CHAPTER 1

The House by the Road

Jessie's shoulders felt sore from the backpack. Her steps becameslower, as she trudged down the hot macadam road. It was atwo-lane road, with rolling hills and shade trees now and then. Shehad passed a few farms, with cows in the fields. Jessie's last hitchedride had dropped her off at a crossroads yesterday. She decidedto get off the highway and take the country road for a change ofscenery. She was sick of the commercial fast lanes.

It was mid August, still warm, with the smell of fall aroundthe corner. The farmers had finished the haying and reapingthe oats and were now cutting the corn. It wouldn't be longbefore she would have to figure out what she was going to doto get through the winter. She couldn't keep traveling like this,when the snow started to fly. She was only fifteen and peopleweren't likely to hire her. She needed a place to stay. I can't goback home, I just can't! She thought.

Jessie's home life went from bad to worse when her mother,Reba, brought in Jimmy, her latest boyfriend. Jessie neverknew her father. He had been in the military and was killedin Vietnam when she was five months old. Her mother neverrecovered and used alcohol to overcome the loss. Reba workedas a waitress during the day and drank at night with whoeverwas the boyfriend of the moment. It was up to Jessie, to findodd jobs, so she would have clothes and supplies for school.The Rescue Mission store was her best friend, as she madeuse of others' discards. Jessie had learned to isolate herself inher own room away from the crying-jags and arguments ofher mother and male friends. Her room was her world, withher ears and mind closing off everything, on the other side ofthe door. That is, until Jimmy. She was aware of the innuendos,when she would walk past to get something to eat to takeback to her room. Sometimes, he would brush up too closeto her in passing, but she felt she was safe with her motheraround. One evening, she came home from a friend's house,expecting her mother to be there. The only one there, wasJimmy, and he had been drinking and smoking weed. She wentstraight upstairs to her room and shut the door. It wasn't longbefore she heard him coming up the stairs, calling her name ina singsong way. Frightened, she propped a chair under the doorknob. He pushed and pushed until the chair fell over. Jimmypicked her up and threw her on the bed, ripped her tee shirtup, kissing her as he pawed over her. It was at that moment thather mother walked in. There was angry screaming, but not atJimmy, instead at Jessie. She blamed Jessie for "leading him on".Jessie couldn't believe her mother would take Jimmy's side. Itwas at that moment that she made the decision to leave home.By morning she was on her way from New York heading westwith a trucker.

Jessie sat under an old maple tree, whose leaves were startingto show a little color, and took out the peanut butter jar,remaining bread and plastic knife that she had grabbed whenleaving home. It was her emergency food. The truckers hadbeen generous at the truck stops, and she had been able to fillher water bottle in the convenience store restrooms. But, sinceshe had taken to the country road, food was scarce. Last night,she had been able to raid what was left of a vegetable garden.Tomatoes, old sweet corn and carrots had been her dinner. Shehad seventy-six dollars and some change in her pocket, butknew that wouldn't take her far. Ma will be furious when sherealizes I emptied her wallet. Serves her right, she thought, with asigh and sadness at "what could have been".

After relieving herself behind some bushes, she jumped overthe ditch and started down the road. She had no idea where shewas or where the road would take her. Jessie started singing toherself, "you take the high road and I'll take the low road," thenstopped in the middle of the road, trying to remember whoused to sing that to her. The puzzlement was still on her face,as she heard a tractor coming down the road behind her. Sheturned around and waited for it to catch up. Jessie put up herthumb for a ride. The farmer stopped and let her hop up to siton the fender.

The farm was a mile down the road. She jumped downwhen he stopped in the barnyard. Thanking the farmer for theride, she asked if she could fill up her water bottle. He pointedher to a spigot at the side of the bam and walked inside thehouse. Not very talkative, she thought, as she walked back downthe driveway. At the road she turned to look at the farmhouseand saw a curtain pulled back, so she waved, and the curtainquickly fell back into place.

Three days later, after a cold night sleeping under anevergreen tree and scraping the last of her peanut butter jar onto her end piece of bread, she picked up her backpack withweariness never before known. Jessie knew she needed to findwater. She had been walking for about a half mile, when shecame upon a dirt road on her right. The land was a mixture ofwoods and old fields of golden rod in full bloom. There might bea stream down there, she thought hopefully. The dirt road was onelane, that followed the up and down hills of the countryside.As she walked over one more crest, she spotted a rundownhouse by the road. The yard was overrun with weeds, but shecould see a well-worn path from the house to a mailbox. Therewas an old green Ford Scout parked under a shade tree, and ablack longhaired scruffy dog sleeping on the porch. Jessie wasleery of approaching the porch, because of the dog. She was acity girl and didn't have personal experience with any animals.Her thirst getting the better of her judgment, she approachedcautiously. But, the dog just looked up at her, never raising hisgrey muzzle from his paws, and thump the tail on the porch.None, the less, Jessie made a wide path around the dog andknocked on the door. No one came, she knocked harder, still,no one. She hollered out a "hello". A voice, from outside theback of the house, shouted, "I'm coming, I'm coming". A fewseconds later, an older woman with disheveled grey hair hangingstraight down came around the corner. She was wearing anold ripped plaid shirt over a faded, flowered, cotton dress thatbuttoned down the front.

A slip hung below the dress, and men's black rubber bootscame almost to her knees. She came up close to Jessie, so shecould see her face clearly, squinted at her, stepped back to lookher over better, then walked back up to her and said "Annie,you've come home." She, then, hugged her with a surprisingstrength. Jessie was speechless.

"Could I have a glass of water," asked Jessie, haltingly.

"Sure you can. I'll pump you a nice cold glass while youput your things in your bedroom."

Jessie stared at the old lady in wonderment.

"Get along with ya, and I'll have your water ready for you."

Jessie shyly opened the squeaky screen door, which slammedbehind her, making her jump. She walked into a small livingroom. There was a threadbare rug, with what appeared to beroses in the design. Jessie didn't see any TV, or even a radio,and yet it felt comfortable. There were a couple of rockers, andover-stuffed chairs and a couch with covers over them. In onecomer, there was a potbellied woodstove and over in the othercomer, a piano, with white rollers in the front. Jessie had no idea,what that was all about. Along one wall were shelves made ofboards and bricks full of paperback books. The small tables nearthe couch and chair had doilies with lamps on them.

Jessie walked down a hall and found two bedrooms, the firstobviously used by the lady, and the second, quite empty, exceptfor an old chipped white iron bed with a bare mattress and twopillows. There was a very small wood dresser next to an opencloset with a curtain hanging from a wire across the top. Shepulled the curtain aside and saw quilts and light blankets. Theheadboard of the bed was against the wall, with a straight chairnext to a window. There was no curtain, only an old greenwindow shade. The walls were covered with peeling floweredwallpaper.

Jessie remembered how thirsty she was. She dropped herthings on the bare floor and headed back down the hall to thefront porch. The lady was sitting in the rocker, drinking herwater, and on the railing was a tall glass of water with moistureclouding the outside of the glass. Jessie eagerly reached for theglass and drank it all down. Immediately, she raised her fist toher forehead, when the cold hit her between the eyes.

The lady snorted a laugh, and admonished Jessie for drinkingit so fast. "Now," she said, "It's time to go catch us some supper.That's what I was workin at, digging worms, when you came. Igot us some big fat night crawlers out of the garden. So, let's geton with it. I know there's some nice tasty trout waitin on us.

Jessie was at a loss for words.

The lady got up and started around the comer of the houseand with a backward glance, asked, "What's a matter, Annie, catgot your tongue?"

A minute later she came back around the comer with twowood fishing poles and a rusty can, which Jessie assumed werethe worms. She handed Jessie a pole with a line with a red andwhite ball attached and a sinker and hook.

"But I don't know anything about fishing," said Jessie. "It'llcome back to ya, Annie."

Come on, let's get to that crick before the farm boys stir upall the fish with their rowdy swimming. She then headed downthe dirt road, clamping in her big black boots.

Jessie opened her mouth to respond, stared at the woman'sback, then closed it, and followed behind.

There was little conversation as they walked down thedusty road and up over the next hill. As they reached the top,Jessie looked down on a pretty stream. The road crossed over astone arched bridge. She could see a deep blue green pool onthe left side of the bridge that riffled underneath the arch andspilled down a meandering stream through the woods, on theother side. The beauty caught Jessie's breath.

"What is that smell," Jessie asked.

"Wild mint. It's good in your tea. Come on, now. Let's getthose worms on those hooks before boys mess up the stream."

"What's that rope for ... that's hanging from that tree overthe water?" Jessie asked.

"Where you been girl, these years. That's for swingingfrom the bank, and jumping in the water. I used to do it. Youremember, don't ya? And not waiting for an answer, scuttleddown the bank path.

"You see that deep pool there? "Yeah," said Jessie.

"Well, put this fat worm on your hook, just like mine, andswing it in the water, just where the shallow rocks with all thebubbles end and the deep part starts." Said the lady.

Jessie gingerly took the worm and started to put it onthe hook, but it wiggled and curled up in her fingers, and shesquealed and dropped it in the grass.

"My goodness, it ain't gonna hurt ya!" the lady exclaimed.

Jessie picked up the worm again, with a new determination,and hooked it. She then swung the pole from her side, like shesaw the lady do, and said "Now what?"

"You watch that red and white ball, and if you see it gounder the water, jerk the pole up sharply, but not too hard, andwalk backwards, pulling the pole upwards so it's pointing tothe sky."

It wasn't long before the lady pulled a fish onto the bankand within seconds, Jessie's bobber went under the water. Sheconcentrated in following the lady instructions, and soon had anice fifteen-inch trout flopping on the grass.

"I caught one, I caught one!" she squealed, as she dancedon her toes. She had never done anything like that before in herlife. Taking it off the hook was not as much fun. By the timeshe had washed her hands in the water, by the bank, the ladyhad caught two more and declared, that, that was enough, andit was time for a swim!

Jessie looked at her with a blank look.

"I don't have a swim suit. Besides, I don't know how toswim!"

"Lordy me, Annie! Well, you're just going to have ta learn, ifyou're going ta have fun here!" She said. "But for now, just stripdown, here's a bar of soap. It's shallow near the bank."

Jessie reluctantly stripped down to her bra and panties. Shetentatively touched her toes to the water. It's cold, she thought,as she waded in up to her knees. Getting used to the water, sheslowly lowered her self to a sitting position, catching her breathas she felt the water around her chest. Washing down the grimeof the last few days felt good, and the water didn't feel as coldas when she first put her toes in. Actually, it feels almost warm,she thought.

A few minutes later, she heard a tractor coming down theroad, with voices laughing and talking all at once. She hastilyput on her clothes over the wet bra and panties. The lady justsat there in the water in the nude, paying no attention to thethree boys, as they got off the tractor.

"Hi, Sadie, looks like you got yourself some nice fish there,shouted one of the boys. Who's your friend?

"She's my Annie. Stop by and meet her sometime, Randy."

"Hi, Annie," hollered Randy.

Jessie tentatively put up her hand in a half wave.

Sadie got up and put her housedress on over her wet body,then pulled her boots on, and gathered the rest of her clothes.She gave the poles to Jessie to carry, and picking up the stringof fish, started up the path to the road. Jessie started to follow,turned her head to see the boys swinging from the rope, anddropping into the deep pool, with shouts and laughter. I wish Icould do that, thought Jessie.

When Jessie and Sadie arrived back at the house, the firstthing on Jessie's mind was the bathroom.

"I need to use the bathroom, Sadie," said Jessie. "You meanyou need to relieve your self?" "Yes," said Jessie, shyly.

"It's out back; I'm going to clean the fish for supper."

Jessie walked along the overgrown path by the side of thehouse. She had to stop and pull off burdocks stuck to her pants.They were prickly and grew from a weed with the biggestleaves she had ever seen. When she reached the back of thehouse, she saw a beautiful garden of vegetables. There was atwenty-foot long one-story shed with small windows. A tallsmall-wire fence enclosed a yard, and to the side, had a boardleaning into a foot-square hole in the sidewall. Chickens werewalking up and down the board, entering and exiting the shed.The sound of the chickens, clucking as they scratched in theweeds, felt some how, comforting to Jessie. Over to the rightwas an undersized, tall, shed, with a tiny open window on theside and a door, that took up most of the front wall. Couldthis be the bathroom, thought Jessie? She tentatively turned arectangular wooden handle, and opened the door. There was apungent, sweet smell, coming from the bench, with two holesdirectly in front of her. Two covers, on hinges, were at the back.A roll of paper was at the side, along with a seed catalog.

Well, this must be it, she thought, as she looked down thehole and grimaced and crinkled her nose while lowering herjeans and panties.

There was a pan of water on a bench next to the house, barof soap and an old towel. Jessie washed her hands and entereda back door, into a shed attached to the house, stacked full ofwood on a dirt floor. It smells good, thought Jessie. There was astep up to a catwalk, that led to a door of the room beyond. Shecould smell food cooking, beyond that door, and realized justhow hungry she was, as she knocked.

"Well for heaven's sake, just come in. Supper is almostready," said Sadie, as she bustled around a big old iron stove.

The sun was going down cooling the outside air but thestove kept the kitchen cozy. There was crispy fish, potatoes, friedwith onions and boiled green string beans with butter on them,and a pitcher of sun tea. Jessie sat down at the round table.

"Hold on, Annie. We need plates, forks and spoons and acouple of glasses. Up in the cupboard," said Sadie as she strucka match and-lit a lamp hanging over the center of the table.

Jessie set the table and then sat quietly down, as she staredaround the kitchen and at the lit lamp. The kitchen was small,with three doors leading out of it. There was a wooden counterwith a sink, without faucets. On the right side of the sinkcounter, was a red painted iron object with a big mouth, and ahandle to pump up and down. Along one side of the wall weretall, cream-colored, wood cupboards that held dishes.