Cedar Hollow, West Virginia, 1975
The bell above the front door of Mr. Smith’s General Store jingled, and Jessie Russell and J.J. Williamson raced to offer assistance. From behind the counter, Sue Ann smiled, watching them both with pride. Although her arm was still in a sling, it was healing nicely, and at her appointment that morning Dr. Hayden had told her that within another week or so it would be as good as new. “Then will you come back to work?” he had asked, and Sue Ann had shaken her head no.
“I believe I need a change,” she had answered. “I appreciate what you done for me, but I need a fresh start.” Dr. Hayden had nodded, sad to lose Sue Ann’s assistance, and sadder still that he hadn’t done more for her when she had needed it. Sad, too, he admitted only in his most secret heart, because he had begun to develop quite a fondness for Sue Ann Leary Temple Williamson. Now that he thought of it, though, it might work to his advantage that she was no longer his employee. He smiled at the thought.
From Dr. Hayden’s office, Sue Ann had gone straight to the general store, where she had been helping Billy May get moved in and set up for business. She still couldn’t get over Billy May moving back to town, but Billy May had been adamant. She didn’t want Jessie isolated on the mountain. “The mountain was what I needed,” she had explained to Sue Ann, “but it ain’t what’s good for Jessie. She needs a normal life, with school, and friends, and a community where she feels like she belongs. It’s time for me to move on.”
Billy May had rented her mountain to a wealthy family from New York who wanted their own oasis from the city for those times they could escape. Sue Ann could only imagine how hard that must have been for her, but Billy May never let on. She didn’t know what Billy May made from the rent, but she imagined it was a good sum. Billy May financed Mr. Smith’s General Store with the profits, and she and Jessie moved into the upstairs apartment.
Watching the children assist June O’Brien with her last minute Christmas shopping, Sue Ann felt happy for the first time in many years. She still had difficulty sleeping at night, expecting Jimmy to come crashing into the bedroom at any moment to yank her up by her hair or drag her off the bed for another beating. Slowly, though, with the passage of time, she was learning to relax and let her guard down, and J.J. was positively thriving, both from the calm that had descended over the household and from his blossoming friendship with Jessie. Just last night he had stayed late at the store, up in the apartment with Jessie while she worked with him on his reading. Already, Sue Ann could see an improvement.
With the help of friends, Sue Ann and J.J. set out to transform their little home, erasing all the bad memories and replacing them with new ones. They had painted inside and out, repairing screens and doors, papering the kitchen and sanding and staining the floors with a warm oak finish. With Corinne’s help, Sue Ann had sewn new curtains and bed sheets, and the Cedar Hollow Baptist Church Quilting Bee had donated two beautiful quilts, always ready with a helping hand to assist single mothers, particularly those who had been abandoned by their no-good husbands. To Sue Ann’s amazement, the house was beginning to look, and feel, warm and cheerful, almost as if Jimmy had never been there.
As Raymond had predicted, no one in the little town had been too surprised to hear that Roy and Jimmy had taken off. After all, everyone knew they were troublemakers. Some folks had been surprised they’d stuck around as long as they had. The town had pulled together to help the poor children the men had abandoned, offering support in the best way they knew how. Never before in her life had Sue Ann been the recipient of so many casseroles.
Sue Ann turned at the sound of a footstep on the stairs and saw Billy May galloping her way down from the upstairs apartment, Old Mongrel following slowly at her heels. Sue Ann regarded her new friend with amusement. Billy May still sported the dungarees and flannel shirts she had worn forever, and she still, more often than not, had a home-rolled cigarette in her hand. Even as a girl, Sue Ann remembered, Billy May had always preferred pants to dresses. Her hair was still cropped short, her face devoid of makeup. But nonetheless, something about Billy May sparkled. Sue Ann smiled.
Just yesterday, Billy May had handed Sue Ann a lifeline. Running her hand through her hair and looking nervous, Billy May had confessed to Sue Ann that she needed help running the store. “I can do the organizin’ and the stockin’, but I never was good at math. I need help with the orderin’ and the financials. I know you’ve worked for Dr. Hayden for a long time, but if you have time for extra work, I surely would appreciate your help.”
Sue Ann had laughed aloud. “Billy May Platte, you are the answer to my prayers,” she said. “I’ll quit Dr. Hayden’s when I go for my appointment tomorrow. I appreciate him comin’ and lookin’ after me that night, but I am needin’ somethin’ different. This is the perfect solution, and you know J.J. loves helpin’ you out.”
Billy May had cocked an eyebrow at Sue Ann. “You been wantin’ to quit Dr. Hayden’s? Does this mean y’all are about to start datin’? Because you know he’s sweet on you.”
Sue Ann blushed. “Billy May! What on earth are you talkin’ about? The last thing I need right now—the very last thing—is a man. I think me an’ J.J. will just take a little time to be together without anyone else comin’ around tryin’ to control things.”
Billy May smiled. “Y’all do that,” she said. “But when y’all get tired of that, I imagine Dr. Hayden will be waitin’.”
Sue Ann had slapped Billy May on the hip with the apron she had been holding, telling her to shush. “Don’t wish a man on me, Billy May. I’m needin’ some time to myself.” But she had blushed in spite of herself.
Now Billy May quietly joined her behind the counter and the women surreptitiously watched the children, who were at that very moment persuading June O’Brien to purchase Old Spice cologne for her husband, Raymond. Studying Jessie, Billy May reflected on the past weeks. The physical wounds had healed, but Billy May knew the emotional ones were another matter entirely. In spite of that, she was pleased to see that on this day, at this time, Jessie sounded like any young girl surrounded by friends. They would deal with the rest as it came.
“He’ll smell so nice, Mrs. O’Brien,” she was saying. “And the green bottle is so pretty.” At this last, J.J. rolled his eyes, prompting Jessie to elbow him in the ribs. “Don’t you roll your eyes at me, J.J. Williamson.” Jessie frowned at him. “I am tryin’ to sell.”
Across town, Officer Wimbley rolled his patrol car to a stop outside Peggy’s Diner. It was early for supper, but as always, the town was so deathly quiet he decided to pass the time in the diner, where he might at least catch the latest gossip. Why, just a couple of weeks ago he had learned that the old grocer, Smith his name was, had passed away. From what he’d heard, Billy May Platte had come back to town and bought the store. She’d turned back up with a daughter, which had surprised the living daylights out of Officer Wimbley, since he had had her pegged as a homo. But who could tell these days? Men with long hair, women with hairy legs...the world was going to hell in a hand basket, that was for sure, with no one seeming to know who was a man and who was a woman, not even the people themselves.
Officer Wimbley gingerly stepped over a patch of ice and pulled open the door to the diner, entering into the warm, fragrant room with a sigh of relief. He settled his considerable bulk onto a barstool at the counter and looked around the room. A couple of grizzled old men, retired miners, judging by the cough, sat at the opposite end of the bar, smoking and drinking coffee as they discussed the fishing over on Rugged Creek. They nodded towards Officer Wimbley before resuming their discussion.
Sam Peeler, the barber from across the street, waited patiently at the counter for his cheeseburger-to-go. “How do,” he said by way of greeting, and Officer Wimbley responded with a hearty, “Good, good. Gotta get over to see you, later.” He made a mental note to stop in before his shift was over. He was due for a cut.
Over in the back corner, Eugene Cooper and Darryl Lane played a game of pool with some other men, fresh from afternoon shift change at the mine. The men waved a hand in greeting. On the opposite side, Dr. Hayden sat alone, reading the paper and picking at a piece of apple pie, a glass of sweet tea neglected in front of him, the melted ice overflowing onto the table. He didn’t look up at the jingle of the bell, apparently lost in thought.
Farther up, towards the front of the diner, the mechanic’s wife (Johnson, he remembered) sat with an elderly woman, probably her mother, engrossed in an animated conversation. Officer Wimbley sighed. Nothing ever changed in this little town. Catching Peggy’s attention, he ordered a piece of key lime pie.
From the second booth back, Corinne looked up briefly as Officer Wimbley entered, then continued her conversation with her mother. She was in the process of planning a big Christmas dinner and wondered which turkey dressing would be better: cranberry or cornbread?
Mrs. Lorraine Pruitt, visiting with her daughter for the holidays, observed her only surviving child with wonder. Corinne’s cheeks were pink and there was a sparkle in her eyes that Mrs. Pruitt hadn’t seen since...well, since that ugly business so many years ago. She knew Billy May was back in town, but she hadn’t yet stopped by to see her. She also knew that Billy May had taken in Roy Campbell’s girl when he and Jimmy Williamson had skipped town, but this news didn’t surprise her. Billy May had always had a generous heart.
She was anxious to see Billy May, but had promised Corinne she would wait until Corinne’s Christmas dinner. Sue Ann Williamson and her boy, Billy May and Jessie, Raymond and June O’Brien and their youngest daughter Bella, Eugene Cooper and Darryl Lane and their wives and passel of little ones, all were planning to attend. Corinne had even invited Dr. Hayden, who, to everyone’s surprise, had shyly agreed to come. Mrs. Pruitt wasn’t sure what had brought about this change in Corinne, although she had a good idea. She wasn’t, after all, as naïve as they had all believed. Regardless of the reason, she was happy to see it. It brought her old heart a sense of peace, seeing Corinne so happy. She smiled to herself and settled back in the booth to listen to Corinne as she debated the pros and cons of pumpkin pie versus sweet potato.