Prayers and Lies (13 page)

“Aunt Loreen,” I started to interrupt again.

“Oh yes, anyways, that’s where he found Caleb—at the YMCA. Don’t that beat all? And now they’re comin’ home. You tell Jolene that, okay, darlin’? You tell Jolene her husband is on his way home. And he’s bringing that poor boy with him. You tell her that, too.

“And tell her she better get herself busy makin’ a home for both of them, and she better watch her step or she ain’t gonna have no home to keep clean at all. Lord knows what we’ll do if he kicks her out. I reckon she’ll have to come back to me and Ray. How we’ll manage then, I don’t rightly know. Herself and Reana Mae both … the good Lord knows that’s too much for me and Ray at our age. But I reckon the Lord don’t give more than we can take.”

By this time I was edging away again. As soon as it seemed decent, I turned and ran headlong down the road. I could still hear Loreen hollering behind me, “You’ll tell your mama and Jolene, won’t you, darlin’? That’s a sweet girl.”

10
Hail the Conquering Hero

M
other, Reana, and I stood with Jolene on the front porch of the scrubbed-clean cabin. Reana Mae was home from school again to wait for Bobby Lee’s homecoming. Jolene had tied her hair back with a black ribbon and put on some makeup. Her face was ashen and her clothes were far too tight, but she didn’t wobble or chain-smoke as she stood on the sagging porch. She just stood silently, twisting her hands before her.

When we heard the roar of the motorcycle, Mother smiled reassuringly at her. “I think Bethany and I will scoot on back to Belle’s now,” she said.

But Jolene grabbed her by the hand and held tight. “Stay, Helen,” she pleaded. “Just stay a little while, okay? I know Bobby will want to see you.”

By this time, Bobby Lee had pulled in front of the house, as I’d seen him do countless times before. He tugged the helmet from his head, shaking his curly black hair. Behind him, Caleb removed his helmet, too, shaking his head the same way. Sitting there together on the bike, they looked more alike than I’d remembered.

As Bobby Lee swung himself off the huge motorcycle, Reana Mae ran down the steps and into his arms, her long braid flapping behind her. She was scrubbed clean, too, and wearing her Sunday dress. “Daddy! I knew you’d come home! And I knew you’d find Caleb, too! I just knew it!”

She turned to Caleb as he climbed off the motorcycle. “Hey, Caleb.” She grinned, throwing her spindly arms around him. “I’m glad you came back.”

Caleb wrapped his arms awkwardly around her slight frame and buried his face in her hair. I couldn’t hear what he said to her, but I could see his shoulders shaking slightly, even from the porch.

“Hey, Helen.” Bobby Lee nodded to my mother as he strode up the porch steps. “What are you doin’ here? Everything okay?”

“Yes, Bobby Lee, everything’s just fine.” Mother hugged Bobby Lee lightly. “Bethany and I came down to help Jolene get back on her feet.”

At the mention of Jolene, Caleb abruptly released Reana Mae and stood stiffly, staring at the group on the porch. Then he reached into his back pocket, pulled out a small plastic comb, and began yanking it furiously through his tangled black curls.

Bobby Lee reached out and ruffled my hair. “Hey, Bethany. You’ve growed a foot since last summer.”

“Hey, Bobby Lee.” I smiled shyly.

We all stood in awkward silence. Finally, Bobby Lee turned to his wife.

“You still here?” he demanded. He did not move toward her.

“Yeah, Bobby Lee. I’m still here,” she said, not meeting his gaze. She shifted from one foot to the other and wrapped her arms tightly around her swollen middle.

“I brought Caleb home.” He stared hard at his wife.

Jolene still looked down at the floor.

Suddenly, Bobby Lee reached out and grabbed her by the arm. Mother stepped back, pulling me with her. Jolene finally looked up into Bobby’s unsmiling face.

“Did you hear what I said? I brought Caleb back home, where he belongs.”

“Yes, Bobby,” she whispered. “I heard.”

“And he’s here to stay. My little brother is gonna live right here in this house—in
my
house—with me. You hear me?”

Jolene simply nodded, her face growing redder with each passing minute. Mother still held me tightly by the hand. I didn’t make a sound. I’d never seen Bobby Lee so angry, so quiet, so menacing.

“All right, then,” he continued grimly. “You think you can live with that and behave like a decent woman instead of actin’ like some two-dollar whore, you can stay, too.”

Jolene stared hard at the ground for a long minute. Then she raised her eyes and whispered, “Okay, Bobby.”

I could barely hear her words, standing as close as I was. Tears streamed down her red face. Jolene Darling Colvin had been thoroughly humbled.

“Go on inside, then, and get some coffee going. We got us a lot of talkin’ to do,” Bobby Lee said.

“Yes, Bobby,” she whispered, disappearing into the cabin.

He looked at Mother and me. “I’m sorry, Helen, that your little one had to hear that.”

Mother nodded, then reached out and touched his arm. “I’m glad you’re home, Bobby Lee.” She turned to look at Caleb, still standing in the yard. “You, too, Caleb. I’m glad to see you home.”

Caleb ambled up onto the porch, staring all the while at the ground.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he mumbled.

“Caleb got hisself a job up in the city, workin’ at a drugstore. The manager said he done real good work.” Bobby Lee draped his arm over his brother’s shoulders. “Ain’t that something?”

“It certainly is,” Mother said. “That’s something to be proud of, Caleb.”

Bobby Lee smiled at his brother. “Yeah, he done hisself proud, all right.” He looked toward the cabin door, his smile fading.

“Reana Mae,” he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a five-dollar bill, “why don’t you and Caleb walk on down to Ray’s and pick us up a six-pack of Bud? Ya’ll get yourself a treat, too.”

I stood with Mother and watched Reana Mae and Caleb as they walked down the road. Reana was chattering the way she did when she was excited. I was disappointed she hadn’t asked me to go with them. When I turned back to Mother, Bobby Lee had already disappeared into the cabin.

Mother smiled as if she understood. “She’s excited to have her family back, sweetheart. But she’s awfully glad to have you, too.”

As we walked back to Aunt Belle’s, we were both quiet. I felt a jumble of emotions—relief at escaping the tension, disappointment at Reana’s betrayal, and curiosity at what might be happening in the little cabin.

“Is it going to be all right now, Mother?” I asked.

“I hope so, Bethany. I hope so,” she said.

The next day was Saturday—our day to head back home. After we had packed our suitcase and stripped the sheets from the bed we’d shared, Mother and I sat down to breakfast with Belle, Donna Jo, Bobby Lee, Jolene, Reana Mae, and Caleb. Belle’s big mahogany table shone dark under a white lace cloth. Whether it was Thanksgiving dinner, a simple lunch, or even breakfast like this, Belle’s table was always perfect. The morning sunlight glinted off polished silver, white china plates, and cut-crystal drinking glasses.

We consumed huge quantities of Donna Jo’s eggs, ham, grits, biscuits, gravy, and fried apples. Reana Mae was more animated than I’d ever seen her, joking with Aunt Belle about her strong cof-fee—for Reana drank coffee even as a child, and she liked it strong and black—and jumping up from time to time to help Donna Jo carry things to and from the kitchen. Once again it struck me that she had somehow made the leap from childhood to the mysterious adult world, leaving me behind.

“Let me get you some more of them grits, Caleb,” she said, reaching for his bowl.

“Sit yourself down, Reana Mae,” Bobby said in a soft but steely voice. “Your mama can fetch Caleb his breakfast.”

He turned and looked pointedly at his wife. Jolene had been nearly silent all morning. She had made up her face more heavily than usual, curled her red hair, and squeezed herself into one of her short skirts. She looked like a sad parody of her former self, stuffed too tightly into Jolene’s skin. She’d held Bobby Lee’s hand when they arrived, sat beside him quietly, served him his breakfast, poured his coffee, and stared at her lap a great deal. Not once had she lit a cigarette.

Now she returned his stare for a long moment. I held my breath and felt my stomach clench—I think we all did. Jolene looked like she might just punch her husband right in the jaw. I know the old Jolene would have. Instead, she rose, smoothed her tight skirt, smiled grimly, and said, “Can I get you some more grits, Caleb?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Caleb said, not looking up at her. “That’d be nice, ma’am.”

Jolene walked into the kitchen and returned with his china bowl filled to the brim with steaming hominy grits. She set the dish in front of him. “Do you need anything else, Caleb?”

“No, ma’am. Thank you, ma’am,” Caleb mumbled. His face was the color of a dirty brick.

Mother reached over and tapped my knee. I realized I was staring, openmouthed. I had never seen anyone tell Jolene what to do before. I hadn’t believed it possible. Yet here she was, waiting on Caleb as meekly as a housemaid.

As Jolene sat back down, pulling her skirt over her knees, I saw Caleb glance sidelong at Reana Mae and wink.

After we had helped Donna Jo clean up the breakfast dishes, Reana Mae and I walked down to the riverbank to say our goodbyes.

“Mama promised Daddy she’ll be nicer to Caleb from now on,” Reana told me, smiling brightly. “And she said she won’t hit me no more, neither.”

“Does she hit you a lot?” I asked. I had wondered about that in the months since the doll episode.

“Just sometimes, when I’m bad or mouthy … or when she’s had too many beers,” Reana said, dropping her eyes to the willow branch she was holding in her hand. She threw it into the river abruptly. “Anyhow, she won’t do it no more. She promised Daddy. Besides”—she dropped her voice to a whisper—“Caleb said he won’t let her hit me no more neither.”

I stared at her in silence. Maybe I had been wrong about Caleb. Maybe we all had.

“Daddy said he’ll try to be home more, too. He said he’s gonna ask for shorter hauls—maybe even take a regular route. He never wanted to do that before, but now he might. Then he’d be home every single weekend, and maybe sometimes during the week, too.”

She was chattering again. I watched her quietly, trying to assess this new, talkative Reana Mae.

“And he’s gonna finish the loft, too, even though the baby’s gone. So me and Caleb can have rooms upstairs, and Mama and Daddy can have them some privacy downstairs. And Caleb’s gonna work at Granpa Ray’s store, so he can earn hisself some cash money and help out with the bills. He was workin’ in a drugstore when Daddy found him in Cincinnati, so he knows all about workin’ in a store.”

She smiled at me and shyly held out her arm.

“See what he brought me from the city?”

I stared at the silver charm bracelet that sparkled around her thin wrist. A single charm dangled from it—a silver heart.

“Your daddy?” I asked.

“No, Caleb. He bought it for me at the store he was workin’ at. It’s genuine sterling silver. Ain’t it pretty?”

“Yeah, Reana. It’s real pretty.”

“He brought Mama a present, too,” Reana Mae said. “It’s a new purse—a black one that looks just like real leather. He told Mama he was real sorry about her losin’ the baby. And she said she was sorry she whupped him and made him leave.”

She shook her head, her long braid swinging from side to side. “I never thought I’d live to see Mama apologizing to Caleb.”

She smiled again. “You see? I told you your mama would make it all right.”

“What did Mother have to do with it?” I asked. “Your daddy would have come home even if she wasn’t here.”

“But it was Aunt Helen who made Mama see things right.”

Reana Mae’s voice dropped to a whisper again.

“The other night after I went to bed, Aunt Helen came to the house. I heard her tell Mama that if she didn’t straighten herself up, she’d lose my daddy for good. And then Mama and me would have to move in with Granma Loreen, ’cause Mama ain’t got no business skills—that’s what Aunt Helen said. Mama can’t type or teach school or be a nurse or nothin’. So she’d better stay with my daddy, Aunt Helen said, ’cause she surely don’t want to live with Granma again—that’s for damn certain!

“Mama argued back some, you know. She said she’d move us away to Dunbar and be a fancy girl before she ever let Caleb set foot in her house again. But she didn’t call him Caleb—she called him ‘that sneaky bastard.’ I don’t know why she hates Caleb so much.”

“A fancy girl?” I was puzzled at the term.

“You know, a prostitute.” She said it matter-of-factly, bending to pick up a small stone and toss it into the river.

“What’s a prostitute?” I asked, my face coloring. I had a pretty good idea already.

“You know, a woman that lets men have sex on her and then they give her money for it.” Reana Mae smiled at me smugly—the way she had when she’d explained about Cleda Rae’s sugar daddy.

“Aunt Helen ’bout died when Mama said that.” She laughed. “She smacked Mama hard. I heard it even in my room with the door closed. And then Mama cried, and Aunt Helen said she’d better straighten up and fly right, or she wouldn’t have no house, no family, no husband, no nothin’. And that must have scared Mama, ’cause she promised Aunt Helen she’d try. And she is, don’t ya know.”

Reana Mae smiled broadly. “Did you see her fetchin’ Caleb his grits this morning? I like to died!”

I smiled, too, for it had been a sight. But I wondered how long it would last. I could not imagine Jolene catering to Caleb for very long. Jolene was many things, but she was not meek. She was too headstrong, too hard-edged, too much Jolene to continue this way. I didn’t say that to Reana Mae. Why spoil her happiness? But I knew it couldn’t last.

Just then, Mother called to say it was time to go. As I hugged Reana Mae tight, I felt a lump in my throat and tears stinging my eyes.