Finding Will Hennie

by Joy Redmond

  “Crabs?” Will said, picturing a sea crab.

  “You know. Those little bugs that get in the pubic hair. They itch worse than chiggers. If you don’t shave the area and use Blue Ointment, they’ll spread to every part of your body that has hair. Talk about going crazy from itching and scratching. My girls are clean. They always have been. They always will be. Doctor Sellers could retire on what I pay him monthly. I foot the bill for their health care.”

  “I guess that takes care of my wonders,” Will said.

  Rose rolled over on her side.

  Will threw his arm across her. “I love you, Rose,” he whispered.

  “I know, Will,” Rose whispered.

  Damn stubborn woman!

  The next morning, Will headed for the woods to have his daily conversation with Red. When he came back inside, Rose and Sudie were sitting at the table. Sudie was wiping her eyes.

  Oh, shit. Rose gave her hell. I shouldn’t have told.

  Rose looked toward Will. “Have a seat,” she said in her honey-like voice.

  Will’s heart was flying. Rose re-thought my confession. She’s mad and she’s going to pitch me and Sudie out on our ears.

  Sudie wiped her eyes and said, “I told Rose what happened between us. She said I was forgiven and to stop fretting about it.” She sobbed harder. “I wish she had slapped the shit out of me when I told her. But no, she just hugged me and told me to stop being silly. I wish you’d go on and slap me, Rose. It’s what I deserve.”

  “You’ve punished yourself enough. You both have,” Rose said, and smiled at Will.

  That’s her game. She knows she’s killing us with kindness. You sly little witch!

  Rose reached for a lump of sugar. “Now you two can look at each other with no guilt. But if you don’t mind—how about you do homework in the kitchen from now on?”

  “We sure will,” Sudie and Will said at the same time.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Four more years went on by. Will was becoming despondent over Rose’s mood swings. She was happy and joking one minute, and she was sullen the next minute. She spoke harshly to Will over trivial things, then five minutes later she was apologizing. She didn’t have any desire to go to town with Will on Mondays. She made a list of what was needed for the household. She put her money for deposit in a sealed envelope and told Will to hand it to the banker. “He’ll put my receipt in a sealed envelope and you bring it back to me.”

  One morning while they were all having breakfast, Rose started crying. Will, Sudie, and Ceil just looked at each other as if they were waiting for one of them to say something. Nobody had ever seen Rose cry.

  “What’s wrong?” Will finally asked as he reached for her hand.

  “This doesn’t concern you, Will. I’ve got something I’ve got to tell Sudie and Ceil. It hurts my heart but I’ve made up my mind after careful consideration. Girls,” she said, wiping her eyes on a napkin. “Starting this weekend, we’ll only be open for business on Friday and Saturday nights.”

  The room was silent. Rose continued. “Ceil, you and Sudie are free to go where you can make more money. I’ll understand. I hate to lose you, but I’m getting tired. You can find work in St. Louis, and—”

  Before Rose finished her sentence, Ceil said, “I’m tired of being a working girl. Fred has been begging me to marry him for two years. I think I’ll take him up on his offer. He owns a big farm and he makes a comfortable living. I never saw myself as a farm girl, but I’ve got to survive.”

  Rose said, “Do you love him, Ceil?”

  “I’m fond of him. Maybe in time I’ll grow to love him. I know he loves me and that’s good enough. I’ll be fine.”

  “If that’s what you think is best, I won’t tell you it’s right or wrong. Who knows, you might have a happy life with him. Do you want to get married in the parlor? I’ll have a fancy wedding for you just like I did for Belle.”

  “I’d like that, Rose. But I’ll have to pretend I’m a mail-order bride. His family would never accept me if they knew the truth. We’ll have a wedding where all his family and friends can attend. But thanks for the offer.”

  “What about you, Sudie?” Rose asked as she dabbed her eyes.

  “I ain’t goin’ nowhere. I’ve been tired of this kind of life for a long time. I’ve just about got enough money saved up so I can finish my education at a university. Weekends will suit me fine.”

  Will couldn’t believe his ears, but he was glad to hear the news. He’d miss Ceil, just like he missed the other girls, but he was happy for her. And he was glad that Sudie wasn’t leaving just yet. He couldn’t bear the thought of not having her around.

  Will figured Rose was worried about the girls and what would happen to them and that’s why she had been so moody. But something else was wrong. Rose was also losing interest in the bedroom, and Will wondered if she was growing tired of him after nine years. Was she biding her time to tell him he needed to move on, too?

  One night they were in bed and Rose said, “Do you mind to just hold me?”

  “I never mind to hold you, Rose. Why would you even ask?”

  Rose was silent for a few minutes and Will thought she had dozed off. “Will, I’ve missed my last two periods. I think I’m going through the change. I’m just not myself and I’m having those damn hot flashes and I know at times I’m just downright mean. I don’t mean to be. I just can’t seem to help myself. I hide from you a lot because I want to cry, and for no good reason that I can put my finger on.”

  Oh, boy. Here I go again with putting up with the change of life blues. I hope it’s over soon. Lord, have mercy!

  Will hugged her body to his and said, “I don’t know much about the change, but I know it’s a hard time in a woman’s life. I can overlook your moods. I know they won’t last forever. As long as you love me, that’s all I need.”

  “Love is a strange thing, isn’t it?” Rose said with a heavy sigh. “It’s a wonderful feeling, and at the same time it’s scary.”

  “It doesn’t scare me. I love being in love.” Will toyed with his next statement, wondering if it would cause Rose to have a fit, make her cry, or it she would ignore his question. He took a deep breath, then said, “Have you ever been in love? I know you love me, but are you in love with me?”

  Rose’s voice was a serious as Will had ever hear. “When I was fifteen-years-old I fancied myself in love with a boy who was two years older than me. I guess it was what’s called puppy love, but it was real to me. To this day I still think about him and I still hold a special place in my heart for him. But I’m not in love with him.”

  “Was he in love with you?” Will asked, feeling a bit of jealously filling him.

  “I think he was. But he couldn’t admit it. He wouldn’t even be seen with me in public. We had to sneak around and see each other. He was from a prominent family who would have never stood for their son dating an Injun, the scum of the earth.”

  “You were scum because you’re part Indian? And why are you calling yourself an Injun?”

  “That’s what I was called when I was growing up. In the part of the world where I came from, Indians and Negros were spat upon. Actually, we still are in most parts of the world. So, yes, I loved a man once in my life. Logan Wade was my first love. I was good enough in the dark and away from other people. But not good enough in the light of day.”

  “Did you ever tell Logan that you loved him?”

  “No, I didn’t! I wasn’t about to say those words to a man who was ashamed to be seen with me.”

  “I’m not ashamed to be seen with you. I hold my head high and walk down the street with you, and I’m proud as punch to be seen with you.”

  “I know, Will. And I’m proud to have you by my side in the light of day, and I can’t imagine not having you beside me every night in bed.”

  “Then you do love me!” Will squealed like a child.

  “If you don’t know that by now, then you never will— Will!”

 
“Then why won’t you tell me?”

  “I show you. That’s good enough. Words are cheap. Anybody can say what they think you want to hear, but most of the time they don’t mean it. I don’t say it. I show it! Now stop acting like a schoolboy and accept my love the way I give it.”

  “I know you love me. But it sure would be nice to hear you say it—just once.”

  Rose patted his face. “I’ll show you,” she said, as she kissed him deeply. Then they made love.

  As soon as it was over, Rose jumped out of bed and ran into bathroom.

  Will heard her retching and he ran to her side. “Rose!” he cried, as he watched her wipe her face with a cold cloth.

  “I wasn’t expecting that. Maybe I’ve got the flu. My legs are weak. Please help me back to bed.”

  Will scooped Rose into his arms and carried her back to bed. He continued to wipe her face and stroke her hair until she fell asleep.

  Two weeks later, Ceil packed her bags and Fred picked her up. “I’ll see you when I can or if I can,” Ceil said. She hugged and kissed them and said a tearful goodbye.

  Sudie and Rose stood on the porch and waved until the truck was out of sight. Will wanted nothing to do with another goodbye, so he turned his back.

  Rose wiped her eyes. “And now it’s just us three.” She walked inside and sat down on her lounge chair in the parlor. Will and Sudie followed her and stood by her side. Rose looked around as if she were in a strange house. “This house was once full of people and so lively. For eighteen years, I couldn’t keep up with the coming and going of people. I never thought I’d see the day.”

  Will almost gasped aloud as he did the math in his head. Rose was sixteen when Miss Sophie brought her to this house. She was a working girl for ten years. She has run this house for eighteen years—that means she’s forty-four-years old.

  Rose didn’t appear to realize she had given away her age. “Well, we’ve got the rest of the day to do what we want to do. I think I’ll go into my office and do some book work and tie up some other loose ends. It shouldn’t take long with the book work today.”

  “I’m going to mop the kitchen floor and get some dusting done,” Sudie said.

  “I’ll help with the housework, Sudie. This is a big house for one person to clean,” Will said. “I guess I can start upstairs and we can meet in the middle.”

  For the next month Will carefully watched Rose. She was pale, had no appetite, and she wanted to sleep all the time. He couldn’t remember if Berta had the same symptoms when she was going through the change. But he was only a kid at that time.

  One night, Rose walked out of the bathroom and said, “Will, have you noticed how big my stomach is getting?”

  “Yes, I noticed, but I thought you were just putting on a little weight, which is fine with me.”

  “If I was putting on weight it would be all over. This is just in my stomach. I’m not going through the change. I’m pregnant!” She burst into tears.

  Will jumped out of bed, ran to Rose and scooped her into his arms. “Oh, my God! I’m going to be a daddy. I’m the happiest man in the world. I love you, Rose. More than spoken words can say.” He kissed her sweet lips.

  “Get off me. I’m too old to be having a baby. I don’t have the energy to chase a toddler around and all the other stuff a mother has to do.” She cried harder.

  “This is a shock, Rose. You’ll be a great mother. I’ll chase after him or her. I’ll take care of our baby. I’m happy. You will be too when you get used to the idea. Please calm down. This is a blessing. I’m surprised it hasn’t happened before now. We’ve never used—”

  Rose interrupted. “There was no need to use protection. I had my tubes tied when I was twenty-two. I guess after all these years, those wrangles worked loose. I’ve heard of it happening, I just didn’t think it would happen to me.” She wiped her eyes. “For your information, I’ll be forty-five-years old next month. There, now you know my age!”

  “Your age makes no difference to me. Come on, don’t take on so.”

  Rose walked over to her side of the bed and collapsed. “I guess I better go see Dr. Sellers. I’ve got to get some vitamins and get some instructions on what I can and can’t do. I can’t believe this!” She pounded the pillow.

  Will lay beside Rose and stroked her hair. “We’re going to make great parents. The woman I love with all my heart is having my baby. I feel like I could jump over the moon.”

  “I feel like could jump off a cliff,” Rose sobbed.

  Will just held her and let her cry. “I guess the boo-hoos goes with being pregnant. I’ve never been around a pregnant woman. But I’ll learn to step lightly around you. I love you, Rose.”

  Two days later, Rose was getting ready to go see Dr. Sellers. Will wanted to go with her but she said, “This is woman stuff. I’ll tell you what he says when I get back. You need to call Charlie and get him over here to mow the lawn. And watch him like a hawk. He’s gotten to where he does a half-ass job, but he sure doesn’t charge any less.”

  Rose left the house, and Will paced the floor and bit his nails to the quick for the next two hours. Sudie did her best to calm him but nothing she said or did was working. “Just keep the coffee coming, Sudie.”

  “Coffee is coming right up. You’ve already drank a full pot. But whatever you say. Just wait until she goes into labor. We’ll both chew our fingers off.” She hugged Will. He hugged her back. “What would I do without you, girl? You’ve always been the glue that holds me together when everything is falling apart.” He kissed her on top of the head. You own a piece of my heart too, ya know.”

  “I know,” she answered. “I knew it a long time before you did. I’ll always be here for you. And for Rose,” she added.

  Will was sitting on the front porch when he saw Rose’s car coming up the driveway. “Finally!” he said, as he ran down the steps. He grabbed the car door handle before Rose had a chance to turn off the motor. She turned the key and he lifted her into his arms, pulled her out of the car and swung her around in the air.

  “Put me down. I’m sick to my stomach as it is.”

  “Sorry. I’m just so excited. So what did the doctor say? When is the little one due?”

  “Come on in the house. I’ll tell you and Sudie all I know at this point.”

  Sudie came running out the front door. “When will I be an aunt?”

  “I need something cold to drink. I’ll tell you both what Dr. Sellers told me.”

  They went into the kitchen and Will pulled out a chair for Rose, then pulled one beside her. Sudie reached into the Frigidaire and took out a pitcher of lemonade. She poured three glasses full, then pulled out a chair across from Rose and Will.

  Rose took a drink and said, “Here’s all I know. According to when I had my last period, I’m three months pregnant.”

  “Well, we pretty much had that figured out,” Will said.

  Rose held up her hand. “Please let me finish. Dr. Sellers said according my uterus it’s the size of a five to six month fetus. But he couldn’t detect a heartbeat, which he said he should be able to if I was that far along. So he’s thinking, maybe there’s more than one baby in there.”

  “Twins!” Will yelled. He jumped up and almost knocked over the chair. “I hope one is a boy and one is a girl.”

  Sudie ran around the table and hugged Rose. “Twins! Will, you chase the boy and I’ll chase the girl.”

  Rose laughed. “You two can chase all you want to. I’ll be sitting in the gazebo, sipping on mint juleps. But before we get too excited—I have to go to St. Louis and see a specialist. Dr. Sellers will call and tell me when he has gotten the appointment set up. He’s going to take me. He said it would be a learning experience for him, because quietly frankly, he’s stumped.”

  “I’m glad you’re going to see a specialist. Dr. Sellers is a one-horse town doctor and I don’t trust his judgment,” Will said.

  “I agree,” Rose said.

  Will and Sudie grabbed each
other’s hands and started dancing in circles as if they were two children playing Ring Around The Rosie.

  And they were.

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Two days later the three of them were eating breakfast when the phone rang. “I’ll get it,” Rose said, holding her hand up. She hurried down the hall and into her office.

  A few minutes later, she came back into the kitchen, and slowly sank into the chair. “That was Dr. Sellers. He told me to pack a bag and he’d pick me up in an hour. I wasn’t expecting to have to go so soon, but I’m glad to be on my way. I’m anxious to get this trip behind me. I’ve got an appointment to see the specialist this afternoon.”

  “I’ll pack a bag, too. I’m going with you,” Will said.

  “No, Will. I need you to stay here. We can’t take off and leave Sudie by herself.”

  “I’ll be fine, Rose. Will should to be with you.”

  “Sudie, you can’t do a three person job. I’m going with Dr. Sellers and that’s that. I don’t want any more arguments from either of you. I can’t be at peace, worried that business isn’t being taken care of. Will, you know I depend on you to guard the property and protect Sudie from liquored-up rednecks. They come out of the woodwork on Friday and Saturday nights. I’ll be back by closing time tonight.”

  Rose left the room.

  “That woman is gonna drive me to drink,” Will said.

  “She’s right, Will. Now that I think about it. I can’t do it all. It’ll be all the two of us can do. It’s gonna be crazy.”

  “I don’t think the world would come to an end if we locked up for a night. But I don’t dare mention it to Rose. She’ll have a fit and that’s not good for her, in her condition.” He wiped his hand over his face and shook his head. “I’ve got six more months to go through this. I hope I don’t crack.”

  Sudie laughed. “I haven’t heard of a daddy–to-be cracking up. You’ll be fine. I didn’t say it would be easy, but you’ll get through it and I’ll be here for you to lean on when times get tough. It sure ain’t gonna be a picnic for Rose.”