If These Trees Could Talk

by Brian W. Smith

  “Look sir,” Officer Fife barked as he pointed at Curtis. “I don’t have to…”

  “Officer Fife,” called out the voice through the microphone.

  “Go ahead dispatch.”

  “Sheriff Duffy cleared Ms. Tharp. 10-19 the station house.”

  “10-4,” Officer Fife replied. He looked at Elizabeth, “It’s all yours.”

  “Thank you,” Elizabeth replied angrily and walked past him, her shoulder brushing against his, causing him to stagger slightly.

  Curtis chuckled. “You’d better hold on to something Officer Fife.”

  The look on Officer Fife’s face suggested he didn’t find that comment funny. He placed his hand on his revolver and looked at Curtis. As he walked down the steps he never once took his eyes off of him. “You have a good day sir,” Officer Fife said as his foot landed on the bottom step, his voice suddenly deeper as he attempted to sound intimidating.

  Curtis was now close enough to examine the pint sized Deputy Sheriff. He figured Officer Fife must have weighed less than 150 lbs. soaking wet. He learned a lot of things while in the military, but the most valuable lesson he’d learned was self control. Curtis looked at Officer Fife, and replied in the most dismissive way he knew how. He shook his head, chuckled, winked, and walked up the stairs and into the house.

  Elizabeth examined the small house. The inside of the house appeared to be in much better condition than the outside. I’m surprised this place is this clean. Based on the outside, I would have thought this place would have been a pig sty.

  “Where is he?” Curtis asked, as he walked in.

  “I’m not sure,” Elizabeth mumbled. She walked slowly over to the closed door a few feet away. She could see Josh’s shadow underneath the door seal. Elizabeth placed her ear against the door. “Josh. Josh baby, are you in there? It’s Mrs. Tharp honey. Your mom asked me to come over and check on you.”

  Josh knew his teacher’s voice well. It was arguably the most calming force in his life. He opened the door slowly and peered through the crack just to make sure. “Mrs. Tharp?” he asked tentatively.

  “Yes baby,” she replied, as she kneeled down and gave the door a gently push. When the door opened, the scared boy leapt into her waiting arms. “I’m here baby,” she whispered. “Are you okay?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  Elizabeth looked up at Curtis. “I’m on it,” Curtis stated, before she could ask. “Give me the keys mama.”

  Elizabeth threw her car keys to him and remained kneeling in Josh’s bedroom doorway holding him tight. His skinny arms wrapped around her neck, constricting like an anaconda.

  Eventually the two of them made it over to the sofa and started to talk.

  “Mrs. Tharp.”

  “Yes dear.”

  “Where’s my mama?”

  Elizabeth looked away for a moment as she searched for the proper response. Shit Elizabeth, you may as well tell the boy the truth. He’s gonna find out soon enough. Better if he hears it from you than from the nosey people in the community. Or see the news broadcast.

  “Josh, there’s no easy way to say this baby, but your mother was taken down to the police station so that they could ask her questions about Dutch.”

  “Are they gonna put my mama in jail?”

  “I don’t know honey,” she replied, and held the child in her loving arms. They remained in that position until Curtis returned with a McDonald’s bag in his hand.

  “Josh baby, this here is my son, Curtis.”

  “What’s up lil man,” Curtis said, and extended his hand. Josh shook Curtis’ hand and then looked at the hamburger bag. “I figured you might be real hungry so I brought you a Big Mac, large fries, and a milk shake. Is that cool?”

  “Yes sir,” Josh replied, and took the bag. The hungry boy proceeded to gobble down that food like a starving Ethiopian child who’d been blessed with a four course meal. Elizabeth and Curtis sat there watching him and waiting for either of their cell phones to ring. They were eager to get a call from Big Curtis with an update on the case.

  “Mrs. Tharp, can I go in my room and lay down?”

  “Yes baby. Go get some rest.”

  When Josh was out of sight, Curtis looked at his mother. “What’s gonna happen to him if his mother goes to prison?”

  “I don’t know,” Elizabeth replied.

  “Does his mother have family?”

  “I don’t think so. I remember Josh commenting once that he didn’t have any cousins. He said it was just him and his mother.”

  “Man, that’s messed up,” said Curtis, and shook his head. “If his mother goes to prison he’s gonna end up in the foster care system.”

  “More than likely,” Elizabeth replied, her eyes filling with water quicker than a bucket under a leaky roof during a hurricane.

  Unbeknownst to both of them, Josh was listening to their conversation. He wasn’t exactly sure what their comments meant, but he knew he’d heard the words “foster care” and “jail”. He took a few steps backwards. His thoughts were scrambled. His heart raced. Was he going to be sent away he wondered?

  Josh suddenly had the desire to urinate. The same feeling he felt whenever a situation became unbearable. He probably would have released the fluids right then and there had he not been distracted by a tapping sound.

  Josh looked around, but didn’t see the source. As his eyes darted around the room, he saw something out of his peripheral vision. It was an image peering in at him through his window pain.

  “Stevie,” he whispered, careful not to speak loud enough to be heard by Elizabeth and Curtis. He then tip-toed over to the window and opened it slowly. “What you doin’ out here?”

  “I came to check on you,” Stevie whispered. “The police was all around this place. I was standin’ in the trees watchin’ everything.”

  “Somebody gon’ see you.”

  “No they ain’t. I waited ‘til I saw that police car leave. Why they took yo’ mama to jail?”

  “What about Bennie?”

  “I ain’t worried ‘bout him. He was one of the people over here tryin’ to see what happened at yo’ house. That’s how I knew the police was over here, I heard him talkin’ to somebody on the phone. I heard him say he was gonna ride around and see what he could find out. The minute I saw him leave I left out the back door.”

  Josh kept looking over his shoulder. “My teacher is in there. She might come in here—you’d better leave.”

  “That’s yo’ teacher’s car?”

  “Yeah.”

  “So they really did take yo mama to jail huh?”

  “They took her down to the police station to ask her some questions.”

  “They gon’ find out what we did Josh. We gotta run.”

  Josh looked confused. With all of the excitement going on he hadn’t thought about what would happen if his mother snitched. “You think I should run Stevie?”

  “If yo mama tells them what we did they gon’ come back here and take you to jail too. And then they gonna come lookin’ for me. You’d better not tell them I helped you.”

  Josh shook his head. “I’m not gon’ say nothin’ like that…I promise.”

  “You’d better not.”

  Meanwhile, Curtis and Elizabeth paced the floor wondering what was happening with Charity. They both froze when Elizabeth’s cell phone started ringing. “Yes Curtis,” Elizabeth shouted, hoping her husband was calling with good news. “What’s going on? We’ve been sitting here with Josh waiting to hear from you.”

  Josh could hear the loud talking in the next room. He stared signaled for Stevie to be quiet while he tried to hear what was going on.

  Being quiet wasn’t Stevie’s forte. “What’s happening in there?” Stevie asked.

  “I don’t know,” Josh replied. “Sounds like Mrs. Tharp talkin’ to somebody on the phone.”

  “Go over there and listen,” Stevie ordered, look
ing over his shoulder, hoping to avoid detection.

  Josh tip-toed over to the door, and placed his ear against it.

  “She said what?” Elizabeth shouted.

  Josh’s eyes grew wider. He pressed the side of his face harder against his bedroom door.

  “Curtis, you’re lying!” Elizabeth blurted out. “I don’t believe that. Not Josh. That child wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, what are they gonna do to him?”

  Josh could feel the urine he’d been holding starting to run down his leg. He backed away from the door and then walked over to the window.

  “Curtis, you gotta stop them,” Elizabeth said. “Are they comin’ now?”

  “Man, you got pee on your pants,” said Stevie. “What’s wrong with you?”

  Stevie knew something was terribly wrong because Josh totally ignored the urine that had created a wet streak from his crotch and down the inseam of his pants. “I think they comin’ to get me,” he mumbled. “I think they comin’ now Stevie…you’d better run.”

  “You gon’ come with me?” Stevie asked.

  Josh shook his head. “I can’t.”

  “Why not?” asked Stevie, his voice elevating due to the tension of the moment. “They gon’ take you to jail Josh!”

  Josh looked at his best friend. “I can’t leave my mama Stevie. You’d better run.”

  “You ain’t gon’ tell them I helped you right?”

  “No.”

  “You promise Josh?”

  “Yeah…I promise.”

  Josh watched Stevie run away. As he sat there staring out of his bedroom window he felt a sense of loneliness that trumped anything he’d ever felt before. As he watched Stevie sprint across the grass and towards the trees he mumbled, “Bye Stevie.”

  Josh promised his best friend, the one person who knew him best, that he’d conceal his involvement in Dutch’s murder. But, by making that promise, he also closed the door on their friendship. They would have to stay away from each other to keep their secret hidden.

  As two police cars turned onto his street, the red blue lights on the hoods flashing, Josh knew that his life was about to take a turn for the worse. And he’d have to take this journey by himself—no Stevie to share his dreams, shame, and pain with. “Bye Stevie.”

  Conclusion

  Chapter 13

  Elizabeth opened her car door, sat down, and sighed out loud; drained yet again by the tension that resided within the walls of the correctional facility. She told herself as she walked back to her car that she was never returning again. Her heart simply couldn’t take it.

  She turned the ignition and let the car idle before pulling out. Only the humming sound of the motor in her Honda Accord could be heard. Even the loud engine seemed like a distant buzz as she sat there in a trance, grappling with the disturbing images of prison life. She was consumed by her thoughts until the passenger of her car finally spoke.

  “Well, how did it go?”

  Elizabeth answered without turning her head. “It went fine. Same as usual.”

  She put the car in reverse and then slowly backed out, careful to not hit any of the pedestrians walking across the dark parking lot to get to their cars. “Why don’t they hold those kids instead of letting them run wild around this damn parking lot?” she asked rhetorically.

  Once she exited the lot and was on the nearby interstate Elizabeth asked, “Why don’t you ever go inside the prison?”

  “I don’t know. It’s hard for me to deal with.”

  “You know it would mean a lot.”

  “I know. I just…I don’t know. It’s hard for me. I’m gonna go in there one day.”

  “Well, you’re going to have to find the courage to do it from now on because I’m not sure if I’m coming back.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because I can’t handle it emotionally. It affects me for days after I leave that place. All the guards. The loud sound the cells make when the doors close. All of those people in there crying—babies crying; it’s just too much for me to handle. I can’t do it much longer.”

  No other words were said for the remainder of the thirty minute drive. Elizabeth exited off of the interstate, sped up to make it through the intersection before the light changed, and then swung the car into the driveway of the apartment complex.

  She drove to the first row of parking spaces and parked in the first available slot.

  “Are you serious about this? You really aren’t going to go back to the prison?”

  “I’m very serious.” She put the car in park and slowly looked over at her passenger. “Josh, I’m very serious. You are going to have to be strong and go see your mother in prison. She covered for you—went to jail for you—and you haven’t gone to see her in seven years. That’s not right. In fact, it’s downright wrong. I realize now that I’ve been wrong. Instead of encouraging you to support her, I’ve been part of the problem. Well, I’m not doing it anymore. It’s your responsibility to support your mother and you need to be a man and go do the right thing.”

  Josh looked out the window into the darkness. A chill came over his body. His nerves were on edge. It was the same feeling he used to get when he was a kid and saw Milton Hudson coming towards him in the hallways at Ironside Elementary School.

  He heard everything Elizabeth was saying. He could tell from the inflection in her voice that she meant every word. Nevertheless, being told and knowing you should forgive doesn’t expedite the forgiveness process. A person can only move to forgiveness when he feels it in his heart. At that moment, the only thing residing in his heart was the anger he harbored for his mother. It had a hold on his heart like a vicious pit bull’s massive jaws locking down on a piece of steak. All those nights she left him in that tiny house alone with that monster—never once asking him if everything was okay. Only focusing on Dutch’s whereabouts instead of her child’s well being. Yes, Charity took the manslaughter charge for him, but as far as Josh was concerned, that was the least she could do. Incarceration was a small price to pay for her neglect.

  “I’ll think about it,” Josh mumbled. “I don’t even know what I’d say to her if I went in there.”

  Elizabeth grabbed his hand. “You won’t know until you go and see her.” Her tone was comforting, similar to the tone she used to befriend him back when he was a student in her class. Her eyes filled with pools of water. “Josh, she needs you. She knows she let you down, but she wants to reconnect with you. She went to jail to protect you.”

  “Protect me? At one time I needed her to protect me, but when I needed her she wasn’t there for me.”

  “Josh, don’t say that,” Elizabeth pleaded. “Your mother loves you. She…”

  Josh interrupted her. “She knew he was molesting me.”

  Elizabeth shook her head. She felt so much sorrow and pity for Josh and his mother. “Josh…your mother didn’t know. She should have known, but unfortunately she didn’t. She was young…immature.”

  “Bullshit!” Josh barked. “She knew! She knew because she saw it with her own two eyes and ignored it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I remember it like it was yesterday,” Josh stared out the window; his eyes glossy and glued to a young boy walking past with his mother. Images of him walking with his own mother interrupted Josh’s train of thought for a second, but he snapped back into reality when he heard the mother yell at the child and then yank his arm.

  “I don’t think my mama had been dating Dutch two months before she started letting him stay overnight. At first everything was cool—she didn’t work at the hospital back then. She was just workin’ at the Starbucks, but she used to get home before sundown.

  “Then she got that job at the hospital…that’s when things got bad. I remember the first night she had to work at the hospital. I was around seven years old. I begged her to let me stay home alone—I wanted to prove to her that I was a big boy. Show her that I could be trusted to stay home by myself. But, she practically begged
Dutch to babysit me. She kept tellin’ me that Dutch was gonna be there to protect me in case somethin’ happened.” Josh looked at Elizabeth. “Ain’t that a bitch? She thought Dutch was gonna protect me. She gave the wolf the key to the chicken coop.”

  Elizabeth struggled to fight back tears. She found herself thinking about her son Curtis and wondered if she’d ever made the tragic mistake of leaving him with a predator.

  Josh lit a cigarette, opened the passenger window, took a long drag and then blew the smoke into the night. “I don’t think my mama had turned off of our street before he was unzipping his pants. All I can remember is feeling his hot funky ass breath on my neck—smelled like a combination of beer and cigarettes.” Frown lines appeared in his forehead as he recalled the dreadful night. “Make a long story short—that was the first night he molested me…but it damn sure wasn’t the last.”

  “She definitely made a bad decision that night Josh, but that doesn’t mean she knew he’d touched you.”

  “Yeah right,” Josh said with a disturbing chuckle. “You’re a mother. If you’d left Curtis alone with someone, wouldn’t you observe things when you came back?”

  “I’d hope so,” Elizabeth whispered.

  “Would you notice if he was walking with a limp? Would you notice blood stains on his sheets and underwear?” Josh paused and stared at Elizabeth. “What if you came home the next morning and the son of a bitch was still in your child’s bedroom with his fucking pants unbuckled and around his thighs?”

  Elizabeth’s shaking hands covered her mouth as she struggled to contain the emotion that was surging in her chest like the killer waves of a tsunami.

  “She came in my bedroom and saw him sleeping on the floor next to my bed. I was already awake. My cuticles were bleeding from me nibbling on them all night. My fingernails didn’t look much better.” Josh took a puff of his cigarette. “I used to bite my fingernails when I got nervous. I ain’t gonna lie—I was nervous that day. I wanted to leave, but I was scared he’d hear me moving in my bed and wake up. So I sat there. I sat there waiting for my mama to come home and rescue me.