Almost As Much (The Cherished Memories Book 3)

by Linda Ellen

  Finally, with a twinkle in his eye, Vic put away his plate and reached into his pocket, producing four quarters. He made a show of splitting them between Buddy and Jimmy. “Now here’s you some spending money – but be careful how you spend it, cause once it’s gone, it’s gone. And don’t let nobody steal it from ya, neither. There’s pickpockets everywhere,” he added with a nod to each one. Their eyes rounding, each nodded in return and carefully pocketed the coins.

  “Okay, let’s go fairin’,” he addressed the group, and the family, including Tommy’s date, took off together for the main entrance. Weaving their way through the sea of parked cars, Vic held Louise’s hand as they neared other fairgoers and the crowd started to thicken. “Boys, stay with us,” Vic instructed.

  Minutes later, they stood at the feet of one of the most unusual sights they had ever seen. Buddy and Jimmy were awed as they all stared up at a giant doll, or overgrown mannequin, wearing an oversized blue denim shirt and pants, and sitting on a large bale of hay inside a picket fence. One arm was extended as if he were pointing straight ahead. The sign at the base said it was, “Freddy Farm Bureau,” and that he was 18 feet tall, with a shoe size of 31, and fingers 11 inches long! The semblance of light brown hair was painted on his large head, and he had the biggest, bluest eyes you could ever imagine.

  “Gosh…he’s big!” Jimmy murmured, jumping a bit when a voice came from the direction of the huge figurine.

  “Hi there, young man. My name’s Freddy. What’s yours?”

  Jimmy giggled, “Hey, can you see me?” while the rest of the family laughed out loud.

  “It must be a recording,” Tommy chuckled, glancing at the girl at his side. She blushed and nodded.

  “No, young man, I’m not a recording,” it answered, then clarified when Tom’s mouth dropped open and he looked back at the unmoving mouth. “Yes, you, young man in the blue shirt, with the wavy brown hair and blue eyes. That’s quite a cute blonde you have with you. Is she your girlfriend?”

  “Hey! How the heck…?” Tommy sputtered, glancing around to see if someone was playing a trick on them, but there was no evidence of how the phenomenon was occurring.

  “And sir,” the motionless human figure addressed Vic, “you and your lovely wife…may I inquire as to when the addition to your happy family will arrive?”

  Louise blinked, mouth open, and turned to look up at Vic. This was getting a bit eerie. “Um…in December,” she answered the overgrown doll’s question.

  “Ahh, December. A Christmas baby, perhaps. That’s nice,” the mannequin continued. The mouth on the large face wasn’t moving, but the voice seemed to be coming from inside of the head; although none of them could figure out how in the world it was happening, and how he could see and hear them so clearly. “I’m the official greeter for the Kentucky State Fair. I know everything there is to know about it. Is there anything you want to ask me?” Freddy inquired.

  Buddy looked around, and then back again at the doll. “Um…do you know which way to go for the rides on the midway?” feeling a bit silly to be asking a lifelike, albeit non-moving, gargantuan toy. But, could you call something that big a toy? Maybe it’s a toy for King Kong, the boy inwardly joked.

  “Certainly…what’s your name, young man?”

  “Uhh, Buddy…”

  “Well, Buddy, that’s a happy name. And I bet you’re the apple of your Mama’s eye.” Buddy turned his head and smiled up at Louise, but she was looking at Freddy and missed the connection.

  “I’m pleased to make your acquaintance,” Freddy continued. “Now, to answer your question, you go to the left from here and the midway with the rides is over on that side of the exposition center. You can’t miss it.”

  “Th…thank you,” Buddy answered, glancing up at his father.

  “Have a wonderful time at the Kentucky State Fair!” the doll encouraged. “Come back to see me before you leave. Ride the double Ferris Wheel one time for me…I’m too big, they won’t let me on it.”

  Vic had had enough and nodding to the odd spectacle, he took his family in hand. ‘Freddy’ added, “Goodbye, sir,” as they moved on toward the main doors of the building.

  Louise shuddered and stole a peek back over her shoulder. “That gave me the heebie jeebies. If a body didn’t know better, you’d think it’s alive.”

  “Yeah,” Vic scanned the area again, but still couldn’t see any evidence of how the doll operated. Surely there was a man nearby speaking into a microphone, but for the life of him, he couldn’t see where – and the chest of the doll didn’t appear to be large enough for a man to fit inside comfortably. With a shrug, Vic decided to let it remain a mystery, just as they all heard Freddy begin a conversation with another family that had walked up to his base. “It’s just something fun for the kids, though. Wherever the guy doin’ the talking is, he’s sure hidden good. Quite the novelty,” he added with a dimpled grin.

  Once inside the massive building, they took stock of where the different exhibits were and made plans on where they should go first. Tommy and Jennifer decided they wanted to explore on their own, and soon ambled off in search of excitement. Vic watched them go with a knowing smile, remembering his and Louise’s date at Fontaine Ferry…and their time in the tunnel of love. Before the teens took off, Vic made sure they knew to meet the family back at Freddy by closing time.

  “I think Buddy and Jimmy should stay with us,” Louise insisted. “This is much larger than Fountain Ferry. Many more people…I don’t want the boys to get lost from us…”

  “Good idea. We’ll just wander around and see the sights,” Vic agreed, so the family moved forward into the crowd, shuffling along the many aisles of displays and vendors hawking their wares. It was big, loud, busy, and full of all kinds of amazing sights and unusual smells. Every booth had a seller who called out for your patronage which, of course, had the best whatever it was at the fair, and “well worth your money.” Everything you could want seemed to be offered, from corn dogs to fresh fudge, cotton candy to hamburgers, pork rinds to barbeque, and finally to something called funnel cakes, which were fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar – ugly, but delicious.

  Before long, wandering down one of the large aisles and munching on various treats, they came upon a fenced-off area with a large sign that read, “Come to Safety Town,” and depicted a kneeling police officer with one hand held up as if he were swearing an oath to something, facing two small children in pedal cars who were smiling and holding up their hands as well. There was a long line of kids waiting to climb aboard one of a large number of pedal cars and tricycles. An officer in uniform was speaking, informing the kids that if they followed all of the safety rules and navigated the course correctly, they would be given their own, genuine driver’s licenses.

  “What’s this?” Vic murmured, as Jimmy hollered, “Oh neat! Look Daddy – I want a driver’s license. Can I do this?” he asked, even as he was heading that way, powdered sugar from the large bites he had taken of a funnel cake still dusting his cheeks.

  Vic took one look at the kids in the line, and a sign at the entrance that declared the cut off age was four, and realized with regret that his son was already past the age limit.

  He reached out and laid a hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, sport. You’re too old for this. It’s for little kids. We’ll go find something else, okay?”

  “But, I want to get my license,” Jimmy insisted.

  “It’s pedal cars,” Buddy pointed out. “You pitched a fit when you got one for Christmas.”

  “I don’t care, I want a license!” he insisted, even louder. One of the officers looked over at the family and sent Vic a look of understanding with a small wave. He had obviously seen this reaction before.

  Vic and Louise managed to coax their disappointed son on down the aisle away from the area, heading for other things that were more age appropriate, but they knew their son was not happy.

  They managed, however, to find exhibits to keep him occup
ied, along with promises of riding the many rides out on the midway.

  The pedal cars and licenses were soon forgotten…

  *

  “Well, son-of-a-gun, how’s it goin’, Vic ol’ buddy?” a voice called thirty minutes later. Vic looked up to see the smiling grin of his old friend from the Flood days, Gerald Comstock, coming toward them with his wife and the youngest four of their eight kids. Tall and lanky, Gerald hardly looked a day older than he did back when Vic had met him, with just a bit of graying at the temples of his slightly thinner hair. His wife, Delores, was considerably heavier, but with eight kids…and what looked to be one in the oven…one couldn’t fault her.

  “Doin’ fine, Ger. How’s things with you?”

  “Oh fine, fine,” Gerald answered.

  “Delores,” Vic acknowledged the blonde at his friend’s side. She smiled in greeting before she moved nearer Louise to strike up a conversation.

  “Dee’s in the family way, again. Gotta find out what’s causin’ that,” Gerald joked with his trademark snicker. “I see you haven’t figured that out yourself, yet, huh?” he added with a bawdy wink and a nod toward Louise, her condition obvious in her lightweight summer maternity dress. Vic chuckled and shook his head at his friend’s antics.

  “How’s the station goin’?” Gerald asked as he reached out to corral several of his kids.

  “Doin’ well. Got me some good help. Things are workin’ out,” Vic answered, assuming a comfortable stance with his feet spread, and arms crossed on his chest.

  “That’s good,” Gerald glanced over and snickered to see Louise and Delores comparing belly sizes and deep in a “womanly” conversation. Then the kids began to fidget as their parents spent several minutes chatting. The two men began to talk about the price of gas, which was the better candidate for the ’56 presidential election between Eisenhower and Stevenson, and the latest movies they had seen at the theater. Minutes went by as the kids became more and more restless, waiting for their parents.

  Suddenly, Louise’s voice sent shivers down Vic’s spine. “Jimmy!” she shrieked.

  Vic whirled around, his eyes immediately focusing on the spot he had last seen their youngest – only to find it empty. His heart immediately jack hammered into high gear as he looked in all four directions, but among such a large crowd, all jostling and squeezing by, Jimmy was nowhere to be seen.

  He spun back to his other son. “Buddy, where’s your brother?”

  The boy’s big brown eyes wide with concern, he squawked, “I don’t know, he was right over there a minute ago!”

  Then Delores let out a screech. “Harold!”

  Vic’s stomach dropped. One of theirs was missing, as well. He turned toward Louise, whose eyes were wide and filling with tears, and he immediately strode over to put his arms around her as she squealed, “My baby, where is he? Oh Vic, find him!”

  Vic swallowed back his panic and tried to think logically. Where could he be? Are the two boys together? Which direction to start looking?

  Turning to Gerald and automatically assuming his Chief persona, he ordered, “You go north and east and I’ll take south and west.”

  “Right, Chief,” Gerald immediately answered.

  Then glancing at the now crying women, Vic added, “You two stay here with the other kids so we’ll know where to find you after we find them.” Then reaching to cup Louise’s cheek for a second, he added, “Don’t worry. We’ll find them.” He hoped he was projecting more confidence than he felt at that moment.

  “Daddy, can I come with you?” Buddy asked, taking a step toward his father.

  Vic turned and met his namesake’s eyes with a quick smile. “No son, I need you to stay here and protect your mother. Don’t let me down.”

  At once, the boy’s expression reflected pride that his father trusted him for such an important job. He nodded and moved close to Louise, wrapping an arm around her waist.

  Then the two men took off at a trot, dodging people and strollers, eyes peeled for any sight of their sons.

  Louise and Delores stood in the center of an intersection of aisles, holding on to one another and the other kids. Tears streaming, they both mumbled prayers for God to help their husbands find their boys.

  Twenty agonizing minutes went by for the ladies before Delores turned her head and squealed, “They found them! Oh thank God!”

  Louise swung around to see their husbands making their way back to them through the crowd of jostling people; the boys perched upon their shoulders. Each boy had drying tears on their faces, and the women figured they’d had their britches tanned once their fathers’ found them.

  As Vic reached the quite shaken mothers and the remaining kids, he lifted Jimmy off his shoulders, setting him firmly in front of his distraught mother. Vic met her eyes, explaining, “Found him back at the license place. Shoulda looked there first. Me and Gerald met up there and saw ’em. They were sitting on the hood of a police car, talkin’ to one of the officers just as bold as you please, like they hadn’t a care in the world.”

  Louise bent over and gave her youngest a fierce hug, then leaned back and grasped his arms. “James Alan Matthews, don’t you ever do anything like that again. I was worried sick!”

  Tears filled his hazel eyes and his bottom lip trembled. “I won’t, Mama.” Then, he glanced up at his stern-faced father and added, “I just wanted to get a license so I could help you drive and I could help work at the station…but Daddy said they ain’t for the big cars.”

  The parents met one another’s eyes, both of them feeling a mixture of pride and anguish over the incident. Their little boy was growing up, and soon wouldn’t be a baby – or even the baby – anymore.

  With another hug and a stern instruction to the boys to stay with them and not wander off, Vic and Louise parted from their friends and continued on with their evening at the Fair.

  Several hours later, having ridden nearly every ride on the midway, two worn out parents and two tired little boys, the youngest nearly asleep on his father’s shoulder, made their way back to the giant talking Freddy doll to meet up with Tommy and his date.

  Louise, her feet swollen and aching, was nevertheless very glad they had come as she switched her stuffed animal prize to the other arm. Her prince charming had used up all of his change shooting at wooden ducks – and winning – until the proprietor grabbed his largest stuffed bear and thrust it in Vic’s hands, begging him to move on so someone else could try.

  With a laugh, Vic had handed the prize to his ‘date’ and they had wandered on together, nibbling on roasted peanuts. It was the first time he had won something for her since the knight statue that summer so long ago.

  The evening netted several items for her cherished memories’ box, and a warm, lovely memory to add to Louise’s collection.

  ‡

  CHAPTER 16

  The Beginnings of Obsession

  School started again and life settled back into the familiar.

  As she lowered her seven-months-pregnant self down to her knees to scrub the floor around the commode one morning in the second week of October, Louise allowed her mind to wander. To her way of thinking, each day her boys were growing a little more independent and farther away from her control. Little Jimmy had made friends in school that she didn’t know, neither did she know their parents – and he had started keeping secrets from her, something he had never done before. Buddy, as well, had developed interests that he no longer shared with her. She couldn’t remember the last time either of them had run to her to show off their newest discovery, or to ask her opinion or permission for anything.

  Straightening her back for a moment, she brushed her left arm across her brow, her face red from the awkward exertion. Thinking of the boys, she smiled as she pictured each one.

  At seventeen, her oldest son Tommy was nearly an adult. He had surpassed Vic in height, was strong, athletic and popular in school, and had turned out to be quite handsome, as Louise had always known he would. He
was definitely not her sweet little Tommykins that she could carry around on one hip anymore. He was always busy going and doing – and he seemed to be squiring a different girl around every few weeks.

  At Vic’s offhand comment on that subject the week before, Tommy had grinned that mischievous smile of his, and with a teasing chuckle, drawled, “Chief, ain’t you never heard the saying about wanting to try every doughnut in the bakery window? Besides,” he paused, with a wink of his twinkling blue eyes, “Can I help it if I’m irresistible?” With that, he had shrugged into his jacket and ran a hand back through his hair as he launched into an impromptu rendition of Ricky Nelson’s new song, I’m Walkin’. Sounding amazingly like the young TV star, Tommy bee-bopped out the door as he sang, whirling the keys to the car around one finger. Louise snickered softly and shook her head at the memory.

  Leaning back into her work, she next pictured Buddy, Vic’s namesake. The boy had seemingly grown up overnight, and he had proven to be a studious young man, exhibiting a talent for music, and creating things with his hands. He was insatiably curious, always asking questions and forever wishing to know how things worked, or why this was this way, or that was that way.

  Jimmy, on the other hand, was a rough and tough little boy – despite the fact that he was small for his age – and it had become plain for everyone but Louise to see that he resented the apron strings holding him back. If Louise wanted to dress him up in a cute little outfit and snap a picture of him with her Brownie camera, he found a way to go stomping through a mud puddle, or climb a tree and tear his pants. Or his latest desire – to go to the station with his father and help out in any way he could. He was a “Daddy’s Boy” through and through.