Bent Creek (22 page)

“Yeah, go ahead and bury him.  I’ll call the preacher at the Baptist Church and have him come out tamorry so you kin give him a proper burial. Sorry about this, folks.  I got tah run.” Standing outside, Sheriff Elbers took a deep breath to keep from vomiting and headed for his car.

Joe let out a loud sputtering sound and sat up.  “It ain’t Saturday, but I sure do need a bath.”

“You all did jest great,” Rachael said smiling.  “I think we might jest get through this.”

The next morning Jesse went into Mabry’s store and bought a wooden burial box. That was something that Mabry always kept in stock. He told Mabry and all the men at the store about Nevers. By the time he returned, Lily and Rachael had dug a trench in the graveyard along side of Nevers
’ two wives. Jesse put the coffin into the hole and they waited for the preacher, while Lily had put on her white dress.  Ben combed his hair and put on a clean shirt.  When they saw Reverend Lewis coming up the hill, Rachael whispered, “Okay, ya’ll remember what yer supposed tah do.”

“Ah, Mrs. Bains, I am so sorry to hear about your husband. Please accept my condolences.  I see you have already put him in his grave.” He seemed surprised.

Rachael stepped forward. “We had tah sir, the blood wuz starting tah seep through the coffin and…”

He put his hand up, “I quite understand.”  He opened his book. “Shall we pray?”

Everyone bowed their heads and the preacher read sev
eral passages from his bible. Making the sign of the cross he picked up a handful of dirt and threw it into the grave.  The others followed suit. “I suppose this is all we can do for Nevers Bains. I hope the good Lord forgives his sins.  Is there anything else I can do for you before I leave?” he said to Lily.  She nodded. “Yes sir, you kin marry me and Ben.”

They were not sure if he was surprised at the request or the fact that Lily could speak.  Whatever the reason it brought him to laughter. “Well, I do declare.  I have never performed a burial and a wedding in the same hour.  I know your family, Lily, so I don’t suppose this is such an outrageous request.” Reverend Lew
is was also well aware of Nevers’ demeanor and had even been a victim at one time.  A few years earlier, Lily had come to church without Nevers’ permission; Nevers had burst into the chapel and drug her out by her arm.  When the Reverend followed him out to protest his treatment of her, Nevers punched him in the face and threatened to burn down the church if he interfered in his life again.  Afraid for himself and his congregation, the preacher returned to the pulpit with a bloody nose and a sermon about the sins of man and the fire of hell.

After the short ceremony in the sitting room, Reverend Lewis drank a toast of apple juice to the new couple. He promised to prepare the marriage license and send it to them in the next few days.

“I suppose you want tah move Ben’s thangs into yer room, Lily. You can move Violet in with me if’n you want,” Rachael said, as she stood by the window watching Reverend Lewis drive away.

“Oh no, not yet, Rachael. Me and Ben ain’t tah that part yet. We both want some time tah ponder on things.  We love each other
, but not in that way yet.  Ben is still worried about me seein’ him with no legs and I ain’t sure I kin be a good wife tah him yet.”

“I understand,” Rachael replied. Both of them had bro
ken bodies and needed time to mend. She changed the subject. “Now, all we have tah do is deal with yer family, Lily, and then we should be able tah get back to business.  I guess by now they know Nevers is dead. I expect they’ll be showin’ up here any day now. We all have tah be on the lookout fer them.  If’n they give us any trouble we’ll jest call the sheriff. I’m gonna take a walk.”

Today was Saturday. The day she was supposed to meet Sam in town. She wondered if he remembered and if he did, how long did he wait for her. She had to forget about him for now. Her life was in too much of a turmoil, but she sure did like him.

Even in a sparsely populated valley with no telephones news traveled. Barely two days went by before Lily’s family heard about Nevers’ death. Her stepfather, Earl, and Lily’s mother, Alma, showed up in a horse drawn wagon wrapped in blankets to ward off the cold October morning.  They had brought along Earl’s son and his wife for reinforcement.  A couple of other men, who were probably Lily’s brothers, were also in the back of the wagon.

“Here they come,” Lily said, when she heard the bell on the gate clanging against the post. 
“Sure didn’t take them very long. Ya’ll stay in here and let me take care of this myself.  If’n I need you I’ll yell.”

Earl climbed down from the wagon and walked toward the porch with the aid of a cane.  He didn’t look big and scary to Lily this time. Lily pushed open the door and stood on the porch with her arms crossed over her chest. “Lily, girl.  It’s good tah see ya. Sorry tah heer about yer husband.  We come tah see if ya needed any halp. Look a
t you, all grow’d up and purty, too.”

“I don’t need anythin’ from you,” Lily replied.

Earl gave a startled look. “Lord a mighty, gal.  You kin talk. Praise the Lord, it’s a reel miracle.  Ma, lissen tah yer daughter. She kin talk,” he called back to the wagon.  “The Lord works in mysterious ways, don’t He now?”

“Don’t you talk about the Lord tah me you old coot.  Jest git back in yer wagon and high tail it out of here.  You ain’t wanted at my house. If’n you think that Nevers left me a passel of money, yer wrong. He done left me nothin’ but this house and land and you ain’t gittin’ one foot of it.  So go on and git.”

“Is that anyway tah talk tah me, Lily?” We need halp reel bad. Yer momma, she’s got lumbago so bad, she can’t git around and ya kin see I got a reel bad leg.  And Zebulon,” he said, pointing to the boy sitting in the wagon, “he done got three youngins and one on the way. He ain’t able tah find work. We gonna be in reel bad shape with winter comin’ on.”

“You should have thought of that six years ago when you sold me tah Nevers. You ain’t never done a decent day’s work in yer life. I ain’t doin’ nothin’ fer ya.  Besides I got me a new husband and he’s in charge now. We done went into the courthouse and had his name put on the deed.  It belongs tah both of us now. He says I coulda had you put in jail fer sellin’ me
.”

“You got a new husband, already!  Yer old husband ain’t even cold in his grave. Lordy, girl, that’s a sin tah take a new one right off.”

“You ain’t one tah talk about sinnin’, Earl.  Ain’t any of yer business so go on and git before I call the sheriff and tell him yer trespassing on my property.”

Lily’s mother climbed down from the wagon and hob
bled across the yard, holding her ragged coat close to her body. “I’m reel sorry fer what we done, Lily, but I’m yer mother and you …”

Lily interrupted her. “You ain’t no kin tah me.  You done give up that right the first time you let Earl touch me and you knew about it. Ain’t no mother would ever do that tah her own child, plus sell her away tah a nasty old man.”  Her voice soft
ened as she choked back her tears.  “Why’d you do that tah me, Momma? I always loved you. I coulda forgiven you for most anythin’ til you let Nevers take me away.  Why, Momma?”

“Twernt nothin’ I could do about it, Lily.  It wuz all his doin’,” she said pointing toward Earl. “He said if’n I didn’t go along with what he wanted he wuz gonna kick me and all yer sisters and brothers outta the house.  What wuz I tah do?”

“Doesn’t matter anymore. You go on and git and don’t come round here no more. I’m done with you and that’s alls I gotta say.” Lily turned and went into the house.  She ran into her room and closed the door.

The wagon sat in the yard for about ten minutes and then slowly turned and left.

“Are you okay?” Rachael asked. Lily sat on the bed cuddling Violet in her arms.

“I’m gonna be jest fine, Rachael.”  Tears ran down her face as she rocked back and forth.  “Yeah, I’ll be jest fine. You kin jest bet on yer life I ain’t never gonna treat my daughter like I wuz treated. They are evil peo
ple, Rachael.  They deserve anythin’ bad that comes tah them.”

“I reckon I better go tell momma and daddy about you and Ben. That is if’n they ain’t heard it from somebody else. I’ll be back in a little while,” Rachael said.  She dreaded making this trip. She knew just how
their mother was going to react and she was right.

“We buried Nevers today and then Ben and Lily got married,” Rachael blurted out. She stared at her mother sitting across the table from her, waiting for her reaction.

“You mean tah tell me, that Lily ain’t even waitin’ til her husband is cold in the grave afore she married my son?  The Lord have mercy on them.”

“Oh, Momma, come on. You know that Nevers wuz a mean, old bastard and that he treated Lily terrible.  She loves Ben and she’ll take good care of him,” Rachael replied.

“How they had time tah git close tah each tuther lessen they wuz doin’ somethin’ they twernt supposed tah be doin’ while she wuz still a married woman.  Sides, Lily done stole my only granddaughter from Emma Jane and I reckon she married my son for his army pension. Even if’n’ Nevers twernt a good husband, she ain’t got no right tah do this.”

Rachael stood up. “Well, Momma, let me tell you what really happened. When them gypsies showed up at the house Ben bought Violet from Emma Jane and Jimmy Dell for one hundred dollars. They wanted more, but he wouldn’t give it tah them. I’m sure if’n we hadn’t taken the baby in, they’d gone on their way and sold the baby tah someone else.”

“Yer lyin’!” Ida Mae screamed, putting her hands over her ears.
“My Emma Jane wouldn’t sell her own youngin’.  It be them gypsies that probably put some kinda spell on her.”

“No, I ain’t, Momma. Ben married Lily so she wouldn’t lose her house and land tah her family.  They’ve already come round tryin’ tah git it. Lily would be out in the cold again.  She’s had a hard enough life already. You jest better accept it and come down and see yer sons and granddaughter once in a while. Ben and Lily love each other.  Hard tah believe but it’s a fact.”

“I ain’t never comin’ tah that house and she ain’t welcome here. Now I got work tah do, so you go on and git.”  Ida Mae disappeared into the back of the house.

“Don’t be too hard on her, Rachael. She’s goin’ through a hard time,” Roy said.  Rachael didn’t know that her father was sitting on the porch by the window listening to their conversa
tion. She gave him a quick hug. “Momma jest closin’ her head. I’m jest tryin’ tah make her understand, but she won’t listen. What’d you think about all this?”

“I’m, stayin’ tah myself, girl.  I reckon it be all true, but reel hard fer yer mamma tah swaller.  I can’t believe my own flesh and blood would sell her own baby. I blame it on them gypsies, too. They done tainted Emma Jane’s head with bad
idées. I’m glad that the baby is safe and ya’ll are doin’ okay.  Can’t say the same fer us. Vittles are reel scarce round heah and so is heatin’ wood. I reckon it’s time fer you and Jesse tah come on back home and leave them be.”

Rachel knew her father was once again worried about himself b
ut not willing to do anything about it. She reached in her pocket and handed her father a ten-dollar bill.  “Here, get some food. I’ll send Jesse down here tah cut some logs for you. Maybe you could cut a few yerself. I got tah go. I ain’t comin’ back here til things are settled down and besides I don’t think momma really wants us back.”  Walking to the back of the house, she raised her voice. “I’m leavin’ now, Momma.  I gave Daddy some money for food. I love you.”

She cried all the way home.

Chapter Twenty-Seven

“Now, this is the way it’s gonna be, Rachael. You, Jesse and me are gonna take the load into town.  I want tah talk tah Clyde Orby,” Ben said.

“But, I’m the one that always does business with him, Ben. I think I can handle it,” she replied.

“You done a fine job of taken care of us, but I think this is a man’s job. Clyde won’t cotton tah doin’ business with a woman when it comes tah him havin’ tah pay us more.  Jest let me handle it, okay?’

“What about me and Violet?” Lily asked.  “If’n ya’ll go off tah Lynch I’ll be here all alone.  What if’n someone comes by? I’m scared somethin bad will happen while yer gone.”