My Old True Love (6 page)

They almost come to blows about Larkin’s name of all things. I always wondered when that would break out, and it happened right here at the house, too. We was having a frolic and Hackley had put his fiddle down and was out with the men drinking. Now, do not get me wrong. I am not above having a drink myself now and again, but I am not for getting knee-walking drunk. I never did see no sense in that and still don’t. But the men had ganged up and Sol Bullman’s liquor was flowing like water that night. And Sol’s liquor went down sweet and you didn’t realize it had you till you was plumb cross-eyed and talking in tongues. As you probably know, they is happy drunks and mean drunks and crazy drunks. Hackley was a crazy drunk and wanted to go to fighting every time. So he’d had him a few drinks and, foolish like, Larkin set in about his name. Why Granny had mentioned it in the first place is beyond me, but she did. Larkin set right in wanting to know just how it was that Hackley had come up with his name. And Hackley said, “It just come to me.” Larkin’s eyes was black as the night and he said, “Is that right?” Hackley allowed that it was. They went back and forth for a bit and of a sudden they was both mad as hell and right in each other’s face. I run in between them and said for them to both hush. Hackley barked out a laugh and said, “Well, I was just four year old, what did you expect?” And Larkin said, “Something better than being named after a coon dog.” And me desperate to keep them from fighting, blared out, “Well, he
was a damn good coon dog,” which set everybody to laughing including Hackley and Larkin. Later I told Larkin he ought to have been thankful ’cause Mommie had told me Aunt Polly aimed to name him after Grandpap Shelton. And he allowed as how that might have been better and I allowed back as how no, it would not have, since Grandpap’s name was Redderdick.

But they stayed into it with them other boys around home. Zeke come in laughing one night telling me how a bunch of them had got to playing poker, which I do not believe in because it is spending money that none of us has. He said Hoy and Roy McIntosh was there and I knowed what he was going to say before he said it. I really think Hackley just did not like the way they looked or held their mouths or something just as foolish because they got into it every time they run up on each other. That was the first time that I heard how Hack-ley and Larkin had took to fighting back to back. When I thought of how deadly the two of them would be doing that I got the cold chills. Larkin that had them big fists and Hackley that would not quit.

W
HEN
D
ECORATION
D
AY COME
it seemed like everybody in the world headed out to Sodom. It was always on the second weekend in August and folks started coming in on that Friday. Everybody was in a right festive mood and we’d all gang up and clean off every grave in every cemetery. It looked so pretty on that Sunday with all the graves mounded and raked smooth. I have thought about that a lot over the years and know now that they had to have been graves we didn’t even know about. When I think of all the folks that has died, been buried, and forgot about, it makes me know that our lives are but a flash in the pan and we really are a short time here and a long time gone.

I have to tell you now that this year was different. I felt it right off as soon as we got to the church. I am not saying it looked any different. The little church was no big fancy thing, just a little box shape with a steeple on top in which, I’m proud to say, was a bell that we had bought from up north. On the inside we had benches that didn’t have splinters on them, which is a good thing. I have set on ones that did and that was not good, because if you study about it they is no good way to dig a splinter out of that part. At the front we had a pulpit and Zeke’s brother Hugh had rocked in a pretty fireplace. Two big old sugar maples stood guard on either side and they were a sight to see in the fall of the year. They give shade in the summer, and that was a good thing since it was hot as blazes this year. The men had knocked together a bunch of tables and they were already swagging with food by the time we got there to add our load. I’d cooked late into the night and got up before daylight to fry chicken and I know heaven could not smell no better than it did under them trees.

A clot of men had ganged up on the porch of Jim Leake’s store. Others stood about in the yard. I could not believe how quiet they was, so I just had to wander over there to see what and all was going on. They weren’t even milling about much, and I could still see where the dirt showed marks from Cassie’s broom.

I went over to where Larkin was leaning against one of the posts and leaned against him. He was as still as that post listening to Wade Hensley reading the results of the election for governor from the
Asheville News
. Nobody spoke until he finished reading every thing they was to read.

“Damned if Marshall didn’t go big for Ellis. Says here a hundred and fifty-six for him and eighty-two for Pool.”

“What about that!” Ruben Gosnell was whittling away and the
head and neck of a little bird that looked like a living thing was coming right up out of that stick. “What do you reckon they was thinking?”

“Not much, you want my opinion,” Shadrack said. I did not care for Shadrack even if he was Zeke’s brother. He put on airs and I told him that one time. I also told him that he put his britches on just like everybody else, so they was no love at all lost between us. “How anybody could vote for that lying suck-ass is beyond me. ’Specially after he shit us with all them promises to git that road in down through Paint Rock.”

“Bet Shelton Laurel laid it to Ellis’s hide, didn’t they?” Hugh said. I did like Hugh, and especially his wife Rosa. Me and her had been friends for all our lives and I knowed how good he was to her and their boys. They is something to be said about a man that is good to his wife and does not use his fists on her like some others I know—which would include Shadrack, I just might tell you.

Daddy was setting next to Wade and he leaned over and squinted at the little print in the paper.
Poor old Daddy,
I thought,
His eyes are getting bad.
“Ellis didn’t git a single vote in Shelton Laurel. Pool got fifty-one.” He looked up. “’Course, Ellis got four out of thirty votes in our district.”

Andrew Chandler give a wave of his hand that said oh-forget-about-that. “Bet that was them Eckerds off on Spillcorn. They been fools since God’s dog was a pup. Can’t even hold it against them. They can’t help it.”

As Wade folded up the paper, Daddy said, “Well, every other district in the county except Little Pine went big for Ellis, as did Buncombe County. It’ll be four more years of the same old shit.”

“What hurt Pool was that business about putting a tax on everything,”
Zeke said. Me and him had talked a long time about that over the last month and I had told him that them folks down east ought not to have to pay for our roads and such up here but they ought not to make us pay taxes on stuff we had to have to barely survive, neither.

Andrew snorted. “How exactly you reckon they was going to figure out what we had that they could put a tax on? Ain’t nobody coming into my house and nosing about, making lists.”

“Felt the same way, Andrew.” Daddy said. “But they was no way I was gonna vote for them yeller dogs that’s in, either. We was between a rock and a hard place.”

“Can’t trust none of them politicians far as you can rare back and throw ’em out in the yard, anyways.” Ervin Ramsey leaned forward and spit off the end of the porch. “Old Pearlie, God rest him, used to say the only folks fit to be in charge of things is them what don’t want to be.”

“I really miss old Pearlie,” Andrew said. “He had a way of putting things that went right to the quick.”

Wiley Franklin wiped his face. He was bad to sweat and his handkerchief was already sopping wet. “Well, now,” he said, “Pool said something a week or so ago that was right on the money. He said they’s a time coming and coming soon when we’re going to wind up gitting into it with each other over this slave thing. Said them what owns niggers here in North Carolina can’t raise twenty thousand men.” He waved his arm at all of us standing there, “Be up to
us
to come up with the rest of ’em.”

Greenberry Chandler said, “Far as I’m concerned, they ought to take all the niggers, load ’em on one of them big boats, take ’em about ten mile out into that big blue ocean and dump the lot of ’em.”

“Eh law, Greenberry,” Sol Bullman said. “That’s the most words you strung together at one time since you married that big-mouthed sister of mine!” We all busted out laughing, for he was married to Hattie. She come from a long line of midwives and she had a way about her that said do not mess with me in any shape, form, or fashion. Most of us had been brought into this world by the rough, work-hard hands of her grandmother, mother, or in mine and Larkin’s case, Hattie herself. It was a good thing Greenberry was a quiet man.

“But what about Tillman?” Andrew said.

I had not thought of Tillman Chandler in years. He used to claim me for his sweetheart but I did not claim him. He was tall and skinny, and if you was looking at Zeke you would know that I like men of a different sort. I did recall that Tillman had married a woman from Asheville whose daddy died not long after they’d set up housekeeping and that he had come into over two hundred acres and most of it good flat bottom land. It had never even flittered through my head that he would have to have slaves. But then why would it? They was no slaves in Sodom unless you counted the ones what was white and female.

“Damned if I know what to do about it,” Ruben said to them. His eyes never moved from the graceful curve of that bird’s wing. “But I do know it’s a mess, a pure-D mess. Don’t believe I understand all I know about this nigger thing anyhow.” He raised the bird, give it a good long eyeball, blew on it, and went back to carving. “Never seen a man of color myself.”

“Saw two of ’em last week when I was down in Warm Springs.” Zeke said. “Black as the ace of spades.”

“Well,” Ruben said, “I can just about guarantee it’ll come to war. They’s too much fussing back and forth amongst ’em in Raleigh and
up in Washington.”

“Goodness, fellers, I reckon not.” This was from old man Swan Ray. He started just about everything he said with
goodness
or
here there
. “Here there, it wouldn’t be nothing to us one way or t’other. War amongst rich folks, ye ask me.”

“Mayhap,” Daddy said. “But somehow it always manages to work itself back around to being a poor man’s fight.”

“If you’uns could hear half of what I hear on my drumming route,” Wade said, “you would know it will come to war. That’s all I hear, ’specially down south of here.”

Wade was from off down toward Hendersonville and had married Vergie Ray, who was Swan’s daughter.

I was so caught up in what was being said that I jumped like somebody had poked me in the ribs when Big John Stanton’s deep voice come rumbling out right there beside me. The
Big
part of his name was put there for a reason but I swear he could slip up on you and you would never know it till he wanted you to. We was not related to the Stantons but Larkin’s daddy was one. Their grandma was full Cherokee and you could surely see it in both of them. She was never heard from again when they was all rounded up and took off.

Big John crossed arms big as fence posts over his chest and said, “Let it come, boys. I for one wouldn’t mind a good fight.”

“Maybe so, son.” Wiley took his hat off and went to smearing that wet handkerchief around on his shiny bald head. “You’re young and most of us ain’t. But you’d still have to fight one side or the other.”

“Hell, Wiley, I’m for joining the side that looked like it were going to win.”

Lord have mercy, did that not set everybody to talking at once.

And would you not know that it was just then that Hackley come
up to me and Larkin. He was wearing the white shirt Mommie had made him. Last week I’d gone to see if her beans had come in and they had and I was stringing and breaking them up while she sewed the buttons on it. My John Wesley loves green beans and Mommie’s big greasys are the best. I must say Hackley looked like icing on a cake. Right then it come to me that my brother was one of the prettiest men I’d ever laid eyes on, even if he was grinning in a not so pretty way.

He said, “Lark, look out yonder and tell me what you see.”

“Don’t see much, Hack,” Larkin said, though he did not do much more than let his eyes skim over the crowd. I could tell that he was way more interested in them men what was still arguing there in front of the store because of what he said next. “Have you heard any of this talk about a war?”

“War?” Hackley said, and I could have told Larkin that my brother had not lost a bit of sleep nor one waking minute with thoughts about no war. And then he said, “I want you to look at the damn prettiest girl in Madison County.”

And I piped right in. “You better be thinking about something other than your jewel among women, Mary Chandler.” I was trying to be funny, and Larkin picked right up on this, but it was all lost on Hackley because he got real serious. That in itself was a wondrous thing to behold, because there was not much in life that roused Hack-ley to seriousness.

“She is just that, sister.” He had not called me sister in a long time. Then I did know that Hackley Norton was as serious as the night was long about Mary Chandler. And what he said to us next sealed the deal. The crowd sort of parted, and though I could not see from where I was, Hackley could.

“Why, that son of a bitch! Look-a there!”

Like a shot I was up on my tippy-toes trying to see. “What, what?” I said.

Larkin, being a full head and shoulders over me, said, “Willard’s trying to talk to Mary.”

And Hackley went rushing off, saying real loud-like, “I’ll whup his ass!”

Then the crowd parted like Moses had raised his stick and I could see Willard Bullman leaning toward Mary. She had on a cream-colored dress and her waist looked slim as a boy’s. I knowed for a fact that I would never see my own that slender again but I would not have traded places with her if it had meant I had to give up my young’uns and Zeke.