Under the Sassafras (15 page)

“
I'll start teaching you tonight, if you like,” Mansir said.

He walked over to Mansir and gave him a timid hug
. “Thank you, Mansir. This is great.” He stumbled back, and blushed. T-Boy showed MaeMae one of the knights and pointed out the knight's shield and sword. “This is super.”

“
I'm glad you both like your gifts. They helped keep my hands and mind busy over the last few months. Next, I think this one is yours.” Mansir handed Joelette a larger package.

“
I would like to wait until last, if you don't mind.”

“
Good, I'm dying to see what I have.” MaeMae held up her hands for her present. “Although you’ve already given me the best present, my rocker.”

“
That gift came from T-Boy as much as it came from me,” Mansir said.

MaeMae's gift
was also in a box. “I see you know how to make boxes,” she said with a laugh.

“
When you find something that works why not keep improving. Open please.” Mansir sat on the edge of his seat. Clearly, he enjoyed this as much as anyone.

Inside were seven compartments, two of which held her decks of cards
. The other five Mansir informed her were for the money beans. “This is perfect I can keep my
Bourré
things all together. This is such a thoughtful gift. Thank you, my friend.” MaeMae's eyes filled with tears.

“
Your turn, Joelette.” MaeMae managed to say as Mansir handed her the largest present of the four.

She took painstaking time and uncovered her present to the cheers of the boys to hurry
. “I bet it's a box,” she teased.

The paper fell away from a beautiful polished box with a carved top
. Instead of a sliding top hers opened from the middle separating the lid into two parts. Inside the wooden box lay a note, the note read
'pull the small knob on the bottom of the box and have fun storing your treasures
.' When she pulled the small ceramic knob, a thin layer of wood came with it revealing a hidden compartment.

“
How did you know?” Joelette, still holding the lid to the compartment looked at Mansir. She was puzzled by the knowledge that he knew of her hiding place.

“
The boys told me when I questioned them about what I should include in a perfect sewing box for you. Do you like it?”

“
Yes, I do. It's beautiful. I love it.” She replaced the lid of the compartment and closed the top of the sewing box. As she looked closer, she saw two large oak trees with hanging moss carved into the top. They framed a small house with a trail leading to a body of water. Among the beautiful tree carvings were letters flowing amidst the moss.
M'lady
.

Mansir saw her turn her face so no one could see the tears brimming in her eyes
. She twisted in her chair and turned her attention to the mess that lay at the bottom of her feet.

“
This has been a great day, but I do think we need to clean up this mess. Boys, thank Mansir for his very generous gifts then take them to your room and get ready for bed.”

“
Ahh mama, can't we play with them a little while? Please?” Ozamae pleaded.

“
All right but just a little while. Take them to your room and play with them.”

Each boy came over and hugged Mansir and muttered thanks for their newfound treasures
. “Goodnight boys, and T-Boy we'll have that first chess lesson tomorrow when you return from school,” Mansir said.

###

Mansir called Possum to let him know that with the hard rain still coming down he was staying the night. Once again he found himself in a bed under the same roof as Joelette.

Later that night, after all were tucked in bed Mansir heard a soft knock on his bedroom door.

“I'm sorry to bother you.” Joelette stepped into the room.

“
No not at all. I am sitting here with the back door open, watching the rain. I don't think I've ever seen such rain as in Louisiana. The sky seems to open up and out it pours.” He pulled out the chair he'd propped his feet on for her to sit as he settled on the edge of the bed.

“
I wanted to tell you something and also say I was wrong.”

“
Joelette, there's no need--”

“
Wait,” she said cutting him short. “Let me finish while I still have the nerve.” She wrung her hands and took a deep breath. “No one ever made anything for me, something all mine.   No one. And I just wanted to say how touched I am that you took such time and hard work to make me something so very beautiful. I will always cherish my sewing box, Mansir, thank you.”

“
It wasn't wasted time or work. I enjoyed every minute.” He started to say more, but Joelette held up her hand.

“
Please.” She rolled the hem of her shirt between her fingers. “You were so careful that everyone would always have a part of you.” Joelette took a breath and let out a sigh. “I know these gifts were supposed to be goodbye gifts, but I'm glad you gave them now so you get to see how much enjoyment you've brought to all of us.”

She took another breath and looked at Mansir for the first time since she had entered the room
. Tears rolled down her cheek. “Now for the hard part,” she said with a bittersweet smile.

He started to stand, but she stilled him once again.

“I'm sorry I acted like I did when you showed me your wedding ring. I had no right to be angry with you for something you don't even remember. I know you can't help who you were before you came to us. I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry.”

“
Joelette, don't apologize for your feelings. Every part of this is a big mess. Don't be sad.” He edged to the end of the bed. “I'm sorry I've brought grief to you and your family. I do care about you, all of you. Please don't cry.”

If he pulled her into his arms, it would seem the most natural thing to do, but he knew she would not approve
. And he had promised.

A long silence bridged between them
. “I have to go. Morning will come soon and T-Boy will need a good breakfast for school tomorrow in this rain.” Joelette got up to go.

“
If you agree, I would like to drive T-Boy to the bus stop tomorrow morning and wait until the bus comes. Then drive over to Possum’s. I know he won't be shrimping tomorrow in this weather and I won't be working in the field, do you mind?”

“
That's kind of you, but don't try to take the truck on the highway. If you need to go to town or something let Possum drive you.” She nodded once. “Thank you again, Mansir.”

Mansir sat on his bed, watching the rain. Joelette was right
. The gifts were meant to be a farewell gift for everyone, gifts for people who took him in and made him a part of their family. But now things were different. They all were special to him and he didn't want to leave them. Ever.

Something more had to be done
. He needed to take more action. The local sheriff's department must have limited capability. They had turned up no matching missing reports in months. Someone must be looking for him.

His memory was returning, but at this rate he would be an old man before it all returned, if his full memory would ever return. Tomorrow he would ask Possum to drive him to Lafayette to get the ball rolling
. And if that didn’t give him answers he would find a way to New Orleans.

Fingering the ring he pulled out of his pocket, he knew that his life might change tomorrow for better or for worse.

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

The rain continued the next morning as Mansir and T-Boy drove to the bus stop.

“
What did you make on your essay?” Mansir asked.

“
I don’t know yet, but the teacher said who ever wrote the best one would win their choice of five books from her book shelf. But I don’t think I’ll win, because I got something great last night, my chess set. I don't think a person gets too many great things.”

“
You know, T-Boy, some people deserve a lot of greats and I think you are one of them.”

The bus honked and they quickly said their goodbyes
. He watched as the taillights of the bus blurred by the rain disappeared down the road, then drove to Possum’s.

Mansir was met with the smell of Possum's coffee before he
even stepped onto the boat. “Hey, man, I have a favor to ask. Can you take me to Lafayette today?”

“
The answer is yes. You know you don’t have to ask, friends just know.” Possum answered, he picked up his hat off his bed and placed it on his head a little crooked. “What you waiting for, let’s go.”

Mansir downed a cup of coffee and the
y were on their way to Lafayette.

“
I think you’ll have better luck there.”

“
Yes, probably should have made this trip a while back. I don't know. Maybe I was hiding from the truth, but now I need to know more than ever. Thanks for driving I don't think Joelette wanted me to drive on the highway. She thought it would be too dangerous.”

“
You don't know what dangerous is until I drive,” Possum said.

Possum drove slowly through standing water on the bridge
. Mansir realized they were both straining to see out the windshield through the pouring rain.

“
Any chance of flooding on this road?” Mansir asked.

“
Never say never, but it don’t usually get that high. Some of the lowlands will flood today but the high water will come from backwater.” Possum swerved to miss some debris in the road. “What the hell?”

Possum slowed the truck.

“My God, it's a school bus!” Mansir yelled. The bright yellow vehicle lay with the front of the bus on top of the rail of the bridge, the back on the pavement.  A little more and it would be teetering like a giant seesaw.  

Possum pulled to a stop behind the bus
. Mansir jumped out and ran to the back of the bus, before Possum set the brakes.

The accident must have just happened
. Mansir clawed at the door with his bare fingers. The back door of the bus appeared jammed.

“
Get some tools from the back of the truck and see if there’s a chain,” he shouted to Possum. Kids yelled and cried inside, turning Mansir’s insides to knots. “We need to secure this bus before it tips forward and falls into the bay.”

“
Check and see if any windows are open on the side,” Possum called back. Their voices grew louder over the pounding rain.

Mansir walked around to the side of the bus and tried to look in the foggy windows
. He saw the number 5 on the bus.

T-Boy's bus
. Number five was T-Boy's bus. His heart stopped. “Please dear Lord, let him be alright,” Mansir prayed out loud.

Possum returned with a claw hammer, an armload of burlap sacks, a tire iron, and some chains
.

“
This is T-Boy's bus. Can you see T-Boy?”

Possum ig
nored his question and instead he simply moved. They hooked the chain onto the frame of the bus and the other end to a cement column on the bridge.

“
We have to go in through the back. If we try to climb around to the front, the bus could tip over into the water.” Mansir was sweating even in the cool rain. “I think most of the children are lying against this back door so I'm going to break out some of these side windows. Hand me some of those burlap sacks.”

The two men banged on the side back windows, breaking them in large pieces and with the burlap sacks removed the glass.

Mansir boosted himself into the bus, slipping on a seat wet with spilled juice from a lunch box. He covered the back window and broke it out in rapid blows.

The cries from the children ripped through his heart
. Begging for their mothers. Moaning from pain.

Mansir gently lifted one child at a time off the stack of small bodies and handed them to Possum
. Not able to take the time to comfort each frail child, he prayed that none were seriously injured. Prayed the next one would be T-Boy.

The two men worked to free all of the children before the bus tilted any further to the front
.

“
Have you seen T-Boy? Do you know where he was sitting?” Mansir asked children as he handed them off to Possum. His voice, already on edge, became frantic.

“
Maybe this is not his bus,” Possum said.

“
No. I saw the number five clearly on the side of the bus as the bus driver turned around this morning.”

On the bottom of the heap of children, Mansir found a little blonde girl barely breathing
. With the weight of the children removed from the back of the bus, it rocked forward.

Mansir felt his heart drop
. Not yet. Not until everyone was off this bus.

Other car doors
slammed and he knew more help had arrived. Mansir carried the little girl out the back door of the bus, he was met with flash bulbs going off on a near by camera. He dropped to his knees and cradled the small head to his chest. The small girl took a big deep breath, then reached up and touched Mansir's face. A soft muttering of thankful prayers went up from the small wet crowd.

A
n ambulance wailed off in the distance. Mansir handed the child to a woman holding a blanket and looked around at the children wrapped in people's shirts, raincoats and being held under umbrellas. He counted them once then again. Seventeen by count.

Mansir raced around the side of the bus again with Possum in quick pursuit
. “T-Boy, where are you son? Answer me, boy. Where are you?” Mansir called out. “Please answer me.”

The front window of the bus had been knocked out on impact
. The bus driver lay across the window. He was just starting to regain consciousness. The unstable bus continued to shift. Metal scraped metal as the bus swayed.

“
Don't move!” Mansir said. “We need to stabilize this bus more,” he yelled to the crowd.

Several men hitched more chains to the bus's frame onto their vehicles
. The crowd waited and a hush fell over the watching group. Mansir and Possum climbed in the back of the bus once again and edged their way up to the driver. The bus shuttered and creaked with each step. Blood covered the bus driver's face and a piece of glass stuck out of his forehead.

“
Are the children okay?” he asked. They helped him to the nearest seat still intact.

“
Some of them are banged up, but for the most part, they are fine,” Possum responded. Checking for broken bones, Possum looked at the bus driver’s face. “Can you walk?”

“
I think so. Did you get everybody out?”

“
I don't know. How many were you carrying?” Mansir asked his voice shaking a little. “Do you know where T-Boy was sitting?”

“
I counted eighteen this morning. We were shy another four. I guess they decided to stay home today.”

“
Where was T-Boy?” Mansir asked again this time more sternly.

“
He sat in the front seat behind me. He always likes to sit up front behind me and talk. He told me about some present he got and wanted to show me part of it. That's when we hit something on the road and spun out of control. Is he alright?”

Mansir let Possum b
ear the weight of the bus driver alone then rushed back into the bus.

“
T-Boy! Can you answer me? Where are you? Don't be afraid. I won't leave you in this bus. I'm not leaving this bus without you. You hear me, T-Boy?”

The front seats had crunched one onto another like dominos
. Mansir lay on the floor of the bus and slithered up the aisle, searching under the seats. Then he saw a small hand wedged between two seats. Time stood still as a lump formed in his throat as he stared at the still little hand. The hand clutched a wooden knight.

“
Please be alive,” he whispered as he carefully removed the seat that created a lean-to over this small boy that meant so much to him. A large gash on the boy's right leg oozed blood and had soaked his jeans. Mansir removed his belt and tied a tourniquet on the leg. He ran trembling hands over T-Boy's small body and felt for broken bones. The leg with the gash was broken, but the other limbs seemed to be intact. Careful to stabilize the broken leg, he pulled the seat off T-Boy’s body. Unbounded strength seemed to be his.

T-Boy
’s eyes were closed as if in sleep. Picking the unconscious boy up in his arms, he carried him to the waiting ambulance.

The medics gave T-Boy oxygen as they transferred him to a stretcher and started working on his leg
. Two other ambulances were leaving the wreckage site with injured children. The howl of sirens faded in the distance like the cries of a lost, injured animal. A news helicopter flew overhead.

“
Possum, go get Joelette. Tell her I'm with T-Boy and not to worry. I know she will want to be at the hospital with him.”

Reporters rushed to Mansir's side with questions about the wreck, the injured children and who he was.

He brushed them out of his way and climbed in the back of the ambulance with T-Boy. Mansir saw Possum talking to the reporters as they closed the door, encasing them in the safety of the emergency vehicle. He held T-Boy’s small hand. This boy had become like a son to him.

His large hands shook uncontrollably as the realization of what just happened washed over him
. Things could have been so much worse. Thank God he and Possum had decided to wait and eat breakfast when they got to town. What if they had waited just a little while? Would they have lost all those children? He closed his eyes to his thoughts and fears and he whispered a prayer of thanks.

###

She rushed into the hospital, her feet tangled and she almost fell. Joelette couldn't breathe. Not T-Boy. Not her son. Please let him be whole. She came to a complete halt when she saw Mansir. He was wet, muddy and spattered with blood. He cradled his head with his hands. To be such a large man, he appeared small and defeated.

“
Where's T-Boy?” She was afraid to ask. “Is he alright?” Her voice shook and her legs gave way.

Mansir stood and caught her in his arms
. He led her to the waiting room and gently sat her beside him. “He's fine. They took him to surgery to set his leg. It was broken in several places in the wreck. He hasn't regained consciousness yet, but the doctor says that's to be expected. He has no other injuries that they can find.”

“
Possum told me how you went back in that bus time after time looking for T-Boy, even with the threat of it falling into the water. Thank you.” She searched his face and continued. “I know these sound like empty words, but I can't think of anything else to say, except thank you for saving my boy.”

“I love him too, Joelette.”

Possum came closer. “Man, you sure were something out there. The press is calling you a hero.” He gave him a sideways grin. “Hey, what size beside big do you think you wear? I thought I would run to the Dollar Store and get you a clean changing of clothes. We can't have a hero meet the press looking like something we found in the swamp.”

“
Thank you. I'll pay you back when this is all over with.”

“
Now here you go, did I ask for money? What’s wrong with you people always talking about money. I'll be right back,” Possum said.

Mansir sat and held Joelette
. Neither wanted to talk. “He’s got to be alright, Mansir, tell me he’s alright.”

Mansir cleared his throat
. “Of course he’s going to be alright.” Before he could say more a nurse came over to them.

“
He’s still in surgery but is doing very well. Would you like a place to clean up, Mr. Benoit?”

He didn’t have the strength to
argue with her mistake. He was not Mr. Benoit. He didn’t even have a last name.

The nurse gave Mansir an empty patient room to shower and change into the clothes Possum brought him
. Once he was clean and dry, he returned to Joelette. “Any word?”

“
Not yet. One of the floor nurses said she would check and let me know about his progress.” Joelette sat up straighter. With this remarkable man sitting beside her holding her hand, she knew she could handle anything.

“
Mama. Is T-Boy alright?” Ozamae ran down the hall with MaeMae behind him.