Lily of the Springs (31 page)

Locking gazes with my mother-in-law, I thought, Lord Almighty, I can’t believe I heard them words come out of my mouth.
I’m actually standing up to the old biddy, and now she’s gonna haul off and knock my block off
.

Instead, the oddest thing in the world happened. Gladys smiled. Well, if a stranger saw that stiff twist of the lips, they’d think she was having a spot of indigestion, but I knew it for a smile. I’d seen it once or twice before when Gladys had claimed victory in a battle with Royce. This time, though, I saw something else—a flare of respect in the woman’s ice-cold blue eyes.

And as if that wasn’t enough, she went a step further and gave a throaty laugh. “Well, I’ll
be
! It appears Texas and the army life grew you some backbone.”

I was so taken aback by Gladys’s reversal that I couldn’t find a word to say in response.

Just then, Debby Ann let out a mournful howl from the floor. “Debbbeee Annnnnnnnnn waaaaannnnts mooonnn-
piiiiiiiie
!”

It was all I could do to stop myself from wrenching the brat off the floor and slapping her silly. And lord, I knew that was flat-out wrong, but that child surely could annoy the dickens out of a saint.

But before I could move a muscle, Gladys turned her piercing gaze on Debby Ann and spoke in a voice that even an almost-Terrible Two couldn’t ignore. “Pick yourself up off that floor, young lady, and get along to your room like your mama says. I’m not gonna put up with that temper tantrum nonsense. No grandchild of mine is gonna get away with that as long as I’m around.”

Debby’s eyes had widened to the size of half-dollars. Her mouth slammed shut so hard, I thought I heard the crack of her jaw hinges. The little girl looked up at her grandmother, a wounded expression on her face that plainly said, “You talkin’ to me?”

“You heard me,” Gladys said briskly. “Haul yourself up off that floor and get on out of here. I don’t want to see you again until you can act like a little lady, not a heathen.”

Debby obeyed her, but not without a final show of rebellion. She puffed out her bottom lip as far as it would go, lowered her brows to thunderstorm-level and got to her feet. Then she stomped out of the room as loudly as she possibly could in her rubber boots.

Staring after her, Gladys shook her head grimly. “Mark my words.
That
one is going to be a pill when she’s a teenager. ”

And I just couldn’t resist. If I’d been lined up against a stone wall opposite a firing squad, I wouldn’t have been able to hold my tongue after that statement. “Well, she
is
a Tatlow, isn’t she, Gladys?”

And again, Jake’s mother surprised me by giving another dour smile.

“Yes, I reckon she is,” she said. “I can see that ornery streak in her a mile away.”

I couldn’t help but smile back.

“It’s all from
his
side of the family, I reckon.” Gladys gave a disgusted nod towards the garage where Royce was doing an oil change on his truck, then looked away from me as if suddenly embarrassed by the moment of kinship. She wiped her knobby hands on her apron and turned to the cook stove where something simmered in a blue-speckled pot, giving off a savory aroma that suddenly had my stomach growling. “I reckon the beef stew will be ready directly. You want to go out to the garage and tell Royce and Jake to clean up for supper while I make the cornbread?”

“I can do that,” I said. I was still smiling as I stepped out the back door and headed across the yard to get the men.

I
didn’t even try to pretend to myself that Jake hadn’t gone back on his word and started drinking again. True, he wasn’t out to all hours when he went off to the pool hall in town. He hadn’t come in a minute past 11:00, and although I clearly smelled beer on his breath, he’d never been so drunk that he couldn’t walk a straight line. So, he was
trying
to live up to the no-drinking, no carousing bargain he’d made back in Texas.

Trouble was, I knew it couldn’t last forever. It was just a matter of time before he tied one on, and that was why it was so important to get him out of Russell County where he was under the influence of all his old cronies, the sorry lazy-ass good-for-nothing high school drop-outs who had nothing better to do than hang around the pool hall all day and drink themselves cross-eyed all night. But how in the world was I going to get him out of this county where he was born and raised?

The answer came on the Saturday a week before Christmas, the first frigid day since we’d arrived back home. Temperatures had plummeted the night before, and gathering gray clouds had the old-timers predicting snow by nightfall. I’d planned to go into Russell Springs for a little Christmas shopping that day (it could only be a
little
shopping because Jake’s last paycheck from the military had dwindled from grocery shopping we’d done to help out Gladys.) After talking Jake into letting me borrow the car, I’d tucked Debby Ann into the back seat and headed off to town.

I hadn’t been in Gracie’s Drygoods more than ten minutes when the door opened and Jenny Lynn Cook─also known as “Jinx” in high school─sashayed in…as well as someone
could
sashay with a belly that exceeded her by a good foot.

When Jinx caught sight of me, her blue eyes widened and a big grin crossed her face. “
Lily Rae Foster
!” she shrieked. “
I haven’t seen you in ages
!”

It was true. The last time I remembered running into Jinx had been at the Russell County Fair just before I’d left for my ill-fated job in Louisville. Jinx and Lonnie hadn’t even gotten married yet, although she’d sported that gleaming diamond ring on her finger like it was as big and fancy as the one Eddie Fisher gave to Debbie Reynolds.

I finally found my voice. “Oh, my
Lord
! Jinx Cook, would you look at
you
!”

Jinx laughed and headed toward me. “It’s Jinx Foley now! You stinker, you didn’t even make it back to Russell County for our wedding! Your mama had some sorry excuse…you were off gallivanting around Texas. Having babies and stuff. Come here and give me a hug.”

Laughing, I threw my arms around my old friend, sandwiching the unborn baby between us. Then I drew back and scanned her. Jinx was just as pretty and sassy as she’d looked in high school, if not prettier, thanks to the glow of expectant motherhood.
Lord, either she has triplets in there or that’s one humongous baby
! And it looked like she could drop it at any moment.

Me and Jinx were still shrieking over each other when Debby Ann reached up and tugged on the hem of my black wool car coat.

“Mommy, who is that fat girl?”

My cheeks burned. I pulled away from Jinx and frowned down at my daughter. The little imp stood with her hands propped on her tiny hips, gazing up at us like a stern librarian scolding a couple of rambunctious kids. “Debby Ann, that was a very
rude
thing to say!”

But Jinx was laughing. “She’s right! I
am
a fat girl!” She bent over so she could look Debby Ann in the eyes. “You must be Lily Rae’s little girl. I’m your mommy’s old girlfriend from high school. We were like two peas in a pod back in the good old days.”

Well, that was an exaggeration, I thought. We’d run in the same circle but hadn’t been particularly close. Jinx had been so besotted with Lonnie, she’d barely given any of the other girls the time of day.

Debby, having decided she didn’t particularly care for being addressed by a “fat girl,” stuck her thumb in her mouth and tried to hide behind my leg.

“Yes, this is my little Debby Ann. Spoiled as the day is long, she is.” I stood back and gave Jinx another once-over. “It looks like you’re ready to give birth any minute now. Is this your first?”

Jinx brushed a lock of wavy blond hair away from her forehead. “Lord help me, yes. My first, and it was due four days ago. I told Lonnie if it didn’t come soon, I aim to go back to Bowling Green and check myself into City Hospital and have them yank this baby out, surgically, if necessary. I don’t aim to be in a hospital bed when his company throws the big Christmas shindig. It’s the only chance I have to doll up in sparkly clothes. And you ought to see the dress I ordered from the Montgomery Wards catalog, thinking I’d be trim and slim again by the 21st.” She shook her head. “But this ornery child is determined to mess things up for me.”

I laughed. “Get used to it. Everything changes when the kids come along. Like sleep. I haven’t had a good night’s sleep since March 9, 1953, the last night before I went into labor.”

Jinx rolled her blue eyes. “Thanks for sharing that, Lil.” Her face brightened. “But I do declare, we’ve got a lot of catching up to do, hon. What say we head over to Grider’s for a milkshake? I’ve been craving chocolate milkshakes ‘til the cows come home.”

***

Debby Ann twirled on the soda fountain stool between me and Jinx, stopping every once in a while to take a messy slurp of her strawberry milkshake. On the counter in front of Jinx rested a frosted glass containing what was left of the chocolate milkshake she’d been craving so desperately. I’d ordered a Coke and French fries, more by habit than because I was hungry.

When Wallie, the soda jerk, placed the red and white checkered cardboard box of hot golden fries in front of me, I said, “You two are going to have to help me eat these. I don’t know what it is about Grider’s, but every time I come in here, I crave these things.”

Jinx smiled, eyeing me speculatively. “Hmmmm…maybe I’m not the only one who’s expectin’ here.”

I shook my head vehemently. “Bite your tongue! Lord, that’s all I need. Jake out of a job and us living with his folks. And expecting on top of that? Huh! Why, I’d sooner take a swan dive, naked as a jaybird, off Cumberland Falls.”

Jinx picked up her milkshake and took a long draw from the straw. Afterward, she dabbed at her lips with a napkin and said matter-of-factly, “Lonnie could get Jake a job if you’re willing to move to Bowling Green.”

I almost choked on a french fry. “Are you serious?”

Jinx nodded, finishing off the last of her milkshake. “He just made foreman at the iron factory outside of town, and he’s looking to hire a few more men to work the second and third shifts. You think Jake would be interested?”

I caught my breath and tried to remain calm. For a moment, I was at a loss for words as hope swelled up inside me. Finally, I found my voice. “Oh, he’ll be interested,” I said, my jaw tight with determination. “God help him if he’s not…because this is my ticket out of this podunk town, and I aim to use it.”

***

Amazingly enough, Jake didn’t put up a fight about the job, and he promised to get in touch with Lonnie after the holidays. As it happened, Lonnie got in touch with him first.

Two days before Christmas, he showed up on the Tatlow’s front porch with news that Jinx had delivered twin boys the day before, and she’d made him promise to come by and tell me—and to set up an interview for Jake after the new year.

I began counting down the days. I’d listened as Lonnie discussed the job with Jake. He’d start out on day shift doing training, and after a few weeks, would be moved to the 2
^nd
shift, 4:00-midnight. The starting pay was even better than he’d made in the Army, and best of all, it included a health insurance plan and a housing allowance if we chose to live in a rent-to-own subdivision close to the factory. We’d actually have our own little house! When I heard that, I was so excited I had to jump up and run into the kitchen on the pretense of getting them more coffee just to expend some energy. A flour-dusted Gladys stood at the table, rolling out pie dough.

“We’re gonna get us a house!” I whispered, unable to contain my delight. “Oh, Gladys, he’s just
got
to get this job.”

“Now, don’t count the chickens before they hatch,” Gladys said without looking up.

I rolled my eyes. “He’s got an interview on January 3
^rd
. And Lonnie says it’s just a formality and he’s got the job if he wants it.”

Gladys looked up at that. “Well, let’s just hope he wants it then.”

My jaw tightened. “Oh, don’t you worry. He’s
gonna
want it. I’ll
kill
him if he doesn’t.”

***

Jake used the tip of a corn pone to push the last of yesterday’s good luck black-eyed peas into his spoon. He shoved them into his mouth, and still chewing, got up from the supper table.

Mildly curious, I watched him. Usually, he didn’t get up from the table until after Gladys had served him dessert.

“They’s chocolate cake, Jake,” Gladys said. “Sit yourself back down and I’ll cut you a slice.”

Jake headed for the door. “No time, Mama. I got to wash up.”

My mouth dropped open. Now, where did he think he was going? Before I could say a word, though, Royce did it for me.

“Where you off to in such a hurry, boy?” he barked, shoveling in a big spoonful of mashed potatoes and black-eyed peas. “The least you can do is thank your mama for fixin’ these vittles for you.”

I looked away from the mess in Royce’s mouth as he chewed with his big yellow horse-teeth, thinking,
yeah, you’re one to talk, Royce Tatlow. You’re always thanking Gladys for doing for you
.

Jake stopped in the doorway, wearing a look that was half-irritated and half-ashamed. “Good supper, Mama. Thank you.” He turned to his father. “I told the boys I’d meet ‘em down at the pool hall for a few minutes.”

Alarm rippled through me. Jake’s idea of “a few minutes” usually meant “three or four hours.”

“Jake,” I said. “You can’t be serious!”

He heaved a frustrated sigh. “Don’t start with me, Lily Rae.”

Debby Ann, sitting on a stack of Sears & Roebuck catalogs, pointed a greasy finger at her father. “Daddy
go
! Debby Ann want to go, too!”

“You can’t go, Debby,” I snapped. “And Daddy can’t either!”