c. 2016, Olan Smith
Come rain, hail, sunshine, ice, sleet, or snow, Cotton and his brothers walked two blocks to the highway to meet the school bus. In this manner, Cotton would meet every school-age child who lived along Grand Street to the highway. Most of the children were older than he was, but every so often Nancy Sue rode the bus with them after she spent the night with her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Roberts. Nancy Sue would become one of his several girl playmates who taught him how girls behaved differently. He would learn that girls would be jealous if he played with other girls, something he couldn't quite grasp, but Alice was never jealous; she was like one of the boys.
Going to school expanded Cotton's world, and Little Grandma would become his babysitter after school until his mother finished work. In the next six years, he will grow up with Alice as his other half. His world was about to expand to encompass a hoard of new people, and he was a small fish in a big pond. Maple Street became his new kingdom, away from home, where he would make new friends. Best of all, Alice lived up the street and around the corner, and their friendship would grow. Every school day, he would see her if events allowed it. To see Alice after school, he would first have to spend time in a funny type of prison they called school.
Alice was in Mrs. Walberg's first grade class, and Cotton was in Mrs. Crenshaw's (something they would later figure out was planned so they would never be in the same classroom). Mrs. Crenshaw was a wonderful teacher and person. Cotton was too busy, lost in his own world, as he tried to figure out the quirks and benefits of this school stuff. The first day, he sat and watched as other little boys and girls cried for their mommies, and Cotton was plotting how he could make these new people his subjects. As he was trying to figure out how to accomplish this goal, a boy came running to his desk to show off his new haircut. This action ruined his train of thought; as he pondered, who cares?
He did not make any new friends at school that day, but he was introduced to a whole new world he did not know existed. Bubba showed him the way to City Hall, where his mother worked as City Collector, and then to his grandparents' house. He would walk that route every school day for the next six years; the summer of the sixth year would begin his greatest adventure. He figured the world was full of giants as he exited with the high school kids.
In nineteen fifty-nine, while he was walking down Maple Street, he met Larry Conley. Larry was standing on the sidewalk in front of his house, just two houses down and across the street from his grandparents' house and a couple of houses up from Donnie Hawley, whom he would meet the following year. Cotton stopped as Larry was playing in his front yard and said, "My name is Cotton C. Jones, and I am six years old. What is your name?"
"My name is Larry, and I am five years old. Do you want to play with me?"
And so they played for the next six years. Larry would become an integral part of his life, along with Donnie. Donnie would be the fifth player when his cousins came to visit twice a year, just enough people for modified baseball, card games, and, of course, the rage—playing cowboys and Indians, and war. Larry was part native, so he would play the Indian roll partnered with a loyal white man or woman, and that would be Cotton or Cousin Jill when she became old enough to play with them. Larry was Cotton's best boyfriend, while Alice would always remain his closest friend, period.
Larry's mother was Vivian. She was a Micronesian, and Cotton liked her. She lived in fear of Larry's father. She always tiptoed around the house, trying not to upset Claude or disturb him. He was home most days, sipping on a beer or something stronger. Most of the time, the two boys stayed away from Larry's dad, except when it was time to watch baseball on TV. Then the three of them would cheer loudly for their favorite team. He and Larry loved to play catch in the backyard, and that was the norm for their after-school activities. If it was raining, they would stay inside to play card games on the kitchen table. This would last until Cotton's parents came by to pick him up or Vivian said it was time for him to go home. With their imaginations, they were transported anywhere in the world or at any time. "Cotton, let's go play in your grandparents' backyard for a while."
"Larry, let's climb that maple tree over yonder. It has low branches for us to climb up."
In a flash, Cotton and Larry became snipers, spying into neighboring backyards and pretending to shoot them while they worked in their gardens or were relaxing in the sun. Larry shouted down from above and asked, "How many people have you picked off so far?"
As Larry began to climb down, from about ten feet above Cotton's head, he slipped and fell head first on his way to a certain injury. Cotton instinctively reached out and grabbed him. He caught Larry by his right ankle and stopped his plunge. "I can't hold you much longer, Larry. Look down to the ground and figure out how you're going to land without getting hurt," Cotton shouted. At the same time, Cotton struggled to keep his footing where he was perched.
The school years flew by, and by the summer of nineteen-sixty-five, he had completed fifth grade. That summer was the rainiest summer he could remember. One day, he walked into City Hall from his grandmother's house. This was his routine when he had nothing better to do after playing. Here, he would wait until his mother got off work. This summer, Alice and he turned twelve years of age and became teenagers on the cusp.
"Hi mom, hello Mrs. Washburn!" he said. Mrs. Washburn was the city clerk, and her husband Leo did all the books for her. He figured she didn't know how to, but she was the person who dealt with the public each day while Leo cared for their antique store.
Cotton's mother spoke, "It's going to be a bit, because I am having trouble making the books balance. Go back to Little Grandma's house, and we will pick you up there. I don't know how long this is going to take."
"Before you go, Mrs. Washburn's grandson Shawn is having a birthday party soon, and I told her you would come. Is that alright with you?"
An icy cold chill ran down Cotton's back, and he sat down in one of the many chairs in the office. He pondered the thought of being cursed forever if he dared go up there. Suddenly, he began to feel ill, and his face became pale.
"Cotton? Are you alright? You're as white as a sheet." She rose from her seat, walked over, and placed her hand on his forehead. "You don't have a fever. Maybe you should sit here for a while until you feel better."
"I'm okay, mom. I just need to do some walking. I'll go on over to Little Grandma's, and if I don't feel better, I will lie down for a bit."
With those words, Cotton left the old building and walked up the hill to Main Street. For a diversion, he walked to Martin's Drug Store to have a cherry coke from the fountain or have a peek at the dirty books on the upper shelf, and if no one was looking, he would flip through them to look at the naked women. Mr. Martin never said a word but kept an eye on Cotton just in case he seemed too curious. By the time he left the drug store, he had put Toulman Heights behind him, and he continued on his merry way past the library, the jail, his church building, and on to his grandparents' house.