Lucius
and Dollie chat with Patty. She tells them that Earl was afraid that
Dollie would take Lucius away from home, which was why he wasn't ever
nice to Dollie.
"Will
and I talked about it one time. He's had a lot of insight on his
father's behavior. Earl felt betrayed when Will moved out. His son
and heir left him and the land he held so dear."
Dollie
calmed down. She knew Patty was right. It wasn't her Earl Henry had
hated, but the idea that she'd take Lucius away.
"I
wouldn't, you know."
"Wouldn't
what?" Patty mumbled, already falling asleep.
"Take
him from his land. That farm's a part of Lucius just like I am."
"Um
hm," Patty said as she drifted to sleep.
As
she lay in bed, courting sleep, Dollie said a prayer for Earl Henry.
He might not have liked her, but he was Lucius' father. She owed him
that. Her last thought before sleep captured her was, "I love
you, Lucius."
Lucius
lay in bed trying hard to find peace. He and his mother had to tell
his siblings about their father's death. Much would be expected of
him in the days to come, but he didn't know what. He hoped his mother
or someone else would tell him so he wouldn't make a mess of it. He
tossed and turned, churning the bedding with his long legs. Sleep
refused to come. Instead of waking his brothers, he got up and went
outside. Taking his Zippo to a home grown cigarette, he inhaled
deeply, feeling the smoke roil around in his lungs.
The
full moon cast an eerie silver sheen across the fields. A line of fog
crept up the mountainside from the creek, making him shiver. His
imagination played tricks on him, creating his father's imposing form
among the mist.
"I
promise, I won't fail you, Daddy," he said in a clear voice. "I
told you the night Will left that I'd hold this land—and I mean to
honor that. Ma and the young'uns kin stay on here. Figger I'll build
us a place 'tween here and Will's. We'll all be nearby, sharing the
place. Maybe once he's living here, Will can find his heart again."
Lucius
ground out the stub of the cigarette under his boot heel and went
inside. Disquietude followed him. He couldn't shake the feeling that
his father's ghost accompanied him.
"I'll
find out who kilt ya, Daddy," he promised aloud. "He'll
pay. But don't you haint us or you'll scare the young'uns."
With
a shiver of doubt, he shed his clothing, taking to his bed once more.
His mother's movements in the kitchen woke him from a troubled
slumber, early the next morning. His brothers continued to sleep
soundly.
"Mornin',"
he mumbled when he walked into the front room.
Rachel
gasped, dropping the tin mug she held. "You gave me such a turn!
For a moment you sounded so much like him." She collapsed on a
chair, weeping. "What am I gonna do, Lucius? I never been
without your daddy! Even during the war, he was in my heart. Now
there's nothing!"
Lucius
went to her, holding her close as she wept. He'd never known how deep
his mother's love was for his father. To him, Earl was a mean old
drunkard who took his anger out on his two eldest sons. Only when
their mother intervened, would be back off. Earl Henry was a hard
drinking, bad tempered man of whom Lucius had very few happy
memories.
"I
know he hurt you, Luke, but he was still your daddy. No matter what."
"Mama,
I have so few memories of my father that don't end in a whoopin'. He
showed me the back of his hand until I was big enough to fight back.
I spent my childhood enduring beatings I didn't deserve and my
adulthood protecting those young'uns from what I got. So you can love
him and miss him all you want. Don't expect me to mourn with you."
His
mother remained in stunned silence, her mouth agape. Lucius' nerves
jangled unpleasantly as shivers ran up his spine. He felt like his
father's ghost walked between them.
Neither
of them heard the bedroom doors open, but moments later they were
surrounded by his brothers and sisters. Rubbing their eyes and
yawning, they stood in a semi-circle behind their older brother.
"What's
wrong, Mama?" Samuel asked.
"You
young'uns go get dressed an' come on back," Lucius said gruffly.
The
children didn't hesitate. The command in his voice moved them to
action. The only other time they hopped up that quick was when their
father was in a foul mood.
Lucius
felt bad for a moment, worried he would turn out like Big Earl. What
kind of father would he be to his and Dollie's children? Would he be
a wild drunk like Earl? Shoving his hands in his pockets, he waited
for the others.
This
wasn't going to be easy and it was on him to do it. With Will gone,
he was head of the family now. His mother sniffled quietly, dabbing
her eyes. She was in no fit state to give the news. The children sat
around the kitchen table, staring at Lucius. He helped his mother sit
in her seat, then took his father's place at the the table. Folding
his hands before him, he began.
"There
was a commotion down at the school late last night," he said
quietly. "Miss Dollie and me went down to the dining hall to
find out what was the matter. Sheriff Squires was there and he brung
me to the creek. They'd found a man, kilt dead, face down in the
water. They asked me to identify him."
©
2019 Dellani Oakes
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