MAY
J erald removes his hat as soon as we’re inside her house, but the other boys don’t. Peter asks, “Say, where are your parents anyhow? They won’t be walking in the door at any minute, will they?”
Lily smirks, “That would be a riot!” while setting her handbag on the oak hutch. It’s a lovely home; I’ve often thought so. Four levels including the basement, beautifully decorated by Mrs. Howard, a woman who passed down her worrisome ways to her daughter.
Sable just can’t help herself from taking Lily’s bait. “Oh you think so, do you? I don’t see you volunteering your house, Lily Marlow! It’s all good and well for you to act so la-di-dah when it’s not your folks who could walk in on you at any minute alone with strange boys.”
Hank objects with a dazzling smile. “We’re not strange, if I do say so myself. Think about it, Sable. We’ve seen you at church nearly every other Sunday, haven’t we?”
She frowns, not wanting to give in to his charms. He’s just the sweetest thing, but Sable is bullheaded and nothing can change that about her character. “Church and here are two very separate things. They’d think you strange enough, believe you me!”
Peter whistles, “Say, is that a new record player? Can I have a look?”
He strolls over while Gertie tries to make peace with Sable’s better judgment. “How long are they gone for, Sable? You did say just earlier this evening that you were alone for two more days, didn’t you? Before May fainted, I mean.”
Lily laughs as she follows Peter to choose a record, “Oh, let her be. If she couldn’t complain she wouldn’t have anything to talk about.”
“That isn’t so!”
“Yes it is so. Don’t be such a sourpuss.”
Marvin reassures Sable, “I think it’s reasonable to be cautious.”
Impressed with his support, she pauses, gathers herself together and walks to the kitchen. “If you are going to be in my home, I can’t have you hungry.” Throwing her hands on her hips, she says, “Well, are you going to help me, Marvin, or aren’t you?”
He dashes after her like someone shot him out of a circus cannon.
Jerald and I have been standing beside each other this entire time. I’m aware of his closeness and somehow wish it were closer. Together we watch his brother guiding Gertie to a chair where he sits on the arm and tells her a story I couldn’t focus on if I tried.
With Peter and Lily arguing about records and using them as weapons to swat each other with, Marvin and Sable preparing practical snack options, and Hank charming Gertie into a puddle, Jerald asks me with a private tone, “Would you like to step outside? It’s an awfully nice night.”
My heart beats so fast I answer with a nod. He opens the door for me, and a warm Georgian breeze greets us with a heavenly smell floating on it. “Lily, your favorite smell!”
She runs to poke her head into the foyer. “Night blooming jasmine?”
“Mmhmm!”
Shutting her eyes, she takes a deep breath. “There it is! I don’t think there’s a better scent in all the world.”
Jerald follows me outside, quietly closing the door. The porch light was left on to greet Sable upon her return, and it shines a warm glow on rocking chairs that face the street, a small round table, and a stack of cut firewood lining the house.
As I sit, Jerald takes hold of the chair, steadying it so I may sit gracefully. “Thank you.”
He nods, large hands fiddling with his fedora as he sits down, balancing on the edge of his rocking chair with knees spread, shined shoes firmly balanced.
We’re silent for quite some time, so long in fact that I begin to wonder if he’ll ever say a word. I don’t want to be the first. I quite like sitting with Jerald this way. It’s comfortable and yet exciting at the same time. I’ve never sat alone with a boy before, and right now I can’t imagine ever sitting with another one.
When he does speak, his voice is thoughtful. “That’s the only thing I miss when I’m at sea.”
“What do you miss?”
He gestures toward the trees with his hat. “The cicadas.”
“Oh,” I smile, posture slumping in relaxed agreement. “Aren’t they something?”
“Most nights I doze off imagining their song. Can’t fall asleep otherwise.”
I look at his handsome profile, tilting my head as I try to imagine what life on a submarine is like. “It must be frightening knowing there’s water all around you like that.”
He blinks to the hat slowly spinning in his hands, blonde eyelashes heavy. “I’m not frightened, May. Especially not by the ocean. No, I’m certainly not frightened of that. I can’t fall asleep because a man has to stay alert with the job I’ve got.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Hank said he sees you at church.”
“I heard that but I can’t honestly say I remember him.” Jerald laughs and I immediately explain, “I don’t mean he’s not memorable, it’s just I never noticed him.“ Realizing that also doesn’t sound very flattering I frown and try again. “You see, for the past few years we watch after some of the children in our neighborhood. Sometimes it’s as many as five, and I’m often occupied with keeping them contained. Father gets frustrated and Mother only cares about her hymns once we’ve arrived — she’s very devout — so it’s up to me, and they really are a handful.“
“Is that your job? Babysitting, I mean.”
“Oh no, we don’t get paid for it! And it’s normally Mother who watches after them. But on Sundays, you see, it falls on me for the reasons I just explained. But it’s not a job by any means. Many of the women who live nearby pile into a pickup truck and ride to the Air Force Base down in Valdosta. Most of them go to church, too, but in order to save gas, what with it being
