Authors: Karina Gioertz
Miss Margo sighed. “Harry, you raised a daughter. I'm sure you'll do just fine.”
Silently, I cheered for Miss Margo;
she was a no-nonsense kind of lady and I really appreciated that.
Still, Harry put up a fight. “That wasn't me. That was all Evelyn. Without her, I just don't think I can do it.”
Miss Margo had had enough. She was a compassionate woman, but she wasn’t above using guilt to get Harry to do what she knew would be best for all of us.
“You have to be completely sure about this. You are the only living relative these girls have. If they don't go with you, they go into the system, and the truth is that they will most likely have to be separated to find homes. Harry, you've already lost your daughter. Are you prepared to lose your grandchildren as well?”
Harry looked down at the ground again before glancing down the hall to where our room was. I ducked my head back inside just in time. Then I heard Harry say, “No, I guess not.”
Miss Margo had won.
The ride back to Angie was long and we were all squeezed into the front seat of Harry’s old Chevy pick-up. Harry hadn’t said much since we’d met. In fact, once Harry spoke with Miss Margo, we didn’t really hear much from her either. He had shown up the next day as Eli was being cleared to leave the hospital. He picked up the one small bag we had and led the way to the parking lot. I wanted to say something, but I was too shy. I just kept staring at Eli, willing her to open her mouth first – even at four years old, she wasn’t the slightest bit shy. Finally, half way into our trip, she did.
“Are we going to live with you now?”
Without taking his eyes off the road, Harry responded, “It looks that way.”
I couldn’t take it anymore. “Do we get to stay on your farm?”
I had heard stories from my mama about growing up there. She had talked about dogs, cows and horses. I had marveled at her stories, wishing I could be a part of them myself somehow, but my father had hated animals. He was a farmer himself, but all he had ever been interested in was cornfields.
“It's not a farm. Farms have chickens. There are no chickens. It's a ranch, and yes, that's where we are all going to live.”
Eli’s eyes widened at the sound of his gruff voice. Other children her age might have been scared by Harry, but she was clearly intrigued by him. Nothing much ever frightened Eli, although sometimes I wished it did.
“Did Mommy use to live there, too?” Eli asked.
Finally Harry’s gaze shifted. He looked at the three of us, and when he answered, his voice softened. “Yes she did.”
We drove the rest of the way in silence - much like it had been before we started talking.
Small Town Louisiana
The Summer of 2001
It was
early morning in our small town of Angie, LA. Downtown was quiet with a just a few people running their morning errands. Eli was blasting the radio in her rusty, old truck as she made her way down the otherwise peaceful streets. She was dressed in her usual work clothes, which consisted of washed out, holey blue jeans, a tank top, boots and a raggedy old cowboy hat she had stolen from Harry about a hundred years ago. Today I’d decided to tag along although Eli could have handled the errands herself like she did most of the time.
Without much warning or so much as a turn signal, Eli yanked her steering wheel to the left and pulled into the parking lot of the local feed store, cutting off Old Man Riggins in the process. She had hated the old man for getting her arrested back in high school for a cow tipping spree she had not only participated in, but had carefully planned and successfully executed. Even now, years later, she was happy to piss him off any chance she got.
Eli tipped her hat at Old Man Riggins as she got out of the truck, while he in turn gave her the finger as he passed by. Satisfied with his reaction, she smiled.
“Meet me back here when you’re done at the drug store,
Em. I’m gonna head over to the bank and make the deposit,” she explained. Within an hour, we were back at the feed store, and we walked along the side of the old, wooden building and around to the back where they stored the feed and hay. When we walked in, Eli was surprised to find that we were alone. She wandered through the aisles for a moment, scanning the newest merchandise, before she became impatient. Lifting her fingers to her lips, she let out a high pitched whistle, sure to get the attention of anyone within a five mile radius. Almost simultaneously, she heard an “Oh Shit” and a scuffle, followed by a loud thud as Simon’s ass hit the floor.
“Finally,” she said, her amusement clear in her voice.
We made our way to the back corner from which we’d heard the thud. Simon was still in the process of dusting himself off
when we found him. His mama and daddy had owned the feed store for nearly fifty years. Simon himself had been working there ever since the time he could walk.
“You didn’t get hurt, did you?” I asked.
Eli glanced at the ladder leaning up against the hay, then back at him. He was tall and lanky, with wavy blond hair.
Looks like he should be wearing a ‘handle with care’ sign
, I thought to myself as we eyed him up and down.
“Nah, soft landing and all that. Besides, it’s not the first time I’ve taken a fall from that high up,” he replied, rubbing his rear end.
“Yeah, didn’t you take a dive off the truck while you were unloading it last time I was here?” Eli asked, trying hard to bite back her smirk.
“Uh-huh. Something about your whistle just gets me every time. Anyway, the usual today?”
Eli nodded. “You want me to go pull the truck around?”
“Yes, Ma’am.” That was Simon. Always polite, no matter how many times you made him fall on his ass.
Once Eli pulled the truck over to the loading area, I watched as she and Simon worked together throwing feedbags into the bed, one after the other, until they were piled as high as they would go.
“There, that should be the last of it. Can I get you anything else today, Eli?”
“No, that ought to do it.” She walked back around to the front of the truck and got in. Simon was busy taking off his gloves.
“Alright, we'll just put this on your account then.”
Eli stuck her head out of the window and shouted over the radio that was blasting through the airwaves once again, “Thanks. Be sure to tell your mama I said 'hi'.”
“Will do,” Simon replied with a quirky little grin.
And away we went. I was surprised that Eli hadn’t given me what for about just sitting in the truck while she and Simon did all the heavy lifting. She’d been in an odd mood lately, and I wondered what was on her mind, but I didn’t ask. She’d talk about when she was good and ready and not a moment sooner. Besides, I had a sneaking feeling that whatever it was could in some way be traced back to Evey and I was in no hurry to find myself in the middle of whatever trouble was brewing between those two.
Eli drove down Main Street where she waved to a few people she knew before she veered to the left and took a road that led away from town. Soon, we were in the middle of nowhere and the road had gone from pavement to dust and dirt. Finally, we arrived at a large gate with a big sign that read, 'Wilson Ranch'. Eli pulled in and followed the long, dirt driveway up to the house. She parked the truck by the barn and got out.
Harry came walking out through the big barn doors when he heard that nasty old truck pull in. He had been waiting on us for nearly twenty minutes, which is a long time when you have hungry animals waiting and making it known that they intend to start making other arrangements
if you don’t feed them something soon.
“Get lost?”
Eli gave Harry the same look she’d been giving me her whole life. The look that said she wasn’t in the mood to play games.
“You
wanna make jokes or you wanna help us get this truck unloaded?”
“Who peed in your grits this
mornin'?” he asked. He was never quick to back down
Without answering, she just began unloading the truck, taking feedbags into the barn one at a time. Harry just shook his head and headed back up to the house. I watched her for a moment before I did the same. It didn’t take too long before Eli started talking again.
“While you were at the drug store, crazy Miss Ruth had me cornered at the bank for nearly half an hour talkin' about her grandson again!”
I smirked. “That sweet old lady must not like her grandbaby very much if she wants him to go out with you.”
“This is exactly what I'm sayin'! That poor city boy wouldn't make it through one day of my life. The last thing I need is some man who's afraid to get dirt under his manicured nails.”
Eli never was the kind of girl who was waiting around for Prince Charming to show up, mostly
because she had convinced herself early on that he didn’t exist anyway. It didn’t stop men from trying to date her from time to time, but they were always unsuccessful. Eli made sure of that.
I stopped for a second to catch my breath. Then I asked, “Is that what you told, Miss Ruth?”
Eli paused as well. She looked uncomfortable. “If only. I'm not really sure what I said, but I may have agreed to have dinner with him the next time he comes for a visit.”
“You big softy,” I laughed.
Eli hated being laughed at even more than she hated the idea of dating. With one smooth motion she managed to pitch her raggedy, old glove right at the side of my head.
“Oh, please. I had to tell her something or else she never would have let me outta there!”
Before I had a chance to throw something back at her, Harry came walking back into the barn. He had his morning coffee in his right hand and the mail in his left. Shadowing his every move was Roscoe, a dog so old
he had been there almost as long as I had. Harry was a man of few words. When he spoke it was straight to the point. He was never big on small talk. Honestly, I wasn’t sure he was capable of it.
“Mail's here. Looks like you girls got a letter from
Evey.”
I looked at the envelope in his hand suspiciously. “Did you open it?”
“No, I didn't open it! Why would I open a letter that wasn't addressed to me?”
In spite of his lack of dialogue, he was never short on the drama.
Eli shook her head at him. “Wouldn't be the first time.”
I put away the feedbag I was hauling in and took the letter from Harry. Then I went to sit on a hay bale where I began to read it.
Patience was a virtue no Wilson possessed, least of all Harry. Usually he blamed it on his age, claiming he was running out of time and people just needed to hurry shit up.
“Well, don't keep us in suspense. What's it say?”
I looked up from the letter and announced, “Eve is pregnant!” If I’d taken a moment to think about it, I might have considered Eli’s reaction and not blurted the news out.
“Shut up! She got herself knocked up already? They've only been married six months!”
“Eli!” Harry frowned.
“What?”
There it was, without hesitation - the face of innocence. She’d perfected it over the years, although around these parts, everyone knew innocent
was not what she was.
Harry wasn’t prepared to let it go that easy.
“Would it kill ya to be happy for your sister?” he groused.
Eli began moving feedbags again. “I didn't realize this was a good thing,” she scoffed.
“Well, I'm happy! I can't believe she's going to have a baby,” I chimed in, thinking it was time to lighten the mood and move on.
Eli did not.
“I know. Sometimes I think she still is a baby.”
Harry was ready to be done with the conversation all together. It had already gone on too long for his liking anyway.
“You're ALL babies to me,” he said, and with that he turned around and left the same way he came, with Roscoe following close behind.
Eli and I finished unloading the truck and began feeding the horses, who had been busy snorting and digging their front hooves into the stall doors, waiting for us to get done. I looked at Eli and could tell that she was still chewing out
Evey in her head.
“What are you thinking?”
She didn’t even look up when she answered. Instead her entire body began to move faster and more intensely as she grew more and more agitated with the current topic in question.
“I'm thinking that little hussy was already pregnant when she married that prince of hers.”
“He has a name you know, and she may consider him her Knight in Shining Armor, but I know you sure as hell don't.” Eli had never liked him, not from the day she met him. But then she rarely cared for any man she met.
“That's 'cause I've never heard of a fairy tale where the prince knocks you up and then forces you to marry him and leave your family.”
“Sure you have; you've heard of 'The Shotgun Wedding'. Besides, we both know Preston didn't force Evey into anything, even if she was already pregnant.”