The Book of Bright Ideas (20 page)

“He's gonna tell, Winnalee,” I whispered. My legs felt like they were made of Jell-O, and the smell of the exhaust chugging out of Tommy's truck was making me sick to my stomach.

Winnalee shot me a look that said, “Shut up,” then she turned back to Tommy. “We're just taking a walk. So what?”

Tommy scratched his greasy forehead. “So what? Not sure that's what Button's ma or aunt would say.”

Winnalee tipped her head back a bit. “Button's ma is at work, and her aunt is snoring on the couch.”

“I could stop and tattle to your sister,” Tommy said. “Wouldn't mind an excuse to stop by and see her.”

“Freeda isn't even home, dummy. Her and Mike went skinny-dippin'.”

The minute Winnalee said that, Tommy's ugly eyebrows shot up. “You don't say.”

“Come on, Winnalee,” I said, not bothering to whisper this time. “Let's go home.”

Winnalee tugged her arm out of my grip. “No way! I got this far, I'm gonna keep goin'.” She hoisted her ma up higher, then started walking. Fast. I didn't have any choice but to tag after her.

“Go away, Tommy!” Winnalee shouted, as Tommy clanked his truck in gear and started coasting alongside of us.

“You stupids,” he said. “You know how long it's gonna take to get to Fossard's and back? It's almost four miles, both ways. That is, if you
do
get back.” Tommy made a creepy sound like a Halloween ghost.

Winnalee's steps slowed, but they didn't stop.

Tommy stopped his truck. I wanted to turn around and see what he was up to, but Winnalee told me to just keep walking and ignore him. We didn't walk more than ten steps before his truck was rolling again. “Okay,” he called out his window. “I'll make you a deal.”

I could tell that Winnalee wanted to stop and ask him what the deal was, but she didn't. She just kept walking and ignoring him.

“I could be coaxed to drive you there,” he said.

Winnalee stopped. “Why would somebody who isn't even nice offer to do that?” she asked suspiciously.

“Well,” he said. “You kiddies have given me a bit of a problem here. Rudy sent me to check up on things, I came lookin' for ya, and found ya runnin' off. I don't bring you home, and my ass is gonna get chewed out.”

“Don't say you saw us, then,” Winnalee said.

“Ain't gonna work,” Tommy said. “He asks about you girls, and I say I didn't see ya at the house, then he'll ask why I didn't look for ya. And if I say I did see ya, then I'd be lying. Course, there's a solution to our little problem, you know.”

“What's that?” Winnalee asked.

“Well, I could drive you two kiddies over to Fossard's, then drop you off back home, tell Rudy everything's fine, and no one would be wiser.”

I got happy over his solution, because I was mighty thirsty.

“So what's in it for you, Tommy Smithy?” Winnalee asked.

“What?” he asked. “Who said there's anything in it for me?”

“Stop acting like you don't know what I mean. I can tell by the naughty look in your eye that you got something up your sleeve.”

Tommy spit on the gravel, so close to Winnalee's feet that she backed up. “You ain't as dumb as you look, kid.”

“So what's the deal?”

“Well, seems to me that if I help you get a glimpse of some pretty little ladies, you should help me get a glimpse of a pretty little lady too.”

“You want to see the fairies with us?” Winnalee asked.

Tommy shook his head and rolled his eyes. “I guess you
are
as stupid as you look.”

“What's the bargain?” I asked. “We ain't got all day.”

“Well, neither do I, so I'll tell it to ya straight. You tell me where Freeda and Mike are skinny-dippin', and I'll take you to Fossard's.”

“Don't tell him!” I said. “He wants to see Freeda naked!”

It was Winnalee's turn to roll her eyes. “Freeda don't care who sees her naked, Button. Come on.”

I didn't have any choice but to follow Winnalee around Tommy's truck. He wouldn't let us in, though, until Winnalee told him that Freeda and Mike were going to Crystal Lake.

Tommy drove fast. So fast that Winnalee had to grip her arms around the urn so her ma wouldn't go flying off the seat. And when he turned down the dead-end road, Winnalee crashed into me, and the door handle jabbed into my side.

At the end of the drive, a tall, square house stood on a hill. The door was boarded shut, and the windows were broken, jagged triangles of glass glinting in the sun, like shark's teeth.

“Where's the bomb shelter?” I asked.

“It's here, but you can't see it till you get to it. It's cut on the other side of that hill, right there. Underneath those red pines.”

“Who cares where the bomb shelter is,” Winnalee said. “Where's the beck?”

Tommy brought the car to a stop, and Winnalee and I had to push our backs against the seat to keep from cracking our heads on the dash.

“The beck is straight that a-ways about fifty yards. Right through those trees,” he said, pointing at an angle off to the left of the house. “I'm giving you ten minutes, then I'm honking the horn. You ain't back here in that time, and I'm leavin' without ya. And take that creepy urn with ya when ya go too.”

As much as I hated Tommy Smithy, I was glad he was here, as I looked over at the hill where he said the bomb shelter was.

Winnalee opened the car door. “Come on, Button!”

We ran fast across the grown-over yard. Winnalee, because she wanted to hurry to the beck, and me, because I wanted to get past the bomb shelter.

“Keep going!” Tommy yelled to us. “Farther!”

When we got to the woods, Winnalee stopped. “Hear that, Button?”

“What?” I yelled, sure she'd say she'd heard the scraping of a shovel.

“It's running water! The beck!” Winnalee sounded like she was gonna cry.

It didn't take us long before we saw the silver sparkle of water showing through the trees. We hurried as quickly as we could, me in the front so I could hold the branches away, since Winnalee's arms were wrapped around the urn.

“Let's make a lot of noise, Button, so the fairies wake up!”

I called for the fairies too, but I didn't shout like Winnalee, for fear that what we would wake up was Fossard's ghost.

The beck sat low, trees close to the edge leaning over the sparkly water, like they were bowing. Winnalee stopped, her eyes looking up and down the bank of the stream. “Hello?” she called out. “Come out, please. We won't hurt you. We just want to see you.”

The breeze, or a little animal, ruffled the leaves to the side of us, and Winnalee turned fast, sure that it was a fairy who'd made the rustle. “Did you hear that? Over there!” Winnalee rushed toward the noise, and I followed.

“Come on, fairies! We only have a couple minutes. Just one peek?”

Winnalee and I spun in slow circles, straining our eyes as we searched the underbrush for them. Then, all too soon for Winnalee (but not too soon for me), Tommy's horn sounded.

“Shit!” Winnalee said. Her pretty face crumpled, like she might cry.

“We'd better go, Winnalee.” I felt sad for her, so I added, “Next time we'll come right before dark, then we'll see them for sure.”

“But I want—” Just like that, Winnalee stopped, her pink mouth opening into a wide-open smile. “Look!” I looked where she was pointing, right above water that was so bright it hurt my eyes, and I caught the flicker of two tiny, rainbowy wings. There one second, then gone the next.

“Did you see that? Did you?”

Her voice was as soft as a sleepy baby's sigh when she spoke again. “They're here, Button. We've found them.”

I didn't have the heart to tell her that all she'd seen was the wings of a dragonfly.

 

Aunt Verdella was still sleeping when Tommy dropped us off. We snuck in the house as quietly as we could, drank three cups of water each, then got out the egg-salad sandwiches Ma had put in the fridge for our lunch and the box of Lay's from on top of the fridge. We'd barely sunk our teeth into our sandwiches when we heard Aunt Verdella groan.

“Girls?” she called. We hurried into the living room as she was trying to get up. “Oh, there you are.” She rubbed her head. “Good Lord, those pills make me goofy. Help Auntie get up, will you, so I can use the bathroom?” When we went through the kitchen—me and Winnalee propped under her arms like crutches—and Aunt Verdella saw our plates on the table, she said, “That's my girls. I knew I could count on you to be good while Aunt Verdella slept.” I was glad she could only see the top of my head, since Aunt Verdella once said that you can always see guilt written on someone's face.

18

I knew right away why Aunt Verdella was smiling when we packed up the few baby sweaters and old junk that didn't sell at the community sale that second Saturday in August. She'd had her tables almost full, and she had sold almost every single thing, but for what was in the little box she carried. That meant that she probably had enough money now to buy Hannah Malone's plot and gravestone.

“I wish
I'd
have made money today,” Winnalee said. She looked like a sad clown with her droopy lips and the skin around them stained red from cherry Kool-Aid.

I sighed one of those quick little sighs that people sigh when they get irritated. I'd told Winnalee that we should get busy making pot holders, since Aunt Verdella got us more loops, but she said, “Maybe tomorrow,” she was sick of making them for now. Every day for two weeks she said the very same thing, until it was too late, so I just made some without her when I was at home.

Aunt Verdella stopped at my house first, and Freeda's truck pulled in right behind us. Aunt Verdella looked in her rearview mirror. “Oh, I thought Freeda was going off with Mike to Porter today.”

“She was, but then she wasn't. He came,” Winnalee said, “but then they got into a fight. I heard Freeda tell him that she doesn't need his clingy shit.”

“Oh dear,” Aunt Verdella said.

Aunt Verdella got out of the car, and while the ladies talked, me and Winnalee danced in the grass in our dancing costumes. Finally, Aunt Verdella asked Freeda to take Winnalee home with her. “I'll stop by in a bit. I want to talk to Jewel about something first.”

“No fair!” Winnalee said.

“Evelyn, maybe you should play outside for a while,” Ma said, as she opened the front door.

“Oh no, she can come in, Jewel,” Aunt Verdella said.

Aunt Verdella and I followed Ma into the kitchen. Ma set her bags on the table.

Aunt Verdella grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to stand by her chair. She gave me the same happy-secret look she gave me over the past few weeks every time Winnalee was around and we couldn't talk about our plan out in the open.

“It looks to me like somebody's got a secret!” Ma said with a smile.

Aunt Verdella ha-ha-ed, but then she got serious. “I don't know if Button told you what happened a while back, with Tommy knocking over Winnalee's urn and spilling some of her ma's ashes, but…well, I decided right then and there that I'm gonna use my TV money to buy Winnalee and Freeda's ma a headstone and a plot. I've been saving up every dime I make at the sales, all month, and I think I have enough now!”

Ma was leaned over, putting milk away in the refrigerator. She popped up and blinked at Aunt Verdella. “Your TV money?”

“Oh, Jewel, if you'd have seen her face when her ma's ashes spilled, well, you'd understand why I've gotta do this. Wasn't that the saddest thing, Button? That's why I couldn't give up my Saturdays at the community sale when you and Freeda would invite me along on your outings. I'd talked to Mr. Parkins at the funeral home in town, and he gave me a rough idea of what a stone and a plot would cost here, and he didn't figure it would be much different in Hopested, so I knew I had to earn a bit more money for the surprise and, of course, the cost of the trip itself.”

“What does Rudy say about this?”

“He says it's my money, and I should do with it what I want. I believe I've got enough now. Mr. Parkins gave me the name of a funeral director over there. A Mr. Hamilton, who will order the stone for me and set me up with a plot. Rudy's gonna drive me over there.” Aunt Verdella gave me a grin, then said to Ma, “And, Jewel, I'm hoping that you'll let Button go with. This little girl has worked hard making pot holders, and she's given just about every cent she's made to Hannah Malone's burial fund, so I think it would be nice if she could go along. Winnalee is Button's best friend, and I know how much she'd like to help pick out a stone and plot for her little friend's surprise. I'd watch over her good, Jewel. You know I would.”

“I know that, Verdella,” Ma said. She looked over at me, and I didn't say nothing out loud, but in my head I was begging her to say yes. Not because I wanted to pick out one of those plot places, or one of those creepy Halloween stones, but because I wanted to help make Winnalee and Freeda happy. I also wanted to go away with Aunt Verdella and Uncle Rudy on a long car trip and stay in a motel like fancy people do.

“I don't see what harm there would be in her going along,” Ma said.

Aunt Verdella got so happy about Ma saying yes that she shot up and gave her a quick hug. I was so happy that I tagged right after Aunt Verdella and gave Ma a hug too. I also gave thanks in my head to Tommy for not being a rat fink and tattling on Winnalee and me running off, like I worried he might (that is, until I saw him around Freeda two days after we'd gone to the beck and saw the way he couldn't look her in the eye and the way his cheeks burned like fire had started under his skin), or there was no way Ma would have said yes.

I walked Aunt Verdella to the car, and she chattered the whole way about our trip to Hopested. “I'm gonna ask your uncle Rudy to drive us there first thing Monday morning,” she said. She clapped her hands together and looked up. “Oh, Button, Winnalee is gonna be so happy!”

 

I bounced more than I walked back to the house. Ma was still putting away groceries. “There you are. Verdella gone?” I nodded. “I can't believe I was gone this long. Freeda and I were only going to grab coffee, then get some groceries, but we ended up in Witmeir's Shoe Store instead. Good heavens, we've not done a thorough job on our housecleaning in about a month. Give me a hand, Evelyn, and we'll get at least some things done before your dad gets home.”

“Where's Daddy?” I asked, just because I wanted to know how long we had to clean.

“He's over helping your uncle Rudy put a new hitch on the cattle wagon. Rudy's going to deliver a bull over to a farmer in Tomahawk on Monday.”

“He'll be gone all day, then?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, Aunt Verdella was going to ask him to drive us on Monday.”

“Oh well, she'll have to wait till later in the week then, I guess.”

But we didn't have to wait. Aunt Verdella came Sunday morning right after breakfast. “Yoo-hoo!” she called. I expected her voice to sound all droopy, but it didn't.

“Well, Jewel,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I've made a decision. Since Rudy can't drive me to Hopested tomorrow, I've decided to drive myself. I hope you'll still let Button go.”

“Yourself? Why don't you just wait until later in the week, Verdella?”

“The Smithys are going on a fishing trip to Canada, so Tommy will be gone all this week and part of the next. Rudy couldn't leave then, because he'd have no one to do the milking, with Reece puttin' in so much overtime. I decided that I don't want to wait till next week, so I asked Fanny Tilman to fill in for Ada, and I told Rudy I'm driving myself.”

“Verdella, you never drive long distances alone, and you never drive on the highway. You try making a trip like this one on only back roads and it will take you forever!”

“You're right. I've not driven anywhere but to town and back, or to the sale, since we got married. And I never take the highways. Some days it's hard enough to make myself even do that much, because I get so nervous behind the wheel that to drive for more than a half an hour just ties me in knots. But it's about time I stop being so timid and just take the bull by the horns and go.”

“And Rudy's okay with this?” Ma asked.

“Well, I don't think he was keen on the idea at first, but all he said was, ‘If that's what you think you should do, Verdie, then that's what you should do.' He outlined my route on the map for me. I think I can find my way, and, well, if I get lost, all I have to do is stop at a station and ask for directions. Freeda's right. I've lived long enough being scared of causing more harm if I'm behind the wheel, and the only way I'm gonna get over it is to prove to myself that I won't. I don't know why, but I feel like if I do this trip and get back here safely, maybe I'll be able to let go of that old fear. I'll admit to you, Jewel, that at first I thought maybe I should go alone, because I got to thinking, ‘what if…' but then I stopped myself. Anyway, I sure would appreciate it if you'd still let Button go. I plan to stay the night in Hopested before heading back, since my night vision isn't good. And as you know, I'll take good care of Button.”

I bit my cheek while I waited for Ma to answer, then grinned as big as my mouth would stretch when she said I could go.

 

Monday morning Ma took me to Aunt Verdella's before the sun had even peeked its sleepy head above the treetops. She said she had some extra work to do at Dr. Wagner's office, so she didn't mind dropping me off at that hour.

I didn't expect to see Winnalee, since it was so early, but the second Ma stopped the car, the screen door across the road slammed and Winnalee came across the yard. She was wearing her dancing costume again, the pink skirt sticking out straight at the sides, and she had a rope tied around her waist, holding our Book of Bright Ideas like a holster.

I was carrying my little red suitcase with one change of shorts and a shirt, my baby doll pajamas, and an extra pair of socks and underwear. I had my jacket slung over my arm, in case it got chilly at night. “What do you got in there?” Winnalee asked, her breath blowy from running to get to our car. Her morning hair had a big snarl in it—or a “snot,” as Freeda called those chunks of bunched-up hair that were half snarls and half knots. “And why you so early?”

I didn't know what to say, on account of I didn't know what fib we were planning to tell Winnalee. Lucky for me, Aunt Verdella hurried out of the house just then. She had on her best everyday dress, sky blue with white eyelet trim, and her white shoes. Her purse, which was slung over the crook of her arm, bumped against her fat part as she jogged to the car. She rapped on Ma's window, so Ma rolled it down. “Well, everything's set, Jewel. We'll be back sometime tomorrow afternoon.”

“Hey, where you going?” Winnalee asked.

Aunt Verdella's voice was high and squeaky like Minnie Mouse's when she answered. “Well, I have to do a favor for a friend in another town. It's a long drive, so we'll be gone overnight. I have to take Button with me, because Jewel's gotta work today.” I could tell by the way Aunt Verdella said it that she'd practiced those words just about as hard as she must have practiced that poem by the Yeats guy.

“She could stay at my house,” Winnalee said. I felt sorry for Winnalee then. Standing there with her ma in her arms, looking lonely at the thought of her best friend being gone so long and her not being able to go with.

“Well, uh, my friend wants to see Button, because she remembers her as a baby.”

Winnalee looked at her out of the corner of her eye. “If Button has to go, then can I go too, even if your friend didn't know me when I was a baby?”

“Well…you see, honey…um, I've got to cart her kids over to her sister's place. And there's a lot of them. So many that there'll hardly even be room in the car for me and Button.”

“There'd be more room if Button stayed by me. It's Monday, so Freeda don't work.” Winnalee looked down until all you could see of her eyes were long eyelashes curling against her cheeks.

Aunt Verdella put her arm around Winnalee. I could see by her face that she'd run clear out of fibs. “Button, would you and Winnalee please go into Auntie's house and see if I left my car keys on the table?”

“They're right in your hand, Aunt Verdella,” Winnalee said.

“Oh, I meant Auntie's sweater. It should be right on the back of the kitchen chair. It's white.”

I knew Aunt Verdella wanted us to get lost so she could ask Ma what she thought of her taking Winnalee along. As we were walking up the porch steps, I saw Ma shake her head.

When we got back to the car with Aunt Verdella's sweater, Ma was about ready to leave. I expected her to just say bye to me and tell me to be good and stay clean, but she didn't. Instead, she opened the car door and stepped out, then gave me a hug. It wasn't the warm, squishy kind of hug that almost hurts because it's so big, like Aunt Verdella always gave, but more like one of those whispery hugs like cousins who don't really know each other well give when their mas tell them to hug good-bye. But still, it made me happy inside. “Have fun, you two,” she said.

After Ma pulled out, Aunt Verdella put her hand on Winnalee's shoulder and bent over so she could look her right in the eyes. “Honey, I know you don't understand why Auntie isn't taking you along or leaving Button here. I'm sorry, sweetie, but I can't explain any more right now. But when we get back, Auntie will bring you a big surprise, okay? A really, really special surprise.”