'You’re a good man, Will, don’t you say different. And if that’s what you learned there, I’m glad you went.' She drew up the covers while he smiled at her unexpectedness: shy one minute, earthy the next. He gathered his wife close and found reason to be glad. It had been a circuitous route that had led him to her. Without La Grange, without Josh, without prison, he’d never have ended up in Georgia. He’d never have married Elly. But he didn’t want to dwell on it tonight.
'Elly-honey, you mind if we don’t talk about that for a while? I wanna talk about… about the flowers you’re gonna plant for next summer, and how you’re gonna pick the quince and how the boys’re gonna help you shell pecans and-'
'You’re gonna be back before that, Will. I just know you will.'
'Maybe.'
Through the hourglass the sand spilled faster. She rested her cheek and hand on his chest, against his strong, sure heartbeat, praying it would never be stopped by a bullet.
'I’ll write to you.' More sand… more heartbeats… and two throats tightening.
'And I’ll write to you.'
'I’ll remember this night forever, and how wonderful it was.'
'I’ll remember…' He tipped her head back to look into her glistening eyes. 'I’ll remember a lot of things.' Beneath the covers he found her breast and tenderly took it in hand. 'I’ll remember that day you threw the egg at me. That was the day I realized I was falling in love with you. I’ll remember you slicing bacon in the morning, and leaning on the door of the Whippet while the boys pretended they were driving up to Atlanta. And that first morning, you tying your hair up in a tail with a yellow ribbon. And whippin’ up a cake, holding the bowl against your belly. And the way you looked sitting in the boys’bed when I come home from work, telling ’em a bedtime story. And you-all waiting beneath the sourwood tree when I come driving back from town. Ah, that one’s gonna be the best. Did I ever tell you how much I liked sittin’ under that sourwood tree with you?' He kissed her forehead and made her eyes sting.
'Oh, Will…' She clasped him and blinked hard. 'You got to come back so we can do it again. All those things. This summer… promise?'
He rolled against her and looked into her eyes. 'If I make a promise, you got to make one, too.'
'Wh-what?' She sniffled.
'That you’ll go to town, take the boys out. You got to go, Elly, don’t you see? Donald Wade, he’ll be seven next year and he’ll be starting school. But if you-'
'I can teach him what he-'
'You listen to me, now. They got to get out. Take ’em to the library and get books for ’em so when they’re old enough for school they’ll know what to expect. You want ’em to grow up less ignorant than me and you, don’t you? Look how little we went to school and how hard we have to fight for everything. Give ’em a chance to be smarter and better than us. Take ’em in and get ’em used to town, and people-and-and surviving.’Cause that’s what life’s all about, Elly, surviving. And you-you go in and keep selling the eggs and milk to Purdy. You buy Dreft instead of making that homemade soap. It’s too hard on you, Elly, to do all that. The Marines’ll be sending my checks to you, so you’ll have the money. But you put half in War Bonds and spend the other half, you hear? Buy good shoes for the boys and whatever Lizzy needs. And you hire somebody to do whatever needs doin’ around the place. And if I’m not back by the time the honey runs, you hire somebody to open the hives and sell the honey. It’ll bring good money with sugar being scarce.'
'But, Will-'
'You listen now, Elly, ’cause I haven’t got a whole lot of time to convince you. Miss Beasley, she’ll be your friend. You’re gonna need a friend, and she’s fair and honest and smart. If you need help you go to her and she’ll help you or find somebody else who will. Promise, Elly?'
He held her lightly by the throat. Beneath his palm he felt her swallow.
'I promise,' she whispered.
He forced a grin, made it teasing, the way he knew she needed right now. 'You got your fingers crossed under them covers, missus?'
'N-no,' she choked, releasing a laugh that was half sob.
'All right. Now listen.' He wiped her cheek dry and said what needed saying. 'I got to tell you this before I go. It might not’ve been fair of me to ask Miss Beasley, but I did, and she told me about how your mama she never was married, and how your family locked you up in that house when you were a little girl, and all the rest of it. Elly, how come you never told me?'
Her gaze dropped to his chest.
He lifted her chin with a finger. 'You’re as good as any of them down there-better. And don’t you forget it, Mrs. Parker. You’re bright, and you got a pair of real bright boys, too, you hear me? You got to go down into that town and show ’em.'
He could see she was on the verge of big tears. 'Aw, Elly, honey…' He wrapped her close and rocked her. 'This war is gonna change things. Women’re gonna have to do for themselves a lot more. And for you, facing town might be part of it. Just remember what I said. You’re good as any of them down there. Now I got to ask you something, all right?' Once more he pressed her away and studied her eyes. 'Do you own that house?'
'The one in town?'
'Yes. Where you used to live.'
'Yes. But I ain’t goin’ in it.'
'You don’t have to. Just remember, though, if an emergency comes up and you need big money for anything, you can sell that place. Miss Beasley’ll be able to help you. Will you do that if something goes wrong and I don’t come home?'
'You’re comin’ home, Will, you
'I’m gonna try, darlin’. A man with this much waitin’ for him’s got plenty to fight for, don’t you think?'
They held each other and willed that it should be so. That when Lizzy took her first step he’d be there with his arms outstretched, waiting to catch her. When summertime came and the honey was running he’d be there to see after the bees. And when autumn came and the sourwood tree changed to scarlet he’d be there to join them beneath it.
'I love you, Elly. More’n you’ll ever know. Nobody ever was as good to me as you. You got to remember one thing always. How happy you made me. When I ain’t here and you get low, you think about what I said, how happy you made me, feedin’ me quince pies and giving me three little babies to love, and making me feel like I’m somebody special. And remember how much I loved you, only you, the only one in my whole entire life, Eleanor Parker.'
'Will… Will… oh, God…'
They tried to kiss but couldn’t; their tears got in the way, filling their throats and thickening their tongues. They clung, legs braided, arms pulling as if to protect each other from tomorrow’s separation.
But it would come. And it would take him and leave her and nothing they could do or say would prevent the sand from running out.
Chapter 15
They said goodbye under the sourwood tree. Donald Wade coasted down with one knee in the wagon; Thomas rode the scooter. Will and Elly followed, he with his few possessions in a brown paper bag and she carrying Lizzy P.
When they stopped beneath the outspread branches, his wrist rested on her shoulder. Instead of looking at her, he squinted at the sky.
'Well… got a good day for it. Can almost feel spring comin’.'
'Not a cloud in that sky.'
Why were they talking weather when there were a dozen more urgent feelings tumbling through their hearts?
'Donald Wade said just yesterday he seen a nest with some speckled eggs in it.'
