Chapter 3: Money, Movies and Meanness

Leroy felt pressured, like he was getting pushed and crowded into a corner. It wasn't that he didn't want to got to see a moving picture show, he just didn't want to be pushed into it. Nobody ever pushed Leroy Jones, nobody. He kicked a dirt clod out of his path and hurried a little faster to make it to the Hot Spot. Marvin Yellow Eyes was outside waiting for him.

"Hey, Marvin," Leroy greeted him. "Wanna get some coffee and a sweet roll or doughnut or something?"

He opened the door and entered, Marvin followed right behind him. They sat at the counter and Leroy ordered coffee and rolls for the two of them. The other customers who were present gave Marvin strange looks. However they didn't say anything. Judge Mack was the first to broach the subject of the stranger in their midst.

"Leroy, my good friend, perhaps you would be so kind as to introduce your friend to us." Some said Clyde Mack had an insatiable curiosity. Others said he was a nosey old son of a bitch.

"Hey Judge, this here is Marvin Yellow Eyes. He just went to work out at the bridge site. He works almost as good as me."

"Howdy, Judge, I work even better. But he does pretty good for a white man." Marvin's dust toned face crinkled in a grin.

A couple of the hangers on at the café didn't like the easy manner of the Osage. Somehow it was downright disrespectful for an Indian to talk about a white man that way. Leroy ignored the looks. He was seated on the stool next to the judge. Marvin sat on the next seat down.

"Give me an' Marvin here coffee and one of them dried out sweet rolls," Leroy ordered. They were served and Leroy took his first noisy slurp of the chicory-laden coffee. Then came a bite of the day old roll and then another slurp of coffee to moisten it in his mouth.

Judge Mack was long accustomed to the "Okie way" of drinking coffee, the noisier the better. Marvin looked at his friend and remarked, "Boy that sure sounds like good coffee."

"It surely is," Leroy answered, unaware Marvin had just made fun of him. He took another bite and another noisy slurp of coffee. Marvin looked at the judge and smiled. The judge smiled back and shook his head in silent comment of Leroy's noisy table manners.

Leroy grinned at the judge and nodded. "We better get 'er down and head out," he said and crammed the last of the sweet roll into his mouth and washed it down with the last of the bitter coffee.

"Judge, fine to meet you," Marvin nodded politely, as he arose to follow Leroy to the door.

As they left, he heard one of the others at the counter say, "He sure talks funny for a Indian." He smiled to himself. One thing Marvin Yellow Eyes had learned about working in the white man's world was that it was better to pick the times to make a stand and not take offense at every remark some ignorant red neck hillbilly uttered.

They hurried the three miles to the job site and arrived just in time to see Milt and the timekeeper pull in. "Boys," Milt called as they hurried by to get their tools, "the pay envelopes came in last night so you finish off the approach on this side of the river and call it a day. I'll pay you as soon as you're finished."

They nodded and got to work. "I'll pick and you shovel, if that's all right with you," Leroy told Marvin.

"Suits me, but I'll spell you if you get too tired." He grabbed up a scoop and a shovel. Leroy hefted the crash bar and the pick. They worked at a steady pace through the whole morning. Neither feeling the need to talk, just work and get it done.

A half hour before noon, they cleaned off their tools and put them up. Milt waited for them with two envelopes. He handed one to Leroy and the other to Marvin. "Martin Summers called me last night and told me he wanted to hire you. I'm sorry to see you go but Martin is a good man to work for." He shook the Indian's hand.

"What's this about you goin' to work for that Banker Summers? You never told me nothing about it. What gives?" Leroy felt betrayed that this man he wanted for a friend wouldn't be around any more.

"Well, I never told you because I was only offered the job last night. My cousin who works for him put in a word for me. I'm going to dig the new sewer lines and septic tank at his house and then ramrod an irrigation crew out on his farm." He smiled and added, "Hey, white man, we'll see each other around. I still want to be friends."

"Well, okay," Leroy told him. "But you're the first man what could almost keep up with me workin' so I figure that you're pretty special."

"Almost my ass. There ain't one white man ever could keep up with me working. Now you just admit it." Milt shook his head as the two started to argue about who was the best worker.

"Get out of here, the two of you. Go on home. You get the rest of the day off with pay." He went back into the office shack to finish off his work for the day.

All the way back to town they chattered and bragged. "Let's stop at the pool hall and have us some of that watered down corn whiskey that Jory sells. Okay?" Leroy invited his companion.

Marvin got a funny look on his face and said, "Naw, Leroy, I better not. Besides, they might not want to serve me in there."

"Aw hell, Marvin, they'll serve you if you're with me. That ain't no problem."

"Look, Leroy, I got to tell you something. I can't drink, I don't dare. It messes me up inside my head and almost cost me my wife and kid. You know what they say about Indians and whiskey? Well it's true in my case. I have to leave it all the way alone."

"Well, hell, how can ya have any fun without drinkin' a little something?" Leroy was not able to fathom a life with no whiskey ever.

"Leroy, every man has to make decisions about his life. Some are real hard to stick to and some aren't. But for me, I got a choice of either drinking and losing everything else in my life or else I stay on the wagon and keep my life and family together. For me it's that simple."

"Well, you're a better man than me," Leroy answered him. "I been doin' without because of the baby we got comin' and I need to save money. But I know when the kid pops out and the doc gets paid I get to go on a rip snorter of a bender and howl at the moon."

"Well, it's like that for me except I just have to stay off forever." Marvin smiled and said, "I got to turn over towards the Summers' house here, I'll see you later." Marvin turned left and Leroy kept going straight through town, past the Hot Spot and home.

As he walked up the steps and entered the duplex, Cassie called, "Leroy, honey, what you doin' home so early?" She thought a moment and asked in a worried voice, "You ain't been fired, have you?"

He laughed at her fears and answered, "Naw, me an' Marvin got done early so Milt let us off early with pay. I'm goin' to take a fast bath and put on some clean clothes. You put the buckets of water in the back yard to heat in the sun?" Leroy had painted four heavy five gallon paint buckets with black paint. He filled them with water on every Saturday morning and had almost twenty gallons of warm bath water when he came home from work.

"I did, Honey. Would you save me a little? I'd like to bathe too."

"Hell, I'll bring the wash tub in and we'll both bathe together."

"Leroy, I feel so big an' ugly. You sure you want to see me naked? I just look like hell." She looked down at the floor and anxiously waited for his answer to reassure her.

"Aw hell, Cass, you're getting big as an old elephant, but since you're not gray colored, I don't mind. Besides, That's my baby in there." He smiled proudly at her.

"Thank ya, Leroy, you just seem to know what to say to make me feel good." She looked up at his face, her love for him caused her face to shine with an inner radiance.

All embarrassed and confused at this display of emotion, Leroy hurried out on the back porch and brought the big washtub inside the kitchen. He brought two of the five gallon buckets of warm water in and poured them in the tub. He carried the other two in and sat them on the floor nearby for rinse water.

They got undressed and Leroy looked down at his child bride in wonder. Strange feelings of love for her coursed through him as he gazed at her big belly. He could not speak as he looked at her. There was a lump in his throat. Finally he whispered to her, "Cassie honey, aw, Cass, aw hell. You know what I mean."

She looked up at his face and saw the love shining. "Leroy, honey pie, I love you. You make me happy."

"Yeah, that's what I been tryin' to say. Aw hell, Cass, I sure am glad I got you." He bent down and roughly kissed her mouth. Then he stepped into the tub and she began to soap him down. She marveled at the hard tenseness of her man's body, so different from her pa's. Her pa was soft all over and had a pot gut from years of drinking and no exercise. Leroy Jones, on the other hand, was hard and lean from the years of hard work he had endured.

Leroy stepped out of the dented old washtub and Cassie stepped. While these new feelings flowed through him, he bathed her. He tried to be extra-gentle as he soaped her with his hands. When he had her soaped all over he took a bucket and poured the warm water over her head and body. Cassie shivered with pleasure at the way her man treated her.

Right then, to Leroy, she looked like nothing more than one of those fat little kewpie dolls you won at a carnival or the state fair. She stepped out of the tub and wrapped a blanket around her. Still wet, Leroy put on the clean overalls and plaid work shirt. Barefooted he dragged the heavy tub of water to the back door and tilted it up. The soapy water poured out over the red, hardpan clay like soil to puddle and either seep into the ground or evaporate.

Cassie pulled on her one dress that was still large enough to fit her. "We's still goin' to the movie this evening, Leroy?"

As he pulled on his shoes, he answered, "Yup, I guess so. But to kind of celebrate, let's get down to the Hot Spot and have a hamburger or somethin' to eat."

Her stomach started to churn at the very mention of fried meat. "Oh, Leroy, honey, would it be okay with you if I just had a pickle and a piece of pie of something?"

"That's fine with me, let's go." He started out the door.

"Leroy, sweetie, are you sure y'alls want to be seen with me? I look like a big old cow in this big old ugly dress. I want to look pretty for you."

Jesus Christ on a crutch, he wondered what in hell was wrong with the female half of the population? Women ain't supposed to be beautiful when they's knocked up. They supposed to look knocked up." He just couldn't understand what all this worry about looks was. "Besides, you'll get your looks back after you have the kid."

He bit back the sharp words he almost added and instead said to her, "Cass, honey, you look just like you're supposed to look. You look fine to me and I'm the only one what counts here." She grabbed his outstretched hand and walked down the front steps beside him. She held on tight and rubbed her cheek against his bicep. Leroy was unaware of the desperation she felt inside. Leroy had become the last barrier between her and the hostile world he kept at bay. She rubbed her face on his arm once more.

When the couple entered the Hot Spot, only the judge sat in his usual place at the counter. "Well bless my soul. The newlyweds approacheth. What brings you in to this fine eating establishment on such a glorious afternoon?" He thought a moment and asked, "You do still have a job, don't you Leroy?"

"Oh shore, Judge, My boss, Milt, just let me have the afternoon off with pay. Me and Marvin done such a good job we got rewarded. Y'all know that Marvin is now working for Mister Summers up at his big house."

"Who's this Marvin, Leroy," Cassie asked, "How come I don't know this Marvin?"

"Aw, he's this Osage guy that Milt hired on to help me dig. He's almost as good a worker as me." Leroy answered in his not too humble way. He ignored the fact that Marvin might be perhaps a little better worker than Leroy. In fact, he shoved that nasty though right out of his mind. Nobody worked better than Leroy Jones.

"I felt he was a bit of an unusual a specimen of our aboriginal brethren," the judge mused. "He is definitely his own man."

"Leroy, the man says he ain't got no pickles and no cake or ice cream. What am I goin' to do?"

Leroy took a deep breath and said, "Well, we kin either stay here and listen to ya bitch or we can go find you a god damned pickle."

The judge and the counterman both frowned at Leroy. Cassie looked up into his eyes, tears welled up and began to spill over onto her cheeks. "I'm sorry. Honey, I don't mean to be such a bother."

She looked so miserable Leroy apologized, "Aw hell, Cass, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell at ya but..." he broke off what he had started to say. He started again, "Look, Cass, we'll go over to the Bid A Wee and y'alls can have ice cream, and cake and the biggest damned pickle they got in the place. Okay?"

Cassie's tears were gone in an instant. She pushed away from the counter and said, "Come on, Leroy, let's go." She grabbed his hand and tugged him toward the door. Leroy raised his eyes heavenward, his face the picture of not so patient martyrdom. The judge laughed and bid them goodbye.

The counterman griped, "Well, that's what ya git fer marryin' a little girl that young. He's goin' to have two babies to raise." He snorted and went back to swatting flies.