Finding Will Hennie

by Joy Redmond

  Will pulled out a chair and sat down. “I don’t know. Will Hennie is all that’s in my book that Gram give me.”

  Berta whirled around. “Gram? I thought ya said ya didn’t have no family. You just ain’t tellin’ me the whole truth. I don’t like liars. When I ask ya a question, I ‘spect the truth.”

  “Gram done went to live in the sky. She’s all I ‘member. I took a hard lick upside my noggin’ and I ain’t ‘membered much since.”

  Berta turned to face Will. “Who hit ya upside yer noggin?”

  “I don’t ‘member.”

  Berta raised her apron tail and wiped her eyes. “You poor child. If ya took a blow on your noggin’ then ya must have the amnesure. That’s just plum sad.”

  “I ain’t sad. But I think I got the amnesure.”

  Berta walked over to Will and placed a biscuit on a plate in front of him. “Hold on and I’ll get ya some butter and jelly. I reckon a penny will pay for that, too. Bless yer little heart.”

  Will squirmed, wanting to grab the biscuit and cram it into his mouth, but Berta told him to hold on. He scratched his belly and swung his legs, waiting for Berta to set a dish and a jar in front of him. “Here’s a knife and a spoon. Ya use that knife for the butter, and the spoon for the jelly. And don’t be sticking the wrong one in the wrong place. I won’t have no butter and jelly mixed.”

  Will stared at the utensils. What’s a knife and spoon and how my ’posed to use’ um?

  “Oh, for heaven’s sake. I’ll do it fer ya.” Berta picked up the biscuit, split it with the knife, then she scraped a piece of butter from the dish and wiped it on the biscuit. Will watched as she picked up the spoon, dipped it into the jar and dropped the jelly onto the biscuit. “There, now eat up and get on outta here. I gotta have breakfast done before the boarders come down. You’re slowing me down. That confounded, good-for-nothin’ man I married sure ain’t gonna help out. He’s so lazy he wouldn’t say soo-ee if the hogs was a eatin’ him.”

  Will laughed. Berta was funny, and she seemed to be nice. She just didn’t take to beggars. He figured she was one of those people who had a heart but was scared to show it.

  Will almost swallowed the biscuit whole. He had jelly oozing from the corner of his mouth, and whatever jelly and butter was, it sure was good. He squirmed in the chair and scratched his belly, wondering what was wrong with him. He’d had an itch or two before, but nothing this bad, and it wouldn’t stop.

  “What ya scratchin’ all the time for, Will? You act like a dog with fleas. I sure hope you ain’t got no bedbugs. I sure don’t need them things in my boardin’ house.” She walked over to him. “Stand up and lift your shirt.”

  Will stood, pulled up his shirt and Berta gasped. “Laws! You’s got the chiggers. I’ll get some vinegar and I’ll douse ya with it when I get a few minutes. But you need a bath before it’s gonna work. Ya gonna have to wait till I get breakfast out on the big table for my boarders.”

  “What’s chiggers?” Will asked, his voice shrill.

  “Them’s tiny bugs that gets under yer skin and they itch like the blazes till they die. And it takes a long time, less ya douse ‘em in vinegar. Have ya been in a briar patch?”

  “I picked me some blackberries along the road.”

  “Well, that’s where ya got ‘em. What road was it? Oh, never mind. Ya got the amnesure.” A minute later, Berta dropped another biscuit onto the plate. You ‘member how to use the knife and spoon? I gotta get the food on the big table. And ya stay put. Don’t be comin’ into the boarders eatin’ room. They won’t take to a little ragamuffin like you. Well, except for Miss Marylee. But ya better talk proper when yer ‘round her. She corrects me all the time. I try to talk proper but sometimes I lapse and talk like I always did. I kind of mix it up, I guess.” Berta chuckled as she carried a large tray of food into another room.

  Will wiped his mouth on the back of his hand. The best biscuits he’d ever eaten. He decided the butter and jelly was the secret. Or, Berta just knew how to make better biscuits. He scratched his stomach and thumbed through his book. Tears ran down his face. “I miss ya, Gram. If ya can hear me, I just wanna tell ya that I got my belly full this mornin’. It don’t hurt no more.”

  Berta came back into the kitchen and picked up another large tray of food. “Good boy. You just sit there till I get these boarders fed.”

  Will swung his legs and scratched, wondering what boarders were.

  In a few minutes, Berta came back into the kitchen and dropped her body into the chair across from him. She wiped her face on her apron tail. “Plum tuckered out and the day just barely started. I eat as I cook or else I won’t have time to get a bite down me.” She chuckled. “By the looks of me, I bet ya think I eat like a pig all day long. Well, I do eat all day, but I eat on the run. I reckon I’m just meant to be fat. As for you, you’re a bag of bones.”

  “I really need that vinegar fer my chiggers. If ya ain’t too tired.”

  “I know. Just give me a minute. I think I need some more grits before I can gather my second wind,” she said as she hoisted her bulk from the chair. Berta returned to the table with a full bowl. Just as she scooped the first bite into her mouth, she said, “You had no idea what a knife and spoon was, did ya? You been eatin’ with your hands like a little animal all your life, haven’t ya?

  Will’s face reddened as he gave Berta a cold stare. My hands is all I had to eat with and I don’t see nothin’ wrong with it. You don’t have to act like I’m stupid.

  Berta finished her grits and said, “Well, I’m gonna pour some water in the worsh tub and give ya a cake of lye soap. You worsh from head to toe and I’ll be checkin’ behind yer ears. Then, I’ll douse ya with vinegar for them chiggers. After that, ya gotta be on yer way. It pains my Christian heart but I can’t take ya in. I’ve got all I can handle.” Berta shook her head.

  Will heard a slight squeak and looked toward the door that he’d seen Berta go in and out of as she carried trays of food.

  “Well, who do we have for a guest this morning, Berta?”

  Will’s breath caught as he saw a pretty lady walk into the kitchen. She didn’t look as old as Gram, but she looked older than Berta. She had white streaks mixed with her brown hair, which was piled on top of her head. She was wearing a pretty dress, and she had a string of white, tiny balls hanging around her neck and she had on a pair of nice shoes that shined. Her cheeks were red and Will wondered if she had a sunburn.

  With her mouth full, Berta said, “Miss Marylee, this here is Will Hennie. He’s an orphan and he come to buy a biscuit. I gave him two, ‘cause I’m a Christian.”

  Miss Marylee smiled and pulled out a chair at the end of the table, took a seat, then reached over and patted Will’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Will Hennie. How old are you?”

  Will had never felt hands so smooth. Her touch made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

  Before he could answer, Berta blurted, “He don’t know nothin’, Miss Marylee. He took a lick upside his noggin’ and he’s got the amnesure.”

  “He has amnesia, Berta. I’ve corrected you before on that word,” Miss Marylee said, as she raised an eyebrow up and down.

  Berta dropped her head and chuckled as she spooned another mouthful of grits.

  Miss Marylee continued. “If you have amnesia, how do you know your name, honey?”

  “‘Cause it’s writ in my book what Gram give me. I brung it with me.”

  Berta chucked again. “Oh, Will. Miss Marylee is gonna be on you like a June bug on a duck’s back for sayin’ brung. Ain’t that right?”

  “One thing at a time, Berta. The child just got here.”

  Will bristled. “My name is Will Hennie. Not child or boy. I thank ya not to call me that. Ya can call me Will!”

  Miss Marylee drew in a deep breath, then said, “I’m sorry, Will. It was just a figure of speech, but I’ll call you by your name from now on.” She patted Will’s hand again. “Berta, is two biscuits all you fed him?”
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  “That’s all he had enough money for. This ain’t no soup kitchen. I can’t afford to give away the food. You know we just barely scrape by.”

  “Well, Berta, you can fix Will two fried eggs, give him two pieces of bacon and a bowl of grits. And he’ll probably need another biscuit. You know I’m good for the money. If he wants more, then feed him more. Okay?”

  “You pay the bill. I give him all he wants,” Berta said, and heaved her heavy body from the chair. “I’ll have to fry some more bacon, but I think there’s enough grits left for a bowl full. I might have two eggs left in the basket. That boy needs a bath. You wanna help me out here? You know that lazy, good-for-nothin’ man I married ain’t gonna do a blasted thing.”

  “I’ll go pump some water while you cook. When he’s full, his bath water will be ready,” Miss Marylee said as she walked past Will and rumpled his hair.

  Will felt tingles in his stomach. Miss Marylee made him feel like Gram used to. He really liked her.

  By the time Will finished eating, Miss Marylee had filled the wash tub with warm water and dropped in a cake of lye soap. “Will,” she called out from the back room. “Come get in the tub.”

  Will walked into the back room. He stood looking at the tub of water with a cake of soap at the bottom. “I ain’t never had a bath in a tub afore. It looks like fun.”

  “Then you’re in for a real treat. I just barely warmed the water since it’s another hot day. Now, you wet your head, then take the soap and run it over your hair, then you rub it in with your fingertips, like this.” She ran her fingers through his hair. “Then you pick up the soap and rub it over every part of your body. If it won’t embarrass you, I’ll scrub your back.”

  “I’d like that. I ain’t never had my back scrubbed.”

  “I’ll be right outside. When you’ve got everything washed, you yell for me. Take those dirty clothes off and give them to me. I’m going to put them in the stove and burn them.”

  “But, Miss Marylee, I ain’t got no more clothes.” Tears filled Will’s eyes.

  “I’ll take care of that. Don’t fret about it.” Miss Marylee walked out of the room and closed the door.

  Will soaped his hair and massaged his scalp with his fingertips. He rubbed the cake of soap all over his body. A bath in a tub was wonderful. When he washed all that he could reach, he called out, “I’m all worshed up!”

  Miss Marylee came back into the room. “Hand me the soap. I’ve got a lot of hard scrubbing to do.” Miss Marylee scrubbed Will’s back and it felt so good he wanted to fall asleep and let her keep on scrubbing until he woke up.

  “Okay. You’re clean. Now, stand up and I’ll be back with a bucket of clean water. I’ll pour it over you to rinse the soap off.”

  Will stood up. Miss Marylee’s breath caught in her throat. “Lord have mercy! Just look at them big red spots all around your waist line and they’re probably on your private parts, too. What in the world?”

  “Berta said I got chiggers when I went to the blackberry patch. She say she gonna douse me with vinegar and it’ll kill ‘em.”

  “Let me get the soap rinsed off, then I’ll let Berta treat the chiggers. You’re covered in them. I know they must itch like crazy.”

  “They itch so bad I think I’m gonna go plum crazy tryin’ to scratch ‘em.”

  Miss Marylee poured a small pail of water over Will’s hair and ran her fingers through it. “I think I got all the soap out of your hair. Now, I’ll go get the other bucket and rinse your body. Stand still. Whatever you do, don’t sit back down in that dirty water.” She shook her head. “That water is filthy.”

  Will giggled as Miss Marylee poured the bucket of water over his body. “I like that. Ya wanna pour another bucket over me?”

  “You’re fine for now.” She reached over the tub and pulled a large towel from the rack. “Here. You wipe yourself dry, then Berta will come in and treat the chiggers, and I’ll go find some decent clothes for you.”

  Berta came into the room after Will stepped out of the tub and rubbed his body with the coarse towel. “This here towel is a better scratcher than my fingers.”

  “You hold still. I’m gonna pour some of this vinegar in my hands, then rub those chiggers. It might sting but it’ll stop them boogers from eatin’ on ya.”

  After Berta doused Will with vinegar, Miss Marylee came into the room with clean clothes. “These might be a little too big, but they’ll do for the time being. You get dressed and come back into the kitchen.”

  Berta and Miss Marylee were sitting at the kitchen table when Will came out of the back room. He stood in the doorway and listened to their conversation.

  “I told that boy he has to get after he got his bath. I got a Christian heart and it’s breakin’ in two, but I can’t take him in. I don’t even have a place to put ‘im.”

  “Berta, he stays right here. I’ll pay for his board. Mr. Tom has a cot in his room that he doesn’t use. I’ll borrow it and put it in the corner of my room. He’ll share a room with me. And he’ll be fed three times a day, just as the rest of us are. I could count that poor boy’s ribs while I was rinsing him. That’s just a sin. No child should be that malnourished.”

  “You pay. You be the boss. But don’t come complainin’ to me when he steals you blind. When you wake up tomorrow mornin’, you might be missing that string of pearls you wear around your neck every day. He seems to be a sweet boy, but I ain’t believin’ all that hogworsh he’s been feedin’ us. Don’t ya be no fool.”

  “Berta, I appreciate your concern, but you leave Will to me. He’s a fine boy and I’m going to educate him and he’ll be a little gentleman before long.” She raised her eyebrows and said, “And that’s hogwash. Not hogworsh. I’ve corrected you before. I think I’ll have better luck with Will than I’ve had with you.”

  Berta chuckled. “Probably so. Old habits die hard.”

  Will smiled. I finally got took in, Gram. I know ya be happy fer me. I really like Berta and Miss Marylee. Mr. Cloud Man, I thank ya fer helping Will Hennie find a home.

  Chapter Five

  Will walked over to the table. “How do I look? Is I clean enough? I worshed behind my ears like ya tol’ me, Berta. You wanna check? Miss Marylee wrinched me real good, too.”

  “I’ll take ya word for it,” Berta said. “You look real handsome all clean and dressed in nice clothes. But them trousers ain’t gonna stay up on your boney butt. I reckon you gonna have to run barefoot, too. Them shoes and socks ya brought with ya are goin’ in the trash. No tellin’ what kinda bugs they got in ’em.”

  Will ran to the back door, picked up his shoes and hugged them to his body. “You ain’t gonna get rid of my shoes. Gram give ’em to me and I’m keepin’ everything she give me.”

  Miss Marylee rose from her chair and walked over to Will. “Son, please put the shoes on the floor. You’re going to get your clothes dirty. We’ll clean them up and you can keep them. I tell you what. If you help Berta with some chores, I’ll go shopping and get you some clothes and shoes that fit. I need to get a piece of paper so I can trace your foot. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’ve got plenty of chores I need help with. It seems only right that you work and help earn your keep, since Miss Marylee is gonna pay your way,” Berta said.

  “I’ll be glad to help. Ya just tell me what ya want I should do.”

  Miss Marylee came back into the kitchen. She placed a piece of tablet paper on the floor. Now, put your right foot on the paper, hold still and let me trace around it.” Will put his left foot on the paper. “That’s the wrong foot, but I should probably trace them both, so we’ll start with this one.” After she had traced both feet, she folded the paper and stuck it in her purse.

  Just before she snapped her purse shut, she took out a comb. “Stand still. I need to comb your hair before it dries. You’ve got the most beautiful hair I’ve ever seen. It’s as thick as a rug. Isn’t his hair beautiful, Berta?”

  “He’s a right handsome
boy, alright,” Berta answered. “But you’re spoilin’ him. Ain’t none of my business but you’re gonna turn him into a sissy if you ain’t careful. Always primpin’ on him.”

  “I ain’t no sissy! I’m a boy and she ain’t primpin’ me! She’s tryin’ to fix me like the gentleman what she said she was gonna make outta me!” Will’s face reddened.

  Berta chuckled. “Well, Will, ya sure got a temper. I didn’t mean nothin’ by that. Yes, you’re a boy and a fine one at that. You don’t need to get all riled up with me.”

  Miss Marylee held Will’s face in her hands. “That wasn’t necessary. That’s sassing and I won’t stand for it.”

  “I don’t sass most times, but that struck me wrong. Ain’t nobody ever gonna call me a sissy. I been rough as a cob since the day I was born. Ain’t no sissy woulda lived through it, I can tell ya that!”

  “Just simmer down. I understand. This is a new world for you and there’s a lot you have to learn. Berta and I will be patient with you, but you need to control that hot head. Okay?”

  Will hung his head. “Okay. I’m sorry, Berta. I won’t sass no more.”

  “It’s fine, Will. I think I need to find a piece of clothesline rope so those trousers will stay up long enough for ya to do your chores,” Berta answered. “I’ll run it through the belt loops and tie it.”

  “I’ll get him a pair of suspenders, too. Will, if the rope makes your chiggers itch, just take it off. Berta, you keep plenty of vinegar on him and I’ll pick up an extra bottle while I’m out.”

  Miss Marylee patted Will’s face. “You be a good boy and do what Berta asks of you. All boys need to do chores. It’s good for you and it teaches you responsibilities. Don’t give her any more sass.”

  “Ya can count on me, Miss Marylee. I don’t want another lick upside my head. I’ve got enough amnesure. And I don’t want my ear to run that red stuff what was pourin’ outta it from the last lick I took.”