Chapter 6
I
Bubba knocked on the door to Foster’s room one evening after dinner. He had a file folder with some correspondence in it in his hand.
“Foster?”
“Come in.”
Bubba entered to find Foster combing his hair and straightening his coat in front of a mirror.
“I’m sorry to bother you, but I’ve got some letters for you to sign. We seem to have hit a snag of some sort with the Fish and Game Commission, and I’m going to try a different tack. I didn’t want to mention it at dinner.”
Foster came over to sign the letters on the dresser without really looking at them. Bubba could see he was preoccupied.
“You going out?”
“Not really. I’m going to work for a bit and then meet Annabelle in the garden.”
“Annabelle?”
“Yes, I met her in the garden the other night. I think she’s the most magnificent creature imaginable.”
Bubba was curious, but he was more concerned to make sure Foster signed all the letters properly.
“She understands my poetry.”
“She does? I’d like to meet her.”
“You haven’t met her?”
“No, I don’t think so.”
“She’s very shy and sensitive, I think. I’ve never met anyone so beautiful. Do you think I should ask her to marry me?”
“Aren’t you rushing things a bit? How long have you known her?”
“I loved her from the moment I first saw her.”
II
Ruthie seemed a bit nervous as Thaxton Weatherby of Weatherby, Comstock, Carter and Johnston reviewed a file. Eventually he addressed Ruthie with polite formality.
‘Just what exactly is it that you are concerned about, Mrs. Coleman?”
“Sir, doesn’t it strike you as a bit odd that someone would try to turn a thousand acres of prime real estate into a wildlife sanctuary?”
“I confess I hadn’t really given it much thought. We lawyers learn not to pass judgment on the whims and fancies of our fellow men.”
“So long as it fits within the letter of the law, it doesn’t matter what harm or good it does, I suppose.”
“Mrs. Coleman, I’ll be more than happy to review any of the provisions of the estate with you, if you’ll just tell me what it is that bothers you. “
“Foster has no business administering the estate.”
“Why do you say that?”
“He’s crazy as a loon.”
“That’s a rather serious allegation, Mrs. Coleman. Do you really believe he is mentally incompetent?”
“He’s completely and utterly insane.”
Thaxton started to peruse the file again.
“Surely Judge Abernathy wouldn’t...”
“How long has it been since you last saw Bubba ... Judge Abernathy?”
Thaxton shrugged, and Ruthie gave him a look which indicated that they can dismiss all consideration of Bubba’s evaluation of the situation. Thaxton went back to the file.
“What evidence do you have of his insanity?”
“Everything he’s done since he came to Bellevue. All you’d have to do is talk to him for five minutes and you’d see.”
Thaxton did not look up from the papers in the file.
“How much did you say C.D.C. offered you?”
Ruthie felt she was easing back into her element.
“There’s a sliding scale, depending on whether we want cash up front or a percentage of the gross revenues. They also said they would cover any unusual legal fees I might incur.”
“You understand that we would need definite medical proof of his insanity. I can recommend an excellent psychiatrist who might be able to help evaluate the young man’s condition. His name is Wilhelm Van Merkle. My secretary can give you his phone number.”
III
Foster coaxed Annabelle along the garden path, towards the front of the house. He was dressed in his uniform. She was wearing her old-fashioned gown, and seemed even more beautiful in the full light of day than she had seemed by moonlight.
“Annabelle, my love, please don’t change your mind again.”
She was resisting him.
“I can’t. I just can’t do it.”
“Why not? They’re all perfectly harmless. All I want you to do is meet them and have dinner with everyone.”
“Please don’t make me do it.”
“What are you afraid of?”
“I’m afraid they won’t... I’m afraid they will ignore me and try to turn you against me.”
“Ignore you?”
“Please. Let’s just leave things the way they are. I’m so happy to have you. Don’t spoil it.”
“Nothing could turn me against you, Annabelle. I love you.”
“I can’t.”
“Yes you can, and you will. I won’t let you be intimidated by my relatives. After all, I’m the owner of this place.”
He offered Annabelle his arm, and she acquiesced. They walked towards the front porch.
Bubba, Sister Sarah, Aunt Lydia, Kathleen and Lee were sitting on the front porch drinking lemonade. Sister Sarah was rocking and fanning herself with a cardboard fan depicting Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane.
A quizzical look came over Bubba’s face as he saw Foster approaching.
Foster and Annabelle came up the stairs onto the porch.
“I have the honor of presenting my fiancée, Miss Annabelle Jordan.”
Kathleen looked at Lee with a weird look on her face. He gestured discreetly to her with his hand, admonishing her not to jump to any conclusions; but then he himself began staring intently at Foster.
Annabelle smiled shyly and nodded her head. Bubba seemed temporarily at a loss, but then collects himself enough to rise from his chair.
Annabelle extended her hand to Bubba so that he could either shake it or kiss it, depending upon his degree of gentility.
Bubba ignored Annabelle’s hand completely. In fact he did not even look at her.
Foster did not seem to notice Bubba’s rudeness. He proceeded with the introductions.
“Annabelle, this is Little Lee, Kathleen, Bubba, Sister Sarah and Aunt Lydia.”
Sister Sarah seemed a bit puzzled by the proceedings and leaned over to Aunt Lydia as though she might be a reliable source of information.
“What is he talking about?”
Bubba tries to put things back on track.
“Would you care for some lemonade?”
Annabelle was obviously hurt by Bubba’s refusal to take her hand, and she was getting uneasy about the way Lee was staring at Foster. Foster was oblivious to everything and simply glad that Bubba was making a polite gesture.
“Yes thank you.”
Bubba poured a glass of lemonade and handed it to Foster.
Annabelle quickly realized that Bubba was not going to offer her a glass. It was beneath her to say anything, but she began tugging gently at Foster’s arm.
“We want to say hello to Jack. We’ll see you at dinner.”
Foster bowed to them and began escorting Annabelle across the lawn towards the backyard. He was too happy and proud to notice that she was upset.
Lee watched Foster walk away. The look on Lee’s face indicated he might be worried about the quality of the last batch of grass he scored. He sniffed at his pipe and leaned over to whisper to Kathleen.
“Did you see another person with him?”
“I don’t think so.”
Bubba’s face reflected his own special mixture of resignation, compassion and delight.
“I think Foster has finally found a lady who can understand him.”
IV
As Foster and Annabelle approached the shed where Jack was working, the steam whistle screamed above the clattering and sputtering of the engine as Jack stoked the burner and threw the throttle wide open.
“Stand clear! Make way for the Abernathy Special!”
Foster stepped back as the st
eam tractor gave a lurch towards the door and then shuddered and burst a valve under the strain. Hot water sprayed everywhere and clouds of steam came billowing out of the shed.
Eventually Jack emerged from the shed to find Foster unfazed by the explosion, even though he and Annabelle were being enveloped by clouds of steam.
‘Jack, I’d like to present my fiancée, Annabelle Jordan.”
The steam was so thick Jack couldn’t see his own hands, much less Foster or Annabelle.
“Pleased to meet you, I’m sure.”
V
An extra place had been set and the rest of the clan was seated as Foster came in, escorting Annabelle. He pulled a chair out for her, helped her up to the table, and then sat down next to her.
Ruthie watched with malicious satisfaction and then smiled graciously.
“What a pleasure to have Annabelle with us.”
Bubba stares at Ruthie as they bow their heads for grace.
“Heavenly Father, I’m just so happy I don’t know how to thank you for all the blessings you’re bestowing on us. I’ve got a couple of things I want to discuss with you, but we’ll do it later before I go to bed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.”
Lee wasted no time helping himself to a share of the day’s blessings.
“Amen!”
Jack was as usual still dripping with sweat and covered with grime.
“Don’t forget to put in a word about that main valve, Sarah. I could certainly use a little help out there, I tell you.”
Everyone started to eat with their usual enthusiasm, and all thought of conversation was buried in biscuits and collard greens.
Foster tapped his glass with a knife and rose to his feet with his glass of iced tea raised for a toast.
“I’d like to propose a toast to an angel, the most beautiful of all God’s creations, Miss Annabelle Jordan.”
The Colonel automatically raised a crock from the floor beside his chair and took a healthy swig. Bubba hesitated, and then raises his iced tea to toast halfheartedly. Little Lee nudges Kathleen, and they take a sip of tea. Sister Sarah begins to sing as she raises her glass.
«For the beauty of the earth,
For the glory of the skies,
For the love which from our birth,
Over and around us lies.”
Ruthie toasts with gusto.
“To Annabelle. May she always be with you.”
Jack was to be too hungry to pay attention to such civilities, and Lydia’s mind seemed to be elsewhere.
Foster sits back down, smiling at Annabelle, whose head is lowered modestly. He speaks softly to her as he sits.
“Soon to be Mrs. Stephen Foster Abernathy.”
Sister Sarah is still singing to herself as everyone continues eating.
«Lord of all to Thee we raise
This our hymn of grateful praise.”
Kathleen shrieked and everyone dropped their forks. Annabelle dropped her water glass, and it spilled all over the table.
Kathleen was staring at the glass and her face was beginning to quiver. Lee took hold of her.
“What is it, baby?”
Lydia imposed her own interpretation on the events at hand.
“My God. They would come during dinner.”
Kathleen managed to whisper to Lee.
“That glass was levitating.”
“It’s okay, baby. Just ride it out.”
Annabelle was cringing in her chair and had started to cry. Foster put his arm around her solicitously and wiped her tears with his napkin.
“Are you all right, darling?”
Bubba picked up the glass and was mopping the water up with his napkin. Jesse shuffled in from the kitchen to help. Bubba tried to reassure everyone.
“It’s all right. No harm done.”
Annabelle gradually composed herself and spoke softly to Foster.
“I don’t think I’m hungry.”
“You don’t have to eat if you don’t want to. Would you like to go to your room or will you sit with us?”
“No, I’ll stay. I’ll be all right.”
Things settled down again and everyone resumed eating.
Ruthie’s face lit up as though she had just had the inspiration of the decade.
“Foster, you know what I think we should do? I think we should have a big party to announce your engagement and to introduce Annabelle to all our friends.”
Bubba glared at Ruthie. Lee rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath. Annabelle raised her head and smiled first at Ruthie, then at each of the other members of the family.
Bubba started to say something, but Foster beat him to it.
“I think that’s a grand idea.”
No one was looking at Annabelle. Ruthie seemed to be gloating.
VI
The driveway was filled with cars as guests arrived for a gala affair at the mansion. It was a motley crowd, from all walks of life, dressed in all manner of garments.
A combo consisting of piano, violin, electric bass, banjo, accordion and French horn filled the house with music. A slightly out of tune piano and the lack of expertise among some of the musicians did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm with which they played.
Bubba could be seen in the hall, greeting guests as they arrive. Foster stood stiffly on one side of the room, obviously waiting anxiously for the moment when Annabelle would make her entrance.
Jesse entered, carrying an enormous punch bowl, which looked as though it would slip from his grasp any second. Kathleen and Lee hastened to help him carry it across the room to the table.
Once the punch bowl was safe, Jesse turned to start back towards the kitchen. When he reached the middle of the room, he straightened up and broke into a dance.
Jesse couldn’t cut the pigeon wing like he could when he was seventeen, but he still had a style of his own. When he reached the far side of the room, he resumed walking in his normal manner; and no one except Lee and Kathleen seemed to have picked up on his performance.
Lydia was fluttering about the room with a fan, too excited to do anything except blush and smile at the guests.
Sarah was chatting with the Reverend Mr. Wilcox.
“I was glad when they said unto me let’s have a party. Jesus likes to hear a joyful noise.”
VII
After most of the guests had arrived, Bubba was circulating through the crowd, speaking confidentially to the ones who seemed to be capable of rational thought. One of these was Mrs. Dawson, the third grade teacher at the school.
“Mrs. Dawson, I feel I really must explain something to you and ask you to be understanding. Our Ruthie has a problem. I don’t think it is serious, but she has this obsession with getting Foster married, and we tried to humor her; but it’s gotten all out of proportion. She’s started seeing things, and she wanted us to have this party so we could all meet this girl. Foster has agreed to play along, and I’d appreciate it if you refrain from saying anything that would rock the boat. In fact, if you could just pretend… “
“I understand, Judge. I’ll do what I can.”
“Thank you. I knew you’d understand.”
He then took Sam Magill aside.
“Sam, you gotta do me a favor. We’re playing a big joke on Ruthie. When we introduce Annabelle, pretend that you see her and that you think she’s the loveliest girl you’ve ever seen. We want Ruthie to feel that she’s the only one who doesn’t see her.”
Sam smiled as though this kind of thing was old hat to him.
“Gotcha.”
Bubba turned to see Ruthie enter with Thaxton Weatherby.
Before he could do anything, the orchestra sounded a fanfare; and Foster stepped forward to make an announcement.
“Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present my fiancée and the love of my life, Miss Annabelle Jordan.”
He gestured towards the hall where Annabelle descended the stairs and walked gracefully towards the living room.
About half the
guests broke into applause, and the murmuring among the rest might well have been a reaction to her glowing beauty.
Foster walked over to greet her, offering her his arm and escorting her out into the middle of the dance floor.
Mrs. Dawson had edged her way over to Ruthie.
“What a lovely girl. I think she’s the perfect match for him.”
Ruthie was caught off guard by the woman’s remark, but responds with instinctive irony.
“I’m sure she is.”
The orchestra bridged into an approximation of a waltz, and Foster and Annabelle began dancing.
Ruthie watches smugly and glances around to see how the others are responding. No one else seems to notice anything peculiar.
Sam Magill steps up and bows to Ruthie. “May I have this dance?”
Ruthie was on her guard, but at the same time she felt triumphant enough to go ahead and dance.
“Yes, thank you.”
As they began to waltz, she caught a glimpse of Bubba leading Thaxton Weatherby off to the library for a chat.
“Isn’t she beautiful?”
Ruthie was too distracted to catch Sam’s comment.
“What?”
“Forgive me. I should know better than to remark on another woman’s beauty.”
“Who are you talking about?”
“Annabelle, of course.”
He whirled her around in an exaggerated waltz step. She held on for dear life and glanced at Bubba and Thaxton as the door to the library closed.
Some of the other people followed Sam’s cue, and the dance floor began to fill up. William danced with Susan, who had stayed up late for the party. Jack and Kathleen made a handsome couple, as did Lee and Sarah.
Ruthie was beginning to be puzzled by the way things are going.
As they danced past Foster and Annabelle, Sam nodded and smiled in Annabelle’s direction and spoke to Foster.
“You’re a mighty lucky young man.”
Ruthie had had enough. She stopped dancing in the middle of the dance floor.
“Okay, Funny boy, you can call off the charade.”
“What’s the matter?”
She started to walk away from him towards the library.
“Wait.”
He caught up with her and took her hand.
“You ought not to just leave your partner in the middle of the floor.”
Ruthie turned on him.
“Listen, creep. I’ve had enough of your little practical joke.”
She was creating enough of a scene to attract a fair amount of attention. Foster and Annabelle stopped dancing and stood nearby.
“Some of these humanoids may be seeing things, but I know there’s no Annabelle, and I know you know there’s no Annabelle. If Bubba thinks he can fool Mr. Weatherby with this kind of cheap stunt, he’s got another think coming.”
Annabelle heard all of this and appeared to be deeply hurt. She burst out crying and started running upstairs.
Foster ran after her. “Annabelle! “
Foster and Annabelle disappeared upstairs, leaving Ruthie standing in the middle of the dance floor with everyone staring at her.
Bubba and Thaxton emerged from the library, looking as though they had had a very cordial conversation.
VIII
Annabelle threw herself onto the four poster bed weeping. Foster knelt beside her.
“It’s no use. I can’t marry you.”
“Don’t say that.”
“Your family will never accept me.”
“My family loves you.”
“They think I’m a joke. Oh Foster, I wanted so much to have them accept me.”
“I’ll make them accept you.”
His determination evoked a smile through her tears.
“Dear sweet Foster. You can’t make people believe in something if they don’t want to.”
Foster rose to his feet.
“I’ll make them want to.”
“Darling, you don’t know what you are saying.”
Foster sits beside her to comfort her.
“I don’t know what I write either, but I believe in it.”
“Oh Foster, didn’t you hear what Ruthie said?”
“Ruthie’s always flying off the handle. Don’t pay any attention to her.”
“Your family will never take me seriously because they don’t think I’m real. I don’t exist for them.”
“What do you mean?”
“They don’t even see me.”
“That’s crazy. I know they’re a little weird. They may be rude, but they’re not blind.”
“Foster, they don’t see me.”
Annabelle tried to be gentle with Foster even though she was deeply hurt.
“Kathleen screamed at lunch that day because she saw my glass move without being able to see me.”
“No, she was just on a bummer or something.”
“Even Bubba doesn’t see me. I hoped at first he was just being rude, but it’s clear to me now. None of them can see me.”
The ground seemed to be giving way under Foster.
“But how can they not see you?”
“I’m not real.”
She started to cry again.
“Don’t be silly.”
He put his arm around her and began to kiss her arms and shoulders.
“You’re more real than anything else in the world.”
“You never treat me as though I were real.”
Tears began pouring out as she lost all self-control.
“What are you talking about? I worship you.”
‘You don’t act as though I had a body.”
Foster was momentarily stunned but then he took her face in his hands.
“Annabelle. Oh Annabelle. If I seem uninterested in your body, it’s only because I...You seem so reserved and modest. I was afraid of… I didn’t want to offend you.”
He started smothering her with kisses.
“Hold me. Hold me, Foster.”
They were both swimming in tears as they embraced passionately on the bed.