Nobody Can Say It's You

6

Many in town made fun of Beanie, calling him the town retard or worse. 

Beanie was the caretaker for the town's largest cemetery, Memorial Gardens. He was also Hadley's sidekick whenever she picked up odd jobs that got her out of the house and gave her an excuse to be rambling about.

Beanie had his head stuck inside a large paper sack from Pixie-Squares Supermarket.

"I'm drunker than Cootie Brown," said Beanie.

He sounded terrible. Hadley was worried.

"What's made you dizzy, Bean?" Hadley asked. "Do you have high blood pressure or something?"

"Naw," said Beanie. "Nuthin' like that. I was puttin' my tools away in the work shed. I was goin' to walk over to Hennishaw Pinks. Hennishaw said he had an old mower that Harvey could have for the cemetery if I would just come over and get it. You know Harvey. He'll take anything if it's free.

Harvey gave me the rest of the day off. Hennishaw's place is about a two-hour walk. I was supposed to push the mower home and bring it back to the Gardens tomorrow."

"Did you hurt yourself?" Hadley asked. "Did you get overheated?"

"Naw," said Beanie. "Nuthin' like that, neither. I ain't even started to walk to Pinks. Oh, Hadley. You just don't know."

"Tell me, Beanie," Hadley said.

"June Mae Miller 'n June Bug Browley drove up to the cemetery to pay their respects to their Mam 'n Pap. You know, Hadley, it's a good thing June 'n' June live in the same house. Two folks named the same anything will keep the haints away."

"Uh-hum," said Hadley. "And June Mae and June Bug, did they say something to hurt your feelings?"

"Oh, no," Beanie said. "June Mae 'n June Bug's always real nice to me. June Mae brings me a leftover biscuit sometimes when her 'n June Bug come over for a visit. Mam 'n Pap raised 'em like that, ya know."

"I know, Bean. Mam 'n Pap were good folks. Now get your head out of that sack, and tell me what happened."

Beanie did as he was told, but he couldn't help but look longingly into the bottom of the sack.

"June Bug asked me where Sadie Finch was buried. I should'a just told 'em where she rests, but I was in a awful hurry. If I didn't get a move on, I was gonna be walkin' home from Hennishaw's place in the dark! In the dark, Hadley! Pushin' a lawnmower! That's just askin' for trouble, you know?"

"Um-hum," said Hadley.

"Why, that's just a fine howdy and an open-invitation for any spook to follow me home! Right to my back door. It don't matter if you ain't kin. Just come on in 'n haint my skin! 

I'd rather not have that happen, if ya don't mind. Life's hard enough without a bunch 'a ghosts turnin' my house topsy-turvy. My own comp'ny's plenty good enough for me. You know what I'm sayin'?"

"Um-hum," said Hadley.

"Well, anyways, I shoulda just told June Bug 'n June Mae where Sadie Finch was planted. I should'a just done that. Her plot is near the corner of that fence that runs near Moonshine Creek," Beanie said. "But I didn't."

Beanie stuck his head into the paper bag again.

"Beanie," Hadley said, "pull your head out of that poke! Just tell me what has you so upset. I'm not a spring chicken. At this rate, my fallen chest will hit my knee caps by the time you get around to finishing this story! You look like Juniper's mule at feeding time."

"Oh, Hadley! Oh, Hadley!" Beanie said, reluctantly pulling his head out of the bag and looking her in the eyes.

Beanie was truly afraid. Hadley could tell that much. But if he didn't tell her the reason for this fear, she could never help him.

"Just take a deep breath, Bean," Hadley said, "and spit it out."

"I wasn't thinkin'. I wasn't! I wish I was. But I wasn't. I pointed to where Sadie Finch lay," Beanie said, looking like he was going to pass out right there in front of Hadley.

"And?"

"Don't you get it? I pointed, Hadley! I pointed! I didn't tell June Bug 'n June Mae where Sadie rested. I pointed! Oh, heavens to Betsy! I pointed in a graveyard! In a graveyard, Hadley! My finger's gonna rot off!"

"Oh, Bean," Hadley said. "It will do no such thing. That's just an old superstition. It's totally false. Your finger's fine."

Beanie remained steadfastly unconvinced. Hadley could see it in his eyes.

"Okay, my friend. Let me see your finger."

Beanie showed Hadley his index finger.

"Looks like we still got plenty of time. Only thing I see is a little rust and a lot of dirt. Get your poke, and come with me," said Hadley.

"Where we going?"

"Just get in the car. We'll swing by Hennishaw Pink's place. Pick up that old piece 'a junk lawnmower."

"How do you know it's a piece 'a junk?" Beanie asked.

"Have you ever known Hennishaw Pink to ever give away anything that he hadn't plumb used up, tore up, or totally gotten all the goodie out of?" Hadley asked.

Beanie shook his head "no."

"Well, like I said, we'll head west to Dilcie Pickle's, then we'll swing by Pink's and stow that piece 'a junk mower in the trunk. Drop it off at your place. And you can deliver it tomorrow."

"We gonna see Granny Dilcie?" asked Beanie.

"Yep," said Hadley. "It's been too long since I paid my respects. You seen her lately, Bean, like in a month 'a Sundays?"

"Oh," said Beanie, who was strapped into his seatbelt in the front passenger's seat with the Pixie-Squares paper poke neatly folded on his lap, "I think it's been a lot longer than that."

"Just as I thought," Hadley said. "And don't go stuffing your head in that poke anymore. You will be drunker than Cootie Brown riding around in a car without looking at the scenery. 

Don't worry about your finger. Don't fret. It's gonna be all right. I promise. We'll get all our chores done, and we'll be back long before it gets dark."

"We gonna pass the news with Granny?" Beanie asked.

"Yes. We'll see how she'd been doing. But more importantly, Bean, we are going to get Granny to fix your finger so it won't rot off," said Hadley.

"Hadley, you're the best friend a guy could have."

"Beanie, if you ain't preachin' the gospel."