Vincent wasn’t gone very long, as a matter-of-fact he wasn’t even gone two minutes when Benjamin and I could hear ma shouting, “What do you think you are doin’ out of bed? Do you want me to tell your father?”
Our bedroom door flew open and in stormed Vincent lookin’ madder than ever. He looked to us and said, “SHUT UP!”
“I didn’t say nothing!” I said.
I couldn’t believe what Benjamin said next. “Don’t pay him no mind, he’s just grumpy ’cause he has a wet diaper!”
This got me to roll up onto one elbow to see for myself but I couldn’t see anythin’ ’cause Vincent still had his robe on.
“I’m warnin’ you!” Vincent shook a fist toward Benjamin.
Benjamin leaned close to my ear, “It’s true I seen as he was puttin’ on his robe, he peed his diaper!”
The vanes popped out on Vincents’ neck as his embarrassment and temper grew exponentially.
Both of his fists are clenched tightly closed and if ma had not come in when she did I expect that punches would have started flyin’ at any second.
Ma pointed at Vincents bed, “Bed or belt?”
Without answerin’ Vincent went to his dresser and pulled out a belt. He held it out to ma and said, “I’d rather get a woop’n then stay in here with them!”
With hands on hips ma stared at him for the longest time before grabbin’ the belt from him, throwin’ it to the floor, then grabbed his wrist and marched him out of our room.
Benjamin looked utterly pleased with himself. His cheeks were puffed out and his eyes appeared cheerful as he blurted out, “That was the funniest thin I ever done seen!”
“You’re insane, you know that?” I asked and plopped my face back into my pillow.
“Yeah, but I like bein’ crazy!” he said and stuck his finer in my ear!
“Stop it you dork!” I covered my ear so he couldn’t do it again, “And get back in your own bed before ma comes back in.”
But ma didn’t return, at least not right away; it wasn’t until just before suppertime that we saw her or anyone again. Connie came into our room and quickly grabbed her mouth and nose.
“Oh my goodness Nevada, did you poop your bed?” she crowed.
“NO!” I protested!
Ma must a been in the hallway cause she suddenly appeared and screwed up her a face, “Benjamin is that you?”
I couldn’t believe Benjamin’s response. Sportin’ a devilish grin he answered, “I pooded!”
Connie turned a nice shade of green just before runnin’ from our room. I suppose I couldn’t smell it because I’d been in the room the whole time and my nose was use to it. Benjamin and I had been lyin’ in our beds tellin’ each other jokes and ghost stories all afternoon. He never once said anythin’ about havin’ messed himself and I never smelled any sign of him havin’ done so.
“What are you doin’ in my bed?” Kristen was heard shoutin’ from down the hallway, “Ma Vincent is in my room!”
“I know he is, leave him alone!” ma sang back.
Well at least now Benjamin and I knew where Vincent had been all afternoon.
Kristen came into our room complaining, “Ma I got to change my clothes, I can’t do it with him in there!”
Ma groaned, “Aaaaah Kristen just get your clothes and change in the bathroom then!”
Kristen seein’ Benjamin layin’ on top of his covers with his diaper in plane view took one whiff reached up and plugged her nose, “Wow that stinks!” she said wavin’ her other hand in front of her face.
“Need help with the babies?” Kristen said which turned out to be the wrong thin to say at that second. Apparently Vincent had decided to abandon the girl’s room and return to our room but he had walked in when Kristen had said that. In a flash he was on her punching, kickin’ and scratching. The whole thin lasted all of three seconds but when ma pulled Vincent off Catherine we all could see that he was bleedin’ again; not from his forehead but from his arm where Kristen had sank her teeth into his upper arm.
Pa was late gettin’ home from the farmers feed store and after ma told him what had happened he stormed into our room, pulled Vincent from his bed and took him out of the house and into the barn. Benjamin and I didn’t see either one of them again until the next day.
Not long after the sun had set ma came in with Catherine in tow. Ma proceeded to change Benjamin’s diaper and she had instructed Catherine to put a diaper on me tonight. Ma’s reasonin’ to her was, “You might as well start gettin’ practice for when the baby comes.”
Catherine did a really good job of pinnin’ a diaper on me without hurtin’ my bottom at all. I was a little embarrassed when she started rubbin’ the diaper cream all over my diaper area but when I looked across the room and saw mom doin’ the same to Benjamin and I seen how he was smilin’ gleefully I made up my mind that I wasn’t goin’ to be embarrassed about it.
While Catherine was pinnin’ the diaper on me I got up the courage to ask, “Ma, is Christopher ever comin’ back again?”
Smilin’ she answered, “He and your father are goin’ over tomorrow to talk with Meggin’s parents.”
“But where is Christopher sleeping?” Benjamin asked.
“He’s in the loft.” Connie added.
“Won’t pa let him in the house?” I asked.
Ma made a clickin’ sound with her tongue, “It’s not like that at all. May-Bell has the worms and he’s been tendin’ to her.” Ma reassured.
Benjamin snorted at this and said, “Will we get worms since we drink her milk?”
This idea disgusted Catherine to no end, “Eeeeew! I had milk today for breakfast!”
Ma chuckled, “That wasn’t from May-Bell; it was goat milk from the Guffy’s place.”
I added, “I new it tasted different!”
“How do you know? You had chocolate in you’re!” Catherine said.
“I could still tell!” I argued.
“That’s enough.” Ma said.
Catherine held up three different pairs of plastic pants and asked, “Green, clear or fire trucks?”
“I WANT THE FIRE TRUCKS!” Benjamin squalled.
I don’t know why that embarrassed me so much but it did. Catherine shrugged, tossed the plastic pants with the fire trucks on them over to ma and then said, “I like the green ones; they remind me of Christmas.
Our bedroom window was cracked about two inches and from outside we could hear music. Not just any music, it was the strummin’ of a guitar and the screechin’ of a violin. It was a good sign that Pa and Christopher were not all mad and fightin’ with each other about Christopher wantin’ to get married; at least not tonight. They were out in the barn playin’ music together and as always happens when they play, Whiskey, pa’s huntin’ dog, joins in and begins howlin’ along.
It was perplexin’ to be hearin’ pa play his violin the way he was, I mean after seein’ how mad he was when he came for Vincent I guess I didn’t expect him to be playin’ such a happy kind of tune.
That thought lead me back to Vincent again and I guess I wasn’t the only one wonderin where pa had taken Vincent cause when I asked Catherine and Benjamin wanted to know too. “Ma where did pa take Vincent ?”
“Did he throw him out of the house?” Benjamin asked stupidly. At least I thought it was stupid.
“No he didn’t throw him out of the house, but never you mind about your brother right now,” was ma’s reply.
The next day we found out from Kristen that pa had made Vincent and Kristen sleep on the floor of ma and pa’s room. Pa had told them both that if they are goin’ to act like an animal then they get to sleep on the floor like animals.
The next day for breakfast Benjamin, Vincent and myself were allowed to eat breakfast at the table but had to return to our beds afterward. Vincent didn’t say a single word to Benjamin and me all stinkin’ day and after a while we acted like he wasn’t even there. Just as we’d done the day before Benjamin and I told each other jokes, made up ghost stories and told about thins we were goin’ to do the next day.
At dinner time that evenin pa, ma and Christopher were absent. Connie had made supper and was left to watch the rest of us while they were gone over to the Griffiths. Pa had taken the night off at the feed store and all three of them had dressed in their Sunday best before leaving. I’m not sure what I was expectin’ but when they all returned lookin’ just as tidy as when they left I had felt a little disappointed. I guess I had expected pa to have got into a fist fight with Meggin’s pa, but that’s not what happened at all.
We were not told the details of what transpired but later the next day I was able to put together this much. Our pa did a lot of yellin’ at first and Meggin’s pa did his share of yellin’ too; then both our ma and Meggin’s ma stepped in and told them to stop behavin’ like a couple stubborn mules. In the end, Meggin’s pa forbid Christopher and Meggin to get married and if they did he’d have nothin’ to do with his daughter again.
That was how it was left and everyone thought that it was over between Christopher and Meggin until the day that they both came up missing.
Two days after Vincent and Benjamin had crashed into each other Doc Wilson had stopped by to check on ma who had been havin’ some pains in her back. He gave my two brothers a look over and said that they looked like they both needed to be back in school. I don’t think Vincent was too keen on the idea of goin’ to school lookin’ like a raccoon but I think he was happy just to be able to get out of bed and get outside again. Benjamin on the other hand was more then excited with the notion of showin’ off his busted nose and grossin’ out all the girls at school.
None of us realized at all that somethin’ was wrong with ma and I guess that’s the way she and pa wanted it up until that evening. All of us kids had been sent to our rooms while Doc Wilson talked to our pa and ma but none of us went to our rooms. Everyone except for Christopher, who we thought was in the barn with May-Bell, had stopped on the steps and was listening.
“I’m sorry to have to tell you this,” Doc Wilson was saying, “but I don’t like the sound of yours or the babies heartbeats.”
“Is the baby ok?” pa asked soundin’ very concerned.
“Well, I think with strict bed rest,” Doc Wilson paused before adding, “and I mean strict!” he continued, “You and the baby will be just fine.”
“She’ll get it!” pa reassured.
Ma started to protest but Doc Wilson jumped in, “Listen, I’m not goin’ to sugar coat this, you’re to go to bed and you’ll stay in bed until you deliver this baby or the chances are high that you could loose this baby, and your family could possibly end up loosin’ you.”
Despite the surety that we’d all be in big trouble when pa seen us with sayin’ a word the six of us went down the stairs and into the livin’ room where we found ma sittin’ in her rockin’ chair crying. Pa looked pretty dang angry but Connie spoke up, “We all heard and we will help.
Catherine added, “I will do all the washin’ and I can make super and keep the house clean.”
“I will help!” Kristen said which chewin’ on the collar of her shirt.
Benjamin who was nearly in tears, “I want to help too.”
With a lump in my throat I added, “We all can help and you will be fine ma, you’ll see!”
I looked up at pa expectin’ him to start yellin’ at us all for listenin’ in when we were supposed to be in our rooms but instead he had tears rollin’ down his face. He looked at Doc Wilson and then down to ma and said, “She’ll get all the rest she and the baby need. We’ll see to it.”
Doc Wilson pulled out a handkerchief from inside his jacket pocket, blew his nose into it and said, “That, that will be just fine.”
Pa reached out for ma’s hand, “Come on; let’s get you to bed.”
Benjamin turned to face the rest of us, “Well don’t stand there, ma needs lots of rest!” and everyone, ma and pa included, laughed.
Shortly after I had gone upstairs to get ready for bed pa called for me to come back downstairs. Whenever pa calls for me at an unexpected time the first thing I think is that I am probably in trouble for forgetting to do something.
I climbed out of bed and went to see what he wanted. I found him in the kitchen holding the telephone receiver out for me.
“You have a phone call!” he sounded as shocked as I was. Not because of the time but because I’ve never in my life had someone call just for except like on my birthday when granny would call to wish me a happy birthday.
I took the receiver and placed it to my ear, “Hello?” I said.
“Hi Nevada!” the voice screamed into the other end of the phone.
“Who is this?” I asked and got popped in the back of the head.
“You know better than that!” pa said.
“Sorry pa,” I whispered with my hand over the receiver.
“Sorry, can I ask who’s calling?” I said nicer.
“Nevada?! It’s me Nugget!” the voice sceamed again.
“Nugget?” I said not really believing it was him at first.
“Yeah, how are you?” He didn’t leave me a chance to reply before blurting our, “Hey I just asked your father if it was ok to come over tomorrow and I just had to tell you! I hope you are ok now! Are you ok?”
He actually paused, “Uh, yeah I am ok.” I said not really understanding why he was coming over and why he had been talking to my pa.
“Ok good, then we’ll see you tomorrow! Bye!” Nugget shouted into the phone and then hung up.
I looked up at pa, “He hung up!”
Pa smiled, “I know, I could hear him!”
After handing the receiver back to pa I rubbed my ear and said, “Dang pa my ear is going buzzzzzz!”
I got popped in the back of my head again but not nearly as hard, “Boy you best forget you ever learned that word!”
“Which? Buzzz?” I asked knowing full well which word he meant.
I tried to get away from him before he tried to pop the back of my head again but he was faster than me and caught me by the back of the neck, pulled my head backwards and kissed my forehead.
“Don’t let it go to your head, but I love you son!” he said with half a smile.
“Hey pa?” I asked as he pushed me toward the steps.
“What son?” he said still using his humorous voice.
“Why did Nugget call you first?” I asked.
Pa pulled down his eyebrows like he were angery but I knew better, “He didn’t, his daddy did. Now get your backside to bed before I warm it up for you!”
I quick stepped to the bottom of the stairs but stopped again, “Pa?”
“Boy!” Pa said pointing at me like he was about to get after me.
A lump popped up in my throat, “Is mama going to be ok?”
Pa’s eyes went all glassy, “You’re ma is going to be just fine! Don’t you worry none t’all. Now git!” he said and smiled again.
I smiled back and took off up the steps but stopped about halfway up, turned and went back to the bottom step. Pa was sitting at the table already and was reading a piece of paper.
“Pa?” I called softly.
Pa looked up and I new this time his look was serious.
“I love you too pa,” I said and flew up the steps using my hands and my feet as though I were climbing a ladder.