Bittersweet
By Bobby A. Troutt
Copyright 2012 Bobby A. Troutt
Table of Contents
Dark Hollow Creek/Return to Dark Hollow Creek
False Witness
Double Trouble
On the Corner of Perry Street
Bridge Over McKinley County River
*****
Bittersweet
Dark Hollow Creek/Return to Dark Hollow Creek
The blizzard of 1949 is a time I’ll always remember. The driving force of the wind and snow forced us off the main road and caused us to detour down an unknown road. The road sign read Dark Hollow Creek, Kentucky, Boone County. I roughly estimated we were about one hundred and fifty miles from the West Virginia state line. This was a new route for me. I had worked for Southern Streamline Bus Company about four years and this was my first experience of driving in a blizzard. The snow was packed deep; it was up to the bumper of the coach, nearly paralyzing it. The blinding sleet and snow made visibility almost impossible. I had to stop three or four times and wait for the storm to let up so we could move on.
The blizzard hit hard and fast, within a matter of minutes the wind had caused drifts of snow up to five feet tall. The icy wind, mixed with snow, also packed drifts up against the bus. The tree limbs were weighed down with ice and snow causing some of them to break and others to bow downward toward the ground.
As I slowly drove on, the headlights of the bus pierced through the darkness showing off the busy snowflakes. When suddenly from the bus a light appeared through the woods. As we got closer we realized it was a house; everyone was relieved. We all were eager to get in out of the storm. As we approached, we realized it was not a house but a country inn. There was a creek that ran right in front of the entrance to the inn. You could either drive or walk across the bridge. The snowstorm had driven us into the inn; we were stranded with little to no hope.
Cautiously, we made our way off the bus and into the inn. We knocked on the door several times but no one answered. We could see a lamp on by the window. We yelled, hello, is anybody home but there was no answer. I tried the door; it was unlocked. I opened it slowly and we all went in yelling hello is anybody at home. But, there was still no response. Once inside, we stood in a giant chamber filled with antique furniture and bookcases. Across the room there was a huge fireplace; the coals were still hot on the smoldering fire. There was a long bar, tables, chairs, two couches, a long winding staircase that led upstairs and a teardrop glass chandelier that was suspended over the middle of the room.
“Where do you think they are?” asked Gary.
Gary was gay and went by his nickname, Bubba.
“I don’t know,” I replied.
“Haskell, see if there’s a phone,” demanded Bubba. “You’re the bus driver that got us in this mess.”
“Oh come on, Bubba,” said Stephen. “He drove the best he could under the circumstances.”
“He’s the one who made the wrong turn,” he said. “He shouldn’t have left the main road, now we are stuck here for God knows how long.”
As Stephen started to say something back to him, his wife, Audrey, interrupted. “Let it go, Stephen. It’s not going to make things any better.”
“Yeah,” said Bubba. “Listen to your wife, Stephen.”
“Both of you shut up,” I said. “Let’s split up into two groups and check upstairs and down here.”
As we carefully searched the house, we found no one. But what mattered most was that we were in out of the storm. Also, there was food and water which was a blessing in itself. I suggested we stay at the inn until the storm lifted.
“Here’s a phone,” yelled Audrey as she picked up the receiver. Unfortunately, it was dead. There was no dial tone.
“That’s just great,” cried out Bubba.
“I believe under these circumstances the owner wouldn’t mind us staying,” I said and everyone agreed.
“What if this place is haunted,” asked Bubba.
“The more the better,” laughed Stephen. “Are you afraid of ghosts, Bubba?” he teased.
“No way, man” he replied. “And I’m not afraid of you either.”
Stephen jumped up and got right in front of Bubba. Bubba backed up and I was able to step in between them before things got out of hand.
“Both of you stop it. Damn it; I’m already sick and tired of y’all bickering and we just got here.”
“You can tell he’s a little sissy,” popped off Stephen. He’s got a little sugar in him.”
“That’s enough,” I yelled.
“I’ve got more sweetness about me than your wife does, maybe you’d like me better.”
Then they lit in to each other as Audrey and I tried our best to pull them apart. Finally, they settled down and walked away. The others on the bus were Susan a recent divorcee and her daughter, Heather, Evelyn and her husband, Earnest who they call Peroy and has Alzheimer’s, just walked away in disgust.
Suddenly Audrey spoke up with fear in her voice, “What was that noise?”
“I didn’t hear anything,” replied Stephen.
“Listen, there it is again,” she said.
“Ah, it’s probably the wind,” I responded.
Then all at once the grandfather clock began to chime. Dong, dong, dong it sounded as the cuckoo clock started cuckooing. The sounds of the clocks were toned down by the big room.
“Well, let’s grab a bite to eat and get some rest,” I suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” spoke up the others in unison.
As Audrey turned away, she asked Stephen if he was coming. He turned to her and told her not right now. She stormed out of the room and up the steps out of sight. As the others walked away, Stephen started to say something but was drowned out by the slamming of the door upstairs.
After we had eaten, I helped Evelyn and Peroy to a room. Peroy had no earthly idea of what was going on. Evelyn was taking him to a home in Lexington that specialized in patients with Alzheimer’s; he was in the last stages. He had to be watched and Evelyn was not able to do it by herself. All they had were each other. Both their families were all gone and it was just the two of them. Later on, Stephen went upstairs to his room. I could hear them all the way downstairs as they argued at the top of their voices. They were really going at it. Then suddenly, Stephen came out of the room with a pillow and blanket. As he headed down the steps, Audrey slammed the door behind him. As Stephen pitched his bed clothes on the couch, Bubba immediately started in on him.
“And you call me a sissy.”
“Okay, okay,” I refereed. “Let’s drop it.”
Stephen gave Bubba a bird and Bubba replied, “Now who’s got the sugar.”
“Let’s go to bed,” Susan said to Heather. “Mama doesn’t feel too well.”
“Where are we going to sleep?” asked Heather.
“You can take the room beside Peroy and Evelyn,” I answered. “I believe I’ll sit up for a while, just in case the owners come back.”
“Okay,” agreed Susan. “Let’s go Heather.”
The night eased toward a cold morning. I slipped out the front door, during the night, to get my big brown suitcase off the bus and place it with the other bags in the baggage compartment of the bus. Then I headed back into the house, sat back down in the chair and fell asleep. I didn’t know until later that Bubba had watched my every move.
The house layed dormant, the only sound you could hear was the ticking of the clock and the dong, dong, dong of its chimes. Morning had broken and everyone was downstairs drinking coffee and talking. But no one noticed that Peroy had left the room. Evelyn had gone into the bathroom for a few minutes, thinking that the others would k
eep an eye on Peroy. When she came back into the room, she noticed he wasn’t there. She asked if anyone knew where he went.
“He was right here a minute ago.”
She started calling out his name with panic in her voice.
About that time they heard something hit the floor upstairs and then a gunshot. Evelyn started screaming and ran for the stairs and we were right behind her. We raced down the hall, looking in all the rooms calling his name, Peroy! Peroy! Finally, Evelyn opened a door and found him staring out the window. She ran over to him and put her arms around him.
“Thank God, Peroy, you are all right.”
The shotgun lay on the floor not far from where Peroy was. As Evelyn and the others escorted Peroy back downstairs, I looked the situation over and came to the conclusion that Peroy must have found the gun in the closet, took it out and somehow managed to take the safety off. But, before he could do anything with it, he dropped it on the floor and it went off. He was lucky he wasn’t killed. I took the gun downstairs and put it up.
It was so beautiful outside. From the window it appeared like a winter wonderland. The early morning sun swept across the blanket of snow; it created a glistening effect on the icy crusted snow. There were long icicles hanging from the edge of the porch, as the cold arctic wind stirred about.
“There are only six more days until Christmas,” shouted Bubba.
“I hope we’ll be home by then,” replied the others.
Then unexpectedly the phone rang. We were startled at first because the phones were dead.
“See, what’d I say,” said Bubba. “We’ll be home for Christmas. Hello, hello, it’s dead again,” he replied.
“Oh well look, Heather,” said Susan as she pointed out the window. “The wind is picking up the snow and filtering through it like a whirlwind causing it to dance about on the crusty top of the snow.”
“Look, Mama, it looks like someone is out there lying in the snow,” stated Heather.
“It does,” cried Audrey. “I believe someone is out there.”
Quickly, Stephen and I rushed out the door. We fought the deep snow and struggled to get through it.
“It is, it is someone Mama,” cried Heather.
Quickly, Stephen and I picked her up and brought her into the inn. We laid her down on the couch; she was barely breathing.
“How long do you think she’s been out there?” asked Bubba.
“I don’t know,” I answered.
“Where did she come from?” questioned Stephen.
“She may have walked here from the main road.”
“That’s a long way,” said Evelyn.
Suddenly, she began to cough and come to.
“Where am I?” the woman asked.
“We found you outside and brought you inside the inn,” I replied.
“My car stalled just down the road. I started walking to get some help. I saw the light on and I tried to get here but I must have collapsed. I was so close. Who are y’all?” she asked. “I’m Irene.”
“We were on a bus headed for Lexington when the storm hit. We were forced off the main road and got stranded here. I’m Haskell the bus driver.”
The others told her who they were and welcomed her to stay. She really had no other choice. There was nowhere else to go.
“It was Heather who saw you in the snow,” Evelyn informed her.
“Why thank you so much, Heather,” Irene replied, “for seeing me.”
“I believe I’ll go and lay down for a while,” said Susan. “I’m not feeling very well.”
“Okay, Mama,” Heather replied.
“Do you think we’ll be out of here before Christmas?” asked Stephen.
“I don’t know,” I replied. “If they are able to get some snowplows up here on the road, we just might.”
“That’s just great,” complained Audrey. “We’re stuck up here for God knows how long.”
Stephen spoke up, “I think it is different for a change.”
“You would,” shouted Audrey.
Then they started arguing once again, yelling back and forth at each other.
“Look at you two, if all you are going to do is fuss and fight will you at least take it somewhere else,” I suggested.
“Yeah, man,” retorted Bubba.
Audrey and Stephen both stomped out of the room and went upstairs. Evelyn sat beside Peroy and held his hand. Irene and Bubba just shook their heads. Then Peroy farted and smiled. All the others looked at one another and didn’t say a word.
The day soon passed and night fell once again on Dark Hollow Creek. The weather had not changed and there still wasn’t another sole in sight. Bubba and Heather played checkers. Irene sat with Susan who was not feeling well at all. Luckily, Irene had some nursing experience. I sat in a chair, falling in and out of sleep. Evelyn and Peroy had gone to bed. Audrey had locked herself in the bedroom and Stephen was back on the couch. Bong, bong, bong chimed the grandfather clock and cuckoo went the other clock. It was a little after midnight when we were awakened by a pecking sound. We got up and followed the sound.
Heather screamed, “I thought I saw someone looking in the window.”
We went from room to room and finally found where the pecking sound was coming from. A limb was rubbing against the glass. But, no one else saw anybody.
“It won’t be long until morning. I’m going to fix me some coffee,” I told the others. “Anyone else want some?”
“I’ll take a cup,” said Stephen.
“Me too,” replied Irene and Bubba.
While we drank our coffee and enjoyed the early morning, Stephen noticed that the grandfather clocked chimed thirteen times.
“Did you hear that?” he asked.
“Hear what?” I questioned.
“The grandfather clock chimed thirteen times.”
“It can’t do that,” I said. “You must have missed counted the strikes.”
“No, I didn’t,” he replied. “I know it struck thirteen times. I didn’t miss count.”
“I’ll get it,” said Irene as the phone rang once again. “Hello,” she said. “Hello, it’s dead.”
“There is something going to happen. I feel it,” cried Stephen. “This place is weird.”
“Go on and finish your coffee,” said Bubba. “But he does have a point this place is different.”
At the breaking of dawn, there was a knock at the door.
“Hello, anybody home.”
Quickly, Stephen and I jumped up to answer the door. As we opened it, there stood two workmen.
“We wanted you to know that we have been working on the telephone lines. It may be a couple more days before your service is restored. Are y’all alright?” they asked.
“Yes, sir, we got stranded here by the storm,” I replied.
“Yeah,” said the repairman. “The storm has knocked out most of the county’s services. I’m surprised you still have electricity.”
“We have the generator running and that’s about all we have.”
The repairman stated, “It may be the end of the week before the snowplows will be able to get up here.”
“We’re okay,” stated Bubba. “We’ll see you.”
“Okay, then,” the workman replied as they left.
As the day moved on, Susan became worse. Evidently, she had picked up a bug. Irene and Heather took care of her.
“If we can get her fever down,” said Irene, “I believe she’ll recover. This cough she has is not good. Heather did your Mama ever smoke?”
“Yes, ma’am, but she quit about a year ago,” she said. “I pray she doesn’t get pneumonia.”
“We’ll just have to wait and see,” replied Irene.
Little did anyone know that Irene was the girlfriend of Susan’s husband. He had brought her up there and let her out to get inside and abduct his daughter. Then they were going to leave the country. But unknowing to him, Ir
ene had become friends with Susan and Heather; she had a change of heart. She just couldn’t go through with it. She never wanted to do it in the first place. But, he was so controlling and overbearing; she could see it clearly now. She figured Susan had all the right in the world to take Heather and leave. Without warning, Bubba cried out that there was someone looking in the window. But, by the time we looked around, whoever it was, they were gone. Irene had a pretty good idea that it was Kenneth, Susan’s husband, trying to get to her and Heather.
“That’s the second time somebody has seen someone looking in,” I said as I grabbed the gun and placed it close by. “Now let them look in,” I boasted.
As the day passed, night fell once again and everyone had all but turned in except for me and Bubba. We sat by the fireplace talking about nothing in particular. Then Bubba asked me if I knew Sid McClanahan.
“No, should I? Why…why do you ask?” I nervously replied.
“Sid is the head of the McClanahan Mafia out of Louisville.”
“So,” I replied.
“I know that you have ripped off a bunch of money from Sid and he sent me to get it back,” explained Bubba. “And besides that, my name is not Bubba it is Rex; I’m not gay either. I work for Sid.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I responded. “Do I look like I got money? I’m just a bus driver, check it out.”
“Right,” answered Rex. “Why don’t we check the baggage section under the bus? Let’s take a look in there.”
“Okay, I saw a little chance to pick up some extra money at the bus station,” I told him. “And I did, but I didn’t know who it belonged to until it was too late. I saw the chance and took advantage of it. Hey, I don’t need all that money. You can take a cut of it and we can go our separate ways. They’ll never know.”
“You’ll be running for the rest of your life, hiding and looking over your shoulder,” Rex stated. “I’ll take the money back and that will make everyone happy.”
About that time the lights went out and it was pitch black.
“It must be the generator,” I said. “You got a flashlight?”
“Here’s one,” replied Rex.
“Come on, let’s check it out,” I instructed.
As we stumbled through the darkness we made our way to the generator. Within minutes, we had it back on. Rex and I went back to the den to sit by the fire. The money was never mentioned any more that night. But, I could tell Rex was keeping his eye on me. He wasn’t sure if I would try to sneak out there, grab the money and take off on foot. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Rex didn’t take the money and run. I had to keep my eye on him. How could I trust him when I knew he was a crook? By the time we got settled down by the fireplace, Audrey and Stephen were at it again. You could hear them at the top of the stairs.
“That mans got problems,” said Rex.
“I know,” I replied. “I believe I would have left her a long time ago.”
“What’s their problem anyway?” asked Rex.
“All that I can figure out is he does and she doesn’t.”
Then all of a sudden a pillow came bouncing down the steps with Stephen following close behind with a blanket. We didn’t say a word when he came in. He just flopped down on the couch and pulled the cover up over his head. By morning Susan’s fever had broke and she was feeling better. She was still weak, but she was getting her appetite back. Irene had come down and fixed us breakfast. Then Heather yelled from upstairs.
“Hey,” she said, “Look what I found, a Christmas tree and decorations.”
“Hey, not a bad idea,” said Evelyn. “It looks like we’re going to be here for Christmas anyway.”
“Why not go for it,” replied Irene.
“Bring it on down,” I shouted.
Irene went upstairs and helped Heather bring down the tree and decorations. We all gathered around and started putting up the tree.
“This is fun,” exclaimed Heather. “Mama, do you like it?”
We dressed the tree with ribbons, bows, lights and ornaments. Evenly started singing and we all chimed in. While some sung off key and out of tune, it didn’t matter at all. The song from the heart brought in the joy of the season. Peroy just sat and stared off into space, but he did pat one of his feet a bit.
“Hey,” said Audrey, “we don’t have an ornament for the top.”
Stephen reached over and took Peroy’s stocking hat off his head and placed it on top of the tree. Peroy looked at dumbfounded at first, but then he looked around and grinned. Andrey and Stephen hugged together and joined in the singing. Stephen took Audrey’s red lipstick and colored his nose red. He then pranced around while all the others laughed hysterically. Once everything calmed down, the women went into the kitchen and fixed a Christmas meal for everyone.
The sun had finally started shining much brighter than before so we all went outside to play in the snow. We rolled up big balls of snow and made snowmen. We also threw snowballs and made snow angels. Everyone seemed so happy. Even Audrey and Stephen were enjoying the fun instead of fussing.
As the day settled into night we went in and enjoyed the Christmas feast. After supper we all retired into the den and reminisced about our family Christmases that brought great conversation and more laughter.
Irene stood up and said, “Since we have no presents to put under the tree, I would like to make a Christmas wish and I would like for everyone else to do the same. Let me see; I have it. I wish I could do something good with my life for a change.”
Susan stood up. “My wish is that Heather and I can start over with a new life.”
“I wish I could take away all the bad things I have done, replace them with good things and settle down,” said Bubba.
“What about you and Peroy, Evelyn?”
“We have had a long journey, through the years, but it has been a good one. I guess our wish is for both of us to go on to be with the Lord.”
I spoke up and said, “I wish I had it to do over.”
Audrey spoke up, “That the Lord would bless us with a child.”
“Amen,” replied Stephen.
As the fire crackled and popped, we scattered about and went to our rooms to sleep. Sometime in the night Evelyn awoke screaming and calling for Peroy. He was gone. Everyone jumped out of bed and began to search for him, but he was nowhere to be found. As we made our way downstairs, the front door was open.
“Oh, no, he’s gone outside,” Evelyn cried before she collapsed.
Bubba and I picked her up and laid her on the couch. The men got dressed and went outside to search for Peroy.
Stephen said, “It doesn’t look good.”
“I know what you mean,” I replied.
The night laid cold for its guest. It had started snowing again. As we searched we called out his name, but there was no answer. The night was so dark that it was hard to see the light from the flashlights.
“Peroy! Peroy!” we yelled.
Stephen cried out, “Over here.”
As we followed the sound of Stephen’s voice, we made our way over to him. As the flashlights glistened on the broken icy pond, we saw Peroy lying face down in the pond.
“He must have fallen in,” I implied, “and couldn’t get out.”
No one said a word. As we pulled Peroy back upon the bank, Bubba asked, “What are we going to do?”
I answered, “We’ll wrap him up in some blankets and put him in the shade until we can get some help.”
After we placed his body in the shade, we went back in.
“First chance we get we’ll call the sheriff and tell him about Peroy. I’m sure they will send an ambulance,” I said.
“He’s dead ain’t he,” cried out Evelyn.
Stephen said, “I’m sorry.”
We all gathered around to comfort Evelyn. She finally stopped crying and just sat and stared in quiet, rubbing her hands together.
&nb
sp; “How did he get out?” asked Bubba.
“I didn’t think he could unlock the door,” I responded. “We must have left the front door unlocked.”
The girls took Evelyn upstairs so she could lie down. The men decided to sit around the fire some more to get thawed out. It would be morning soon.
“I told you something bad was going to happen,” said Stephen.
“Come on,” I replied. “Surely you don’t believe in all that mess. Like I said earlier, you probably miss counted. You haven’t heard it again have you?”
“Well no,” Stephen replied.
“It was just Peroy’s time to go,” I assured them.
“Maybe,” said Stephen.
“Let’s talk about something else,” interrupted Bubba. “Let’s talk about getting out of here. Maybe the snowplows will be through here tomorrow.”
“Shhh,” hushed Stephen, “listen, hear the music.”
“Yeah,” I acknowledged. “But, where is it coming from?”
“Over here,” said Bubba. “It’s coming from this music box.”
“Maybe you’re right, Stephen,” I replied.
Then the music stopped.
“Do you believe me now? This place is weird,” he said.
“What next is going to happen next?”
Everyone slept a little later that morning than usual. Evelyn had come downstairs and stood by the window, looking out at the shed. From time to time, you could see her wipe away the tears from her eyes. Then out of the blue, Audrey came running down the steps.
“I’m pregnant,” she cried. “I’m pregnant.”
Stephen jumped up and ran over to her and asked, “Are you sure?”
“I believe it’s for real this time,” she exclaimed.
“I don’t see how,” shouted Bubba.
Stephen picked her up and swung her around. Bubba and I congratulated them. While they were celebrating, no one noticed Evelyn as she went over to the table, picked up the music box and opened it.
As the music played and tears filled her eyes she said, “This is the song that was playing when Peroy asked me to marry him.”
Bubba started to speak but I interrupted him, “Don’t go there.”
Evelyn took the box and went over and sat down.
“Are you alright?” asked Stephen.
“Yes, I am now,” she said. “The Lord has let me know everything will be alright.”
The snow was slowly melting and we knew it wouldn’t be long before we would get back on the bus and go our separate ways. The long icicles hung with drops of water dripping one at a time to the ground. The tall drifts of snow had shrunk down and the tree limbs were no longer weighed down with snow and were taking their shape again. As everyone lounged around, Bubba was turning the dial on the radio trying to see what was on when he came across a news station. The broadcaster was talking about a bad wreck in Louisville. He stated there was a three car pileup on the interstate. Sid McClanahan, the head of the Louisville Mafia, had been killed with one other. Bubba looked up at me and shook his head. A few minutes later we met on the porch.
“What are we going to do now?” I asked.
“Well,” Bubba said, “since no one else knew about the money but Sid, I guess it’s yours. You know it doesn’t mean that much anymore,” he replied.
“I’m still willing to share it.”
“Why don’t you share it with everybody. Give them something they can start a new life with,” encouraged Bubba.
“You know you’re right,” I agreed. “There is a lot of good that can come from this.”
“Let’s tell them tonight,” suggested Bubba.
Later in the evening, the phone rang; Stephen answered it.
“The main roads will be clear by the morning,” the sheriff informed him.
“Oh, by the way sheriff you may need to send an ambulance. We had one man with Alzheimer’s that got out of the house, fell in the pond and died.”
“We’ll check it out. Thank you.”
“Hurray,” everyone shouted and danced about.
I Haskell asked everyone to gather around the tree once more.
“Bubba and I have a little gift for you all. We hope it will make some of your Christmas wishes come true.”
Everyone looked at each other with puzzled looks on their faces.
“But we don’t have anything to give you,” said Irene.
“That’s not what Christmas is all about,” I explained. “Giving to others is the blessing,” I said as I took out of the bag of money and handed each of them a stack.
“You can’t do this,” they said.
“I just did.”
“But—but where did you get it?” asked Stephen.
“Just say a blessing came my way.”
Each of them hugged me and Bubba.
Bubba spoke up and said, “Let’s make a promise that in ten years we will meet here once again for Christmas.”
Everyone agreed. When morning came, the sheriff arrived and we told him what had happened. He and his men checked it out; everything seemed to line up. However, he did take our names and where we could be reached, just in case. I asked again about the main road and the sheriff said it was clear, but to be careful because there were still some patches of ice here and there. The sheriff followed the ambulance as it left the premises.
As we were loading on the bus, a car pulled up. It was the owners of the inn. They told me they had gotten an emergency phone call and had to leave hurriedly. They were stranded at the airport in Virginia because of the blizzard. I explained the situation and everything had worked out good for everyone.
A few days later the sheriff received the report from the coroner. It appeared it had happened exactly like we had told him, accidentally. But, when he checked into it a little further, there was one person in the group who had taken out a large insurance policy on him. Did he unlock the door or did someone else, thought the sheriff.