Six Miles From Nashville

Six Miles From Nashville

Copyrigh
t 2013 Elaine Littau

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any way by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission of the author except as provided by USA copyright law.

All characters in this book are from the imagination of the author and are not actual persons.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769

Cover design by Jonna Feavel

DEDICATION

for Terry

Other Titles by Elaine Littau:

Nan’s Heritage Series

Nan’s Journey Book I

Elk’s Resolve Book II

Luke’s Legacy Book III

The Eyes of a Stranger Book IV

Timothy’s Home Book V

Rescued...A Series of Hope

Some Happy Day Book I

Capture the Wandering Heart Book II

Walk Slowly Through the Dark Book III (winter of 2013)

Acknowledgements

Six Miles From Nashville is a contemporary story that takes place in the 1970s. It is a whole new experience for me in writing. I have to say that I enjoyed it a lot.

One of the things that was important to me in this book was to reflect the hearts of many of the young people who lived in the heartland while the war in Vietnam took place. We loved our troops and prayed for them at all times. We were proud of them and waited anxiously for their return home.

As a teenager during this time, I found the MIA’s and POWs and their families to be especially dear to my heart. Just this December, I spoke with a friend who is a librarian in Spearman, Texas. She wore one of the bracelets with a MIA’s name on it in high school. When I told her about this project, a soft look entered her eyes and she told me that ‘her soldier’ never made it home. She took the bracelet to Angel Fire, New Mexico to the Vietnam veteran memorial there and left it for one of the displays in honor of him. I found that story very touching.

I hope you enjoy stepping into the life of an ordinary girl of 1974. She wasn’t on the cutting edge of fashion. She didn’t know all the cool 70s lingo. She had to grow up fast and decide what kind of life she would live...sort of like all the rest of us of that time.

Six Miles From Nashville

1974

Chapter 1

“God, help me!”, Betty Barnes breathed as she grabbed for a gulp of air. She didn’t know what she was doing. The world was bigger than she figured it was.
Some would call me ‘stupid’, and at this moment I know they’d be right.

She was covered with sweat as she squatted on the floor of the cramped motel room. The long night of
labor ended when she wiped off the little mass of humanity that she had deposited on this old planet. She stared at him and wondered what would become of him.
Shoot, I haven’t named him.
“Like Mama always said, ‘No use namin’ somethin’ you have no intention of keepin.’”

She reached for the old
duffel bag where she had put all her stuff and found a clean tee shirt. Spreading it out on the bed, she lay the newborn on it and wrapped it tightly.
Faith Bible College...I guess it fits because that is the last place his mama was happy as well as the place that brought me much misery. And to think that when I made up my mind to go there, I believed everyone’s thoughts were on God all the time. Stupid me!

The baby
bawled loudly at the sound of her outcry. She picked him up to get him to quiet down. He sucked his fist.
Okay, I’ll feed you once.

She pulled
her tee shirt up and he sucked loudly.
For crying out loud! That hurts!
She tried to pull away but he had hold of her.
I guess I owe you one meal.

She sat on the bed and took in her surroundings
. The hotel room barely hung together by the big nails the old man used for repairing the place. She counted herself  lucky that he let her stay there for a few days in exchange for changing the sheets in the other units.

She recalled making
fun of the people who lived in the other rooms because the place was so pitiful. At this moment she realize that she was in no better shape than any of them. In fact, as of this hour, she was in worse shape.

I have this baby and no job. I can’t go home because I told Mama I was touring the world with the singing group for the Bible college. She would skin me alive if she knew about...this.

She started sobbing and almost lost control, then remembered that Daddy always said: “You can feel sorry for yourself or you can make something of yourself. You can’t do both.” Either pitiful or powerful.” She didn’t feel like she had the power to make something of herself, but she had no choice but to try.

The boy slept and she
put him on the bed, wedging pillows around his tiny body. She placed her ear close to his mouth to be sure he was still breathing. As she stood up, she caught her reflection.  She was a mess. She approached the mirror cautiously. Betty never had thought that she was a beauty, but she reckoned that she had every right to look wrung out after giving birth.

She took off
the tee shirt and wet it down with water from the bathroom sink. There was just one little piece of soap left, so she didn’t use it for cleaning the floor.
I need to get a good bath while I have a roof over my head
,
but first, I need to clean up my mess.

She
scrubbed the old crusty carpet as best she could and put the shirt in the trash can located in the bathroom. While she was in there, she ran the water as hot as she could stand it, and slipped into the tub.
God, I knows I did wrong, but You got to help me figure out what to do.
She prayed that thought over and over while she slowly bathed. The water relaxed her spent muscles so much that she almost fell asleep while soaking. The water grew tepid and she pushed herself from the shallow fiberglass tub and dried off with the last towel available in the room. It was a threadbare thing that had seen better days. It would have been a stretch to call the color ‘white’.

She had one last
clean shirt and a big peasant skirt. She was in no shape to wear jeans. Dressing  took all the sap out of her. Her strength was mostly gone.
I don’t think I need to go to a hospital and be checked out. Barnes women have given birth for ages in their homes.
She laid down beside the baby and turned on the TV.

“
20/20” was on and they were doing a news story about babies that had been abandoned in dumpsters and bathroom trash cans. Because of the many babies found, there were a few hospitals that allowed mothers to bring their newborns and leave them there to be adopted out.

She thought she
had gone to sleep and was dreaming, so she sat up and blinked her eyes. The story went on. When the show broke for commercials, a doctor at the Springfield hospital stood in front of the camera. He said, “We are a hospital that will take newborns. No questions asked. I beg you not to kill your baby or abandon it somewhere else. You can give us whatever information you are willing to give. Go to the Emergency Room door and ring the bell. Wait for the nurse, then hand her the baby. We ask that you say, ‘Please find a home for this child.”

She
could hardly catch her breath. The baby squeaked and slept again.
This is my answer.

Chapter 2

It was harder than she thought it would be to leave the little guy behind. The nurse folded him in her fat arms.
He seemed to fit there better than with me.
The nurse looked up with tears in her bright blue eyes and said, “I promise he will get a good family.”

“Thanks,” was all Betty could push between her
lips.

It was early m
orning and some of the leaves were budding on the large maple trees. She was glad that winter had stopped covering the place with snow until she got him taken care of.

I never did name him. I guess it’s just as well. That way, I won’t be slippin’ up and sayin’ something about him. I must make sure that no one ever knows.

Traffic was light on the highway. She always stayed away from the interstate. She had decided to go to Nashville and try her luck there. Everybody at church told her that she had a great voice. It’s good, but it ain’t Dolly Parton. She decided it was worth a shot. It was better than going to a commune.

She had
made the decision to avoid communes as soon as she left Bible school. She knew that sometimes people thought she looked like a hippie, but the truth was that she was poor. She had always been poor.