Fiction:The Woman in the Holler

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 15 Jul 07 - 11:19 PM

(Perfect, Mmario. Absolutely perfect.)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 12:37 AM

(More tears...dear, good ol' tom cat. Beautiful, MMario. You two are so good!)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 12:37 AM

Sharon watched Louie's face intently as he talked. He was two years older than she, but she had always thought of him as a little brother. While not stupid, he wasn't the brightest bulb in the chandelier, and between his clowning and his insular holler ways, she had often felt both condenscending and protective of him. She knew Little Billy had felt the same.

For the first time, she saw him as a grown man. She saw some of the hardness of his Daddy in him too. Not the meanness, no. At least not yet. Life in these hollers had always been hard, and it had taken hard, tough people to settle in these places. The soil was hard, infertile and rocky, the coal was hard to get to, and the boss-men in the mines even harder. A man could work himself down to bone, and his wife and children too, and still see his family go hungry. But a man needed his pride to keep going, even if his only pride was in his own toughness.

Louie was tough. She saw that now, and wondered how she could not have seen it before. His whole young life had been hard, but he had been, and would continue to be equal to the task of living it.

He was a grown man. As she sat beside him, watching him as he talked, she understood in contrast that she was not yet a grown woman.

When he had finished speaking, she simply hugged him and said, "I understand."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 12:51 AM

"Walk me to my car, there is some one I want you to meet." Sharon hooked her elbow around Louie's arm as they moved toward the front yard. She had left the windows down, somehow knowing the little cat would not run off. She saw him as soon as they rounded the corner, sitting in the shade cast by the old Toyota Corolla, calmly grooming himself.

"I can't believe that old cat....Wait. That's not Mjolnir, is it?Good Lord, but he is the spittin' image! Where'd he come from?"


"He followed Mjolnir home last night, if you can believe it. I was afraid Mjolnir would kill him, but the old guy didn't seem bothered by him in the least. I'm taking him to Morgantown with me. I'm afraid if I leave him, Mjolnir will change his maind and nail him."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 01:01 AM

"Hey , little buddy," Louie bent down and picked up the kitten. Ugly Pup whined and crawled out from unger the car at the sound of his master's voice.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 01:49 AM

"Yessir, yer the spittin' image of yer daddy. Whoddathunkit! I never woulda thought that old coot could still get it up, but this here little buddy is the proof! That reminds me. Remember the night that Aunt Kathy's beau, Henry, took off at a run? You'll never believe what happened up at Uncle Zeke's still. I went up there to help Aunt Kathy and...."

Louie suddenly realized the inappropriateness of what he had been about to say.

"Nevermind. I fergit where I was goin' with that."

He turned his attention back to the kitten he was holding. "Have you named him yet?"

"Not yet. I haven't had time. I just got him, Louie. I don't even know what he is like yet."

"Well, it will conme to you. But here's a name to think about, considering who his Daddy clearly is. I heard the preacher talk about this guy on Sunday. Had something to do with Moses. I forget just what. I got distracted by Hazel Goins' fanning her bossum in the row in front of me and didn't hear the rest of what the preacher said. But the guy's name was Abiram. Preacher said it meant 'my father is exalted.' Mjolnir's one heck of a cat. No doubt about it. He was old when Cassie moved up Grizzley Holler. I bet that ol' Tome is at least 30 years old. And judging from the size of this here youngin' of his, he was still makin' bacon 6 months ago."

Sharon laughed. "I'll certainly give that name serious consideration.

"I've got to get going, Louie. I still have to stop at Big Bill's to sign the papers before I head up I-79 to Morgantown."

She turned to face him and they grabbed one another in a quick, fierce hug. "You will remember to check on Mjolnir tonight, won't you?" she reminded him.'

Louie nodded. He was suddenly fighting back tears.

Sharon went on,. " I almost forgot to tell you, I have the flute with me for safe keeping. I hope that's alright.

Louie nodded again.

"I probably won't come home for Thanksgiving. Gas prices are just too high to travel for such a short trip. I'll definitely be here for Christmas.

She meant it at the time she said it.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 08:46 AM

Sharon stooped to scratch Ugly Pup behind the ears. "I'm expecting you to keep a close eye on things, Ugly. When I come home for Christmas, I want to hear that you kept the 'coons out of the corn and the squirrels out of the attic up there."

Quickly then, she got in the car, closed the door, and turned the key. Louie handed the cat in through the window then stood back. Sharon backed around, then pulled out onto the road, waving and giving a short toot of the horn as she drove off.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 10:08 AM

"Two more stops, then I'm really on my way," she thought. She glanced over at the cat curled up in the passenger seat and extended her hand to stroke along the curl of his back. He rolled onto his back and grabbed her hand, ready to play.

"Oh no you don't. We can't play and drive." She withdrew her hand and placed it back on the steering wheel. The kitten mewed, but immediately curled back up to nap. She sped past the sign that said "Exit 81, Belle - Kanawha City, 1 mile." Maybe she didn't need a carrier. It sure would save time if all she had to do was stop at Big Bill's and not get into the mess that Walmart always seemed to be. No, she had better do as Kathy had said. At least about this small issue. She flipped the turn signal and bore down the exit ramp.

30 harried minutes later she was back on the road, the carrier, a litter box and other supplies for her new charge stowed in the back seat. "One more stop, Abiram. Just one more stop." The kitten immediately raised his head in recognition of the name. Sharon raised her eyebrows. "Looks like Louie got it right." She was more than ready to get the goodbyes over with. Ready to stop looking behind, and start looking ahead.


She soon pulled off the interstate again, drove through the back streets of Charleston until she came to Big Bill's shop. She reached into her purse for the papers she had come into town last week to sign at the office of Kathy's attorney. She hefted the packet in her hand, thinking. Instead of taking them with her, she shoved them under the driver's seat of the Toyota.

Jimmy Smith looked up from his desk as she walked through the door. "Bill's out back, getting ready to load up a bulldozer," he said. Sharon walked on through to the fenced gravelled yard behind the building. Bill had been watching for her and headed her way as soon as she appeared in the wide doorway to the equipment bay.

He smiled warmly at his niece and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked back to his office. "So, are you all ready to go be a college coed again?" he asked brightly.

"I am, Big Bill. I really am."

They walked into his tiny cubby of an office. The desk has strewn with grease-stained papers weighted down by assorted small parts to prevent them from getting blown around by the fan propped in the window. Bill moved behind the desk and picked up a shoe box, one of these big boxes that men's work boots come in. The labels were yellowed with age, and the cardboard was mottled with mildew. It showed some signs of water damage.

"I found this up on the shelf in Mom's closet when we were going through her things. It has taken me awhile to get to it to see what all was in it. I finally got to it last week. It is full of letters between Cassie and her mother, Emma. I don't know why, really, but somehow, you seem the proper guardian."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 10:30 AM

Big Bill walked Sharon out to her car and watched as she carefully placed the cardboard box in the trunk. Promising to call when she got to Morgantown to let him know she had safely arrived, she hugged him, got in the car and drove off, glad to be done with this last good bye. She had been at the shop a good 45 minutes. during that time, neither she nor Big Bill had mentioned Little Billy's name.

70 miles north of Charleston, she stopped at Burnsville to gas up and grab a burger at McDonald's. There was a post office next door. She reached under the seat and pulled out the packet she had shoved there earlier. She sat in the car while she addressed the envelop, then strode into the post office and got in line. She watched with grim satisfaction as the lady behind the counter applied the postage and dropped the envelop in the bin for out-going mail. The papers signing over her half-interest of the farm to Billy were on their way.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 16 Jul 07 - 11:48 PM

According to the clock in the dash, it was only 4:30 when Sharon pulled up in front of the old Victorian house at the top of High Street. Before exiting the car, she pulled out the letter from Mrs. Poteat, the landlady. Following directions, she walked around to the side of the house and located the flattish rock lying under the biggest azalea. She retrieved the two keys from under the rock. The skeleton key unlocked the front door. The other key would open the door to her third floor room. She walked back to the car to retrieve Abiram before heading up the front steps.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 17 Jul 07 - 03:26 PM

Louie wasn't sure why he had driven up to the cabin the day after Sharon left. But He and the Ugly Pup (looks like the name was stickin' to the dog and it certainly was a fittin' one) had hopped into the pickup and the cabin was where they ended up.

Louie was on just pouring a bucket of water into the potted lilac when the most mournful noise he had ever heard broke forth from 'round the corner. He dropped the bucket and ran - Ugly Pup might be only a dog - but whatever was making him crie out like that wasn't something Louie wanted to leave him alone with...

But as he rounded the corner - there was just The Ugly Pup, plopped on his hindquarters facing the screened porch; howling fit to wake the dead; in a deep basso that somehow sobbed. Saddest thing Louie had heard in the last month of Sundays. Whatever was making the fool dog go on so?

When he stepped up onto the porch to check the door, Louie spotted the diminished body of Mjolnir curled on the cushion and felt like plopping down himself to add to the Ugly Pup's noise. Instead, he bowed his head a moment, then pulled his jack-knife from his pocket and cut the cushion away from the spokes of the rocker where it was tied on. He picked it up, cat and all, and carried it out to the truck, where he placed it carefully behind the seat.

"C'mon there Ugly", he called - "we've got a chore".

An Hour or so later he shoveled a bit more dirt into the gaping hole next to the gate of the graveyard. It was still plenty deep enough to take the lilac bush Sharon had left; though he wouldn't be tranplanting the lilac until later in the Autumn. Until then, Mjolnir was buried deep enough that nothing would bother his remains, and he was close to those he had loved.

Louie thought about calling the emergency number Sharon had left with him; but no, She'd be home for Thanksgiving - that would be plenty of time to tell her about Mjolnir and where Louie placed him.

"Well Ugly", he told the still mournful dog, "They say all things shall pass, but I somehow never really expected either Aunt Kathy or that danged Tomcat to go and leave us her in the holler. I'm glad Sharon has that youngster. A bit of the holler to be with her."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 18 Jul 07 - 01:03 AM

Sharon decided to unload the car before she went in search of a pay phone to call Big Bill. By the time she had hauled everything up three flights of stairs she was hot and tired, ready for a break. Abiram looked at her with what appeared to be a rather forlorn expression when she announced her intent to go find a pay phone, a brew and bite to eat. She had already set out bowls with water and food for him. She took the top off of the cat carrier,lined it with a small fleece lap robe she had grabbed at Walmart, and placed it ina cozy corner of the room. She patted the blanket invitingly, but Abiram was having none of it. "Well then. Just be that way." She was a bit nervous about leaving him in the room unattended until she knew how he might act, and prayed that he was neither destructive nor vocal when left to Guess we are both better finding that out now," she said to him as she left the room. She stood outside the door for a couple of minutes and listened. All was quiet within. She hoped it stayed that way. Turning, she headed down the step and out of the house.

Sharon was no stranger to Morgantown. She'd been up to visit high school friends, had come up for more than a few football games (along with half the population of the state), and had played at a number of bars and festivals in and around Morgantown. She decided to walk down to Marsha's grill. There was a pay phone by the door there. She'd order a sandwich and brew, then call Big Bill while she waited.

She got Big Bill's answering machine,so left a brief message that she had arrived safely, already had the car unloaded, and would call back later in the week, once her own telephone was installed, and asked that he pass the same information on to Louie. She was kind of relieved to get the answering machine. She wasn't ready to talk about signing the farm over to Billy, but doubted she could have held that information back had they talked at any length.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 30 Nov 07 - 10:51 PM

"Whew!" Sharon paused at the top of the landing to catch her breath, thinking that these three flights of stairs were gonna be a bear. She walked the few steps to the door of her room, fumbling in her jeans pocket for the key.   A strange feeling was washing over her, sort of like she was swimmy-headed in the mind - not the brain - it wasn't physical - it was the mind. On the other side of the door, she heard a soft thump as Abiram jumped lightly down from the bed. As soon as she opened the door he came toward her.    She scooped him up into her arms and plopped down in the chair by the bed, thinking to ground herself. She stroked the cat, vividly aware of the feel of Abiram's soft fur under her hand, listening to his purring, feeling the sharp pricks of his claws as is paws kneaded her upper arm. She looked around the room,,,,,, at the arms of the chair in which she sat, at the dimming light outside the window.

"What is this?" Abiram looked up at her with calm eyes. The feeling subsided. After a few minutes Sharon arose from the chair, intending to unpack.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 12:14 AM

(She's back! Yeehaw!)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 12:25 PM

Most of what she had brought with her was stacked on the floor at the foot of the bed. She looked over the pile, glad that she had decided to keep stuff to a minimum. There were two suitcases, 4 banker's boxes with miscellaneous personal effects, plus the box Big Bill had loaded, her guitar, two fiddles, a mandolin, and the flute.   She reached for a suitcase, tossed it on the bed and lifted the lid.

Abiram sat up on the stack of pillows at the head of the bed. From there he had a good view from which to supervise the proceedings. Sharon made short work of the suitcases, quickly finding places in the drawers and the large closet for her clothes. She decided the linens could be stored in a suitcase as well as anywhere, so put them back, zipped up the lids, and shoved both bags under the bed.   She placed the 4 banker's boxes on the bed and removed the lids to inspect their contents. One box was filled with nothing but file folders of papers and essential records. She put the lid back on and stowed that box under the bed with the suitcases. The next 2 boxes held toiletries and general "stuff." She set those boxes aside to deal with later.

She removed the top layer of crumpled newspaper that concealed the contents of the 4th box. "OK, Abiram, how do we want to arrange the Rogue's Gallery?" One-by-one, she lifted the small assortment of framed pictures from the box.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 01 Dec 07 - 11:06 PM

Sharon placed the picture taken at that last Easter gathering at the graveyard on the desk.    All the Easter mornings they had sung up the sun from that graveyard, and the only record of any of them was this photograph of the last one. They all sat grinning and squinting into the morning sun, surrounded by modest stone markers. Aunt Kathy had laughed when she saw it. "Look at us, grinnin' like possums in the middle of all those gravestones. We look like we're celebrating the passing of a rich uncle!"

The next frame held a copy of a poorly restored lithograph of her great, great, maternal grandparents, Joseph and Verlina Dobbins Ross.   Straight mouthed, steely-eyed, grimly enduring the difficult business of life on a poor dirt farm in Eastern Kentucky, sustained by the promise of rest and reward in heaven. She hung that on the wall above the bed, along with a small portrait of her parents, taken before Sharon was born. The files she had stashed under the bed included a copy of her mother's obituary. Now, having removed herself from the people that were really her family, she wondered briefly but bitterly where her drunk of a father might be. He'd written to Big Bill about a year ago from Tulsa, wanting to borrow some money.

The last picture was a snapshot taken of Billy, Louie and herself when they were 9 and 10 years old, They were standing on a flat rock in the middle of Grizzly Creek, leaning into each other, proudly displaying a large glass jar filled with creek water, shiners and crawdads. She remembered how mad they were when Cassie made them pour it all back into the creek after the picture was taken. She held the little picture in both hands, studied it, searched their three faces, noticed the easy intimacy of their prepubescent bodies crowded together on that little space of rock.   She rewrapped it in newspaper and added it to the box of files.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 09:43 PM

The cardboard box Big Bill had given her was all that remained. Abiram watched intently as she lifted it from the floor. She turned and sat on the bed, placed the box in her lap, and raised the lid. Abiram moved over to her side, rolled onto his back, and swatted at the box lid she held in her hand.

"I'm neglecting you, little one. You want some attention!"   She replaced the lid, shoved the box up on the closet shelf, and turned back to Abiram, who happily wrestled with her and chased a shoestring for the next half-hour, until they had both had enough. Deciding to call it a night, she headed for the shower, got into her pajamas and climbed into bed with a Lee Smith book to read herself to sleep. She watched with bemusement as Abiram, with great concentration and dignity, patrolled the perimeter of the room, paying special attention as he sniffed and nudged at each window and the door. At last satisfied, he returned to the bed and curled up against her side.

It wasn't long before Sharon laid down the book, turned out the light, and scooted down under the covers. Abiram stood and stretched, then moved up to the neighboring pillow. Sharon reached over to scratch his ears. "You know what buddy?" she queried. "It is gonna be awhile before I am ready to look at those letters. I need to move forward not back. Besides, it somehow just doesn't feel right that they are with me.   I don't know who should have them. But something is saying it isn't me."

Abiram, enjoying his head scratching, didn't respond.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 02 Dec 07 - 10:48 PM

It didn't take long for Sharon to fall into the routine of of being a full-time college student again. She talked with Louie nearly every week, Big Bill less often. When she did, he never mentioned her signing of the farm over to Billy, so she didn't either. In fact, it was clear that Billy was going to be a taboo subject between them. She guessed she understood, Billy was his son after all. But it hurt that the estrangement brought about by the son also put distance between her and the man who had been the nearest thing she had known to a father.   

In November, it was Louie she told that she wouldn't be home for Thanksgiving. He was sorry to hear that, but said with Aunt Kathy gone, no one in the family had been able to come to agreement about Thanksgiving anyway.

"Don't matter none to me what they do," said Louie. " I wasn't plannin' on sittin' down at a table with that jackass Billy anyway. I'm goin' with Hazel Goins to her momma's house for Thanksgiving."

A day or two later Big Bill called. "Billy and I are going out to Dad's for Thanksgiving.   Louie said you aren't planning on coming down?"

"That's right. And if I were, Bill, I'd find somewhere else to go. Billy, as I'm sure you know, still won't have anything to do with me." She had to say at least that much.

"Damnit, Sharon. I'm so sorry about all this." Then, "You did the right thing, girl, giving back to Billy what should have been his to start with. I didn't see it that way at first, but Mom didn't have no business cuttin' him out of the farm like she did. She shoulda known it would cause trouble."

Sharon was too stunned to say anything in reply.

"He's got no excuse now for not speaking to you, or reaching out in some way. I think...."

Finding her voice at last, Sharon cut him off. "Nuff said, Uncle Bill. I'll talk to you soon." She hung up the phone.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 02 Feb 08 - 01:27 AM

The day before Christmas break Sharon finished her last exam, then headed to the Registrar's office to withdraw from school for the Spring semester.    Back at the rooming house, it didn't take her any longer to move all her things out than it had taken to move them in. In fact, it was a mite easier, since she was lugging stuff down the three flights of stairs this time. The first trip down, she carried the box of letters and placed them on the floor of the front seat of the car. Abiram, temporarily crated, was all she carried on her last trip down the stairway. Once outside, she sat the crate down gently on the sidewalk, walked around the house, and placed the key under the rock where she had originally found it. The landlady would be by tomorrow to get it.   That done, she retrieved Abiram, turning him loose in the car, and set out on the long drive to Tulsa.

It was time she found her father.

--------------------0----------------------0--------------------

She and Louie kept in touch.   When he and Hazel drove down to Parisburg, VA to get married the next summer, he sent her pictures, some of he and Hazel with her belly proudly starting to swell, taken by the magistrate, and a few others of the New River as it turned and headed for the Narrows, gathering speed for the wild run through the gorge.   

Hazel lost that first baby, but three more followed, Katherine Sally, Louie Jr., and Henrietta. Louie sent pictures, and Sharon sent birth presents for each one, and later, as they grew, birthday cards and token gifts.   When Henrietta turned twelve, Sharon sent the box of letters to Louie with a note saying she wanted Henrietta to have them. She couldn't say why she did that. it just seemed the right thing to do.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 03 Feb 08 - 12:27 AM

(Delighted to follow this, again! Thanks, Janie!)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 06:54 PM

Louie turned around and shipped them right back to her.

Dere Sharon,

You got no biznes gettin rid of these letters, speshly since you have never red them in the 16 years you have held them. I ain't never figgered out if you has been chasin' ghosts or runnin' from them these years, and I dont reckon you have figgered that out either. You has done played in every band that almost made it between New Orleans, Memphis and Tulsa, covered every inch of country west of the Mississippi, and got yerself a graduate degree that you ain't never used. But you ain't never been back home once.

Now Sharon, I has held my peece and minded my business all these years, but that hole that you been tryin' to fill ain't gonna be filled with nothin' but home. It is time you came back here, at least for a visit. Besides, I'm probly gonna have to do some time on these moonshinin' charges, and I need you here for Hazel and the kids.

                                                                               Yer Oldest Pal,

                                                                               Louie

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Effsee
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 10:04 PM

Lord be praised! Welcome back Janie.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 23 Aug 08 - 10:27 PM

Yes!!!

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 24 Aug 08 - 01:19 AM

Sharon laid the letter down on top of the box of letters sitting on the desk.

Home. Where was home?

It certainly wasn't here in this tiny rented apartment in Tulsa. How many times had she come back here, always certain of finding work with one of the companies who supplied the pipe for the oil industry? She had been here close to two years this time, but no one would know that from the appearance of the apartment. It was as personal as a suite of rooms at one of the hotel chains that catered to consultants and construction workers who came into town for a few weeks or months to work at a job site for their parent company.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 24 Aug 08 - 01:26 AM

Abiram had been twining around her legs as she stood at the desk, reading. He jumped onto her lap when she finally sat, purring loudly and kneading her thigh, pricking through her jeans with his sharp claws.

He had always clearly disdained Tulsa as a completely boring place with insufficient connections to warrant patrolling, much less warding, in any but a few and very rare circumstances.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 24 Aug 08 - 09:11 PM

She thought back to that last night on the porch of the house on Grizzly Holler. The memory was as fresh and vivid as if she were just now opening her eyes to see the ebbing motion of the empty rockers to either side of her. She had never fully understood everything the two old women had said to her - there was much they didn't understand themselves. But as Aunt Kathy had said, eyebrows raised, "If magic could be fully explained, why, then it wouldn't be magic, would it?"

She reached again for Louie's letter, reread it and studied the the picture he had enclosed showing Hazel and Henrietta brandishing blooms cut from the big lilac bush by the cemetery gate before carrying them to lay on as many graves as they could find markers for in the small burying ground. From the date-stamp on the back, she guessed that must of been this past Memorial Day, early, judging from the shadows in the photo. They probably left there and headed up Paint Creek to the branch holler where Hazel's people lay, high on their own ridge.

All those old bones, traces of bones, and the good earth that most of them had already become again....molecules of what had once been the corporeal body of Mjolnir had been taken up into that lilac, the blooms now decomposing on the ground above where Cassie and Aunt Kathy's bodies lay....

Abiram had jumped from her lap to the desk and was staring intently at her eyes, demanding that she meet his gaze.   

"Okay, fella. You and Louie are right. It is time we went back for a visit."

He was about to drop down to the floor when she stuck the picture under his nose, tapped the lilac bush with a fingernail and said, "Here's your Daddy!"

His tail twitched in irritation as he stalked away from her.

.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Tinker
Date: 24 Aug 08 - 11:12 PM

Yeah !


Oh and thank you.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 12:24 AM

Oh, love that Catitude!:-) Thanks, Janie!

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 10:58 AM

Abiram wasn't at all pleased with himself. The Firearms Tobacco and Alcohol charges brought against Louie would serve the purpose of bringing Sharon back to the Holler; but were clumsy at best; manipulations barely worthy of a dog.

He was also a bit uneasy that the stretch in prison could conceivably cause a violation of the "Do No Harm" paradigm which governed his actions. Still, the chances of that happenning were mostly centered around Henrietta, and with both Sharon and Abiram himself back in the Holler, those possibilities would diminish rapidly. And Abiram wouldn't be facing the high energy costs of long distance wardings.

Henrietta in her 13th year. Yes, it was definately time for Sharon to return to the Holler. And despite the absurdly human state of the emotion; Abiram did want to see and smell the lilac that marked his father's final resting place.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 02:36 PM

Secure on her perch in the modest shotgun house in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Isis mantled her feathers; then preened. The youngster was a bit clumsy - but he WAS very young. Even so, things were beginning to fall back into place.

She streched, wings, neck and body; as a young man entered through the front door of the shotgun; precious fiddle tucked under his arm. "Isis! Always ready to greet me," he murmered softly, giving a gentle rub to her head. He carefully, but tiredly placed the fiddle on the table beside the perch of the Macaw and dropped into the padded recliner on the other side of the perch. "I thought Grandpa Abe was nuts when he gave you to me, but you have been a lifesaver. Always here, and always awake when I get home, no matter how late the gig."

He leaned back in the chair, popping the footrest out as his head sank into the pillowed back. His eyes closed as he continued to talk to the Hyacinth Macaw as if she could understand. Sometimes he thought she understood more then some people did; certainly more then Lilith, his current girl.

"I'm tired, Isis. I think it's time Judah Davidson took a break from the gigs and the recording studio. What do you think? Maybe the two of us head up north and visit Grandpa Abe in that retirement home of his? And maybe take a side trip through the hill country and see if we can get some more inspiration from people who aren't saturated in videos and MTV 24/7?"   He glanced sideways at the bird that had seen many generations of his family. "Being a celebity isn't all that it's cracked up to be, old girl; even if Dad grins all the way to the bank after every concert. Maybe Mom and Grandpa are right; music *needs* to be made for the joy. Not that the money hurts," he mused, but I miss jamming with Grandpa the way we did when I was little. And I Still say Mom is a better musician then any I could hire."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 03:34 PM

And in the shadows of some scrub, just outside Tulsa a particularly large and handsome specimen of coyote grinned to himself as he curled into a dusty hollow, his brush covering his nose. Despite the youngster's feline superiority and disdain for any type of Canid; Coyote would miss him. NOT just for the energy Coyote had been able to divert to his own purposes; though all the Powers knew that between the young familiar and his human partner Coyote had had more energy available then he'd had in generations. No, he had to admit, at least to himself, that Coyote would miss the curiousity, the seeking spirit, and the companionship offerred by the proximity of another familiar. Raven may have visited on occasion; but normally stayed far to the NorthWest. It would be many a year, Coyote knew, before two familiars could relax and hunt voles together in a moment of ease after a moonlit ceremony. But it was time, and past time for Abiram to take up his duties in earnest. Isis would be within his reach, and even Coyote could take the time to look in on the young cat occasionaly.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 25 Aug 08 - 09:54 PM

(absolutely spectacular, Leoluv!)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 09:51 AM

(just figured the Tulsa years must have had SOME purpose in the scheme of things; and a training period for Abiram under a(much)older being seemed logical.

I wanna know what's in those letters! Seems like Louie knows more about them then Sharon.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 26 Aug 08 - 11:26 PM

(Good on you! In sending them to the West, I sent them to a land I do not ken, and put them beyond my vision. ) And learned a valuable lesson in the process.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 27 Aug 08 - 11:15 AM

"Well, will you take a look at that!" Hazel exclaimed, spreading out the most recent edition of the Charleston Gazette. "Did you know anything about this?" , she continued; staring into the eyes of the man seated across from her.

Hazel and Henrietta were making their bi-weekly visit to the Paint Creek Association Assisted Living Complex. When Abraham had decided to retire to the area Hazel had taken it upon herself to make frequent visits to the residence. Abraham had a long association with Louie's family; and Hazel frequently would take a disc recorder with her as she visited; transcribing the stories he told later. She thought maybe someday she would try to put them together into a cohesive book. Meanwhile they were a record of two families that had interacted over many miles and more then three generations. The contacts hadn't been frequent, but somehow West Virginia and New Orleans were tied together thorughy the two families.

"Do I know anything about what?" he responded; moving a rook in the chess game he was currently playing with Henrietta. "Hankerchief my girl, I've got you on the run now!"

"'Bout your grandson coming up here to play a benefit concert;" Hazel came back. "Right here!" she exclaimed, pointing at an article mid page of the Gazette.


JUDAH AND THE PROPHETS - Concert for the Benefit of the Paint Creek Watershed Renewal Project. September 1st. One show only!

Internationaly famous jazz violinst Judah Davidson and band to perform in a rare charity event.



Abraham pulled the paper closer and scanned the article. "It's news to me, Hazel. But look at the last couple of lines!"

"Mr. Davidson will be taking a sabbatical following the performance. I'll be spending a few weeks enjoying one of my favorite areas of the country; catch up with relatives and just maybe work on some new music"

A big slow grin spread across his face. "Bet it was suppossed to be a surprise visit. Hankerchief? You remember my grandson, don't you?"

Henrietta grinned "As if I could forget someone who came to visit with the biggest bluest bird I'd ever seen in my life! Will he bring Isis?"

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: MMario
Date: 02 Sep 08 - 11:40 AM

aw heck....I was hoping for at least ONE post over the weekend

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 06 Sep 08 - 11:41 PM

She called Louie the next morning, after checking with her boss. "OK. I'm coming. I can take 2 weeks, anytime between now and the middle of October, but I have to be back here by November 1.   And I guess I have to decide if I'm going to drive or fly. What works for you all? Do you have a court date yet?"

"Naw, and anyway, Homer is going to keep asking for postponements until at least after the 1st of the year," Louie replied. "But you come on as soon as you can. You and Hazel need to get reaquainted - you two never did know each other very well - and you can finally meet the kids face-to-face. Be prepared, it will be a let down when they discover you are not a fairy Godmother with little wings, a magic wand and one of them little silv'ry crowns on your head. Leastways, I don't think it likely you've grown wings, have you?"

Sharon laughed. "Horns, maybe, but no wings."

"I still have to talk to Michael and Tim. We have a couple of gigs coming up, nothing major, but we'll need to figure out who might be able to fill in for me." We've got a practice tomorrow night so I'll talk to them then." She felt her stomach tighten a little.   "I'll give you a call on Friday and we'll firm things up then."

"Sounds good. Oh, and Sharon?"

"Yes?"

"Both Big Bill and Billy said to tell you how glad they were to hear you might be coming."

"Cool," said Sharon, cooly.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 12:04 AM

Cool. Cool as a cucumber. Got to be cool as a cucumber.

Compartmentalize. Function.

Be Here Now. Sort of. Be here now, checking these invoices, making and taking these calls, ordering those pipes, cajoling a promise of payment, threatening to cut off that line of credit.

Oops. The door to the Michael compartment just cracked open. Close it for now. Got work to do. Thankfully, Big Bill and Billy stayed safely locked away, not interfering with her work or concentration at all. No surprise there. The three of them had been studiously practicing that one for years. The wound was healed, a big scar sealing where the raw scab had once been. Probably wouldn't have scarred so bad if she had only stopped picking at it sooner. Seems like she would have learned from that to leave those kinds of scabs alone.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 12:17 AM

Ah, good, they are back!

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 07 Sep 08 - 01:49 AM

The dream was different this time.

In this dream, she actually saw them, naked and moaning, on the couch. Caught in the act. Jeanie's fiddle lying carelessly on the floor where either one of them might step on it if they jumped up, realizing they had been discovered. They didn't see her, didn't notice she was there.

She watched the light play on the back of Michael's head as he moved. He had beautiful hair. Wavy, shoulder-length, the color of clover honey. How many times had she looked up through the veil of that lovey hair as he moved over her in the exact same way.

Not nearly so romantic from this angle. Kind of silly-looking, actually.

In the dream, she waited for the rage and the anquish to hit.

In the dream, she was only mildly surprised to realize that what she was feeling was relief.

The dream abruptly shifted, as dreams do.   She was no longer standing in the studio of the house there in Tulsa that she and Michael had shared. She was in a small bedroom on the second floor of an old farmhouse, the moon shining through the open window, and she could hear the faint sounds of flute wafting through the window from somewhere high up on the mountain behind the house. A warm, furry presence curled up next to her, under her outthrown arm. The arm encircled Abiram as she turned on her side and settled back into dreamlessness.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 11:08 PM

Almost there.

This late, traffic was light light as she drove through Charleston on I-64/I-77. She kept turning her head to gaze at the illuminated Capitol Dome covered in gold leaf as she sped along. It was commonly supposed that the Rockerfeller's were the "anonymous" donors who made that possible, but it continued to be a well-kept secret and had never been confirmed. She was tempted to exit at the Capitol-complex and pay a late night visit to the War Memorial designed by her friend JB. Abiram let her know, however, that now was the time for heading home, and that he would brook no late-night interlude this close to Grizzly Holler.

She exited the freeway onto Rte. 61 at Cheylan.   The silver moonlight on the river rivaled the gold glow of the Capitol Dome 10 miles behind her. Occasionally she could see barges being pushed along the river by sturdy tugboats, those headed downstream laden with coal, and those pushing upstream empty. An image arose in her mind of Callie, covered in coal-dust, emerging from behind a mound of coal to face the startled eyes of Abraham.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 11:34 PM

Yes!! She's They're back!

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Tinker
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 11:40 PM

(Gleefully waiting for more....)

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 26 Jul 09 - 11:52 PM

Louie wasn't expecting her until late tomorrow morning. She drove past the darkened house where he lived with Hazel and the girls, and drove on up the rutted dirt road to the old farmhouse at the head of the holler, grateful that it was dry. It was obvious the road hadn't been graded in a long time, and she never would have made it in her Corolla is it had been the least bit wet. As it was, she could hear the bottom of the car scrape the center ridge of the road more than once, and sent up a little prayer on behalf of her muffler.

The gate to the pasture was open, and she cautiously drove through, onto the track through the pasture to the yard. The pasture was completely overgrown and it was clear there was no cow pasturing there. The gate to the house was also standing open, but Sharon felt compelled to stop short of driving into the yard. She turned off the ignition and got out of the car, gazing at the old, weathered farmhouse in the bright light of the moon. Abiram jumped down from the open car door as she stood, and twined around her ankles.

She had no legal right to be here, and found herself regretting for the first time her decision to sign over her interest to Billy in the midst of her hurt, grief, and feelings of betrayal. Still, she knew she belonged here, and knew she had the right to be where she was standing just now, under a late July moon.

Abiram bit her ankle, softly enough to leave no mark, but certainly enough to get her attention. She dug her sleeping bag out of the trunk, walked through the gate, past the lilac, green now with the blooms long gone, and made herself a pallet on the front porch between Callies and Cathy's rocking chairs. She crawled into the sleeping bag and listened for a few minutes to the chorus of cicadas, hoping - half expecting - to hear the sound of a flute wafting from the ridge behind the house.

Within minutes she was sound asleep. Abiram had curled up at the back of her knees. As soon as he heard her faint snores, he rose and jumped down lightly off the porch.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 14 Aug 09 - 09:04 PM

The sound of Louie's truck coming through the gate from the pasture woke her. She sat up in her sleeping bag, yawning, and squinting at the eastern sky. The sun was just fully over the horizon.

Louie pulled to a stop, climbed out of the truck and approached the porch, stopping at the bottom of the steps. "I was sitting out on the stoop in the dark when you drove in last night. Figgered you'd a stopped if you wanted. Come on down to the house. Hazel's got sausage fryin' and a pot of coffee waiting."

"Not even a hug for this wayward child?" asked Sharon, snaking her way out of the sleeping bag, then standing upright.

Even before she spoke, Louie was headed up the steps to the porch. They grabbed each other in a bear hug, laughing and spinning.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 15 Aug 09 - 04:21 PM

Hazel turned from the kitchen sink as they walked in, dried her hands quickly on a dish towel, and walked toward Sharon with her arms outstretched to embrace her in a warm hug, even as she she scolded, "Well then, Louie kept telling me not to break your plate, you'd come one of these days, but I had about give up on listening.   Hank? Don't be shy, come on over and give your Aunt Sharon a hug."

Although she didn't show it, Sharon was momentarily startled. Aunt? Well, yeah.   She guessed she was. She turned to Hank, who had been hanging back, a bit shyly, at the corner of the table. "Hank? Oh Hank, I feel like I have known you so long, and now I get to actually lay eyes on you! " She wasn't sure whether to offer a hug or a handshake.

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 06 Mar 10 - 09:53 PM

"Hug or handshake?" she asked with a smile. Hank stepped forward, grinning, and offered a quick embrace.

"Now," Hazel said to Sharon, "Get yourself a cup of coffee from the stove, then you and Hank can set the table. We'll eat as soon as the potatoes are brown and the biscuits are out. Show her where the plates are, Hank."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Janie
Date: 06 Mar 10 - 11:10 PM

Hazel headed off for church right after breakfast. Sharon and Louie sat out on the front porch while the kids cleaned up the kitchen. Abiram had staked out a sunny spot on the porch rail where he could relax and still keep an eye on things. He studiously ignored all overtures from Third, (i.e. Ugly Pup the Third).

"When Hazel gets back, we'll head back up to the farm and help you get unloaded and settled in.   I hope you don't mind - it's a bit crowded here with all the kids and only one bathroom, and besides, if figger you'll want a little space for yourself. Thought we'd take a Sunday drive after that, let you get a look at all the old stompin' grounds. Hazel has already stocked a few provisions up there, but take a look and see if there is anything else you'll be wanting. We can make a stop at the IGA on our way back home after the drive. We plan on you taking supper with us. If you're up for it, thought we could play some music tonight. I don't get a chance to do that as much as I like anymore."

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: Effsee
Date: 06 Mar 10 - 11:26 PM

Aaaah! Thank you Janie!

Subject: RE: Fiction:The Woman in the Holler
From: katlaughing
Date: 07 Mar 10 - 12:21 AM

YES!!! Thanks!!!