Buddies (3 page)

After awhile the examination room door opened, Mama and Gloria come out. Doctor Black came out behind them with his hands full of brown bottles. He put them on his desk and took a seat. Mama stood by with her arm around Gloria and watched the doctor write on a note pad, pushing each bottle to the side, one by one. When he finished, he ripped the sheet away from the pad and handed it to her. The look on Mama’s face plainly told Joey Frank that the medicine was too expensive for her, but she opened her purse and carefully counted out what she owed the Doctor.

Doctor Black leaned back in his chair and pushed up his glasses, he said “Mrs. Cooper, Gloria’s system is very weak. It’s very easy for her to pick up germs that infect her, like the influenza she now has. It is most important that she get plenty of the food I’ve written down for you to buy for her. With her getting those foods, her body should strengthen, she will then be able to resist such germs that she is most likely to come in contact with in the future.”

The uncomfortable look was still on Mama’s face. Joey Frank knew there was no way she could buy the foods Doctor Black had written down on the paper. Thanking him, Mama folded the paper and put it into her purse.

That night while Gloria slept, Mama and Joey Frank sat by the fire and talked of ways that they might raise money for Gloria’s special foods. Joey Frank suggested “Mama I could quit school an’ git a job.” Mama flatly refused such an idea by saying “That, Joey Frank, would be the last straw, when Gloria gets over the influenza and goes back to school, then I’ll find a job. Just a few days ago, the Widow Simson told me her son Hoyt, has a boarding house in Ruby Creek, and was in need of someone to do some cleaning there. If he still needs help, and he hires me to do cleaning, I could buy Gloria’s food. Maybe I could earn enough money to buy some seed for spring. Just think, we could have a small cotton crop, wouldn’t that be wonderful?”

Mama looked up from her knitting and smiled at Joey Frank. He smiled back, but he wasn’t pleased at all that she might take a job. Joey Frank felt like he was the man of the house now and should be the one earning the money for Gloria’s foods, seeds for the cotton crop or whatever they needed. He made Pa the promise that he would look after Mama and Gloria, but he couldn’t obey Mama and keep his promise to Pa too.

“You best be going to bed, Joey Frank,” Mama said, laying her knitting down and turning the sweet potatoes that were baking under the hot ashes in the fireplace. “Morning will be here before you know it, and you don’t need to be sleepy headed for school.”

CHAPTER THREE
 

“Why wudn’t you at school yesterday Joey Frank?” Ernie asked when he ran out to meet his buddy at school the next morning, “Did you git in trouble for gittin’ home late the other day?”

“I missed school ‘cause Gloria wuz sick, an’ no I didn’t git in trouble for gittin’ home late, but what about us? Is Miss Lester mad ‘cause we didn’t show up after recess?”

“She wuz mad to start with, but she got all soft when I told her you got stuck in that quicksand hole down behind the schoolhouse an’ I had to work half a day to save yore life. I told her that I hollered an’ hollered for help, but didn’t reckin nobody could hear me.”

Ernie spit and then laughed, “I wisht you could a-seen her, Joey Frank. She shook her old head an’ had to hold back tears when she commenced to tellin’ the class what a hero I wuz.”

“I wisht I could really be a hero, Ernie.” Joey Frank spoke with sadness. “I guess you gotta be ole, to be one of them though.”

“Maybe you gotta be an’ maybe you ain’t gotta be Joey Frank. Why I bet’cha there’s been a heap of youngon heroes that folks ain’t never heard about. Why do you wanna be one anyhow?”

“I’d like to be one for Mama an’ Gloria. I’d like to be ole anuff to git a job an’ buy all them special foods that it’s gonna take for Gloria to git well agin so Mama won’t hafta git a job.”

“Dang, Joey Frank, you shore are down in the dumps this mornin’. Snap outta sech, ever’thang’ll work its way out.”

“I guess yore right, Ernie. Now we’d better git inside ‘cause yonder’s Miss Lester a-standin’ in the door.”

“Yeah, an’ there she goes slingin’ her ole arm a-ringin’ that dang bell, back an’ to, back an’ to. Why in the heck does she just keep on an’ on a-ringin’ that thang for? Nothin’ but pure aggervation I bet’cha, just pure aggervation!”

Joey Frank was glad to get interested in the Revolutionary War. It took his thoughts away from the problems at home. When recess came, they were renewed again by Ernie just doing his job to be a good concerned friend, he said “Joey Frank there ain’t no use of gittin’ all down an’ out just ‘cause your Mama’s gonna git a job. Heck, she won’t hafta work from now on. You ain’t gonna be a youngon all yore life. It ain’t gonna be too much longer ‘til yore ole anuff to git a job.”

“Yeah, I know that, Ernie, but I still got a long ways to go yit, an’ that’s too long for my Mama to hafta work away from home. Shucks, I wisht there had a-been money in that box we dug up instead of that baby.” Joey Frank sat down on the ground in disgust.

Ernie sat down beside him and said, “Joey Frank, there ain’t no sense to wish for somethin’ that oughta been, an’ won’t never be. Yore just usin’ up that brain of yores when you oughta be savin’ it for a day it’ll come in handy. Shucks, Gloria might git well on her own an’ not hafta have all them fancy grubs, you cain’t never tell!”

Joey Frank wanted to change the subject. He didn’t want to talk or think about his Mama taking a job away from home. He asked, “Ernie, do you still believe that Banker Tolbert an’

Miss Rene went an’ buried that baby in the woods to keep folks from knowin’ about it?”

“Well, shore they did. Have you ever heared tell of anybody a-bein’ buried way out in the woods from nowhere less’n it wuz some Injun?”

“No, I don’t reckin I ever have, but I shore wud like to know why they went an’ done sech.”

“Yeah, me too, Joey Frank, but I wudn’t know how to go about findin’ out less’n you just come out an’ asted’m.”

“Do you reckin they’d tell a fella why they done sech if he just come out an’ asted’m?”

“Well, they’d know that the fella knows that they’d went an’ done sech when he done the astin’, so I don’t see why they won’t, do you?”

Joey Frank drew up his knees and propped his chin on them. He picked up a stick and began drawing marks in the sand. After awhile he said, “Ernie, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll go ast Banker Tolbert why him an’ Miss Rene went an’ buried that baby out there in the woods, if you’ll go with me.”

“You ain’t just a-foolin’, Joey Frank Cooper?”

“No, I ain’t just a-foolin’. I’ll ast him. I’d like to know why they went an’ done sech myself. Wudn’t you?”

“Well, heck yeah! I’d like to know.” Ernie stood up bravely and stately, spitting out his tobacco juice farther than usual. “I ain’t skeered to go with you.” He said, “Go git that lunch pail of yores, an’ let’s go down yonder an’ git stuck in that quicksand agin.”

“No, we’d better not go today, Ernie, ‘cause Miss Lester might not believe that quicksand tale agin, but come a-Saturday, we’ll go if you still got the notion.”

“Don’t you worry, I’ll still be in the notion. I wudn’t back outta that for a pocket full of buckeyes. I’ll be at yore house come sunup Saturday mornin’.”

CHAPTER FOUR
 

Saturday wasn’t going to be an unusual day for Mama and Gloria. Gloria would stay inside from the cold, and Mama would stay in with her and do the house chores. For Joey Frank, Saturday was always the special day that he and Ernie would spend together. Since their first day in school they became the best of buddies. They would spend the day fishing at the river or roaming the hills and hollows in search of buckeyes to bring them good luck.

Before Joey Frank had finished his breakfast, Ernie was at the front door. He came in with his cheeks all glowing pink from the cold, carrying his lunch pail. He went over to warm himself by the cook-stove while Joey Frank finished eating.

When the boys were ready to leave, Mama cautioned, “Be careful and be home before sundown.” They gave their word that they would and left the house happy to be together once again.

The cold air smelled of winter sweetness. The chirping birds made fluttering sounds when they flew away from their roost as the boys made their presence down the road to Ruby Creek. Ernie asked, “I guess yore gittin’ the jitters about astin’ Banker Tolbert about that baby ain’t you, Joey Frank?”

“Yeah, I am a little bit, but I’m gonna try not to thank about it ‘til I see’m.”

“Then I don’t reckin yore gonna go by what the ole folks say to do?”

“What do the ole folks say to do?”

“They say to thank about what’cha gonna say before you commence to say it.”

“Well, I ain’t gonna do like ole folks say to do. I ain’t gonna thank about it before I say it; I’m just gonna say it.”

Ernie could tell that Joey Frank was a little nervous about asking Banker Tolbert about the baby. He surely didn’t want him to back-out so he changed the subject, saying “What’cha reckin that sweet little Johnny McGraw’s a-doin’ this mornin’, Joey Frank?”

“Well, I’d say that the sweet thang’s still in bed under a heap of quilts, keepin’ all warm an’ dreamin’ about a summer day when he can go outside an’ priss around without gittin’ his backside cold. Danged if that boy ain’t just like a sissy ole gal except for them breeches he wears. I bet’cha he ain’t never done a day’s work in his whole life.”

“I wonder what it’d be like to never hafta work, Joey Frank?”

“I wudn’t know, and I don’t guess I’ll never know what it’d be like.”

When the boys reached the outskirts of Ruby Creek, they decided to take a break from the long walk. They sat down by the roadside and looked down Main Street toward the little town. The smoke boiling from chimneys had merged together because of a light breeze blowing. A big red shaggy dog lay in the street, not bothering to move from his comfortable location as the wagons and buggies veered away from him. Ernie said, “Well, Joey Frank, out yonder’s that big bank. I thank you oughta git what’cha gonna say fixed in that brain of yores so you can say it quick an’ git it over with.”

“I shore do wisht I had a dipper of water before I go in there. I’m thirsty as a workhorse.”

Ernie reached in his coat pocket and got out a piece of chewing tobacco. He said, “Here, Joey Frank, bite you off a piece of this an’ work it around in yore mouth for a spell. It’ll stop you from cravin’ water ‘til we can git some.”

“I ain’t gonna put that dang stuff in my mouth, Ernie Brown. I’d git sick an’ puke for shore.”

“Well, their’s a horse trough over yonder under that big tree if you don’t mind drankin’ after a horse. Shucks, I’ve done it many a-times.”

“Yeah, an’ I bet’cha you went an’ got them tapeworms that makes their home in folks’ bellies from a-doin’ sech too, didn’t you?”

“Heck no! I didn’t git them thangs, I’ve heard tell of folks a-gittin’m but I never did. Did you?”

“Yeah, I’ve had’m lots a times.”

“Did you git’m from drankin’ after a horse?”

“No, I didn’t git’m from drankin’ after a horse ‘cause I ain’t never drunk after one before.”

“Well, where’d you git’m?”

“I don’t know where I got’m; I cain’t remember, but I didn’t git’m from drankin’ after a dang slobberin’ ole horse for shore.”

Joey Frank stood up and straightened the hat on his head, saying “I can wait about the water. I want to go on to the bank an’ git what I want to say over with so we can do somethin’ else. Wud you take that wad of chaw out of yore mouth, you know it ain’t proper to go to the bank with your jaw all stickin’ out an’ wipin’ tobacker juice on yore sleeves.”

“I’m not goin’ to do no sech a-thang, I can fix it in my mouth an’ nobody will ever know it’s here. I can look just as proper as anybody in that bank.” Ernie replied.

As the boys started down Main Street, Ernie strutted a little with a bounce in each step. The closer they got to the bank, the drier Joey Frank’s mouth became. At one point he almost turned around to back out, but he knew that if he did, then he would never hear the last of it. Ernie’s footsteps seemed to be shuffling in rhythm over and over those dreadful words, “chicken blood.”

Banker Tolbert’s horse and surrey were in front of the bank. The horse had a feedbag fastened to her muzzle so she would have food all during the day while Banker Tolbert was busy operating his bank.

The boys paused for a moment, looking at the brick structure with its false front towering above. Ernie said, “Well, here we are, Joe Frank. Are you ready to go inside?”

Joey Frank swollowed hard, then said, “Yeah, I reckin Iam.”

Ernie spit, and Joey Frank watched the large knot in his jaw disappear. Where he had hid the wad of tobacco in his mouth, Joey Frank couldn’t imagine, and he didn’t ask.

The boys stepped up on the boarded sidewalk and went over to the door. Joey Frank took a moment to brush his dark bangs under his hat; then Ernie opened the door and they went inside. They hesitated for a moment and looked around the spacious room where two men tellers were standing behind their stations. The tellers were smiling through the glass as they serviced the customers. Joey Frank nervously whispered, “Ernie, I don’t see Banker Tolbert nowhere, do you?”

“No, I don’t, but maybe one of them men folks over yonder that’s a-workin’ here knows where he is. You wait here, an’ I’ll go ast’m.”

Joey Frank watched as Ernie went over to one of the tellers. The man said something to him and pointed to a door. Ernie came back and said to Joey Frank “That man said Banker Tolbert wuz in his office over yonder. He said to knock on the door an’ go on in.”

The boys walked over to the office. Ernie knocked on the door and slowly opened it so both could see inside. There sat Banker Tolbert, a thin balding man with large eyes. He looked up from the work at his desk, put his pen down and smiled, saying, “Good morning, please come in young men.”

Joey Frank and Ernie slowly walked over to the desk. Banker Tolbert politely got up from his highbacked chair and shook their hands. “Please have a seat,” he said with a motion of the hand at the chairs in front of his desk. “Tell me what I can do for you this morning.”