The Family: Ties That Bind (VOL. 2)

Chapter 11

Time was irrelevant in that house. The days blurred together. The only way I could tell how long it had been was by how much growth I'd noticed in Thomas and by how short his clothes were growing on his limbs. That's what I decided to call the baby, Thomas, I'd always thought of it as a strong name and the little guy was going to need all the strength he could get if we were to survive this. Loretta insisted on some hand-me-down ancestral name, but since I was his mother, I had the final say, and Bubba went along with my suggestion to make me happy.

It was one of those days. Those days when it seemed the heat would penetrate your bones and even walking across the floor caused you to break in a sweat. My thin cotton dress clung to my skin, damp with perspiration. Fanning myself was of no use. It was miserably sweltering. Everyone longed to be indolent, to take a lazy day and only move when desperate, but unfortunately, chores had to be done. The house was stifling and Drayton was too cheap to install an air conditioner. 

The three of us sat at the kitchen table together, Bubba, Thomas, and I, and took a much-needed break from our daily chores to grab a bite of lunch. I gripped the spine of some god-awful cowboy romance novel Loretta lent me, turning the pages with my thumb as I munched on half of a cold cheese sandwich. Thomas, who had newly gained the strength to sit up on his own, was seated on top of the table. Mashed peas oozed from his slobbery pink lips as Bubba spoonfed him from the bowl I mashed them in. 

Pinching the fingers of his free hand together, Bubba tapped them to his lips. "Food," he signed to the cooing child then rubbed circles on his stomach to say "yummy."

I raised my nose from the pages of the novel, my heart melting as I watched Bubba attempt to teach Thomas how to communicate just as I had taught him. No one would suspect that the gruff, skin wearing behemoth of a man would be so gentle, yet he was; guess that's why they say not to judge a book by its cover. He was more than a gentle giant though, he was a great help too! Thomas was growing stronger each day and had acquired enough strength to finally be able to sit upright without toppling over as long as there was someone to steady him every few minutes and Bubba didn't mind doing that. He loved having someone as childlike as he was around. Someone who didn't yell or hit him. Someone who enjoyed his company and didn't fear him due to his size and appearance. Though when Thomas started crying, he was more than eager to hand the baby back to me or Loretta. 

Thomas stuck his stubby fingers in the bowl of homemade baby food, wiggling them around and observing the texture, before cramming a handful of the mush in his mouth and clamping his lips around his fingers.  Green stains covered the front of his onesie as the pea puree dripped from his chin, but he didn't seem to mind. He made small grunts and mmm's of satisfaction as he reached for another handful.  Both Bubba and I couldn't help but chuckle at the mess Thomas made which only made the baby giggle and flap his hands. 

I made a mental note to add another can of peas to the shopping list since Thomas seemed to like them so well. Of course, I wouldn't be the one doing the shopping; no, that was up to Loretta and Drayton. They were in charge of retrieving the items I needed to tend to Thomas while I stayed at the house and did just that. I wasn't allowed to leave the premises after my last escape attempt and if I did it was only into the yard to hang the wash on the clothesline. Even then, I was under Bubba's strict surveillance.

Loretta moseyed into the kitchen with a basket of dirty laundry under her arm. She took one look at Thomas covered in mashed peas and dropped the basket on the table with a huff. "I think y'all got food everywhere except in that child's mouth."

I combed Thomas's whispy brown hair to the side as he bounced excitedly for the next spoonful of peas Bubba was airplaning toward his gaping mouth. "What can I say, he loves food just like his d–" I froze, the smile on my lips wavering for a brief moment–What was I saying?! "Just like Bubba." 

She grabbed a dishtowel out of the basket and used it to wipe the mess from Thomas's hands and face. "Well, now he's gonna need a scrubbin' jus' like these clothes." She scooped the messy baby off the equally messy table and sat him in the basket. "Might as well throw you in the wash with everything else, huh?" 

The apples of Thomas's pudgy cheeks smudged with food glowed as he flashed a toothless grin. There was something about his smile that made everyone stop and stare–It was just so darn cute!  

Nubbins strode into the kitchen not long after his mother and made a beeline for the pantry. Without uttering a word to anyone, he threw the doors open and scrounged around for God knows what. He grabbed ahold of a mason jar half full of a mysterious clear liquid tucked behind a stack of cans and wrapped his spindly fingers around the lid, twisting it open. In went his nose, taking a deep whiff of the liquid inside and immediately regretting it. He jerked his face away from the mystery concoction and wrinkled the bridge of his nose. "Wh–where'd we git shine from?"

Loretta ran a sinkful of lukewarm water and dropped in the remanents of a used bar of soap. "That ain't moonshine, ya dunce, it's...vinegar," She replied, stirring the water with her fingertips until white suds began to form. "Now gitchur nose outta it fer ya burn up tha last few brain cells ya got, we can't afford to lose anymore!"

His beady brown eyes flickered with mischief. He brought the rim of the jar to his lips and tipped it upward, letting the clear substance splash over his tongue. A hiss slid from his throat as he screwed his face into a tight ball. "Nope, that's shine alright."

"Nubbins Sawyer!" Loretta stormed over and snatched the jar from his hands, some of the contents splashing over the rim and dripping from their hands to the floor. "Would yew git outta here! Ya know better than tellin' fibs."

"S-so do yew!" He shot back, licking the alcohol from his hands. "Ya jus' embarrassed I f–found yer booze!"

She gave him the stink eye. "An' yer gon' be embarrassed when I beatcha upside the head in front of yer brother an' sister-in-law."  She turned and headed back to the sink, tucking the jar in the cabinet beneath it and giving Nubbins the perfect opportunity to stick his tongue out and silently mock her threat. 

He wasted no time and went back to the pantry, cramming crackers, a coke, and a can of beans in his burlap knapsack already full of random junk. I learned the hard way not to tease him about his sack being a man purse, he didn't find that as funny as I did, Either way, it appeared he was going on a picnic or he planned to be away for a while. I silently prayed it was the latter. 

Loretta shut the tap off and raised an eyebrow at Nubbins' stocking up on food. "What d'you need all that for?" 

"Keep me from wastin' 'way while I'm gone."

She lifted Thomas out of the basket and perched him on her hip. "An' where ya headin'?"

Nubbins wandered over to the table where Bubs and I sat and snatched the last half of the sandwich off my plate. "Tha lake," he replied, taking a bite out of my lunch without asking.

A lake? I didn't know there was a lake nearby! At that instant, my mind was already creating vivid fantasies of what the lake must've been like. I could see myself dipping my bare feet into the pool of shimmering cool water. The crystal droplets rolling down my face and neck, dripping onto my decolletage and chest, cooling every inch of me from head to toe.

"Can I come?" I blurted, ignoring the fact he stole my sandwich. "And Bubba too." 

"Why should I take yew?" He took another bite of my sandwich and planted his butt on the edge of the table.

"Um..." I thought long and hard for a reason and honestly, I couldn't think of one. We were constantly at each other's throats.

Loretta stripped Thomas from his filthy clothes and sat him in the sinkful of sudsy water. "Cause I said so! Y'all go on an' git outta ma hair for a couple hours."

She...she's actually letting me out of the house? I guess good behavior pays off! I'd been doing my best to accomplish whatever chores she'd lay out for me without complaint and geez, there were a lot. If I wasn't sweeping feathers and dirt off the floor or dusting Nubbins' eccentric art pieces, I was clearing the table of the dinner dishes and snapping my nails off down to the quick from scrubbing them till they were spotless. I was entitled to a break every so often, a moment to let loose and have fun, and now I was finally getting my way.

I cast aside the horrendous novel and shot to my feet, a pep in my step as the excitement of leaving this place behind for a few hours teemed inside. "You heard her, Nubbins, lead the way."