Charlie’s Ma and Pa were from two families that had lived in the area for ages—the Woodward family and the Young family. His Pa’s name was Elk (which was short for something like Elkhorn or Elkton) and his Ma’s name was Eva. The Young family was known in the area for producing some of the best moonshine around. Elk was a wealthy heir to the moonshine business and had a nasty habit of drinking his days away. He had a terrible temper and not even his own mother could reason with him when he was angry. He was a railroad conductor by day and a drunk (as Mama called him) by night. Sometimes, he would get his days and nights confused and he would be drunk all day as well. He was known to do terrible things when he was drunk and angry. Mama told me that, one time when he was drunk, he ran over his own cousin with his train.
Charlie’s Ma, Eva, was a beautiful woman—soft spoken and smooth skinned. She was only twelve years old when she married Elk, who was considerably older than her. Some say she was bought at a mighty high price because her family was struggling with keeping their farm. Others say she was in love with Elk from a very young age and when she was old enough to marry, she ran off with him. I don’t know which one is true, or if it is some mix of the two stories.
Mama told me that the fighting started almost as soon as they were married. Elk maintained his temper and Eva would match his anger with a temper of her own. The fighting could be heard a mile away, Mama said. When Charlie was born, Eva kicked Elk out of the house to keep him from doing anything that would harm their child. Elk stayed at his family’s farm and would visit Eva and little Charlie from time to time. As Charlie grew up, his father was only a visitor who was frequently drunk and unpleasant to be around. From a very young age, Charlie would come over to our house to escape the violence at home. His Ma would send him over when his Pa would come around and he would stay all day and sometimes overnight.
That summer was particularly volatile and Charlie was over at our house more times than he was at home. Some nights, I would lay in my bed and listen to the yelling from Charlie’s house. His Ma and Pa were fighting an awful lot and they would yell and scream late into the night. His Ma would come over to our house some days and thank Mama for keeping Charlie. She would never say anything about the fighting or the yelling, and Mama always told me that she was a very private person. No matter how terrible it seemed her life was, she would keep a smile on her face and she was as graceful as ever.
Charlie went home that evening and Mama called me inside earlier than usual. She didn’t like me being outside alone at night, and since Charlie had gone, she wanted me to come inside with her. As she bathed me and scrubbed all of the dirt out from under my finger nails and toe nails, she told me that Charlie’s Pa had gone off for work and he would be able to stay at his house for a few weeks. I was sad that he wouldn’t be staying with us, but I was glad things could be better for him at home.
“How long is his Pa going to be gone away, Mama?” I asked.
“I’m not sure, honey,” she replied softly. “It could be a while or it could be a few days. It all just depends how long it takes him to get his job done on the train.”
“Is Charlie going to come stay with us when his Pa comes home?” I pushed for more information.
“We always hope that his Pa will come home a changed man, honey,” she answered. “If he doesn’t come home changed, Charlie will probably come back to stay for a little while. We just have to pray that the Good Lord will change his ways.”
I secretly hoped that his Pa would not be changed, although I felt guilty for wanting something so terrible. I really liked when Charlie was over and we could play all day long. I didn’t want that to change, although it would change, very soon.