Pearl (9 page)

The high-pitched shrill of Granny’s phone ringing made everyone jump. Supper had just finished. The men lounged in front of the evening news as the women wrapped the last bowl of leftovers to go in the fridge. Pearl was still reeling with humiliation that Roy had lied to her, and she envisioned a night alone in her room with time to think. She had been silent at supper. She fumbled with her food, feeling sick at the idea that Roy had to make up a story in order to get out of spending time with her. She was just at the stairway when Cindy called out. “Pearl, phone’s for you!”
 

Pearl stopped, her hand wrapped around the knob. Roy spun his head to look at her. “Who’s calling you?” he said in accusing tones.
 

Pearl shook her head. “I don’t know.”

She picked up the receiver, all eyes staring at her as she said hello.

“Hi, doll!” Sammie said cheerfully. “How are you feeling? I wanted to call yesterday, but figured you needed a day to rest.”

“Hi, Sammie,” Pearl said, turning herself from the gawking eyes. “I’m good.”

“So listen, we’re all heading down to Wriggs tonight in Mullington. You don’t even need a fake ID—no one cares in this town if you’re twenty-one or not as long as you’re buying their drinks. Wanna come?”

Pearl looked up to see Roy’s cold stare, the black coal in his eyes resurfacing. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
 

Sammie laughed. “Still recovering?”

“Yeah,” Pearl said quietly. “I’m just not up for it.”

“Suit yourself,” Sammie said. “I’ll give you my number. If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.”

Pearl hung up the phone. She could feel Roy standing behind her before she turned around.

“Sammie Lynn Taylor?” Roy asked with his brow raised. “How do you know Sammie?”
 

Pearl shrugged, turning to face him. “Met her down at Fitch’s. She’s sorta a friend.”

“Well,” Roy huffed, “I don’t think that is a very good idea.”

Pearl’s shoulders shrank as he scolded her. “Roy, that’s not very fair.”

“Not fair? I’m working my ass off all day, what are you doing?” He threw the newspaper on the ground. “Fair, my ass.”

“That’s not what I meant,” Pearl said, stung by Roy’s abrasive tone. “I just mean that you get to go out with friends, I think I should be able…”

“Fine!” he barked, cutting her off. “Go hang out with those pot-smoking losers and see how long you last on this farm!”

Pearls eyes welled up with tears as he stomped to the door. She ran after him, catching up to him outside the chicken coop.

“Roy, wait,” she cried out. “I won’t talk to her if it bothers you this much.”

He whipped around, his body pressing against hers. “You want to know what bothers me?” he growled. “Cindy says you’ve been acting like a real snob around here, says you only help out when I’m around to see it. That you hide in your room, moping and feeling sorry for yourself all day.”

Pearl grabbed his arm desperately. “Roy, it isn’t true!”

“She even said you been running around on me, said she saw you in that car the other night. And I heard someone saw you down at that party at Holmes Field. Want to tell me that ain’t true?”

“It’s isn’t what you think, Sammie just…”

“Sammie has nothing to do with this. And what’s this about you having a bad attitude with Granny?”

She felt a blow to her stomach that almost knocked her over. All she had been was nice to the old woman. How could she possibly think she had a bad attitude?

Roy crossed his arms over his chest, putting a blockade between them. “Some people are even wondering why I brought you on the farm in the first place. Should I be wondering, too?”

“No, Roy,” Pearl whimpered. “Of course not.”

 
“Who do you want me to believe?”

“Ask Vernie,” Pearl begged. “She knows. Sammie, I just wanted a friend, that’s all. I’m so lonely.” She began to cry. “You’re gone all the time. And Cindy has hated me since the day I got here.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Roy rumbled.
 

Pearl glared up at him through tear-glossed eyes. “It is true! You’re just never here to see it!”

He grabbed her by her bare shoulders, his grip digging deep into her skin. “What do you expect me to do? Beg for money?” He ignored her sob. “Do you want to starve? Some people have to work for it, you know.”

He shook her once before letting her go. He spat on the ground before turning back toward the coop. “Maybe you should have stayed in Arizona playing mommy.” He slammed the door behind him, leaving her trembling in the dark.
 

CHAPTER 8

“I have to go to the bathroom,” Granny said with her bell in her fist, and a lack of shame in her voice. She had suffered another mini stroke, her second in two years. To Vernie’s fury, Granny refused to go to the doctor, saying they wouldn’t tell her anything different than they did the last time. She was nestled in bed, her hand wrapped tightly around her bell, which shrilled at Pearl every ten minutes for help.

Pearl lifted the skeletal woman, surprised by her hefty weight. She dug her knees into the bed for support and pulled Granny to a sitting position.
 

“Careful with me, girl,” Granny grunted. She dug her bony fingers into Pearl’s shoulders as she hoisted herself out of bed.

“Damn this useless body,” she swore.

Pearl eased her to the toilet, turning her head from the burning stench of old urine. When Granny was through, Pearl helped lift her stockings back over her bottom and eased her ratty nightgown down over her knees. Granny stood motionless, succumbing to the vulnerability of knowing that she could no longer do simple tasks by herself.

“You never imagine you’re going to be this way,” Granny said simply as she settled back in bed. Pearl fluffed a pillow to support Granny’s back.

“Can I get you anything?” Pearl asked, inching toward the door.

Granny waved her hand as though swatting at an annoying fly. “Do I need anything?” she huffed, as though Pearl had asked if she would like to go join her in a jog.

“I’ll tell you what I need. I need for these damn bones to stop falling apart on me. I need my mind oiled up. I swear, I forget what I had for breakfast two hours ago. You’ll see,” she said with a shake of her finger. “I was young and beautiful once like you, too.”
 

Granny shut her eyes. As the seconds passed, Pearl thought Granny must have fallen asleep. She turned toward the door, her feet creaking on the hard wooden floor.

“I was a good wife,” Granny said, causing Pearl to stop and look. She stood frozen from the fierceness in Granny’s expression.

“A good wife,” she repeated. “I’ve always been a strong woman. That’s imperative when marrying into the Blackwood family. I knew when to keep my mouth shut, and did as I was told. He thought he ran the house.” She laughed without smiling. “But he was the fool. This has always been my home, my children that I raised, and I raised them good. I don’t care what anyone says about them.”

Pearl swallowed hard.
 

Granny’s eyes bored into Pearl. “You do as Roy tells you. Keeping a man happy is the essence to a good life. You turn your head to his misgivings. They think we don’t know, but we always know. But, Pearl, I will tell you this,” Granny said, her chin jutted out in astonishing vigor. “You don’t ever let him break your spirit. You show him your weakness, and the game is over. He won.”

Granny rested her head back against the pillow, her eyes closed and a gentle snore escaping her open mouth.
 

Pearl returned to the kitchen, trying to shake the chill from her arms. She returned to her chores, peeling potatoes and doing her best to stay distracted from thinking about Granny’s words. No one ever spoke of the men who once ran this farm, from Granny’s husband to Roy’s and Darren’s fathers, yet the presence of them was always in the shadows. They were talked around, in the essence of stories or back history of the land. All that was left were the women to run the farm with the help from the mysterious men’s offspring.

“Need some help?”
 

Pearl jumped at the voice, the potato slipping from her fingers. She had been so deep in thought she hadn’t heard the door open.

“Vernie, you startled me.”
 

“You need a break,” Vernie said sternly. “Go take a walk. I’ll watch over Granny.”

Pearl placed the potato in the bowl, passing the peeler to Vernie. Tempted as she was to get some fresh air, she couldn’t muster more energy than to walk to the dining room table. She studied Vernie as she worked, her body thick and tight in her aged house dress. Vernie never wore pants, even as the heat turned to cold rain. Her body was soft, but her bones were strong. She held her back straight and firm as though protecting herself from powerful winds. It wasn’t the weather or a tornado Vernie was guarding herself from. Pearl sensed it was the storm of Vernie’s past, which she had somehow survived.
 

“Vernie, what happened out here? Where are Roy and Darren’s parents?”

Vernie peeled briskly, keeping her gaze down. “Ah, so Roy never told you,” she acknowledged. “I figured as much.” She rinsed the spud under water and placed it in the bowl. “Pearl, dear. You’ve brought me great pleasure being on this farm. And I love nothing more than sharing my stories with you, but I’m afraid I will have to pass on that one. I believe when Roy’s ready, he’ll tell you himself.” She dried her hands with a towel and pulled up a seat across from Pearl. Pearl hadn’t even noticed the two glasses sitting in front of them until Vernie pulled out the bottle and filled them to the rim.
 

“However, there is a story I can share.” Vernie took a sip, a loud sigh escaping her lips as the warm liquid seeped down her throat. “Those boys saved my life,” she said with a shake of her head, her black hair bouncing. “I was married once. Many years ago to a man named Eddie. He was such a fine-looking fellow, a little rough around the edges, but aren’t they all?” She stared out the window, deep in thought. “Oh, and how I loved him. We even had a baby girl. I named her Evelyn after my grandmama.” Vernie took another sip, to which Pearl lifted her own glass. She took a sip and shook off the bitter bite of moonshine as it stung her throat.

 
“Not more than four months old when I found her in her crib, cold. Just like that, happened while I was sleeping.” Vernie paused. “I couldn’t get out of bed for months, and seems my husband didn’t want to have to deal with that. He left just shortly before I took in Roy and Darren.” She finished her drink in one last gulp. “Weren’t for those boys, I think I’d have gone mad.”

The day was more than Pearl could bear. What she needed was an escape. Roy bailed out of coming to see her, saying he was tired and heading to bed early. Pearl waited ’til the lights in the chicken coop went off before she headed out the door and down the driveway.

The sound of the crickets in the grass sang though the farm. The fresh rain of mid-October sweetened the hayseed, bringing wonderful flavor to the air. The light of the stars shone bright as the moon led Pearl like a compass down the gravel driveway. As she came to the bend in the road, just past the trailer, she saw the beam of lights from a car hidden behind the oak trees. Puzzled as to why Sammie would have her lights on, Pearl picked up her pace to head to the car before coming to a dead stop at the sound of Cindy’s laugh.

Pearl’s heart plunged as she drove her body into the prickly brush only fifty feet from the car. She poked her head above the shrub to see Cindy pressed against a man Pearl didn’t recognize.
 

“Come on, Cindy,” he pleaded. She hushed at him, waving her hand to his lips.
 

“Did you hear that?” she asked, her eyes searching the dark.

“Probably a deer or some animal. Can we go now?”

Cindy pulled away from him, her gaze darting to the bushes. He opened the door, and she slid in. Crouching against the barbed wire, Pearl watched them drive away. Only moments later, Sammie’s car came into view.

“You look like you’ve seen a wild cougar or something,” Sammie said as Pearl slid in beside her.
 

“Cougar is right,” she mumbled.

“Well, let’s go take your mind off. Wriggs is calling our name. Where’s Roy tonight?”

“Sleeping.”

Sammie laughed. “I’m sure he is.”

Pearl eyed her friend. She had to admire Sammie for being a straight talker. Sammie had more balls on her than any man Pearl knew. She envied her for her sharp tongue.
 

“Do I look okay?” Sammie asked, knowing full well she looked incredible in her hip-hugging jeans and plunging sweater. “There’s a guy there tonight I want to get a piece of. He’s in a band.”

“You look great,” Pearl said. She could never compare, with her loose blouse and worn denim. But she was in no position to compete; she had Roy. She wasn’t looking for a man.

Wriggs was a dump filled with farm kids in a haze of smoke. Pearl lit a Virginia, her gaze scanning over the pool tables and beat-up jukebox in the corner. It was her first time in a bar, and she did not see what the fuss was about.
 

“Come on,” Sammie said, tugging at her arm. “Why do you look so scared?”

Pearl shook the stunned look off her face. “Sorry, this is just new to me, that’s all.”

“What? A bar? Don’t you and Roy do this kind of stuff?”

Pearl shook her head.

“What the hell do you do, then?” Sammie asked as she sauntered up to the counter.

Pearl was glad her friend wasn’t looking at her. She couldn’t hide her shame. “Nothing, really. Not since we’ve been here.”

Sammie pulled up a bar stool, and lit a smoke. “What do you mean? Like, you don’t go out at all? What about before here?”

Pearl shrugged. “We went to movies and regular stuff. There was a lookout point we liked to go parking at.” Pearl felt self-conscious at Sammie’s stare. “Roy would bring beer sometimes, and we’d hang out there.”

Sammie laughed wildly. “Well, by God, it’s like you’re already an old married couple. How sad!”