Chapter 25
Ella was worried about money and confronted John, saying, “This month, I didn’t have enough money to pay all our bills. You simply don’t make enough and you need to get a better paying job."
"Hell, Ella, I can count on the State. If I got another job, I could be fired at any time and then where would we be?”
“John, we have to do something!”
“I won’t talk about it anymore! I’m going to Jack's Bar for cigarettes. I'll be back soon," “he said and went to the closet to get his jacket, but an envelope fluttered to the floor.”Oh, by the way, Ella, here's a letter to you from the school. It came to the depot by mistake."
She tore the letter open and read, "Dear Mrs. Nelson: The school has instituted vision screening. Thomas has a severe sight problem. Please come in and discuss this matter at your earliest convenience."
When Ella went to Tommy's school, she was taken into a private office where Tommy's teacher opened a folder, saying, "Thank you for coming, Mrs. Nelson. I'll get right to the point. I have the results of Tommy's tests right here. His vision is 20/500 in both eyes. He’s almost blind, but proper glasses will correct his vision. You need to take him immediately to be seen by an eye doctor."
Ella bit her lip, saying, "I didn't realize he was almost blind, but now I understand why he was held back in the first grade for three years and why he couldn’t see things I pointed out to him. I’m so stupid."
The teacher closed the folder, saying, "Don't be too hard on yourself, Mrs. Nelson. I've been remiss myself. I think he's been missing everything I put on the blackboard."
Ella took Tommy to Santa Rosa to an ophthalmologist. After he had examined Tommy, he made arrangements with Ella to pay the bill on credit. When she returned the next week, the doctor fitted thick glasses to Tommy’s face, asking, “There, my boy, how does the world look to you now?"
Tommy looked around the room in amazement. "Mom, I can see everything. I can even see the tiny specks on the floor!"
"Mrs. Nelson, I would like to talk to you in private. Tommy can wait in the waiting room and watch the fish in the aquarium."
Back in his office, he said, "When I was examining your son, I saw something I thought I should mention. There's an abnormal clumping of pigments in his retinas. Is there a history of blindness in your family?"
Ella suddenly felt weak and had to sit down, saying, "My father was blind. Tommy isn't going to lose his sight, is he?"
The doctor replied quickly, "Now Mrs. Nelson, don't jump to conclusions. Tommy's vision is 20/20 with his glasses. Let's just hope it stays that way."
With his vision corrected, Tommy began to excel in school and skipped the second grade, but he was teased by some older boys about his coke-bottle thick glasses, yelling, "Hey, four-Eyes, you blind Bat."
One afternoon, an older boy from Oklahoma with a mean reputation followed Tommy home, jeering, "Hey, Four-Eyes, I bet I could beat you up."
"Leave me alone Virgil. I haven't done anything to you!"
With the sole of his left shoe flapping, Virgil ran into Tommy’s yard and picked up a croquet mallet, testing its weight in his hand. With a malicious grin, he said, "Hey, Bug Eyes, let's me and you play a little game."
He suddenly swung the mallet at Tommy’s head, smashing his glasses. Tommy fell to the ground with a bloody face. Virgil threw the mallet aside and ran away with his left shoe flapping.
After a few minutes, Tommy got up and staggered into the house. When Ella saw him, she cried out, "Tommy, what happened?"
Feeling woozy, he replied, "Virgil hit me with a mallet for no reason."
"Who is this "Virgil?" she inquired while examining the wound.
"He’s that new kid in town from Oklahoma. He and his brothers were suspended for stealing from the cafeteria."
Ella cleaned the wound and applied ice to his spreading bruise. Trembling with rage, she met John when he came home from work, saying, "John, some Okie kid attacked Tommy with a mallet and broke his glasses. I'm going to report that little bastard to the constable."
He put his lunch pail on the table and said, "Maybe that's not such a good idea, Ella. We might cause more trouble. Those Okies are always getting into knife fights and shooting each other."
She slammed her fist on the table. "Goddamn it, John. What's wrong with you? Tommy was almost killed in our own front yard. I'm not going to stand by and do nothing. I'm going to report that boy and I don’t care what you say!"
The next morning, she went to the constable and told him what had happened. After he looked at Tommy's bruised face, his expression hardened, and he said, "I know all about that family. I'm going to pick them up. I want you to be here this afternoon so you can testify at the hearing."
That afternoon, Ella gave her account of the attack. Virgil and his father, wearing foul-smelling clothes, sat sullenly on a bench while the father stared at the floor with blood-shot eyes.
The constable hooked a thumb in his belt and approached Virgil’s father. "Mr. Worten, last week I caught you stealing chickens. I told you then if you caused any more trouble, I would run you out of town. You've got 24 hours to get out of Sebastopol, or I'll throw you in jail."
The father protested, "But, sir, I didn’t do anything. It was the boys ..."
"Shut up, Goddamn it or I'll lock you up right now! Tomorrow I'm going to drive down to Tent City to make sure you’re gone. If you're not, you're going to be in a lot of trouble."
Mr. Worten looked at the floor, meekly replying, "Yes sir, we'll be gone."
Ella cleared her throat. "Your honor, May I suggest something? I think Virgil should be made to pay for Tommy's broken glasses. It would be a good lesson if he could work at odd jobs and give us a little at a time."
Mr. Worten squirmed on the bench, pleading, "Ma'am, we ain't got no money. Any money the boys make goes to feed the family!"
With a sigh, the constable walked wearily back to his desk, saying, "He's right, Mrs. Nelson. Your chances of getting any money from these people are nil. The case is closed."
As Tommy and his mother walked back to their car, Virgil, with his left shoe flapping, ran from the Courthouse, brushing past Tommy, yelling, "I’m just as good as you are, you rich son of a bitch! I'm glad I broke your Goddamn glasses!"