Morning Glory

corners, lids lowered to half-mast, lips softened, the emotionlessness gone. I could get along with his man quite easy, now I know I can get him to smile.

His smile traveled from her mouth to her rounded stomach, a tarrying trip. She remained unflinching under his steady regard, wondering what he was thinking. 'For life' was a long time. Let him look, let him decide. She’d do the same. She had never cared one way or the other about how people looked. But Will Parker, relaxed and smiling, made a fetching sight, no question about it. Only after the thought struck did she grow uneasy beneath his perusal. His gaze lifted and meeting hers, made Eleanor blush inside.

'You know, Mrs. Dinsmore-'

Thomas’s scream interrupted. Will glanced over his shoulder. 'What the-'

Donald Wade screamed-pained and panicked.

Will snapped around and shouted, 'Jesus Christ, get them out of there!' He lunged toward the car and hauled Donald Wade out by one arm. 'Run! Get away from here! Bees!' Half a dozen of them buzzed around Will’s head. One stung him on the neck, another on the wrist, as he reached for a yowling Thomas. By the time he withdrew from the car, the insects swarmed everywhere. Ignoring the stings that fell on him, he swatted the bees off Thomas with his cowboy hat. Eleanor and Donald Wade took off at a run, but just as Will caught up to them Donald Wade tipped over, face first, screaming. Will scooped him up and kept running. His legs were longer than Eleanor’s and he soon outdistanced her. Halting uncertainly, he turned back. Behind him, she struggled along at an awkward gait, supporting her stomach with one hand, fanning the air about her head with the other. The bees had thickened and set up an angry hum.

'Mrs. Dinsmore!' he called.

'Take them and run!' Eleanor hollered. 'Don’t wait for me!'

Will saw the terror in her eyes and paused in indecision.

'Go!' she screamed.

One landed on Thomas’s arm. He screamed and began thrashing wildly on Will’s arm. Will turned and barreled up the lane, with the boys bellowing and bouncing. When he’d outrun the swarm, he paused, panting, and spun just in time to see Eleanor stumble and go down on her face. His heart seemed to jump into his mouth. He dropped the boys in the middle of the lane and ordered, 'Wait here!' Then he was pounding back to her, ignoring the howls behind him. He ran harder than ever before in his life, toward the woman who rolled over slowly and pushed herself up. On one hip she sat, eyes closed, rocking, clutching her stomach. Oh, Jesus, sonofabitch, Christ- almighty- Will prayed in the only way he knew how-don’t let her be hurt! He skidded to a halt on one knee, reaching for her.

'Mrs. Dinsmore…' he panted.

Her eyes opened. 'The boys-are the boys all right?'

'Mostly scared.' He took off his hat and flapped angrily at two buzzing bees that hovered about her head. 'Git out of here, you sons a bitches!' From up the path the screams continued. Will threw an uncertain glance at the boys, then at Eleanor, fighting panic. He took her by the arms and forced her back. 'Lay down here a minute. The bees are gone.'

'But the boys-'

'The boys got a few bites, but let ’em howl for a minute. Here now, you lay back like I said.' She stopped resisting and wilted to the earth. He stuffed his hat under her. 'Here, you put your head on this.'

She rested but small pains arced through her abdomen.

'You hurt anything when you fell?' Will asked anxiously, kneeling beside her, wondering what he was supposed to do if she started losing the baby out here in the middle of this weed patch. He watched her stomach lifting and falling in panting beats, wondered if he should touch it, test it. But for what? He sat on one heel, hands resting uncertainly on his thighs.

'I’m okay. Please… would you just see after the boys?'

'But you’re-'

'I’ll just lay here a while. You take the boys up to the well and plaster some mud on their bee stings quick as you can. It’ll cut the swelling.'

'But I can’t just leave you here.'

'Yes, you can! Now do as I say, Will Parker! Them bee stings could kill Thomas if he got enough of them, and I already lost their daddy to the bees-don’t you understand!' Her eyes filled with tears and Will reluctantly got to his feet. He glanced toward the pair, still sitting abjectly in the middle of the lane, bawling their heads off. He glanced at their mother and pointed authoritatively at her nose.

'Don’t you move until I get back.' Then he was off at a run again. A moment later he rescued the two squalling boys and trotted on.

'Maa-maaaaw! I want my maa-maaw!' Donald Wade had several welts on his face and hands. One ear was scarlet and puffed. He ground his fists into his eyes.

'Your mama can’t run as fast as I can. Hang on and we’ll put somethin’ cool on them bites.'

Baby Thomas was running from all ports and had bites all over, including a mean-looking cluster on his neck. They’d already begun swelling. At the thought of what could happen, should they be swelling as much on the inside as they were on the out, Will made his legs pump harder. He tried to think rationally, to remember if he’d seen where Mrs. Dinsmore kept her bread knife. A picture of the long silver blade flashed through his mind and he imagined having to slip it into Baby Thomas’s windpipe, through that soft, pink baby skin. His stomach tumbled at the thought. He wasn’t sure he could do it. Goddammit, don’t let this kid choke, you hear me!

Don’t think of it, Parker, just keep runnin’! As long as he’s screaming like a banshee he ain’t strangling.

Baby Thomas yowled all the way back to the yard. Will hit the mud patch by the pump doing seven miles an hour. His left foot flew west, his right east, and a moment later he landed on his seat with a splat. There he sat with two bawling boys. A bubble formed in Baby Thomas’s right nostril. Tears rolled down Donald Wade’s cheeks, wetting the bee stings. Will reached up and pulled Donald Wade’s fist down.

'Here, don’t rub ’em.' He sat in the cold, slimy mud and started dabbing it on both boys at once. Thomas fought him tooth and nail, jerking his head back, pushing at Will’s hands. But in time the visible welts were covered. The howling subsided to jerky sobs, then the jerky sobs to breathy chuffs of wonder as it dawned on the boys that they were sitting beneath the pump, being plastered with mud. Will unhooked Donald Wade’s suspenders, turned his bib down and his shirt up. He treated several stings on his back and belly, then removed the baby’s shirt and did likewise.

'They got you, all right,' Will confirmed, examining for any he might have missed.

'Are they all right?'

Will’s chin snapped up at the sound of Eleanor’s voice. She stood at the edge of the puddle, holding his flattened hat in her hand. 'I thought I told you to stay put till I could get back to you.'

'Are they all right?' she repeated.

'I think so. Are you?'

'I think so.'

'Mama…' The baby reached toward her, but Will held him in place.

'You sit here a minute, sport. You’ll get your mama all muddy.'

Suddenly Eleanor’s face crinkled and a chuckle began deep in her throat. Will shot her a glare.

'What you laughin’ at?'

'Oh, mercy, if you could see the picture you three make.' She covered her mouth and doubled forward, laughing. 'It just struck me.'

Sudden anger boiled up in Will. How dare she stand there cackling when he’d just had five good years scared out of him! When his heart was knocking so hard his temples hurt! When he sat with the mud oozing up through his only pair of jeans! And all because of her and her boys!

'There ain’t a damn thing funny, so stop your crowin’!' He planted both boys on their feet as if they were spades and he was done shoveling. Clumsily he extracted himself from the mud and stood bowlegged, like a toddler with full diapers. All the while she giggled behind her hand. Giggled, for chrissake, when she could be standing there at this very minute having a miscarriage!

He got madder. His head jutted forward. 'You crazy, woman?'