Ever
Terri Sutro
Their horses flew
over the barren ground. Faster. Gotta move faster. Gotta keep running. Can’t stop yet. They’re still back there.
He permitted himself a glance behind. Kid was riding just as hard as he was, his
face clenched in exhausted desperation.
Heyes knew he looked no different.
He pulled ahead and swung off the main road onto a grassy path. He knew Kid would be angry. ‘Stay on the main road. Better chance to find good cover.’ Yep, that’s what he’d be hearin’. Especially if this path turned out to be a
dead end. He grimaced at his own choice
of words. ‘Dead end. Well let’s hope not.’ Something.
He didn’t know what it was. A
feeling. A sudden impulse. The scent of wildflowers, of long uncut
meadow grass. Something guided his hand
as he turned his horse onto this path. ‘Lack
of sleep. Yea that’d be what it was you
durned fool. Serve you right if it
turned out to really be a dead end.’
A word crossed his mind. One he
didn’t often allow himself to think of. ‘Home’. He shook it off. More’n likely just needin’ a couple of good
meals.
He slowed his horse
down as he approached a wide parcel of green overlooking a clear lake. The wildflowers painted splotches here and
there and fragranced the air.
“Well will ya look at
that.” Heyes reined in his horse at the
edge of a meadow.
Kid pulled up
beside him at first slumping in the saddle, eyes closed. The first moment of rest in days. At Heyes’ question he looked up, alert again
to whatever danger was there. Knowing he
should have spotted it first. That was
his job. He rubbed his eyes, bloodshot
from too much dust and too little sleep and squinted into the sun.
“Now what.” Curry muttered.
“Over there, Kid.”
Heyes pointed straight ahead.
They’d been riding for days, finally losing the posse that seemed
determined to be the ones that put
Heyes had managed to once again take complete responsibility for their
situation, blaming himself for playing that one last hand of poker. Waiting just a bit too
long. Not reading recognition in
the eyes of the man sitting across from him.
Too intent on winning just one more hand. Now the considerable amount of money in his
pocket seemed unimportant.
It had been a familiar conversation as they rode hard out of that
town. Heyes saying he should’a done it
differently, paid more attention. Kid
telling him as long as one of them was payin’ attention that was all that
mattered, and can we just get outta here and talk about it later?
So they rode. And
rode. And made
do with cold camps so as not to draw any unwanted attention from a campfire’s
smoke. And chewed on hardtack,
not daring to hunt the game they saw all around them for fear the sound of
gunfire would draw the posse to them.
Now they were both bone tired and just looking for a place to rest
up.
“See ‘em Kid?” He paused,
feeling suddenly replenished, his voice lighter. “Been a long time.”
Kid Curry’s clear blue eyes went where Heyes was pointing. He relaxed in the saddle. It was the first time that Heyes had sounded
like himself in days. He looked at his
partner. Heyes was smiling, leaning back
in the saddle. “Yea,
a long time Heyes. You remember
that summer? The one just before….” Kid stumbled over the words, feeling the long
ago hurt still present in both of them.
“…well before.” He turned his
attention to the scene in front of him.
“Yea, I guess that would’a been it. Seems like forever ago doesn’t it Kid?” Heyes looked at his cousin.
“Yea, forever ago.” Kid met those deep brown eyes. A long buried memory passed between them
before Heyes looked away.
Neither spoke for a while, both remembering a happier time.
******************
It
had been a warm early summer day. The
“Barns’ll just hafta wait. I
wanna go see the lake. Never had a lake right there. Come on Jed, you wanna see it too.”
“Yea, but Pa’s gonna be real mad if he comes back from town and the
barn’s not cleaned out.” There was a
momentary doubt in the younger boy’s eyes.
“Aw we’ll be back in plenty of time.
You comin’? He looked at the
blond head that bobbed in suddenly eager agreement.
With matched smiles and a bandanna filled with apples and some
surreptitiously snatched cookies, the two set off.
********************
“Think there are tadpoles in
there, Han?” Jedediah Curry was half
walking half hopping across the wet rocks that rimmed the lake. His bare feet squished as he moved from rock
to rock.
“Don’t see why not. Course them
‘poles are gonna be clear over ta the next county with all the noise you’re
makin’.” Hannibal Heyes cupped his hands
in the cool water and splashed in on his face.
Running his hands through his dark hair, he grinned waiting for Jed to
catch on.
Jed froze for a moment and stood up.
He looked over to where Hannibal was sitting. The older boy smiled broadly. “Aw Han, cut it out.” He was always caught off guard by his
cousin’s teasing. He grinned back,
squatting on the slick rocks, staring intently into the clear water willing a
‘pole to swim by.
Hannibal
watched his cousin concentrate on any movement in the water. Just to make sure Jed didn’t fall in or
anything. Only ten himself, he still
took responsibility for Jed. Two of them
did everything together. Well, ‘cept
that time when Jed went to Philadelphia.
But that all got worked out. Ma
said they were like two peas in a pod.
Sometimes she called them night and day.
He didn’t quite understand that.
He’d have to remember to ask his Ma what she meant. She always explained stuff to him when he
asked. The sun felt good on his
face. He dunked his feet in the cool
water. His eyes slowly closed.
The splash startled him out of his reverie. “Han!!”
Jed was flailing in the water, splashing and kicking. “Han, help me!” There was scared urgency in his voice.
“Jed, I’m comin’. Hang
on.” The boy rushed across the rocks,
slipping and staggering in his haste to reach the spot where his cousin had
fallen.
Jed struggled to keep his head above water, all the while screaming for
rescue.
Kneeling on the rocks Hannibal stuck his hands out. “Jed, here grab my hand. Come on you can do it.” He stretched his hands out as far as he
could, but Jed seemed to be just beyond his grasp. Then he was gone, disappearing under the
water. “Jed? Jed!!!”
Hannibal screamed his cousin’s name as he dove into the water.
He surfaced after a moment gasping for air and fighting the panic he
was feeling. He forced himself to calm
down. Taking as deep a breath as he
could muster he arched up and prepared to dive into the water again. Familiar laughter stopped him and as he
paddled to stay above water, he looked
up to locate the sound. Amazed relief
crossed his face when he saw his cousin standing on the rocks.
“Hey Han, think you scared all them tadpoles off, I can’t find a
one.” The boy’s laughter rang in the
quiet afternoon.
Hannibal sputtered out some undistinguishable comments, before he met
his cousin’s sparkling and right now mischievous blue eyes. He started laughing himself. “Tadpoles, huh.” His own deep brown eyes
twinkled at the game he and Jed had been playing all their lives. This time his cousin had won. But there’d be other games.
*****************
Once again the two men met each other’s eyes. Both were smiling. The noise of the two little boys playing in
the lake carried across the still meadow to where they sat.
“Lake sure looks invitin’ don’t it Kid?”
“Yep, real invitin’ Heyes.”
The silence hung in the air while both men considered what they should
do; two men refusing to acknowledge that they both shared the same crazy
thought.
“Think that posse’s still out there Kid?”
“Posse’ll always be out there Heyes.”
Both men stared intently at the lake and the children playing.
“Think there are any ‘poles in that lake, Heyes?”
“S’pose there’s only one way to find out Kid.”
They finally met each other’s eyes, sparkling blue eyes to dancing
brown. And they both knew they just had
to do it.
Caution abandoned, they spurred their horses to a gallop eager to find
something that neither could actually describe.
They just knew they had to find it.
Regardless of the risk.
They raced across the meadow chasing each other with the friendly
competition that they’d practiced forever.
Shouting back and forth at each other, teasing each other
furiously. All the pent up tension of
the past few weeks thrown off in the sheer joy of a long ago memory and the
feel of flying on the back of their horses.
They pulled up short near the lake to the sight of two little boys
chest deep in clear water, eyes wide in fear and surprise. The taller one moved in front of the
other.
Heyes and Kid swung down from the horses in unison. Heyes looked around. ‘Yes, this was right. Posse be damned. There’d be no posse today. No running.
No hiding. No aliases. No long ago horrors. No nightmares.’ Just two little boys, looking for a once
upon a time moment of innocence in the Colorado sun.
******************
“Heyes?” Kid didn’t have to look
for his partner to know where he was and what he was doing.
“Yep, just like it was Kid. Just
don’t fall in this time.” Heyes was
already at the edge of the meadow, stripping off his jacket, boots, hat.
“Worth it to see you try to ‘rescue’ me again.” Gunbelt, jacket, boots removed with hasty
fingers. Kid stopped and looked at the
water “Think it’s deep enough?”
“How
deep’s the lake?” Heyes frowned at the
two boys. Their faces showed the fear
they still felt. They’d moved closer
together.
Kid looked over at them. Not any
older than he and Heyes when… “Don’t be scared fellas. We’re not gonna hurt you. Just want’a share the lake for a bit. How deep is it?”
The boys looked at each other and shrugged. The tone of Kid’s voice seemed to be enough
for the taller of the two. “Pretty deep in the middle. Least ways deep as you be tall.”
The smaller boy looked at his friend, who nodded that it seemed all
right. The fear in his face seemed to
dissipate to curiosity. “You want us to
get out?”
“Nope. More’n enough water for
the four of us.” There was a boyishness
eagerness in Heyes’ voice.
Two smiles met. Two grown up smiles that suddenly
weren’t. They didn’t need words. They both knew what the other was
thinking.
The two ‘real’ little boys stood in the water watching the two men
create a flurry of clothing on the long grass of the meadow. They glanced at each other with looks that
said ‘Crazy, for sure. Grown
ups. They’re all crazy.’
Stripped to long john bottoms Heyes and Kid again looked at one
another. With exuberant shouts they took
off running, simultaneously reaching the edge of the wooden planks that made up
the makeshift diving platform and diving into the still water.
“You’re still slower.” Heyes
choked on water and air as he surfaced shaking the cold water from his
hair.
“And you’re still dreamin’.” Kid
broke water. He too shook the water
from his hair. “Come on over fellas. Water’s just right.” He spoke to the boys who hadn’t stopped
watching since the two men joined them.
“You two family?” The smaller of
the boys moved closer to Heyes.
“Yup. Cousins. How ‘bout you two?” Heyes extended his hand, an offer of equality
the child seemed unused to. “Name’s
Joshua Smith. His is Thaddeus. Thaddeus
Jones.” The boy hesitated just a
moment before he accepted the larger hand.
“Will MacIntyre. That’s my
cousin Tommy Duncan. He’s older. But I’m braver.” Will spoke with the confidence only a child
has.
“Are not. You just think you
are. Anyway I’m smarter.” Tommy stuck his hand out at Kid.
“Well it’s nice to meet you Tommy.”
Kid grasped the smaller hand. He
knew he wasn’t the only one who saw the resemblance in these two young cousins. Partners.
He hoped they’d learn what that word meant through growing up slow and
easy. Not like him and Heyes. Their partnership was forged when the very
first practical joke was played.
Toughened through years of thinking through each other’s eyes. Sealed with the knowledge that their lives
were in each other’s hands.
“Ever think it isn’t which of you is braver or smarter but how you work
together.” He glanced at Heyes, then at
the far shore of the lake.
Heyes caught his glance.
Partners and friends from the earliest either could remember. They balanced each other’s strengths and
weaknesses. Some thought a perfect
balance. The bankers and railroad men
usually used words other than perfect. They
seldom needed to say what they were thinking.
They usually just knew.
“That what you two do?” Will
didn’t seem convinced.
Heyes nodded.
“He’s bigger’n you.” He pointed
at Kid.
Heyes grinned. “Maybe. But I’m faster that him.” There was the essence of the two of
them. Pushing each other just a bit
further. Heyes the dreamer. Kid the realist. Roles reversed when Kid needed to dream. Or Heyes needed reality.
“Bet you’re not.” Tommy stood
next to his new friend.
“Bet he is.” Will couldn’t let
his friend go undefended.
“Feel like a race, partner?” Kid
asked innocently still looking at the shore.
“Maybe.” Heyes drew out the word. There was mischief in his voice when he
started to speak gain. “Doesn’t seem fair though, me bein’ the faster swimmer
and all. Hate ta see you lose
again.” He continued to stare at the
shore. “Course might be different if one
of these fellas could be convinced to help you out.”
“So, who starts?” Kid looked at Heyes.
“What’cha think Will? If I wait
over on that bank, you think you can out swim Whatshisname over there?” Heyes and his ‘new’ partner looked at the
still water and the land about a hundred yards ahead.
Will
looked carefully at Kid. His small face
scrunched up in thoughtful consideration.
“I could try.”
“Nope. That wasn’t what I
asked. Can you out swim him?” Heyes looked intently at the boy.
Will was silent for a moment.
Then he smiled a broad smile of understanding. “Yup.
Sure can. Any ole day.”
Heyes laughed. “Thaddeus?”
“Well Tommy, sounds like those two think they can beat us. What d’ya think?” Kid looked as serious as Heyes.
“Well…” The boy looked up at
Kid. “No sir. Not a chance.”
“Deal then. Once up and
back. First man across touches his
partner’s hand, second man dives in and finishes up here. Right?”
Heyes once again stuck his hand out.
This time to Tommy.
Kid did the same to Will.
Finally they reached for each other’s hands. “One more time partner?” Heyes’ soft voice conveyed a thousand
memories.
“One more time Cousin.” Kid’s
answer spoke of complete understanding of those memories.
“Who starts?” Will’s voice broke
the quiet.
Heyes cleared his throat. “Well,
guess we should trade off. One of you,
one of us. How does that sound? I gotta coin we could flip, but it’s over
there.” He pointed to the pile of
clothing.
Kid just laughed. “Never did
trust that coin of yours Joshua. You and
Tommy start. Will and I’ll take the
second half. That ok with everyone?”
Three heads nodded agreement.
Didn’t need to be a prize. Just
the race itself. And the cool water on a
warm summer day.
“On your mark.
Get set. Go!!”
Heyes and Tommy hit the water at the same time Kid said those
words. Heyes broke clear first.
“Come on Tommy. You can do
it. Do it like we done before.” Will seemed to forget Tommy was on the
‘other’ team.
Kid didn’t remind him. “Come on
Will. We’d better get to our
places.”
The two ran to the other side of the lake all the while yelling
encouragement to their teammates.
Heyes touched Will’s hand first and the boy dove into the water with
all the strength he had.
Tommy’s head appeared and he reached for Kid’s hand. Kid dove in and started his pursuit of
Will.
Heyes helped pull Tommy out of the water and they re-traced Kid’s and
Will’s steps back to the starting point.
“Come on Will. You’re winnin’.
Don’t let him catch you.” Tommy
was jumping up and down in excitement.
Heyes just smiled. “You don’t
really think he can win do you?”
“Sure he can. He’s the best
swimmer in the whole county. You just
wait and see.” Tommy frowned at the idea
that his cousin could lose.
Two heads bobbed in and out of the water coming closer and closer to
the two on land. Those two on land
shouting at the swimmers, urging them on.
“Come on Thaddeus. You gonna let
a kid beat you.” Heyes’ called
out, purposefully teasing his partner.
“Come on Will, I’ll do your chores for a week if you win.” Tommy was screaming and bouncing on the
rocks.
The swimmers approached the end.
The watcher’s shouts merged, encouraging the two on to the finish. There.
There it was. More shouts
came. And laughter too. Hands extended to help the two out of the
water. And hands extended in congratulations.
************************
“Is too an elephant. If’n you
know so much what do you see.” Tommy
was lying on his back in the tall grass beside his cousin and the other two
bigger little boys. They’d flopped down
side by side after the exertion of the race.
“Ah, well there’s a dragon.”
Heyes pointed up at a cloud marbled in white and gray, passing in front
of the sun.
“Where? I don’t see no dragon.” Will scrunched over to look where Heyes was
pointing, his dark eyes squinting into the sunlit sky.
“Ever seen a dragon?” Heyes
spoke softly not wanting to jar to peaceful moment.
“You sayin’ I haven’t?” Will was
defensive. “My pa’s read to me and
showed me pictures. This fella was
rescuin’ this girl and he had to kill the dragon.” There was an implied, ‘so there’ in the boy’s
tone.
Heyes just smiled. “So you see
this one?”
The boy frowned as he searched the clouds for the dragon. “I don’t see no dragon.”
“Right there. Straight up.” Heyes took Will’s hand and pointed it to the
cloud. “See? There’s his tail and his wings.”
“Maybe.” The boy did not sound
convinced. He went back to admiring the
tadpoles they’d collected and put in a glass jar.
“Well, what do you see then?”
Heyes turned slightly to look at the boy. Over that young shoulder he could see Kid
dozing. Tommy had long since given up
the fight and drifted off.
“Clouds. Just clouds.” The boy stopped looking. In a moment he too was asleep.
Heyes looked at the sleeping boy.
Too young to not have dreams. He
traced the pattern in the sky with his finger.
“Nah. Dragon. Remember Kid? Dragon.”
He looked over at his partner again.
Sound asleep. Heyes just smiled. ‘That’s ok Kid. I’ll keep watch this time.’ He went back to outlining dragons in the
sky.
************************
“Hey Han! Han where are you?” Jedediah Curry nearly fell over his cousin
lying still in the grass of the meadow near their farms. “Han, you ok?” It wasn’t like his cousin to be so still.
Except for when he was sick that once.
Jed didn’t like that one bit. His
parents wouldn’t let him go visit.
Seemed like forever until he was allowed in. He was scared that Han would be sickly like
their friend Ethan. Then there’d be no
adventures. Han was great at planning
adventures. He sunk slowly to the
ground. “Han?” He lightly punched his cousin’s arm. “Han come on.
Stop playin’.”
“Dragon. See it Jed.
Just like Grandpa told us about.”
He pointed at the sky. “I’m gonna
find a dragon some day and a sword in a stone, just like King Arthur.”
“I don’t see no dragon. Where is it?
Come on Han, show me.” The
younger boy squirmed around so he was lying next to his cousin. He shielded his eyes from the sun.
“There, Jed. Right over your head.” The boy took his cousin’s hand and pointed it
to the spot in the sky.
“See?
There’s his nose, and his tail.
Looks like he’s breathin’ fire.”
“Oh yea. There he is.
I see him. Look Han, he’s got
wings. Can he fly?” Jed turned inquisitive blue eyes on his
cousin.
“Sure.
Why he just decides where he wants to go and up and flies off. Wouldn’t that be great Jed? To just go where ya want, when ya want. Doin’ whatever you decided to do. Not havin’ to go to dances and wear collars
and stuff.”
Jed laughed. “Thought you liked grown up parties.”
“Well yea. I do.
But not where I got to dance with girls.” He was silent for a moment. “Someday I’m gonna be just like that
dragon. I’m gonna go where I want and do
what I want. And have lots of money.”
“Can I go with you Han? I wanna do stuff too. And see stuff.” He returned to cloud watching. “Hey look Han. I see an elephant. Just like we saw in that book about the
circus. Look Han, d’ya see him?”
“Yea Jed, I see him.” Hannibal’s voice was distracted, his mind
wandering. “Just like in the
circus.”
************************
“Don’t see a dragon, but that’s a pretty clear elephant. You never could tell which animals those clouds
really were Heyes.” Kid exchanged
glances with Heyes.
“Remember those clouds Kid?”
There was a wistful note in Heyes voice that Kid did not miss.
“I remember the dance Heyes. I
didn’t think I’d ever be able to sit down again.” He wrinkled his face at the memory.
“Yea, me too. Well you shouldn’t
have ruined that dance. All the ladies
had worked so hard on it.” Heyes had a
broad smile on his face.
“Me? I was just a kid. You’re the one who did it. I just got blamed.” Kid was also smiling, feigning outrage.
“Not the way I remember it Kid.
I distinctly remember telling you to be careful with that black pepper
shaker.”
************************
“But ma, I don’t want to dance with her.” Hannibal Heyes was pulling at his stiff
collar. The fact that it was a warm
summer evening was not making it any easier on him. Little boys were not made to enjoy stiff
collars and this particular little boy was not of a mind to grin and bear it. Even if that’s what his Pa said he should
do. “Can’t I just go listen to the
stories Pa and the other men are tellin’?”
“No you may not. You just go ask
Rachel to dance. Go on now.” His
mother’s voice was soft but left him no choice.
“Yea Han. Rachel’s waitin’ for
ya.” Jed always enjoyed it when he got a
chance to tease the older boy. He
ignored the black look that was directed at him.
“None of that Jedediah Curry.
Your turn will come soon enough.”
Maureen Heyes never could entirely keep the scolding tone in her voice
when talking to her son or his best friend.
Somehow one or the other of them would smile and before she knew it
she’d be laughing with them. They were
both good boys. Just curious. And mischievous. She met her nephew’s eyes. Right now they were so distressed, she almost
laughed.
“Yes ma’am.” He sounded sincere,
but his eyes said not if I can help it.
**********************
Hannibal Heyes took a deep breath.
He took one last look at his Ma, who, rather than giving him the
reprieve he hoped for, sent him to his doom with a shooing gesture of her
hands. He chose to ignore his cousin who
was choking back laughter. He
straightened his shoulders and marched stiffly across the room to where the
girls stood, expectantly waiting to be asked to dance. Terrified that they’d be the ones left
behind.
The furniture had been pushed back along the walls of the Church Hall
leaving the entire center of the room empty.
Nowhere to hide. Hannibal found
he was suddenly very warm.
The group of girls watched him walk across the room. Straightening Sunday dresses. Putting on their very best smiles. He was younger that a lot of them. But those dark eyes and that dimpled grin had
caught the attention of most of them.
And it was almost the last dance.
They all looked hopefully at him.
Oblivious to all of the preening that was going on, Hannibal walked up
to his cousin. Standing even straighter,
he stuck his hand out at the pretty girl in pink.
“Ma says I hafta dance with
you.” He wore a serious frown on his
face as though this was about the same as going to church every Sunday. He didn’t know exactly why he had to do it,
but he knew he had to, cause that’s what his Ma had said.
Tears formed in the girl’s blue eyes.
“What makes you think I’d dance with you Hannibal Heyes. I think you’re the most horrid boy I
know.” And with that she ran out of the
room.
Hannibal looked confused. He
didn’t think the girl was supposed to cry and run away. It was, however, his first ‘grown-up’
dance, and he wasn’t entirely sure what ‘was’ supposed to happen.
The other girls were giggling and pointing at the door. And at him.
They were whispering to each other behind tiny hands. He kept thinking it was easier looking for
tadpoles with Jed. He’d never figure
girls out.
He looked back at his Ma. She
had a look on her face that told him he’d better fix this. He opened his mouth to say something. Taking one more look at his mother, and
seeing her look get even darker, he decided on a course of action. He followed the path the girl had taken and
found her sitting on the old porch swing behind the Church Hall. The lights from the Hall were bright enough
to let him see that her face was wet from crying.
“Rachel? I’m sorry. What’d I do?
I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.
Really. Didn’t think I did.” He went and sat beside her.
“Well you did. No go away and leave me alone. I hate you.
I hate all boys.” She refused to
look at him.
“Aw Rachel, you can’t hate me.
Jed and me are best friends, partners.
You can’t hate your brother’s partner.
Just can’t be done. Come on back
in, ok? Ma’s gonna be real mad if I
don’t dance with you.” He fished around
in his pocket and came out with a bandanna.
Well it was a close to a handkerchief as he had. He handed it to her and hoped it would help
convince her of his sincerity. It didn’t
seem to be working. New tears were
forming in the girl’s eyes. The memory
of the look on his Ma’s face made him swallow.
“Rachel? If you dance with me,
I’ll give you that blue marble I won off’n Jed last week.” Hannibal really liked that marble, but under
the circumstances it seemed like a reasonable offer.
The girl turned to him, appraising him and his offer with irritation.
She was almost two years older than he was and loved reminding him of how grown
up she was. She sighed. “What am I going to do with a marble,
Hannibal? Girls don’t play with
marbles.” She studied his face. Had he suffered enough? “Oh all right. I suppose I can give it back to Jed for his
birthday.” She rose, almost regally,
from the swing and offered him her hand.
Hannibal looked at her face for a moment. Drawing a deep breath and wearing a look of
supreme martyrdom, he slowly reached
into his pocket, pulled out the marble and dropped in into her hand.
Rachel looked at the marble then at the boy. Then she started laughing. “Oh Hannibal you’re hopeless.” Her hand closed around the marble. “Come on.
I’ll let you dance with me. Even
if you are the worst dancer I know.” She
flounced by him and up the path back to the Hall.
Hannibal stared after her for a moment.
“Girls.” He shook his head as
though that would help him understand what had just happened. It didn’t seem to help. He gave up trying and ran to catch up with
her.
His Ma was on the steps of the hall when the two returned. “Rachel honey are you all right?” She tilted the girl’s face upward. Seeing the smile there, the woman relaxed.
“Yes ma’am. But I sure don’t understand boys.” She glanced at Hannibal, who was looking at
the two females as though they were both crazy.
The woman shrugged her shoulders.
“Nor do I sometimes, Rachel. But
we do the best we can with them. You two
go on inside now.”
************************
The fiddler started playing. A
sign to choose up partners. The men,
blindfolded, picked brightly colored calico ties from a basket and tied them on
as armbands. They searched the room to
find the lady wearing the dress made from the same material. Bowing and curtseying, men a little out of
practice, ladies a little shy. They
linked arms and readied themselves for whatever dance the fiddler called. The fiddler played a few starting notes to
prime the fiddle and to tell the dancers what he’d chosen. Swanee River.
Hannibal heard the music start and looked heavenward. A slow dance.
‘Why couldn’t it be Cotton Eye Joe, or something where he didn’t
actually have to put his arm around a girl.’ He looked at her. ‘Well, she was nice enough, for a
girl. And she didn’t always act scared
of everything. And she was Jed’s sister.’
Oh well. A number of the adults looked at the two
children and smiled, remembering their first dance.
He took her hand and led her
into the crowd of dancers. She looked up
at him, suddenly unsure. He suddenly
didn’t seem to be Hannibal, her brother’s little friend. His eyes were older. They startled her and she stopped
walking.
“Rach?” He looked at her wondering what he’d done
now.
She tried to smile at him and started walkin again.
Hannibal fixed his hand at the girl’s waist. She took his hand and held it tightly as he
tried to remember and follow the steps his mother had taught him. Every so often they would make eye contact. Neither could find anything to say. It was the longest dance either could
imagine.
Both children let out a deep sigh when the fiddler finally
stopped. The dancers clapped. Hannibal led Rachel back to the other
girls. He bowed stiffly to the girl and
she gave an unfamiliar curtsey as a response.
The other girls giggled again and surrounded Rachel.
Breathing another sigh of relief that he had survived the ordeal, he
went looking for his cousin. He had a
plan. It was time.
************************
“Han, you sure of this?” Jed was
watching his cousin tuck a shaker of black pepper into his pocket.
“Shhh. Someone’s gonna hear
you. It’s gonna be great, Jed. You’ll see.
I’ll do it, you don’t have to.
You just have ta not tell anyone.”
Hannibal and Jed worked their way through the crowded room to the
tables heavily laden with food.
Hannibal’s brown eyes were full of mischief. He was wearing what his Ma and Pa called his
‘gotta talk to the preacher about’ look.
Every time that look
turned up, something happened. Water pails
mysteriously dumped contents on store owners.
The Spring Fair’s prize pig was seen wandering around the Sheriff’s
office. The teacher found a frog in her
desk. Right now that look was fixed on
the big cut glass punch bowl resting innocently in the middle of the
table.
The boys approached the target.
Hannibal reached into his pocket and carefully took out the pepper
shaker. He cupped it in his hand,
shielding his action from anyone but his cousin. Loosening the top, he moved slowly and
carefully to a place behind the table.
He waited for the music to start and for the people to start
dancing. He surveyed the room, looking
in particular for his parents and Jed’s.
He found the Curry’s. He found
his Ma. His Pa wasn’t anywhere. He frowned and scrunched his face while he
thought out his next step. Maybe his Pa
was outside smoking his pipe. Yea that
was it. He was safe. “Jed, keep watch for Pa.” His voice was a whisper. He slipped the top off the shaker and raised
his hand.
“Ah, there you are son. I was
lookin’ for you. What are you doin’ back
there.” His father’s voice came from
somewhere behind him.
Startled he dropped the shaker.
Instinctively Jed put up his hands to catch it. Hannibal turned to find the voice, and hit
Jed’s arm which in turn hit the shaker on it’s way down sending it directly
into the full bowl of punch. Hannibal
heard the splash and turned back catching his cousin’s desperately unhappy blue
eyes. He squinted at Jed who rolled his
eyes and nodded at the bowl. Hannibal
closed his eyes and thought about all the ways he could describe not having
anything to do with this.
“Hannibal? You all right, son?” Daniel Heyes only saw that curious look on
his oldest son’s face. He knew it only
too well. He didn’t know for certain
what was going on, but he knew in his heart that he’d find out fairly soon.
“Uh yea Pa. Just dropped
somethin’. I mean on the floor. Dropped somethin’ on the floor.” He suddenly felt very warm again; the collar threatened to choke him.
“Well then come on out from behind there you two.” He put his arm around his son’s shoulders and
guided him out from behind the table. He
turned back to collect Jed the same way.
“Go on you two. But stay out of
trouble.”
“Yes Pa.”
“Yes sir.” Jed looked at
Hannibal.
Hannibal shook his head furiously.
“Let’s get outta here.”
“Han, I couldn’t catch it. I
didn’t see your Pa. Honest. They’re gonna be real mad aren’t they? We’re never gonna get to do anything again
are we Han? They’re gonna lock us in our
rooms forever.” His blue eyes widened in
fear at a sudden thought. “Ya think
they’ll give us breakfast, Han?”
The two boys were sitting on the Hall’s front steps. Jed looked miserable. Like the entire world was just about to
end. And he’d been responsible for
it. He slouched over holding his head in
his hands, his elbows propped up on his knees.
“Nah, party’s almost over anyway.
Maybe they won’t even drink the punch.
Don’t worry Jed. Nothin’s gonna
happen.” The confidence Hannibal heard
in his voice came as a surprise. Even to
himself.
There
were shouts and applause and laughter from inside the Hall. “A toast to Emma and John decidin’ this
night to become husband and wife.” They
heard the clink of the glasses. Lots of
glasses.
They peeked in the window to see what all the noise was about. Just in time to see practically everyone lift
punch filled glasses.
“They’re gonna kill us.”
Hannibal closed his eyes and waited for the end to come.
It started slowly. A few
coughs. A random sneeze. The sound built rapidly to a crescendo of
shouting and sneezing and choking never before heard in the small town. The
town’s banker, a substantially sized gentleman, was hit by the store owner who
was sneezing so hard and so often he had tears running down his face. The bump, while not hard, was enough to send
the banker into the food table which wasn’t designed to support that much
weight. Especially coming at it the way
he did. The crash made as the table
buckled was loud enough to startle some of the horses tied to the post in front
of the church. Food went in all
directions. The punchbowl rolled to a
stop in the corner, the pepper shaker still in the bottom.
The two boys watched in amazement, smiles creasing their faces as they watched
the chaos.
People made their way out of the Hall into the cool night air. Holding onto each other for support they
continued choking and coughing as they made their way to their wagons.
The two boys were laughing now, enjoying the scene. Then the thing happened that neither could
have imagined. Hannibal watched his Ma
and Pa stagger from the hall, followed closely by Jed’s folks who were holding
Rachel between them. All were red faced
and coughing.
“Han?” Jed’s voice was
weak.
The two little boy smiles faded.
Five faces turned simultaneously towards the two boys.
“Hannibal Heyes. Jedediah
Curry. You both come over here right
this second.” Bridgid Curry’s voice
left no question as to whom she ‘knew’ had had something to do with this
occurrence. “What do you know about
this?”
“Uh, ‘bout what, ma’am?”
Hannibal’s voice wasn’t quite as confident as it had been just a few
moments before. And he couldn’t quite
make eye contact with his Aunt.
“I didn’t mean it Ma.
Honest. Han’s arm hit mine and
the shaker just went into the bowl. Then
Uncle Dan told us to go outside and…. I din’t mean for everyone to get sick
Ma.” Jed’s eyes were wide as saucers and
brimming with tears as he spilled out the story.
“We’ll talk about this later, young man. You come with me right now. When I get you home….” A very outraged mother
took her young son by the arm and dragged him off with only a helpless
backwards glance at his cousin.
“Uh, Ma. Sure sounds like an
accident…shame if Jed….” Hannibal watched his friend being hauled off. He didn’t miss the miserable expression on
Jed’s face.
“Never you mind that. I’m sure
your Uncle James and Aunt Bridgid will take care of Jedediah. You have your own explaining to do.” Her hands on his shoulders were as much to
steady herself as to scold him. “Let’s
get on home now.”
************************
Hannibal tried to get his Ma and Pa to understand it had been an
accident. He’d tried everything. But they just looked at him and he knew they
knew. He steeled himself for the
whipping he knew he’d be getting. But
they’d surprised him and just sent him to bed.
How was it that just when he had them figured out, they went and
surprised him.
He lay there wide awake. His
younger brothers were fast asleep in the beds that lined the two walls opposite
him in the room they shared. He had to
figure out how to fix this.
He knew he heard crying. He knew
in his head the Curry farm was too far away.
But he heard it just the same.
“Aw Jed. I’m sorry. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.”
He whispered a firm promise to his best friend. He just knew that Jed had heard him.
His Ma came in to check on the younger boys, Alexander and Conor. Straightening covers, kissing a peaceful
forehead, she smiled at the two of them.
She sat on the edge of Hannibal’s bed, tucking him in. “You’re lucky no one got hurt, you know that
don’t you Hannibal.” She brushed the
hair off his forehead. Her touch was so
soft. Made him feel real safe. Her tucking him in.
“Yes ma’am. I’m real sorry
Ma.” He looked up at her. He thought his Ma was the prettiest grown up
lady he’d ever seen. “Ma?”
“Yes, Hannibal.”
“How come you call Jed and me ‘night and day’? He’d been thinking about that for days
now. Seemed like a good enough time to
get it cleared up.
She smiled down at the boy.
Always a question. Answer one and
there were three right behind it. “Not
now, darlin’. Now’s the time for little
boys to be saying their prayers and closing their eyes.
“Please Ma. I’ll go right to sleep if you tell me.”
He looked so earnest she had to laugh.
“You’ll be talking the corn off the cob one of these days. But if you promise to go right to
sleep.”
He nodded furiously, the dark hair flopping back onto his forehead.
“All right then. Don’t know
rightly how it came about. It just
did. Jed was such a happy baby and still
is. Always smiling. Making people feel good. Just like a bright and shiny day.”
A deep frown crossed the boy’s face.
“What about me?” He wasn’t sure
he wanted to hear the answer.
“You?” Sometimes she just had to tease him. The look on that small face told her now was
not the time for that. “Why you had the
darkest eyes anyone had ever seen. When
you’d get mad they’d turn even darker, why they were dark as night itself. And when you’d get happy they’d shine just
like the moon.” She leaned close to him
and rubbed her nose against his. They
shared a smile. One only known to mother
and son. “And when you’d get to planning
some new mischief, why they sparkle like the stars in the night sky.” She started tickling him. He squirmed trying to get out of her grasp,
laughing so hard tears rolled down his cheeks.
She loved the sound of her son’s laughter.
“Ma, stop it. Please. Come on that tickles. Ma!”
He wiped the tears from his face as she finally stopped. “Aw ma.
I wish you wouldn’t do that.”
“I know. Why do you ‘spose I do
it? And now m’darlin’ it’s time for you
to close those beautiful eyes.” She
looked at him tenderly.
“I love you Ma.” Hannibal
suddenly threw his arms around the woman.
It was hard to tell who was more startled.
“Why Hannibal. I love you too darlin’.” She hugged him for a long moment before settling him back onto his bed. “Go to sleep now.” She re-tucked the covers around him and sat watching him drift off. She worried about this one. So smart. So serious. So curious. A dreamer. It was good that Jedediah was his friend. They were good for each other. They’d take care of each other. Making one more gentle attempt at brushing the dark locks from his