma'am."
Was all Waddie could get out. He wasn't going to cry but the tears came
without him crying. They came from relief of being out of the situation
and in safety. It was only then he realized how close to death's
door he was.
"I'm so sorry,
Son, but we'll get you to the interstate, and you can get a ride into
Austin. Your ride will be along in about five minutes after I let you
out. Don't be afraid. Mr. Urial told me to pick you up and take you to
the interstate. I've known him for sometime. He watches over me, you
and your loved ones including your uncle, our fine new sheriff. You
know he's your dad, don't you?"
"Yes, Ma'am."
The lady didn't
say much, but she did tell Waddie her name was Mrs. Jessup, She told
him she had no family left. She had two boys killed in the war, and her
daughter had been killed by her daughter’s drunken husband. He was in
prison. Mrs. Jessup's husband passed away almost twenty years ago, but
she was happy. She was living, and getting by. They came to the
interstate, and Mrs. Jessup pulled over to let Waddie out.
"God bless you,
child. I know He has and He will again. He hasn’t deserted
you. He won’t leave you. You’ll be okay, Mr. Urial is right
beside you. He'll protect you. Mr. Franz will be along in about five
minutes. "
"Thank you, Mrs.
Jessup. I'm sorry 'bout your kids. I feel bad you’re all alone. When I
get back, I'd be proud to be your grandson if'n you'll have me." Mrs.
Jessup got tears in her eyes.
"I'd like that,
Waddie. Take care and go with my love."
"Thanks, Mrs.
Jessup." Mrs. Jessup drove off with a tear in her eye and a prayer in
her heart.
Waddie was
getting weak, and Mr. Urial told him to sit down. Waddie did, but he no
sooner sat down than he passed out. When he came to he was riding in a
big, eighteen-wheeler truck. A huge man was driving. Waddie found a
comfortable quilt thrown over him, and his head was on a soft, downy
pillow.
"Felling better,
little buddy?" Waddie nodded and tried to sit up but couldn't. He felt
a big strong hand pat him gently and console him.
"Take it easy,
Son. Rest. When you feel a little better we'll stop and get something
to eat. I'm Mr. Franz, Herschel Franz. Just call me 'Bubba.'
S'what all the other truckers call me." Bubba kept his big hand on
Waddie except when he had to shift. His hand was like his uncle's arms,
it was medicinal. Waddie went to sleep and woke up with his head in
Bubba's lap. He'd crawled up in his sleep and put his head in Bubba's
lap. Bubba had a big smile on his face.
"Think you could
eat something, Waddie?" How did this man know his name? He never told
him. Mr. Urial must've told him.
"Yes, Sir,— but
I ain't got no money, Bubba." Bubba laughed.
"Don't chu'
worry 'bout that none. You let old Bubba worry 'bout that. I just
wanna' see you pack it away, Son. You need food to replenish your
system and the blood you lost. Still feel pretty weak don't cha'?
Yeah,— well,— you'll feel better after you eat, and old Bubba's gonna'
get us a motel to stay in for the night."
They stopped and
Waddie couldn't get down out of the truck. The blood dried and stuck to
his pants. Every time he moved it would tear the scabs away, and it was
painful. Then it would start bleeding again. Bubba hoisted Waddie into
his arms and carried him into a truck stop diner. A waitress saw Bubba
walk in carrying Waddie and motioned Bubba to a back area off the main
dinning room. Bubba sat Waddie in the vinyl seat and sat on the
opposite side from him.
Waddie drank two
glasses of water and was starting on his third when Bubba stopped him.
"Woah, Son! Easy
with the water. Let's get some food in ya.' What do ya' wanna' eat?"
Waddie just
shrugged his shoulder. He couldn't think about food. He couldn't think
about anything but what he'd lost. He lost the only dad he knew until
he was five years old. His gut ached more for the loss of Morgan's love
that it did for his own ass.
"Bring him the
trucker's special with the eggs scrambled, and a big slab a' ham,
Louise. I'll have the same. Thanks, hon. Oh, and bring us both a big
orange juice, big milk for my buddy, and coffee for me."
Bubba looked
over at Waddie with the kindest eyes. Waddie saw one tear roll down the
big man's face. Bubba wasn't at all a good looking man, but there was
something about him that made Waddie trust him. All Waddie could
think about was sleeping in the big man's arms.
"Thank you for
picking me up, Bubba. You're a good man. I love you, Bubba." Waddie
said quietly.
"Now,— let's not
get all blubbery, here. You all ready know I love you, Kiddo. The Old
Man sent me to take care of you and get you into Austin. I'll take you
to some other men I know who'll get you room and board at the place
their staying. So,— you're a friend of Urial's, too?"
Waddie shook his
head. Louise returned with coffee, orange juice, and milk for Waddie.
"Your orders'll
be up in just a sec, sugar." Louise told Bubba and winked at Waddie.
"She's a good
ole gal, Son. She knows Mr. Urial, too. Helped her out of some pretty
bad spots. Hell, he's helped us all. Helped your dad. Save his life on
Iwo Jima." How could Bubba know all this unless Mr. Urial told him. Of
course, that had to be it. To hear Bubba refer to Buck as
Waddie's dad lit a fire in Waddie's heart, and he was suddenly very
hungry. Good thing, because yonder came Louise with a mountain of food.
The trucker's special consisted of chicken fried steak smothered in a
tasty white gravy, three scrambled eggs, a big piece of ham, hash brown
potatoes and three small pancakes, with biscuits, butter and honey.
Damn, Waddie never saw so much food on one table for two people in his
life. He attempted a smile.
"That's what I
wanna' see, buddy! A smile on that handsome face of yours. I know it's
hard, Son, but it's over now and it won't be too long before your Aunt
Linda discovers you're her kid. In the meantime, you gotta’ heal both
your body and your spirit. There's plenty of loving people who are
gonna' help you do that, including me. Now, eat up. Don't expect you to
eat every bite, but do your best. Eat 'til you can't eat no more, then
eat just a little bit more."
"Waddie dug in
and ate like he hadn't eaten in a week. Suddenly, all the food smelled
and tasted wonderful. The damn steak melted in his mouth, and the gravy
was unbelievably good. Louise, the waitress came back around and stood
next to Bubba with her hand lightly resting on his shoulder.
"How's he doing,
sug? Looks to me like he's doing pretty good. More coffee, sug?" Lousie
poured without waiting for an answer. Bubba smiled at her.
"Don't know what
his adopted dad had on his mind to do what he done to that boy.
Think, Sid, over to the motel's got any rooms vacant?"
"I'll get on the
horn and give him a holler. Single or double, sug?"
"Don't matter
none. My little buddy's probably gonna' be bunk'n it in with me anyway.
I can tell a little buddy what needs some loving when I see's one."
Bubba winked at Waddie. Waddie smiled and just nodded his agreement.
Another huge trucker walked over to the booth.
"Ain't he
though? Prettier'n a' stacked out Jimmy with sidewalls. Howdy, Red
Dog,— good to see ya' again. Staying out of trouble, Son?"
"Oh, Hell, no!
You know me, Bubba, living life for the moment. Didn't mean to
interrupt you men, but the boys and me took up a little collection for
your running buddy here." Red Dog handed Bubba a wad of rolled up
bills. Bubba stuffed it in his shirt pocket, and shook Red Dog's hand.
"Right nice of
you guys, Red Dog. Do me the favor of thanking all of 'em for us.
Soon's we finish I'm getting him over to the motel, get him cleaned up,
take some pictures of his butt to send back to his uncle, the sheriff,
and get him to bed. We both need a good long nap. I picked him up on a
run straight out of Phoenix. I been on the road too long to go anymore.
I know you know his uncle,— Buck Claymore."
"Oh, Hell, yes!
One of the finest men I ever did know. Sure glad he got elected sheriff
of that county. Don't have to pay out the ass to that other county
Mountie son of a bitch who use ta' pinch us ever' damn time we'd go
through there."
"What you don't
know is you're looking at Buck's son sitting there; his only kid." said
Bubba.
"Son of a bitch
if'n he don't look a lot like Buck. Son, you got yourself a real
fine, one Hell of a dad, in that man. He didn't do that to you." Red
Dog said like he knew Buck wouldn't do anything like that to a child,
especially his own. Waddie shook his head as he finished the steak,
eggs, ham, and started in on the hot cakes. He finished the orange
juice and was half way through a huge glass of milk.
"Naw, brother.
It was his adopted dad. It's a long story. Buck don't know Waddie's his
son yet, but he will 'for the summer’s out. That's why I have to get
some pictures while his wounds are fresh so's I can get 'em back to
Buck. After Waddie heals a while and decides to go home, the sheriff
will have the pictures as evidence of child abuse. The kid needs
protection. He could a' died from a beating like that if Urial weren't
with him taking care of him."
"Shit! I'll say
he's gotta' be Buck's boy. Look how much he's eat'n. Good for you,
Son!" Red Dog winked and said his goodbyes. Waddie shook his hand and
thanked him for his and the other driver's kindness. He'd never forget
them.
"Here ya' go,
sugar. A single was all Sid had left but it's got a big king size bed.
Good thing I called him. Brought me the key just a minute ago." Louise
handed Bubba the key.
"Thank ya,'
darlin.' You take good care of us trucker bums. We love ya',
sweetheart."
"Hell, Bubba,
if'n it weren't for you guys, I wouldn't have no family. Ya'll been
damn good to me, too, sugar. More coffee, hon?"
"Just a little,
sweetie. We gotta' get Waddie cleaned up and hit the sack."
"Bring his
clothes back over, and I'll have 'em ready for you tomorrow morning,
sugar. If I ain't here, they'll be in a sack behind the counter with
your name on it. I'll leave a note for Daisy."
"Mighty kind of
you, Louise. He don't need to get an infection. Got some ointment with
me that'll keep him from gettin' infected, and I'll wash him real good
tonight."
The men
finished, and Bubba paid the bill. He left Louise a ten dollar tip.
Waddie tried to get up but it hurt too damn much. It hurt him so bad
tears started running down his face. He was trying so hard to be brave.
Bubba got a pained expression on his face like he felt the same pain
Waddie was feeling.
"Here, little
buddy. Let old Bubba carry ya.' It won't be so bad tomorrow, I promise."
Bubba gently
carried Waddie over to the motel and took him into the room. He laid
him on his stomach on the bed. He got a huge towel from the bathroom
and put it under Waddie.
"Lay there a
minute, Son, I'll be right back. Gotta' go get my gear out of the
truck."
Waddie was sound
a sleep when Bubba got back. He was tempted to let the boy lay there
all night, but he was afraid of infection if his wounds weren't taken
care of. He gently reached under Waddie and undid his levis. He pulled
his boots off and his socks. Bubba gently pulled his pants off of him.
Waddie never woke up. Good! The kid didn't need anymore pain today. It
was gonna' be bad enough getting him cleaned up. Bubba managed to get
his shirt off then covered him with the old quilt he brought from the
truck. Bubba shook his head from disbelief at the child's butt and
back. Bubba put Waddie's clothes in a brown paper grocery bag and
walked them over to Louise. She promised she'd have them back early in
the morning. She knew Bubba got up early and hit the road. Said she
might have to pull a double shift if'n the new girl didn't show up.
Bubba tried to hand her another ten dollars.
"This one's on
me Bubba. Let me do something for the poor kid. You and the guys have
done a lot for me and him. I'll have 'em here in the morning for ya',
sugar."
"Thanks,
sweetheart. You're one in a million." Bubba meant what he said.
"Aww, go on with
ya'. Love you, too, sugar." Lousie took the bag to the back and put it
with her things. She asked the owner Al if he'd mind if she washed a
kid's clothes that was with Bubba. He'd been beaten pretty bad by his
dad and there was a lot of blood and dirt. He told her, by all means,
go ahead. She took Waddie's clothes to the large commercial washer in
the back and put them in. They were done by the time Louise finished
her shift. She put them in a clean bag with Bubba’s name on it and sat
it under the counter. Then she went home. She was dog tired, but a good
tired. Her heart was at peace. She'd done her good deed for the day.
Maybe one more star for her crown. 'Hell,' she thought, 'to Hell with
the star, I'm just happy I could do it for the boy.' Mr. Urial took
care of it. She got five big stars. Louise had a heart bigger than her
pocket book, but she had more stars in her crown than you could count.
Stars that shown like diamonds and there wasn't enough money in the
world to buy even one of them.
* * * * * * *
Bubba returned
to the motel room and quietly opened the door. Waddie was still asleep.
He got out his flash Kodak and took eight color pictures of Waddie's
back and butt. He saved four exposures for pictures of the hand print,
black eye and busted lips on Waddie's face. It was even worse than
about and hour ago but Bubba knew he had to get him up and in the
shower. He threw the blanket back over him and undressed. He decided to
let the boy sleep for another hour then get him up. He lay there beside
Waddie looking at him wondering how any man who loved his child could
do that to a kid.
'He must be one
insane mother fucker. Wonder what Buck Claymore's gonna' do to this guy
when he finds out the truth, that the boy's his son? I wouldn't want to
be him.' Bubba thought. Then he prayed. His prayer was simple. He
thanked the Lord for his goodness to him. Protect and guide him as he
always has, and give him strength and courage to help this boy. An hour
passed and Waddie tried to roll over, but it hurt so badly he couldn't.
He saw Bubba's big hulking frame buck ass naked standing next to him
looking down at him.
"Damn, Bubba!
From the neck down you're one Hell of a good looking man!" said Waddie
as he winked at Bubba. Bubba threw back his head and roared with
laughter.
"Feel'n better,
little buddy?"
"In my heart, I
feel just fine, Bubba, but my ass hurts like a mother fucker." Bubba
didn't want to, but he laughed again.
"Sorry, little
buddy, but it was funny the way you said it."
"I meant for it
to be, Bubba. You been so damn good to me..." Waddie started crying.
Bubba sat on the edge of the bed and held Waddie as best he could. He
knew the kid ached everywhere.
"I know you feel
like you been run over by a Mack truck, but the Old Man and Urial says
I have to get you into the shower to clean you real good. I got some
ointment that will help and take away some of the pain. Think you can
get up, sweetheart? I'll help you or carry you, whichever you think
best."
"I think I can
walk, Bubba. Just let me lean on you."
Waddie held onto
Bubba and walked with him into the bathroom.
"Stand there for
a minute, Waddie. I gotta' take four pictures of your fucked-up, pretty
little face for your uncle. Try to look as dejected and hurt as
possible."
"Won't take much
acting, Bubba."
Bubba took his
pictures then started the shower and got the water good and warm. He
lifted Waddie up and stood him in the shower away from the spray. He
wanted to let the boy ease his way into it. Waddie did and winced a
couple of times but the warm water felt good. It was like the hurt and
pain was being washed away, not only from his body but his soul as
well. Bubba got in behind him and pulled the curtain. Waddie threw his
arms around Bubba's waist and hugged him close so they both were in the
water. Bubba gently enfolded his little buddy in his huge arms and held
him close. Waddie reached up and found Bubba's mouth and kissed him
gently. Bubba kissed him back just as gently.
"Thanks, Bubba,
I needed that."
"I know you did,
baby, and it weren't too bad for me neither. Look at me!" Bubba looked
down at his own crotch. Waddie giggled. Bubba had a big ole hard-on.
"Don't let that scare you none, sweet baby, I'm here to take care of
you, not to take advantage of you. That just means I find you
attractive and from the looks of your ole flag pole, I'd say old Bubba
weren't to shabby in your eyes neither."
"Damn straight,
Bubba. You be a fine looking hombre. One I'd be proud to bunk it in
with."
"No more talk
like that. We got work to do. Now,— I got a special soap the druggist
told me to buy that fights infection. So you let me take care of you
first, and then, I'll get me cleaned up."
Bubba was like
an angel touching Waddie. He didn't worry about washing him good from
the front. He got everything including washing Waddie's dick for him.
Waddie got hard and told Bubba that meant he love him. Bubba laughed.
He turned Waddie around and most of the scabs washed off his backside;
however, the raw bleeding skin and bruises were fully evident. Bubba
was supremely gentle, but he made damn sure he got Waddie clean. Waddie
had to grit his teeth a couple of times, but knew Bubba wouldn't hurt
him for the world. They finished and Bubba dried Waddie first and then
himself. He put another role of film in his camera and took twelve more
exposures in the bath room with Waddie's flesh and blood showing on his
butt. He took pictures of Waddie's darkened, bruised face, black eye
and bleeding lips.
I'm gonna' send
these back to Buck so's he can have evidence of child abuse to get you
out of your dad's hands. I'm not gonna' tell him where you are. That'll
be up to you to let them know when you feel ready to go home. I'll take
you into Austin to some good ole boys who'll help you. You can
stay with them for a while. Bubba laid Waddie across the bed on a
clean dry towel and applied the ointment he had in his bag. It did take
some of the hurt and sting away. Bubba didn't worry about getting the
sheets soiled with Waddie's blood. He'd take it up with Sid in the
morning and pay for new sheets if they couldn't be cleaned. He wanted
to hold Waddie in the worst way. Waddie wanted him to.
"I can't put my
backside to you like I'd like to, Bubba, but would you mind holding me
for a minute before you go to sleep."
"I'll hold you
all night long, if'n you need it, little buddy." Bubba gently pulled
Waddie to his big massive chest and held him tight. That's all it took
to let the hurt and pain come flooding out. This was the time Bubba
needed the Old Man to give him strength. The boy was heaving in gut
wrenching sobs. He wasn't yelling or crying loud. It was just
like he got his soul wet and was wringing it out to hang on a line to
dry. Bubba was praying silently for Urial and the Old Man to keep his
huge backbone from turning to Jello from the pain coming from this
beautiful child. He wanted to scream at the top of his powerful voice
at any and all demons that were within shouting distance. 'This
child is under Bubba's protection tonight, you will not touch him or
you will have a demon nastier that you ever dreamed of at your throat.
Be strong Bubba! Get mad, so's you don't lose it! Be strong for the
boy!' he thought. And he was strong for Waddie.
"Get it all out,
sweet baby. It's over now. You're safe in Bubba's arms tonight. This
old face is guaranteed to scare the meanest of bad things away from my
little buddy. Nothings gonna' hurt you no more while you're in Bubba's
charge. Just let it all out. You can't start to heal 'til you get the
bad stuff out." Waddie took the big, wonderful man's advice and used
him as a sounding board. Waddie couldn't cry anymore and was physically
exhausted. Bubba lovingly laid the boy on his stomach and gently pulled
the covers over him. Waddie drifted off to sleep.
'Forgive me,
Father...' Bubba prayed as he leaned over and kissed Waddie on his
cheek before turning out the light.
The Old Man more
that forgave the big man he told Urial to make a note; Bubba has saint
potential. Watch that man, Urial. Let me know.
Waddie's dreams
were fitful but he slept comfortably considering. He woke up several
times and felt himself in Bubba's big furry arms. 'He's like sleeping
with a big ole bear,' thought Waddie, 'One Hell of a fine Grizzly.
Damn, he be warm...' Waddie drifted off to sleep again.
Waddie dreamed
of running through a field of Bluebonnets as far as the eye could see,
on a clear, warm spring day, laughing and giggling as Buck chased him.
They were naked as the day they were born. Buck finally caught up with
Waddie grabbed him up into his arms, spun around with him several
times, and looked deeply into Waddie's blue eyes; the color of fine
lapis lazuli. Waddie saw his own dark pools reflected from his dad's
eyes. They were the kindest, most loving eyes he ever looked into.
"You're safe
now, Son." the big man whispered quietly with all the love in his heart.
"I love you,
Dad." the boy said quietly to his father before he gently kissed him.
Buck Claymore lay down with his son, Waddie Claymore, enfolded in his
huge arms and rocked him gently to sleep in the warmth of the afternoon
sun laying there among the Bluebonnets; stealing kisses from his
beloved, sleeping man-child,— one by one.
* * * * * * * Footnotes:
* A church key =
an irreverent name given to a nasty looking, sharp, pointed tool used
to open beer cans before 'pop tops' were invented. They usually, but
not always, had a bottle opener on the other end for opening bottles
before 'twist offs' were invented. ("Am I that old?" the author asks
rhetorically.)
*toten tanz =
probably not spelled correctly but close enough. German for 'dance of
death' or 'deadly dance.'