Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Sharon Rolens, raised in rural Illimois, is a professional muscian living in Denver, Colorado and author of published short stories and poetry, Worthy's Town is her first novel.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Worthy's Town

Bridge Works Publishing Company

Chapter One

At age forty-nine, Willa Giberson suddenly found herselfwith her daughter Chastity's newborn to raise. From aninstinct all but forgotten, she put the squalling infant to onethin breast. Like any newborn animal, it knew to suck. Willa'sbreasts began to fill with a colorless fluid, an occurrenceknown as the "wet-nurse phenomenon," and by the end of thefirst week the fluid had turned chalky white. Just as she hadthought she was slowing down, her monthlies coming onlynow and then, she found herself thrust back into mothering.

    "It appears we're in the soup," Worthy said, as hewatched his wife trying to quiet the crying baby. "I figured atour age we was through diapering babies."

    "It must of been God's Will, it sure wasn't mine," Willasaid, still surprised to find a red, wrinkled infant lying in herlap. "But he's here, and I'm already taken with him."

    "I can tell that by just looking at the two of you together."Worthy's usual noncommittal expression began to take onsome of its old youthful pride. He pondered a moment."Who's to say? Maybe having a young one underfoot willkeep us on our toes. Leastwise we won't have time to set androck. I reckon you'll get first turn at the boy, he needs to startout with a mother, and somewhere down the road I'll takeover. I'm game if you are."

    Willa sighed. "I never was good at saying no."

    The baby began to cry louder. Seems he's always hungry,Willa thought as she put him to her breast again. She leanedback in the rocking chair and closed her eyes, allowing randommemories of Chastity to rush over her as they so oftendid these days. Was it only two short years ago that Chastityhad come to her with those first awful fears? She easilyrecalled the incident?still so vivid in her mind.

Willa had been in the cellar, waist high in dirtyclothes, when Chastity approached her. Tears ran down thegirl's face as she stood in front of her mother, and betweensobs began telling what had happened overnight.

    "Ma, there's something bad wrong with me. My sheet?it'scovered with bloody spots and I've got this funny hurtingin my stomach. What do you think's the matter, Ma? Do Ihave to see Doc Potter?" She looked at Willa expectantly,fearing the worst.

    Willa had believed there was plenty of time before hertwelve-year-old daughter would come sick. Girls grow upfaster nowadays, she thought sadly, searching for words toexplain Chastity's malady.

    "It's not so bad as it first seems," Willa said, as she triedto calm her anxious daughter. "It's just another of God'spunishments for women?because of Eve and her sinfulways with Adam. It happens to every girl."

    "But what does it mean?" Chastity sobbed.

    "It means your body's ready to produce babies, but therest of you is barely past playing with dolls."

    "Will it come again, the bleeding?" Chastity asked, hersobs beginning to lessen.

    "Once a moon," Willa had said as she piled a basket highwith wet clothes ready for the line. "And there are some rulesthat go with it. Make sure not to take a bath during yourtime, and especially don't run or jump or wash your head."She handed the girl a gray rag from the rag bag. "Pin this toyour underwear and be sure to rinch it out every night. Otherwiseyou'll be drawing boys."

    "But Ma, there's something else. I get these strange feelingsthat come every night when I'm trying to go to sleep.Even counting sheep won't make them go away." She was onthe verge of tears again.

    Willa knew what was going on with her daughter. Whenshe was a girl herself it had taken all her efforts to suppressthose nightly urgings. "What you're feeling is normal for agirl of twelve," she said, "but you need to curtail such yearningstill your wedding night. Men don't like an easy qualityin a wife." Willa had been surprised to hear her ownmother's words coming out of her mouth.

Willa was not a woman given to looking deep into life.Raised a Hard Shell Baptist, she learned never to questionwhen good or bad came about, God's Great Plan being ofnecessity hidden from mortals, women in particular. Whenshe first learned her daughter, only fourteen years old, waswith child, she accepted it as God's Work, though she couldnot understand His motive. More than once, when Chastitywas carrying the baby but not yet showing, Willa had askedher to name the father, but the girl only shrugged her shouldersand went mute.

    Willa had dreaded telling Worthy, but on hearing of theirdaughter's predicament he merely said, "Now don't that capall!"?the only words passed between them on the subject.(When it was time to name the baby, those words returned toWilla. "Cap Giberson, he'll be called, Cappy for short." Sherepeated the name until it felt natural to her tongue.)

    Neither Willa nor Worthy had known how desperatelyChastity tried to discourage the unwanted thing growinginside her: spreading her legs and poking with Willa's numbernine knitting needle; swallowing salts laced with a pinchof arsenic; pushing and prodding at her round little bellyhoping to expel the squirmy growth. But Cappy would notbe dissuaded. In spite of repeated affronts from sharp objectsand bitter poisons, after eight long months inside Chastity'shostile body, he weighed eight pounds. On the morning ofApril 1, 1925, one well-placed kick sent Chastity's waterspilling across the kitchen floor.

    Willa called for Aunt Pearl, a self-taught midwife wholived in a lean-to near Coal Hollow. By the time the oldwoman arrived at the Giberson house with her bag of crudeinstruments and homemade potions, Chastity was screamingand thrashing in the bloody bed. Finally, after ten hoursof birthing misery, one of Cappy's feet popped out. AuntPearl reached in with both grimy hands and pulled.

    Chastity had taken one look at the wriggling baby andsaid to Willa, "You can have it."

    Following the birth, Chastity lay in oblivion, her feverrising. On the third day Worthy sent for Doc Potter, but bythen the child-bed fever had a firm hold. When her son wasonly three days old, Chastity died.

    At the funeral, Brother Beams kept the mourners twohours. He expounded on God's Mercy and God's Love,and he even brought in the story of the Three Wise Menand the Prodigal Son. Chastity having been called homeearly was God's Will, he said, and therefore not to beargued with. She was no doubt looking down from Heavenat that very moment, wishing the entire family would soonjoin her.

    Cappy, asleep in Willa's arms, loudly filled his diaper.

That night, as the mourning family was preparing for bed,a car drove up the lane and parked in front of the house. Thedriver impatiently honked the horn.

    Worthy raised the window and yelled. "Who is it andwhat do you want at this ungodly hour?"

    "Drayton R. Hunt. There's a matter that needs tendingto."

    "Can't it wait till daylight?"

    "It sure as hell can't."

    Generally, Worthy avoided Drayton Hunt, a bully byreputation and a bootlegger. As a boy, long before prohibition,Drayton had been hired by his uncle to deliver...