Reach for the Taut Rope

By Delbert Martin

Skipp heard the squeak and strain of the taut rope as it pulled on the pier holding the forty-foot schooner wobbling in the Santa Cruz Harbor. He had just finished sanding a ten-foot section of wooden rail, and he was dipping the hog's hair brush into the varnish when he heard the sound of a young woman's voice calling his name.

He had dreamed about meeting a beautiful woman in such a place. "So you live on a boat," she said. "Oh, we have got to see that."

Varnish doesn't pine, so he kept his brush moving along the boat rail. Something in her voice reminded him of his Missouri farm girl cousins.

"Open the hatch, go on down, and look around if you want," he told her. "Let me get the lid on this varnish and clean the brush, and then we can talk."

This story began with his audacious mother, a hard-drinking Arkansas farm girl. She fled her second marriage, and she took Skipp with her to Kentucky. Skipp and Lola's story emerge as they travel throughout the Midwest United States, and he changed from a Missouri farm boy to a "surfer- wannabe" on the Florida east coast.

Conflicted, the surfer man-child traveled between the east and west coasts, unsettled, looking for the right reasons to stay. Unbeknownst to him, both he and his mother were pursued by the Hound of heaven, and it wasn't until he acted upon his Bible reading that he made the connection that would lead him to the kingdom that could not be shaken.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 6, 2021
• ISBN: 9781638744948

Book preview

Dodie’s Talk with Lola

So what are you going to do? Dodie asked. Hesitant, she spoke faintly, just above a whisper. Biting the inside of her cheek, Dodie sat at Lola’s pink Formica kitchen table. Rubbing her knees, she then moved her finger across her eyebrow like she had an itch. She looked at her sister, praying to herself, O God, help us.

Lola paced, her angular pretty face looking about, unsettled. Her open fingers moved through her curly brown hair. Stopping abruptly, she squeezed the top of her head with one hand while she pulled on the front of her blouse with the other.

I can’t stand this, Lola said. I am so mad, I’m sick, and I just don’t know what to do yet. Maybe we can go to Delpha’s place, but maybe not. She found out about me getting arrested.

Staring fixedly at the floor, Dodie said, In her letter, she sounded okay. She did invite us to visit. Dodie didn’t tell Lola that she had cut the news article out of the Herald-Palladium and sent it to Delpha with a note, Pray for us. We are having trouble here. Then she said, But how would that work for you? Delpha can’t take care of the boy.

We will get by. If I could leave tomorrow, I would. I am done with Glade. Completely done, Lola said, and then she turned on her southern accent. I am so sick of his horse ‘maa-new-aah.’ Pausing, then she repeated, speaking aloud to herself as she turned away, Delpha might help us.

With that, she left the kitchen for a quick search and find. Then she had a quick swig alone.

Fortified, Lola came back. Speaking of ideas. Did you want to come with me? Together we could do it. Lola tried to smile, but just a flutter reached her eyes. She stretched her arms out with an edgy stab, then touched her cheek and rubbed her mouth. She reached out for Dodie but then stopped and dropped her arms.

Interrupted, they heard the little boy holler. They had left him asleep in the bedroom in his playpen. Now he was up and about.

Dodie stood up, raising his hands straight over his head. Hold you, Doe-Doe. Hold you, Doe-Doe, repeated the boy as he ran toward her full tilt.

Dodie bent over and scooped him up, looked at Lola and looked at the boy, and then she nodded to herself, Okay, if he goes, I am going too. Find out from Delpha what she thinks about both of us coming to stay with her for a while.

Hearing this, Lola gave a small yelp and sat down.

Gently shaking her head, Dodie forced herself to smile. Sister, you got troubles with Glade, and I can’t help you there. What if he wants our boy to stay here and he gets a lawyer? He could maybe try to stop you. Chase us down to Paducah.

He won’t. I will deal with him or what’s left of him. He doesn’t want a family with me. He has found someone better.

Lola called Delpha. She was proud of her little boy, but she was ashamed to admit she had another failed marriage.

He’s a jabber box, said Lola. He mimics every word Dodie says. She plays with him like no one else, and she is his favorite. You will like seeing them together. They will make you laugh.

Hmmm, Delpha said. If Dodie comes, then she’ll be a big help. She calls him Skipper?

Yeah, that’s right. Mr. Hippedity Hop, Mr. Jabber Box, all of the those.

Lola, you do know that we need Dodie to come with you for this to work out. My job keeps me busy, and you will have to work too.

Lola knew that Delpha and Dodie used to go to church together. Delpha trusted Dodie. Lola stood up, and she took a deep breath, exhaled, and flexed her fingers, then touched her jaw, rubbed it, and said, Yes, she said she’d come.

And no crazy fights like I heard about. For heaven’s sake, your little boy is just a year old! (See Figure 2.)

Okay, I know, I know, said Lola. She held her breath, gripped the phone, and sat down slowly. She held the phone to her chest for a moment, then put the receiver back to her ear, and then she spoke softly, "Delpha, I am sorry about this, this…confusion. So very sorry. I am a good mother. So help me, God. I’ll do better."

Okay, Lola, don’t worry. God help us. Sounds like Dodie will help us too, answered Delpha, Come to Paducah.

Lola sighed, stood up, shook her head slightly, still not smiling, and then said, I know that we will be intruding on you. Oh, Delpha, this will help us so much.

Lola told Dodie the good news. Delpha said we could come if you come with us.

What about Glade? Maybe you could get child support, said Dodie, that could help.

Forget it, Lola said. He is a charming, conniving lying SOB, and he wouldn’t send us any money no matter what the court ordered. All I want is for him to stay the hell away from me and leave us alone.

Figure 2. May 31, 1952, News-Palladium, Benton Harbor

Used by Permission, The Herald-Palladium

Glade gave her a car and some cash. She and Aunt Dodie had some money and a 1948 Pontiac four-door sedan.

She and Dodie loaded up the Pontiac and put the boy in the back seat. They took turns driving the five hundred miles to their sister Delpha’s house. They spent the night in a motel room in Terre Haute, Indiana, about halfway, and then drove into Kentucky the next day.

Delpha met them at the Baptist Health Paducah hospital late that night. Dodie tried to tell her what happened.

We were coming into Paducah late in the day. Little Delbert was in the back seat, packed in there with our suitcases. Two days, over twelve hours cramped up in the car, he cried most of the second day. We stopped for gas just outside of Paducah, and he was fed up with riding in the car. Somehow, he figured out how to unlock the door after we pulled out of the gas station. Maybe we left the door unlocked, I don’t know. Oh God, I hope not. Anyway, Lola was driving, accelerating out of the gas station when he opened the back door and fell out. Less than two years old, and he was bouncing on the side of the road at twenty miles per hour. Dodie burst into tears but kept talking. We got out, and he was laying on the side of the road like a rag doll. I was afraid to touch him.

* * * * *

Four hundred miles west of Delpha’s house lived two families, the Nolands and the Trumans. These were two famous farming families going back to the mid-1800s who first began in Kentucky and then migrated to Independence, Missouri.

While Dodie and Lola were driving south to Paducah in 1952, the president Harry Truman was finishing up his last year, having served as United States president from 1945 to 1953. After Dwight Eisenhower’s inauguration, January 10, 1953, Harry Truman rode a train from Washington, DC, to his house in Independence. He met his first cousin Ethel Noland there and walked her to her house. Their houses were across the street from each other. Years before, the Noland clan moved their families from their nearby farms to those houses inside of town for the better schools.

There were still several Noland families and their descendants running large farms near Paducah, Kentucky, and Independence, Missouri.

Soon to be of interest to Lola and Dodie was a sheet metal worker who had just moved to Paducah to work on the hospital; his name was Roy Noland.

Bob Visits Roy

Bob and Roy entered through the bright metal front doors of the Old Towne Diner in Downtown Paducah, Kentucky. They walked past farmers sitting on round red stools, eating breakfast at the diner’s stainless steel counter.

Roy was treating his brother Bob. Roy led to a booth, and he sat opposite Bob. The sound of crackling bacon called out from the kitchen. The smell of frying eggs and sausage was in the air.

Two women hurried about with coffeepots held high. A third waitress suddenly appeared, and she came up behind Roy.

Roy was talking. Paducah is a decent town. You’ve heard, I think— He was interrupted when she stopped at their table.

Flashing her smile, she said, Well, gents, what is it going to be this morning? She had nice brown eyes with curly hair framing her pretty face.

Bob and Roy placed their orders. She nodded as each one spoke while making friendly eye contact. She was maybe flirting or maybe not.

Roy made his order, and then he said to her, You are not writing anything down.

She laughed. No, buster, I don’t need to write it down. She amped up her smile, tilted her head, and looked at his hands. Don’t worry, I won’t mix ’em up, she said and then spun away.

Bob watched her poised, purposeful walk as she disappeared into the kitchen.

Directly, she came back in a no-nonsense manner, and she plopped their orders down on the table. No mix-up, as she said.

As they walked to their parked car, Bob commented, Hey, she is a humdinger, Roy. I think she likes you.

These two Irishmen, Roy and Bob, were burly, heavyset, with strong big hands, and black hair. They had been raised on farms, smelled of cows, hay, and tilled sod. Bob had married one of two sisters from a neighboring family, and he and his other brother, Jake, owned adjoining farms near Harrisonville, Missouri. Bob had come to Paducah to see Roy at his new job, leaving Jake behind to take care of the farms.

Roy went back to the Old Towne the next morning alone. He had looked at her hands, and he did not see a wedding ring. He invited her for coffee, and they talked. She told him she had been married before but was now divorced and that she had a two-year-old toddler. They hit it off in that first conversation. He told her about his construction job, which was nearby and about to start.

She invited him to dinner. If you can, why not come to dinner tomorrow night? You could meet my two sisters and the Skipper.

Roy’s thoughts froze for a second. Are you sure? he said. I mean… His voice trailed off. Are you really okay with me coming to your house? His hand reached up and touched his throat, then he saw she was looking at him with a smile and with a quizzical look in her bright eyes, just waiting for him to answer. He sighed, grinned, and spoke directly. "Of course, I would love to come to dinner tomorrow night. What time do you think?"

* * * * *

We are pleased to meet you, Mr. Noland, Delpha said, passing him the bowl of mashed potatoes. I understand you are from Independence, Missouri?

Shyly smiling, he nodded. Yes, ma’am. Near Independence. I was raised on some farmland on both sides of the Missouri River. My dad and my uncle inherited some of the land near Harrisonville, and they kept it in corn, barley, and alfalfa with a few dozen dairy cows. My two brothers still work the farms, but I don’t.

Why don’t you? asked Dodie.

Warming to his subject, Roy continued. They are working my share, but the farm isn’t big enough for the three of us. Instead, I work as a journeyman sheet metal worker. He stopped talking.

Lola was tilting her head, puzzled about something, her mind adrift. Lately I have been working mostly hospital construction. I’ll be at the Mercy Hospital project site during the week. I’ll have some long days.

We are glad to hear that, Dodie said. I-I mean that’s not what I meant, she stuttered, her cheeks flushed. Ha, we are glad you will be close, not that you will have to work long days. She liked him. She could see he was a little nervous. Maybe that’s good if he was a little worried. Lord, help us, keep us from evil men.

"I should be able to get weekends off. The job will run for about six months, maybe longer. I didn’t tell you yet that I have a daughter. She lives with my brother Bob’s family.

Roy looked directly at Lola. I could visit you again?

Lola was looking at Dodie, then she nodded at Roy.

You bet, we’d like that, said Lola. What’s your daughter’s name?

Peggy Sue. She turns thirteen this year. She is my wife’s daughter. Was my wife’s, said Roy. Again, he was feeling self-conscious, his hands gripped together.

Relax, Mr. Noland, relax, we like you, interjected Delpha. "We are sorry to hear about your wife. We too had some troubles when our little Delbert fell out of a moving car his first day in Paducah. Knocked him out cold, messed up his right ear, and scared us to death! He’s okay now. The doctor said ‘two-year-old boys are made to bounce.’ I say more likely they are made to keep the angels busy. It was a miracle he didn’t get hurt worse than he did."

Roy glanced quickly at Lola, and then he rolled his shoulders.

He took a deep breath and said, Funny how we sometimes get nervous for no reason, huh?

All was quiet, then they heard a loud thud upstairs.

You bet, that’s him. Lola said, He should be sleeping, but he knows we are down here. She flashed her hundred-dollar smile, raised one shoulder, almost mirroring Roy’s shoulder moves. Then her legs moved under the table, her foot touched his, maybe by mistake.

Seemly vexed, he pushed back his chair. I should head out now. Lots to do with the new job coming up. You’re all are so kind. He got up and nodded slowly to each of them, and he put his hand out.

Lola said, Bye. Y’all come back now. We’d like to see you again. She reached out and took his hand and squeezed it.

He nodded. I will. Count on it. Out the door, he went.

Generally, Lola admitted nothing about her feelings.

Dodie asked her, Well?

Complicated situation. He has a teenager in Missouri. He has a temporary construction job here. This is probably it. I doubt we will see him again.

But do you like him?

Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t come back. She shook her head, swallowing hard. She heard herself, dropped her chin, and closed her eyes.

That was a mean way to talk. She could hear herself. Dodie deserved better.

She turned, faced Dodie, grabbed her hand with both hands, squeezed hard, and said, I’m sorry. Yes, I like him. I hope he comes back.

Self-reliant, if Lola prayed, she prayed alone. Smart and