CHAPTER FIFTEEN: I’VE A FEELING WE’RE NOT IN KANSAS ANYMORE
Jimmy woke up to the smell of coffee and biscuits and gravy; not just any gravy, sausage gravy. Dad made breakfast, DAD MADE BREAKFAST! Jimmy jumped out of bed, he loved his Dad’s cooking and it had been years since he tasted Ernie’s biscuits and gravy. The biscuits were always golden brown and flaky, the gravy smooth and savory with the spicy sausage chunks just the right size and uniform all the way through. Jimmy would be willing to bet that there was exactly the same amount of sausage chunks in each and every delicious ladle of Ernie’s ambrosia gravy. Ernie was standing at the stove when Jimmy came into the kitchen.
“Here you go sleepy head.”
Ernie handed Jimmy a plate he had just prepared. Ernie had not only prepared biscuits and gravy but also perfect sunny side up eggs. Jimmy felt like he had just died and gone to heaven.
Shovelling a spoon full of food into his mouth Jimmy said,
“Where’s Mom and Patty?”
Ernie gave Jimmy a look that he knew all too well. Jimmy swallowed and said, “Sorry Dad.”
Ernie shook his head, “Talking with your mouth full, thought you were raised better than that.” Jimmy flushed and Ernie laughed.
Ernie reached for the coffee pot, “Do you drink coffee?” he filled a cup and handed it towards Jimmy.
“I’ve drank it before.” Jimmy took the offered cup and sat his plate on the counter. Reaching into the cabinet Jimmy poured powdered creamer and sugar into the hot dark brown liquid.
Ernie wrinkled his nose, “That’s not coffee, that’s cereal.” Ernie shuddered; he was a coffee purist and drank it strong, hot and black.
“Your Mom and Sister already ate and are on their way to the IGA to see if they have any boxes so you can start packing up the house.”
Ernie walked over by his son and looked out the kitchen window. He had an air of seriousness about him and appeared to be deep in thought. “Your Mom and I need to run some errands, I am counting on you to get the packing done. Keep some clothes out for you and your sister but pack everything else. Keep the doors locked while we are gone and do not answer the phone for any reason.”
Jimmy looked at his Dad and said, “You’re worried about Miss Evans.” Ernie turned and looked at Jimmy, “Yes” was all he said.
Ernie and Shirley took off in the old sky blue Rambler and left the children to start packing up the house. Jimmy had just carried the last packed box to the living room when he heard a car pull into the driveway. He knew the sound of the Rambler, and this was not it. He looked over at Patty, “Go to the bedroom and be quiet.”
Patty, for once in her life, did not argue with her brother and ran to her bedroom. Despite the warm day the blinds were pulled down over the open windows. Ernie had done this before he and Shirley had left to save from prying eyes. Jimmy pulled back the edge of the blind and could just make out the metallic grill of a Buick.
There was the sound of two car doors opening and closing. Jimmy ran to his bedroom and closed his door. He sat quietly on the edge of his bed barely breathing, his heart beating hard in his chest. He made up his mind that if this was Miss Evans, she would not take him or his sister without a fight.
Jimmy heard the front door open. Jimmy’s heart jumped into his throat, I know I locked the front door, I know I did, at least I think I did. Jimmy felt sick to his stomach as he heard the footsteps cross the floor towards his room. Doubling his fists, he was ready to spring and fight. The door knob to his room turned and as the door swung open Jimmy jumped up from the bed and about tripped over himself as he tried to stop his headlong charge into his Mom and Dad.
“Whoa Champ!” Ernie exclaimed. He caught Jimmy and kept him from crashing to the floor. “I promise that I won’t take you to Juvie.” Ernie and Shirley started laughing.
Jimmy was confused, “But the car…”
Ernie smiled, “We got rid of the Rambler. If they put out an APB on your Mom’s car before we can get out of state, we may not make it. So, we sold her car to a used car dealer and then I used the money to buy a Buick Station Wagon.” Ernie looked at Shirley, obviously pleased with his plan.
Jimmy furrowed his brow. “But Dad, if they figure out that you have come to get us couldn’t they figure out that you now have a station wagon in your name with Kansas license plates?”
Ernie’s grin grew bigger, “That might be true if it was registered in my name, but it isn’t.”
Jimmy was puzzled. “If it isn’t in your name or Mom’s name then whose name is it in?”
Ernie put his hand on Jimmy’s shoulder. “Yours.”
“Dad, that doesn’t make sense. They know my name, they could still find us.” Jimmy was thinking that his Mom and Dad had lost their minds.
“Jimmy, what is your name - your full name?”
Jimmy scratched his head, “James Alan George Stewart.”
Because of a speech impediment when he was younger Jimmy had a hard time explaining to people why his last name was George, and his Mother and Sisters name was Stewart. Shirley went to court and had Stewart added to Jimmy’s name keeping the George name also.
“Now Son, when the Evans Whore dropped you into the Juvenile Detention Center what did you tell them your name was?”
Jimmy shrugged his shoulders, “James Stewart.”
Ernie slapped him on the back. “Exactly! They will be looking for Shirley, Patricia and James Stewart, Not Jim George. That Son, is who the car is registered too, Jim George.”
Jimmy laughed, “Very sneaky Dad.”
The family spent the rest of the day making sure they had everything packed. That evening Ernie grilled some chicken on the charcoal grill in the backyard. While the family sat around the table enjoying a meal of corn on the cob, grilled chicken and baked potatoes they talked about what the future might hold for them in St. Joe. All went to bed early that night because tomorrow would be a long day of loading the boxes and furniture into a U-Haul truck.
After a breakfast of Bacon, Eggs and Toast Shirley and Ernie left to pick up the U-Haul. Jimmy walked around the property, he had liked this house.
After Mom and Grandma had their falling out and Grandma threw Mom out of her house, they had lived in one dive after another. The cockroach infested 312 West 3rd, the slug infested 433 East High and 1235 Belleview with its stagnant water smell wafting up from the crawl space under the house. A little over a year ago they had landed here at 5541 Southwest 29th street.
With Shunganunga creek running along the east side of the property Jimmy could go fishing anytime he wanted. There were woods behind the south side of the property and to the west was a horse farm where people stabled and trained their horses. Jimmy liked watching the people put their animals through their paces. For a teenage boy of 14 it was the perfect home and Jimmy knew he was going to miss it.
Jimmy walked around to the front of the house and saw his ex-girlfriend Jeanie Baer walking up the road towards the horse farm where she kept her horse stabled. She had broken up with him shortly before the Motel incident and Jimmy did not understand why. She had never told him the reason and each inquiry by Jimmy had been met with silence. Jimmy called to her.
“Jeanie.” She kept walking. “Jeanie.” She did not turn around. “Jeanie”, Jimmy said as he walked to the end of the drive, “We are moving I’ll never see you again.” Jeanie did not break stride and kept walking up the road. Jimmy felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. “Goodbye”, he said, too soft for her to hear.
Jimmy had known Jeanie since they both had attended Kindergarten at Clay elementary school. They had lost contact with each other when Jimmy had transferred to Sumner elementary school in 4th grade. When Jimmy started at Marjorie French Junior High, he discovered that Jeanie was a student there also and they had gone steady until she broke up with him. He did not know why then, he did not know why now and as he watched her retreating form head up 29th street he knew that he would never know.
The rest of the afternoon was spent loading the U-Haul. The first thing that had gone onto the truck was Shirley’s upright baby grand piano. Jimmy hated moving the heavy piano and Ernie wasn’t liking it very much either. But Jimmy knew that his mother would never get rid of it because of the brand on the back of the piano case; Deliver To Long Branch Saloon - Front Street - Dodge City, Kansas. Shirley loved to show the brand off to every new person she met. Ernie suggested to Shirley that the piano would be a fine home for catfish at the bottom of the creek. Shirley suggested a place where she would put her foot if he didn’t get the piano loaded on the truck.
Once the truck was loaded Ernie crawled under his pick-up and released the drive shaft. He had taken Jimmy under the truck with him and explained what and why he was doing it. Jimmy handed Ernie the tools he asked for and experienced his first time of getting his hands dirty working on a vehicle. They got the pick-up truck hooked up to the hitch on the U-Haul and went into the house just as the sun was setting. The family had a cold dinner of ham sandwiches and potato salad and went to sleep in the new sleeping bags Shirley had just got a couple of weeks before with her income tax return.
Shirley woke Jimmy and Patty up. “Come on guys, get up, it’s time to go.” Shirley was restless and very anxious to get on the road.
Jimmy rolled over and yawned. “What time is it Mom?”
Shirley looked at her watch. “It’s five fifteen, time to go.”
Jimmy yawned again and rolled back into his sleeping bag. “Wake me at seven Mom, OK?”
The next thing Jimmy knew the sleeping bag was lifted a couple of feet off of the floor and then dropped. As Jimmy hit the floor, he let out an audible “OOFFF” sound.
“Your Mom said get up.”
Jimmy scrambled to get out of his sleeping bag. “Yes Sir.”
Jimmy helped roll up the sleeping bags and then ran into the bathroom to use the John and brush his teeth. When he came out the house was empty. Jimmy stepped out on the porch and saw his Mom and Dad loading the animals into the station wagon. The two cats Blue Boy and Sam had been loaded first, both in their own pet carrier cardboard boxes. Then the black Labrador Retriever, Nuisance and the black standard Poodle, Zachaline. The last dog to be loaded was Jimmy’s favorite, Buster.
Buster was one year older than Jimmy and had been his dog since Jimmy was a baby. Buster was a registered Dachshund but was a throwback. Instead of weighing in at just a few pounds Buster weighed in at a whopping 65 pounds. Jimmy came out and helped lift Buster into the back of the station wagon. Buster licked Jimmy’s face in greeting. Jimmy loved Buster and Buster loved Jimmy.
Shirley walked through the house one last time to make sure nothing was missed. She turned off the lights and locked the door; dropping the house key under a brick on the front porch. They pulled out of the driveway one last time, Ernie driving the U-Haul and Shirley driving the Station wagon. Jimmy rode with his Mother and Patty rode with her Dad. The mini caravan headed north on Fairlawn Road in the predawn hours of June 2, 1972, and the 9 AM deadline was fast approaching.
At 10th street they turned back east and entered Gage Park at the memorial entrance. Ernie had to go and get gas for the U-Haul truck, so he dropped off Patty with Jimmy and Shirley and headed off to fill up the U-Haul. While they waited for Ernie Shirley fed Jimmy and Patty Cinnamon Rolls and Orange Juice. Within 15 minutes Ernie was back and they headed north on Gage Boulevard to join up with Interstate 70. Heading east on 70 they merged onto US 75 North. After crossing the Kansas River, they merged onto US 24 East.
As they passed the Clover Leaf Drive-in at Highway 24 and Rochester Road Jimmy felt an overwhelming sadness coming over him. He had spent some of the best years of his childhood at the outdoor theatre. He knew somewhere deep down inside that he would never see another movie there again. That thought also crossed his mind as the passed Ira Price’s Café. Jimmy did not know how he knew, he just knew that the Hot Roast Beef Sandwich’s he loved so much from the café he would never taste again.
They turned off of US 24 onto K-4 East. As they passed Rees Fruit Farm Jimmy’s mouth started watering for a cider slush. “Mom, can we stop and get a slush?”
Shirley shook her head no. “We have to get out of here, besides it’s too early, they are not open yet.”
Jimmy was disappointed. He understood but that did nothing to appease his thirst for the icy cold treat.
The miles rolled by as they followed the U-Haul across the Kansas Farm country towards Atchison, Kansas and the Missouri border. Neither Shirley nor Jimmy spoke, each lost in their own thoughts. Shirley checked her mirrors often, fearful that the dreaded Miss Evans might have found out what they were doing and send the cops after them.
Shirley had nothing to worry about, it wasn’t even 9 AM yet, the time Miss Evans had told Shirley to surrender herself and her children. God willing, they would be in Missouri before the Evans Whore knew they were missing.
At Nortonville, Kansas K-4 ended and merged in with US 59 North. At 9 AM, the Zero Hour, they crossed the Missouri River steel girder bridge leaving Atchison and the Sunflower State and entering the Show Me State. Ernie pulled into the gravel lot of a liquor store that was right by the bridge. Entering the store, he yelled over to Shirley that he would be right back. He appeared a few minutes later with Cokes for Shirley, Jimmy and Patty and a bottle of Vodka for himself.
Patty and Jimmy traded places and as Ernie pulled back onto US 59, he opened the Vodka Bottle and took a long pull from it the way a thirsty man will pull from a bottle of water. Ernie knew Jimmy was deep in thought and did not try to intrude on his revelry. Jimmy watched the trees zoom by in the bluff woods that lined the highway.