Suffering Fools

By Travis Gibson

Suffering Fools chronicles the events - professional and personal - in the life of Grover Johnson, a school superintendent in a small town.

As the head of the school system, Grover must deal with a wide range of professional situations and some of them are quite involved. He also is faced with a number of professional and family problems that that lead to complications.

Add a murder mystery to this mix and the reader will discover that there is often more than meets the eye in a small town.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse
• Release date: Jul 17, 2019
• ISBN: 9781728319643

Travis Gibson

Travis Gibson is a native Texan.. He is the author of five other novels.

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© 2019 Travis Gibson. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse 11/04/2019

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1965-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-7283-1964-3 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2019909837

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

This book is entirely a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, places and events are the products of the author’s sometimes overly active imagination. Any similarity to actual persons, names, places and events is probably the product of the reader’s overly active imagination.

For

All of the students in my classes

so many years ago at NHS. You taught me a great deal.

Cheryl and James Chamblee

And for

Janis Cobler

Paula Kimbro

Sandy Gilbert

When I am asked why Southern writers particularly have a penchant for writing about freaks, I say it’s because we are still able to recognize one.

Flannery O’Connor

CONTENTS

Prologue

Part 1 Summer

Part 2 Fall

Part 3 Winter

Part 4Spring

Epilogue

Acknowledgements

PROLOGUE

The man in the gray suit stood and watched as the vehicles left the scene: the ambulances with their sirens sounding and their lights flashing and the van from the sheriff’s department driving more slowly out of the complex and turning north toward the coroner’s office. Now, most everyone had left. His family, the Sheriff and his deputies, the EMTs and the onlookers had all gone. It was just him and some maintenance workers and a few of his staff who were standing far enough away to give him the space he needed.

Thunder rolled and there were a few flashes of lightning and some large drops began to fall. The man looked up, saw the dark, heavy clouds and thought – fleetingly – that maybe these drops were the beginning of the long-awaited rains that might possibly break the county’s year-long drought.

One of the staff members moved a little in the direction of the man, hoping to coax him back to the protection of the covered sidewalks. But another member of the staff shook his head as if to indicate that the time was not yet right.

The man, still unmindful of the increasing rain, moved to the edge of the concrete parking area, walked around the corner of the athletic field house and stood looking through the fence at the parched football field that would soon – if the rains held – begin to show signs of life, turn green and, perhaps, be ready for yet another season in the never-ending cycle of the fall spectacle that meant so much to the school and the community.

He shifted his gaze to the goal post at the near end of the field and felt once more the thrill that had coursed through his being at the end of the last game the year before. Once more he felt the pride, the joy of what had happened at that place, that moment. It was, perhaps, one of the happiest moments of his life.

And, now, as he turned and looked at the field house – only a score or so yards from the goal post – he realized that in the last hour he had experienced the saddest moment of his life. He did not know if he could cope with what had happened. He did not know – at that point – even if he wanted to. All he knew was that life up to that point had been rendered utterly meaningless and that – whatever lay ahead – life would never be the same.

A shudder ran through his body and he turned – the tears mingling with the rain drops – and walked back to where one of his staff opened an umbrella and helped him to a waiting car.

Where would you like to go, sir? the assistant asked.

Where else? the man replied. To my wife and daughter. To my…family.

PART ONE

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SUMMER

Death and life are in the power of the tongue…

Proverbs 18:21

CHAPTER ONE

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Monday, June 6

Oh, for God’s sake! Shit! Grover Johnson exclaimed as he slammed the telephone back onto its holder on the nightstand. How in hell…

Grover, watch it, his wife said in a half-whisper from her side of the bed. The children. They probably aren’t asleep yet. And you know how your voice carries.

I know, Shirley, Grover said, throwing the book he had been reading when the phone rang onto the floor beside the bed. But at the same time, crap! It’s ten-thirty. Don’t these people have any…

Calm down, Grover. Remember, this, too, comes with the territory. There was a time when you were eager to handle any problem – anytime of the day or night.

Yeah, but that was when I was just a young buck excited about becoming a school superintendent at last – after years of work and anticipation. Eager to take on all challenges, Grover said, easing back onto the bed.

And that has changed, hasn’t it?

Yes, it has changed. Unfortunately. Slowly, I guess, like a slow drip or something.

Why do think that is?

I don’t really know. Part of it is me and part of it is just the nature of the beast – the educational system. I loved teaching. I think I was happiest then when it was just me and the kids. Just like you and your students, you know? You go in to a classroom each day and there are all those faces – I wouldn’t call them all bright and and shiny and eager – but there are all those faces looking at you and you have this great opportunity to not only impart some knowledge but to exert some influence in other ways, too. You know? To maybe make some differences. Over the years I had a lot of kids that not only needed the subject matter but some role modeling also. I know I didn’t always cut it in that department with every kid but I hope I did make some differences. And, then, of course, I got bitten by the ambition bug. Thought I could move up, contribute more to my profession and – of course, make a little more money to support my growing family.

Well, you enjoyed being principal.

Yeah, I did. But that was really just an extension of teaching. I was still having contact with students while trying to mentor teachers also.

But there were problems there also.

Some. A few crazy parents now and then and some teachers who lacked good judgment. And, of course, a paranoid superintendent who was afraid of his own shadow and wouldn’t make a decision on any issue unless absolutely forced to. Which is why the district got into such a state and why he was asked to move on.

And you were asked to replace him.

Yes. ‘Temporarily,’ they said. But one thing led to another and here I am, seven years later still ‘temporarily’ there.

I know we have this rule about not bringing work home - not talking about problems at work – but I am gonna ask anyway. What’s the real problem? What’s going on now that’s got you so bugged? How did that slow drip become a flood?

When I first took over as superintendent things were in a mess. But I had a really good school board president and some fine members who wanted to get things going in the right way for the district. It took a while but – working as a team – we were able to turn some things around, get on the right track.

So what changed?

The board changed. The lady member went back to teaching in order to help pay for her kids’ college, the board president’s law practice got really busy and some of the others just felt they had done their duty and just moved on. And as they left, they were replaced by members who were not of the same quality.

Why do think that was?

Several reasons. There aren’t a whole lot of people who want to spend the considerable amount of time required to serve on a school board or a city council. All the meetings and training sessions and various hearings take a great deal of time that a person could be spending with their family or doing other much more enjoyable things. And there are many wise folks who understand the problems that come with dealing with the public. Lots of crazies out there and, also, business owners run the risk of alienating people and affecting their income. But, I really think the main problem is that there are a bunch of dumbasses…

Grover, I told you that I don’t like you using that word. Remember our deal?

Yeah. I am supposed to use a euphemism – jerk. But you know that when I say ‘jerk,’ I really mean ‘dumb…..

Yes, yes, I know. Just do it.

Well, there are a bunch of jerks out there who – for whatever reasons – run for the school board to ‘get something done.’ And usually that ‘something’ has absolutely nothing to do with helping kids or bettering the over-all condition of the district. Sometimes they have a spouse, or a kid or a relative who has some perceived grievance that they think they can ‘take care of’.’ Or they want to lower taxes. Or they have some pet program like athletics or band that they want to see promoted more. Or – and this happens really often - they want to get somebody fired – quite often the superintendent. And they get on the board with their agenda and little by little they poison the atmosphere and create a climate of tension and obstruction.

So, that’s what you are dealing with now?

Yes, basically. I have three really good people on the board. Three out of seven. The rest are just are just useless. Sometimes when I go in that board room I find myself humming Whistle While You Work. I look at those folks and I think of the Seven Dwarfs.

Well, maybe so. But, Grover, you certainly couldn’t be Snow White.

Ha! That’s a given. Maybe I should start humming Looney Tunes."

And then who would you be: Daffy Duck or Elmer Fudd?

Ha, again. At least I think I am there to accomplish good and not just to grind an axe or something. Like that phone call I just had. Burns me up!

So, who was it? And what was it about?

The caller was Barnes Thompson. You know, the one who’s father is the county judge. And, of course, one of the biggest landowners in Truman County.

Oh, yes. He’s the one who’s sort of a ladies’ man, isn’t he?

Well, he thinks he is anyway. Always seems to be on the prowl. Did I tell you about the time we went to River City for the annual school board convention? And he hooked up with the bar maid?

No, I haven’t had the privilege of hearing that one.

It was the first night we were there and all of the other members who had gone with us had drifted away to do various things before the sessions started the next morning. I was leaving the hotel to go meet a fellow superintendent for dinner when I passed by and saw Barnes sitting at the bar. He had a beer and was really engaged in conversation with the bartender – a woman. There were only one or two other people in the bar. I stepped in to tell him I was leaving and invited him to go to dinner. He smiled at me – sort of winked – and said no. He was fine. Just go on and enjoy my dinner. So I left him there. The next morning as I was leaving the hotel to go to the first session of the convention, I passed by the bar. And, guess what? There was old Barnes sitting at the bar wearing the same clothes and talking to the barmaid. I stepped in and asked him if he was ready to go to the morning session and he said for me to go on, he’d catch up with the rest of us later. I sort of hesitated and then I asked him if he was okay. The barmaid spoke up and said, ‘He ought to be, I fixed him a real fine breakfast this morning.’ I didn’t know what to say, just looked at Barnes and he sort of looked sheepish and ducked his head. So I just went on and left him there.

My goodness, you mean he spent the night with that bar person? A complete stranger?

That’s what it looked like to me.

And he has such a sweet wife. She volunteers a lot at the school. When she’s not helping to run the family insurance business.

You know, of course, that she’s his second one. He left his first wife and his three daughters to marry a girl who worked in his father’s land office. She was quite young at the time.

Really, I didn’t know it was like that. Must have been sort of a scandal in this little community.

Well, you would think so. It was before we were here, of course, but it looks like it was worked out without too much damage. His old man and the girl’s father came to some sort of understanding – a business deal of some sort – and everything seemed to be okay. Barnes even left teaching and his father helped get him set up in his land business. And everybody lived happily ever after.

Evidently he’s not too happy or else he wouldn’t be cheating on his wife with a barmaid in River City.

Oh, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Plenty of other stories floating around. Which is why that phone call made me so hopping mad.

Why, what was it about?

Thompson has been on this crusade now for about six months where Freddie Lee Black is concerned.

I know her. She’s a high school English teacher, isn’t she? Valerie Sneed said her daughter was in her class last year and the girl just loved her. She’s a good teacher, isn’t she?

Well, there are mixed reviews. Some students – like Valerie’s daughter like her – and then there are some parents who seem to think that there are problems where Freddie Lee is concerned. And Barnes comes down on that side.

What’s the concern?

Some folks – neighbors, I guess, or disgruntled parents and jealous kids – think that it’s a bad thing that there are always lots of kids hanging out at her house. I try to tell Barnes and the others that, first, Freddie has a whole bunch of kids herself and that it is only natural that those kids would have their friends over and, second, Freddie is one of those teachers who have a soft spot for kids that other teachers have written off as losers and troublemakers. She does a lot of counseling and I know for a fact that she has offered a place to stay - ‘crash’ I guess the kids call it – for some of her students who just absolutely had no place to spend the night because of whatever situations were going on at their homes.

Have you related this to Barnes and Freddie’s other critics?

Yeah, but it hasn’t done any good. They are convinced that she is running a dope den at her house, giving – or selling – to all of those kids who frequent the place.

"And you are sure she isn’t?’

Of course I have no way to know for sure but I have a gut feeling about this whole mess. From the little bit of contact I have had with her – and from checking out her references from previous jobs and talking a little bit with her colleagues – I think Freddie is basically a good person. She had a pretty rough marriage to a guy who comes from a tough background that she had a difficult time getting out of. The divorce was messy. Shes seems to have done a fairly good job raising those kids of hers – very few problems in school. She’s a little bit - what? Flighty? Ditzy? Unconventional? - and some of her fellow teachers seem to be uncomfortable around her. But, really, I think she’s okay.

So, what’s the cause of all this fuss?

I was getting to that as part of my gut feeling. And I really hate to say it. But I think the root of the whole problem is that she told somebody ‘no’."

Barnes?

No, I don’t think it was Barnes. I think it was either his old daddy or his father-in-law.

Grover, those two old men are respectable businessmen. Pillars of the community, I gather.

So, it would appear. But from the tales that float around, their public images might not tell the whole truth about either one of them. After a lot of consideration about a situation that is causing me a whole lot of consternation, I have really come to the conclusion that one or the other of those ‘pillars of the community’ made a move on Freddie – probably thinking that she was vulnerable because of her situation – and she turned them down. That blow to the ego would be a reason for either one of them to pressure Barnes to bring her some grief.

What do you think will happen, then?

I don’t have any idea. But I don’t think it’s something that is going to go away. I am sure Barnes will bring it up at the next board meeting on Thursday.

How do the other members feel about the situation? Do they side with Barnes?

Most of them treat this like they do other types of controversies. They play it for however they think the outcome will affect their pet concerns. If they support Barnes, will he support them when they bring up their pet peeve. So, right now it’s hard to read how this will play out. It’s a work in progress! And – speaking of progress – I need to progress on to sleep. I have to get up a little earlier tomorrow because I have to go to Forestville for a meeting at the education satellite center. The regional educational bureaucrats are going to try to explain to us superintendents what the new education laws passed by the legislature mean and how the education commissioner and his minions are attempting to implement them. You know, the sad thing is that the members of the legislature are in reality jumped up school board members. They have no idea really what running school districts is all about or what is best for kids. What they know is what the lobbyists and their constituents with the loudest voices and the sharpest axes to grind tell them. And this year, it seems, the members of the lege have been heavily bombarded. Lots of new laws. And – oh, my God!

What?

I had forgotten that Alton B. Lloyd is riding over there with me. There’s a personnel directors meeting at the satellite center also and he asked if he could ride with me. Save the district travel money.

The district’s personnel director? What’s wrong with that?

Everything, Shirley. The man is insufferable. Plus, I get the willies just being around him. It’s an hour and a half over to Forestville and an hour and a half back. I’m going to be gritting my teeth a lot.

Really, what’s wrong with him?

Hmm, I’ve never told you what’s going on there, have I? You are going to be very surprised. But it’s got to wait until another time because I’ve got to get some sleep to prepare myself for four hours with my ‘peers’ tomorrow.

Shirley turned off the light on the nightstand next to her side of the bed, hesitated a moment and then said, Grover, do you remember last week when I asked you to talk to Corey?

Yes, Grover mumbled as he settled in on his side of the bed.

Well, did you?

Did I what?

Did you talk to him like I asked you to. Grover, I am beginning to be a little concerned about Corey. He seems to be – I don’t know – changing or something. He’s so quiet lately. There’s no reason I can think of for him to be depressed, but he just sort of seems to be down. Not like his usual self. Now, talk to him, okay?

All right, I will, Grover said, Meant to after you asked me the first time, but with his job at the pool and the fact that he spends most all of his free time at the field house, I just haven’t been able to find a time to fit into his schedule. But I will even though I don’t see what you have to be worried about, Shirley. I mean, look at the boy. He’s almost seventeen, going to be a junior in high school. He just finished a year in which - as a sophomore starting quarterback - he led the team to a regional championship and almost won the state semi-final playoff game. His grades have been steady. He has a nice truck and - I think, though I can never be sure - a steady girlfriend. He has your good looks and my terrific body…

Ha!

Okay, well, the terrific body I used to have…years ago. It seems to me that he’s a pretty normal kid with a lot going for him. But if you think there’s a problem, I will try to talk to him. Promise. Now, goodnight.

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Corey Johnson lay very still in his bed and listened as intently as he could to the sounds coming from his parents’ bedroom. He could faintly hear the sound of the bedside lamp as it clicked off and he could see the faint line light disappear under both bedroom doors.

Now, he thought, twenty minutes and I can go. Corey knew that everything in the Johnson household was predictable, everything ran on a regular schedule - a pretty boring one, if truth be told. So he knew his parents would spend some time talking about what had happened at the school board meeting and then they would turn off the lights at just about the usual time and - baring anything unusual - in twenty minutes they would be fast asleep.

So he waited, watching the minutes pass on his phone. He was fully dressed under his sheets and all he had to do was slip on his running shoes. He had been a little concerned about the dogs - they might hear him and cause a ruckus but the two little ones were sleeping soundly in his parents’ bedroom with the door closed and Apollo was zoned out on the bed next to Corey. Corey had not liked doing it but he had given his big Rottweiler some benadryl in some applesauce earlier. If he hadn’t he knew the big dog would have been insistent on going with him when he left.

The time finally passed and Corey got out of bed, put on his shoes, grabbed his truck keys and his wallet, patted Apollo on the head and went to the window. He carefully raised the window and pushed out the screen which fell in the azaleas bushes below. He went through the opening and closed the window from outside.

His truck was parked in the driveway next to his mother’s car. He opened the driver’s door and got inside. He put the truck in neutral and let it roll down the incline to the street. Then he started the engine and - without turning on the lights - drove to the intersection at the top of the hill.

He glanced in the rear view mirror to see if he could see anything unusual back at his house. Nothing. Good, he said. Now, if it all goes well, I’ll be back home in an hour.

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About two miles across town from the Johnson residence a tall woman with long black hair quietly opened the door to her bedroom and listened to the noises of the house. There weren’t any and she breathed a sigh of relief and thanked her good fortune. She looked at her watch. One-thirty. She didn’t understand why but for some reason all of the kids - the ones that were at home tonight - had decided to go to bed early rather that staying up to the wee hours as was their custom.

The woman walked quietly down the stairs and passed through the kitchen. She paused a moment before opening the screen door behind the wooden one. It always squeaked. Why hadn’t she remembered that and oiled it in the afternoon? She opened the door as slowly as she could manage and there was a minimum of noise.

Once outside on the back porch she once more paused and listened for noises from the house. She froze when she saw a light go on in the upstairs bathroom. Then the toilet flushed and the light went off. One of the girls, she thought. The boys would never flush. She waited and when everything seemed quiet again she went down the steps and walked up the path to the street. Fortunately the street light was - after three weeks - still out so it was almost pitch dark in the roadway but she knew where she was going and walked as hurriedly as she could, turned the corner at the intersection hoping that this all was not wasted effort and then saw the outline of the big black car against what moonlight there was.

Hey, she said as she opened the passenger door and and got in the vehicle. I was hoping you could make it.

CHAPTER TWO

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Tuesday, June 7

Grover Johnson smiled at the lady behind the counter as he walked in the door of the convenience store and showed her his credit card.

Hello, Mrs. Nichols, he said. It happened again. The pump keeps rejecting my card. I never had this problem before when I was using my own card but ever since the district issued us these new ones I’ve had this problem.

Well, hey, Dr. Johnson, the woman said with a sigh and a half-smile. What you doing out this time of the evening? Thought you’d be home eatin’ supper ‘bout this time.

Normally I would be but I had to go over to Forestville for a meeting and it ran late. I had to be out this way to drop off the guy who went with me so I thought I’d go ahead and fill up before I went home.

‘Who lives out this way that works for the school? I know most all the folks who live out this way and I can’t think of nobody off hand that has anything to do with school business. Let me see that card and I’ll scan here on this machine."

Grover got a soft drink from the cooler and put it on the counter. The school district’s personnel director, Alton B. Lloyd, he lives on the first turn off going down to the lake.

The lady paused for a minute and then said, Oh, him. Old Alton B.? No wonder I couldn’t think of nobody. I try not to think about him at all. Ever. You do know about him, don’t you? What he is?

What Grover said. No…I don’t know anything about…

Oh, it ain’t nothing. Really. Just forget I ever said anythin’. Got to learn to keep my mouth shut. How much gas you want?

I think about ten gallons will do it. And the drink. What’s wrong, Mrs. Nichols? You seem sort of down this evening.

Oh, well, I am, I guess. A little. And don’t call me ‘Mrs. Nicholls’, Dr. Johnson. Call me ‘Pearline.’ ‘Mrs. Nicholls’ makes me feel old. And I guess I am down a little this evening. Not my usual perky self, you know? You got any kids, Dr. Johnson?

"Yes, I do. I have a son, Corey, who will be a junior at Truman County High School this next year. And I have a daughter, Candy, who will be a freshman.’

Candy Johnson. Now, ain’t that the prettiest name ever! And your boy will be a junior? Just the same as my youngest boy. Andy James. He’s gonna graduate next year, too. And I sure am glad about that, Dr, Johnson, ‘cause we - my husband Oscar Wayne - and me has had us a heap of trouble getting that boy this far. We thought we had done lost him there for awhile.

Oh, I am sorry. Was he ill?

No, not really. Well, in a way I guess he was. Got real religious there for for a bit. Almost become a cult.

A what?

A cult. You know one of them real, real religious peoples who spend all their time reading that Bible and prayin’ and tryin’ to get everbody else to do the same thing whether they want to or not. Like them - what you call ‘em - nuns or Masons or somethin’. Anyways, Andy James spent all his time down at that Bountiful Blissful Glorified Four Square Gospel Church of the Almighty. You know which one I mean? The one that has that Preacher Coolidge on the television all the time. Grinnin’ like a mule eatin’ briers, Oscar Wayne says. Had that drive through prayer window where you could drive up, pay five dollars, punch a button to choose a prayer and get splashed with some kind of oil. They had to close that down, of course, because of a old lady that got her gold bracelet caught when she was punchin’ her prayer button, pulled the whole machine off the wall and caused that oil to spray all in her eyes. Then she panicked, pressed down on the accelerator of that big old Cadillac she was drivin’ and rammed through the wall of that beauty shop the wife of the preacher at that church runs. Hallelujah Hair they call it. Old lady had a heart attack and sued the church. They had to have all kinds of fund raisers to pay that off. Anyways, my boy don’t go there no more, thank God. Oh, I guess it’s okay to say that! Found him a little old girl friend and now he ain’t all that religious no more. Me and Oscar Wayne is sure pleased.

Well, I am happy for you, Mrs…Pearline, Grover said as he signed the sales ticket, picked up his soda and prepared to leave. As an afterthought - which he immediately regretted - he asked, Do you have any other children.

Oh, yes, Pearline responded. Three. I got two girls. The oldest one, Leanne, lives down in the city with a real dear friend - a older woman who just took my girl under her wing like a old mother hen, if you know what I mean. Her name’s Norma Jo. They are so close you’d almost think they was married or something. They run what you call a tea room only they don’t just sell tea. They got all kinds of these real expensive funny-named coffees and wine and sandwiches and salads and stuff. Oscar Wayne won’t eat there. He says he’d rather spend his money on a good old Whopper and one of them cheap beers he drinks. Then my next girl, Lottie, she’s a waitress out at the truck stop on the loop. Been there for quite awhile, Dr. Johnson. And let me tell you, she must make a killin’ in tips. Got her own real nice apartment and drives one of them real nice little old Jap cars. A red one. Oscar Wayne says he just can’t figure out how she can be pullin’ down that much money waitressin’. But I tell you, she seems to have a real way with them truckers. And she’s real pretty, too. Looks just like that Princess Lulu in them movie shows about all that star fightin’ and stuff. Then I got one more, Dr. Johnson. You mind if I call you Dr. J?

Well, I don’t mind, I guess, since I am calling you Pearline.

Okay, then, my oldest boy is O.W. He’s the one I been thinkin’ about today that’s got me all down and not my usual perky self. You see, Dr. J., that boy had him a real sweet girlfriend in high school. He thought the world of that girl. Oscar Wayne tried to get the boy not to get too all wrapped up in that girl ‘cause things could happen that might wind up havin’ a effect on his future, if you know what I mean. And Oscar Wayne could speak from experience there because…oh, well, that is another story. Anyways, what happened was that that sweet little old girl wound up gettin’ herself kn…pregnant. And O.W. knowed it was his baby ‘cause that sweet little old girl hadn’t never had another boyfriend and he was gonna do the right thing. It was just at graduatin’ time that all this come out and O.W. went ahead, got his graduatin’ diploma and just immediately joined the United States of America Army so he could get some trainin’ and have a way to support that sweet little old girl and their baby which was his responsibility and he knowed it. So, he gets in the army, gets shipped out to the State of California where he gets through all that basics kind of stuff and then contacts that sweet little old girl to come on out there so they could have the baby and a wonderful life together. But that ain’t the way it happened, Dr. J. No, sir. You see that sweet little old girl was the daughter of that banker - old Gray - and his snooty type wife. And they just had a fit when they found about their girl havin’ a baby by O.W., even though they did not let on to anyone that that was what was happenin.’ Instead, as soon as O.W. was on that train headed out to serve in the United States of America army, they up and married that sweet little old girl off to another boy. Real fast like. Broke O.W.’s heart. We thought he was gonna do somethin’ real bad but Oscar Wayne was able to convince him that he would just ruin his life forever if he up and run off from the army. So, it killed the poor boy’s soul, but he stayed there. And that’s where he is now. Been three years. And you know what just kills my soul, Dr. J? Them Grays won’t let O.W. have nothin’ to do with that little old baby. Won’t admit that it is his own flesh and blood. And me neither. I drive by that house where they live and I see that little old baby outside and it just breaks my heart ‘cause it won’t ever get to know that I am his grandma and I won’t ever get to hold that little old thing. See why I am sad when I get to thinkin’ about that, Dr. J?

Well, yes, I do think that is a very sad thing, Mrs…Pearline.

And you know what is the topper on the whole thing, D.J.? You know who they married that sweet little old girl off to?

Ah, no, I wouldn’t know that, Grover said trying to move toward the door of the store without being too obvious.

I’ll tell you who! That sorry youngest boy of Barnes Thompson! That’s who! The one he had by that girl he raped when she was workin’ in his old daddy’s land office.

Uh, I never heard anything about Barnes raping anybody. I mean, I always heard that he just married a girl much younger than him.

Ha! That’s the story both families give out. But the truth was he raped that girl - and it was real rape, too, not that sanctuary type rape - ‘cause that girl was eighteen years old about to graduate from that school. And old Barnes was married to a real nice woman and had three sweet little daughters.

But, Mrs…Pearline, Grover said - realizing it was against his better judgment. If Barnes Thompson raped a high school girl, why is he not in prison? He’s what I guess would be considered an up-standing citizen…businessman, school board member…

Yes, well it took a whole lot of doin’ to keep his sorry behind - ‘scuse me, Dr. J. - outta jail. But them two old men was able to do it.

Two old men?

His sorry old daddy and hers, too. Reason I know somethin’ about this is, you see, my daddy told me some things. That girl’s daddy had a farm out north of town and my daddy said the fella wasn’t doin’ too good. The farm was about to go under, if you know what I mean. But then that stuff happened with old Barnes and that girl and all of a sudden that girl’s father had about fifty more acres of good land, a bunch of milkin’ cows and he called my daddy to come build two new barns for him. Now, ain’t that some kind of what you call a coincidence happenin’?

Well,..

And on top that, Barnes’ wife - well, she was pretty soon his ex-wife - wound up with a brand spankin’ new car and a real nice new house. She didn’t hang around here too long, though. Sold that house, took them three little girls and headed for the city. Old Barnes’ father wasn’t county judge then but he was on the county commisions and his brother - Barnes’ uncle - was the county criminal attorney. No charges was ever filed, nothin’. That sorry Barnes had to give up his teachin’ job, though, and started workin’ that land business he has now.

Well, I guess things turned out okay, then. I mean considering…

"Naw, they didn’t, Dr. J.. They wasn’t no justice there and old Barnes never has had to face up to the sorry lot he is. Always has been. Why, way back even in high school, he was always tryin’ to be a big man with the girls. He was a couple years older than me and most of my friends but he kept tryin’ to hit on all us younger girls. Some of ‘em fell for his line ‘cause he didn’t look too bad, had some money and always drove a nice new pickup truck. All this from his daddy, of course. But them that did go out with him always regretted it. Boy, they told some stories about things he tried. One of my good friends, Freddie Lee Carter - she’s called Freddie Lee Black now and teaches up at that high school - said old Barnes tried to rape her on the very first time she went out with him. Said he had her pinned down and was rippin’ off her clothes - I’m sorry, Dr.J., but that’s how it was - but she was able to pick up a tire tool that was layin’ on the floorboard ot that pickup truck and hit old Barnes upside the head with it. While he was yellin’ and grabbin’ his head, she got herself out of that pickup and run all the way home - five whole miles half nekkid. Told her brothers about it and they caught Barnes after a football game one night and beat the tar out of him. Broke one of his legs, I think. That’s why he walks with that little limp. And, you know what, Dr. J.? That sorry thing has still not ever learned his lesson. Still chases everthin’ in a skirt he can. He even come in here a couple of times and tried to sweet talk me. Now, I