I'll Stand by You (7 page)

He heard a door open and knew one or both of the boys were awake. A few moments later, Marshall appeared in the doorway.

“Beep’s nose is bleeding,” he announced.

“On the way,” Johnny said, turning off the fire and putting a lid on the oatmeal. It could finish cooking by itself or he’d put it back on the heat later.

He could hear Beep crying even before he reached the room, and his heart sank. For the first time since their mother’s death, he felt her absence in a way he would never have imagined. Beep needed cuddling, and Johnny had never been a cuddler for either of the boys. He teased them. He corrected them. He fed them and loved them, and they knew he loved them, but now there was a need for more—and he felt horribly inadequate for the job.

He stopped in the bathroom on the way and grabbed a wet washcloth and a hand towel and then crossed the hall into their room.

Beep was sitting up in bed sobbing. His hair was standing on end and his eyes were so swollen he could barely see. A thin trickle of blood was seeping out of one nostril and his pillow was spotted with more of the same.

At that moment, Johnny hated those boys with every ounce of his being. He slid onto the mattress beside Beep and held out his arms. Beep crawled into his lap and went limp against Johnny’s chest as he continued to cry.

Johnny suspected he was not only in pain but also overwhelmed by the memory of yesterday’s horror and afraid of a repeat once he was back in school. He held him close as he wiped tears and blood off his little brother’s face, talking softly.

“This isn’t bad. It’s just a little blood,” Johnny said and then glanced up at Marshall, who was looking anxious, and gave him a wink to reassure him too. “He hurts and he is sore all over, Marshall, but he’s not worse, okay?”

Marshall nodded, then burst into tears.

“Oh hey! Guys, come on now. You’re breaking my heart,” Johnny said, his voice shaking. “Come here, Marshall. I need a hug.”

Marshall fell into Johnny’s outstretched arm, his shoulders shaking with muffled sobs.

Johnny laid his cheek against Marshall’s head and stifled the urge to join them.

“My nose is bleeding,” Beep cried.

Johnny pulled himself together, gave Marshall a quick hug and a kiss on the top of his head, and then gave him something to do.

“Bring me another wet washcloth, will you?”

Marshall bolted from the room, wiping snot on the back of his arm as he went while Johnny tended to Beep.

“Now, let me see that little nose.”

Beep tilted his head.

Johnny gave it the once-over and noticed that the gauze that had been in his nostril was missing, probably lost during sleep.

“I see what happened, Beep. That bandage Dr. Quick put up your nose fell out. We’ll get some fresh gauze and fix you right up, okay? Are you hurting too?”

Beep nodded.

“More medicine coming up,” Johnny said as Marshall came back with a wet cloth. “That’s perfect. You go get dressed while I help get Beep settled. I made oatmeal. If you’re too hungry to wait, help yourself.”

“Can I have raisins?” Marshall asked.

Johnny grinned. “May I have raisins, not can I, and, yes, you may. You’re gonna turn into a raisin one of these days.”

Happy for the freedom of making his own cereal, Marshall threw on some clothes and bolted for the kitchen before Johnny changed his mind.

Beep shifted against Johnny’s chest and looked up.

“Are you gonna settle me now?” he asked.

Johnny grinned.

“Yeah, buddy. I’m gonna settle you now. After we get you dressed, do you think you might try and eat a little oatmeal?”

Beep frowned. “I don’t want no raisins.”

“You don’t want any raisins,” Johnny said.

Beep sighed. “I already said that.”

“I know, buddy. Now let’s get his bloody shirt off and get you a clean one, and then we’ll get your medicine.”

Johnny grimaced as he eased his arms out of each sleeve and then stretched the neck opening before pulling it over Beep’s head. The bruises were larger and darker, making him look even more fragile. He couldn’t believe that this had happened and had no idea how it was going to play out.

* * *

Ruby Dye turned the Closed sign to Open as she unlocked the front door of the Curl Up and Dye.

Today was likely to be unusually hectic. Vesta was sick at home, and Ruby and Vera were picking up her appointments. No one was getting a lunch break, but they were confident they could do it.

Ruby and Vera had already divided up the clients over the phone last night, so she began checking supplies to be sure she had the right products on hand. One of the ladies she was picking up for Vesta was Jane Farris, who ran the Before and After day care. Ruby liked Jane, although she thought she was a little uptight. It was Ruby’s opinion that if you’re going to run a business involving children, you should at least enjoy being around them. Jane talked about them like they were dirty puppies who peed on floors and chewed on furniture, which she was certain was not the case.

A short time later, Ruby’s first appointment showed up, and then Vera and Mabel Jean walked in together and the day began. What she hadn’t planned on was an hour-by-hour playback of everyone’s opinion on the assault of Brooks Pine. By the time Jane Farris arrived, Ruby was stunned by what she’d been hearing, and Vera’s cheeks were an angry red.

Mabel Jean was working her nail file like a chain saw and gritting her teeth to keep from arguing with the clients who were so disrespectful to a family down on their luck.

They were shocked by the number of people who thought the whole thing should just go away.

Mabel Jean left to run an errand, and Ruby was sweeping up hair from her last appointment when Jane Farris arrived. By the time she’d hung up her jacket, Ruby was ready for her.

“Morning, Jane!”

Jane waved.

“Good morning, Ruby. I sure appreciate you working me in to your schedule. The older I get, the more I appreciate the luxury of someone doing my hair for me.”

Ruby beamed. “And that’s just music to my ears. Come on back and we’ll get started.”

Jane noticed Luwanda Peeples deep in conversation with Vera but didn’t interrupt to say hello. Luwanda’s husband was on the city council, and the way she carried on, you’d have thought he was one step down from being president of the United States.

As soon as Jane was seated, Ruby snapped a cape around her neck and escorted her to the shampoo station. Jane was unusually silent, and Ruby purposefully didn’t initiate a conversation, sensing her need for peace. After she’d finished the shampoo and conditioning, they moved back to her station to blow-dry her hair. Ruby combed through Jane’s hair with her fingers, getting a feel for the texture and thickness.

“Vesta uses a curling iron rather than rollers on your hair, right?”

Jane was eyeing herself in the mirror, trying to remember what she had looked like when she was young, but she’d forgotten. All she saw now was a middle-aged woman with a round face, a wide nose, and double chins. She was lost in thought when she suddenly realized Ruby was asking her a question.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“Vesta uses a curling iron, right?”

“Yes. I don’t have the patience for rollers and sitting under a dryer anymore.” Then she smiled. “I take that back. I shouldn’t say
anymore
, because I never did like to sit still. Some things never change, I guess.”

The moment that came out of Jane’s mouth, Luwanda Peeples took her private conversation with Vera to the room.

“I’ll say that’s right, Jane. Some things never change, like another member of that no-good Pine family in trouble with the law! I’ve been telling Vera here what a crime it is that four decent little boys were taken to jail for nothing more than a little scuffle. Everyone knows the Pines are just white trash. The mother is dead from drugs and the father is in prison, and yet that Pine boy got off scot-free after the fight and those dear boys are the ones in trouble. They all go to my church, and I think it’s a crime what happened.”

Ruby had just brushed a hank of Jane’s wet hair around the bristles of a vent brush and had the dryer only inches from her scalp when Jane spun her chair around so fast Ruby lost her grip. The brush slipped from her hand, tangling in Jane’s hair as it dangled down the back of her neck.

Jane could have cared less. She was so angry with Luwanda, she was shaking.

“I can’t say you don’t have a right to voice your opinion, but if you’re going to gossip, Luwanda Peeples, then you need to get your facts straight.”

Luwanda’s eyes widened in shock and then narrowed in anger. The emanating hiss she emitted was reminiscent of a pissed-off snake.

“That’s not gossip! I heard it straight from Buckley’s gardener who also does my yard.”

“Well, I know for a fact that everything that came out of your mouth is a big fat lie, and I got it from Johnny Pine himself!” Jane shouted.

Ruby wondered if she needed to stop this before it got any worse, but she was privately pleased to hear someone speaking up for the Pines, and so she said nothing. However, an unwise decision is usually recognized only in hindsight, and such was the case.

“I don’t lie!” Luwanda shrieked and leaned forward in the chair.

The hair spray Vera just spritzed went down the back of Luwanda’s neck, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“So tell me how it’s okay for four older boys to gang up on one little boy who is much younger and smaller?” Jane snapped.

Luwanda sputtered. “Well, he must have been doing something to—”

“Oh yes, he did something all right! He got gum stuck in his hair. His brother cut it out and sent him to school, where four bullies decided not only to taunt him for it, they kicked him all over the room.”

Luwanda gasped. “That’s not how—”

“That little Pine boy is one of
my
boys. He’s seven years old and in the second grade. He’s barely past a baby and now, because of those little thugs, he has a broken nose, broken ribs, loose teeth, black eyes, and deep muscle contusions. Your little choir boys brutalized him and I, for one, am furious about it!”

Luwanda’s lips flapped but no words came out.

Vera was shocked. She knew he’d been hurt but had no idea to what extent.

“Are you serious? They did all that?” she asked.

“Yes, they did. I spoke to Johnny myself. They had to take him to the emergency room, and he can’t go to school for Lord knows how long. And Johnny didn’t call the police; the doctor did. Assault is against the law and the victim was a child. It was his duty.”

Luwanda tore off her cape, flung a twenty-dollar bill on Vera’s counter and grabbed her purse as she took a step toward Jane.

Jane stood, the vent brush still dangling down the back of her neck and her fingers curled into fists.

Right in the middle of the Curl Up and Dye, the two middle-aged women sized each other up like two broody setting hens with only one nest between them.

“I never took you for a lover of white trash,” Luwanda snapped.

Jane’s eyes narrowed. “White trash isn’t a location, Luwanda Peeples. It is how someone acts, and in my book, you just put yourself right in the Dumpster.”

Luwanda gasped. “I won’t forget this!”

Jane shook her head. “I should hope not. Maybe next time you’ll get your facts straight instead of spreading lies.”

Luwanda charged for the front door at a lope while the rest of the women watched her go. The door squeaked as she yanked it open, and then she slammed it shut behind her.

Ruby thought to herself that she needed to oil those hinges. The silence afterward was almost uncomfortable until Mabel Jean came in the back door. She took one look at the women and grinned.

“What did I miss?”

Ruby looked at Vera, and then they both looked at Jane and burst into laughter.

Mabel Jean’s grin widened.

“Come on. Really. What happened?”

Jane plopped back down in Ruby’s chair.

“I’m not going to apologize,” she muttered.

Ruby carefully unwound the vent brush from Jane’s hair and turned on the dryer.

“And you should not. Do you part your hair on the right or on the left?”

Chapter 5

Yesterday it was rain that had kept Granny’s Country Kitchen busy, and today it was the elementary school scandal. Everyone had taken sides, and they weren’t shy about voicing it. Granny’s was the best forum in town.

Lovey held an early morning employee meeting in the kitchen, cautioning her employees not to get involved in the growing disagreement, but it was all they could do to take and serve orders without commenting, because everyone had an opinion.

The waitresses kept Dori and Walter filled in on what was being said as they hustled in and out with orders. But the uglier the comments became, the angrier Dori became. A little boy had been seriously injured, and half the town seemed to have forgotten that. She was banging pots and clanking cutlery with obvious vehemence, voicing her opinion of the whole mess in a somewhat subversive manner.

Walter slapped another couple of hamburger patties on the grill and then put some buns off to the side to toast. He didn’t know what to make of Dori’s behavior. Normally she was so quiet, he almost forgot she was there, but not today. He looked at her again and decided she wore anger well.

Dori caught him looking at her and frowned.

“What?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Walter drawled and then went back to cooking.

She turned her back on him and began emptying the freshly washed dishes from the conveyor.

When two o’clock rolled around, it was none too soon for Dori. She got her things and started home, then remembered she needed diapers for Luther Joe and turned left at the corner toward the supermarket.

The farther away from Granny’s she walked, the better she felt. After yesterday’s rain, everything smelled fresh and clean. Too bad the rain couldn’t wash away the ugliness in Blessings.

She was thinking about what to make for supper as she crossed the street and walked into the supermarket parking lot.