Blackwater - The House Part 9

"Early would endorse the checks as quick as they came, I believe. Mama, Early doesn't make a lot of money, but we get by. I don't have all the dresses I want, and there are times I don't have two dollars in my purse."

"I did not raise my little girl to live like that!"

"Then send us some money, Mama."

"I've been thinking," said Mary-Love.

"What?"

"I've been thinking we all ought to have a little vacation. Ought to go somewhere. We haven't been on a trip in a long time."

"If you want to spend a little money on me that way, that's all right, too. Where do you want us to go? And who is us?"

"Us is you and Miriam and me."

"Not Early?"

"Early's gor 3 be working, I would suppose."

"Maybe not," said Sister, hoping to annoy her mother.

"I was thinking of going to Chicago in the summer."

"What for?"

"It's been preying on my mind-I would like to see the sights of Chicago before I die."

CHAPTER 38.

Nectar

Sister knew that her husband had work contracted for the entire summer of 1936. Out of mischief, she said nothing of this to her mother until Mary-Love had consented to pay Early's way to Chicago. The day after Sister returned to Chattanooga, she called her mother and said, "Mama, Early cain't go with us after all. He's got a job with the Tennessee Valley Authority down around Sheffield, so I'm gone be free all summer. Anytime you want to go to Chicago is fine with me."

"Oh, Sister, I'm so happy!"

"So listen, you go on and make reservations, get a bunch of train tickets, and why don't you see if there's anybody else who'll go with us?"

"Who else would we want, darling?"

"Oh, James, maybe-and Danjo. Since you're going to take Miriam," Sister added, "maybe you should invite Frances too-"

"Sister, I will do no such thing! I cain't afford to 115.

take the whole world. If Frances came along, I'd have to pay for everything for her, Oscar and Elinor cain't afford it. Besides, Frances might get sick again, and then we'd have to cancel the whole trip. I guess it's all right if Danjo comes-he's a sweet enough child and James will pay for him. It might be nice to have James, too, as long as we could hire on an extra baggage car on the way back for all that stuff he's bound to buy."

James agreed to go, but wanted to bring along not only Danjo but Queenie, and Queenie's children, too. Mary-Love grumbled at this, but ultimately acceded with enough bad grace to make James feel guilty for having pressed the matter. Mary-Love's difficulty was not with Queenie herself, but with Malcolm and Lucille. Mary-Love took some comfort in predicting, at least three times every day, that the entire trip would be ruined by that misbehaving pair. Frances was pointedly left out of all these plans. James offered to subsidize Frances's ticket and expenses, and said to Oscar and Elinor, "Lord, y'all, I'm gone have Danjo and Malcolm and Lucille to take care of, one more is not gone make a bit of difference. I'm just gone put 'em all on different-colored leashes..."

Oscar was hesitant to accept his uncle's offer. "Mama is taking Miriam, Mama ought to take Frances, too," he said. "Besides, James, you are paying for a whole raft of people to go up there. You're gone spend a fortune before you get halfway to Chicago."

"I don't mind one bit," James said. This was to be the first great family outing since the onset of the Depression, and James wanted it to include as many Caskeys as possible.

Oscar remained reluctant to let his daughter go, but Elinor finally interceded. She pointed out that for Frances to be left so conspicuously behind would be harder for the child to bear than all the slights and shabby treatment that she was certain to receive 116.

from Mary-Love and Miriam during the trip. After having being so long cooped up in the house, a total change would probably do the child a great deal of good. Frances was fourteen and her mother thought that she ought to see a little of the world.

So the party for the trip was set at ten: Mary-Love, Sister, Miriam, James, Danjo, Frances, Queenie, Malcolm, Lucille, and Ivey Sapp. Ivey was being taken along to act as shepherdess or beast-of-burden, as needed. Hotel rooms were secured, tickets on the L&N were bought at the Atmore station, quant.i.ties of cash in brand-new bills were obtained from the recently reestablished Perdido bank, wardrobes were augmented in Mobile and Montgomery, new luggage was purchased, insurance was taken out, cameras were loaded with film, and letters were sent off to friends whose homes were en route. The flurry of activity astonished Perdido. The Caskeys might have been setting out on an expedition to the South Pole, for all the planning that was going into this trip. They were to leave early on the morning of the first of July, arrive late the following night in Chicago, remain there ten days, and return to Perdido by way of St. Louis and New Orleans, with five days in each city.

By the end of June the children were frantic with excitement. Sometimes even cautious Frances and diffident Danjo had to be quelled. Sister spent several weeks in Perdido and a.s.sisted her mother in the preparations, which would have been a great burden to Mary-Love had Sister not been there to help, and to provide stimulating argument on every point.

The day before the party was to leave, Mary-Love announced that she intended to pay a visit to the big house next door to inspect the clothes and other necessities that had been packed for Frances. To Sister, she said, "I don't intend to allow Elinor's daughter to embarra.s.s us with her paltry wardrobe."

"Well, Mama," Sister pointed out in reply, "even 117.

if Elinor has packed Frances a suitcase full of rags, there's not enough time now to do anything about it."

Mary-Love went next door anyway, for the first time in more than five years, since her ineffectual plea for Elinor's intercession between her and her son.

"Miss Mary-Love, how are you?" said Elinor at the door, with no more surprise than if her mother-in-law had visited her the day before.

"I am just about driven into the ground, Elinor."

"Getting everybody ready, I suppose."

"That's right. In fact, I just dropped by to make sure that Frances was all set."

"I am packing her suitcases this very minute. I imagine that tonight I'll have to hit her over the head with a hammer to get her to go to sleep."

"All the children are excited," replied Mary-Love.

"Come on upstairs," said Elinor, "and see what I've packed for her. See if you can think of anything I've forgotten."

"Why, I'd be happy to do that," said Mary-Love, though she wondered how it was that Elinor was making her inspection trip so easy. As she followed her daughter-in-law into the house, Mary-Love peered into the darkened front parlor and remarked, "Looks like you have been changing things around."

"A little," replied Elinor. "Miss Mary-Love, it is burning hot outside. Let me get you some nectar."

"Oh, Elinor, I am so glad you suggested that! Last week I had a gla.s.s of your nectar from Manda Turk, and it was the best stuff I've ever tasted. Who gathers your blackberries for you?"

"I send Luvadia and Frances. Go on upstairs and I'll fix us both some. I'm a little thirsty too. Frances's room is right next to the sleeping porch. The suitcases are open on her bed."

"Where is Frances?"

118.

"James drove her and Danjo out to Lake Pinchona. Frances loves to feed that alligator!"

"Frances is gone fall in one day and get eaten up," Mary-Love said calmly, as she mounted the stairs.

Elinor went into the kitchen and said to Zaddie, "You go upstairs and see if Miss Mary-Love needs any help. She's going to want to undo everything I've already done. I'm going to fix her some nectar." She took out the ice pick and began to chop ice.

"I wish Frances had some prettier things," said Mary-Love. She had gone through Frances's luggage, clucking disapproval of what had been packed, how Elinor had packed it, and even of the two small suitcases themselves. Now she was seated on the glider on the sleeping-porch and sipping her blackberry nectar. Elinor rocked gently in the swing and was thoughtfully stirring the overpoweringly sweet nectar that had been diluted with water and ice. "I wish you and Oscar would let me buy Frances some things," Mary-Love continued. "You two don't even let me see my grandchild anymore."

"Miss Mary-Love," said Elinor calmly, "that's just not so. Frances loves you to death-Frances loves everybody-but you won't let that child near you."

"Elinor! How could you say such a thing!"

"I can say it because it's perfectly true. Oscar and I don't spend much time at your house and you don't spend much time over here either, but we have never tried to discourage Frances from going over to see you. You're her grandmother, but you don't ever want to have anything to do with her. You and Miriam treat Frances as if she were dirt under your feet. She lay in that room sick as she could be for three years, and not once did you visit her. I was embarra.s.sed to mention it when anybody asked me about it. It's hard for me to believe that you could be so deliberately cruel to your own granddaughter."

There was no rancor in Elinor's voice. She spoke 119.

as if she stated obvious truths. The very baldness of Elinor's a.s.sertions wounded Mary-Love, who never looked at a thing directly, and now had no idea how to confront her daughter-in-law's unexpected forth-rightness.

"Elinor! I am shocked. Aren't we taking Frances with us to Chicago tomorrow? Won't she and Miriam have the time of their lives?"

"Maybe," said Elinor. "That is, if Miriam will speak to Frances-and I'm not convinced that she will."

Mary-Love was growing even less certain how to respond to her daughter-in-law. Elinor's remarks had the substance but not the feel of an attack. Mary-Love temporized by glancing around the porch and commenting idly, "It's been so long since I've been here."

"That's your fault, Miss Mary-Love," said Elinor, cannily returning to the subject. "Oscar and I would never have turned you away if you had knocked on the door."

"I didn't feel welcome," said Mary-Love, abashed that her innocent-sounding tactic of delay had so quickly been turned against her. "This isn't my house anymore, you know."

Elinor didn't reply. Her smile was vague.

"You know," Mary-Love went on, "one day I sent Luvadia Sapp over here with the deed to this house. I signed it over to you and Oscar. Did that girl bring it, or did she lose it somewhere on the way?"

"Oh, she brought it. We've got the deed inside somewhere."

"I was expecting a thank you, I must say."

"Miss Mary-Love, Oscar and I bought this house."

"I gave it to you!"

"No, you're wrong," Elinor said with ostensible amiability. "It was supposed to have been our wedding present. But then we had to pay for it. We had to give you Miriam for it. Miriam was eight years 120.

old before you finally turned over the deed. That kind of delay doesn't deserve a thank you."

Elinor's voice and tone continued soft and conversational, but Mary-Love was certain now that this attack had been long in the planning. She was little prepared to do battle when all her thought for months had been devoted to tomorrow's journey!

"I don't know why I'm sitting here listening to this," Mary-Love cried. "You're so hard! No wonder Frances is the way she is! No wonder Miriam doesn't want to play with her!"

"Frances, in case you hadn't noticed, is a thoroughly sweet child. She loves everybody, and everybody loves her. I wish I could sa^ the same for Miriam. The way that child acts, I'm glad she lives with you and not with me."

"Miriam is worth ten of Frances!"

"You may think that, but it's still no excuse for you to treat Frances the way you do," said Elinor, remaining aggravatingly cool.

Mary-Love, in danger of becoming agitated, sought to turn the attack. "Elinor, why do you treat me the way you do?"

Elinor appeared to consider for a moment, and then replied: "Because of the way you treat Oscar. The way you treat your whole family, the way you've always treated them."

"I love every one of them! I love them to death! All I want in the world is for my family to love me."

"I know," said Elinor. "And you don't want them to love anyone else. You want to provide everybody with everything. You didn't want Oscar to marry me because you didn't want him to divide his love. The same with poor old Sister. You took Miriam away from us-"

"You let her go!"

"-and you raised her so that she loved you, and didn't give a single solitary thought to her own par- 121.

ents. I remember back when Grace was little and was close to Zaddie, you tried to break that up, too."

"I don't remember anything of the sort!"

"You did it, though. Miss Mary-Love, it's the kind of thing you do without thinking. It comes natural to you. If you had had your way, James would have thrown Queenie Strickland and her children out of town the day they showed up."

"Queenie was no good-"

"You told James he was making a big mistake in taking in Danjo, but Danjo has made James very happy."

"One day that boy is going to turn-"

Elinor again paid no attention to Mary-Love. "And when the bank called in Oscar's loan, you wouldn't lend him the money to save him from bankruptcy. You wanted to see Oscar and me go under. You wanted us poor so that we would have to come begging-"

"Oscar didn't go under. James lent him the money," Mary-Love protested.

"Oscar has never forgiven you. I don't imagine he ever will."

"You haven't either, have you, Elinor?"

"Miss Mary-Love, you don't like me because I took Oscar away from you. You haven't liked me since the day I showed up in Perdido. It can't make a whole lot of difference to you whether I forgive you or not."

"You're right," said Mary-Love, suddenly frank, almost without knowing it, letting her anger show and speaking her mind, "it doesn't. I've never expected anything from you except bitterness and reproach, Elinor. And it's all I've ever gotten. And this, I suppose, is your fond farewell with everybody about to go off to Chicago for a good time."

"Yes," replied Elinor, unperturbed. "Though you're not there yet."

"You've been biding your time, haven't you? You've been treasuring up your hostility, isn't that right?

122.

You've been storing it up for five years, ever since Oscar asked me to lend him money he didn't even need!"

"I have been waiting..." Elinor admitted.