Apron Strings (8 page)

Sighing, he hung his jacket over the dining room armchair.

“Go on now, do what your mother says,” he said, patting one of us on the backside.

My mother called into the kitchen. “Ethel, Mr. Joe is home,” as the two of them disappeared into the living room.

Ethel, wiping her hands on her apron, ushered us upstairs where she stripped us down and started our baths. More often than not, she would bathe all three of us at the same time. All lined up in the claw foot tub, we
waited our turn to get scrubbed, rinsed, dried and dressed before returning to the kitchen to eat our dinner. After dinner, we trooped into the living room to kiss our parents goodnight.

Stuart managed almost every night to get home just before dinner was on the table. I felt sorry for her because she had to eat in the dining room with Daddy and our mother. She’d slip out as soon as she could, sometimes in tears, go up to her room and close the world out. Sometimes Daddy would go up afterward and they’d talk, but I never knew what about. I think she would have happily stayed downstairs if my mother weren’t around. They couldn’t say a word to each other that the other one wouldn’t jump on. It seemed the more Stuart grew up, the less she had to say to any of us.

Not that it took much in those days, but it seemed like everytime Daddy went up to talk with Stuart afterwards my mother and he would get into a big fight. Doors slammed and sometimes I could hear glass and china smash against the wall. One morning we came down for breakfast and Ethel was cleaning plaster out of the sink and her big black skillet was covered in paint and plaster chips. “The shouting and cursing was flat out terrible last night.” I said. She didn’t say anything but stopped what she was doing and bent down and hugged me tight.

“I didn’t hear anything.” Helen mumbled with her mouth full of thumb.

Ethel let me go and patted Helen on the head. “Honey, go on and sit down. Ethel gonna make you some hot chocolate with marshmellows. How ‘bout that?”

“I had to put my pillow over my head and pray that they wouldn’t kill each other last night.” I said. “I just hate it when they do that.”

“I know, darlin’.” Ethel said shaking her head, “I know.”

Chapter 5

“H
ave any plans today?” Daddy asked my mother as they sat at the breakfast table reading the newspaper. I was playing at being a waitress and clearing the table.

“No, I hear it’s going to be hot, so I thought I’d stay home and enjoy that new air conditioner. Why? Do you have something in mind?” She folded her paper and placed it neatly by her plate. “Sallee, tell Ethel we’d like some more coffee, please. Oh, excuse me, I meant to say, Miss, may we have some more coffee?” She looked at Daddy to confirm.

He shook his head. “None for me, but I’d like the check, please.” He winked at me.

As I left the dining room with their plates, I heard Daddy say, “I thought we could take the children for a picnic up to Crabtree Falls. I remember how much you used to love hiking there. It ought to be much cooler in the mountains.”

I put the plates down by the sink with a loud clatter. “Ethel, Mama wants some more coffee!” I shouted, turning on my heels as quickly as I was able. I was half way out the door when Ethel’s head shot up from her task. “Mind them dishes!” she said. “Where you goin’ so licktey split? Ain’t you gon’ to carry your mama her coffee? You can pour it like a real waitress do, from the pot.”

“No, I gotta go.” I danced from one foot to the other.

“Well, you can take it when you get back from the baffroom. Don’t forget to wash yo’ hands.”

“Will you do it?” I didn’t wait for an answer. I rushed from the kitchen. I had to find Gordy and tell him the news.

As I passed the dining room, I heard my mother say, “Oh, it’s much too hot for me to go.” I stopped dead in my tracks. “But why don’t you, if you want? I’ll stay home with Helen. She’s still too young for that hike. Ethel can make the three of you a picnic before she takes the rest of the day off.”

“She’s already working on it,” he said. “I asked her first thing.”

I gave a delighted little hop. Taking two steps at a time all the way to the third floor, I was gasping in deep gulps by the time I reached Gordy’s room.
Not here
,
darn. Where could he be?
I wondered out loud. I slid down the bannister, ran around the second floor landing, and slid down the main bannister to the front hall. Gordy came running out of the dining room and met me as I slid to a stop. “Guess what?” he shouted. “We’re going on a picnic to Crabtree Falls!”

“I know,” I said, bouncing up and down like the red ball on that television show,
Sing A-long with Mitch
.

“Settle down, you two,” Daddy said as he walked out to the hall. “You need to get ready. Put on old clothes and tennis shoes.” As I turned to go back upstairs, I heard my mother talking softly to Helen. She was sitting in her lap with her thumb stuck squarely in her mouth. Big tears ran down her face.

“Don’t you worry,” my mother cooed. “We’ll do something special, too. I promise.”

Minutes later Gordy flopped himself on my bed dressed in a pair of tight shorts and a T-shirt that barely covered his belly button. “Too bad for Helen, huh?” he said. “Bet she’ll have to take a nap most of the day.”

Helen and my mother waved goodbye from the front door. I felt guilty about Helen’s misfortune for about as long as it took me to reach the car. Gordy raced ahead and then ran back to help Daddy with the picnic hamper. “It’s all right, son, I’ve got this. You get in the car.”

Mr. Dabney banged out onto his porch. He waved to me then sat down in a chair and stared at us like he was watching
Leave It to Beaver
on TV. I waved back. Daddy nodded first toward Mr. Dabney then for me to get into the car.

“I’ll go get Lance,” Gordy volunteered. He yelled frenetically, “Here Lance, here boy, here,” over and over as he ran to the kitchen porch to get the leash.

“Gordy, come back,” Daddy called. “We can’t take the dog.” Gordy and Lance trotted around from the other side of the house.

“Aw shucks, why?” Gordy whined. Lance cavorted up to the car, barking and wagging his tail.

“Remember the last time? He ended up in Greene County.”

“But…” Gordy’s glee was instantly dashed. He rubbed Lance’s broad head. “Sorry, buddy. You can’t come,” he said then crawled onto the front seat next to me. He swung the car door closed. “Stay, Lance. You hear?” The big dog sat down with his back legs splayed out then he flopped to the ground with a grunt and began to pant.

Daddy climbed in behind the wheel and reached across me to rub Gordy on the head. “It’s better this way, son. You know how he is when he catches a scent.” Daddy started the engine and patted Gordy again, this time on the knee. “When he puts that head down and starts baying, he’s gone for who knows how long. He’s a bloodhound, son. It’s what they do.”

“Sure, but…” Gordy started.

“Remember how upset you got when we couldn’t find him? And we had to leave cuz it was getting dark? Remember you cried?” I added.

“Did not!” he retorted.

“Did too,” I said.

“Enough!” Daddy bellowed. Then, just as loudly, he started singing “There’s a Hole in the Bucket.”

An hour later Daddy pulled off onto the side of the road and stopped the car. “That Henry must be really dumb,” I said.

Daddy shoved the gearshift lever into park and opened the door. “Who’s Henry?” he asked as he got out of the car. “Coming this way?” he asked with a tilt of his head.

I scooted over the seat to the driver’s side and hopped out onto the gravel. “Henry in the song. Why didn’t he just fix the bucket? He could’ve
carried water in something other than the bucket, like his hands. I don’t think he needed Liza to tell him all that unless he was just plain dumb.”

Daddy tousled my hair and laughed as he pulled the picnic basket from the trunk of the car. “That head of yours doesn’t stop spinning, does it?” he chuckled. He put the basket on the ground with a grunt. “Ethel must’ve thought we’d be gone for a week. This thing weighs a ton. How ‘bout we walk to the stream and eat? Then we’ll hike on up to the falls. We can have a swim when we get there. Here Gordy, you take this blanket.”

Soon we were spreading the blanket on a warm rock, pulling fried chicken, potato salad, deviled eggs, and cherry tomatoes from the hamper along with a thermos of lemonade, and forks, plates and napkins. Daddy whistled. “Ethel sure can pack a mean picnic,” he said.

“She sure can,” Gordy concurred, stuffing chicken in his mouth. He had a smear of deviled egg on his lip.

Daddy sat, leaning against a tree trunk with one knee up, eating slowly and watching as Gordy and I scarfed down our food. He held a chicken leg loosely in his fingers, his right hand draped causally over his bent knee. Smiling, relaxed in his madras shirt and khaki shorts, Daddy looked like a man in an ad on television.

With cookie crumbs flying from his mouth, Gordy said, “Race you to that rock over there.”

“I’m too full,” I groaned. I lay down with my head on Daddy’s outstretched leg. “I wish I hadn’t eaten so much. Ugh, I’m never going to eat again, ever,” I complained as I spread my hands over my stomach.

“Ever?” Daddy asked with a laugh. He laid his hand lightly on my shoulder. “Take a little rest. We don’t have any place to go—plenty of time.”

The last thing I heard was Gordy complaining, “Oh no, she’s not going to sleep, is she?” I drifted off.

When I awoke, Daddy and Gordy were both asleep. I stared up into the trees towering overhead and thought it might be the very best day ever. I slipped in and out of daydreams, wriggling to get more comfortable. I thought about how Daddy’s laugh made me feel good, like Ethel’s laugh. Not like my mother’s. I never knew with her. Daddy laughed when he thought something was funny and he never laughed at me.

I saw Daddy was looking down at me and smiling. “Daddy?” I smiled back., “Do you love me?”

“What do you think, you goose?”

“I think you do,” I said.

“I think you think right.”

“Will you love me no matter what?” I asked.

“Of course, forever; no matter what. Scout’s honor.” He held up two fingers. “Are you planning on doing something dreadful any minute, or do I have time to steel myself for it?” He laughed and moved to get up, poking Gordy with the toe of his sneaker. “Come on, buddy! We’ve got a date with a waterfall.”

As we climbed, Gordy and I must have taken thirty steps to Daddy’s one; we ran ahead, then back to him to show off whatever treasure we’d discovered. We galloped over fallen branches like ponies, and ran down to the icy stream, splashing our faces with water, and then scampered back up to the trail. By the time the climb grew steep, we had worn ourselves out and trudged behind Daddy like pack mules, huffing and puffing; sweat streaming down our faces.

Gordy stopped. “Come on, slow poke,” I said.

“Do you hear?” Gordy shouted. “The falls, do you hear?”

“I might be able to if you’d quit yelling!” Daddy stopped too and we all listened.

“It must be pretty close,” Gordy said. “At least, I hope so.”

“It’s a while still, Gordy. Do you need some help?” Daddy reached for Gordy’s hand and began to tug him up the hill.

“Me, too!” I shouted and stuck out my hand.

When we finally made it to the falls Daddy was dripping with sweat. Water cascaded down shelves of rock and pounded the stones in the pool below. Even the air around the falls was cooler.

“That water is going to feel pretty good,” Daddy said, letting go of our hands. “Race you in!” Daddy splashed into the pool, still wearing his clothes and sneakers. Gordy and I followed right behind him even though we had bathing suits on under our clothing. The icy water took my breath. Undaunted, we jumped in and out of the pool until we had scrapes on our knees from crawling over the rocks. In minutes, my teeth were chattering
and my fingers were blue. To escape the cold water, Gordy and I began to scout around in the ferns near the falls looking for snakes.

“You two might give up looking for snakes, especially there,” Daddy said. “They’ll be up in the rocks, sunning.” Gordy immediately scampered toward a pile of boulders outside the shade of the trees. “Don’t you go up on those rocks, Gordy,” Daddy warned. “There might be rattlesnakes up there!”

Of course Gordy kept on going. “Cool! Rattlesnakes!” he shouted.

Daddy leapt from the rock where he and I were sitting and latched onto Gordy like a hawk on a mouse. He snatched him so quickly I hardly knew what had happened.

“Son, I said don’t go up there!” Daddy looked scared, but not nearly as scared as Gordy who’d had the wind knocked out of him. “If a big rattler bit you, no more than you weigh, you’d be dead before I could even get you to the car,” Daddy said. He hugged Gordy close.

“Daddy, there weren’t any snakes,” Gordy whimpered when he finally got his breath back. “I just thought it would be cool to see one.”

“Way to go, Gordy,” I said. “Way to be stupid.”

“Now both of you listen,” Daddy said. “Snakes up here are nothing to be playing with. They’re big and they’re dangerous. So watch out.”

“Can we go home, Daddy?” I asked. “I’m cold and hungry.”

“Hungry? Weren’t you just saying you were never going to eat again?” Daddy asked with a laugh.

Certain a deadly rattlesnake lurked at each and every step, I watched the trail down from the falls as carefully as a mother watches her newborn. My soggy clothes clung to my skin, clammy and cold. “I wish I’d just worn my bathing suit. My clothes are all icky,” I complained.

“Well, take them off,” Daddy said.

“And walk down the mountain naked?”

“No, silly, you have a bathing suit on, don’t you?”

“Oh yeah.” I whipped off my shirt and shorts and my skin started to feel much better.

“Duh,” Gordy said, swinging his damp T-shirt over his head like a lasso. “Don’t say I’m the one that’s
stupid
.”

Gordy and I slept as Daddy drove us home.

My mother was reading in the sitting room as we clamored in. Helen was nowhere to be seen. “Shh, you’ll wake Helen, if not the dead,” she hushed us. “Looks like you had fun. You’re certainly dirty enough.”