Just South of Home

by Karen Strong

  “You can hold it for me.”

  I swallowed hard and watched Janie climb up. When she got to the top, she swayed, and the ladder shifted to the left in my hands.

  “Janie, be careful!”

  “It’s okay. Just a little higher than I thought.”

  She scooted onto the roof. I held my breath. If Janie fell off the roof and broke her neck, Mama would kill me. Of course, breaking into Mrs. Greene’s house would also get me killed, so I would be double dead.

  Janie reached the window and climbed inside. After a few moments she leaned out and waved. “I’ll meet you at the back porch.”

  • • •

  It was weird being inside Mrs. Greene’s house when she wasn’t there. It smelled like her, but it was different because my grandma’s force field wasn’t present.

  “Okay. We go to the attic, grab some of Sophie’s stuff, and get out,” Janie said.

  “We need to move fast,” I said. “We don’t have much time.”

  We walked down the hallway and found Mrs. Greene’s bedroom door wide open. I stopped in my tracks.

  “What’s wrong?” Janie asked.

  Maybe Mrs. Greene had a keepsake in her bedroom. Surely she wouldn’t lock away all of her mama’s belongings in a trunk.

  “Go ahead and get the stuff in the attic,” I said. “I’m going to look in her room.”

  “Do you think that’s a good idea?” Janie asked.

  “Go ahead—I’ll just take a quick look.”

  Janie trotted past me, opened the door to the attic, and disappeared up the stairs. I paused in the doorway of Mrs. Greene’s bedroom. Sorry, Grandma. Her dresser gleamed in the sunlight, furniture-polish shiny. The sharp lemon scent filled my nostrils as I stepped over the doorsill. I stared at Granddaddy Greene’s picture. He was in his Sunday best, a gentle smile on his face. I hoped he understood why I was doing this.

  “Sorry, Granddaddy,” I whispered.

  I opened up the drawers and tentatively searched but found nothing. I swallowed hard when I looked underneath her socks and her underwear. I felt like a criminal.

  After rummaging through the dresser and coming up empty, I inspected the closet. Nothing.

  I was on my hands and knees, about to search under the bed, when I heard a car door slam. I bolted up and crept to the window. I peeked between the curtains, and my heart leaped out of my chest. Mrs. Greene’s car was in the driveway! She had come back early from the Deaconess Board meeting! I rushed out of the bedroom to the attic.

  “Janie! Mrs. Greene’s back!”

  My cousin appeared on the stairs. “I thought you said she wouldn’t be here till noon?”

  “I did, but she’s here now!”

  Janie rushed down the attic stairs. “Maybe we can sneak out.”

  “We can’t sneak out! She’s gonna find out the back door is unlocked! She’s gonna find the ladder!” My breath came out in short bursts. This was a stupid, stupid idea. Janie held my hand, but it was useless. The end was near.

  “Calm down,” Janie said. “I don’t need you to faint.”

  The front door opened with a jangle of keys, followed by Mrs. Greene singing some hymn. Maybe she would forgive with Jesus fresh in her heart, but I didn’t have much faith in that thought right now.

  “We’re so dead,” I said.

  “Let’s just wait it out in the attic,” Janie replied.

  Janie pulled me into the darkness and closed the attic door. We stood huddled at the bottom of the stairs.

  “We need to leave,” I whispered. “We can’t stay here.”

  The muffled clang of pots and pans filtered up to us, signaling that Mrs. Greene was still in her kitchen.

  Janie pulled out her phone, and a blue glow spread across her face. “I can’t get a signal.”

  “Who are you trying to call?”

  “Ellis. Maybe he can call her. Give us a distraction.”

  It was useless. Mrs. Greene was coming up the stairs. Her steps echoed in the hallway as Janie shoved her phone in her pocket and put her finger to her lips.

  Mrs. Greene approached the attic door. Her shadow loomed in the light that seeped in beneath our feet. Janie grasped my hand so tight I knew it would leave a bruise. I held my breath. Mrs. Greene walked away.

  Then we heard a scream.

  Without thinking, I opened the attic door and ran down the hallway. Mrs. Greene was in her bedroom, standing in front of her open closet and dresser drawers. Her bosom rose up and down in heavy pants.

  “Are you okay?” I asked.

  She turned to us, and her eyes bulged in anger. “What are you doing in my house?!”

  “We’re surprise visiting you,” Janie said. “Surprise!”

  She grabbed us both by the crooks of our elbows and dragged us down the stairs. We tumbled after her.

  “Don’t you dare move,” she said. Her voice was cold and lethal as she pushed us into the parlor. We fell to the floor like rag dolls.

  I froze in place as if I had been injected with venom.

  “Delilah?” she spat into the cordless phone. “You better get over here right now! I just found these hoodlum children in my house!”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  Consequences

  Janie and I sat in the parlor and stared at the two long switches on the table. Mrs. Greene had made us go out in the backyard to get them. Their fresh green smell filled me with fear.

  Mrs. Greene had whipped me only once, when I was a little girl. I had been playing with the stove. Turning on all the burners, I watched the blue flames flicker and dance. I had been so mesmerized that I yelped when Mrs. Greene jerked me away. She tore into my legs with the switch she kept on top of the refrigerator. It took several days for the red welts to disappear. Mama had been furious, but Mrs. Greene insisted she had done it because she loved me.

  Since that incident I had been afraid of getting in trouble. I still remembered the pain of Mrs. Greene’s wrath. So after that day I always did what Mrs. Greene told me.

  Janie sat next to me with her arms crossed while Mrs. Greene sipped sweet tea and glared at us, her face flushed pink. My heart beat in rapid spurts.

  I heard Mama’s car in the driveway; her heels clicked in quick succession up the porch steps. She opened the front door and rushed into the parlor. She had on her blue suit with the yellow floral blouse she had bought at the Alton Mall.

  “Delilah,” Mrs. Greene said. “So nice you were able to leave the Fairfield County courthouse to manage the care of these children.”

  Mama glanced at us. I wanted to tell her everything, make her understand, even if she wouldn’t believe me.

  Mama looked wearily at Mrs. Greene. “Please just tell me what happened, Lena.”

  “I found these two in my house!” Mrs. Greene snapped. “Rambling upstairs.”

  “That doesn’t seem right. How did they even get in?” Mama asked.

  “They broke into my house.” Mrs. Greene’s face flushed a deeper pink; if steam could have come out of her ears, it would have been streaming out at this point. “Got a ladder from the shed and came through a window.”

  “Is this true?” Mama asked.

  Mrs. Greene got up and stood in front of us. She pointed to the switches. “It took everything in me to wait until you got here. We need to take care of this. Right now.”

  Mama looked at the switches on the table. I wished more than ever that those switches were red velvet cake slices.

  “I am not beating my children,” she said.

  “Why not?” Mrs. Greene asked. “This is what they need. It’s certainly what they deserve. How are they going to learn?”

  “We will discuss this like sane people,” Mama said.

  I sank farther into the couch. The disappointment grew on Mama’s face. I couldn’t even find the words to defend myself.

  Finally her calm exterior shattered. “How could you have done this?!” she shouted at us. “Have you lost your mind? I don’t care if this is y
our grandmother’s house. You don’t break into houses! I raised you better than this!”

  So much for a sane conversation.

  “It’s not what you think,” I started.

  Mama interrupted me. “I don’t want to hear any excuses.”

  Janie sprang up next to me on the couch. “It was my fault, Aunt Delilah. I made Sarah come here. It was all my idea.”

  “Janie, don’t—it’s okay,” I said.

  She put her hand on my leg and squeezed it tightly. “I’ve been so bored,” Janie continued. “Sarah didn’t want to come with me, but I finally convinced her. I wore her down.”

  Janie was standing up for me again.

  “Is this true, Sarah?” Mama asked me.

  “Sounds true enough to me,” Mrs. Greene said. “They came into this house to meddle with my things. It was only a matter of time before Janie would ruin Sarah. Told you that child needed to be here with me.”

  “I’m sorry,” Janie said. “I didn’t mean any harm. This town is too small. There’s nothing to do.”

  “Janie, this is unacceptable,” Mama said.

  Mrs. Greene’s face was hard and focused. “What’s unacceptable is you letting these children get away with all this.” She picked up the switches. “I should have whipped you girls before she got here.”

  Mama closed her eyes and brought her hands to her temple. Counting to three wouldn’t be enough to solve this problem.

  “There will be nothing of that sort done today,” Mama said firmly. “Robert is getting off work early so we can discuss this as a family.”

  Mrs. Greene held the switches tight in her hand and pointed them at us. “You do something like this again and not even Jesus will stop me from tearing into your hides. Delilah, get them out of my sight.” She turned from us and went into the kitchen.

  Mama shook her head and took a deep breath. “I’m so disappointed in you, Sarah.”

  Her words hurt so much worse than a switch ever would. I retreated deeper and deeper into myself.

  “It was my fault, Aunt Delilah,” Janie repeated with urgency.

  “No more talking,” Mama said.

  • • •

  “We should have told Mama the truth,” I whispered as we drove away from Mrs. Greene’s house.

  “She won’t believe us.” Janie leaned into me. “Especially not in front of Mrs. Greene. We just have to find another way.”

  I shook my head. There was no other way. We were in deep trouble. Who knew what Daddy would do when Mama told him the details? We should have just asked Mrs. Greene for Sophie’s stuff, not broken into her house. What was I thinking? Maybe if we had just told her the truth and she knew that we had found out about Abner, she would have helped us. Instead we took the cowardly route of sneaking around. Now we would never know.

  • • •

  I watched Daddy pace the floor of Mama’s office through the closed French doors. Mama sat at her desk. She was using her lawyerly hand gestures. I hoped she wasn’t using words like “juvenile delinquents” and “criminal charges.” Daddy finally stopped pacing and sat down in front of her. They huddled together; our fate was in their hands.

  I sat on the couch between Ellis and Janie. Soiled napkins and paper plates littered the coffee table. Once again Daddy had come home with our supper in a box. Now I associated pizza with drama. I could take only a few tiny bites. My nerves were too wound up.

  “Told y’all it was a stupid idea. I knew you would get caught.” Ellis turned to Walter, who was resting on his shoulder. “Didn’t I tell them?”

  “Doesn’t matter now.” Janie scratched under Walter’s neck, and he stuck out his tongue.

  “We should have told them the truth,” I said.

  “They would have never believed us,” Janie said.

  Ellis grabbed another slice of pizza. “Y’all committed a felony. Might not go to jail but gonna be grounded for the rest of your life.”

  “You’ll be grounded right along with us,” Janie said.

  Mama opened the French doors, and she and Daddy walked out and stood in front of us.

  Daddy shook his head. “I don’t even know where to start with all of you.”

  Janie shifted behind me and focused on her nails. She had scraped off most of the red polish. Ellis shoved the rest of his pizza into his mouth. I sat silent between them; my whole body was shaking.

  “We can’t let you stay at the house by yourselves any longer,” Mama said.

  “You gonna get us a babysitter?” Ellis asked.

  Daddy and Mama exchanged glances. Panic rose up my chest and lodged in my throat. I knew what was coming.

  “No babysitter. We’re going back to the old summer routine,” Daddy said. “You’ll be staying at your grandma’s house during the day.”

  Ellis stood up fast. “Why I got to be punished with them?”

  Janie pulled him back down on the couch, and Walter crawled into her lap.

  “So you didn’t know anything about this?” Daddy asked him.

  “I told them it was a bad idea.” Ellis bowed his head. “Doesn’t that count?”

  “He was too scared to go so he gave me his bike,” Janie said.

  “I wasn’t scared!” Ellis protested.

  “Be quiet,” I told him. “You’re only making it worse.”

  Mama tightened the sash on her robe. “You’ll be grounded for the rest of the summer. When you’re not at your grandmother’s house, you’ll be up in your rooms. No TV. No playing outside. No walking to Town Square. Jasper and Jovita won’t be able to visit.”

  “You won’t need to worry about Jovita,” Janie mumbled.

  “Young lady!” Mama used her loud lawyer voice. “I’m the only one who should be talking here.”

  My cousin receded into the couch and remained silent.

  “Your privileges will also be taken away,” Mama continued. “Ellis, that means no video games. Janie, no Internet for your phone. Sarah, no science symposium.”

  Her words sounded far away, muted and slow, as if Mama spoke to me from another dimension.

  “Why can’t you take her space books away instead?” Janie asked. “I told you it was my fault.”

  “These are the consequences for her actions,” Daddy said.

  All my limbs felt heavy. Now I wouldn’t be able to go to the science symposium. I wouldn’t be able to hear the latest news on the planets or moons. Newly formed tears stung my eyes.

  The rest of the summer would pass like dog years. Mrs. Greene would work us to the bone. The promise of the switch would hang over our heads. But unlike today, I believed Mama would give Mrs. Greene permission to whip our hides.

  “Now, we don’t want to be blindsided with any more foolery. So this is your last chance. Is there anything else we should know about?”

  Mama looked at each of us. This was the time to tell them. Everything. Creek Church. The cameo. The boy. The message. The protective salt and pouches. The Witching Hour. The haints. This was the time to let my parents know we were only trying to do the right thing. We were only trying to save our family. Save our town.

  “Sarah?” Daddy squatted down in front of me. “Do you have something to say?”

  Janie and Ellis both looked at me. They didn’t want me to tell the truth. They didn’t think Mama and Daddy would believe us.

  I swallowed. “We’re sorry.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Worst Fears

  The next morning we got into Mama’s car. Every once in a while Mama looked in the rearview mirror at me, the disappointment still fresh on her face. I had broken my promise to handle my responsibility this summer. I had failed. I avoided her glances and focused on the pastures and cows we passed along the road.

  Mama pulled into Mrs. Greene’s driveway and then turned to face us. “I’m no longer mad at you. We all make mistakes. I just hope you’ve learned your lesson so this doesn’t happen again.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” Ellis sai
d. “But I can’t vouch for these two.”

  Janie sneered at him and opened the car door. Ellis and I followed her outside, but Mama didn’t budge.

  “Aunt Delilah, you’re not getting out?” Janie asked.

  “You can’t blame her,” Ellis said.

  “I need to get to court. Go ahead.” Mama motioned for us to hurry up.

  We walked up the steps to the house. Exotic plants stood behind thick glass and taunted birds to fly into the mirage, dazed and confused. Too bad we couldn’t be those birds today and fly in the other direction. We opened the front door and found Mrs. Greene in the kitchen, washing dishes. She had on a dusty shirt and faded overalls. When she heard us, she turned around—then frowned.

  “Why did Delilah let you wear your street clothes over here?” She pulled off her rubber gloves. “This is not gonna work.”

  Mrs. Greene went upstairs and found three old Heritage Festival T-shirts. We took turns going into the hall bathroom to put them on. They were huge and fell to the top of our knees. I adjusted the straps of my training bra. The T-shirts smelled of bleach and felt crunchy, as if they had dried out in the sun.

  After putting on our summer work uniform, our grandma then slathered sunscreen on our faces, arms, and legs. She gave Janie and me straw hats but gave Ellis a baseball cap that had belonged to Granddaddy Greene. She inspected each of us before she pushed us outside.

  Mrs. Greene followed behind us with a metal folding chair she got from the back porch and placed it in the shade of a sycamore tree.

  “I need y’all to go through my corn and see what’s good for picking. I promised Sister Benton I would have something for her at tomorrow’s Bible study.” She sat and crossed her legs as we stood in front of her in the blazing sun. “Go on now. I don’t have all day.”

  We meandered through the rows of tall green stalks. Janie was having a hard time figuring out which corn ears were ready.

  “Don’t get that one. The silk is still green,” I said.

  “Watch out for the worms,” Ellis added.

  Janie jerked her hand away. “I hate corn.”

  “Hold the basket,” I told her. “I’ll pick out the ears.”