Song of the Road (8 page)

Eli was still sitting on the doorstep when Jake, bathed and in clean clothes, came back on his way to town to eat. He paused.

“Do you like to listen to
Amos ’n Andy
?”

“Only heard ’em a time or two.”

“I’m going uptown to eat. They’ll be on soon after I get back. You’re welcome to come listen.”

“I’ll think about it.”

Jake went across the lot behind the motor court, taking the shortcut to town. The kid reminded him of himself at that age: gawky and with a chip on his shoulder as big as a boulder, but, he reckoned, not for the same reason.

When he entered Ruby’s Diner, it was empty except for Frank Pierce, who sat at the counter. He glanced up, then continued with his meal.

“Howdy, Jake.” Ruby, scraping the grill, paused to greet him. “You’re late tonight.”

“Yeah.” Jake hung his hat on the rack beside the door. “Guess I am.” He straddled a stool.

“What’ll ya have?”

“Your thirty-cent steak.”

“Golly, you must be hungry tonight.”

“I could eat the rear end out of a skunk.”

“You’ll not have to do that.” Ruby’s large belly shook when she laughed. She took a slab of meat out of the icebox and slapped it on the grill.

Jake liked Ruby and counted her as one of his few friends in town. She was so homely she would have to tie a pork chop around her neck to get a dog to play with her, but she was honest and fair and hardworking. She was a tall woman, almost six feet, broad, and could be an advertisement for her own cooking. Her husband had been killed on the highway right after her last son was born. She had two daughters, one of whom helped her at the diner, and a son who wasn’t worth the powder it would take to blow him up. Her other son had not been right when he was born and had needed constant care until he died at age seventeen.

Jake figured Ruby had endured enough sorrow for two lifetimes.

“I hear they’re about to wind up the work on the bridge.”

“Another week or two.”

“Are you moving on down the highway with the crew?”

“Not planning on it. I’ve got horses to break for Quitman.” “Quitman isn’t particular ’bout who he hires,” Frank mumbled to Ruby when she passed him. “Like you ain’t particular ’bout who eats here.”

“No, I ain’t. That’s why I serve you just like anyone else, Frank.”

Jake ignored the conversation and spread butter on the bread Ruby had set before him.

“You still stayin’ out at the motor court, Frank?” Ruby asked.

“Yeah.”

“I heard you and Dolly were goin’ to get married.”

“That was a while ago.”

“Before you heard that Scott Finley left everything to Mary Lee?”

“Dolly could still get part of it if she went to court.”

“Lawyer’s fee would eat up all she got, if anything. Isn’t that right, Jake?”

“I wouldn’t know. How’s my steak comin’?”

“Medium rare, huh?”

“Yeah, and while I’m eatin’ it, stick that piece of apple pie in the oven to warm up.”

“I hope you’re this hungry when you’re breaking horses, or do you eat out at Quitman’s?”

“I eat at noon out there.”

Frank put his money on the counter, slapped his hat on his head and walked out.

“Thank you, Frank,” Ruby called, then chuckled. “Guess he got his tail over the line. Don’t matter. As soon as his ditch-diggin’ job plays out, he’ll be back wantin’ to eat on credit.”

“Where’s he working?”

“On the sewer lines the town’s layin’ north of town. As soon as Scott died, he was right out there playin’ up to Dolly. She’s got no more sense than a cross-eyed goose — never did have as long as I’ve known her. Frank’s just the type she’d take up with. I’m glad Mary Lee is back and takin’ over the court. Hear she’s expecting.”

Jake listened to Ruby talk while she stirred the potatoes she was frying on the grill next to the steak.

“Now, that girl’s had a peck of trouble. She had a time goin’ through school, bein’ shamed by the way Dolly acted and everybody in town knowin’ it. Then she married that good-for-nothin’ Bobby Clawson, but I guess you know that. She was determined to leave town and didn’t want to go by herself, is what Trudy said. My Trudy and Mary Lee were good friends in school.”

This was news Jake had heard before, yet he was all ears and kept quiet hoping Ruby would continue to talk.

“Did you know that when Bobby was killed, Ocie Clawson didn’t as much as telephone Mary Lee or help her bury his son? He told it himself at the pool hall, and you know that everything that’s said at that place is spread all over town. It must have been humiliating to that girl to have the county bury her husband.”

Ruby’s mouth continued to run while Jake was eating. He didn’t mind. Between her and Paco at the Red Pepper Corral he got more news than if he read the newspaper. It was as he was getting ready to leave that Ruby warned him about Lon Delano.

“Jake, keep an eye out for Lon Delano and his bunch. They were in here the other day talking about how they’d like to grease those girders you climb on out at the bridge and watch you take a nosedive into the canyon.”

“Not a one of them has the guts to climb the girder to grease it. Thanks for the warning, Ruby. I’ll be here in the morning. Pack me a lunch.”

“Night, Jake.”

When Jake neared the motor court, he noticed a light in each of the four available cabins. Mary Lee had a full house tonight. There was also a light in the one where Frank was staying.

Eli was still sitting on the doorstep of the washhouse.

“Made up your mind yet?” Jake asked, and walked on by.

“Yeah.” The boy got up and hurried to catch up with him.

“After
Amos ’n Andy,
the
Texaco Fire Chief
is on.”

“Never heard of that one.”

“It’s pretty funny.” They reached the cabin. Jake unlocked the door. “Come on in and close the door. It’s a little cool at night.”

Eli stood hesitantly in the doorway until Jake turned on the light. The room was tidy; the bed was made, and clothes hung on a rod stretched across a corner. A square box radio sat on a table, and an attached wire ran out the window. Jake switched the set on. Eli eased down on his heels beside the door.

“Now, ain’t dat a shame. Amos, yo got no sense a-tall.”

The program had already started. Next they heard Andy’s most recognized line:
“Buzz me, Miss Blue.”

“Yo don’ need no buzz from Miss Blue, Andy. The Kingfish is here.”

“How do, Kingfish? Yo wantin’ to ride the Fresh Air Taxi down to the lodge hall?”

Jake lit a cigarette and lounged on the bed. They listened to the remainder of the program without much to say to each other. When it was over, Eli got up to leave.

“Thanks.” He opened the door.

“Stay for Ed Wynn’s show if you like.”

“Naw. Better get back. Miss Mary Lee might need me.”

“Come again.”

The boy left, and Jake kind of wished he’d stayed awhile. He liked the kid. He had pride and a dignity that you didn’t see in some grown men nowadays. It had to be tough being on your own at that age, eating in soup kitchens and looking for a dry hole to sleep in. Jake wondered why the kid didn’t try to hitch a ride to California. It seemed that everybody and his dog was going there. Folks traveled the highway every day, their cars and trucks loaded with furniture and kids, all seeking a better life.

Jake reached over and put out his cigarette. Whatever had possessed him to take the bridge job when every minute he spent on those girders was pure agony? He knew even as he asked himself the question. He was doing it for money, and when the job was over, he would be just that much closer to the day when he would have his own little spread.

He looked forward to the time when he could sit on the porch of his own house and watch his horses and cows eat the grass in his own meadows. He wanted a soft, sweet woman to be waiting for him after a hard day’s work. He wanted one who would be glad to see him, listen as he told about the happenings of the day and cuddle with him in a warm bed at night. He wanted a little curly-haired girl to run to meet him, and a stout boy to teach about horses and cows — legitimate children who never doubted who they were and who knew that their parents wanted them.

The
Texaco Fire Chief
came on and off the radio without Jake’s hearing it.

“What in the world —”

Mary Lee woke out of a sound sleep and sat up in bed. Her heart pounded. She swung her legs over the side and turned on the light. It was one o’clock in the morning. The loud music from a radio spilled out into the night. She slipped her feet into her shoes, put on one of her daddy’s old shirts,
hurried
to the door and out onto the porch. The music was so loud, she was sure it could be heard a block away.

A light was on in cabin number one, Frank’s cabin. The windows, as well as the door, were open. The radio blared. As she stepped off the porch, lights came on in the other cabins. Anger propelled Mary Lee to the door. Frank lounged on the end of the bed with a bottle of booze in his hand. Her mother, fully clothed, lay on the bed beside him.

“Turn that radio down!” Mary Lee had to shout in order to be heard.

Frank looked at her, grinned and raised his bottle. His lips moved; she couldn’t hear, but she was sure he said, “Make me.”

“I said, turn it down. You’re disturbing folks who want to sleep.”

Dolly sat up on the edge of the bed. Ignoring Mary Lee, Frank playfully pushed her. She fell back giggling. He moved over on top of her, rubbing himself crudely against her.

Mary Lee’s face reddened. “Mama, come home.”

She was sure that her mother was falling-down drunk, and it made her sick to her soul to see her on the bed with trash like Frank Pierce.

“Get the hell away from here!” Frank shouted.

“Not until you turn down that radio.” Mary Lee stepped up onto the doorsill.

Frank sprang off the bed, slammed a hand against her chest and pushed her back. She stumbled but regained her balance.

“This is my place. I never invited ya in.”

“Don’t touch her!” Eli’s young voice was heard over the music. He was beside Mary Lee, holding up a big stick, ready to defend her.

“Watch yoreself, kid, or ya’ll get yore ass kicked.” Frank stepped back and slammed the door.

Mary Lee backed away. “I don’t know what to do, Eli. The renters will leave and demand their money back.”

“I’ll get Jake. He told me to . . .”

Eli took off on the run even as she was saying, “No! Don’t.”

A man came out of number two to see what was going on, and another came from number three.

“Turn that radio off or I’ll call the sheriff,” Mary Lee called, even though she knew Frank couldn’t hear her.

The man from the next cabin came over. He was an older person with a head of gray hair and a lined face.

“Call the law, ma’am. We can’t sleep with that racket goin’ on.”

“I’m awful sorry . . .”

At that moment Mary Lee vowed that she would take the money she had been saving for the baby and have the phone reconnected.

“Eli said Frank pushed you.” Mary Lee turned to see Jake Ramero. He wore only his pants and boots. He was a welcome sight.

“He was on his way here,” Eli explained.

Jake put his hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?” “He didn’t hurt me. I’m afraid my renters will leave. I’ll have to give them their money back.” Unconsciously, Mary Lee began to wring her hands.

Jake stepped up to the cabin and tried the door. It was locked.

“He isn’t going to be reasonable. Do I have your permission to break in?”

“I don’t want a fight . . .”

“It’s either that or you lose your renters, and believe me, news travels down the highway.”

“Break in. And if he gives you an excuse, knock his teeth out!”

Jake grinned. “Thought you didn’t want a fight.”

“It won’t be much of a fight. He’s too drunk.”

Jake took a step back, raised his booted foot and smashed it against the door. It flew open. He stepped inside, grabbed Frank by the shirtfront and slammed him up against the wall.

“That was for pushing the lady. If you ever put your hands on her again you’ll find your pecker in your ear and your balls hanging on a clothesline.” Jake hauled him to the door and shoved him so hard he went sprawling facedown in the yard. “That was for causing the racket and waking up all these folks.”

With a mere glance at the giggling woman on the bed, Jake yanked the cord connecting the radio from the electric line. There was an instant silence. He then pulled the wire used as an antenna from the window and picked up the radio.

Frank was still on the ground. Eli stood over him with a big stick. “I’ll just keep this awhile to make sure you don’t decide to do something foolish and turn it on again.”

“I’ll complain to the sheriff. They’ll throw you so far back in jail you’ll never get out.”