He laughed. “Yes. Do it for my sake. Oh, what a shock I had.” And he lay back on the bed with his arms across his face.
After a while she said, “He had a little sort of bundle with him. Did he take that when he run off?”
“There was something like that lying on the floor. We left it there. Why?”
“Well, it’s just that he’ll likely come back for it.” Maybe she shouldn’t have said that. “If he seen that you wasn’t chasing him, he’s probly already come and gone.”
“I take it you don’t want to talk to the sheriff about this.”
“Wouldn’t be much point.”
He laughed. “If you say so.”
She said, “I’m not much for talking to a sheriff. That’s a fact. But if he turns himself in, they might not hang him. If some law catches him, for sure they will. But he’ll need that money to get home. He don’t have a decent pair of shoes.”
He said, “Now you’re crying.”
“I’m tired is all.” She said, “I was thinking we might bring him here and let him sleep the night at the church. That was before he run off.”
He handed her his handkerchief. “Well, Lila, I’ll talk to Boughton again. I guess we could go back out there. Maybe talk to him this time. You can stay home.” He sat up and stood up like the weariest man in the world, steadying himself against the bedpost. She knew she should tell him not to trouble himself.
She said, “I better go along. He won’t be scared of me. He’ll never come with us. He’d never get in the car with us now. But we could take him some things. If we hurry.”
“All right. Then you put some things together and I’ll go get Boughton.”
So she put socks and long underwear and a flannel shirt in a pillowcase, and a pair of the preacher’s old shoes. None of it would fit the boy, but it was better than nothing. She bundled a piece of ham in wax paper and put it with the rest, and some apples, and took two wool blankets out of the cupboard. She put on the blue coat, which she found draped on the newel post, and went out to the DeSoto. Boughton said, somberly, “I believe they call this aiding and abetting. I know they do.” He said, “Nobody will have to get out of the car. I’ll honk the horn. We’ll just pull up to the stoop and drop it all out the window. I’m going to keep the car running.”
When they stopped in front of the cabin, Lila stepped out. She called, “Hey. You there? We brought you some clothes and some blankets. I’ll just set them inside here in case it snows.” The Reverend stepped out, too, and gave her a flashlight, and took the parcel, and took her arm. He said, “I’ll go in.”
“No, I will. He’s touchy, all right, but he ain’t scared of me.” She said, “We don’t want to corner him. He’ll get himself in worse trouble.”
He laughed. “We can’t have that, can we. Whatever you say. Let’s just be quick about it.”
She set the things inside the door, and then she swept the flashlight across the room. She said, “It’s still there. His money. He ain’t come back for it.”
“Well, he won’t come back as long as we’re here. It’s good that he hasn’t come back already. This way he’ll find what you’ve left for him.”
“Oh, maybe,” she said. “I don’t know, I don’t.” The old man’s voice was so low and so weary. Then all the way home they were silent. She could feel thoughts passing between the two men, who had grown old in their friendship. She’s going to be a world of trouble, John. And: Let’s see what she has to say before we judge. And: Old men can make foolish decisions. And: Let’s leave that to another time. And: No matter what happens, I’m on your side. And: You are, you always are, even when I’m not. Still, the longer he thought about it, the graver he was. That night she lay beside him, wondering if he ever would sleep. He didn’t take her hand, and she didn’t dare take his. But the child was there. She could feel what must be the press of its head below her rib, the press of its foot against her hip. She thought, Seems like you’re about as strong as you ought to be.
* * *
The next morning the Reverend came downstairs dressed for Sunday. She still forgot to pay attention to the days of the week sometimes, but she was pretty sure it was Thursday. He told her once that his preacher clothes helped him remember himself, helped with that worry of his about anger. So here he was, remembering himself before he’d even had breakfast. He said, “Good morning.”
She said, “Morning.” There was nothing to do but wait for him to say what was on his mind. She poured coffee into his cup, so he sat down.
Then there was a knock at the door, and he went to answer it. She heard him talking with someone. When he came back to the kitchen he said, “That was Boughton’s boy Teddy. He’s been out to the cabin already, to leave some things that might have a better chance of being the right size. Boughton is too stove up in the mornings to do much himself, and Teddy wanted a look at things anyway, since he’s almost a doctor. He thought
