Promise To Keep

by Rainwater, Priscilla Poole

  “Lookit, you just don’t know that old spook like we do! He woulda’ shot us just as soon as look at us. Don‘t worry, we‘ll get her. Meantime, I‘m gonna‘ help myself to what you promised us.” Billy snapped as he grabbed her breasts roughly. He wanted what he was promised, and didn’t plan on stopping.

  Patty didn’t care about them getting hurt, she was a woman on a mission. Her good friend Donna, who was dating the manager at the Miner’s Exchange Bank, told her that not only was Connell’s farm making good money, but they were planning on expanding even more, and were in the process of doing so even as the smelly brute (Billy) pawed at her exposed breasts once more. But hearing that, she became more determined, more driven than ever, to capture the man’s attention and win his heart. She wasn’t going let the little problem of him falling for that black woman he was playing house with stand in her way. Word around town was that they were a couple. He was even taking her out, not caring who saw them. She wanted him for what he could do for her, both in and out of bed.

  Closing her eyes, she pretended it was Connell’s tongue licking her breasts greedily, and not Billy’s slobbering one. She shuddered as he pushed her down on the couch and his heavy form pinned her underneath him.

  Billy suddenly looked up, startled, and cocked his head as if listening for something.

  “What IS it? Come on, just get it over with!“ she protested, clearly irritated.

  “Shut up and listen, girl!” he growled.

  Then she heard it too, the faint sound of a car engine roaring, getting louder and closer by the second.

  Several seconds later the noise was right outside, and they could see police cruiser beacons flashing through the window. Moments later they felt the heavy thud of footsteps, several of them, coming up the front porch steps.

  She screamed and Billy leaped to his feet as the front door was kicked open, and his brother Leroy was literally hurled through the doorway, landing in a heap next to the couch.

  Sheriff Berry stepped in casually, his large frame completely filling the doorway.

  “What the fuck?“ Billy yelled in confusion, taking a step back.

  “Hey, Billy-goat! What’s happenin‘?“ the Sheriff asked as he finally stepped all the way inside, and was followed by his second-in-command, Deputy Sergeant Cody Feathersmith, a Native American, and a young, well built black rookie, just fresh out of college and the Police Academy, Deputy Chris Ritter.

  Cody’s whiskey colored eyes twinkled with child-like mischief. Hooking his thumbs in his gun belt he smirked down at Leroy and said, “That toss, now THAT’S what I call white power!” Glancing at the Sheriff he said, “Woooo-eeeeee!!! You musta’ tossed him about, what,….ten or twelve feet? That’s a new record in the scumbag toss, hoss! Dang it, you beat my old record by two feet, at least! Well, guess I’ll hafta’ buy you a beer when our shift is done.”

  “Nothing fancy, just a plain old Heineken will do er’.” the Sheriff laughed, then looked at Patty. With one finger he slid his mirrored sunglasses down a bit, so she could see the disapproval burning in his blue eyes. “Patty, whatcha’ doing here, girl? Your daddy wouldn’t care to hear I found you up in this house with these two inbred hicks! No Sir, he wouldn‘t like it at all.”

  She blinked, feeling like she was caught between a rock and a hard place. She knew if her father found out about this, he would do as he had promised when he had caught her screwing both Billy and Leroy one afternoon in the back of the store, he would cut her off without a dime. It was bad enough he had her actually working for what little money he did give her. “Look, please don’t say anything, alright? We’re just friends. We got to know one another when Leroy worked for dad.” she pleaded in desperation.

  The Sheriff was well aware of her less than stellar reputation, and he really wished the woman would work to turn things around for herself. But seeing the kind of company she kept these days, he doubted she would. But it was in his nature to be a fair man, and he figured he would cut her a break and let her off with a warning. “Patty, let me tell you something. You have to be very careful of the company you keep. Now I’m going to give you a bit of advice, and it’s up to you whether or not to take it.“

  “What…?“ she stammered as he reached down and grabbed her arm gently, pulling her to her feet.

  Respectfully, he looked her straight in the eyes as she fumbled with her bra and blouse, pulling them back in place. “Around here, a man is very choosy about two things in his life. Those things are his truck, and his woman. You see, when a man is standing back with his friends admiring his truck, he wants to tell them about how loaded the truck is, and how well it’s put together. He usually wants everyone to know that he’s the only one who can get behind that wheel, and he also wants folks to know how well his truck is maintained.”

  Taking her arm gently again, he walked her out to the porch, where he continued his lecture. “Now, he also wants to do almost the same thing when it comes to his woman. He wants to be able to tell his friends what a good woman she is, how well she maintains herself, and when his buddies ask who’s been under her hood or behind the wheel, he wants to be able to tell them proudly that she’s hardly been touched or driven by anyone else. Make sure you keep your mileage down, Patty. It‘s not too late for you…yet. Go on, now.“ he finished with a kind smile.

  Relieved, she looked up at him with tears brimming in her eyes. “Thanks, Dave. You…. you and Connell…are about the only people who’s ever treated me nice. Besides my dad, I mean.“

  He watched with mixed emotions as she got into her dusty Ford Escort and pulled out. Finally turning, he went back inside to take care of business, where his two deputies held the men at gunpoint, waiting for him.

  “Listen, I know my rights, and I want you to get that Totem Pole and Sambo out of here! Tell that boy to get out of here, he’s gonna’ steal something from me! That‘s all they do is steal from hard working white folk.” Billy barked at him as the rookie, Chris Ritter walked over to a small table where they had left several small baggies of pot, meth, and pills for a party he and Leroy had been invited to, one that was supposed to be thrown by some skinhead friends in Tennessee. He had been busted enough to know it would be a felony charge, and he and his brother would do some really serious time this time around.

  Walking up to him quickly, Cody gave him a hard shove, causing him to crash down on the dirty couch. “Sit down there and shut up, we got every right to be in here! You two tried to attack a woman in the cemetery yesterday, we just figured we would ask the judge for a search warrant to see if you have any kidnap victims around here someplace. Your chicken-shit brother there tried to run when we went to serve a bench warrant on him. And you’ve been in and out jail enough to know anything in plain sight is fair game.” he finished as he pointed at the table.

  Billy almost wet himself with fear. Attempted rape, plus the drugs, meant they might never get out of the slammer again. And he had barely survived his last stint.

  Sheriff Berry ordered the men to be handcuffed and searched.

  Leroy became defiant, also realizing the dire consequences of their actions and activities. Snatching away from Cody, he sneered at the Sheriff and said, “So, this is all about that porch monkey your boy Connell is screwing, innit?”

  Feeling his blood boil, Deputy Ritter stepped forward and helped Cody force the man’s arms behind his back. He snapped the cuffs on, much too tight.

  “HEY HEY, them’s too tight! What the hell kinda’ cop are you, anyway?” Leroy yelled in protest.

  The young black Deputy laughed mirthlessly as he suddenly decided to use a line from one of his favorite Eddie Murphy movies, 48 Hours. “You know what I am? I’m your WORST FUCKIN’ NIGHTMARE, man! I’m a nigger with a badge, that means I got permission to kick your FUCKIN’ ASS whenever I feel like it!“

  Both the Sheriff and Cody burst into laughter as the younger Deputy looked at them, winked, and said, “Ooops, accident! New cuffs, you know how it is, got to get us
ed to them.”

  After cuffing a terrified Billy, the Sheriff walked over to the old floor model console television. Sitting on top of it was a handgun, a .38 caliber with the serial numbers scraped off. Unloading the weapon, he handed to Chris to secure it as evidence.

  “HEY, you can’t….”

  “Looks like you boys are going to be guests in the county jail until you get your day in court.“ the Sheriff interrupted. “Long with those drugs…things are looking pretty grim for you two.“ he finished with a soft whistle.

  “We’re gonna’ get you, if it’s the last thing we ever do, asshole!“ Leroy said, then spit in his direction, glaring at him.

  “Boy, you just don’t ever learn, do you?“ Turning to look at Cody, he winked and said, “Hey, the guy we got locked up in the jail right now is gonna’ love these two, dontcha’ think?“

  “You bet, Chief! Specially when he sees them pretty tattoos he has on his arm.”

  Turning back to Leroy, the Sheriff explained. “You ever see that Stephen King movie, The Green Mile? Remember that big black fella’ played in the movie? Well this guy, he’s black, by the way, makes that fella’ look like a friggin’ midget! It was all we could do, the three of us, to subdue and cuff him. Anyway, he’s that rapist truck driver we caught who’s got a taste for guys. Seems he would pick guys up at a truck stop who was looking for a ride, drug them, then attack them. When we was interrogating him he told us he loved gettin him some white-chocolate covered cherries. Guess since he’ll be doing life for his crimes, he doesn’t care about a few more rape charges. You boys should get along real well with him in that little cell. Maybe if you’re real nice to him he’ll make both of you his wives and protect you while you’re in the pen!”

  Both brothers stared at him wide-eyed, all the color drained from their faces.

  “Boys, ever heard of the term, “The New South? Well, just like most DECENT folk around here, we’re sick and tired of people like you, giving good mountain folks a bad name. Hell, ain’t nothin wrong of being proud of where you come from, but going through life blaming other folks for your ass not getting ahead is old news. You both failed because you didn’t want no better, and you felt you had a right to things that you were too damn lazy to work for. When, or IF you ever get out, I suggest you find a new county to live in, because as long as I’m running the show, none of that racial crap is going to fly, not on MY watch. Sherman‘s dead and gone, boys, The New South is a melting pot. You either deal with it, or leave. It‘s that simple. Oh, and by the way, Connell sends his regards. Take em‘ away, boys.” he finished as he looked at Cody and Chris.

  They were lead away and put into the back of the cruiser by the two deputies while he resumed his search. The illegal drugs, additional weapons, and stolen property from recent break-ins took him an additional hour to bag and tag.

  *******************************************************

  “Connell, it’s the middle of the night, and here we are out in the middle of the field! Would you please tell me where we’re going, you nut? And why on earth did you ask me to dress in a warm, oversized sweat suit?” Aisha giggled as she tried to keep pace with his long strides. There was a full moon out, providing some measure of light, but still he held a small, powerful mag-light in one hand, shining it ahead of them.

  He gripped her hand in his giant paw as he tugged gently and said, “Patience, my darling, patience! You’ll see. Tonight’s perfect for what I want to do. The weather is still warm. Mom has the kids, and I want to show you something special, something I hope you‘ll like.”

  Giggling in anticipation, she replied, “Well, couldn’t I see it better in the daylight?”

  No bothering to answer, he lead her to a spot on the creek bank and stopped. She saw he had cleared a space, and had dug a fire pit. A large stack of firewood was stacked nearby, ready to be used. There was a large, heavy looking old quilt spread out on the ground not far away, with two large, fluffy pillows laying on top. There was a two-person sleeping bag laying on top also, along with their large picnic basket.

  “What’s all this?“ she asked, then bent over and opened the lid. Inside the basket was a variety of her favorite treats, everything from Smores to hot chocolate, a large bag of marshmallows, Ritz crackers and sharp cheddar cheese, and cans of A&W root beer. There was a small, portable boom box, and her very own Pure Moods cd. She wondered how he had managed to set everything up, she had not seen him taking anything from the house.

  “Well, what do you think?” he asked.

  She looked up at him, waiting for him to explain the meaning of the romantic set up.

  Instead of explaining, he motioned for her to sit on the blanket instead. Piling wood into the pit, he doused it with zippo lighter fluid, and after a few minutes had a rather large, comfortable fire going. Finished, he sat down beside her and sighed. Wrapping an arm around her, he tugged her backwards gently until they were both laying on their backs, looking up at the moon and stars. He put his arm under her head and pulled her close. He didn’t say anything for a quite awhile, but when he finally did speak his voice was low and reflective. “Do you remember the day we brought Abby down here, and we had the big mud fight?” he asked as he stroked her cheek lovingly.

  She nodded, remembering very well how special the day had turned out to be. How they had both had so much fun watching Abby laugh and play.

  “That day I looked at you and I felt something, something I’ve never felt before. It was a burning in my very soul, I mean, deep down. I knew I was in love with you right then and there. Not falling, but already head over heels. You had marked me, just as surely as a branding iron. You reached inside of me and marked my very soul. I couldn’t have changed that then and there, even if I had wanted to.”

  In a sudden panic she sat upright and looked around, trying to think of a way to change the subject. She had a feeling he wasn’t just talking, he was leading up to something really big, and she didn’t think she was ready for it, yet.

  “Hey..what‘s wrong?” he asked softly, then placed a hand on her back, caressing.

  “Maybe we should head back. It’s late, some axe murderer could find us out here and hack us up…“ she babbled. “Or, or what about those wild dogs? I don’t wanna’ be a chew toy again.” she finished, knowing it sounded lame.

  He sat up and scooted forward until his legs were around her. Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her back to his chest and hugged her tightly. “Don’t worry about any wild dogs, I have the shotgun here, it’s on the other side of that pile of firewood, so don’t worry. You know I wouldn’t let anything hurt you.” he whispered, and kissed the nape of her neck. She shivered and tried to pull away, but he wouldn’t release her. “Don’t, just stay still and listen to me, please.”

  “No, Connell, I can never be like…”

  “Be like Jenny?“ he interrupted. "When have I ever asked you to be anyone other than who you are?” he reminded her gently. “Never, just like you have never asked me to be Max. This is right here, right now, and it‘s about you and me, no one else. It’s about me wanting to spend the rest of my life with your bossy ass.”

  Giving him a sharp, playful elbow to the ribs, she said, “Heyyyyy, who you calling bossy?“

  Chuckling, he replied, “Well, if you‘ll let me finish, I was going to say your bossy, bullheaded, yet loyal, smart, and loving ass! But what it all comes down to is I want to be with you for the rest of my life, and I want you to help me raise my children. You’re the woman I want to share everything with, just as you are.”

  Turning her around to face him, he dug around in his jacket pocket and said, “Now, I know you’ll need time to think about this, but for now I want to give you something, and ask you do something for me.” Taking her hand he said, “Couple of weeks ago my aunt sent me something, I guess mom told her about you.” He pulled a ring out of his pocket, one that looked very old. The diamonds were shaped like a star burst. “This is the promise ring, that my great-grea
t grandfather gave his young bride to be. When he first gave her the ring, he made a promise to her. You see, the following day he was to set sail for America, and try to start a new life for both of them. He swore that he would be true to her during his absence, even though they would be oceans apart. She waited for him even when others said he wouldn’t return for her. He wrote to her faithfully everyday for an entire year, and finally, he did return for her. They married and had a long, happy life together. Anyway, my aunt sent it, she said it could be a reminder that no matter who, or what, tries to keep us apart, that together we can overcome anything as long as we have faith in one another.”

  “Connell, I…”

  Gently, he grabbed her hand and slid the ring on her finger, then kissed her knuckles. “Promise me you will at least consider making a life together with me. Promise me that even when I’m old and gray, that you will still love me. When you’re ready, we’ll make it official, and I can guarantee you I will make you never regret coming here.”