Arlissa - Her Story - Day 15-28

Granny lay watching through half-closed eyelids as the handsome doctor came striding back into the room. She reckoned to herself he would make a good catch for her Arlissy. 

Smiling guilelessly up at him, she asked, "What's yore name, doc?"

"Dr. Winston, Mrs. Hinton. I've been looking at your records, and it seems like it's been awhile since you've been attended by anyone. Can you explain the reason for that?"

"Well, now, Doc, I reckon maybe I ain't needed one until now. Ain't been sick." She fixed him with a clear eye and a straight as an arrow look, daring him to repudiate her words.

"I hate to dispute your word, ma'am, but you have been in need of attention for some time. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here with me. Let me help you sit up so I can listen to your back. Now, take a deep breath."

"Say, Doc, are you by any chance taken?"

"Sh-h-h. Don't say anything till I get through listening to your heart, please. Cough for me." 

He listened carefully, then placed her back down gently onto the bed. Taking her wrist into his fingers, he took her pulse and found it steady. This old woman could live a lot longer if she took better care of herself, he thought.

"Do you make house calls, Doc? My Arlissy and me, we don't have a lot of money to be takin' trips all the way into Amblin to see you. Now, don't get me wrong; we ain't askin' fer charity, or nothin'."

"Well, let's get you feeling better, then we'll talk about home visits, okay? Now, I've got to go out and talk to your granddaughter - I assume that is who I carried out of here while ago?" 

Writing notes on the papers on the clip board, and smiling at the old lady, he made preparation to leave the room.

"Wait, Doc!" The old lady raised up on one elbow. "You didn't answer my question: are you taken?"

"What do you mean? Taken where?"

"Married, of course! If you're not, well, I jist wanted to know. Are you?"

He smiled and said, "Engaged to be married. We've been waiting till I get established here." He was thinking, 'foxy old matchmaker! I'm onto you!' He left the room smiling.

Granny lay back, smiling - engaged didn't mean married. He looked like good grandson material to her. The way he picked Arlissy up was jist pure romantic. She smiled and drifted off to sleep.

As Arlissa sat waiting for the doctor to come back out from seeing her Granny, she watched people coming and going. It was like a parade of all kinds of characters in one of her story books. There was a very beautiful lady, all dressed up with a hair-do like she had only seen in the magazines at the check-out in the A & P Grocery store. 

"Wonder who she is, anyhow?" Arlissa said aloud, without realizing she had spoken. 

Just then the doctor came out towards Arlissa, intending to speak to her about Granny, only to be waylaid by the woman with the beautiful clothing. Arlissa's curiousity was even more on alert. As she watched, the doctor changed course and went over to speak to the mystery woman. 

"Hello, darling!" She was speaking to the doctor and giving him a kiss on the cheek, putting her hand up then to his face to wipe away the lipstick imprint she had left. He moved his face back slightly, as though seeing her there was an unwelcome interruption in his day.

"What are you doing here, Amalie? I thought you were in Frankfort attending a tea today, or some such thing."

(Arlissa leaned forward, straining to hear what they were saying to one another.)

"Darling, I simply had to come and consult with you about the plans for the wedding in December. There are some decisions that absolutely require your help, that must be made today, if we are going to stay on schedule." She pouted her lips and wiped an imaginary tear away from her eye.

"Well, it is just going to have to wait until this evening. I have a full schedule ..."

Just as he was answering her, the doors swung open and in came Hanson's with the boy who had been in the single car  accident earlier in the day. Following Hanson's was the Trooper who had stopped Arlissa. 

When she saw him, she crossed her arms in front of her, and glared.

He had not yet seen her, but was heading to the ER admissions desk with the attendants, and was soon speaking to the woman who occupied the desk. 

"Ma'am, this young man was just in a one vehicle wreck and I need to have him checked over to see how serious his injuries are. As soon as he is able, he's going to jail for drunk driving. He's got no business on the road driving like he does. I'll wait til after the Doc sees him."

"Yes, officer. We'll let you know."

Within minutes they had taken the boy past the desk and he disappeared among the curtains behind it. 

'Oh, no!' Arlissa thought. 'Here he comes! Now what am I going to have to put up with from him!'

Trooper Odom smiled down at her. 

"Well, now if it isn't Miss Arlissa Hinton in the flesh! As I live and breathe!"

"As far as I'm concerned, you can go live and breathe in some other place, mr. smart aleck trooper!"

 "Now, ma'am, is that any way to speak to someone who cared enough about what happens to you that he took the trouble to find out who you are?"

"O-o-o-h! You are just too ...too... awful!"  Turning her back to him, all at once she began sobbing as though her heart would break. Her Granny lay back there, maybe dying, and that handsome doctor hadn't gotten a chance to tell her how Granny was, and now this horrible trooper was here to pester her. 

Leaning close to her, he whispered, "Please, Miss Arlissa, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry. Please stop crying. I promise, I'll leave you be.Just, please don't cry."


Arlissa took the handkerchief that Bobby Joe offered and said, "Thank you." then she hiccoughed. Oh, no! Hiccoughing again. She always did that when she cried. Wiping her eyes, she looked up into his face and her clear blue eyes reminded him once again of his good friend and mentor, Zeb O'Hanlon.

"Say, Miss Arlissa, would you please tell me something I've been curious about - are you by any chance kin to a fella named Zeb O'Hanlon?"

Looking at him as though he had two heads, she replied, "What a ridiculous question!! Now why in the world would you be asking me that?"

He noticed she didn't ask him who Zeb was, just why he would be asking her about kinship to him.

"Well, he's a friend of mine and he claims to be from somewhere in this part of the country. You and he have the same color eyes and hair. Now, they're not the run of the mill resemblance, either! You two are the only ones I've run into with such a strong resemblance. Are you acquainted with him, by any chance?"

She hemmed and hawed before finally telling him, yes, they were neighbors of her and Granny, but she wasn't any kin to them as far as she knew and she thought Granny woulda told her if she was. 

"So, Mr. Smart Aleck Trooper, whose name I still don't know, just mind your own business! And here's yore hanky. l don't need it no more." So saying, she tried to hand his handkerchief back to him.

"Awww, just keep it, you might need it again." He smiled annoyingly at her again and said no more, just leaned back in the hard metal chair and crossed his arms to wait for news about his prisoner. 

While he waited, though, he mentally reviewed the new information. His curiosity turned to the background of the girl next to him. Where were her parents? Did she live alone with her Granny? Maybe they were at work, but why wouldn't they be here if Granny was so ill?

One thing about Bobby Joe, he had a boundless amount of curiosity and he never let it lie for long. Just as he was turning to speak to Arlissa again, here came the doctor, heading for him.

"Trooper, the man who was just brought in has a concussion and we are going to have to keep him for at least twenty-four hours. He is not in any condition to be taken to jail at this time. You will need to file charges and then come back for him at the appropriate time. He's not going anywhere for awhile."

"Yes, Doctor. I'll be back tomorrow." He shook the doctor's hand and turning to Arlissa, he took her hand and said, "Miss HInton, it's been a pleasure. I'll be seeing you. Be careful driving home." 

"But.." she didn't get to finish saying anything; he turned on his heel and left.

"Well...I never!" She stared after him.

Dr. Winston looked at her and took note of the handkerchief she was holding and her watery, red eyes. 

"Why don't we just have a seat here, so we can talk about your grandmother's condition?"

"Tell me how she is, doctor. I've been so worried about her: I don't know what I'd do if she up and died on me." She twisted the hanky in her hand as though it was a lifeline she had to hold on to. 

"Your Grandmother is just worn out, and her heart is not as strong as I would like for it to be, but she still has a lot of life left in her. Do you have anyone to help with the farm work? I assume you live on a farm?"

"Yes, we live on a farm. We have a milk cow and chickens and a few hogs. We have a garden and I do all the heavy work. I may not look very strong, but I am." 

All at once, she looked down at her dress and work shoes, and felt ashamed of the way she looked. Her face did a slow burn of embarrassment and the doctor could not fail seeing her reaction. 

"Your Grandmother must be very proud of you! I know I would be in her place. You are quite a girl, and anyone would be glad to know you! Have you had any lunch? I have a break right now. Please let me take you down to the cafeteria and get some lunch for you, then you can go see your Grandmother. Okay? I believe she is probably resting right now."

Arlissa had the pride of mountain folk, and was reluctant to let him get her lunch, but she had no money and she was hungry. 

"Okay, but I'll repay you tomorrow."

"If you insist..."

They headed to the cafeteria downstairs; the tall doctor and the little 98 pound wisp of a girl. 

From the shadows near the door, they were observed closely by someone...she pressed her lips together. 

'How dare he pay such attention to that little nobody in the frumpy dress and horrible shoes! He is certainly not getting away with it. He is going to pay dearly, believe me!' she thought to herself.

Flouncing out the door, she headed for her new car that Daddy had bought for her just a couple of weeks ago as a wedding gift. She started the engine and listened to it purr, smiling, as she thought of what she could do to punish the faithless doctor.

She was still fuming and threw the gear shift into first, spewing gravel as she hit the road, and soon was flying down the road at top speed. About a mile later, she heard a siren and looking in her rear view mirror, saw the blue lights flashing. 

'Hmph!' she thought. 'I'll soon set him straight. He has no idea who he is dealing with.'

Trooper Odom came up behind her, ticket book in hand and writing down her license tag number.

"Ma'am," he spoke kindly. "I'd like to see your license and registration, please."

"Hello, officer! What ever is the matter? Did I break some kind of rule?" She batted her long fake eyelashes in his direction, her brown eyes automatically producing fake tears.

"Your license and registration, please, ma'am? You know, I believe that you were doing 70 in a fifteen mile an hour zone. I think maybe you just left the hospital about two minutes ago. I saw you leave, just as I was getting on my cycle. Hand them over, please."

"Very well, here they are." She handed him a hundred dollar bill folded between the two items, hoping he would take it and forget about the ticket. Her father had promised to take away her car if she got one more of them. 

She watched as he wrote the name and registration information on the ticket pad, then handed all three items back to her.

So she tried another gambit. 

"Do you have any idea who my father is, Trooper?" She was furious by now, and spitting saliva with her words as she bit them off, one by one. 

"Miss Gardner, I don't really care who he is, but I feel right sorry for him." 

Touching his hand to his forehead in a mock salute, he handed the ticket to her, and walked back to his cycle, started it up and took off, turning his cycle back in the direction from which he had come.

Amalie Gardner sat fuming for a few minutes; just wait till she told her father - no, wait - she couldn't tell him about her latest ticket - he had promised to take her car until after the wedding if she got another one. Now she had two people to get even with; and if Miss Gardner was good at anything, it was getting even and making people pay. 

She pulled out, plotting her revenge. 

Meanwhile, in the hospital cafeteria, Arlissa looked at the choice of lunch foods on the bar in front of her. She didn't want to get overmuch, but her stomach rumbled all at once. Oh, no! She quickly glanced up at the doctor, but he seemed not to have noticed. 

He decided he would choose for her and began pointing to foods and the lady behind the bar dished them up when he said, "The young lady would like this plate and then you can fix one just like it for me."

Arlissa looked up at him in bewilderment and a touch of chagrin. How dare he order for her? She started to refuse, and then thought better of it. She didn't want to cause a scene; she already looked bad enough. 

As she walked to the table to sit down, she heard the slight jingle of the car keys in her pocket. It reminded her that her purse was still at home and she still had no license with her. What to do? Well, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. 

She looked at the doctor's lab coat and noticed his name on an ID card attached to the coat. It identified him as Donald Gardner, MD. Then she looked up into his face and asked him, "Why are you being so kind to me, a stranger?"

He quietly unfolded his napkin, placing it in his lap, as he seemed to ponder the question. Then he simply smiled and said, "Because I want to. You looked like you could use a friend, and I decided that was me."

"You mean you felt sorry for me. You took one look at me, and said, 'she looks pitiful and in need of charity'". 

She started to jump up, and he caught her arm, preventing the action. 

"Please sit down, Miss Hinton! Don't you like to help others? Would you deny me the pleasure of helping someone who could use the assistance? Now, why don't I ask a blessing on our food, and we can eat. You can tell me about life on the farm and maybe about where your parents are."

"Oh, you think buying my lunch gives you a right to know about my personal life? I don't think so."

This made the good doctor even more curious. What was she hiding? 

The doctor looked at Arlissa with kind, but obviously curious eyes. He knew she was suspicious of his motives and so he quickly thought about what he could say to allay her fears.

"I'm only interested in my patient and how she lives. Perhaps knowing that can help me in my care for her."

"Oh, I see. Well, okay. It's just Granny and me. I think I told you that already. My parents are gone; my Ma died having me, and my Pa disappeared before I was born. That's the truth, and all I'm going to tell you. Ain't nobody's business nohow." 

She gazed up into his face defiantly, daring him to make any more comments.

"Okay. I understand. I won't ask any more personal questions for the time being. Please, let's just eat. I have to get back to work soon."

She decided to get personal, too, with some questions of her own.

"I saw the beautiful lady who was a' talkin' to you earlier. Are you gettin' married to her some time soon?"

"Well, yes, I guess my questions deserve some questions of yours in return. She is my fiance and we are planning to be married in December." He smiled at Arlissa and she noted the dimples in his cheeks.

She felt more at ease with him by now; enough so to ask him such questions. She certainly felt entitled to after he asked her such personal things.


"Where is she from? I don't remember seein' her before today. Is she from somewhere else?"

"Yes, her family and mine live in Frankfort. Her father is an important man in politics there."

"What about your pa? What does he do?"

"He is a doctor, as well." He frowned slightly, remembering how his father wanted to take him into his practice. However, Donald had other ideas; he wanted to make a difference here in this rural area with these people who couldn't afford good health care. The frown made Arlissa wonder, but instead of remarking more on that, she asked him if he had met his fiance recently.

"No, we grew up in the same area, and I guess maybe it was just assumed we would get married some day. Our families have always been close. Does that answer your questions?"

She blushed furiously because she realized she had gotten much more inquisitive than he had been.

He realized her discomfiture and said no more.

It wasn't long before they had finished their lunch and he was pulling her chair out as she got up. She opined to herself that here was a real gentleman, not like that awful trooper. 

Meanwhile, that awful trooper, as she called him, was patrolling the roads in the area, wondering about the O'Hanlons and where they lived. Maybe he could ask a few questions if he saw anybody as he was riding along. The roads were kind of untraveled in this remote part of Kentucky.

Wait! There came somebody driving an old John Deere tractor and going mighty slow. He could stop and ask him the way to the O'Hanlons.

Trooper Odom approached the man on the tractor and rode along side of him. Both brought their vehicles to a stop.

"Pardon me, sir, but can you tell me where the O'Hanlons live? I understand they live somewhere in this area."

"Yep, sonny; as a matter a' fact, they do. Whatcha lookin fer 'em fer? Have they broke the law? They don't seem like the kind to do anythin' like that."

The old fellow was a bundle of curiousity and it seemed he wanted answers before he was ready to give any directions to Bobby Joe. 

"Well, no sir, they haven't as far, as I know. I just wanted to know for my own reasons. Can you help me?"

The old man eyed him closely. Was the trooper trying to make trouble for the O'Hanlons? Were they really in some kind of trouble, and the trooper just being shut-mouthed about it? Well, he reckoned they could just deal with whatever it was; after all, the trooper looked like a nice fella. He sure wasn't telling the old farmer any more, it seemed. He might as well tell the fella; he didn't want to be in any trouble for not co-operating.

Bobby Joe had learned enough while playing poker to read the old fellow's thoughts by the facial expressions, so he just waited. 

"Well, sonny," the old man chuckled, "they live about five miles due west - as the crow flies - from where we're settin'. Jist keep on going in the direction yore headed, and look fer the name on the mailbox; they'll be another name on it, Tunstall,  as well You keep lookin' and you'll find 'em. Oh yeah, there's a little dirt road that runs off the highway to their house. Their house is kinda hid behind some trees. Good luck, boy!" 

Chuckling to himself, the old man started up the tractor again and left, thinking to himself that greenhorn would never find the farm. But, after all, he had given him explicit directions.

***************
 Meanwhile, Arlissa was heading back to her Granny's hospital room, accompanied by the doctor. It seemed to Arlissa that this doctor was being extra kind to her. Was it because her Granny was dying and he felt sorry for her? She wasn't sure. 

 She didn't realize that he was fascinated by her simple honesty and openness. He was entranced by the way she showed her every emotion on her face. It was like reading an open book. Without realizing it, he was comparing her behavior to that of his fiance`.

He had not really told her that much about Granny's condition, and she was most curious to know. 

"Kin you tell me how my Granny is really doin'? Is she dyin'?" She looked up earnestly into his face, searching it for answers.

He was giving nothing away to her, she thought to herself, deciding to try a new tack. 

"Will she be going home soon? We can't afford a long hospital stay..." She began thinking of the fact that she didn't even have her purse with her, and if even if she did; their money was in short supply. She would need gas money for the car; money for food was necessary, too. All at once, it all seemed too much to bear. 

As she thought about it, the color drained from her face, and the good doctor thought she was going to faint. He put his arm around her and led her to a chair nearby. They had gotten back up to the emergency room. 

"Are you okay, Miss Hinton? Nurse, get her some water!" He sat beside her and rubbed her arms to improve the circulation. What had just happened? He thought back to what they were discussing. All at once, it dawned on him. She was worried about finances. 

Dr. Gardner took Arlissa's face in his hand and turned her to face him, looking into her eyes.

"Arlissa, I mean, Miss Hinton, are you concerned about how you and your Grandmother are going to pay for her being in the hospital?"

His kindness brought tears to her eyes once again, telling him he had hit the nail right on the head.

"Don't be concerned; don't you know about the medical assistance provided by the federal government?"

"Oh, my Granny wouldn't never take no charity offn' nobody!"

"it isn't charity, Miss Hinton. It is provided by law by the government. Everyone 65 and older is entitled to it. It has been available for a few years now. Were you not aware of it?"

The unbelieving way he asked her,  he suddenly realized  he  was making her feel like an idiot. He couldn't win for losing.

"We ain't signed up fer no social security."

"That's okay. Your grandmother is automatically insured because of her age. The hospital will take care of it.  I'm sure she has a social security number; if not, we can help you fill out the application for one."

"Maybe we better get on to see my Granny and she might be wantin' to see me now."

"Of course. Are you feeling better by now?" He smiled at her.

"Yes, doctor. Is she going to get to go home soon?"

"I'd like to keep her for a few days, if she will. Can you manage without her?"

She returned his smile. "I reckon maybe so, since I do most all the work these days. I do have a job during the week though, at the drug store in Hickston where I live, not here in Amblin."

They entered the room to find Granny awake and attempting to get out of bed. She looked up and saw them; suddenly she lay back down and looked at the two of them smiling at her.

"You two gettin' along with one another okay? No fussin' er nothin'?"

"Why wouldn't we be, Mrs. Hinton?"

"Well, Arlissy kin be kinda cantankerous once in awhile, iffn' she gets riled up."

"Granny!" Arlissa was embarrassed.

"Well, child, you know it's true! Ain't nobody crankier than you if you get all in a snit about somethin'"

"She's been very agreeable, Mrs. Hinton."


Granny Hinton looked at the two of them with eyes that seemingly missed nothing; they were eyes full of wisdom and she saw more than anyone could ever suspect. There were sparks between those two young people and she intended to fan it into flames. 

"Granny, what fer are you lookin' at us like that? What's wrong? Do I have food on my face or somethin'?"

"Oh, no, child. I was jist a layin' here a thinkin' about what was goin' to happen to you after I'm dead and gone. How you goin' to survive?"

Arlissa ran to her Granny, crying, "Now don't you be a talkin' like that, Granny! You goin' to live fer years, ain't she, Doc? Ain't she?" She turned to look at him and saw the flash of sympathy passing over his face, which he quickly hid. 

"Of course, you are, Mrs. Hinton." He smiled reassuringly at the two of them. "We're going to be keeping you for a few days, til you are feeling better. I'll write up instructions for you all to follow, with some prescriptions for you."

The old lady gave a sly grin; but began thinking about how they were going to pay for the bill and the prescriptions. How could Arlissy take care of her and work at the local drug store as well? 

He could see the worried look come into Granny's eyes and Arlissa had no trouble seeing what she was thinking. The money...where were they going to come up with the money they needed. Maybe she could sell some vegetables - no, that was out - everyone in the area had gardens and raised their own.

As proud as Granny was, she'd never take no money from the government - she never had - never would. Pride was an awful thing. It made you do things you didn't want to. She remembered what the Good Book said about Pride and how it always goes before a fall and how it's one of them sins. 

Arlissa determined that they would do what they had to do; and she would go ahead and apply for the Social Security, even if she had to do it behind Granny's back. She'd just look in the Bible records in the front to see how old Granny was for sure. Nobody knew her exact age. Another matter of pride, she reckoned. 

"What you thinkin' about, Arlissy? You're up to no good; I can see it on yore face, plain as day!"

"Nothin', Granny, jist thinkin' about how it's gonna be when we get you home. Don't you be worryin' about it none."

The doctor had been standing back watching the scene play out between the two women, marveling at the way they understood each other so well. 

It made him think of his own parents and how they were often at odds with him; in fact, he didn't think they understood anything at all about his wishes. He often wondered if his parents had any idea of what he wanted in life. They certainly would look down their noses at these two sweet ladies and their situation. 

Right now, the doctor wasn't even sure he wanted to get married to Amalie - she would want the kind of life his parents had. He could see that when he stepped back from his situation and looked at it honestly. 

How had he wound up engaged to her? Had he just been so busy with thoughts of coming to practice medicine at this little backwater town in the mountains that it just happened?

A feeling of dread washed over him as he compared her sophistication with the sweet simplicity of the girl standing near her Granny, holding her hand. 

Perhaps he needed to do some more thinking, later. 

"Well, ladies, I'm going to leave you two to visit for awhile. Miss Hinton, don't stay too long and wear your grandmother out. She needs plenty of rest for now, so she can feel better."

"All right, doctor. I'll leave soon. Thank you fer lunch; it was mighty tasty." 

He turned on his heel and left; he had work to do and ideas to ponder as he worked.

"Hmmm - so the good doctor bought you lunch, did he?" The old lady smiled like the cat that just ate the cream. 

"Now, Granny, don't you go imaginin' nothin'! He is just a very kind man. He saw I was in need of food and didn't have no pocketbook, so he bought my lunch. He was jist bein' kind."

"Okay, child. I get the picture. I've warned you about goin' too long without food. You got faint, didn't you?"

"Yes'm, I did. But I'm fine now. Do you want me to stay the night with you?"

"No, Missy. You jist get yoreself right on home now. They is chores to do, you know. That old cow ain't gonna milk herself  this afternoon, and you jist take care of things, so's I don't have to worry. That doctor is gonna take good care of me." 

The old lady smiled knowingly, and sent Arlissa on her way after getting a kiss from her. 

Arlissa left, hoping she wouldn't run into that horrible Trooper Odom when she headed back home. She would certainly not go tearing down the road the way she had earlier. 

Unknown to her, he was having troubles of his own. 

Bobby Joe was finding out that five miles as the crow flies was quite a bit farther than five miles on the road. These mountain roads curved around and sometimes the curve became a switchback curve. When he had traveled about ten miles by road, he began to think he was going to miss the O'Hanlon farm completely. He had gone down many dirt roads only to find they were the wrong ones.

"Did that old farmer send me on a wild goose chase?" He was asking himself, when he saw yet another dirt road taking off to the left. He almost missed it, because he was thinking about Arlissa and wondering if maybe she would go out with him. She sure was a cute little gal. Maybe if he took her some candy or something and tried to apologize to her, she would forgive him.

Whoa! There it was! He was sure this time. It looked very well traveled. The cycle kicked up the dust as he rode down the short path and saw the mailbox with the names O'Hanlon and Tunstall on it. Two names - now that was interesting; there had to be a story there. 

As he pulled into the driveway, he saw a little kid maybe two or three years old, with dark brown eyes and chocolate colored hair playing in the gravels.  The child jumped up and ran to the screen door shouting, "Mama! Mama! Cycle! Polizia!" 

The screen door opened and out came a woman who could be Arlissa's twin sister in looks, except she was a bit larger. The hair and the eyes were the same, but she looked at him with some suspicion. 

She pulled the boy to her side and told him to go back inside.

"But, Mama. Cycle!" He was pulling away from her; she was pushing him inside the house and stepping inside as though protecting him. She locked the screen door and almost had the back door closed before he got to it. 

"Wait! I just want to talk to you, Ma'am. Are you kin to Zeb O'Hanlon?"

"Why are you asking that? Who are you? What are you doing here? Did Alberto send you?"

"Ma'am, I don't know any Alberto, but I do know Zeb. Are you Marie?" 

"No-o-o." She drew out the word in several syllables. "Who are you and how do you know Zeb?"

"Is there anyone else here? Maybe your Ma?"

Just then a lady that was older came to the back door, and when she saw his uniform, her curiosity was roused as well.

"Young man, can I help you? What are you doing here? Aren't you a little off the beaten path?"

He smiled, "To tell you the honest truth ma'am, I had quite a bit of trouble finding the right beaten path. Are you Zeb O'Hanlon's mother?"

"Why? Is he hurt? Has he had an accident? Why is a state trooper coming to my home asking about Zeb?"

"Oh, no ma'am! He's a buddy of mine from police academy back in Tennessee. I didn't realize he might live close to where I am today patrolling the roads until I met a young woman this morning who looked a lot like him. A Miss Arlissa Hinton?"

"You know Arlissa?" the young woman asked. 

"Well, yes, I had occasion to stop her this morning when she was flying down the road, kinda weaving all over it and bawling her eyes out, with that red hair flying out the window. I realized when I met her that she sure looked a lot like Zeb with those blue eyes and red hair. Just like you have, ma'am."

"Wait a minute! Why was Arlissa crying, anyway? What happened?"

The young woman seemed agitated, so he knew she really cared about Arlissa. 

"Her granny was being taken to the hospital over in Amblin. She apparently had a spell with her heart. Miss Arlissa was following the ambulance and she had forgotten her purse; well, it's a long story."

"Did you give her a ticket?" The young woman looked more irate than even Arlissa had, and that was going some. Apparently these people took a dim view of the authority of the police officers. 

"Ma'am, I am not the heartless person you people seem to think. I did not give her a ticket but kind of gave her a follow in all the way to the hospital, and apologized to her."

"Well, you can go now. We'll see to her. Ma, you want to go see what we can do to help out? I need to stay here with Benny. I'll tell Jake when he comes in after while."

"Let me call the hospital first and check on her Granny. Oh, my!" 

"Wait! I wanted to tell you my name. It's Bobby Joe Odom."

She turned to him and said, "Of course! Zeb told me about you. I'm so glad he had such a good friend as you. Rosie here is his sister." Turning and looking at Rosie, she smiled.

"Ma, I'd just as soon you not broadcast the fact that I'm here. Okay? For right now, anyway."

That comment, along with the earlier reception raised a red flag in Trooper Odom's mind. This woman was hiding something. Hmmm. Interesting. Bobby Joe had an inquisitive mind, much like his pal, Zeb's. 

He decided to ask a few questions, it being his nature and all. 

"Say, Miss Rosie, that's a mighty handsome little fella you got there! I must say he don't look anything like you, though. He your little boy?"

Her temper flared and she grew so pale her freckles stood out on her face. 

"Of course, he's mine! Why would you even ask such a question?" Tears sprang to her eyes and a wild look came into them. "Why are you here?"

"I just told you, Ma'am, I was trying to find out if you all were kin to Arlissa Hinton. She favors you all in looks so very much. She sure is pretty, too." He smiled, remembering Arlissa's temper and what fun he had had verbally fencing with her. 

"Well, we ain't no kin to her, far as we know. She just happens to have that color hair. I reckon it's a common color."

"Ah, no ma'am. Maybe the hair, but that particular shade of blue eyes? Uh-uh. Gotta be more than co-incidence, far as I'm concerned. If I were you, I'd be checking your family history, especially since she comes from round here. Um - what can you tell me about her background? You know her pa's name? Is her Grandmother's name the same as her daddy's name?"

Rosie just looked at him like he had two heads and slammed the door. 

Hmmm. thought Bobby Joe, now that was an interesting reaction. Little did he know that Rosie had often wondered the same thing herself about kinship with the Hintons. 

Just as he was getting ready to leave on his cycle, an old truck pulled up into the yard and a dog jumped from the truck bed, and barked at him furiously. 

Naturally, he had to wait until the owner of the truck emerged and walked toward him. It was an older man, probably in his seventies. 

"What is the matter, young man? Why is a state cop off the beaten path, out here at the Tunstalls? Somethin' happened to one a' them?"

"No, sir. I was just lookin' to find out if they was any kin to someone I know. I'm getting ready to go." 

He reached over to shake hands with the old fellow. 

"Name's Bobby Joe Odom, sir. And you are...?"

"Never mind who I am. I jist come by to check on them. Heard a trooper was nosin' into their business. We don't take too kindly to strangers out here."

"Yes, sir. Well, it was nice meeting you. Sorry to have troubled you. Nice dog you have there. He don't bite, does he?"

"Only strangers he don't know, if they hang around too long."
The old man grinned and spat tobacco on the ground. Then he called his dog to his side and walked toward the house.

Bobby Joe climbed on his cycle, started it up and went on his way, more curious than ever. What were they hiding? His friend Zeb was one of the most open people he knew; why were they different?

He took off and turned his head once, only to see the old fellow stopping outside the house and looking back suspiciously at him, watching him drive away. 

Bobby Joe soon figured out why the old fella had showed up when he did; it must have been the neighborhood telegraph. When he stopped the old guy on the tractor and inquired about the O'Hanlons, the old guy passed on the word to another neighbor and pretty soon, it became common knowledge. By telephone perhaps? 

It certainly gave him food for thought. He headed back to the road to continue his patrolling. Seems he was really getting caught up in the lives of these people here in the Cumberland Mountains. 

At the O'Hanlon's, Rosie was sitting at the kitchen table talking to her Ma. 

"I wonder if he was really telling the truth about why he was here. What a flimsy story he told about Arlissa looking like me!"

"Honey, when was the last time you really looked at your face and hair in the mirror? You know, he was right about the resemblance, it's uncanny. And what about your friend? You haven't been around to see her at all since you've been back here."

"Ma! You know I can't get out and take the chance on word getting back to Alberto! He would try to take Benny from me and I couldn't bear that! He may be little Benito's father, but he'll never get him. I'll die first."

The child looked up at his mother and said, "Mama cry? Not cry, Mama! Me not let him hit you again!" 

He stood fiercely at her knees, clinching his little brown fists, in his protective mode, looking up into her face earnestly. 

"Oh, Benito! How could I ever live without you? Please don't worry. Mama is going to be okay. You are the sunshine of my life!"

"Me sunshine?" He giggled. "Me not be able to shine from sky. You so funny, Mama!"

She hugged him close to her, so tightly that he squirmed, but when she relaxed her hold a bit, he snuggled into her shoulder, sitting comfortably in her lap.

Grasping his face between her hands, she kissed both his cheeks and hugged him to her again. 

"Now, you go to your room and play awhile with your cars, okay? And don't worry about your Mama! We are going to be fine." 

Giving him a pat on the behind, she set him down to run and play. Then she sat back in her chair, and asked, "Mama, what am I going to do if he finds us?"

"Now, Rosie, we'll make plans to protect you both. Now here's what we'll do if he shows up." 

Putting their heads together, they made contingency plans and then leaned back in their chairs. Maybe it would work; they'd never know until the time came. 

******

Arlissa was almost home when her tire blew out and it simply went flat. 

"Oh, no! What next? I don't know if I can deal with it all! What am I going to do now?" she wailed.

The car was sitting at an angle on the side of the road, and the man behind the wheel of an oncoming truck saw her plight. Pulling over, he rolled down his car window.

"Arlissa! What are you doing out here at this time of day? Oh, oh! You have a flat, I see!"

Looking up, she smiled through her tears. 

"Oh, hello, Mr. Tunstall!" She got out of the car and looked at the tire. "Can you help me fix it?"

"You got a spare?"

"No, this is the spare. I had to have it put on a couple of weeks ago. What am I going to do?"

"I think maybe I've got a cold patch here in my tool box. I can fix it for you temporarily. Let me get my jack and take the tire off, and then I can put the cold patch on it, and inflate it for you."

"Oh, thank you! I didn't know what I was goin' to do!"

"Now, tell me...what are you out here for?"

"My Granny's sick and in the hospital and I was jist comin' home to take care of the animals and all."

"Ah! I see. Well, I'll be sure and tell the womenfolk at the house. Say, did you know Rosie is at home now?"

When Arlissa got home, she immediately went into the house and sat down to think about all that had happened that day, along with her situation. What was she going to do? How could  she take care of Granny and go in to work next week? 

'Rosie is home! I've got to go see her as soon as I do my chores around here! Oh, I can hardly wait to see her and find out where she's been and why she left so sudden...We were so close and then... she was up and gone, like overnight!'

Arlissa hurried with the rest of her chores. Then, grabbing her purse she ran out to the car to drive over to the neighboring farm, but then decided she could use the walk. After all, it was only a little over two miles and she could really use the exercise after sitting around all morning and half the day at the hospital. 

She decided she might even run part of the way, so taking off at a gentle lope, was soon well on her way.  

The wind felt good blowing over her face and her hair streamed out behind her. She felt free and began to be excited to be talking to her best friend for the first time in several years. Remembering about the last time they had talked, it came back to her about how dissatisfied with life Rosie had been. Oh, yeah, she wanted to get away from the restrictions of the farm life. 

When Arlissa thought about it, she realized that Rosie seemed to have a wild streak that couldn't be tamed "living out in the sticks" with no big shops and city streets. Come to think of it, Rosie hadn't really been happy since Lissa had known her. 

'Lissa' was what Rosie had nicknamed her and Arlissa found she kind of liked the sound of it. It seemed that her friend liked short cuts to a lot of things. 

Before she knew it, she had reached the farmhouse and was knocking on the back door. She saw the curtain being pulled to one side over the door window and Mrs. Tunstall's face appearing. Rosie's mother flung open the door.

"Oh, Arlissa! It's so good to see you! I've missed you lately. Come on in and sit a spell. Here, take this chair at the kitchen table. We were just getting ready to eat."

"Rosie, look who's here!"

Rosie came in from the bathroom where she had been washing her son's face and hands. When she saw Lissa, she ran and hugged her fiercely.

"Oh, Lissa! It's so good to see you again! Let me look at you! Ah, you've gotten thinner since I saw you. What have you been doing? Starving yourself?"

"No, just stayin' busy on the farm. That was goin' to be my question for you! What have you been up to, bein' gone all this time and not writin' nobody?" 

Just then, she saw a little boy peeking around the doorway of the bathroom, looking at her. In reaction, she cast a puzzled look at Rosie. 

"Rosie?" 

Her friend noticed the look on Lissa's face and turned to see her son watching them. 

"Well, hello, little one! I haven't seen you before. You must be Rosie's little boy; how adorable you are! My name is Lissa. Won't you come and shake my hand?"

"You look like my Mama!" declared the child.

"That's just a co-incidence, little one."

"My name not little one; me is Benito. You call me Benny."

"How old is Benny?"

He held up three fingers very carefully. It wasn't long before Lissa was sitting with Benny in her lap and he was chattering away with her like an old friend. This worried Rosie; she had cautioned him about talking to strangers. It seemed this just didn't apply to Lissa.

Looking at Rosie, she began to form a question, only to be cut off by her friend. Rosie shook her head in a negative manner as if to say, "Not now! Later."

"Listen, why don't you all come over and visit me tonight? My Granny is in the hospital and it'll be lonesome over there by myself. Bring Benny and have supper with me. Then he can play and we can talk. Please?"

Rosie sent a questioning look in Jake and Anna's direction.

"That is a good idea said her mother. Benny needs to get out and you could do with some time away from here. I'll call if anything comes up here while you are there."

"Okay, Ma. If you think so. But don't answer the door to any strangers, okay? If you have any trouble, don't hesitate to call the Sheriff."

Uh-oh! What kind of trouble was Rosie in? It seemed trouble just gravitated toward her naturally, thought Lissa. She had some questions to be answered alright. 

Arlissa picked the child up and the three of them left the farmhouse and headed home. She ran lightly with the boy in her arms. 

"You don't weigh any more than a peck of feathers!"

"Chickens?"

"Yes, chickens have feathers. Do you like the chickens?"

They chattered on as they went; Rosie looking about them anxiously, as though watching for someone to jump out at them.

That settled it, Lissa thought. Someone was after Rosie and her baby. Where was the boy's father? Why were they here as though in hiding? All questions that she wanted to know the answers for.

Within a very short time, they were inside the farm house. She had been seeing heavy clouds building in the sky. A storm was headed their way and she needed to make sure the animals and chickens were in the barn and chicken house. 

"Rosie, how about helping me get the cows and the chickens in to shelter? I need to close the hen house for the night, and maybe feed them a bit first. You want to help feed the chickens, Benny?"

"Yes, feed chickens!" He jumped up and down with joy. "Me feed chickens?" 

Taking Lissa by the hand, he began pulling her out the back door. She laughed with delight and looked at him enviously. One day, she would like to have some little boys of her own, but wasn't sure at the rate she was going that it would ever happen. 

Looking down at her brogans, she was sure that in her present state, no eligible courtier was going to even glance her way. Oh, well! It was something to dream about! 

Out the door they went, laughing and giggling. She picked up the chicken feed bucket from the back porch table and down the steps.


 

(To be continued)

Arlissa - Her Story. - Day 1-14

Arlissa Hinton picked up the mirror and looked at her reflection. Her grandma had given her the comb and mirror set many years ago. It had belonged to her Ma, Eleanor Mae Hinton. Her Ma had died in childbirth, leaving Granny and Grandpa to raise little Arlissa June alone. Grandpa had died when Arlissa was just about seven. It had been just Granny and Arlissa all these years since, and now...but never mind about that, she had work to do.

The pigs had to be fed, along with a few other farm animals they still had. Laying down the mirror, and putting down the comb she had been raking through her red curls, she picked up her old straw hat, jamming it onto her head to keep the sun from making more freckles on the already sprinkled face. Her hair and her freckles were the bane of her existence. 

Granny was always reminding her that looks weren't important, it was what was on the inside that counted. 

"I guess that's true enough," she said aloud, "but I wonder if I'll ever meet anybody who'll want to get to know the real me on the inside."

Arlissa was twenty-four and still single, with no prospects even in sight.., sighing, she picked up the bucket of food scraps and walked down the lane to the pig lot. The pigs were rooting around in the mud, making snuffling sounds, as though they would find food in the mud. 

Leaning over the fence, she poured the scraps into the pig trough and called to the pigs. 

"Sooey...sooey...here you go. Come and get it!"

She picked up a corn cob from the ground outside the pen and rubbed the back of the old sow. She knew the pigs enjoyed having that done and she loved to scratch their backs and hear the response. 

This was a Saturday and she didn't have to work in town today. She had spent her entire life on this farm, and wondered if she would ever leave it. Leaning on the fence, she began day-dreaming again. 

Would she ever find true-love? None of the fellas in town even measured up to her ideal man. He would be tall and handsome, with brown hair and eyes, and he would speak words of romantic love to her. She sighed, and twirled around, only to see Granny standing behind her, glaring.

Casting her Granny a sheepish grin, she replied.

"Sorry, Granny, I reckon as how I just got carried away on a sea of thoughts. It won't happen again."

"Ha! If I believed that, you could sell me anything. Now, girl, you get on out to the chicken house and feed them pore chickens. I know they must be starvin' by now, waitin' fer you to get to 'em. If I warn't so crippled up with rheumatiz, I'd not be callin' on you to do everthang fer me. Wishin' don't make it so."

So saying, she turned and headed for the house, leaving Arlissa to regret worrying her.

Hurrying to feed the chickens, she grabbed up the pan of chicken feed and began throwing it on the ground so they could feed. She had to kick at the old rooster to keep him from trying to spur her legs. He was a mean one, all right, but he did keep the hens in line, she reckoned. 

Arlissa had soon finished with her chores outside and then went inside to find her Granny sitting in a cane-bottomed chair, stringing green beans for supper. She grabbed up the family photo album, and went to sit beside Granny. 

"Is there a picture of my daddy in here, Granny?"

"Child, there you go again with all your endless questions! Why must you pester me continually with them? I already told you that I don't know who your Daddy was. Your Mama didn't tell me anything."

Granny looked down at the beans she was stringing and breaking, unable to look at Arlissa in the eyes. She couldn't tell her granddaughter that she had made a deathbed promise not to relate the truth to Arlissa. She was bound by that promise.
Arlissa held the photo album clasped to her breast and sat there daydreaming and wondering if her father were a wealthy man who was going to drive up some day in a big fine automobile and claim her as his daughter....

"Arlissy, you cleaned out the cow stall yet?" Her granny's voice interrupted her reverie once again. "Child, you know hits got ta be done. Lord knows I druther do it myself and be done with hit. I hate to go on at you, girl, but you gotta wake up and get on with reality."  Granny tsked, tsked and shook her head disparagingly.

"Granny, did my Pa come a courtin' my Ma? What did he look like?  Was he tall and handsome? Did he have hair the color of mine?  What about his eyes? Were they the same blue as mine? Did he bring flowers to her? Please just tell me something, anything about him...please, Granny." By this time Arlissa was seated in the floor at her granny's feet, gazing up into Granny's face.

Her request ended with a sob.

Granny Hinton had to wipe away a tear as she placed a gentle hand on the top of the girl's head. It was becoming more difficult as each day flew by to resist the imploring of this girl she loved so dearly. Once again, Granny hardened her resolve and refused to answer the myriad of questions.

"I'm sorry, it's not my right to tell you any of those things."

"Then whose right IS it, Granny? Tell me that, please."

"Well, that would be his."

"But..."

Arlissa gave up for the moment and, putting the album away, went outside, dejectedly, to finish her chores.

In the meantime, Granny went to her bedroom and removed the small cedar box where she kept her private papers. Opening the box, she removed a folded paper full of creases and reread it for perhaps the thousandth time.


Reading the paper through, Granny refolded it and placed it once again in his resting place. She told herself that she was doing the right thing by keeping the truth from her granddaughter. 

"It has to be the right thing, Lord! You know how much the truth would hurt her. I jist cain't do that to my darlin' little Arlissy! I promised her Ma it would go to the grave with her, and I cain't go back on my word. She'll know the truth when I'm gone and she reads that paper. I won't have to watch the pain on her face and know what she's goin' through. I know I'm weak, Lord, please make me strong enough to do what I must."

The old woman was bent low over the box in her lap, weeping over her lost daughter and the child her Ellie had born. Her hands rested on top of the box, until finally, about an hour later, she arose and limping over to the dresser, replaced the box where it was kept. 

Granny Hinton went into the kitchen to find Arlissa putting the green beans on the stove and adding wood to the fire to cook them. 

"Don't fergit ta add some fat back to them beans fer flavorin'."

"Okay, Granny. You know I've only done this hundreds a times." She smiled fondly at the old woman, with no sting in her reply. Everything was on an even keel once again. 

Granny smiled in return. This girl was the light of her life; she didn't know how she could ever leave this earth and the delight of her smile. One day, though, she would have to, and she knew it. 

"Do you think I'll ever have a feller come courtin' me?" 

"Now, Arlissy... where'd that question come from, anyhow?"

"Well, do you? I meet some fellers come to the drug store, but they ain't anything I'd want comin' to the farm to set out front on the porch with me." 

"Well, I guess  you are gettin' kinda long in the tooth, now that I look at you," was Granny's wry reply. 

"Awww, Granny! Now you gone and makin' fun of me. I'm bein' serious! I wanta get married and have babies of my own. I wanta meet some body to love me forever!" 

Granny put a hand over her chest as if by doing so, she could stop the brief pains that were invading more often than ever. 

"You been to see the Doc about them pains, Granny?" Her sharp eyes never missed a thing when it came to the well-being of her mentor and rock.

"Oh, come on, now, Arlissy! You know he ain't nothin' but a quack on two feet. I'm doin' fine, girl; now don't you be worryin' yore head about me. Prob'ly jist some gas from eatin' my breakfast too fast. I'll take some sody after while and it'll clear up in no time."

"Don't you go and die on me, Granny! I don't have nobody but you! You cain't go and leave me!" By this time Arlissa had flung herself into Granny's arms, hugging her tightly.

"Land sakes, girl! Don't carry on so! I ain't goin' today! Now, go wash that purty face a' yours and quit that bellerin', fore I turn you over my checkedy apern. You hear me?"

"Yes, Granny." Arlissa left to wash her face and Granny just sat back down into her chair and sighed. 

"Lord, help! That girl should a' gone into stage actin', she's that dramatic and all. Everything is a crisis to her. Wonder where she gets it from? Not my side of the fam'ly, that's fer sure. Prob'ly that no-good pa a' hers. He sure put on a good act!" 

Arlissa hung up the drying towel on the little hook over the kitchen sink, and looked out the window. She watched as the hummingbirds built a nest in the trees near the fence that bordered their garden. What beautiful creatures they were, with their banded white and blue wings, flying around each other. 

She listened through the open window, trying to catch a bit of their song, but right now they were busy building. Spring was in bloom and this was the happiest time of the year for her. 

Thinking about springtime always reminded her of her friend, Rosie O'Halloran. What had happened to her? Why hadn't she heard from Rosie, at least a letter would be nice. We were so close for three years, after her Granny passed on. I thought we had so much in common, especially the color of our hair and eyes. 

It's true she was a year older than I, but she was my best friend. How could she just go off and not let me know. Her Ma, she don't know neither. I'm jist stumped on knowin' the answers to those questions. Seems like I ain't destined to know no answers to any a' my questions.

Shaking her red curls in disgust, Arlissa turned and checked on the progress of the green beans cooking on the stove. At least she knew how to cook and clean and iron and all that stuff. IF she ever got a man, she'd know how to keep house for him, Arlissa reckoned. 

Hearing a bumping noise from the living room, she ran in to find Granny in the floor. 

"Granny, Granny! What happened? Are you okay?"

"Arlissy...Honey...get my...pills outta my...pocketbook. Put one in under...my tongue." The old lady was gasping for breath. 

Running to the end table, she grabbed up the purse and rummaged around in it looking for the pill bottle. When she finally found it, her nervous fingers had trouble opening the bottle and she spilled about half the contents into the purse.

"Settle down now, you dummy," she mumbled to herself. "You'll never save Granny this way!" 

"Here, Granny, open your mouth." She gently placed the small pill under her Granny's tongue, then began timing on the mantle clock. 

Picking up a pillow from the sofa, she put it carefully under the old woman's head, and grabbing the quilt from the sofa as well, covered her with it.

As she watched her granny's face slowly easing from the pain etched on it, she picked up the phone and asked for the doctor's office. 

"I don't care if he is busy," she told the doctor's wife, who was also his office nurse. "She's havin' a spell with her heart and she needs medical help right away!"

She listened for a few minutes and then said, "Okay...okay...yes, I gave her one and the pain seems to be easin' off some. What? You will? Okay."

Hanging up the phone, Arlissa turned to her Granny. 

"The doctor is sending Hanson's  Funeral Home ambu-lance out to us to carry you into the hospital over Amblin way."

"But..honey girl, we cain't afford no hospital right now," protested the old woman, who then tried to sit up.

"Shhh-hhh. Now don't be frettin', Granny! I know what I'm a doin'. We'll manage. We gotta get you back on your feet and bein' under constant care for awhile is the only way to do it. I'll ride over with you and won't let them do nothin' bad."

Granny Hinton lay back, knowing it was useless to argue with her granddaughter, who was just as determined to get her way as the old lady was. They were two of a kind, all right. 

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree," she thought as she drifted off to sleep.

It was only a few minutes, although it seemed like forever to the girl, until she heard the wail of the vehicle speeding toward the farm. She ran to the door to give them access to the house. 

"She's in here in the floor. I was afraid to move her. She's havin' heart pains in her chest." 

The men came in quietly pushing the gurney and very gently picked up the old lady, placing her carefully on the pallet covering the gurney and fastened the straps around her to keep her safe.

"I'm goin' to ride in the ambu-lance with you," Arlissa informed them.

"Miss Arlissa, beg pardon, but won't you need some transportation to get around in whilst you're over in Amblin? Why don't you just foller us in your car?"

It made sense to her, but she also knew her car needed some work done on it; she just hadn't had the money or time to take care of it. Maybe it would be okay. 

"All right. If Granny wakes up, tell her I'm follerin' y'all and I'll be there soon." 

Transporting the old lady out the front door to the vehicle, they were very careful with her and gently placed the gurney inside the back of the van.

Arlissa watched them leave with not a little trepidation; she felt she wasn't doing the right thing by letting them take her Granny without her. What if Granny woke up and called for her. Granny would be all alone with strangers. 

The girl's hands shook as she reached for the keys hanging next to the door and locked the front door. She ran out to the shed where the car was parked, praying as she ran. 

Climbing into the car, she turned the ignition and stepped on the starter. Nothing. Jiggling the key in the ignition, she tried again. Nothing. Now what? She sat there crying and praying. She waited a few minutes and tried again.

Finally, she heard the welcome sound of the engine turning over and sent up a prayer of thanks. Pretty soon, she was pulling out of the yard and onto the road. 

Flooring the foot pedal, she soon was flying down the road on her way to Amblin. The ambulance had left twenty minutes ago. It would be there long before she made it. The window was down and she tried rolling it up, but it wouldn't budge. 

She realized she was slightly weaving across the middle line in the highway and stopped trying to roll up the window. Just as she was trying to get more speed out of the car, she heard the sound of a siren, and looked up into the rear view mirror. There was a blue light flashing and heading toward her.

Little did Arlissa know that it was the state trooper's first day on the job. He was also new to the area. One would never know from the swagger he displayed that any of this was the case. 

Arlissa had pulled over and as she waited for the trooper to approach her; she noted his confident manner. 'Big bully!' she thought to herself. 'They always like to bully us poor women!'.

Her attitude when he came to her car window was one of belligerence and she had a scowl on her face, to boot. 

"Ma'am, could I please see your license and registration, please?" he asked very politely. "You do realize you were doing 60 on a road that is posted at 30 miles per hour, don't you?"

Arlissa looked down at the empty seat beside her, realizing that in her haste she had forgotten to pick up her purse. She didn't even have any money with her! Where in tarnation was her head, anyway? 

"I'm sorry, officer. I seem to have been in such a hurry that I forgot my pocketbook and left it at home." She had been crying and hiccoughed. 

'Uh-oh', the officer thought when he heard the hiccough, 'this cute little gal has been drinking.'. "Ma'am, would you please step from the car?" He said, opening the car door. "Keep your hands where I can see them. You got any alcohol in the vehicle?" he asked, looking around, visually searching the car.

"Listen, officer!" she hiccoughed again. "I'm on my way..." 

He cut her explanation short and said, "Ma'am. Could you please step this way?" 

"What do you think I've done, anyway?" She asked him, "robbed a bank or something? I'm on my way... My Granny..."

"Ma'am," he said, taking note of her blue eyes and unique shade of red hair, "I'm giving you a field sobriety test. It seems you're hiccoughing a lot for somebody who is driving a car." 

Leaning close in to her to smell her breath, only to catch the aroma of the lotion she had applied to her face that morning. It smelled like apple blossoms. 

He had seen the wild red curls blowing in the wind, through the open window as she flew past him earlier. They reminded him of someone; then when he got close to her, he saw the unique blue of her eyes. 

Furiously, Arlissa pulled her head back in and jumped out of the car. Looking down, she saw the shoes she was wearing. They were the clod-hoppers that she wore working around the farm. They were muddy from feeding the pigs near the pig lot and then she noticed her dress. It was torn near the hem; all that just made her more angry; realizing she would be among people who were much better dressed when she got to the hospital...if she ever made it with this horrible man leaning over her!!

"Look," she began anew, "My Granny..."

"Ah, the poor Granny again...aren't you kinda getting tired of bringing her into the mix? She wasn't driving the car, so don't be blaming her for your troubles. She wasn't speeding along a public road with her red hair flying out the window." He smiled superciliously at her.

"Now, your name, please. We'll just forget the sobriety test, since I don't smell any alcohol on you." Leaning over, he took another sniff, then smiled again.

He had his brand new, unused as yet, book of tickets and pen, poised and ready to write his first one. 

Arlissa didn't have the red hair for no reason. She also had the temper to go with it, when riled up enough. She had had it with this contemptible arrogant young man. 

Picking up her right foot, she aimed it for his shin, only to slip in the gravels where she was standing, and landed seat first in them. 

Surprised, the officer looked down at the beauty, fuming at his feet. Her face was about as red as her curls, and she was so angry, she was near tears again. 

"You insufferable wretch!" She shouted at him, not giving him a chance to say anything. "MY GRANNY IS IN THE HOSPITAL!! I'm..I'm..tryyying to get to her." She finished, sobbing as though her heart were breaking.

The young patrolman felt terrible, but didn't know what to do. So his only defense was an offense. 

"Well, why didn't you just say so?"

He helped her to her feet, as he asked the question. 

She stood nose to nose with him, well, almost; after all, he was a head taller than she. Defiantly, she spoke in a tone that showed her ire.

"Because, you stupid jerk, you didn't give me a chance. You kept interruptin' me, every time I tried to tell you! You have some nerve, trying to blame me for your not listening!"

"Okay, I'm going to let you go with a warning this time; but, just you watch out, because I'm going to be keeping my eyes on you in the future. You are a dangerous person, in my estimation!" 

She looked down at the badge on his uniform. It had the word, "Odom" engraved on it. 

"Okay, Officer Odom, you can just bet I'll not forget this treatment of a good citizen. You big oaf!" 

Flouncing over to the car and flinging the door open, she hurtled into the seat, put the car into gear, and tried to start it up. Much to her chagrin, it refused to start. 

Officer Bobby Joe Odom simply stood to one side and grinned that smarmy smile. 

She flashed an antagonistic look in his direction and tried the ignition again; she was daring him to say anything. 

He couldn't resist the temptation, however, so he simply lifted his eyebrows and asked, "Are you sure you even know how to start a vehicle? You seem a little wet behind the ears." 

Her face flamed red again, but she kept trying until finally they both heard the chug of the engine. 

"Be careful, now, Ma'am. I'd hate to find your pretty little self all strung out across the road somewhere." 

As she drove off, flinging gravel from the tires, she heard his annoying laughter echoing in her ears.

Kentucky State Trooper, Robert J. Odom, Jr., fresh from Tennessee, stood watching as the lovely, angry, red-headed girl took flight and mused about her. 

"Hmmm. Maybe, I'll just follow her on into the place where she said she is going, and make sure she gets there okay. She could have more trouble with that old clunker she is driving.  After all, I am responsible for keeping people safe and all." 

Deciding that is exactly what he would do, he swaggered back to his motorcycle, donned his helmet and climbed on to the huge cycle, revved it up and took off after the girl he was sure was somehow related to his friend, Zeb O'Hanlon. He wasn't going to let her get away without finding out. Making a mental note of the license plate on her car, he would find out her name and where she lived later. She knew his name and he was determined not to let it remain one-sided.

Meanwhile, in the car, Arlissa was still fuming, and even more worried about her granny. She was so involved in worrying about her granny's health, she took no note of the car that by now was behind her, but not too close to her. He was just keeping far enough back not to lose her. 

Arlissa was praying very hard for her dear Granny. 

"Please, Lord, keep her safe. Don't let my trouble this morning interfere. Thank you for not letting that awful fella give me a ticket. I'm sorry I lost my temper with him, but he is awfully bossy! And so mean!" 

She felt her temper again begin to simmer and realizing how silly it all was, she began laughing almost hysterically, until tears came to her eyes and she was weeping once again. 

"I've got to stop this! I'm a wreck! I can't let that feller get to me like he did. I'll probably never see him again, and it cain't be too soon!" 

Arlissa had been driving carefully for fear of being stopped again, and finally pulled into one of the emergency parking places at the Amblin General Hospital. Grabbing the keys from the ignition, she jumped out of the car and ran into the emergency room.

Bobby Joe turned his cycle around and resumed his duties as a state trooper. He didn't want to get into trouble on his very first day. Heading back to the road he just left, he reflected on how he had gotten this job. 

His uncle, not wanting any further responsibility for him, felt he should be out on his own and not dependent on his uncle for keeping him out of trouble. His uncle had spoken to a friend high up in the Kentucky State Troopers and put in a very good word for Bobby Joe. 

"Now, Bobby, I've gone out on a limb for you for the very last time. It's going to be up to you to do the best you can with it. We've gotten you through the academy here in Tennessee, and now you're going to have to make it on your own when you get to Kentucky. Learn the rules and then stick to them. You hear me, boy?" 

"Yes, sir. Loud and clear!"

"You're representing our whole family where ever you go. Don't bring shame on us."

"Uh, yes, sir." He had given him a mocking salute and his uncle had just shook his head in dismay. 

However, Bobby was determined to do a good job. People just didn't give him credit, he felt. He really did try to be a good example. Somehow...well, somehow, things just kinda went wrong sometimes.


Arlissa ran into the E.R. as fast as she could, and up to the reception desk. 

"Please, could you tell me where the lady is that Hanson's brought in here a little while ago?"

"Are you related to her, Miss?"

"Yes, yes! She's my Granny. Where is she? I need to see how she is doing!" 

By now Arlissa was feeling frantic and panicky. She was squeezing her keys as though she thought she could break them into. 

"The doctor will be out to talk to you in a few minutes, Miss. Just have a seat over there in one of those chairs."

That didn't sound good at all. Why wouldn't they let her go back and see her Granny? Well, she had had enough of being pushed around for one day. She would just wait till the woman was busy and not looking, then she'd go find her Granny. After all, how hard could it be to find one little woman?

Sure enough, soon the receptionist was talking on the phone and not looking at her; she crept quietly as she could around the end of the desk and made her way through the curtains covering the doorway. 

*****
Meanwhile, Bobby Joe was back on the job patrolling the roads. His two way radio didn't work too well here in these hills, so he couldn't report in as often as he was supposed to. Still, he stayed busy, and made notes in his little notebook he carried with him so that he could justify all the time he spent. 

He heard some crackling sounds coming from his two-way and caught the words "crash and Hinkle Road". He pulled his cycle over to the side of the road and pulled out his area map, searching for Hinkle Road. There it was! Just three miles away. Folding away the map, he started up the cycle and took off. 

In just a few minutes he had found the site of the crash. It looked like a bad one; a car had missed the curve and plowed into a tree. He ran over to see a young driver slumped at the wheel; another car was stopped at the site, along with other people who had apparently come from nearby. 

"Officer, this boy needs help, but we were afeered to move him." An old man was talking to Bobby Joe. 

"Have you called an ambulance?" 

"My grandson ran down to the general store and called Hanson's Funeral Home. They got the onliest ambulance around these parts. They said that they's out on a run right now, takin' Ms. Hinton in to Amblin Hospital, but they'll come as soon as they kin." 

The boy standing nearby nodded his head in agreement.

Officer Bobby Joe hurried over to the injured driver and felt for a pulse. When he did, he caught the odor of alcohol. He was very familiar with that odor, and it didn't take him long to get the whole picture.

Soon Arlissa was peeking into the little cubicles where the emergency patients lay and whispering, "Granny!" searching frantically for her ailing grandmother. 

Finally, at the very end curtained cubicle, she found her Granny with an oxygen mask on her face. All at once, the girl felt weak in her knees and pulling up a chair, sat down next to the old lady's bed. 

"Oh, Granny, please - please don't die. You gotta get better. You can do it. I know you can."

"Hush, child! I ain't dead yet. Don't be a buryin' me afore it's time. Stop that caterwaulin'! Ya hear me?" 

"Yes, Granny. Have you seen the doc yet?"

"Yeah, I seen one. He's a young whippersnapper. Ain't never met him afore. He's mighty cute, Arlissy! Might be a feller fer ya." The old lady eyed her attire. 

"What air you a wearin' that old rag fer? And them clodhopper shoes with the dried mud all over them? Girl - ain't no wonder no body wants ta come a courtin' you. Look at you! Couldn't you at least a changed into somethin' decent afore you come a gallavantin' over here? And that wild hair! You been a drivin' with them winders open agin? I cain't afford to die and leave you not able ta take better care of yoreself than this."

By this time the old lady was half-sitting up in bed, and just as she did, the before mentioned doctor stepped behind the curtain. He frowned at the scene taking place. 

"Young woman, who gave you authority to be back here? You're going to have to leave right now!"

"This is my Granny! I ain't goin' nowhere." Arlissa crossed her arms in front of her and stood her ground. 

The doctor just politely picked her up and turning to her Granny, he said, "Mrs. Hinton, lie back and rest. I'll be right back in a couple of minutes."

Arlissa was so mortified, she said nothing. She sniffed. Hmm, that was nice cologne the doctor was wearing, she thought. She looked up into his stony face, admiring the clean way he was shaven. He took her past the reception desk and sat her in a chair. 

"Don't you move until I come back to talk to you. Understand?"

Then, speaking to the woman behind the desk, "Keep your eyes on her. Don't let her sneak past you again!" So saying, he marched out of the room, heading back to Granny. 

******
In the meantime, Officer Odom was questioning the neighbors who stood around the wrecked vehicle. 

"Does anyone know this young man?"

"Yeah, that's the Peterson boy. He runs wild and ain't got nobody but a drunken pa who don't care no more since the boy's ma died a few years ago. Can't nobody control him. Don't nobody else care much either. Always gettin' inta trouble of all kinds. Stealin' stuff, smokin' pot, runnin' with a rough crowd. Sister tries to keep him outta trouble, but he don't listen ta her neither. Always expected he'd turn out like this."

As Bobby Joe listened to the litany, it sounded all too familiar to him. He had to help this boy, somehow. 

"Listen, what about Mrs. Hinton; does she have a red-headed granddaughter?" 

(To be continued)