Happy Days Are Here Again
~Part II
By: Kristi N. Phillips
I didn't listen to Molly
either. Johnny seemed interesting to me. Even though he got into trouble at
school all the time and did poorly in his studies, there must be some explanation.
He was obviously very poor, because not everyone picks up fallen coal from
the train and lives in the kind of house that he lived in. I wanted to meet
him. But how could I? An idea formed in my mind; since Tammy played hopscotch
everyday at school, I told her I'd walk her to the railroad tracks to find
new, interesting rocks. While she would be looking for rocks, I could glance
down the street and see if Johnny was out. It was a dangerous plan. I really
wasn't supposed to be over there, but sometimes I believed that Mother treated
me like a child. I was fifteen, so I could decide for myself where I wanted
to go.
After school on Monday, I told Tammy about us walking to the tracks to find new rocks for her hopscotch games. She got excited. When we got to the house, Mother was hanging laundry in the backyard; she didn't hear us come in. We put our school supplies down, and hurried back outside.
"Mom, can we go
to the park," I shouted.
Mom stood up and wiped
her forehead with a handkerchief, "Okay, be back in time for dinner."
We walked down the street, admiring how beautiful the weather was and how
school would be out soon. We got to the tracks a few minutes later. I looked
to see if any trains were coming. None were, so I told Tammy she could find
rocks in between the tracks. While she searched, I slowly walked towards Johnny's
house. I still kept an eye on Tammy, when I saw a figure come out of the house.
It was Johnny. He walked to the side of the house, got out an old, dirty wheelbarrow
and started wheeling it toward me. It was then, when I noticed piles of black
coal along the tracks. He was here to get more coal, I thought. It's now or
never. My mind nagged me: Go say something to him. When he was ten feet away
from me, bending over to pick up coal, I opened my mouth to speak.
"Do you need any
help with that?" I asked nervously.
Johnny stood up, holding
coal in his hands. "No, no thanks," he said quietly. "I'm in
a hurry."
"Well, if you're
in a hurry, I could help you so you can get that done faster."
"No, I don't want your help," he said, firmly this time and tossed the coal in the wheelbarrow.
"Why don't you
just---Hey! Be careful, little girl!" For a minute I had forgotten about
Tammy, who had been sitting in a rock pile, trying to lift a rock out from
underneath the track.
"Oh, Tammy! What on earth are trying to do? I think you have enough rocks," I told her as
Johnny and I ran toward
her.
"I think that's
a bit heavy for you, little one," Johnny told Tammy.
"Who are you?
Can you get this thing out for me?" she asked.
"My name's Johnny.
I don't know if I can get that out, but I have a rock very similar to that
one." Johnny pointed to the flat tan colored rock. Only half of it was
sticking out. The rest was buried in the ground and underneath the track.
"I could give
it to you," he offered.
"Really?!"
squeaked Tammy.
"Oh no,"
I said. "You don't have to..."
"No, it's alright."
Johnny interrupted. "I like kids and your sister is really cute. By the
way, what's your name?"
"My name is Julia.
I live down that street." I pointed to where our house was.
"I live down there," he said, pointing to the house at the end. "Come on, I'll get your kid sister that rock."
Johnny left the wheelbarrow
where it was and motioned us to follow him. When we got to the house, Johnny
told us to wait outside. He went inside and shut the door. Tammy and I stood
there for a few minutes; then the door opened and Johnny came out holding
the rock he promised Tammy.
"What do you say?"
I asked Tammy when he handed her the rock.
"Thank you!"
she said happily.
"My father's asleep, and hates to be woken up, so that's why I asked you to stay outside."
Johnny stood by the
door. The sun shined on his face. That's when I noticed a black and blue bruise
below his eye, and a small scar on his left cheek. His hands and shirt were
blackened with soot. Something didn't seem right. Just then we heard a voice
boom from inside the house.
"Johnny! Haven't
you gotten the coal for the stove yet! I'm hungry. The damn stove's ice cold!"
Johnny's face turned to a shocking shade of pale. He opened the door to the house and said,
"Sorry Pop, I
was helping some..."
It was Johnny's father;
I held Tammy's hand tightly, with my heart pounding.
"I don't want
to hear none of your damn excuses! Get out there and fetch the coal, or I'll
teach you a lesson you'll never forget!"
"Yes, sir,"
Johnny's voice quivered. He turned to us and said in the harsh tone I recognized
earlier, "You should go now. You got what you were lookin' for. Go!"
We were off and ran all the way home. When we got to the steps of our house, Tammy and I caught our breaths. I told Tammy she mustn't tell Mother or Dad what had happened. We weren't supposed to have been there anyway. Tammy was brave. I expected her to start crying when we heard Johnny's father, but she didn't. She promised she wouldn't tell. I hugged her extra hard. It was then, that I realized why Molly had told us to stay away from Johnny. But from seeing his face, there was pain in his eyes and it wasn't just from his father's blows.
*~*~*
Copyright © 2000 by Kristi N. Phillips