Billy (34 page)

Cinder raises her head
and calls
to the jail's big gray
wal ls,
"Billy Lee, Billy Lee. It's Mama. It's Mama, Bill y L
ee
."

Carmella Dean
spits.

152 I Albert Frencli

"Billy
Lee. Billy Lee. It's Mama, Billy Lee."

A
faint
cry
that
seemed
to be an
echo curling
from deep beneath the jail's big
gray
walls
stilled
the moment. "Mama, Mama!" Billy Lee
was
calling from his
cell.

Cinder's
eyes
opened wide. All
of
her tears just fell on out.
"Billy
. . . Billy . . . Billy,"
she cried
to the big gray walls.

"Gi t
her outta here," Sheriff Tom shouted to Katey.

Carmella Dean reached for Cinder's hair. Deputy Hill pulled her away.

Clyde Bruce raised his fist. Pete Grayson grabbed his
arm
and shoved him aside.

Katey recognized the man Cinder did not know, the man that called Cinder by her mother's name.
"Alma,
Alma," Pete Grayson called to Cinder. Cinder turned to the sound of her mother's name. Pete Grayson neared
Cinder,
saying,
"Alma,
let Katey take
ya
home now.
Sheriff
Tom
will
let
ya see
that boy of yours in a few
days." Cinder
looked into Pete
Gray
son's
eyes
and
she
became
still,
only her tears
continued
to flow. She knew the
voice
from the
dark
night, it
was
the voice of
the
man
who carried
her home. Pete
Grayson spoke softly
again,
"Alma,
Katey
goin ta
take
ya
home now.
Ya go
with her."

Katey
stared at Pete Grayson too, she knew what Cinder could only feel
but not know, then
she reached for
Cinder.
A
moment lingered, then
Cinder
turned
with
Katey's touch. The
crowd
watched
Cinder
walk
away.

The faint
cry of "Mama,
Mama," tried to
follow Cinder,
but it
could
only
go so
far.

10

Evening was falling: the
gray-shadowed corner of
Billy's
cell
was turning black. He had called after
Cinder,
then
cried
the day away. Deputy Hill
could
not
shut
him up. Sheriff Tom said, "Let the boy be." Gumpy had whispered to Billy, but Billy didn't whisper back.

The big door clanked. Gumpy jumped to his feet and
stood
at the front of his
cell,
then whispered,
"Billy.
Billy, the
y
'
s
comin.
They's goin ta
yells
if ya ain't ups." Billy turned his face to the
corner.

The heavy footsteps
grew
louder
as
they neared.
Sheriff
Tom looked at Gumpy
standing
at the front of his
cell, bu t said
nothing to him. Billy heard the
footsteps
approaching, but he did not turn to
their sound.
Sheriff Tom
came
to Billy's
cell
and stood looki ng i n. Bill y did not look up.
"Ya stil l

153

1.54 I Albert French

cryin,
boy?"
Sheriff
Tom
asked.
Billy was
silent
and kept his h
ea
d down.

"
Look up here,
boy.
Ya
still cryin?"
Billy kept his head down.

Sheriff
Tom was
silent
for
a
moment, then
said, "Ya sup
posed
ta be
a
big boy, ain't
ya?"

Billy took a quick peek at the big
man
that keeps him
,
then put his head back down.

"Ya
supposed ta be a big boy. Big boys don't cry. Look up here when Um talkin ta
ya
.
"

Billy turned to his dark
corner,
bu t he heard
the
heavy footsteps go away, then the clanging
sound
of Gumpy's
cell
door being opened. The footsteps neared
again.
Billy looked up and saw Gumpy.
Sheriff
Tom opened Billy's cell and put Gumpy in, then said
,
"Now,
if Ah hear any more
cryin comin
out of here,
Um
goin ta tak
e
my belt to
the both of
y
a all. Ya hear me?," then closed Billy's
cell
and left.

Blackbirds had flown high in the long
s
ky. The waters
of
the Catfish had rippled, but the old brok
e
n Patch Road just lay somber as it
always
did. Cinder and Katey had
walked si
lently on the road until Cinder
slowed
her
stride and asked,
"Who is he?" Katey lowered her
head and wal ked
in
silence.
Cinder
asked
again
, "A
unt Katey,
who is
he? Why does he
c
all me Alma?"

Katey
sighed,
but kept
silent.
Cinder had quietly walked on until she
slowed
her steps
and
turned to Kate
y
.
"Why
won't
ya
tell me?"

Katey kept her head down and looked
at
the little pebbles and patches of green
weeds
growing in the ruts of the road
,
then slowly she said
, "
Some things ain't ta be
sayin
of."

"
I
want ta know."

"It's
who
ya
feel
it is,
child.
Now, lets it be."

B I L L Y
I 155

Cinder walked on in silence.

Whispering and watching nights went by. Some Patch folks kept them nights-lights down low, they didn't want anyone seein them at all. Some of them other Patch folks got to sneaking into the dark, had to get down LeRoy's and get them a couple sips. Lucy Mae been down LeRoy's since before the sun went down. When she ain't drinkin
she's
cryin about Gumpy. LeRoy was just listenin, Lucy Mae was sayin,
"Ya
ain't feelin whats Um feelin. Ain't nobody's feelin whats Um feelin. Theys come takes my baby. He ain'ts somethin
was gains ta happen with that woman and them ways
she
gots." LeRoy
was
glad to see Wesley Hall coming in and scooted away from Lucy Mae real quick.

Big Jake was sitting over in the corner and hadn't
said
much to anybody after he told LeRoy to just give him a bot tle. When LeRoy had asked him how Shorty was some.
He still just layin. Reverend be givin him some foods ta eats, but he ain't
eatins
much. Shorty ain'ts gots that Shorty in hims."

LeRoy was still talking to Wesley Hall
when
Aldon Flem ing come in. LeRoy
shouted,
"Where
ya
been keepin yaself
?
Ah thoughts Sheriff done drags ya off too." Aldon Fleming was a big skinny boy that lived up there behi nd Della Rob inson. He shouted back to LeRoy, "Shit, Ah seen that
shit
comin. Soon's Ah hear abouts they's lookin for some nigger
s
for killin some white's
child,
Ah say lets me keeps my a
ss
outs theys way." LeRoy shouted something back. Lucy Mae kept talking about Gumpy. Big Jake didn't say anything to anyone. The night stayed awhile, then
slowly
moved on.

156 I Albert French

Morni ng
c
am
e
and child r
e
n played,
e
v
e
n played around Lh
e
bu rnt pi l
e
of what was Gumpy's hous
e
. Th
e
younger ones ran wilh
s
mil
e
s on th
e
ir fac
es
and eyes that w
e
re so big the
y s
a
w
an inno
ce
nl Lime
,
until Patch dogs bark
e
d. Then smiles would ru n
a
wa
y
and big brown
eye
s would onl
y
look for mam
as
.

Old
e
r
c
hildren played too; they had a new game. They
c
hanted, "Runs and hides
,
and if ya
'
s found
,
Sheriff Tom's
co
min, gonna takes
y
a ta towns."

Old Patch folks just kept
s
itting. Re
v
erend Sims told th
e
m
e
verything would be all right. Them real old ones that done s
ee
n som
e
tim
e,
kn
e
w th
e
m d
ay
s Mist
e
r P
e
te talked about, had sad
e
y
es.
N
e
tty Lou Moor
e
remembered things Mist
e
r P
e
te forgot. She
c
ould rememb
e
r before them Yankee soldiers
c
om
e
; she could r
e
member b
e
longing to them Hatcher
s
too. Sh
e
told R
eve
r
e
nd Sim
s
,
"
Ah done s
ee
ns
s
ome bad tim
e
s. Wasn
'
t nothin b
e
ba
c
k h
e
r
e.
Ya has ta
w
ad
es
in th
e Ca
tfi
s
h t
a
git
s
ba
c
k in h
e
r
e
. Ah
re
m
e
mb
ers
. It
s
w
a
s ri
g
ht ups th
e
r
e.
Y
a sees
wh
e
r
e
th
e
roads b
e
now. It
s was r
i
g
ht th
ere
s th
ey c
om
es
. Never forgits. Th
e
ys
c
ome and gits that bo
y
. Ah remember
s
. Th
ey c
om
e
s and git
s
him. Hi
s
n
a
me wa
s
Elij
a
h
,
th
a
t's what hi
s
nam
e
was. Th
eys co
m
e
d
ow
n on th
e
m
s
hor
ses a
nd
g
ils that bo
y
.
Sa
ys
h
e was s
t
ea
lin and o
mu
c
h lo
o
kin
a
t that
s
wh
i
t
e
m
a
n
's wo
man h
e was
o
in
fo
r
.
Th
eys c
om
es
d
ow
n h
e
r
e
on th
e
m
s
h
o
r
ses
and dra
gs
th
a
t
s
bo
y
. H
e
s
ay
in h
e
ain
'
t
s