Bodark Creek - 34. Chapter 34

When Del came home from Korea, Martin and I expected him to marry Susan almost before he got out of uniform. But he didn’t. He and Susan stayed engaged, and they saw each other nearly every day. They just never set a date.

“There’s so much I want to do, Mama,” Del told me. “There’s the farm, and there’s a business I want to start. And I feel like I’ve been gone forever. I need to catch up.”

I felt like he’d been gone forever, too, though it was really less than two years. And now that he was home and safe, it seemed even shorter.

“What kind of business?” I asked. This was something new.

“We’re still working on that,” he said, meaning him and Susan. “But the one thing we know is we can’t put all our faith in the farm.”

“Why not?” I asked.

“He’s right, Addy,” Martin told me “It’s no different from your brothers, knowing that they had to get a farm.”

“But they never stopped working at the mill. They never gave up their jobs.”

“And Del’s not quitting on the farm. He’ll always be right here, helping Neal and me. But it doesn’t take a genius to see how things are going.”

Martin was right about that, because almost everything about farms was changing. The government had switched its rules about cotton, so the mill was buying less. And that meant farmers were planting less cotton and corn. Everyone was going to cattle.

“It makes more sense,” Sonny said. “It uses the land better. And it sure is easier than planting row crops.”

He and Dougie had started a small herd and were putting all their time into that. And Susan was in no rush to get married. “It’s not like Del and I are going anywhere,” she told me. While Del was away, she’d even been taking classes at the college. So she could help Del plan his business.

Susan still lived in town, with her family, and Del was still with us. But I had the feeling that something was going on between them, when no one else was around. And I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

Neal pretty much followed Del in the same way he always had. When Del was gone, Neal was perfectly happy being on the farm. But now that Del was talking about business, Neal started talking about it, too. Or at least thinking about working in one with Del. And while Neal was soon engaged to Valerie, they were also in no hurry to get to the church. So I figured there was something going on with them, too. I really wanted to talk to Martin about it, but there were certain things we still never discussed. So I went to Rosalind.

“Now you can’t tell this to Dock,” I started.

“Oh, come on, Addy. You know how close the two of us are.”

“Well, I really need you not to be this time. Too many feelings can get hurt.”

Rosalind seemed to think about that. Then she said, “I can’t make you any promises.”

“Then I can’t tell you.”

That really upset her. But not as much as it upset me.

“What’s the matter?” Dock asked, the next time he saw me. “You’ve been quiet.”

It was spooky, the way Dock often seemed to know what people were thinking. A lot of it came just from him watching. But I also guessed that Rosalind had said something.

“I’m fine,” I told him. “I’ve been working out something in my head. Something for Joann’s graduation.”

Dock accepted my excuse, but he smiled, letting me know that he knew something more was going on.

And I was planning a party. Joann was not only graduating from high school, she was going to study nursing. She was following Patricia in that, though in most ways the two of them couldn’t have been more different. Pat had studied nursing, but instead of finishing all four years, she started working after two.

“I’m tired of studying,” she said. “It’s time to start earning money.”

“What do you need money for?” Martin asked. “We give you everything you need.”

“I want a car. I can’t just keep catching rides back and forth to town. And I want to live there, too.”

That was almost harder for us than Del going off to Korea. He had to go. Pat had no reason to leave. But she found an apartment near the hospital to share with three other girls. And paying only a quarter of the rent let her buy a used car. Dougie checked it out for her. Since Gordy was gone, Dougie had become the family mechanic.

“It should last three or four years,” he promised.

“I hope not,” Pat joked. “I want a new one before then.”

“There’s no reason,” Dougie said.

“Well, maybe I just want one.”

Pat planned to work at the hospital but also keep taking classes. “I’ll be so busy, I won’t have any way to spend money.”

That probably wasn’t true, though I have to admit she’d never been very social. Even in high school, she didn’t have a steady boyfriend, and she was the only girl in her class. Joann’s class was more even, with nine boys and eight girls. And even though the boys didn’t have to fight in Korea, they still had to go into the Army. The girls just got married.

And maybe that’s what Joann was thinking. Or what her boyfriend Bobby wanted. Or maybe it was that Joann was the prettiest girl the high school had seen for years. Because right after graduation, she got married.

“I thought you wanted to have a wedding in church,” I said. “You’ve been talking about that pretty white dress for years.”

There was one in the family now, from Dougie’s younger daughters. Joann always wanted to try it on but never let herself.

“It’s unlucky,” she told me. “Then I’d never get married.”

Martin and I still didn’t understand why she did. She and Bobby disappeared one weekend and came back wearing rings. Nothing could have worried us more.

“What about nursing school?” I asked.

“I’m still going,” Joann insisted. “Bobby’ll get a job, and we’ll live in town.”

“You could both stay here,” I said.

“Mama.”

So Pat moved out. And Joann moved out. And Del and Neal were probably spending time with their girlfriends in ways I didn’t want to think about. And Martin didn’t say anything, but I couldn’t tell what he had guessed. Though after waiting for him to finally say something, I had to ask.

“Why do you think the boys aren’t getting married?” I said. “Is it because they think they don’t have to?”

Martin looked at me, as if surprised that I’d asked. Finally, he answered, “My mama and daddy wanted me to get married sooner, too. They kept saying I was waiting too long. But that worked out, so Del and Neal probably will, too.”

If he’d even reached for my hand then, I might have felt better. But he went right back to watching the television.

I didn’t know what to think. The Bible kept telling me one thing, and our minister in church was saying the same. But my husband and sons seemed to think very differently. Still, we were all in church every Sunday. Del and Susan. And Neal and Valerie. And Pat and Joann and Bobby.

I thought maybe Martin felt the way he did because he was getting older. In his clothes, he looked strong, but sometimes I’d see his pale legs or shoulders and think he was fading away. At dinner, I’d put a little extra on his plate.

“Do you want me to get fat, like a hog?” he’d joke when he noticed.

“No, but you don’t want to get too skinny, either.”

Martin was so different from our sons, or even from my brothers. After spending half his life in the Navy, Charley would be out of his shirt the minute he started doing even the easiest job on the farm. And Del and Neal would scoot from their bedrooms across the hall to the toilet in just their undershorts. But Martin could go red when Pat would leave her anatomy book open. It’s no wonder he didn’t want to talk about his sons’ private lives.