Christy: A Journey Tale (8 page)

“Waffle House,” Jennifer thought at first,
but then ended up just shrugging it off. Today she would go with
the flow for once and see where it takes her.

“Now where was I, oh that’s right coming
home? So, my momma, being all of 17 years old, gets off this bus
for her happy reunion, but when she does she ain’t alone. Not only
is she holding this guy’s hand, but she’s also got a bun in the
oven.

“Are you serious?” Jennifer asked, and
Christy just nodded her head. “I bet that was a shock for her
parents.”

“You better believe it, but they were so
happy to see her, nothing else mattered. She told them that her and
this guy Henry were already married, but her parents arranged for a
public ceremony at church of course just for their benefit if you
know what I mean.” Christy said with a smirk.

“They wanted to make sure everything was
legal.”

“You got it, and Henry, bless his heart was
more than willing to oblige. Henry was a simple guy and together
they had a whole lot in common. He was steady and hardworking, and
momma’s folks even found a house for them a little bit up the road.
He wasn’t from the city. He was a hayseed too just like momma, but
he had been there for a lot longer. For momma, coming home was like
coming back from a weekend getaway. It was like she had never left,
and for the first time since she had been gone, she was able to
relax and enjoy life again. Henry was a natural with the farm, but
after a while his temper started to get real short and he seemed
restless all the time. I reckon he got that city in his blood and
once it was there it was hard to go back to the farm. All the
reasons he left Nebraska in the first place were still there. It
just wasn’t his cup of tea no matter how good he was at it.”
Christy thought for a moment. “You know I wish I could have met
him. I would like to have known my real daddy. I think I would have
liked him. He was the only decent man my momma ever had around.
It’s just my luck though he was a little before my time. Yep, good
old Henry loved momma, and he wasn’t going to leave her or run off
on me. So one day he told momma that he needed to talk. There were
some things that had to change.” Christy cut her story short as
they pulled into the parking lot.

As soon as Jennifer walked into the
restaurant, the thick air tickled her noise. The grease and
moisture blended together to form a dull haze Jennifer could
actually see. The sunlight illuminated everything as it penetrated
the large windows around the restaurant. The air, though, was not
as distracting as the sounds that greeted her. Metal spatulas
banging against grill, plate, and pan mixed with the noise of
patrons creating a raucous cacophony. The truck drivers sitting
along the counter were reacquainting themselves over belly laughs
and animated conversations. A knot tightened in Jennifer’s stomach
as she tried not to look at the cooks busy behind the counter and
followed Christy to a corner booth against the far left wall.
Walking behind her now, Jennifer noticed that Christy was a little
taller than she had realized. Her whole body seemed more relaxed
and confident as she strode into a place where she was at least
familiar and comfortable. This was definitely her element, and the
thought, as strange as it was, helped Jennifer to relax. She took a
deep breath and forced her shoulders back from the nervous stoop
she had unconsciously developed. When they got to the booth Christy
took off her jacket and slung it into the seat and hopped in like
she was coming home. Jennifer for her part paused for a beat, but
before her hesitation could draw attention she took the plunge
avoiding the duct tape repair job on the side and settled down in
the middle of the seat. Christy had a huge grin as she reached over
for a menu pinned against the wall by a black napkin holder.
Jennifer followed close behind, reaching for one as well. The menu
itself was a long sheet of laminated paper printed on both sides.
As Jennifer scanned the selections, she could see the greasy film
that made it sticky to her fingers as she turned it over to look at
the back. The first side had been all breakfast and the back
contained both lunch and dinner entrees, side items, as well as the
drinks and meals for seniors. Jennifer could almost feel the plaque
hardening within her arteries as she looked over the pictures. She
turned it back over to breakfast and went down the list one more
time. As she held the menu she glanced over at Christy who had a
smirk like a kid up to no good. She knew Jennifer would be picking
up the tab on this one and there was no way she was going to miss
the opportunity. She was going to ride this gravy train for all it
was worth. In fact, the possibilities were so wide open she had a
little trouble making up her mind. Jennifer could tell she was on
the Lunch/Dinner side as she watched her eyes dart from one item to
another.

“Can I get you ladies anything to drink?” a
waitress asked as she pulled a small pad from her apron pocket
filled with a few straws and a bottle of ketchup. She tried to be
cheery, but her eyes screamed that she was at the end of her
shift.

“I think I’m ready if you are?” Christy said
as she laid the menu down with confidence and looked at
Jennifer.

“Ok, you go first.” Jennifer said. As
Christy’s excitement amused her.

“Alright, what can I get for you?” The
waitress said as she adjusted her grip on the pad switching gears
quickly from drinks to taking an order.

“I would like a double cheese burger, hash
browns and I’d like ‘em,” she looked down at the menu double
checking the verbiage, “scattered, chunked, smothered, and covered.
Oh, and a Coke to drink.” The waitress never flinched and took it
all in knowingly. Jennifer turned her own menu over to look at what
all that meant. She smiled as she tried to imagine what they would
look like coming out on a plate with onions and peppers, ham,
cheese and chili. “Hey, and go ahead and add some bacon to that
burger.” Christy caught Jennifer’s expression. “A burger just ain’t
complete without a little bacon.” She said with a wry grin.

“I understand completely. You order whatever
you want.” Jennifer said as she raised her hand in a conciliatory
gesture. Jennifer could see now that she and her father would have
gotten along great. She has an easy spirit and a taste for her
father’s five favorite food groups; beef, bacon, cheese, potatoes,
and chili. Now, that’s what he considered a well-rounded meal.

“And you, miss…?” the waitress said, turning
her attention to Jennifer.

“I’ll have the grilled chicken salad with fat
free ranch dressing.”

“Anything to drink?” the waitress asked,
still writing.

“Diet Coke please”

“Alright, I’ll be right back with those
drinks,” she said just before she turned around and headed back
behind the counter.

“See? This place ain’t so bad.”

“No, I don’t think it is either,” Jennifer
said as she returned Christy’s warm expression while at the same
time reaching into her purse for a small bottle of hand sanitizer.
She squeezed out a little and began to rub it over her hands as
Christy continued her story.

“So…my real daddy figured there was only one
way he could do right by everybody and still do what he felt like
he had to. Of course, momma knew how unhappy he was. So one night
when he told her he needed to talk about a few things she was
pretty scared. She had no idea what he was going to say, but all of
the things she could imagine were none too good. So, he keeps
talkin’ and talkin’ but not really saying anything, which only made
her even more nervous than she was before. After he built things up
so much and wound her up so tight she was about to scream, he
finally decided to come out with it. He told her he was going to
join the Army. Momma never saw that one coming, and she was so
happy that he didn’t say any of the crazy things she was thinking
that what he did say never really sank in. On the other hand he was
so surprised that she wasn’t mad he didn’t know what to say either.
He was just as pleased as punch that this had gone so well. He
expected lots of yelling and crying, and in fact it ended up being
just the opposite. He went to bed that night feeling pretty good
about himself. There was only one problem. It had taken him all day
to get up the nerve to talk to momma about his plan, which meant
that it was late in the evening when he finally sprung the news on
her. So that meant momma had all night to stew on it and roll it
around in her head. The next morning as it turned out she wasn’t so
happy about this big idea after all. In fact, she woke up so mad at
him she could hardly see straight. Once she got a chance to get
down to doing all the figuring, it became real clear real quick
that there weren’t much difference between him leaving for the Army
and him just leaving. Even though history would prove her wrong,
she was stuck on the idea that she wasn’t leaving that farm again
until they put her in a pine box. She told him right then that he
just jolly well better call a spade a spade. He was leaving her and
there were no two ways about it.

“What did he have to say about that?”

“Momma said the ifs and buts were just a
flying out of his mouth. She said she had never seen anyone try to
talk himself out of a corner as fast as he did. See, he figured she
would be as mad as a wet hen when he broke the news to her. So, the
day before he worked up all kinds of reasons and answers to be
ready for her. The problem was he didn’t get to use any of his
material because she had been so happy. Well, now when he needed it
he couldn’t hardly remember a thing.” Christy said with a
laugh.

“Here you go,” the waitress said as she set
their drinks down in front of them. They both nodded their
appreciation, but Christy didn’t waste any time ripping the paper
off the straw and diving in. She sucked down half the glass before
she came up for air and then acted like it was nothing.

“Oh man so the war was on. They fussed and
fought for the rest of the day. When they were both about ready to
give up Henry finally drops the last bomb. He tells her the last
bit of news he’s been holding back.” Christy paused for effect. “He
had already signed the papers. He told her that it was a done deal
and no amount of fussin’ by her was going to change that. He would
be shipping out for Georgia in a few weeks and that was that. Now,
you think she was mad before. Well, he hadn’t seen mad yet until he
pulled that little trick. The rest of that she week was pretty
tough on him, but when it came down to the week before he left, she
softened up a whole lot. I don’t know if she knew already, I mean
deep down inside, or if she could sense it. When he left I don’t
think she ever expected to see him again after he shipped out, and
that’s exactly what happened.

“What happened?” Jennifer asked with
concern.

“The big dummy lit a cigarette even after he
knew better. That was like a snipers wet dream in Nam. They zeroed
in on that glowing cherry and put a bullet right through his
head.”

“Oh my God, that’s horrible.”

“It was pretty bad, but then again he was
pretty stupid. He was stupid for leaving momma; stupid for joining
the Army during Vietnam; and most of all stupid for lighting up a
smoke at night in the middle of the jungle. I never knew him so I
can’t be too torn up about it, but I do wish he had made some
better choices. If he had stayed on the farm I probably wouldn’t be
here right now and things would have turned out a whole lot
different. Also, if he hadn’t of left momma, she wouldn’t have met
someone else.”

“So your mom remarried then?”

“Oh yeah she did, and he was really something
else too. See, she thought I wouldn’t grow up right without a man
in the house or some such nonsense. When I was about four, momma
met this guy and after a while it turned serious. I think she just
liked the attention and he sure did pour it on. Oh it was flowers
and fine restaurants and everything else you can imagine. Momma
fell for it hook, line, and sinker. Whatever he said went, and when
he said ‘marry me’ it was a done deal.”

“I take it then things didn’t last.” Jennifer
said with a look that understood how people could change.

“You better believe it. I mean it was like
night and day. To say this guy was useless would be an insult to
useless people everywhere. He called himself a mechanic, but I
never saw him lift a finger to do anything. He was the worst kind
of low-life imaginable. He weren’t nothin’ more than a leach that
took pride in sucking the life and soul out of people; and that’s
exactly what he did to momma. There toward the end, if it hadn’t
been for her job, I think the depression would have eaten her up
completely, and for all I know it might have.” Christy dropped her
head as she remembered those days. “He told momma shortly after
they got married that he got hurt and couldn’t do his job anymore.
Well, 11 years later he was still sitting in the same nasty old
recliner. He never touched anything around the house. He just sat
there like a big blob, but that wasn’t the worst of it by a country
mile. When he got hurt was also when he started testing the waters
to see what he could get away with. He always had a bit of a
temper, but it wasn’t until after they were hitched that he went
beyond a little push here and a shove there. Now all of a sudden
that push turned into an occasional slap and then the slap into a
real back hand and on it went.”

“How long did this go on?” Jennifer asked,
looking appalled.

“It never stopped. Stuff like that don’t
never stop unless something happens to stop it. Once it gets going
you best just get out of the way.”

“Did your mom ever call the police?”

“Everybody always says that when they haven’t
been through it. She did…a few times when she got scared enough,
but that was pretty rare. Calling them just made him madder for the
next go round.”