In Tall Cotton by Charles G. Hulse

Author:Charles G. Hulse [Hulse, Charles G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2017-10-24T13:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

It was a painful waiting time for the Joneses. June’s heat became July’s with a great leap up as though an oven setting had been increased automatically. Mrs. Jones’s vigil at the hospital was as unvarying as the temperature and Bradford’s condition as steady as the thermometer. He neither got worse nor better. Everything that could be done was being done but to no avail. Everything was static. Life at 1548 moved on oiled hushed wheels. Everyone was particularly sensitive to the others’ moods. We tended to give each other a lot of space—physical contact was kept to a minimum either because of the heat or the almost audible buzz of tightened nerves that we were all giving off.

Mrs. Jones was the most visibly altered. She’d lost a great deal of weight and what little color she had was applied. She’d become almost as removed and remote as they reported Brad to be. The captain’s active imagination still spawned new projects. Dad worked harder than ever. Mom was kept hopping taking care of the captain’s complicated needs. Now as much secretary-nurse as housekeeper-cook. The hours on the telephone gave way to visits from lawyers or specialists for Brad brought out from the east coast. All this added more work for Mom and I helped as much in the house as I could while Junior worked along with Dad. Every time I saw the captain, I could hear the echo of his saying, “Oh, how I shall miss you …”

It was almost a relief when it all fell apart. At least we knew where we stood. We stood right back on the road in the Model-A. It came down off the blocks, Dad and Junior ground the valves and overhauled the motor, new tires were bought and installed and Mom and I recovered the seats with a bright blue rough-textured cotton.

The captain broke the news to us all one night at the beginning of August after dinner in the main house. They were going to have to sell 1548. That’s all I heard for some time or at least that’s what registered like a bolt of zig-zagging lightning through my body. The rest, the reasons, soaked into my consciousness in bits and pieces; the place was a folly … a hobby that was pure selfishness on his part … Alice deserved something more for her patience in letting him indulge his ideas and schemes … And there was Brad. It was fairly conclusive that if he got better at all it wouldn’t be for years. It was possible that his condition would never improve—an unhappy thought but it had to be considered. Alice missed her family and … and … and … “As it turns out, I didn’t have to die to make Brad’s wishes come true. I’m selling the place and we’re moving back to Virginia just as he said he’d do. Now I wonder if he’ll even know where he is.” The captain sighed. “We’ve already contacted a private place to take care of him—it costs the earth.

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