Lizzy and the Rainmaker

by Matthew Holley

"Lizzy, supper will be ready in an hour," Ma called from the front porch. "You and your brother need to water the crops before then."

  "Yes, ma'am," I yelled back.

  Luke followed me from the grassy field, where I had just witnessed a miraculous resurrection of a chipmunk, to the barn where Billy was already gathering the water buckets.

  "Do you want to help?" Billy asked Luke.

  "Sure, what do I do?"

  "Grab a couple of buckets here and we'll head down to the river."

  We all grabbed two buckets apiece and headed for the Yazoo River located only a short distance behind the cabin. The river was wide in most spots with precipitous banks on both sides and a multi-colored pebble bottom. The water in the river was shallow due to the lack of rain and just skimmed across the surface of the pebbles in several locations. We made our way down a well worn gully to the edge of the river where it was deep enough to fill our buckets.

  "Don't fill them too full," I cautioned Luke. "They get heavy very quickly and we've got to make this trip about a dozen times."

  "Really? How often do you have to water the crops?"

  "Twice a week since it stopped raining."

  We began making our first trip towards the thirsty crops planted just behind the barn. Billy was taking the lead, struggling a bit with his buckets because, as usual, he filled them too heavy. But he had made this trip several times and knew the implications of filling his buckets with too much water so I figured maybe he was just trying to show off in front of Luke.

  "So, Lizzy, do you have a sweetheart?" Luke blurted out.

  "A what?"

  "A beau."

  "I don't see how that’s any business of yours," I playfully teased.

  I was taken back a bit by Luke’s sudden interest in my personal life. I became embarrassingly excited over the notion he might be as interested in me as I was of him.

  "She doesn't," Billy told him as he set his buckets down to rest.

  "Mind your own business, Billy… and pour some of that water out so it won't be so heavy."

  "I got it! We're almost there."

  "Next time listen to me and don't fill them so full. You're going to pull your arms clean out of your shoulders."

  "I don't need you telling me what to do," Billy said under his breath, now lagging behind.

  We reached the crops and poured the contents of each bucket on the first row of parched plants. The dry soil gulped the water down in seconds and appeared to beg for more. We headed back to the river with our empty buckets to repeat the process several more times.

  "Why don't you have someone calling for you?" Luke asked me.

  "She does… Randy Johnson."

  "Randy Johnson is a coot," I intensely stated. "He’s so dumb; he couldn't hit the ground with his hat in three throws."

  I smiled at myself for I knew Grandma Viola would have been proud of that remark. I made a mental note to repeat it to her as soon as I got back home. I knew she would get a kick out of it.

  "Well, he sure is sweet on you." Billy began mocking Randy, hugging himself and kissing his hands. "Lizzy sit next to me in church. Lizzy go to the dance with me. Lizzy kiss me."

  "That boy hasn't ever asked me to kiss him. And if he did, I wouldn't. He's so immature and silly."

  "Why are you asking about Lizzy’s boyfriend, Luke?" Billy asked, still using his mocking voice. "Are you sweet on her?"

  I glanced nonchalantly at Luke in anticipation of his answer. I was somewhat shocked at how eager I was to hear what he had to say.

  Luke smiled at me and answered Billy.

  "Lizzy is a very pretty girl."

  "Girl? I'm nearly sixteen!"

  "I’m sorry,” Luke said with a chuckle. “I meant that you're a very pretty young lady."

  "Thank you. That’s better," I said with a smile that must have looked as big as a cow tick gone unnoticed for weeks.

  "Lizzy's sweet on you, too," Billy teasingly said and smiled hugely at me.

  "Shut your mouth!" I barked and slapped Billy on the back of his head. "I ain't sweet on nobody!"

  Of course, I was, but I didn’t want Luke to see me as being too presumptuous or too forward. Ma always said a lady ought to play hard-to-get and make the caller work for your attention.

  "Well, you ain’t stopped smiling since he got here?" Billy commented. He then ran towards the river before I could explain. I looked at Luke, a little embarrassed.

  "Don't pay him any mind; he's just talking foolish,” I explained.

  "Oh… what a shame," Luke remarked.

  Luke felt sorry I wasn’t sweet on him! That meant he wanted me to be sweet on him, which meant he must be sweet on me! And I wanted him to know I was sweet on him. How long was I supposed to play hard-to-get? My head was going dizzy.

  We continued to make trips to the river until all the crops were watered; nine trips total. We were emptying out the last bucket when Ma called us in for supper. She had cooked nine-bean soup and sweet cornbread with banana pudding for dessert. Everyone had their fill of the delicious meal and, afterwards, carried their full bellies to the front porch.

  The sun was getting low in the sky and the first of the fire-flies were making their appearance. I sat in the porch swing next to Grandma Viola and we watched Katie play with Chippy on the floor of the porch deck. Luke sat adjacent to us in one of the single rocking chairs. Billy was in the kitchen with Ma helping to wash dishes being that it was his turn. I heard him mumbling to himself that he couldn't wait until Katie was old enough to help with the chores.

  "I'm glad to see your rat is still alive," Grandma Viola said. "I was sure he was a goner after hearing that awful crunching sound."

  "GRANDMA! Don't tell her that!" I earnestly said.

  "Oh, she ain't paying me no mind. She's in her own little world as happy as a pup with two tails."

  "Are we going to go visit Anamosa tomorrow?" I asked Grandma Viola.

  "I suppose. We go every Saturday, don't we?"

  "I thought she was your friend?"

  "She is, child, but she’s getting up there in age. Sometimes, it's hard to see the old coot like that, knowing I'm not far behind her. Some days, she moves as slow as molasses in January."

  "Grandma, you're too mean to ever let life slow you down."

  "Thank you, Lizzy. That's the nicest thing you've ever said to me."

  Grandma Viola patted me on the knee and we exchanged smiles.

  "Who's Anamosa?" Luke asked.

  "She was a friend of my Grandpa Cooper.”

  “Right…” Grandma Viola said slyly. “…a ‘friend’.”

  I knew what she was getting at, but since Anamosa and Grandpa Cooper lived together and were never properly married, then she was just a friend in my book.

  “See, Grandma Cooper died when Pa was a little boy. Grandpa Cooper took her death pretty hard, but he knew he had to keep strong for his son. He resigned from the Army and became a farmer so he could be home with Pa everyday.

  A few years later, while Pa was in school, Grandpa Cooper was heading for town to gather supplies when he heard a women’s scream. He left the trail he was following and headed towards the source of the cry. His horse climbed a small hill that over-looked a small gorge and the reason for the women’s scream became quite clear.

  Down below were six soldiers whom were tormenting an Indian family. Two of the soldiers were beating on the eldest Indian while another one was holding a young boy down on the ground with his foot while bear-hugging the mother who was trying desperately to escape in order to help her three daughters who were being attacked by the other soldiers. The soldiers were trying to have their way with the girls.

  Grandpa Cooper immediately grew angry, not just for the sins being committed by these boys, but also because they were representative of the United States Army and such behavior was not tolerated by the government in his book. He galloped towards the soldiers with his pistol drawn. He approached them and stopped a short distance from their
position. It became obvious they were drunk and hadn’t even noticed that Grandpa was there.

  Grandpa Cooper fired his Colt in the air twice. The soldiers jumped, stammering for their pistols, and drew on Grandpa. Grandpa told the soldiers he was a lieutenant in the army and if they didn’t leave immediately, he would have them all court marshaled. They were too drunk to put up much of an argument and reluctantly departed.

  The eldest Indian approached Grandpa. Grandpa Cooper recognized him as being from the Choctaw tribe of Indians. They were prevalent in this area. The Choctaw man started speaking to him but Grandpa Cooper didn’t speak his language. He just tipped his hat towards the Indian and turned his horse around to leave. This is when the Choctaw man spoke to the elder of the three girls and pointed at Grandpa.

  Grandpa started back up the hill, but when he glanced back, he noticed that the Indian girl was following him on foot while the rest of her family was walking the other way. Grandpa pointed at her and told her to go home, but she refused. Grandpa galloped away until she was out of sight but then he began to worry about her being in the wilderness all alone. He turned back to see if she was still following and, sure enough, she was. Grandpa knew enough about Indian culture to know that once an Indian father gives his daughter to someone, she is his forever until death. He felt he didn’t have a choice but to take the girl home where she helped raised Pa as her own child and stayed with Grandpa till he died.”

  “Wow, that’s a remarkable story,” Luke said.

  “Do you want to go with us when we go see her?” I asked.

  "I would love to."

  The sun was fading fast behind a canvas of Southern Magnolia trees. A long-horned owl was calling for its mate from atop a redwood tree. The crickets began their mating songs and were soon joined by the croaking of bullfrogs. A whip-poor-will could be heard in the distance followed by the soulful cry from a lone wolf. More fire-flies came out, rhythmically blinking their luminescent to the sounds of nature's orchestra.

  "It's time for me…," Grandma Viola let out a yawn, “to retire."

  She stood up from the swing, kissed me on the cheek and gave Luke a quick smile. She then turned to Katie and took her by the hand.

  "Come on, Chickabiddy, let's put you to bed."

  "Aaahhh, Grandma, I'm not…" Katie tried to stop her yawn, but it was too powerful.

  "See, child, you're tired. Let's go and put your rat in its crate."

  "He doesn't like it when you call him a rat!"

  "Sorry, Chippy. I didn't mean to offend you."

  Grandma Viola turned around and looked at me, waving her finger in the air.

  "If this boy tries any thing un-gentlemanly, I'll be just inside with my 12-guage, okay? I'll fill him so full of buck-shot he'll be pissing them out for weeks."

  "Grandma, watch your language!" I exclaimed with much embarrassment. I looked over at Luke who, much to my relief, was trying to keep from laughing. I guess he realized Grandma Viola was joking…at least, I think she was!

  She and Katie walked inside as Ma was walking out on the porch with a burning candle. She placed it on the railing of the porch.

  "It's getting dark out here. I thought you two might want some light."

  "Thanks, Ma."

  "I'm going back inside to help Billy with his reading. If we're a sleep before you come in, I've made a place on the floor, next to the fireplace, for Luke to sleep. I'm sorry we don't have better accommodations."

  "No, that'll be just fine. You'd be surprised at some of the places I've slept."

  "Good night, you two."

  "Good night," we rang out in unison.

  Luke looked over at me and smiled a warmly smile. His dark brown hair sparkled in the candle light and his dark sun-kissed skin glowed. I could see the candle light flickering in his eyes and off the moistness of his lips. He easily made me smile every time he looked upon me, filling my very soul with happiness. I would have given anything to know what he was thinking at that very moment.

  I had never really been interested in the opposite sex. I always found the boys around my part of the woods too immature and they constantly got on my nerves, asking me to go here or go there. And no matter how mean I was to them, they wouldn't leave me alone, especially one Randy Johnson. Ma said it was because I was so pretty, but I have never thought of myself as pretty… not until I was looked upon like Luke looked upon me.

  Luke was different than any other boy I’d met. Not because of his unique gift of healing, but in the manner he looked at me… like he could see into my soul. I felt tingles run up and down my body when he was near and my hands would start to perspire. My heart felt like it was performing somersaults and my chest tightened to the point it became difficult to take the next breath.

  We both sat on the front porch in silence for several minutes. I stared at the flame dancing on top of the candle while simultaneously watching Luke out of my peripheral vision. I could see him glancing my way every so many seconds, each time causing my heart to skip a beat. I kept wishing to myself he would ask to sit next to me but he remained stubbornly quiet. Did he not want to sit next to me or was he being gentlemanly like Grandma Viola warned him to be? I opted for the latter. But after several minutes of waiting for Luke and realizing he wasn’t coming to me, I couldn't stand it any longer.

  "There's plenty of room on the swing here.” I told Luke. “I know those rocking chairs aren’t very comfortable. Only if you want to, that is.”

  Without saying a word, Luke stood up and joined me on the swing. The tingling started again.

  "It must be hard not knowing where your family is or not having anyone! Going from town to town trying to figure out who you are and where you’re from."

  "It does get lonely sometimes, but the need to know who I am drives me to keep going. I know somewhere out there is the answers I seek. Somebody must know who I am and why I can do the things I can do."

  "I know the pain of losing a parent. I can't imagine not knowing who my loved ones were. You're a strong person."

  "If you don't mind me asking, how did you lose your pa?"

  "He worked for the lumber yard, loading trees onto the trains. He and two other men were standing next to a loaded train car when the cables binding the trees broke, sending them down on top of Pa and the other two men."

  Luke wiped a tear that escaped from my eye and was rolling down my cheek. It didn’t bother me that Luke saw me cry which was unusual for me. I never let anyone see me cry, but I wasn’t ashamed crying in front of Luke. Strangely, I enjoyed feeling vulnerable in front of him.

  "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked you about your pa. I should've known it would upset you."

  "It's all right. It’s good to think of him… to remember him. He was a great man and a greater father. I miss him dearly."

  I wiped a few more tears from my face.

  "Look at me… crying in front of you like a baby."

  Luke gently wiped another tear from my cheek and smiled.

  "Don't be ashamed. There's no shame in crying. It means you care. I think it's beautiful…I think you're beautiful."

  I stared into Luke's deep green eyes and was mesmerized as the candle light flickered inside them. Luke leaned in closer to me, his eyes darting from my eyes to my lips. I could feel his warm breath against mine. I knew what was about to happen. I moistened my lips with my tongue in anticipation of my first kiss.

  As I leaned toward Luke, I awkwardly bumped his nose with mine. I didn’t know how to kiss a boy, so I tilted my head slightly and let Luke come the rest of the way. The instant our lips touched, every nerve in my body exploded and I trembled uncontrollably, like one does when they are freezing except I wasn’t cold.

  The softness of Luke's lips pleasantly surprised me. He later told me it was his first kiss also, at least, as far as he could remember. He gradually moved from slowly kissing my top lip to kissing my bottom lip and then returning to both lips. I allowed my lips to part and the tips of our tongues ca
ressed one other. My entire body was more alive than it had ever been and I was truly lost in that moment.

  We passionately kissed for several minutes…or hours, I’m not sure which. We were both lost in an unfamiliar world of young passion, neither of us wanting to leave. However, the loud hoot of an owl shattered the enchanted world we were floating in and brought us back to the front porch. I opened my eyes, not remembering ever closing them, and looked pass Luke. The owl who had disturbed us was sitting on the rail of the porch only a few feet away. It just stood there, curiously watching us like some nightly sentinel.

  Luke turned to see what I was staring at.

  "Hey, boy, what are you looking at?" he softly asked the owl as he slowly stood up and moved towards the creature.

  The owl kept his eyes on Luke but, strangely, made no attempted to fly away. Luke reached out his hand and cautiously touched the owl on its head. The owl closed its big yellow eyes and allowed Luke to caress it, letting out several low coo sounds. When Luke finished rubbing the owl, it turned around and flew out into the night.

  "That was amazing! I've never seen anyone pet a wild owl like that! How'd you do that?"

  "Nature's creatures seem to have no fear of me. I don't know why."

  "That must make you an excellent hunter."

  Luke just chuckled.

  He sat back down beside me and looked into my eyes. Neither one of us knew what to say, neither one wanting to ruin this perfect evening by saying something foolish. I was racking my brain for something romantic to say before I headed to bed, but then I remembered an old saying of Grandma Viola's, "If you want to not say something foolish, keep your mouth shut."

  I kissed Luke on his forehead and said, "I'll see you tomorrow." I quietly went inside and made my way to Ma's room where we shared a bed. I slid slowly under the covers so not to wake her and stared into the dark with a mile wide grin.

  "I hope Luke will be warm enough," Ma whispered.

  "I thought you were asleep."

  "No, not yet. You two have a good time?"

  "The best!" I said as my smile grew from ear to ear.

  Chapter 4