THE POOL – Part Five “Guys, I gotta go pick up Ms. McWhorter at the hospital.” “Okay boss but ‘fore you do, have we gotta clear out all this brush from this back corner? We not gonna have room to build this form unless we do.” Randy walked over to the back corner of the yard. There was a mess of old bushes, half-dead, a mimosa tree and some seedlings trying to grow outa the base, half a dozen other things half living and half dead, all taking up valuable space. None of it was worth anything, didn’t look good and needed to go. He was going to make this decision without asking Thelma. “Yeah, ya’ll go get the chain saws and get all that cleared out.” “Where you want us to put it?” “Just drag it out by the street; the city’ll pick it up.” And with that he turned and went to his truck. “Why you suppose he’s picking her up?” “Whadaya mean?” “I mean, why do you think he’s picking her up from the hospital? Don’t she have family or somebody?” “Beats me. I think she lives alone.” “Wull, surely she’s got friends who could go get her.” Charlie Couch came from the corner and said, “My Mama was in school with her. Said she was a real whore.” “Yer mama said ‘whore’?” “Wull, naw, she said the word ‘loose’ but she meant whore.” “I hope she didn’t look like that when she was in high school.” “DON’T BE TALKIN’ ‘BOUT MY MAMA!!” “You idiot, I mean Thelma!” “Wull, Mama knew her in college but she was prob’ly a whore in high school too.” “Hey, what’s that down there on your leg?” “Whure, DAMN! IT’S A DAMN TARANCHLA! GIT IT OFF!!” Rodney was shaking his leg something fierce but the large spider was just clinging to his blue jeans. Without thinking, he grabbed the hatchet and swung.. “RODNEY, WATCH OUT!” The hatchet came down and sliced the spider in two as well as half of his shin! “SHIIIIIITTTTT!” His blue jeans began turning a dark blue color as blood began saturating the material. “OH GOD! PLEASE GOD, DON’T LET ME DIE!! DON’T LET ME DIE!!” “RODNEY YOU IDIOT; YER DUMBER THAN SHIT!” “WULL DO SOMETHIN’!! DO SOMETHIN’!! CALL 911!!” Therral had the forethought to run to his truck and get an old towel and wrap it around the leg. They didn’t pull back the pants; nobody wanted to see what was under there. Rodney was lying back now, turning white. A mild shock was settling in and Therral kept his hands on the towel to help stop the flow of blood “THINK WE CAN GET HIM IN THE TRUCK?” “THE BACK OF IT. HERE LET’S PICK HIM UP! They reached, picked him up and started toward the gate. “RODNEY YOU GOTTA HOLD THAT TOWEL!” It was no use. Rodney was in too much of a state to do anything but cry over and over, “DON’T LET ME DIE! DON’T LET ME DIE! I HADN’T BEEN TO CHURCH IN OVER A MONTH! DON’T LET ME DIE!! I’M SORRY JESUS, I’LL GO BACK, I’LL GO BACK, JUST DON’T LET ME DIE!!” Just as Randy was helping Thelma into the passenger seat, his other Pool and Supply truck came roaring into the ER, horn blasting and tires screeching. He looked over, turned white and told Thelma she’d have to wait. She made a face, took his hand to hold him a minute before he left. He looked back at her for a second and she grabbed his face and kissed him. It wasn’t a long kiss but he pulled away, quickly and slammed his head into the edge of the door opening… “OH, ARE YOU OKAY?” He reached up to find his head wet and blood on his fingers. “DAMMIT THELMA. LOOKED WHAT YOU MADE ME DO!” He left and ran toward his other truck. Orderlies were taking Rodney out and putting him on a gurney. Rodney was still crying, “DON’T LET ME DIE!! DON’T LET ME DIE!!” Randy got there just as they all were streaming into the ER. The towel was completely soaked through. He was hollering, “WHAT HAPPENED? WHAT HAPPENED?” Rodney was taken into an examining room and Randy stood there pacing with Therral and Charlie. “IT WAS STUPID MR. SIMMONS! IT WAS JUST PLAIN STUPID!” “WHAT HAPPENED??” “We wuz all clearing out that brush and stopped to talk a bit and I looked down and saw a big ole taranchla on Rodney’s leg. It was just sittin’ there, mindin’ his own business and Rodney went crazy, started shakin’ his leg tryin’ to get the thang to jump off and it wouldn’t, it just kept sittin’ there and he picked up the hatchet, and…” “DON’T TELL ME…??” “Yes sir, he brought that hatchet down on his leg and split it and that spider clean in two!!” Charlie chimed in, “WE TRIED TO STOP HIM!! WE TRIED TO STOP HIM BUT IT WAS LIKE HE WAS CRAZY OR SOMETHIN’!” Randy took a few steps away, shaking his head. He knew the boy wasn’t bright but this… He turned back and said, “Did you look at it?” “The spider? Oh yeah, it was dead!” “NO! The leg.” “NAW, we didn’t wanna see what it looked like.” “I can’t stand the sight of blood!” “See, Rodney’s always had this thing ‘bout spiders ever since Daddy made him crawl up under the house one time to get a softball he’d knocked under there. He didn’t want to; it was dark and Rodney was always afraid of the dark but Daddy told him he’d whip the life outa him if he didn’t. So he started under thur and finally found the ball but when he started sliding out, he got his shirt caught on a nail sticking out of a floor joist. While he was tryin’ not to rip his shirt a big ole brown spider fell into his hair. See, he didn’t know that until he got untangled and crawled out from under the house. He stood up, Daddy saw the spider in his head and said to him, ‘Rodney, what’s that in yer hair?’ Rodney reached up and grabbed a hold of that big ole spider and hollered like a stuck dog! He was only five.” “Yer daddy should’na done that.” “Daddy was like that; mean as dirt. But ever since then Rodney just goes crazy when he sees anything with eight legs. “BUT HOW COULD HE BE SO STUPID TO??” Randy was once again pacing as Thelma walked into the ER. “What happened?” “One of my boys cut his leg real bad.” “How’d it happen?” “Hit it with a hatchet.” “What was he using a hatchet for?” “I told them to clear out all that brush back there in the corner of your yard.” “WHY DID YOU TELL THEM TO DO THAT??” Suddenly she was irate and Randy felt like he was in the Twilight Zone. “Because, Thelma, that’s where we’re going to put the concrete pad for the pool house.” “I DID NOT AUTHORIZE A POOL HOUSE.” “Thelma, it’s not really a house, just a sort of shed to house the pump and filter and things necessary to operate the pool. Anyone who has a pool has one. It was all in the plans I showed you.” “WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THAT SPOT?” “Because it was closest to that side of the pool, out of the way and anyway, why are you so upset about this? That brush needed to be cleared away anyway. It didn’t look good.” “THAT WAS MY MAMA AND DADDY’S FAVORITE SPOT. THAT’S WHERE THEY’RE BURIED!!” Both Therral and Charlie popped their heads up and blurted, “You mean there’re dead bodies back there??” “YES.” Both Therral and Charlie looked at each other and moved away to a couch to sit. “You had your folks buried in the back yard?” “IT WAS THEIR WISH!” “Well I must say, you haven’t kept it up very well, that corner. All that brush back there looks bad.” Thelma began to calm down and said, “I guess it’s okay. I was planning to have it cleared out one day and make a little memorial garden put in.” Therral and Charlie were still sitting there, wild-eyed and had completely forgotten about Rodney and his leg. Charlie was the first to speak, “You mean we been working back there and… and… that place is a cemetery?” A security guard from the hospital walked in and addressed Randy, “Mr. Simmons, is that your truck parked at the entrance to the hospital?” “Sorry, I forgot all about it. I’ll move it.” The guard left and Thelma said, “Good, you can take me home as you do. I guess this will delay the cement truck again.” “OH NO, THE CEMENT TRUCK!! I COMPLETELY FORGOT. Therral, you and Charlie stay here and I’ll take Ms. McWhorter home and check on the cement. I’ll call on the way and after I drop her off, I’ll come back to see what they’re saying about Rodney and his leg.” “Therral, have you called your mom yet?” “Naw, I forgot. Guess I need to do that.” “Tell her not to worry about anything, the company will take care of this.” “Okay.” “Let’s go Thelma, before my truck is towed.” They walked out of the ER. “You goin’ back?” “I got to. I gotta have this job.” “But they’s dead bodies in that yard!” “Well…” “Okay, but the first sign of somethin’ strange takin’ place and I’m outa there.” Therral dialed his Mom but got no answer; she always answered her cell phone. He hung up and dialed again. At the Starbucks, over in the grass, under a bloodied purse lay a cell phone ringing, completely unnoticed by the police.
Posted on: Mon, 05 Aug 2013 14:04:30 +0000
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