Drena Hills
Learning to see an imperfect person perfectly.
-
Sam Keene
“Ma’am,” Kid said
entering the room quietly his attention drawn to the pale, still,
figure in the bed.
“Mr.
Jones,” she said surprised rising up from the chair where she was darning.
“Thought
I’d take over for the night,” Kid said.
“Let you get some rest.”
“He’s
been a bit feverish, out of his head, but he’s calmed some now,” she said
picking up her sewing.
“Always
was a talker,” Kid said but his eyes gave away his concern.
“Have
you two always been such good friends?”
He
turned on her surprised, “Ma’am?”
“The
way you look after each other, its almost like you are brothers.”
“Cousins
actually ma’am, guess we’ve been friends all our lives.”
“If
you need my help, Jake and I will be just next door.”
“Thank
you Mrs. Carlson.”
He
waited until the door shut and then tossed his hat down and pulled a chair over
to the bed.
“Heyes,
its me Kid,” he said more for himself than the unconscious man. “I’ll be sitting with you till morning, so
you just get some rest. Things are
getting real crazy round here Heyes and you are looking luckier and luckier,”
he sighed picking up the rag from the basin next to the bed.
Heyes
stirred for a moment and Kid froze hopeful, but the moment passed.
Trying
not to let the disappointment show in his voice he continued.
“Mrs.
Carlson wanted to know how long we been friends,” he continued wringing the rag
out and bathing his cousin’s flushed face.
“Guess it’s been forever, huh?” he laughed softly trying to keep his
voice soothing. “Except maybe that one
summer, you remember when my Ma took me back to Philadelphia…what were we 9 and
11? Boy you sure had me worried. It’s
funny, all those years ago and you know what I remember? You didn’t meet the train…
Everyone
else was there, Pa, my Aunt, even my Uncle, but not you.
I
shuffled and endured the hugs and greetings and exclamations of how I had
grown. I guess your Ma caught my weariness of it because she draped a
conspiratory arm around my shoulder and propelled me to the wagon.
“He
had some things to do, he’ll be at the house tonight when you come for dinner.
I really enjoyed your letters. You got
a real interesting way of looking at things Jed, you don’t see things the way
other people do.”
I
looked up surprised. The letters had
been my ma’s idea to help me with my writing, but I had sent them to Han.
“Han
did read them didn’t he?” I asked thinking of how I had sweated finding the
words to convey the wonders of a big city to my cousin. I had wanted to make him feel like he was
there too. So I had tried to find things I knew would have interest him to
describe.
“He
read them Jed,” she smiled squeezing my shoulder. But something was wrong I could tell.
“He
okay?” I pushed.
“Course
he is, you know Hannibal, just needs to have people around. He missed you Jed.”
“I
missed him,” I admitted.
“Did
he!” my older sister Rachel said rolling her eyes. “All he’d talk about was wait till I tell Han about this and wait
till I ask Han about that. It was as
bad as having Han along.”
I
made a face at her. Rachel had liked
Philadelphia and come back declaring herself a lady. All I wanted to do is tear my shoes off and lose my jacket and
find Han. I had had enough tea and
drawing rooms to last me a lifetime.
*********************************
He
was late for dinner, but I didn’t care.
I had saved him a seat next to me and he slid in avoiding meeting his
Pa’s eyes over being late.
“Hannibal,”
his father began.
“Did
you wash you hands Han?” his mother said jumping in to save him.
“Yes
ma’am.”
“Thank
you. Say hello to your cousin.”
“Jed,”
Heyes said and piled the mashed potatoes on his plate.
************************
“Han
wait up!”
He
turned and for a moment I didn’t recognize him. He looked older, wilder than I
remembered. For a moment it felt almost
like I didn’t know him.
Then he gave me that
grin, that funny lopsided one and I felt better. He had snuck out after dinner and I had to run to catch up with
him.
I
slowed as I reached him and realized he was not alone. Another boy, perhaps with 2 years on Han
stood beside him.
I
reached him grinning. I had so much to
tell him and ask him and share with him.
Things only Han would understand.
We had been apart six whole weeks.
Six weeks was a lifetime when you were nine.
“Jed
you remember Cory Mitchell,” Han said introducing the older boy.
I
nodded. Cory had arrived in May, a
month before school had got out. We
hadn’t thought much of him at the time what with school ending and my trip
coming up.
“Nice
to see you again,” I said sticking out my hand. My great aunt had been very serious about me going home a proper
little gentleman. The attempt had
nearly killed me, but some had stuck.
Cory
started laughing and didn’t offer his back so I slowly lowered by hand.
“Ain’t
he the gent,” he said and then dismissed me.
“Come on Han let’s go check on those traps.”
Han
wavered for a moment torn between the confusion in my eyes and lure of his new
friend’s suggestion.
“Yea,
right. See ya later Jed.”
“Oh
I can come,” I said it never occurring to me that I had been dismissed. Han and I always went everywhere
together. There was no other way.
Cory
rolled his eyes, but I ignored him and fell into step along side Hannibal who
was caught uncomfortably in the middle.
“Does
he have to come?” Cory finally said in a whisper I was meant to hear.
“He’s
my cousin.”
“He’s
a little kid.”
“He’s
all right,” Han assured the older boy and then gave me a look that said I
better not let such faith in me down.
“So
where we going Han? Traps for
what? You build them?”
“You
sure ask a lot of questions,” Cory said disgusted.
“Yea
Jed,” Han muttered.
I
stopped confused. I always had
questions and Han always had answers
That’s the way things were.
That’s how things worked.
“Han
I thought we was friends,” I said kicking a rock with my foot.
“Sure
you are, but me and Han is best friends,” Cory said leaning on Han’s shoulder.
“You coming?” Han said
finally.
“No,
I guess not,” I said hurt.
“Suit
yourself,” Cory said delighted.
Han
stood there and our eyes met. He looked
away first.
“See
ya later then Jed,” Han said.
I
didn’t start to cry until they were out of sight.
*****************************
“You
mopin’ around here again?” Rachel said finding me in the loft of the barn
staring out across the landscape or more truthfully watching the road for a
familiar dark haired figure I had waited so many time before.
“Leave me be.”
“You
only got one more week till school starts I’d think you’d want to put it to
better use than sulking up here.”
“Will
you leave me alone!” I shouted angry now.
Her
face softened, “I’m sorry Jed, I don’t know what’s got into him. Maybe if you found out where he is at and…”
I
looked at her, girls just didn’t understand.
For the last week I had tried that.
I had managed to be every place Heyes and Cory were headed and it had
been no good. I wasn’t needed and I
wasn’t wanted.
“That
Cory Mitchell is a bad un anyway. He
tried to kiss me the second day he came to school and stole Jenny Piper’s
lunch.”
I
looked up sharply, “He tried to kiss you?”
She
smiled, she always knew the way to get my attention. “Yes, and he tried again last week after church. I’m kind of worried about how its gonna be
with school starting again.”
I
got up slowly dusting off the straw from my overalls.
“Think
I’ll go find Han,” I said quietly.
“Hear
he was headed down to old man Culler’s place,” she said innocently.
I
nodded and then as I moved to climb down, “Don’t you worry no more about Cory
Mitchell, Rache, I won’t let him bother
you no more.”
“Thanks
Jed I knew I could count on you.”
*******************************
Hannibal
Heyes looked up from the rope Cory was tugging into place in the broken down
abandoned barn. Things had gone too
far. At first Cory’s excitement at the
plans he could come up with had been a heady experience and helped to fill the
void Jed’s leaving had left.
But
more and more Heyes was getting tired of the boy’s single-minded desire for
trouble and his insistence that they share it with no one. Even Jed and him had hung out with a gang of
boys on and off as adventures dictated.
Cory would have none of it, dismissing them all as not worth their
attention.
And
if he were honest now that Jed was back he was just flat out realizing how much
he had missed his company. When his
cousin had told him he was leaving for most of the summer he had acted
unconcerned, but in truth had been devastated.
Jed was the one who made his plans real. Jed was the one who would listen to him go on and on and then at just
the right moment say the thing he needed to hear. Jed was better than a cousin, he was friend.
“Ole
Man Culler ain’t gonna know what hit him when he steps in this,” Cory said
laughing as he set the lantern down next to the post they were working around.
“How
come you hate him so much?” Heyes asked suddenly not liking the sneer on the
boy’s face and the pleasure he was getting out of setting the trap.
“Yelled
at me when he caught me stealing his apples.”
“Well
you were stealing his apples,” Heyes laughed.
“Nobody
yells at me,” Cory said suddenly turning on him his eyes hard. “No one.”
“What
makes you think he’s gonna come into this rickety old barn anyway, when he’s
got a perfectly fine new one full of animals?”
“Gonna
kill one of his chickens and leave a trail of blood. He’ll think there is fox
in here and come looking.”
“Kill
one of his chickens…” Heyes started laughing and then realized the other boy
was serious. “Cor no apple is that
good.”
“Where
you going?”
“Home. I don’t mind getting into trouble if it’s
for something worthwhile, but I ain’t wasting a paddling on this.”
He
turned to leave and Cory caught his arm.
“You
said you would help me.”
Heyes
looked down at the hand on his arm, not liking the boy’s tone. “That was before I knew what you were gonna
do.” And he pulled free suddenly.
He
immediately was hit at mid section and the two went crashing into the beam.
“Are
you crazy?” Heyes yelled.
“I
thought you were my friend!” Cory said and Heyes rolled to avoid a punch.
He
barely scrambled to his feet when they both heard the timber sagging.
“It’s
the beam!” Heyes yelled and diving he
pushed Cory from the path of the collapsing lumber, but as he did he cried out
in pain as the end of it caught his foot trapping him firmly.
It
was then they both noticed the lantern or more truthfully felt the heat from
the fire now running its way along the scattered hay to the wall.
“I
gotta get out of here,” Cory cried startled, scrambling to his feet.
“Cory
I’m stuck, I can’t free my leg!” Heyes yelled.
The
boy turned for a moment his face alight from the fire and the fear in his eyes
and then turning he ran out the door.
“Cory!” Heyes yelled.
*******************************
“Where’s
Han?” I asked walking up to the gate just as Cory ran past.
“Get
away from me,” Cory said pushing past me terrified.
Confused
I glanced up the way he had come and seeing the smoke started to run.
********************************
“Think
Hannibal,” he ordered himself. “You can
do this, just don’t get scared. Lever,
I need some kind of lever.”
He
looked around willing himself to ignore the approaching flames and the smoke
seeking to choke him.
“Han!”
“Jed
over here! I’m trapped.”
I
peered into the smoke and then suddenly got a glimpse of him. Leaping over the beam I knelt down beside
him.
“Your
foot?”
“Yea.”
“Hang
on I gotta get something to help me lift it,” and I took off in a desperate
search of the barn.
Suddenly
part the loft came crashing down missing me by inches.
“Jed
get out of here the whole roof is gonna go next.”
“This
ought to do it,” I said returning with a metal bar and studying the beam for
the best place to put the end under.
“Jed
there isn’t time.”
“Ain’t
leaving,” I said simply. “Now when I
lift you try and slide out.”
“Jed
you ain’t strong enough.”
“Hannibal
will ya just shut and do what I say,” I yelled.
Startled
my cousin nodded and I threw my whole body down on the bar. The beam creaked upward.
“Jed
I’m out!”
I
let the wood drop and catching him by the arm I half dragged, half pulled him
from the barn.
We
fell out into the courtyard as the sound of men running and horses arriving
surrounded us.
“Land’s
sake it’s the Heyes’s boy and his cousin!” Mrs. Culler cried.
“What
you boys doing in there!” Mr. Culler barked as his sons began passing buckets
of water.
“Lantern
fell over, I’m sorry sir,” Heyes said trying to stand. And I was pleased when he leaned against me.
“Caught
this one running through the corn,” Mr. Culler’s hand said hauling Cory
up.
“I
didn’t do nothing! It was all
Hannibal,” Cory said struggling.
All
eyes turned on Heyes. He had a
reputation and it was going against him now.
“You,
Jedediah isn’t it? What happened in
there?” Mr. Culler barked.
I
looked at Heyes. I had no idea, I just
knew I wasn’t gonna let him take the blame alone.
“It’s my fault, my
cousin didn’t…” Heyes started.
“…know
the place was so unstable,” I said. I
knew Han would never tell on Cory.
Heyes
turned and looked at me, the thank you in his eyes.
“All
right you boys all wait here till I can take you home. I wanna talk to your folks. You too Mitchell,” he said giving Cory a
look as he walked away that said he suspected there was more going on than had
been said.
Cory
let out a breath, “Thanks for not ratting on me Han…”
My
punch caught him off guard and he fell back sprawled in the dirt.
“What
did you do that for!” he stared touching his lip to find it was bleeding.
“You
left my cousin in there,” I said and wasn’t sure who was more surprised Cory or
Han. “And if you don’t stop bothering
my sister I’ll do it again.
“He’s
been bothering Rache?” Heyes said eyes darkening.
“Aw
Han come on we’re friends. Best
friends.”
“No
we aren’t,” Han said. “I only have one
best friend.” He turned and looked at
me and offered his hand. “Welcome home
Jed…did you really ride a fire engine like your letter said?”
*****************************
“Your
partner, where was he? In front of you,
behind you or beside you?” Sheriff Moody asked as the group stood around
Heyes’s bed.
Heyes
blinked, he had no idea. The pause was
only ever so slight as he worked out the answer that would protect his
cousin. “Ahead of me, 4 maybe 5, 6 yards…”
******************************
“We’ll
talk about that in the morning after the Doc gets a look at you,” Kid said
finally exhaling.
“Kid?”
Heyes asked curious. “Where were you
when I got shot?”
‘Behind
you.”
Heyes
grinned.
“Did
I have you worried?” Kid said keeping his face serious.
“My
best friend?” Heyes said surprised and Kid’s smile brought another to his
face. “Not for a moment.”