Craig- 171 Grey, Grizzled, And Gaijin-“Lou Anne Campbell”

Craig note– I have about a four-minute train ride to my company every morning. I challenge myself to write something in my head before I pass through the exit gate. Often, the ideas become part of this blog or other articles that I write. (I hold back a bit. You don`t get my `A` game for free. I am nice, not stupid. Still, I post some quality content.)

That aside… Some time last year, I wrote a novel over the course of about four days of riding the train. I am not sure I am going to publish it. It took a lot of work to publish my first one. And, while it was one of those Bucket List sort of things to do, and, well, a movie studio or two looked at it, I am not in any hurry to go through all of that formatting again…

Anyway, this is the first chapter in a draft that is pretty far along. It tells the life story of a rather hard luck woman named Lou Anne Campbell. I`ve not bothered to send it to my editor, so it might have a wart or two. (Enjoy!)

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Chapter One– “Lou Anne Campbell”

“It`s god d-mn, 12:03, Lou Anne Campbell!”

“But, papa, there was a trai—.”

The word `train` never made it out of young Lou Anne Campbell`s mauve lipstick-covered mouth on that cold, late Saturday night. Her father`s clenched right fist to the left side of Lou Anne`s pretty little mouth saw to that.

Pastor Ed praised the Lord every Sunday. But, the devil resided inside him when someone riled him. There was no doubt that Lou Anne had done that by her tardiness.

“I ran all the way here.”

“Sure, not fast enough…”

Pastor Ed`s angry words came along with slap to Lou Anne`s face. The back of Lou Anne`s dark auburn hair-covered head hit the tattered white and lime green screen door. The frayed metal wires of the upper screen in the door caught Lou Anne`s long ponytail like a fly in a hungry spider`s tangled web.

A sparkle-covered purple and gold bow flew from her long braided hair. The blood from Lou Anne`s broken nose drenched her favorite blue dress.

“E-e—e-d! Ed! You two get in here. For Christ`s sake, you`ll wake the neighbors!”

“Shut your hole, woman! She`s back home late again, Berta.”

“Three minutes, Ed. Three little minutes.”

“Rules is rules, woman. Know your place.”

“It`s also a law to keep it down at midnight in this town, Ed. Get in here before someone calls the PO-lease on you. Again. You best mind me, now, Ed. You remember last time. You hear?”

“I remember.”

Pastor Ed`s shoulders sank. He returned without a word back into the house. That admonishment from Lou Anne`s mother was the only thing that saved Lou Anne`s life from Pastor Ed on that dreary night. Lou Anne endured many beatings over the years. Some of them Lou Anne deserved. Many she did not.

Make no mistake, it made no difference to Pastor Ed. He was not alone in dishing out swift and painful discipline to his kids. This was 1968. Nobody called the police in this little town.

And, nobody ever came to save anyone in that little rundown shack they called a home. This was not Mayberry. Even if it were, there were no commercial interruptions for Lou Anne`s benefit. Lou Anne Campbell was 16 years old.

She fell asleep that night in her child-sized bed next to her sister, Helen. Her parents never bothered to buy her a bigger one. Lou Anne longed for escape. At 16 years old, Lou Anne`s thoughts of any real escape ended with a glance at her ceramic piggy bank.

Lou Anne`s little pink trinket from last year`s school carnival was empty. But, she knew Pastor Ed`s repeated threats to her about what would happen if she ran away were not empty. Pastor Ed`s fury knew no limits. Everyone knew that. Pastor Ed`s anger was understandable to some degree.

He was a war veteran. Pastor Ed lost good friends during the many bloody battles he fought. He also lost his left arm below the elbow. A grenade from a Korean solider was responsible for that.

Pastor Ed also lost his once kind heart. It happened after he gained a purple one from Uncle Sam in the fall of 1952. The whole town was proud of his reported valor. But, secretly, there were whispers that when the going got tough Pastor Ed got, well, going, going, gone.

Nobody came out and said it to his face. Everyone else died in that same fire fight but Pastor Ed. He and God alone knew what really happened in the cold, dark chaos back in Korea.

Pastor Ed knew the rumors were true. He ran away that night. Pastor Ed spent two days hiding inside a foxhole waiting for the gunfire to cease. If it had not been for that grenade blowing his arm off as he walked back to the rescue chopper, someone might have dug deeper into Pastor Ed`s rambling story of valor and courage. Perhaps, people knew to leave Pastor Ed to live with whatever really happened to him out there.

Pastor Ed lived with that guilt and the dark nightmares and uninvited hallucinations that came along with it. To his credit, he traded bottles of cheap Kentucky whisky for Jesus years ago. Pastor Ed gave up the booze cold turkey after he wrapped his old, beat up Ford around a big oak tree out on Highway 68.

He swore to anyone that would listen that he had “…seen the Lord.”

He laid there on that dark concrete road bleeding in the pouring rain for hours. The experience made a believer out of Pastor Ed. He spent every Sunday at church. Pastor Ed sat right up in the front with his family by his side.

Pastor Ed made it through a Southern Baptist correspondence course. He got his pastor`s certificate in six months despite barely being able to read. Soon after, Pastor Ed took what little savings he had and started a small church in his house. Lou Anne`s mother was against the idea.

But, Pastor Ed`s persistence won her over. Well, that and threats of Pastor Ed throwing Berta`s “heathen, whore, a—right out onto the street with her kids for all the world to see.” Berta took the hint.

She never said a negative word about Pastor Ed`s church again. Berta sat front and center every Sunday. She sat there along with Lou Anne and her young sister Helen. They all shouted and raised their hands in approval as Pastor Ed preached. The small congregation followed suit as they sat in brown, wooden folding chairs.

The congregation grew in size over the next year. The members pooled their money together. They built a small church. It was outside the city limit on Highway 235.

Pastor Ed`s sermons, recycled and all too often and mostly stolen though they were, caught on in the conservative little town. Pastor Ed`s ego grew just as fast as his church. But, Lou Anne did not mind that.

Pastor Ed was far too distracted in his pursuit of becoming the next great evangelist to be concerned with what his teenage daughter was doing. Lou Anne was free to do as she pleased most of the week. She took full advantage of that fact.

Lou Anne hung out at a little stone quarry outside of town. The quarry was nothing to the outside world. But, it was well-known among the local young people as a place to find something or more often someone to do. The local locomotive factory workers raced out there in their souped-up cars after their night shifts ended.

The young working stiffs were eager for a smoke and a cold beer. Too, they were excited to partake of the local talent. Lou Anne as the preacher`s daughter made an inviting target for many a young man.

The young, virile men tried with varying degrees of success to get Lou Anne. Lou Anne gave in to them from time to time. Sometimes, it was easier than fighting them off in the backseat of a dark blue Plymouth. Certainly, it beat walking home in the dark when the boy refused her a ride back home. Que Sera, Sera as it were…

Soon, it was 1969. People were feeling good. America was winning the space race. Lou Anne and her friends gathered downtown at the local Walgreen`s to watch the moon landing on TV. She enjoyed her life that summer.

Lou Anne even managed to meet a fellow. His name was Lewis. He was 23 at the time. He worked at the locomotive factory. He also played in a rock and roll band. Lewis was the lead singer. The band played down at the Beagle every Saturday night for free snacks and beer.

Lou Anne snuck into the bar more than once with a few of her friends. Lewis called out to her in the middle of one show. Lou Anne was instantly in love. He took her out to the quarry after one show late one Saturday night. Lewis was not in the mood for much conversation.

“You wanna?”

“Do I `Wanna what?`”

“Come on now… You don`t go into that bar lookin` for Jesus. Do you ya?”

Lewis did not wait for an audible response from Lou Anne. And, Lou Anne didn`t bother to stop Lewis from taking off her clothes as he ushered her into the back seat. They neither one bothered to protect themselves that night. Lou Anne would learn that was a mistake about a month later.

Lou Anne stood in that bathroom in her house with a positive pregnancy test in her right hand and a tear-drenched tissue in her left. Lou Anne`s first thought was to hide the pregnancy from her parents. But, that plan was abandoned when her mother accidentally walked in on her in the bathroom.

“Lord, God, Lou Anne, what`s that?”

“Uh, um, well. Nothing.”

“Are you–? Tell me you`re not… Not that stupid… Show me your hands. Show me right now.”

Lou Anne slowly held out her hand. Her fingers unfurled like a flag one by one until the result was clear to both of them. Berta spun around and walked out of the bathroom without saying a word. Lou Anne let out a long and painful sigh as she stared into the mirror.

“Ma-m—.“

Lou Anne got out but a whisper before her voice gave out. There were no words beyond the obvious. It mattered little that Lou Anne could not bring herself to say it. She was two weeks shy of her eighteenth birthday. And, Lou Anne was pregnant.

Bertha told Pastor Ed later that night about Lou Anne`s condition. The news mortified Pastor Ed. He beat and he beat on Lou Anne until his good hand throbbed. Lou Anne did not bother to scream. She knew it would have only served to make things worse. And, they were bad enough as it was.

“How could you do this to me?”

“I—I`m sor–.”

“Sorry? You`re sorry. My church… My reputation… My…”

Pastor Ed was only concerned about his own life. Lou Anne was not surprised. The pair had not had a real conversation in months. Pastor Ed was in no mood for a father-daughter chat. Bertha in an effort to defuse the situation offered up a solution.

“Ed, she can just marry that boy.”

“Does she even know who he is? Which one?”

“Ed! She is still your daughter.”

“Mine? I think not.”

“Lou Anne…? Speak up girl. You tell us the name of that boy.”

Lou Anne stared down at the plush calico carpet at her feet. It embarrassed her to know that she knew not much more about Lewis than his first name. Lou Ann swayed from side to side in her short little green dress. She looked up at her parents and tugged at the bright blue little bow in her hair.

“You see, Bert. She don`t know. Just like them whores out at the factory every night…”z

Lou Ann swayed from side to side in her short little green dress. She looked up at her parents and tugged at the bright blue little bow in her hair.

“Don`t say that! Yes, I know! And, I`m not a prostitute. Lewis!”

“`Lewis`?”

“Yes, Lewis.”

“`Lewis` what? He must have a last name.”

“It`s Lewis Martin or Cox, I think.”

“You `think`? You hear that Berta? It`s a miracle. Your daughter thinks she knows his last name.”

“Ed! That ain`t helpin` nuthin`.”

Pastor Ed stood and shook his finger at both Lou Anne and Berta. Lou Anne saw the wheels of Pastor Ed`s mind turning. Suddenly, Pastor Ed`s stopped and raised his finger into the air before Lou Anne`s face. He slowly lowered his finger, and he poked Lou Anne squarely in the middle of her chest.

“You. You are getting married.”

“But, what if Lewis doesn`t want to…?”

“Oh… You are getting married. Or, you don`t come back. You hear?”

Pastor Ed walked over to the old, black rotary telephone. He picked up the little white and yellow phonebook that sat next to it. Pastor Ed flipped through it for a moment. He stopped on a page. He tore the page clean out of the phonebook. And, he handed it to Lou Anne.

“You find this boy here. And, you make shurin` he done knows what he`s gotta do. If he don`t, well, you just go on ahead and find yourself another roof, girl.”

“Papa, please…don`t do this.”

Lou Anne begged and pleaded for an hour with Pastor Ed for him to change his mind. But, there was no way she was going to change his mind. She walked out of the living room with the crumpled piece of undetermined destiny in her hand.

Lou Anne walked up stairs as tear drops dripped from her pretty little face. Lou Anne found Helen straining with her ear up to an open air vent. Lou Anne figured that Helen enjoyed the moment. They had never gotten along all that well.

“So, you know?”

“Yeah. I heard.”

“What are you going to do about Lewis?”

“No idea. No idea at all.”

Helen moved quickly over to Lou Anne. They both sat on Lou Anne`s unmade bed. Several minutes passed as they cried and prayed together. Lou Anne was not sure God could help her now.

“Amen.”

“And, amen.”

“It`s going to be okay, Lou Anne. God will pull you through.”

Helen was always the stronger believer of the two sisters. Lou Anne marveled at Helen`s faith. Helen was a big girl. She wore enormous glasses. They were an inch thick.

She spoke with a heavy lisp. Helen wobbled and swayed when she walked. Polio had turned her left leg into a limp pretzel. She wore a cumbersome, metal brace on it except when she slept.

The kids at school bullied her constantly. The boys mocked Helen as she waddled to her next class. The other girls were less kind as she passed them in the school hallway.

“Helen Hippo! Helen Hippo! Where`s your zoo?”

Helen never let it bother her at all. She believed God had a plan for her life. She was always ready with a quick response to those that sought to put her down.

“God love me so much that he just made more of me to love.”

Lou Anne in her younger days was as guilty as anyone in mocking Helen. But, at this moment, Lou Anne wished that she could take every last angry, hurtful word she uttered to Helen right back.

“Thanks, sis. But, things are kind-a of a mess for me right now.”

“`The heavier the rain the bigger the rainbow.` You know?”

“If that`s true…”

“It is. I know it.”

“Then, it`s going to be one very, very, very big rainbow.”

“Yes, it is. Praise the Lord!”

The next day Lou Anne got up early, not that she slept much. She barely touched her breakfast. Berta was not the best cook in the world. Still, it was a shame that Lou Anne let those runny scrambled eggs and half-burnt, wheat toast go to waste on her flower printed paper plate.

“I`ve got people to do and things to see.”

Lou Anne blushed. She felt the irony of inadvertently flipping that phrase around in both her thoughts and in her life. There was a steady drizzle of rain outside. She grabbed her faded pink parasol. Lou Anne thought it was fortunate that the rain hid her tears as she walked towards Lewis` address.

She knew the area as she got closer. But, she could not remember going by the house. That made her feel even more uneasy. It was not the biggest house in the world. Lou Anne marveled at the collection of old junk cars that littered the overgrown front lawn.

The cars ranged from classic to complete junk. They were all in various states of disrepair. Lou Anne wondered if any of them could be started.

A pink and white little jalopy caught Lou Anne`s eye. She stepped off the cracked, grey sidewalk to take a closer look. She loved cars especially the fast ones.  There was something about watching the blur of speeding metal whizzing by her.

Lou Anne spent time downtown every Friday night watching the young, local yokels circle the town square. Oh how she envied them. Lou Anne did so because she did not have a car, but mostly because she never had the courage to get her driver`s license.

Even in her young life, Lou Anne lamented never finding the courage to go down to the local DMV to take the driving test. She panicked every time she sat alone behind a steering wheel. Pastor Ed and Berta both tried to teach her to drive with no success. They were not alone in their efforts.

There was an all too touchy-feely middle-aged next door neighbor that gave it a try with Lou Anne, in more ways than one. Lou Anne regretted her lack of ability for driving. And, she was no better at shrugging off perverts.

“Hey, you! Moron!”

Lou Anne spun around to a rather gruff looking old man with a dollar store hairpiece slapped upon his head. He was annoyed at her presence. He stepped forward through the grey haze of rain.

“Grass. You. Off. Now…”

Lou Anne slunk back toward the sidewalk. She stumbled and tripped. She found herself flat on her back with her legs spread wide for all the world to see. The grizzled, old man laughed. He didn`t bother to help her back up to her feet. The dirty old man enjoyed the view far too much for that.

“Well, hello there, Mary Full of Grace.”

Lou Anne got up to her feet. She brushed off the mud and grass stains from her yellow skirt. Lou Anne took one more nervous step back towards the street side sidewalk. She shivered in her drenched clothes as they clung tightly to her body. She attempted to fix her hair and wipe her face dry to no avail.

“Sor–. I`m looking for Lewis Cox. Is he here?”

“Boy! Hey boy! Get out here! Some pretty little sexy thing is out here`s a hollerin` for you.”

Lou Anne shuddered once more. This time it was not from the cold. Dirty old perverts were never her favorite thing. And, there were many around town. She shook her head. Lou Anne turned to leave as she muttered under breath.

“Two-bit hillbilly trash…”

“Lou Anne? Why you even here?”

It was Lewis. His high-pitched drawl was unmistakable. He stood at the door in a tight white t-shirt. Think, black motor oil stains covered his faded blue jeans. A thin, long cigarette protruded from his slender lips.

The heavy dark grey cigarette smoke rings around Lewis head made it hard for Lou Anne to see his face through the rain. Lewis stepped down the stairs with a bit of a side to side shimmy. Lou Anne figured he was trying to be sexy. But, he was not.

Lou Anne wondered what she had seen in him that night at the bar. He was a frail, wisp of a man, a boy really. Lewis` face was covered with fire ant-red acne. He had an uncountable number of pox mark scattered across his bare arms and exposed, sunken chest.

Lewis drew his cigarette from his crooked mouth. He tossed the half-smoked remains to the ground. He crushed what remained of it with the heel of his knock off cowboy boots. The smoke from the still lit butt wafted for a moment in the air before the rain snuffed it out.

“We need to talk.”

Lewis could see Lou Anne was here for something other than a social call. He walked over towards Lou Anne. This time minus the sexy gait. Lou Anne was happy about that.

“What`s this about? Somethun` wrong with you or a wantin` some more lovin` from Big Louie`?”

“Thanks. No. I`ve had more than enough of Little Louie. That`s for sure.”

Lou Anne shook her head. A pat of her exposed belly with her trembling right hand was all the sign that Lewis needed to know why she came to find him. Lewis put his wispy hands to his sides. He tugged gently on his old, thin, leather belt to adjust his jeans.

“Shor—e ain`t mine!”

Lou Anne was many things. But, nobody was going to label her a whore. She stepped back in rage towards Lewis.

“It is!”

Lou Anne`s sudden fit of rage frightened the old man who was taking all of this drama in from the sidelines.

“Son, I`m-ma goin` back in the home. You let me know how this all goes. You hear?”

“I got this, Pops. You let us be.”

“`You `got this`? You `got this`? What you`ve `got…I… What we`ve `got` is a problem.”

“Hey, hey! What do you want from me? Money? Blood?”

Lou Anne held up her right hand. She shook the index finger of her left hand, and she pointed to her ring finger with her right index finger. Lewis fell to his knees in disbelief as Lou Anne lowered her head in shame.

“Married? You want to get married? To me?”

“Not really… But, Pastor Ed decided it was for the best.”

Lou Anne dropped to her knees and prayed. She had no idea what to do if Lewis refused Pastor`s Ed`s ultimatum. Lou Anne had nothing and nowhere else to go.

“And, Pastor Ed gets everything he wants. What he owns you or something?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

She waited in silent prayer to God for Lewis to answer. Lou Anne`s life was about to change one way or another.

“I see. Well…”

“Yes or no, Lewis?”

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