The Wooden Nickel

by Alisha Paige

“No, don’t be silly. Now go on back and tell your mother where I am. I’ll be in shortly.”

  “Yes, Pa,” Louise answered as she ran back to the house, filled with love and fear and more excitement than she ever knew could exist in a lifetime.

  Louise threw open the front door, letting the screen door slam behind her. Her mother and Lily were near the fireplace, sewing buttons onto their new dresses.

  “Mama, mama!” Louise cried, half out of breath and flushed from her encounter with Cliff and the cold night air.

  “What is it, dear?” her mother asked, standing up, completely alarmed. “Where’s your father?”

  “He’s out by the barn. He’s okay, but I have to tell you something.”

  Louise’s mother grabbed her by the shoulders. She had never seen her daughter so scared and so out of breath. Louise had always been a calm, happy child. “What is it?”

  “He caught two boys,” Louise explained and Lily cocked her head up, suddenly interested.

  “What do you mean? Doing what?”

  “Out by the old barn,” Louise said as she began to cry. “Oh, Mama, I’m so sorry. I’ve been lying to you both. I haven’t been feeding an old stray dog. You know the boy who walks us home?”

  “Yes, that nice young man, Cliff?”

  Lily snorted and began sewing again.

  “Yes, he and his brother Hank have been staying in the old barn, but they didn’t mean no harm, Mama. They were living on the train and it’s so awful cold and dangerous sometimes. I told them they could stay in the barn. I never meant for them to be caught and I only wanted to help.”

  “Well, I don’t know if you helped them or not, dear, but what’s done is done. Maybe its best that your Pa caught them and not the law. You run to your room and get ready for bed.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Lily continued to sew as her mother grabbed her coat and headed outside. “Lily, keep an eye on the girls. I’ll be back in a little while.”

  “Yes, Mama,” Lily answered quietly, barely looking up from her sewing.

  Louise made her way toward her room, her heart full of fear for Cliff.

  “Oh, Louise,” Lily called, barely looking up from the dress she was sewing.

  Louise stopped and looked at her sister. Now what? Miss Perfect would love to see her get in a heap of trouble and from the look on her thin lips, Louise had correctly guessed her thoughts.

  “So, I guess your dream boy finally got caught. I bet you cry tomorrow when you walk home all by yourself.”

  “Hush, Lily. I don’t care what you think. Besides, you’re just jealous of me and Cliff.”

  “I certainly am not,” Lily answered with hooded eyes, trying her hardest to act her absolute snobbiest.

  “Are too and besides, I know you hate it that Cliff prefers my company to yours, when he’s closer to your age.”

  “Why would it bother me that an old hobo like Cliff Emberton didn’t care anything for me?”

  “Hobo?”

  “Yes, a hobo, Louise.”

  Louise narrowed her eyes. How did Lily know he had been living on the train? She was such a sneak.

  “I have no idea what you’re talking about Miss Lily White,” Louise replied, tossing her hair behind her shoulders and heading to bed, though she knew she wouldn’t sleep a wink.

  “Oh, yes you do and I plan to tell Pa. I’ve known all along about those two hoboes and how you’ve helped to hide them in the old barn.”

  “How could you possibly have known?” Louise had been very careful to never reveal anything on their walks home from school and Hank never walked home with them, though he slept in the barn at night.

  “I knew you weren’t feeding no old dog, so I spied on you one night and I heard you talking. It was so sad, the way you begged your convict lover to stay here and not head up north on the trains, even though his own family is practically starving.”

  Now Louise was insulted and angry. She wanted to rip every hair from Lily’s ugly head. Convict Lover? Cliff was certainly no convict. Why he was barely a man and how did she know that they had kissed? Louise was convinced that her sister was demon seed. The preacher talked about her kind every Sunday. They mask themselves as “do gooders” and try to appear all sweet and innocent, when really, they are the worst, most vile of all creatures. Never trust someone who seems too good.

  “Cliff is no convict, Lily!”

  “Why else would he live on a train, you idiot? Only convicts ride the rails,” Lily replied sweetly as she sewed a button onto the back of the dress.

  “Says who?”

  “Says Pa, that’s who.”

  “You’re dumber than a box of rocks, Lily. Pa only said that lots of convicts ride the rails, not only convicts. That’s a perfect reason for Cliff and Hank to stay in the barn. If there are hoodlums out there, it makes more sense for them to sleep in safety. Besides, the bulls can be really mean.”

  “Bulls? You idiot, they’re sleeping on trains, not in a pasture. They’re more likely to see bulls in our barn.”

  “You’re the idiot, Lily. Bulls is a term they give the men who check the trains at night. Most often they beat up or kill anyone they find.”

  “I don’t believe you. I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

  Louise sighed and rolled her eyes. “I don’t care. There’s lots of things you’ve never heard of, Lily. I know much more about the world than you.”

  “Well, I suspect that to be true, little sister. After all, you’re the one with the convict lover.”

  Louise couldn’t help it. She dove after Lily, knocking her off of the rocking chair and going for her eyes. Oh, how she wanted to scratch them out and watch the blood spurt from the dark, demonic holes. She hated Lily.

  “Stop it, you little monster!” Lily wailed as she grabbed a book near the hearth, raising it above her head just as their mother walked in.

  “Lily! Louise! What are you two up to? Now get to bed, both of you! Your father and I have enough to worry about!”

  They watched their mother as she entered the kitchen and filled the tea kettle with water from the pump to heat over the wood stove.

  “But, mother, can I finish these buttons?” Lily asked sweetly.

  “Get in bed. Now!”

  Lily flung down her sewing and glared at Louise as both of them retired to their bedrooms. Louise undressed and slipped into her flannel nightgown. She looked outside her window and saw the old barn, standing lonely in the moonlight. The night looked much colder now and she wondered where Cliff was and what he had said to Pa. Softly, with one finger, she touched her mouth and smiled, remembering their kiss. She didn’t think her father had seen. It had been so fast and it was already getting dark. As she looked up at the stars, she thanked God for that one kiss and prayed that she would see Cliff again.

  “Oh, Pa, please don’t go calling the law on Cliff and Hank,” she whispered to her window pane.

  She heard the front door shut and then her father say something. She didn’t think he was talking to her mother, cause he was using his deepest voice. The one voice he reserved for business.

  His most stern voice.

  She leaned up against her doorway and looked into the tiny sliver of light that the crack allowed in.

  Nothing.

  She couldn’t see a darn thing through that crack. She got on her knees and looked through the key hole. She could see a pair of legs and holy, holy, they weren’t fathers. Yes, yes, they were Cliff’s. Oh, my, he was in her house, just like she dreamed he would be. Maybe this was a very good thing. Maybe Pa would help. She didn’t think he would call the law on them and he wasn’t hollering. Yes, this was looking much better than she suspected in the beginning, but she knew all along. Pa was a good, kind man and certainly, he would feel bad for the boys. Besides, she was mostly like her Pa, that’s what everyone said, including Mama. Surely, her father would feel sorry for them like she did. Louise heard mother rustling about and clinking cups together.


  Her best dishes.

  Wow. Mother was putting on airs for Cliff and Hank. Lily was just like Mama, only meaner.

  “I see,” her father replied as he listened to Cliff’s story.

  “Well, if you just let us go, we’ll be on our way, sir,” Cliff said, heading for the door.

  “Not so fast, son.”

  Cliff hung his head and sighed. “Look, mister. I’m sorry I used your barn, but it was much warmer than that cold train and now you know that your daughter was bringing us food. I’m powerful sorry for getting your daughter involved in our charade. I humbly apologize.”

  My, my, Cliff was charming his way into Pa’s heart, indeed. Louise could hear him from the back side of her door and she wanted to die of pride. Charade? Oh, he was good at using fancy words. If Pa was like her, which she knew he was, Cliff would work his way into his heart in no time.

  “Well, I don’t see how any harm was done, but Louise is a good girl. You hear me son?”

  “Yes, sir,” Cliff nodded.

  “She was only trying to help someone less fortunate than herself. I can’t blame her for practicing what I preach, but don’t you go getting my baby girl into any trouble.”

  “No, sir. I promise to stay away from her.”

  Louise’s heart shriveled to the size of a pea. Maybe he didn’t mean it.

  Oh, God. No.

  Please don’t make me wait until I’m an old maid to run into Cliff Emberton again. We’re already engaged! How can he say he’ll never see me again? Maybe he’s just fibbing to keep Pa off his back. The words stung her still, leaving her numb. Her heart felt tiny, beating just enough to keep her alive.

  “Now, let’s see if we can all figure this out together,” Pa explained calmly.

  Louise heard her father pace the wood floors and watched his big feet through the key hole until she thought her eyeball would fall out.

  “I’ve got it!” Pa exclaimed.

  “What?” Cliff asked, sounding surprisingly intrigued.

  “President Roosevelt just started a new work program to help folks out. Folks like you. Now, Cliff, you may be a little young to do this type of work, but I’m sure Hank could get on there.”

  “Hey! Hank doesn’t go anywhere without me!” Cliff retorted.

  “Just hear me out. It’s called The Tennessee Valley Authority and Hank could get a job working for the government.”

  “What about me?”

  Louise had yet to hear Hank utter a word, but she could see his feet shuffling back and forth as he shifted his weight now and again.

  “Just hush. Listen up. The TVA is working to bring electricity to all the country towns that don’t have any just yet in the Tennessee Valley. Cliff, you could help me at the newspaper.”

  “Doing what? Writing like you? I’m no writer.”

  “Don’t knock it until you try it, besides, with your vocabulary, you have a real future as a newspaper man.”

  Pa sounded more excited than ever and he seemed very happy to have Cliff working at his side. Louise didn’t even think he needed the help. Maybe he wanted to help Cliff cause he had always wanted a son and anyone could tell what a great kid Cliff was and besides, Cliff needed a dad, too. Maybe this would work out for everyone.

  “I don’t know, sir,” Cliff replied, sounding discouraged. He didn’t like the idea of him and Hank being separated.

  “Now it will only be temporary, until you’re old enough to work at the TVA. You might have to wait two years, but there’s another program that Mr. Roosevelt has started that I think you could try after you’ve learned enough at the newspaper!”

  “Oh, do tell,” Cliff drawled. This was getting old fast and Cliff already had it in his head to bolt at first chance.

  “There’s a new program he’s starting to enhance the arts. One in particular is for writers, called Federal Writers. What you’d do is go out and interview people, just like you and me, plain folks. People suffering through this bad time in history and write their stories.”

  “Sounds boring.”

  “Oh, no, son. It’s not boring at all. Life is the most interesting of all things. Is your story boring? Why, you’ve been hopping trains like a regular hobo and living in a secret barn and going to school like a brave soldier, still trying to get an education. You have a lot to be proud of.”

  Cliff wondered about the brave soldier part. Education didn’t draw him to the school house every day, Louise did and she was an education all by herself. She was something he really wanted to explore, but even he knew they were both too young for that. He was still determined to marry her one day, no matter what he’d told her Pa.

  “What do you two boys say? I can look into getting Hank hooked up with the TVA and most of them stay in camp sites, designed for the workers. You can stay here, Cliff. I don’t have any room inside the house, but you and I can patch up that old barn real nice for you or maybe we can convert one of the offices at the newspaper into a room and you’ll even have your own privacy. And Louise won’t have to bring you food like an old dog any more. You can eat with us.”

  “I don’t know. I don’t like the idea of Hank being alone and all.”

  “I can manage,” Hank replied, finally speaking up.

  “No you can’t!”

  “Sure I can. I’m nearly seventeen now and practically grown. I can send money home to Mama. As long as I have a roof over my head and something in my belly, I know I can do it.”

  Louise’s father beamed at the older boy. He was showing true courage. He knew the youngster had it in him. Though Cliff was the more dominate of the two boys, Hank really could stand on his own and he was sharp as a whip, her father could tell. He actually knew when to keep silent, unlike his little brother who would have to learn his lessons the hard way. He could tell that Hank was the strong, silent type and a survivor through and through.

  “Sure you can, Hank! And Cliff, with your personality and your fire, you’ll make a fine reporter!”

  “But when I’m old enough, I can work with my brother, right?”

  “Sure, but you may find that you prefer writing to working outside.”

  Cliff snorted. “Somehow I doubt that, sir.”

  “Well, we’ll see. Do we have a deal boys?”

  Hank nodded and for the first time, smiled a real smile since they’d left home. Cliff was half embarrassed for him. What if Louise’s Pa was lying to them and was still going to turn them into the law?

  “What about you, Clifford?” her father asked sternly.

  “I’m still not sure.”

  “What’s bothering you about it? It’s the best offer that’s gonna come your way, son. These are hard times.”

  “You aren’t calling the law on us?”

  Louise nearly jumped out of her skin as her father laughed loud and low. “Heck, no, son.”

  “Can I ask you something?”

  “What is it?”

  “Why do you want to help us?”

  Louise’s father smiled and looked at his wife who smiled back. Both of them were thinking the same thing and it brought a tear to her Mama’s eye. “I needed help once and someone helped me. I tried to repay him later in life and he told me the best way to repay him was to help someone else in need one day.”

  “Can I ask who helped you?”

  “Sure you can. My father-in-law. Shoot, I wasn’t much older than you boys and I was sure enough down on my luck. That’s how I met my wife, too. Our house was destroyed by a tornado and he took me in. I lost everything. My whole family. My parents and my baby brother. I had less than you boys have, so count your stars.”

  Hank and Cliff stared at each other in awe as Pa hooked his arm around Mama’s waist and planted a kiss on her cheek.

  “You boys will be treated with love and respect, just like I was. Welcome to our home.”

  Both boys shook his outstretched hand as Louise wiped the tears falling steadily down her cheeks. Oh, yes, her Pa was a kind man and so was her Mama. She went to
bed, pulling the quilt up to her neck as she gazed out the window at the old barn where the boy with the coppery eyes slept. The same boy that filled her dreams nightly in colors of gold and silver. As she drifted off to sleep, she decided which color to file their first kiss under. Of course, the softest pink in the land. The kind of pink that kisses the horizon just as the sun is setting behind the prairie, two seconds before it fades. The grandest pink of all, painted by God himself.

  Three

  “Wake up, dear.”

  Louise’s mother shook her and pulled the warm quilt back, exposing her to the cold. “I’m cold, Mama.”

  “Hurry up. Get dressed. The boys are here to walk you to school.”

  Boys? Was Mama talking about Cliff and Hank or was she just dreaming? That strange phrase had come clear out of her mama’s mouth like it was a normal, everyday thing for them to walk her to school. Was it? Louise smiled and bounded out of bed. She couldn’t wait to see the look on Lily’s sour face.

  “I made some biscuits for breakfast and I want you to eat before you go. It’s powerfully cold out there this morning.”

  “Yes, Mama,” Louise answered as she flung her arms around her mother’s neck and breathed in the scent of lavender.

  “Well, my, my. What was that for?”

  “Thank you.”

  Mama smiled back at her, brushing blonde wisps out of her eyes. “You’re welcome, dear. Now, don’t dally.”

  “I won’t,” Louise replied as she pulled her nightgown over her head and dressed herself for school.

  Louise could smell warm biscuits and bacon and forgot all about the cold as she found her tattered shoes near the end of her bed, slipping them over her worn socks. She brushed her hair frantically and tied it back with the thickest, bluest ribbon she owned. The one she usually only wore to Sunday school. She flung her door open and skipped into the kitchen where Ida sat eating a buttery biscuit while mother stood over the stove, stirring up a heap of good ole grits. Louise wondered if she heard her mother wrong. Where was Cliff? Maybe she had dreamed it after all. She looked around as Lily strolled into the kitchen with a rotten frown plastered across her face. No, it must be true. The boys were walking them to school. Why else would Lily wear such a hideous morning face? Lily ignored her as she brushed past and fell into one of the wooden kitchen chairs, staring numbly at her biscuit and bacon.