“Did he tell you that?”
“Of course. He called and” cried like a baby.”
“He—did?” The puzzled expression on Kathleen’s face led Henry Ann to say, “Why are you surprised?”
“He never held Mary Rose. He never looked at her after—the first time.”
“What—are you saying?” Henry sat back with a look of utter disbelief on her face. “Johnny has always loved kids. I looked after Tom’s son Jay for a while before Tom and I married, and Johnny was so good with him. I thought at the time that he’d be a wonderful father.”
“He was happy when I got pregnant, but after the baby came he changed overnight.”
“I’m disappointed in him,” Henry Ann said sadly.
“Oh, don’t be!” Kathleen spoke in anguish. “He has his reasons, and they are real to him.”
“They would have to be pretty darn good reasons.”
“I’ll have to tell you the rest so you’ll understand. Mary Rose was not a pretty baby to look at, but she was my baby.” Silent tears crept from her eyes and trickled unheeded down her cheeks. “She …had no skull on the top …of her little head and …her eyes protruded. She lived two days. She had no chance. No chance at all.”
“Oh, Kathleen, I’m sorry.” Henry Ann clasped both Kathleen’s hands. “I’m so sorry.”
“Johnny thinks it’s his fault. He said the curse was passed down to him because of…incest in his family. He swore that he’d never have another child. He left me right after we buried Mary Rose and told me to get a man with better bloodlines if I wanted a family.”
“That’s not so. The curse of incest, I mean. Dorene was my mother, too. My children are perfect. It has always been rumored that Dorene’s father seduced his daughter, and she gave birth to Dorene. I don’t know how true it is. The people who lived on Mud Creek were a strange clan.”
“Johnny said that his sister Isabel had always been a little—odd. He only remarked about it one time. After that he’d walk away when I brought up the subject.”
“For goodness sake, look at what Jude has accomplished. He’s a Perry. My children are as smart as whips. What happened to your child was one of those unusual things that happen. I’ll have to talk to him.”
“Please don’t, Henry Ann. He will be angry with me. He was so glad you were coming. I don’t want anything to spoil it.”
“Maybe he’ll give me an opening—”
Kathleen jumped to her feet and disappeared into the back room. ’They’re here,” she called. “I’ve got to wash my face. Go open the door, Henry Ann.”
Henry Ann was waiting in the open doorway when Johnny came bounding up onto the porch, a smile lighting his face.
“Hen Ann,” he exclaimed, using her pet name. He grabbed her the second he came through the doorway and hugged her tightly to him. “Lord, I’m glad to see you. Hell’s bells, it’s been a long time.”
“Aunt Dozie would wash your mouth out with soap for swearing, young man.” She leaned back to look at him with tear-filled eyes. “Oh, Johnny, I was so afraid for you when you were—over there. I prayed every night.”
“It must have done some good, sis. I came back all in one piece.”
She kissed his cheek again and again. “You rascal. Golly, how I love you.”
“How about me, Hen Ann? Don’t I get a welcome?” Pete asked from behind Johnny.
“I’ve seen you since you came home. And yes, you’re a rascal too. Always have been.” Henry Ann smiled at him. “As a matter of fact, you were a pain in the behind—for years!“
“Yeah, I was. But wait till you see Jude. That little pup is smart as all get out. He’s a doctor. A real doctor. Can you believe it?”
“Why are you surprised that he’s smart? He was smart enough to figure out who killed Emmajean Dolan and get you out of jail.” Johnny was still holding on to Henry Ann as if he feared she would disappear.
“Yeah, I owed him for that, and what did I do? I went right out and joined the navy and left him to cope with our old man who was about as worthless as teats on a boar.”
“It does us no good to look back. We all did the best that we could during those hard times. I thank God every day that both of you came back from the war.”
“Even me, Henry Ann?” Pete asked.
“Of course, you. I was on to your game, Pete Perry. You wanted everyone to think that you were Red Rock’s bad boy.” Henry Ann reached up and kissed Pete on the cheek. “Don’t tell my husband that I did that.”
Johnny turned to see Kathleen standing in the doorway leading to the bedroom. She was wearing a green dress with a wide black belt cinched about her small waist. Her hair was its usual unruly mass of bright red curls, but she looked pale to him.
Kathleen had stayed in the background while Johnny met his sister. Now she came out into the room.
“I have sandwiches ready if you would like to eat before you go to the clinic.”
“Sounds good to me.” Pete sailed his hat into a chair and followed Kathleen to the kitchen. “Tell me how I can help.”
“Wash your hands first, then chip ice for the tea.”
“Bossy women,” he grumbled. “Always tellin’ a fellow to wash.”
“That’ll teach you to ask,” Kathleen retorted.
“I’ll remember that.”
“This isn’t much,” Kathleen said as she set a plate of ham and egg salad sandwiches on the table, “but it will hold you for a while.”
“Did Jude call?” Johnny asked as he sat down.
“Was he planning to?”
“Only if—we were needed.”
“He didn’t call.”
“I told him that you’d be here before noon, Henry Ann, and that we’d come over there about one o’clock. They’ll hold off putting her to sleep in case you want to talk to her.”
“Oh, my. What can I say after all these years?”
“Henry Ann.” Pete had genuine concern on his face.
“If Isabel’s awake, she’s going to be—mean-mouthed. She’s always been naturally mouthy, and now Jude thinks the syphilis or the cancer has gone to her brain. She has nothing good to say to anyone.”
“Don’t worry. I know she is sick, and I’ll not take to heart anything she says. Even if she is—mean, she should have her family with her at a time like this. Johnny and I are all the family she has—that we know of.”
The sandwiches disappeared from the plate so fast that Kathleen wished that she had made more than three each for the men and one each for herself and Henry Ann.
Henry Ann asked Kathleen to go with them to the clinic; but she refused, saying she would stay and work on her book although she knew that her mind was in such a turmoil that not a word would reach the page.
Johnny did not look directly at her during the meal. His eyes seemed to pass right over her. He did speak to her as he followed Henry Ann out the door when they left to go to the clinic.
“Thanks for the dinner and for picking up Henry Ann.”
“You’re welcome.” Kathleen made sure that there were no tears in her voice. She wanted him to leave before she broke down and bawled. Talking to his sister about their child had stirred up all the misery again.
As soon as the car headed down the street, Kathleen went wearily to the bedroom, lay on the bed, and let the tears flow.
“Hey, beautiful doll, is Jude busy?” Pete asked in his cheery voice when they walked into the reception room.
Millie rolled her eyes to the ceiling. “The doctor is in his office, Mr. Perry.”
“Mr. Perry? You were callin’ me darlin’ and sweetheart last night.”
“You better be satisfied with Mr. Perry, darlin’. ’Cause I know a few other names I could call you.”
Pete turned to Henry Ann. “She means it,” he said with a mock frown.
Millie smiled at Henry Ann. “Go on in. Doctor knows you’re out here.” She tilted her head toward Pete and raised an eyebrow. “They probably know it down on Main Street.”
&nb
sp; Henry Ann moved to the doorway and gazed at the nandsome man who-rose from the desk and came to meet her. He was tall, slender, and confident. Her mind flashed back to recall the skinny kid from Mud Creek who had been so determined to get an education. He met her in the middle of the office, and Henry Ann wrapped her arms around him.
“Dr. Perry. I’m so proud.”
“Hello, Henry Ann.”
She hugged him for a long moment, then stepped back to look at him, then at Pete and Johnny. Pete was beaming with pride. Johnny was smiling, too.
“Oh, you boys! I was sure none of you would amount to a hill of beans. Now look…you’ve turned out just fine.”
“You turned out pretty good yourself,” Jude said. “You were always the prettiest girl in Red Rock with a bunch of suitors, too.”
“Ah, come on,” Henry Ann scoffed. “It wasn’t me they were after. It was the farm. Enough about me. How is Isabel?”
Jude’s smile faded. “Not good, I’m afraid.”
“Johnny said there’s nothing you can do for her.”
“We could have treated the syphilis. The cancer has spread beyond treatment. We’re giving her morphine.”
“How long?”
Jude shook his head. “I believe that her heart will fail before the cancer gets her. The end could come today, tomorrow, or a week from now. I’ve not had a lot of experience with cancer, but my nurse, Mrs. Frank, worked in the cancer ward at St. Anthony Hospital in Oklahoma City. She believes, and I concur, that if Isabel lives another week, it will be a miracle.”
“Poor, poor thing. Maybe if I had kept her with me, she would have had a different kind of life.”
“The world is full of what if’s, sis. You can’t blame yourself for how Isabel chose to live.” Johnny’s face was grim.
“Can we see her?”
“Sure. Anytime.”
“Oh, before I go see her, I want to give you this.” Henry Ann opened her purse and pulled out some bills. “Tom and I know that being in the hospital is expensive. We want you to have this, and we will send more from time to time.”
“Sis! No!” Johnny reached across and took hold of the hand holding the money. “I’ve already told Jude that I’ll pay for Isabel’s care—”
“Hold on, both of you,” Jude said sternly. “Isabel Henry is an adult. Neither of you is responsible for her. This clinic has a built-in fund through anonymous donations to take care of patients who can’t afford to pay. We either use that fund or we lose it. Isabel’s care here will be paid for out of that fund. Put your money back in your purse, Henry Ann.”
“No, Jude.” Johnny shook his head. “That’s charity. I’m not proud of it, but Isabel is my sister, and I’ll pay, in time, for her care.”
“Then you’ll have to take her out of the clinic and find another place for her because I’ve already submitted her name as a patient qualified for the anonymous fund.”
Johnny looked thunderstruck.
“You’ve got too much pride for your own good, Johnny,” Jude said kindly. “Are you going to throw the generous donations back in the faces of the folks who gave them?”
Johnny didn’t answer immediately, then insisted, “It goes against the grain to take charity.”
“Then think about it the next time you offer to help someone or give someone a small part of something that you have plenty of.”
“But, dammit, Jude—”
“Dammit, Johnny. I may be calling on you in the spring. I’ve plans to make some changes around here. I’ll need all the donated help I can get.”
‘You’d have had it anyway,” Johnny growled.
“I know that. Henry Ann, I’ll take you down to see Isabel. Come on, Johnny. Pete won’t be far behind. He never misses a chance to flirt with my nurses.” Jude glanced over his shoulder at his brother and grinned.
At the door of Isabel’s room, Jude said, “Wait just a minute.” He opened the door a crack and looked in. Mrs. Cole was giving Isabel a drink of water. When she finished, he went in, motioning for the others to follow.
“Hello, Isabel,” Jude said.
“Hello, Isabel,” she mimicked. Her voice was raspy and weak, but still full of venom. “What’er you wanting? Cause I’m flat on my back—ya thinkin’ to crawl on an’ screw me? Cost ya two dollars for one time, three dollars for two—if you can go two times.” She snickered.
Jude ignored what she said to him. “There’s someone here to see you.”
“A man?” She tried to look beyond him. “Has he come to take me dancin’?”
“Pete and Johnny are here, but someone else is, too.” Jude stepped aside, and Henry Ann moved up beside the bed.
“Hello, Isabel.”
Henry Ann would not have recognized the sunken-cheeked, bony, hard-faced woman who lay on the bed. Her hair was so thin you could see her scalp, and it stuck out from her head like straw. Her eyes seemed to be slightly out of focus. She said nothing at first, just stared.
“God’s pecker and all that’s holy!” she swore. “If it ain’t Miss Tight-ass Henry Ann come all the way from that piss-poor farm to gloat over my bones.”
“I just found out the other day that you were sick, Isabel.”
“Hell, I ain’t sick. Ain’t sick,” she tried to yell, but if came out as a weak squawk. “Jesus, I hate your damn guts for sayin’ I’m sick. I—ain’t—no—way—sick! You ugly bitch.”
“You’re my sister, Isabel. I’d like to stay and visit with you.”
“Shit a mile in broad daylight! I suppose that big-peckered, blanket-ass Johnny come, too. Damn turd-eater kept me locked up. Wouldn’t let me go nowhere. Wanted to keep me there naked for him to use—”
“Isabel, that’s enough!” Pete was beside the bed. “Dammit, shut up tellin’ those nasty lies.”
“Honey, wanta fuck me? Climb on. I ain’t goin’ to charge ya. And I don’t care if prissy-tail watches.” She chuckled. The sound was dry and scratchy.
Pete looked across the bed at Dale Cole. Her face had turned a rosy red. She glanced at him and then away.
“Henry Ann, don’t stay and listen to this,” he whispered. “She’s not been this bad before.”
“I understand that she’s out of her head.”
“I’m not so sure. She knew who you were.”
“Son of a bitch,” Isabel muttered in a dry whisper. “Goddamn son of a bitchin’ whore. Bastard would screw a knothole if he had nothin’ else. Pussy-grabbin’ asshole—” Her eyes were completely unfocused.
“The poor miserable thing. I’ll sit with her for a while. You and Johnny go on out.”
Jude moved up to the bed, holding a hypodermic needle close to his side. Mrs. Cole held back the sheet and he sank the needle into Isabel’s buttock. She didn’t seem to be aware of it. When he removed it, Mrs. Cole quickly put a pad and a tape over the puncture and covered her with the sheet.
Johnny had already backed out the door of the room. He felt sick to his stomach, to his soul. Jude came out and put a hand on his shoulder.
“How do you stand it, Jude?”
“This is a bad one. On the other side of the fence, when you make people well and they walk out of here, it makes it all worthwhile. A boy in Italy was like this in the end. The things he said were so foul they would turn your stomach. He had been a gentle, quiet boy planning to go to a theological school before he was drafted into the army.”
“It’s bad blood, is what it is.”
“There’s no such thing as bad blood that causes behavior problems. I could exchange your blood with a killer on death row, and if his blood was free of disease, you’d still be the same kind of man you were. Sometimes family traits are passed along, but it’s all a matter of chance. Look at me and Pete. We’re not alike yet we had the same father. You and Henry Ann are not like Isabel even though you had the same mother.”
“Bad genes can skip a generation. I’ve read a bit about it. If I thought that I’d be like her, or had a child that would be like her, I’d shoot
myself.”
“Sometimes the books you read don’t give a complete picture. If you’re interested in the subject, I can give you a good medical book to read.”
“Henry Ann is one of the best people I know and Isabel is one of the worst. It’s strange, isn’t it?”
“It is, but I’ve seen many strange things during the short time I’ve been a doctor.”
“Doctor,” Theresa called from down the hallway.
Jude started to go, then turned back to Johnny. “I hope you will come for Thanksgiving. Henry Ann, too, if she’s still here. Kathleen has already said that she’s coming.”
“Henry Ann won’t want to be away from Tom and the kids on Thanksgiving.”
“Then I’ll expect you.” Jude smiled and walked to where Theresa waited for him.
Johnny went to the reception room to wait for Henry Ann. Jude had made him reconsider some of his ideas. He had some thinking to do.
Chapter Seventeen
Henry Ann sat quietly beside the bed watching Isabel’s ravaged face. The vile words that had come out of her mouth had shocked her. She had never heard such vulgarity. It was doubly embarrassing to listen to in the presence of the others. She kept telling herself that no woman would speak like that if she were fully in charge of her reasoning.
Yet Isabel had looked at her with pure hatred in her eyes. She had reasoned enough to know that she hated her. So sad. She had wasted her life hating. The poor creature would never know the love of a good man or the love of children. All that could be done was to pity and forgive her.
Henry Ann was conscious that Pete was still in the room. The nurse moved around picking up soiled linens and stuffing them in a pillowcase. She came to stand by Henry Ann and look down at Isabel. She smoothed the stiff dry hair back from her patient’s forehead, a gesture Isabel would have sneered at had she been awake.
“The poor thing will have a few hours of peace now,” Dale said softly.
“I’ll sit beside her for a while.”
“Stay as long as you like. Can I get you something? Water, tea, or coffee?”
“No, thank you.”
“I’ve some other things to tend to. I’ll be back in a little while.”
After the Parade Page 19