Lily of the Springs (34 page)

***

Jake finished up the last of Mother’s Almond Delight cake on his plate and drew away from the kitchen table with a contented sigh. “Lord, that’s a good cake, Lily Rae. Put some in my lunch box for tonight, will you?”

I nodded. “I’ll give you a few extra slices for the boys on your shift, too.” I glanced over at Debby Ann with a worried frown.

Her plump cheeks were still splotched by the torrent of tears she’d cried after her whipping. And I knew for a fact that her little legs and buttock still bore the cruel lashes of the hickory switch. My heart just about broke when I saw them. But I supposed Jake was right. The child
was
out of control. It was time we let the little imp know who was boss around here.

And Lord knows Daddy hadn’t spared the rod when it came to me and my siblings. The occasional whippings didn’t seem to have left any permanent scars on any of us. In fact, we were probably all better people for having been disciplined with a firm hand. Landry, 24 now, had been working at the feed factory since graduating from high school and was saving almost every cent he earned. He’d been dating Tresia Tarter, a former Miss Russell County Fair, going on two years now, and I figured it was just a matter of time before they got married.

Edsel, at 16, wasn’t going to be the best student Russell County High School turned out, but he sure was a hard worker on the farm. He was never happier than when he was on a John Deere, readying the Kentucky soil for planting.

At 12, Norry was pulling in straight A’s in 7
^th
grade, and every time I went back home for a visit, the girl constantly had her head in a book—not made up stories like the ones I liked to read, but big, boring books about marketing and economics. To be sure, we’d all four got our share of whippings, but we’d turned out okay.

So why did I feel so guilty every time I looked at Debby Ann?

The poor kid had barely touched her supper, and it was one of her favorites—pork chops and mashed potatoes with nice ripe tomatoes straight from the garden patch out back.

I sighed. I probably wouldn’t feel like eating either if I’d just had my backside switched.

“Debby, honey,” I said softly. “Just finish your mashed potatoes, and then you can have some cake.”

Debby turned a pair of big sad eyes on me. “I’s not hungee,” she said.

“But sweetie—“

“Leave her be, Lily Rae,” Jake cut in. “She’ll be hungry tomorrow morning, I reckon. You can get down, girl. Go on and play now.”

Debby climbed down from the stack of catalogs in her chair and plodded into the living room. My heart panged at the sight of the reddened welts on the backs of her legs, and again, doubts plagued me.

Jake reached for his pack of Winston’s on the table near his plate. “Did you read Meg’s letter,” he asked, fishing out a cigarette and placing it between his lips.

“Yes, I did. I’ll have one, too.” I indicated the pack of cigarettes, and he slid it across the table to me. “Lord, I just don’t believe she’s living in a beautiful place like Hawaii. Her new house sounds just gorgeous! Can you imagine looking out your front window and seeing Pearl Harbor?”

Jake lit his cigarette, took a draw and shrugged. “I suppose if you don’t mind looking at the spot where the Japs killed a shitload of American servicemen, it would be okay.” He slid his lighter down to me.

“Oh, you know what I mean! It’s just got to be a beautiful view is all.” I lit my cigarette.

He sat across from me at the rectangular dining room table, looking devilishly handsome in cut-off dungarees and a white T-shirt, rolled up to expose his muscular biceps. He’d tipped his chair back against the wall and was contentedly smoking his cigarette, his blue eyes mildly amused.

I wondered what was so durn funny about what I’d said. He leaned forward and flicked ashes into his plate, then stuck the cigarette between his lips. “Well, one thing is for certain,” he said. “My sister is—as my daddy would put it—riding to hell on a fast horse in a porcupine saddle!”

“Well, he would know all about riding to hell, wouldn’t he?” I shot back, unable to resist the opportunity to get in a dig at Royce Tatlow. “But why do you say that?”

“Mommy!” Debby Ann’s voice came from the living room. “Can I watch ‘Captain Kangaroo?’”

“I don’t know if it’s on now, honey, but you can turn on the TV and see.”

Debby must’ve been standing right in front of the television because before I’d barely finished speaking, the sounds of a Brill Creme commercial blared from the living room.

“Turn it down, Debra Ann!” Jake shouted. “The whole neighborhood don’t need to hear it!”

“I don’t know how,” Debby wailed.

I jumped up. “I’ll do it.” I ran into the living room and turned down the volume. Then I turned to my daughter and was shocked by the look on her face. Stark fear.

My heart caught in my throat. “Oh, baby, come here.”

She melted into my arms, and I hugged her tightly, kissing the top of her warm, blonde head. “Oh, sweetie. Don’t look like that.”

Debby Ann nestled in my arms, turning her lips so they were inches from my ear. “I’s be good. Daddy don’t spank Debby Ann no more, Mommy, okay?”

I swallowed hard, trying to dislodge the lump that had formed in my throat. “Oh, honey, I know you’ll be good. We don’t like spanking you, sweetie. But you’ve just got to stop throwing temper tantrums like that, okay?”

Debby nodded, her flushed face pressed up against my polka-dot halter top. I stroked her hair and gently pulled away. Jake would be wondering what was taking me so long.

“Let’s see if we can find something on TV.”

“Captain Kangaroo” wasn’t on, but I found a puppet show. By the time I stepped back into the dining room, Debby Ann was curled up on the couch, her thumb in her mouth, her eyes on the TV screen.

Jake gave me an appraising look as if he knew exactly what I’d been up to, so I spoke before he got a chance to. “So, you gonna tell me why you think your sister is bound for hell?”

He released a thin ribbon of blue smoke. “I reckon I’ll have to explain things to you, since you’re so ignorant and all.”

“Explain what?” I took my seat and reached for my cigarette in the ashtray.

“Meg and that woman she’s moved in with. I reckon it hasn’t occurred to you that they’re living like a married couple?”

I stared at him blankly. “What do you mean, a married couple?”

He gave a sly grin. “They’re sleeping together, Lily Rae. They’re…doing things to each other…you know, the kind of things a man and woman do together. Well, except for what’s missing.”

My brows furrowed. “You’re talking in riddles, Jake. Can’t you just say what you mean?”

His chair slammed down to the floor. He placed his tanned elbows on the table and leaned toward me, his eyes glittering with amusement. Yet, there was something mean in them, too.

“They’re fucking each other, Lily Rae!
Christ
! Is there anybody in the world more innocent than you? You mean you’ve never heard of lesbians?”

I just looked at him. Lesbians? Wasn’t that some kind of actor? No, that wasn’t right. The word I was thinking of was “thespians.” I remembered that from drama class in high school.

“No, I guess I haven’t ever heard of that word, Jake. And I reckon I
am
ignorant, but at least I have a high school diploma, which is more than you’ve got. Anyhow, what makes you think Meg is a…
lesbian
just because she moved in with another woman. Ain’t you ever heard of roommates?”

Jake eased the back of his chair against the wall and took another long drag of his cigarette. “Hell, everybody knows that women who join the service are one of two things—whores or lesbians. When Meggie first joined the Army, I figured she must be a whore. Lord knows she’s too ugly to get a man any other way. But after reading her letter today, my suspicions are confirmed. She’s been talking about this Kay Waters ever since she got stationed at Fort Shafter. And now she’s moved in with her.” He nodded matter-of-factly. “They’re lesbians, all right. Bound for hell in a hand basket.”

I was still having trouble digesting all this. In the silence that fell, the high-pitched, cartoonish sounds of puppets engaged in an argument came from the living room. “But I still don’t understand how…” My cheeks grew warm. “… how two women…you know…without the necessary equipment…” My voice trailed off, and I had to look away from Jake’s laughing eyes.

“Well,” he said slowly. “They use their mouths and their fingers.”

“Oh.” Cheeks burning, I stubbed out my cigarette, jumped up and began to clear the table.

“But then,” he added, watching me. “You wouldn’t know anything about using your mouth, would you?”

I stacked the dishes at the side of the sink and began filling the basin with hot, sudsy water, deciding to ignore that last ugly remark. Even after all these years, he still wanted me to do immoral things that no Christian couple would ever dream of.

I dropped the dishes into the water and began to wash them. And then a thought occurred to me. I paused and turned to Jake. “So, if there’s such a thing as women who love other women, what about men? Are there men who…you know, love men?”

Jake’s chair crashed to the floor. He reached across the table and grabbed my ashtray, stubbing out his cigarette. Then he got up.

“Yeah, they’re called queers. And I’m not about to explain what they do because just thinking about it makes me want to vomit.” He strode toward the threshold of the living room. “I’m going to get a couple hours of shut-eye before work.” He paused and threw me a leering glance. “Why don’t you get Debby Ann to bed and come in and join me?”

I
’d just finished washing up the lunch dishes when the phone rang, and I rushed to answer it before the jarring sound woke Jake up. “Tatlow residence.”

“Lily Rae, is that you?”

The voice on the other end of the line was one I hadn’t heard in years, but I recognized it instantly. “Oh, my
Lord! Katydid
!”

Grinning, I took a step backwards, pulling on the cord of the phone so I could look out the window to check on Debby in the backyard.
Oh, good
. She was still playing in the sandbox Jake had bought with his last paycheck. “I don’t believe it! Where are you calling from?”

“Right here in Bowling Green. I live here now.”

“You
do
?”

“Just moved here a couple of months ago,” Katydid said. “After I graduated from nursing school at Vanderbilt, I found a job here at City Hospital.”

“Oh, wow! That’s wonderful, Katydid! How’s RJ?”

There was an odd silence on the other end, and then, “Oh, hon, you didn’t hear? We’re divorced. I caught him in a compromising position with a Vanderbilt cheerleader.”

I felt as if someone had kicked me in the stomach. RJ Skaggs? With a cheerleader? Why, he’d worshiped the ground Katydid walked on in high school. Finally, I found my voice, “Oh, Lord, Katydid! I’m
so
sorry!”

“Don’t be.” Katydid gave a short, bitter laugh. “He did
me
a favor. I’m just grateful he did it while I’m still young and good-looking instead of waiting until I’m old and fat and unable to attract another man. But hey, that’s old news. I’m doing fine. Anyhow, I was on my lunch break, and guess who I ran into at the diner on Main Street? Jinx Foley! I about died when she told me you live here, too. Before you know it, half the population of Bowling Green will be from Russell County.”

I laughed, glancing back out the window to check on Debby again. Still playing in the sandbox like a little angel. Even Debby Ann Kitty had risked coming within ten feet of her and was curled up in the sun, dozing.

“Listen,” Katydid went on. “I get off work at four, and I’d love to stop by and see you and the baby. Jinx says she’s just gorgeous.”

“Uh…” I thought quickly. Of course, I’d love to see Katydid, but the timing was terrible. Tonight was the big annual barbecue pool party given by the president of Jake’s company. It was supposed to start at 6:00.

Katydid caught my hesitation and said, “If it’s not a good time…”

“Well, now, it’s just that we’re supposed to be somewhere at six, and I’d hate to cut our visit short since it’s been so long…”

“I know what!” Katydid said brightly. “Do you have a car? Maybe you could meet me for lunch one day next week. If you don’t mind cafeteria food, we could stay right here in the hospital. The food’s pretty good, believe it or not.”

I thought about it. Well, why not? Jake would be sleeping, so I’d have the car. It would be a nice outing, and God knows I deserved a chance to get out of the house more often. When we first moved here, I’d figured me and Jinx would get together a lot, but the twins kept her so busy, she hardly ever could go out and do anything. So I’d pretty much stopped suggesting getting together, except for the occasional Friday or Saturday evenings when the four of us played cards.

“I’d love to do that,” I said. “You just tell me which day is good for you, and we’ll be there.”

We settled on Monday, and I hung up the phone, smiling. It would be fun seeing Katydid again. I stepped out the back door, mentally preparing myself for the daily battle of putting Debby Ann down for her nap.

The sandbox was empty, and I felt a momentary anxiety until I saw Debby down at the back of the yard where trees and shrubbery grew up against the fence. She was on her knees, peering under a three-inch gap in the bottom of the fence.

“Debby Ann Kitty, come
back, I
said
!”

I couldn’t help but grin. It looked like Debby Ann Kitty had finally found a way to outfox her namesake. One of these days, if that cat had any sense at all, it would hi-tail it out of here and never come back.

***

I thought I looked right nice in my new strapless one-piece swimsuit--a bright red number with a wide white satin border along the bust line, which really emphasized…well, my bust. But when I walked into the living room to show it off to Jake, he barely gave me a second glance. “Nice, Lily. Better put something on over it and let’s get going.”