The Saints of Swallow Hill(83)

Rae Lynn quit snipping off pieces of Cornelia’s hair. “Nellie, I ain’t got no plan, no place to go.”

“It don’t matter! I’d rather go round the countryside empty-handed, no roof over my head than spend one more minute with him. I shouldn’t’ve ever married him. I mean, he was all right for a while, till I found out his problem. He always thought I was gonna tell. I would threaten to, as you know, but it only made him worse.”

Rae Lynn did know, and opened her mouth to say so, but Cornelia couldn’t seem to stop as she went on telling Rae Lynn everything.

“I took money Otis had squirreled away. He’s not only gonna have a fit when he finds out I’m gone, he might even try and have me arrested for stealing, knowing him. My mind was in such a tizzy over what I was doing, I couldn’t hardly think straight, but that’s what I done. Oh, my word, I done stole from my own husband!”

She seemed astounded at her own audacity as she stuck her hand in a dress pocket and withdrew a wad of paper money. She held it up for Rae Lynn to see. Rae Lynn moved around the chair to face her, and Cornelia’s eyes begged her to understand. Rae Lynn remembered how hard it had been when she’d chose to leave the little house under the pines, to not know exactly what might happen along the way, to feel so alone.

“It ain’t going to be easy with nowhere to go.”

Cornelia lifted her shoulders. “There’s different kinds a hard, and being with someone like him, waiting on when he’s gonna get mad when I don’t do something to his liking, that’s the kind a hard that can make you think on thoughts you ought not be thinking. Please, Rae Lynn. It’s my only chance.”

Rae Lynn was filled with worry, but leaving Otis was likely the bravest thing Cornelia had ever done in her whole life, and to tell her no would be heartless. It was her only chance, otherwise she might as well tell her to go back home and deal with Otis the best she knew how. That look on Cornelia’s face when she’d told Rae Lynn the pistol was what had set Warren free was worrisome. Cornelia had lost hope. Cornelia had helped save her. She owed her this much, and likely much more.

Rae Lynn said, “We can figure it out.”

Cornelia clapped her hands together and held them tight, like she was in prayer. “Oh, thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

Rae Lynn’s voice was dry. “Ain’t much to be thankful for, not just yet.”

“Just getting away from him is enough. The rest don’t matter.”

Rae Lynn stood back and examined what she’d done to Cornelia’s hair. It was really short. A lot shorter than hers when she was Ray Cobb.

She said, “You can wear my hat.”

She grabbed the mirror off the shelf and handed it to Cornelia, who stared at herself. The tar was gone and there were only a few scalded areas, while in other spots, it had to be cut almost to the skin.

Cornelia said, “I sure don’t make a handsome man.”

Rae Lynn sniffed. “Neither did I.”

In ordinary times, they’d have laughed at their attempt to joke. Now, they were only able to smile a little. Rae Lynn got her boots from beside the bed where she’d dropped them and tugged them on. Cornelia wore strappy shoes with heels, and Rae Lynn wished for a pair like them instead of what she was wearing, but shoes like that wouldn’t be practical if they ended up having to walk a long distance—or run. She explained to Cornelia what she’d planned.

“We’ll take the truck. It’s got a radiator problem, but we can fill that jug with water and take it with us, just in case.”

“Maybe we ought to leave it. It’s so close to commissary, and the house. Otis might see us.”

Rae Lynn said, “We got to try. You’ll wish we had,” and she looked pointedly at Cornelia’s shoes.

Cornelia said, “I suppose you’re right,” her voice trembling.

Rae Lynn said, “Now?”

“Might as well. Best to go while it’s dark.”

They went outside, and as they walked by the unoccupied number forty-two, Rae Lynn wished once more she could thank Del Reese for saving her. She wondered where he would go, what he would do from here on out. She’d likely never know. A glorious, full moon rose over the trees and allowed them to see the path, a milky-white trail of soft, sandy soil. After a few minutes they came to the section for the coloreds. In the distance, music flowed and rippled on the night air like a river. From the depths of the juke joint, a woman’s laugh rang out, and somewhere overhead in a nearby tree, a whippoorwill sang its high-pitched warbling night song. The air was still warm, still fragrant with the things of summer, honeysuckle, wild grapes, and the fishy odor of nearby creek water. Rae Lynn thought they were safe as long as they stayed tucked into the shadows after entering the main section of the camp. They walked quickly until the sight of Cornelia’s home glowing like a jack-o’-lantern, light pouring from every window, made them stop. Rae Lynn heard her gasp.

She grabbed Cornelia’s hand and tugged, whispering, “Hurry.”

They ran in a hunched-over fashion to the truck. They eased the doors open and jumped in, shutting them as quiet as they could. Cornelia flapped her hands anxiously, while Rae Lynn tried to sort through the steps in her head about how to crank it.

Cornelia squeaked, “Hurry, Rae Lynn! Oh, my God, he’s done figured out I’m gone!”