Part 13 (2/2)

Judith said nothing. She sat so hunched now she could look at no one. 'Judith, get up!' barked Harry. His face twitched a little as she failed to move. Very aware that everyone in town was watching, he hissed at her.

'I am talking to you. Now get up.' Harry moved to the hay bale where Judith was sitting and put his hand on the back of her neck the way he had at the barbecue.

Joey stepped toward him. 'She's not feeling good.'

'She can do that at home.' Harry's hand closed a little tighter. Everyone was silent. 'Come on,' he insisted.

Miss Strange's voice was quiet but clear. 'That's how the tiger holds its prey, isn't it, Harry? You remember?'

n.o.body moved. It was Aunt Bonnie who broke the moment.

'Stop it, Harry. Leave her alone.' Harry dropped his hand and looked at her. His jaw was doing overtime clenching and unclenching. Then he looked at Uncle Eddie who was standing in the middle of the brigade.

'You gonna let your wife talk to me like that, Eddie?'

Eddie shuffled his feet but didn't speak. Aunt Bonnie stood up holding Perry in her arms. 'I think you should go now, and perhaps you would like to take your grandson with you.' She didn't yell but it felt the same. Harry looked at the sleeping black child.

Harry spoke quietly through clenched teeth. 'That kid is nothing to do with me and you know it.

Aunt Bonnie stood right in front of him and held Perry out in her arms.

Harry stood his ground for a moment, moving his huge jaw backwards and forwards.

'He's Pearl's child,' she said.

Harry spat out words under his breath. 'Pearl is dead and he should be too.'

There was silence followed by a general shuffling. I didn't understand why but slowly the women began moving toward the door. Doreen leaned over to Sweetheart as she left. 'Bring Perry into town. You don't have to hide him out here. Bring him.'

Joey stood to one side, trying to look official, but his uniform just didn't cut the same kind of ice as the firemen's. Gradually the women paired up with their men and moved off. Everyone except Aunt Bonnie and Judith. Judith didn't move at all. She just began to weep. Quietly at first and then louder and louder. Harry stood still watching everyone depart. He looked at Aunt Bonnie like he would kill her. He didn't move but just kind of barked. 'Come on, Judith.'

The only response was more sobbing and a low wailing. Faced by such emotion, Harry did what my father would have done. Nothing at all. Uncle Eddie never said anything. Harry stood his ground, looking at his distraught wife, then he turned on Miss Strange.

'This is your doing, you G.o.dd.a.m.n b.i.t.c.h. If it's the last thing I ever do I will shut you down. You and your f.u.c.king animals.' He turned and was gone. Uncle Eddie stood for a moment and then followed.

Joey moved to Judith. He sat down beside her but obviously didn't know what to do. Awkwardly he began patting her on the shoulder.

'I know, I know. Rocco. You lost a lovely dog.'

We sat for a while but then it got a little cold in the barn and everyone, including Troilus, the goose, Sappho and Mr Paton, moved up to the house. I know Joey wanted to come but he stayed in the barn.

'I'll wait for the dog. Judith? I'm here if you need me.' Judith didn't say anything but at least she had stopped crying. Her hair had quite fallen down to her shoulders now but she didn't seem to notice. She just followed along with the rest of us, the orangutan and the devoted Troilus. Up at the house, Cosmos sat on the floor in a yoga position while Helen, Judith, the goose, Aunt Bonnie, Miss Strange and I settled round the library fire.

It was Sweetheart who got the drinks out. She had surprising energy for someone her age.

'Time for one of John's settlers, I think,' she said, mixing something in a big silver shaker. No one was feeling too good but Sweetheart seemed determined to cheer everyone up.

'Helen, did I ever tell you about that time Grace and Billie got stopped in the Packard by a motorcycle cop?'

'Yes,' said Helen quietly, but Sweetheart ploughed on. She was enjoying the company. Maybe it was like old times in the house.

'Well, Billie had been shopping for her final items to prepare for the big trip to Africa. She and Grace were heading home in the Packard when they got pulled over by a motorcycle cop. Billie was driving but Grace got out to talk to him. He wouldn't be pacified. They had been breaking the speed limit and he wanted to talk to Billie. When he got over to the car Billie was sitting with her leg pulled up on the seat. Peeping below her skirt you could just see a silver flask tucked into her garter belt.

”'What's in the flask, ma'am?” demanded the officer, pus.h.i.+ng his hat back on his head.

'Billie smiled. ”Oh, you don't want to worry about that. It's just a sample.”

'”I think you had better let me be the judge of that.” The officer held out his hand. Billie shrugged and coyly removed the flask from the top of her leg. She handed it to the officer and winked at Grace. The officer, rigorously doing his duty, flipped open the lid and took a huge gulp. He paused for a moment and then spat all over the ground. Billie smiled.

'”I said it was a sample. I just didn't say it was a urine sample.” Billie had peed in the flask while Grace was doing the talking.'

Miss Strange smiled, sipping her drink. 'I forgot. Phoebe laughed so. She touched my face and she laughed so.'

Everyone drank quietly for a while and it was nice. But grown-ups are so funny about drink. It didn't happen fast but slowly things began to get a little out of hand. It had gone rather quiet. Miss Strange hadn't said anything for ages until she suddenly exploded with: 'Harry's a son of a s.h.i.+t.'

'He was a nice kid.' Sweetheart defended her son. 'You loved him. You know he's still angry. He blames this place for killing Billie and he always will. They teased him at school, you know they did. Living out here...'

'Yeah, with crazy ladies.'

'I didn't say that.'

'Living with Miss Strange.'

Sweetheart sighed. 'It was my fault. He hated me not being married.'

Miss Strange sat looking into her gla.s.s. 'Nothing was the same after Phoebe died. The record had been playing so fast till then and suddenly everything slowed down. I never even saw Phoebe buried.'

'Down by the river.'

'I know.'

'Billie never came out after that. She lay on that vast canopied bed of hers surrounded by all those cabin trunks we'd packed. Trunks going nowhere. Her arm mended fairly quickly but she never went near the tigers again. She never went to any of the animals. I think she couldn't believe that one of her beloved creatures would turn on her. It changed everything. She had lost all her power. The only person she allowed in her room, the only person she could stand to see, was Harry. Harry helped bandage her arm. I made plates of food for her but she would only let Harry bring them in. He read to her and I know he looked the other way when she injected herself with morphine and more morphine. For a while John Junior tried to get in but it was hopeless. He tried everything. Remember the team of elephants from England who played cricket? It was pouring with rain and he stood outside Billie's window all dressed in white.'

'Billie!' he called up to the window. 'Billie, watch this!'

A young bull bowled the ball to John's bat and he lashed out at it. The mud took the earth from under his feet and John fell at the wicket. He looked up at the house he had built for his beloved Billie. He looked at her window and saw Harry. The son he now longed for. Maybe a son would make it all right. Billie was pregnant.

John scoured the land for a key to his wife's heart. There was Lord Byron, the educated pig that John had procured at great expense. He stood pathetically in the hall outside Billie's room and called to her about his porcine purchase.

'Listen, Billie, I can ask it anything.' John turned to the pig. 'Now then, Lord Byron, how much is four plus two?' There was a silence followed by six pawings on the ground with a small trotter. John applauded enthusiastically and made the noise of a marching band with his mouth.

'Isn't that great? If you come out I can show you the finale. He can select a US flag from a box of banners and wave it at the crowd.'

But there was no response. He brought her maps of the corners of the earth. From Singapore, Lapland and Peru, anywhere that they might travel and forget.

Grace was in the county hosp ital for months. No one thought she would live but somehow she pulled through. Well, what was left of her pulled through. She was a scary sight and she knew it. It was months before she returned one night in the dark to the Burroughs House. She too had declined all visitors. Harry wrote her. He thought it would help his beloved Billie if he could persuade Grace to return, but the letters lay unanswered.

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