by Jackson, Jay
What did bother him was being the bully. Morally, he verged on bankruptcy. That didn’t mean he was okay with hurting someone. A person got shot today because he asked two idiots to give that person a little push. He felt awful about it.
More than that, criminal charges might be coming for that same person. She could be looking at the state penitentiary—all because he sent the goon platoon to frighten her.
Racey, Mom would not be happy with you. What the hell have you done to this lady?
The thought pulsed in his head. Racey ordered a martini to tamp it down.
Sitting there, about to start on his second drink, he also wondered whether the sisters would finally sell. More important, if they did sell did he still want his cut? That money would be dirtier than he was used to, tainted by the real pain of another person. He knew he shouldn’t take the money. It truly would be a bad thing to do. Draining the second martini and about to order his third, he shook his head.
You worthless jerk. You’ll take the money and you know it. Sad, sad, sad.
22.
Mister Brother was busy preparing for Baby Brother’s homecoming party. He went to Savannah to shop for children’s clothes, wanting to make sure that Baby Brother looked his best for Mom and everyone else. A stroller with large fat tires, perfect for the trails he was clearing around the house with his John Deere, was ordered. It would be ready to take Baby Brother around his new home.
Mom and Dad were especially happy, with Mom singing to herself as Dad read his paper. Even Sister, usually a recluse in her room, joined the family during all the preparations. She was in such a good mood that Mister Brother actually enjoyed her company.
There were other chores to complete around the house as well. Mister Brother landscaped around the new air conditioners, huge units installed to keep the Georgia heat at bay. Days were spent going back and forth from Jones Landscape Supply, hauling mulch, bushes, and small trees for planting around the house. His family would be surrounded by beauty, inside and out.
A new fence was custom ordered, seven feet tall on average and fronted with a solid iron gate. The gate was put on a track that Mister Brother could open by remote control. He had the only remote, and kept it with him at all times. He lost his family before—he would make sure nothing could ever get to them again.
Knowing that Mom and Dad needed help raising Baby Brother, Mister Brother also read up on the topic. He started with Dr. Spock.
Always hit the basics first.
He then read every tome he found on the subject of raising a child. Confident in his ability to separate good advice from bad, he read books regardless of their viewpoint. He learned about everything from “how to wean a child on to halal puree” to “how to make a child appreciate the Sabbath in a humanist world.”
Mister Brother would be ready.
The coming happiness did create one unfortunate consequence, however. He spoke of it with Mom and Dad.
“The thing is that Mary Alice has grown fond of the child.”
“Mary Alice . . .” said Mom. “I remember her coming to Sunday school when she was little. She was the snottiest kid. I cannot imagine that she could raise a child correctly, at least not our Baby Brother.”
“Well, Mom, she does seem to dote on him. I’ve watched her with him, and she really does love him, I think. I’m just sad that she’s going to be hurt, that’s all.”
“Son,” said Dad, “you’ve always had a right-minded heart, but let’s remember who’s sad in this situation. Your Mom lost everyone she loved in that wreck. You weren’t there to see her afterward. We were waiting on you to find us, and you took your time. I was there, and it was bad, real bad. All she could do was cry, and sometimes not even that.”
“It sounds to me like you’re going chicken on us.” Sister couldn’t be near any discussion without donating her opinion. “I should have known. Just like fourth grade when you were too chicken to fight Fat Eddie. I mean, I had to pull him off you and all you did was bleed. I should have known.”
Mister Brother was no longer enjoying Sister’s company.
“I’m not chickening out. No way. I haven’t chickened out while I was finding all of you, and I’m not now. I just feel sorry for Mary Alice, that’s all.”
Mom fixed her eyes on Mister Brother with a stare that said “I love you, but here’s the bottom line.”
“You have to go get Baby Brother. Folks in this world get hurt, but nobody is ever given more than they can carry. Mary Alice is young and will have other babies. Baby Brother is ours, and he has to come home.”
With that, the discussion about Mary Alice’s feelings was over. Dad went back to his paper, and Sister went back to her room and radio. Pop music had changed a lot since she overdosed in her dorm room. She had some catching up to do.
So Mister Brother honed his plan, readying himself for the day, very soon, when he would reclaim Baby Brother. He concentrated on that and preparing the house for a wonderful homecoming. There would be the getting, and then there would be the keeping. He wanted both to go well.
As for Mary Alice, that was one unhappiness he would have to live with. She was young and could have other children, just like Mom said.
Besides, she’s a snotty one, not nearly the right person for our Baby Brother.
23.
On the fifth day after the devil came looking for Jewel at her home, she awoke from her coma. Claudia was there, sleeping in a chair beside her bed. Jewel tried moving her leg, but found it buried in a cast up to her thigh. Not knowing what else to do, she screamed.
“It’s got me, Claudia! The devil’s done put my leg to where it can’t move! There’s a haint all over my leg, and I can’t feel nothing. Lawd!” With the screaming came a flailing of her arms. Her leg might not have any feeling, but her arms were fine. They swung like great meaty ropes, looking for something to hit.
Claudia awoke almost immediately, accustomed as she was to years of Jewel’s waking from bad dreams. She stood over her sister and put her hand on her brow. As a child, she learned that this calmed Jewel. It was one of the few places her sister could stand to be touched.
The deputy at the door rushed in, ready to stop the woman who was so ready to stop any man with a badge. He saw Claudia over her sister, softly saying the same words over and over.
“God loves you and Claudia loves you. God loves you and Claudia loves you.” Her voice carried so much love it even calmed the deputy. He went back out to sit at his post.
Once Jewel calmed down, Claudia introduced her to each of her doctors and nurses. She explained to her sister that she was hurt and these people were helping her. She then had the deputy come in and show Jewel his uniform. She explained that any man wearing this uniform was there to help her and make sure she was safe. As she explained all of this to her confused sister, she kept reminding her that “God loves you and Claudia loves you.”
Jewel wasn’t quite sure what Claudia was trying to explain but decided that, if her sister liked these people, she could try. Anyway, she was too tired to be really scared. That took energy she didn’t have after days in a coma.
With Jewel awake, Delroy got busy. There were two warrants out for Jewel on the charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer and reckless conduct. The reckless charge was only a misdemeanor, but the assault was a twenty-year felony.
Deputy White was against giving a bond to Jewel, claiming she was going to stab him, but Delroy was able to get District Attorney Broyles to consent to one. It helped that the county attorney was concerned about the possibility of a lawsuit over the shooting. He called the district attorney and told him that consenting to a bond might help in that regard.
The bond was set at $150,000, and Kero put Daddy Jack’s title against it. He knew Jewel wouldn’t run. With her shattered knee it would be nearly impossible. Besides, she was family.
After two weeks, Claudia and Kero carried Jewel back home. A hospital bed was set up in the living room for her, as her leg
would have to be kept elevated for most of the day. Kero’s eldest son JoJo, a senior at Gratis High, was released from school every day at noon for his last semester. Instead of taking courses at Georgia Southern’s satellite campus as planned, he got the job of helping Claudia with Jewel from noon until sundown. More of an athlete than a scholar, he was glad to do it. Anyway, of all the children in the family, Jewel liked him the best. He knew all the words to “Rhinestone Cowboy” and wasn’t afraid to sing along.
Claudia told Kero she would do fine without JoJo. Kero wouldn’t hear of it. He was concerned for Claudia, too. There was no way even the sanest person could stay in that little house, day and night, with Jewel. A few days of that would be too much for anyone, whether they loved listening to Glen Campbell or not.
Kero also knew his cousin’s need to move. As children, they could be found most weekends floating down the Bird to the Neck, fishing and looking in the muck for crawdads or king snakes. More than a few times they took a whipping from one daddy or another for coming home hours after dark. They didn’t care. Neither of their dads were cruel enough to hit them very hard. Each knew, even in their very young souls, that being best friends and cousins was a rare gift.
In their teen years they drifted apart, at first almost imperceptibly. Claudia, then still called William, started spending more time alone, and Kero started spending more time with girls. The first day of their senior year, when William came to school in a dress, and as Claudia, changed things. They were never the same. Kero didn’t know how to accept it. Hell, he didn’t know where to begin trying.
He did the only thing he could figure to do at such a young age. He stopped knowing his cousin. At family functions they wouldn’t say a word to each other, or even look the other’s way. It hurt Kero, but he soon found himself preoccupied with the business of growing into adulthood. That took all his time.
Still, he cared for his cousin. He missed Claudia and finally reached out to her at his uncle’s funeral. She forgave him and treated him as kindly as she was able to. That was as far as it progressed. Kero was old enough to know she had done nothing wrong, but he couldn’t help himself. She changed the course of the life he believed they would have together. A child always believes a cousin or best friend will be at their side forever. Whether intended or not, he resented Claudia for not being William. She looked nothing like Kero’s younger mind imagined his cousin would eventually look.
Still, he knew she needed to walk and look at things. Kero didn’t know what Claudia did with her baby carriage, or exactly what she was looking for. He did know that it was something she had in common with the William of his youth. It was always William who pushed them to search things out. More than once they ventured deep into the Neck and got lost. Kero would tell his cousin they needed to turn back, but William wouldn’t do it.
“Come on, Kero, I bet we can find a new way out of this old swamp. We might have to push the boat in some spots, but we can do that. This ain’t no problem, cuz.” Sooner or later they would find a new route to a channel they recognized, usually covered in mud and swamp grass.
If Claudia spent all of her time tending to Jewel, she would wither. Kero didn’t want that for her. JoJo would help until it was time for college, and then they would find a different solution. The district attorney might have plans for Jewel that took the matter out of his hands anyway.
He hoped not. For now, Kero would step back and let Delroy carry the burden of Jewel’s freedom. Trusting his friend was his only choice. His job was to keep the faith, pay the bills, and see his family through this time as well as he could.
Being family, Kero believed Jewel deserved everything he could give her. After the last few days, he also realized how truly he held another belief.
Claudia deserves everything I can give her, too, whatever it is. She’s my cousin and she deserves my best, dress and all.
24.
Mary Alice woke to the weak, translucent rays of early morning peeking through her designer curtains. She beat the alarm to the punch, as she did most days, and went into the nursery to check on Ted. She found him tucked into his crib, right where she had left him hours before. A slight smile shaped his sleeping face.
Forty-five minutes later, after taking a quick shower and making sure her makeup was just right, she put Ted into the jogging stroller. They headed out the front door. Leaving her old bungalow’s driveway, she ran onto Gratis Circle, pushing Ted in front of her. They got to the end of the street and turned south onto Main, jogging past the new Gratis Utilities Building and then into downtown.
Downtown Gratis did have a certain charm. Only a decade earlier, many of the old storefronts had stood empty, casualties of a town made aimless after the textile business dried up. Franklin Knox ran his chemical plant, but there still weren’t enough jobs to go around. For too many years the old town was lifeless, a shell of when the mills were king. To their credit, the town leaders didn’t sit and let it die. Gratis had the advantage of being on the Bird, and its bones were lovely, even cast in the patina of neglect. Developers received incentives to build golf communities for those wanting something quieter than Savannah or Atlanta. Even Macon could be a little too busy for some. They came and built, and soon the population of Gratis was richer and more demanding. Doctors and lawyers followed the money, as did other professionals, and they all schooled together on the downtown square. The new money needed a place to be spent. In a few years shops, boutiques, and restaurants moved into to the newly rehabbed storefronts. Kero sat Daddy Jack’s in the middle of all the recent prettiness. He knew that good barbecue, blues music, and well-poured drinks had a universal appeal. Even the well-heeled wanted to feel authentic.
It was through this freshly painted quaintness that Mary Alice jogged with Ted. They went once through town, past the First Baptist, and then through the Pine Hills neighborhood at the far end of downtown. They kept jogging past antebellum homes and the old train depot, itself an amalgam of antique shops. Finally, they came to Le Café and Mary Alice wheeled the stroller into the restaurant. She was happy to let Ted’s bubbly smile lead the way.
A group of Junior Leaguers were there and made room for the two at their table. After the requisite oohing over the continued success of Mary Alice’s motherhood, they moved on to the newest gossip.
Mary Alice was a happy participant in the discussion. The morning’s topics included two divorces, one football coach getting caught with an underage cheerleader, prefaced by a “She’s as loose as her mother was,” and the sports editor getting caught cheating on his wife with a man in Savannah. The last tidbit exploded in the town courtesy of “Lee’s Little Secrets.” None of them knew it, but that same sports editor got tired of mowing Johnnie Lee’s lawn in exchange for keeping his dalliances out of the Proclaimer. After his last cutting, he told her he wouldn’t be back. She thanked him kindly and then proceeded to write her column. Informing Johnnie Lee that she could go to hell was a risky affair.
They spent a leisurely hour at Le Café, Mary Alice attempting to savor her cantaloupe and grapefruit juice as her cohorts enjoyed their omelets and crepes. With a sweet good-bye and another round of admiration given to Mary Alice’s parenting skills, the two left to finish their morning. Mary Alice wheeled Ted over to Shaky Nate’s. There, she got a cup of coffee and the smallest piece of coffee cake they had under the counter glass. It was a small cheat, nothing that another hour of jogging wouldn’t burn off.
Soon, they left and turned back toward the old depot. Mary Alice wanted to check on a dresser she had seen at one of the antique shops, The Pick-Pocket, the week before. On that morning, her mother-in-law babysat Ted. The dresser was absurdly overpriced, but she loved it. She hoped it would still be there—and at a lower price.
That old snake Miss Eulie knows she marked it too high.
They made their way to the front of the shop and stopped. Ten steep steps led from the street to the front door. There was no way the stroller was going up those steps.
My ladies at Le Café must have worn him out.
She looked around and saw no one else.
He might be cranky if I wake him up, and I’ll be only a second. Anyway, I’ll be able to see the stroller from the front window.
Reassured, Mary Alice positioned the stroller so Ted would face away from the sun. She then bounded up the front stairs, ready to see the dresser again. It would look lovely in her sewing room. All she had to do was haggle the price. She knew that on the right day, if bills needed to be paid, Miss Eulie might negotiate.
Inside the old shop was a clutter of used furniture and other fine things, from lamps to old Coca-Cola store signs. Mary Alice loved the place, lingering over each knickknack she passed until she came to the dresser. It was still there, and still marked too high by a hundred dollars.
“I see you’re eyeing that beautiful old dresser again.”
Miss Eulie sidled up to Mary Alice, her fingers, with nails painted bright orange to match her lipstick, holding a half-smoked cigarette. She extinguished the cigarette in one of the antique ashtrays she had for sale. A little more use wouldn’t hurt its value.
“I see you haven’t sold it yet. No wonder, with that price. Are you trying to keep it for yourself?” Mary Alice played to win.
“Oh no, I expect to sell it soon. Everyone raves about it. I believe an older couple is going to buy it for their granddaughter. They live on the river, in that new subdivision near Belle Way.”
Mary Alice knew the subdivision. The houses there, although not nearly as charming as hers, were worth a lot more. This was Miss Eulie’s way of letting her know that people wealthier than Mary Alice would pay her price. Miss Eulie played to win as well—and had years more practice.