by JR Thompson
Mr. Bones led his probationer to the back of the house. Billy’s eyes widened at the sight of an enormous stack of firewood — it was roughly ten feet high and somewhere around twenty feet in diameter. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
“Have you ever split firewood?” Mr. Bones asked.
“Split wood?... No… But ain’t no need to do that here anyway. Looks like it’s done been cut.”
“The trees have been sawed into smaller logs, but now they have to be split. Here, let me show you how it’s done.” Mr. Bones pulled out a large block of wood and set a smaller one on top of it. He raised the maul above his head, “It’s pretty simple, Billy. Watch and learn.” He brought the splitting maul down hard and fast.
Seeing the block of wood split in two, Billy couldn’t help but smile. “Looks easy enough,” he said.
Mr. Bones held the maul out to him, “Hold this for a second while I get another log ready.”
Billy took in a few deep breaths while waiting his turn. “Okay, bud. I want you to stand with your feet apart, like this. That way, if you miss the log, you’re not going to slice your ankles.”
The fourteen-year-old took offense to that statement. Cocking his head, he said, “You sayin’ I’m clumsy, Mr. B.?”
“No, sir. Just trying to prevent any possibility of injuries… You put your right hand on the upper part of the handle and your left hand on the lower end.”
Billy complied.
“Yeah, just like that. Now you’re going to aim for the center of that block of wood.”
Billy brought the blade down nice and slow, raised it up, and repeated the process a few times.
“Good,” Mr. Bones told him. “Now swing with everything you’ve got.”
Billy put so much effort into concentrating on that wood that his breathing nearly stopped. He swung but over-extended the handle to the point it connected with the firewood, jarring the teen’s shoulder. Billy dropped the splitting maul, “Ah, man!”
“It’s okay, Billy. That’s how you learn. Pick it up and try again.”
The next four swings were equally as unsuccessful. Billy wiped the sweat from his forehead. He was ready to call it a day. “I can’t do this,” he whined. “This be white man’s work. Do I look white to you?”
“There’s no such thing as white man’s work. Anybody can do this. It just takes practice. Try it again but this time, zero in on it. Don’t be feeble with your swing.”
Billy raised the splitting maul again while giving his probation officer a dirty look. Pretending that block of wood was the skull of Mr. Bones, he brought the maul down with more power and precision than he thought possible; the log broke into three pieces.
“One down, about five-hundred more to go,” Mr. Bones teased.
“I got this,” Billy said, grabbing another piece of wood and getting it in position. He tried the same technique, but it was a fail. The maul went into the block but got stuck.
Mr. Bones had to get it out for him. “Again, Billy,” he insisted.
Time and time again, Billy erred but eventually got the hang of splitting wood. After splitting ten pieces or so, Mr. Bones gave him a lesson in properly stacking the chopped wood in a neat, orderly fashion. “This will help the wood season before Mr. Davis throws it in his fireplace.”
Billy looked confused. “Season? What you mean?”
“Right now, this wood has a lot of sap in it. If Mr. Davis burns it as it is, that sap will cause creosote build-up in his chimney, and it’ll be a fire danger. Once the wood is split, the air can get to it better and dry it out.”
“Gotcha,” Billy said. “But Mr. B, I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get all this done today. My back’s already killing me. And look at my hands!”
Mr. Bones took a look. “Way to go, Billy! You got yourself some first-rate callouses forming there. Why aren’t you wearing those gloves I gave you?”
Billy shrugged, “Guess I forgot.”
“I bet you won’t forget before you split anymore, will you?”
Billy shook his head, “No, sir. I sure won’t!”
For five excruciating hours, Billy worked and complained but not necessarily in that order. He couldn’t wait to get home. The teenager was looking forward to getting his six weeks of Saturday work completed and picking up some hard-earned cash.
21
Billy couldn’t believe it. Every time something came up missing, he was the first one people wanted to point their fat little fingers at. It was bad enough when it was his momma, but two of his teachers ganging up on him at school like that — making him empty his pockets, checking the contents of his locker, and not even apologizing when they didn’t find anything. Huh-uh! He wasn’t about to put up with that. No, sir!
When Billy was instructed to go back to class, he left the office alright — and marched straight out the front door. It wasn’t like he enjoyed being there anyway. For the first few blocks, the teen frequently looked over his shoulder to make sure he hadn’t been followed.
He saw a couple of guys playing basketball. “Hey man,” one of them called out. “Wanna shoot some hoops?”
“Some other time,” Billy said, continuing his walk to a destination that remained a mystery even to himself.
Less than two minutes passed before a lady with messed up hair and a few missing teeth emerged from an alley. “Can you help a sister out with some pocket change?”
“Ain’t got none,” Billy replied.
“Man, you didn’t even check those pockets! Surely, you got something. Hey, I’ll even settle for a joint. Got one?”
“I ain’t got nothin’ I told you.”
“Seriously?” the woman shouted in disgust. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t even help a woman in need!”
“I would help if I could, Miss, but I got enough problems of my own.”
She placed her hands on her hips while simultaneously rolling her eyes, “Like what?”
“Talkin’ ‘bout it ain’t gonna do no good,” Billy said, crossing the street.
She followed him. “Come on, my brother! Open up and tell me all about it. Who knows? Maybe I can help.”
The stalking drug-addict was quickly getting under his skin. Billy felt like strangling her. “Would you leave me alone?”
Smiling, she playfully said, “Sure… If you give me your wallet.”
Billy turned to face her. “My wallet?... It’s empty.”
“If that’s the case, what do you have to lose? I can keep following you and your cute self around town, or you can give it to me, and I’ll let you be on your way.”
Billy walked closer to her, “I ain’t afraid of you!”
“What you gonna do?” she shouted. “Hit a girl?”
“If I have to!” Billy retorted.
Another woman shot out of an alley. “Sissy, leave that boy alone!” she screamed. “I’m sorry, sir... My sister’s higher than a kite; when she gets like this—”
“I ain’t high!”
“Go, boy. I’ll take care of her.”
Taking advantage of the distraction, Billy got himself out of there in record time. Rounding a bend, he saw a vehicle that looked all too familiar. “Momma?” he said out loud as he watched her car coming to a halt.
“Get your behind in this car right now!” she demanded.
Billy thought about running. To give himself more time to decide, he tried a stall tactic. “Momma, how’d you know I was out here?”
“Cause Momma knows these things and don’t you ever forget it! I got eyes all over the place!”
That answer was not one unfamiliar to the fourteen-year-old. He looked toward the ground, shook his head, and lightly kicked at the sidewalk.
“Did I not tell you to get in this car?” Tamara screamed.
Billy took a deep breath, got in, and slumped down in the passenger seat.
Tamara pulled out, “Why ain’t you in school?”
“I’m sick of it, Momma! Everybody always makin’ allegatio
ns against me!”
Tamara looked at him through the corner of her eye, “Billy, what did you do this time?”
“See what I mean, Momma?... You know what! Why don’t you just call Mr. Bones and tell him to put me in juvie? That way everybody’ll know I ain’t stealin’ nothin’ from nobody!”
“I can do better than that, son. Let’s just stop in at the courthouse and see if he’s in his office. I can’t take any more of this either. I can’t follow around after you all of the time like you’re a two-year-old!”
“Good, Momma! Take me over there then... Maybe together we can talk some sense into the man.”
Tamara wasn’t playing. She drove straight to the courthouse. Even when she parked the car, Billy couldn’t tell if she was calling his bluff or if she meant it, but he got out anyway. His momma followed close behind.
Mr. Bones was on his way out of the building when they got to the door. “We didn’t have an appointment today, did we?” he asked.
“No, but you better make time for one,” Tamara shouted. “Somethin’s got to give!”
“I’m actually headed to one of the schools. I have a situation I have to deal with.”
“It looks like that other situation’s just gonna have to wait! This young man needs his probation revoked. He wants it to happen, and so do I!”
“Is this true, Billy?”
At that point, Billy had given up on life. He had a bad reputation, and no matter what he did, it wasn’t going to change any time in the near future. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I’d rather be behind bars than have everybody makin’ allegations against me all the time.”
Mr. Bones looked disappointed, “I don’t really have time to deal with this right now. Can I give you a call in about an hour?”
“An hour?” Tamara scoffed. “What am I supposed to do with him for an hour?”
“Billy, if your momma takes you back to the house, will you promise me you’ll do whatever she tells you to do?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Good… Tamara, take him home and work him half to death until you hear from me.”
Billy threw his hands up in the air. “What?... That ain’t right, Mr. B! You ain’t even know what’s going on.”
“I know that I don’t have time for this right now. Tamara, I’m sure you have a toilet or two that needs scrubbed, some garbage to be taken out, a cobweb or two knocked down?”
“Oh, I can keep him busy alright.”
Billy stomped the ground, “I ain’t gonna—”
“You already promised you’d do whatever your mother tells you to do,” Mr. Bones reminded him.
“Yeah, but this ain’t what she’s telling me to do. It’s what you’re telling me to do.”
“I’m just giving your mother advice. What she tells you is completely up to her... I’ve got to go, folks. I’ll get in touch as soon as I possibly can. But I have an emergency to deal with.”
“Thanks,” Tamara said. “I’ll be expecting your call.”
“Yeah, thanks a lot, Mr. B. We appreciate it,” Billy said sarcastically.
“Come on, young man,” Tamara snapped. Grabbing his arm, she said, “We’ve got things to do!”
Jutting his lip out, Billy dragged his feet back to the car. First his teachers, then the principal, then his own momma, and now his probation officer. He wanted to close his eyes and never wake up again.
Tamara turned the radio up full blast. Billy knew that was out of character for her, but he didn’t utter a word. He just stared out the window until they got to the house. As they pulled into the driveway, Tamara turned the music off. “We ain’t gonna be havin’ no conversations ‘til we hear from your probation officer. You hear me?”
“Yes, Momma.”
“Good… In the meantime, we gonna be honoring his suggestions. You gonna start with that nasty restroom. I want it to shine. The toilet, the tub, the sink, the mirror, the floor—”
“I get it, Momma.”
“You better or you’re liable to get somethin’ else! When you get finished with that bathroom, you’ll go into the laundry room and get the clothes out of the dryer. Fold ‘em neatly and put ‘em away. If there’s any time left after that, I want you to scrub down the walls in the entryway.”
Billy shook his head.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” His momma yelled.
“You promised to do whatever I say!”
“I’m gonna keep my promise, Momma. It’s just that none of this is fair. I—”
“Did I not make myself clear? We are not gonna be havin’ no conversations right now! You get in there and get to work!”
Billy got out of the car and shut his door roughly.
“Don’t you be slammin’ doors or I’ll make you work all night! Do you understand me?”
“Sorry, Momma.”
“Not as sorry as you’re gonna be if it happens again!”
If there was one chore Billy despised more than any other, it was cleaning toilets. He wouldn’t mind if he was the only one who used it but his house only had one restroom. The thoughts of who else had touched that seat and what they had dropped in that bowl… it just didn’t seem right that he had to clean it up.
Billy closed the restroom door and flushed the toilet five times — making sure the water was as clean as possible. Squinting his eyes and looking as though he had just bit into a lemon, he grabbed the toilet brush and began scrubbing. He worked on that bathroom so long he lost track of time. Just as he bagged up the trash, his momma hollered, “Billy, your probation officer’s on the phone!”
The teen flung the door open. “So? What you want me to do about it?”
“He wants to talk to you.”
“So?”
“Get down here and talk to the man, right now!”
Glancing down at the floor, Billy grumbled, “On my way, Momma.”
The boy was upset because he already knew where his conversation with Mr. Bones was going to go — and he was right too. His probation officer told him it was his own fault nobody trusted him. If he didn’t steal, he wouldn’t be thought of as a thief. If he didn’t lie, his integrity wouldn’t be taken into question. If he didn’t skip school, he wouldn’t be hunted down by an angry momma bear.
“So, what we gonna do, Mr. B? I gonna move into a cell down at Juvie?”
“No, Billy, you’re not. I believe that’s exactly what you want to happen. I had a talk with your momma. In addition to your work days, you’re going to start attending church with me on Wednesday evenings.”
“What? You can’t make me do that!”
“Oh, yes I can! Your momma’s all for it. You’ll be expected to bring a notebook and an ink pen so you can take notes. I’m going to quiz you after the services to see what you’re learning.”
“Come on, Mr. B!... Why?”
“You skipped class, Billy. You should have been at school learning something. The punishment fits the crime. Now you’ll go to school like you’re supposed to and do some extra learning one evening per week as well.”
22
Philip tried to refocus his mind, but it was difficult. The Gallagher’s had just left his office with their daughter, Angel. Even though Angel should have been named Demon, her parents were the perfect portrait of love. Every time they came in, their faces were glowing, they were holding hands with their fingers interlocked, and some mild flirtation was going on between them.
Philip remembered when he and Cassie used to be that close. He still couldn’t believe things hadn’t worked out between them. She was the only one he had ever imagined spending the rest of his life with. Some of her criticisms hade made themselves a permanent nest in his brain. To a certain degree, she was right. How was Philip ever going to have time for a relationship with anyone? Eight-hour work days, evenings and weekends spent mentoring youths or attending church services, and sleeping — that was his life in a nutshell. There wasn’t time for anything else.
Rose tapped on the door, “Sorry to
bother you, Philip; Judge Hastings just called. He had to reschedule the appointment you have at 3:00 this afternoon.”
“Wonderful,” Philip said. “Thanks for letting me know.”
“That’s what I’m here for.”
Removing the Ramsey file from his desk, Philip placed it back in the file cabinet. “Well, that’s one thing off my list today,” he muttered.
Rose tapped on the door again. “Philip, I’m sorry, but I forgot to deliver this. It was dropped off here this morning for you.”
Philip took the envelope out of her hand and opened it up. “Are you kidding?”
“What is it?” Rose asked.
“Cassie’s getting married and she invited me to her wedding!”
Rose’s jaw dropped in disbelief.
“It’s her life,” Philip said. “But I’m declining the invitation.”
“Can’t say I blame you,” Rose said before leaving Philip to his stack of paperwork.
Philip shook his head. He had heard of people going on the rebound and of ex’s attempting to make their former boyfriends jealous, but Cassie didn’t seem the type. Was she seriously ready to wreck her life just to hurt his feelings?
The office phone rang. “Philip Bones speaking.”
“Mr. Bones, it’s me, Tamara.”
“Uh-oh,” the probation officer said. “What’s going on?”
“Billy’s not going to be coming to the service this evening.”
Mr. Bones sighed. “Why? Is he sick?”
“No, nothing like that. I just have some errands I need to run, and he asked if he can tag along with me.”
“Tamara, we had an agreement. We have to work together as a team or Billy isn’t going to straighten up.”
“He’s doing much better today. It’s like he’s a whole new kid. He’ll be fine.”
The probation officer’s heart sank. He knew exactly where this was going to lead and it wasn’t going to be pretty. “Tamara, if this blows up in your face, you can only blame yourself. That boy needs to know he can’t snake his way out of consequences.”