Simon Says Chapter 9
By Paula Andrea Pyle MA, 2nd Feb 2011 | Follow this author
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Posted in WikinutWritingShort Stories
Background
Wilma Rae Downs, a 69 year old mountain recluse, is at her breaking point. No one can withstand such untimely, unbelievable stress. She can't possibly fight off the continuous force of fate's dementedly cruel blows. When the mind's had enough,
Chapter 9: It's a Mad, Mad, World & Then Some
Jasper tightened the grip up under Wilma's almost toothless mouth set in a rock solid jaw.
"I don't want to hurt you, Miss Downs, but I will if I have to. Do you understand?"
Wilma acknowledged she understood his derisive threat. Her terror filled eyes regurgitated stark madness.
He placed the phone receiver back on the black base with his left hand.
"I KNOW 'good and well' he's going to kill me." The first sentence of a long string of panic stricken thoughts seized her mind. "Who is he? Where did he come from? Is he from the 'State'?" Some thoughts were more jumbled than others.
The front portion of her brain began to throb. Her neck had already thumped to the point of migraine throbbing. The disturbing blinding and deafening sensation of blood rushing through her ears, muffled the words he spoke.
"I said, can I trust you not to scream? I'm not going to tell you again." He had not eased up the suffocating grip one bit.
She bobbed her small head in hysterical quick bursts of affirmation, in as much as she could move it.
Jasper hesitated slightly before he slowly released some of his clenched fingers.
A reddened indented thumbprint remained in the corner of the right side of her lip. She coughed; gagging up formed sputum. It trickled down the left side of her jaw.
"Why did you make me go and do this, Miss Downs? Everything was going fine."
He had, by this time, placed his right knee in between her right side and the chair pressing her against the ribbed wood. He had let go of her hands.
Wilma smeared the thick yellow sputum across her chin and neck.
Entangled thoughts rushed and weaved together, mixed with head splitting pulsating pain. The insufferable lingering mental illness fell on top of mangled uncontrollable fears which made it impossible for her to speak clearly. She barely forced out but two audible words.
"Damn Demon."
"What did you say?" he mocked pressing more of the weight of his body into her frail frame.
"You might think I am a demon." His coarse words lowered, replaced by an insidious laugh.
"One of those night demons done took over his body." Paralyzing thoughts caused a heart-stopping cramp to cripple her left leg. It drew into a board like paralysis.
"I got to get up. I got to get up," she cried out in horrendous pain.
Jasper slapped her hard enough to make her pass out.
"I told you not to scream." He reprimanded.
The tobacco fields had ripened early. Anytime before the 4th of July made for a good season. The barns were alit with the smoky scented curing of tobacco which had already been hung.
Odell, Wilma's mother, called Wilma from under the shed where the crew of tobacco workers was steadily working. They pulled the leaves from the barley sack open sided tobacco truck handing them to Wilma's mother to tie on the stick.
"Wilma Rae, what's taking you so long?" she hollered as loud as she possibly could.
"Ain't no sense in you a-being gone all this time." She never missed a lick in the rhythm of the tying of a bunch of tobacco stalked leaves together with white cotton twine.
"If'n you don't get your hind parts back around here this minute; I'm a-going beat you with this 'bacca stick' 'til you can't stand up. Do you hear me?" Wilma knew she had better hurry. Her mother didn't make idle threats.
Wilma felt, what she thought was, her mother snatch her by the hair of the head. "Who told you could take the day off? There's plenty of work to be done.
It ain't nowhere near quitting time."
Scared, dazed and startled, she opened her eyes. Jasper was shaking her head and shoulders.
"Wake up, you old crow. You are not going to die on me."
"What's the matter, Jasper?" Wilma asked innocently. She had no recollection of what just taken place.
"Did I pass out or something?"
Jasper released the unsuspected unwanted motion he had applied.
Wilma, embarrassed, struggled to sit up. She was barely able to manage a slumped position. Her frenzied mind ached. Surprisingly, her words had returned with added strength.
"If'n I don't take my medicine ever' day, I do, on occasion, pass out." She reached for her chin.
"Did I fall on the floor? My face's awful sore, my side, too. I appreciate you a-helping me to this chair. "
Jasper had backed up a few inches, trying to decide how to respond and what he needed to do next.
Wilma tried to get out of the chair but her legs failed her. "Son, do you a-mind going to get my medicine? It's in my room right by the door on the bureau dresser. It's the biggest bottle of pills, right side my nitroglycerin tablets?"
Wilma continued chattering.
"It's my heart, son; and, my circulation. Old Dr.Theodore Roberts," she paused to catch her breath, cough and wipe her mouth. Her face was pale. She sweated profusely.
"He smokes way too many cigarettes." She paused again to catch her labored breath.
"He told me; too much worrying would make my legs stop a-working right. It's done this a couple of times before. But if'n you just slip down there around the corner to the last room on the left, that'll be my bedroom."
Jasper looked at Wilma in total disbelief. "Did she really not have a clue as to what had just happened?" He questioned in his mind if, in fact, it was some kind of trick.
But, for reasons beyond his comprehension, he followed the instructions of the old woman without hesitation. "She's as crazy as a loony bird. No harm in her." He solicited reassuring confirmation from himself.
"Jason", she stuttered, (because of the excessive coughing) in a loud broken raspy tone before he had gone too far.
"Be mighty quiet, you don't' want to disturb Simon."
"I'll be right back." He replied earnestly. "It's the biggest bottle?"
Yes," she replied. "That's mighty fine boy." She mumbled aloud.
"I'm certainly glad he picked my house to get something to eat. I'd a-probably laid on the floor the best part of the day if’n he hadn't been here to help me." A faint smirk passed across her lips.
"You can be damned sure Simon wouldn’t’ve helped me a-tall. I just don't know 'bout Simon no more. You know what mama always said: "Watch your friend 'cause enemies won't never hurt you" She achingly stretched her stiff sore body from the waist up.
"I'm a-going have to find out why Jasper's in trouble, though. Since I'm a-beholding to him and all, might just be something I can do about it." Her fond thoughts of Jasper soothed her torn worrisome mind over Simon.
Jasper returned, bottle in hand.
"I'll get you a glass of water, Miss Downs." He held the bottle of pills as he retrieved a blue, yellow and green rooster glass from the cabinet, filled it with tap water.
"Jasper," she called, "Will you bring me a piece of that sweet corn bread in the refrigerator while you're in there? The doctor says, I don't need to be a-taking my medicine on an empty stomach." Wilma rubbed both legs vigorously.
"Yes, mam." He placed the glass of water and bottle of medicine on the edge of the metal dinette table.
"Just a little piece, don't' give me no end."
"Alright." Jasper opened the refrigerator door. The shelves were spotlessly clean. "I've never seen anything like this before. Food placed neat as soldiers in the army." He thought to himself.
He garnered the octagon shaped plate of cornbread, pulled from it a small rectangular slice, returned the blue rimmed plate to the shelf and closed the door. From the cabinet he grabbed a blue rimmed saucer and placed the cornbread on it.
"Just one, Miss Downs; are you sure?" His voice perked. He balanced the pills on the plate of cornbread, held it with one hand, while he gripped the glass of water in the other. He moved briskly toward her.
"Yes, son. I'm sure." She smiled affectionately. "Are you a-getting hungry?"
"No, mam." He handed her the glass of water, along with the other items. He bent down, retrieved the pills, and opened the bottle.
"How many do you take, Miss Downs?" The pitch in his voice seemed warm and sincere.
"Two, Jasper. When I'm a-having a spell like I just had. He says, I need to take two."
Jasper handed the oblong beige caplets to her.
Wilma swallowed both of them with a big swig of water followed by another huge gulp handed him the glass to sit on the coffee table behind him.
Jasper sat down, at her feet, on the floor.
She shoved half of the cornbread in her wide mouth; crumbles fell all down the front of her blue flowered cotton dress. She was more peaceful, now. No more coughing and gasping for air.
He watched her chew the cornbread cake and thought about how he should have never grabbed the phone, pinned her to the chair and most especially, never, ever slapped her old wrinkled face.
She didn't say a word as she slowly ate the remainder of the cold cornbread.
She motioned for him to hand her the water. She drank another big swallow. This time, she sat the glass next to the black phone on the marbled end table.
"Miss Downs, there's something I need to tell you." Jasper felt sorry for what he had done but he just couldn't control his temper. He had never been able to.
By this time, Wilma had finished eating. "Yes, son, what is it? I've been a-wanting to talk to you, too." She placed the saucer place under the glass of water.
She had started back rubbing her legs.
"They're still not a-working. Never had 'em stay out this long. Will you take these dishes back in the kitchen for me? I'll wash 'em up in a little while."
"Yes, mam." Once again, he did as he was told.
Jasper placed the dishes in the white enamel sink, turned to walk back. He noticed a paper of some sort lying on the foyer floor, next to the podium, which held the enormously huge Holy Bible.
He curled down to pick it up. The sallow freckled skin, which lay between and separated his reddish eyebrows arched, noticeably, while his deep wide-set-apart green eyes perked. He had spied Wilma's 'State' check in the amount of: $750,000.
Chapter 10
Chapter 8
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