IN THE BEGINNING
By BeeBeeGee
I apologize for the long wait between updates. I thought I had completed the final draft before I started posting, but then I changed my mind regarding Arlene's fate, before I changed my mind again.
There's still a bit more to come after this, but to all who've waited so patiently (or not so patiently!) here's some child abuse for Christmas. (Bad writer!)
/\/\/\/\
Bo had been at the Duke farm long enough that it seemed as if he was part of the family. After Luke and his Mama had been there nearly a month, Luke and Daisy decided that Bo should have one of the pups. Daisy explained, "There's three pups, and three of us. Little Buddy's been Luke's since he was born, and Blackie and Brownie are both mine. I don't need two." As added inducement, she continued, "I'll even let you pick which one you want."
Bo could hardly believe what he was being offered. All his life, he'd wanted a dog. Any time he'd asked his Mama, the answer had always been 'no.' Bo hoped with all his heart that this time, the answer would finally be 'yes.' He knew that the pup's mom, Speckles, belonged to Uncle Jesse. Therefore, he knew that Uncle Jesse would have to be the first person to approve a transfer of ownership of any of the pups. He asked, "You think Uncle Jesse will let me have one?"
Both Luke and Daisy nodded 'yes,' and Luke stated, "You know he will. Come on, let's go ask him."
Bo didn't need to be told twice. He hurried after Luke, catching up to and then passing the older boy as they ran.
Minutes later, Uncle Jesse was greeted by a trio of laughing, breathless children. "Uncle Jesse! Uncle Jesse!"
The doting Uncle laughed in return as he suddenly found himself surrounded by a circle of happy children. "What's got you all so excited?"
Luke began, "Uncle Jesse, we were thinking …"
Before Luke could continue, Daisy got straight to the point. "Can Bo have one of the pups for his very own?"
Jesse replied, "That's sounds like a fine idea to me, but first we need to ask Bo's Mama."
Bo's bright smile dimmed a little with the reminder. "I'll ask her first thing when she gets home." Bo's Mama had been out looking for work. With any luck, she would return successful from her job hunt. It would be one more sign for Bo that they were here to stay, at least for more than a couple of weeks. Even better, if Bo's Mama had a managed to find a job, it would put her in a good mood. Bo sat on the porch and waited, hoping for the best.
His waiting was eventually rewarded when Arlene drove up to the house in a cloud of dust. She jumped out of the Buick, whooping and hollering. "Baby boy, your Mama has gone and got herself a job!"
She ran to Bo and hugged him, twirling him around in a mad dance. The rest of the family came running at Arlene's noisy arrival. She parted company with her son and reached a hand down into her cleavage, pulling out a stack of twenty dollar bills. She waved the money in the air and announced, "We all are goin' into town. Dinner tonight's on me!"
Jesse was cautiously optimistic regarding Arlene's sudden turn of luck. With her limited job skills, he was dubious as to what sort of job she'd been hired to do that would give her a cash advance before she even started. Hating to put a damper on the celebration, he asked, "What kind of job did you get?"
Arlene raised her arms swiveled her hips in a seductive dance as she replied, "You're looking at the Kit Kat Club's newest dancer."
Bo smiled at the news. One of the things he knew his Mama was good at was dancing. She had worked as a dancer in other places they'd lived, and always brought home good money.
Jesse was not quite as enthusiastic. The Kit Kat Club was one of Boss Hogg's less legitimate enterprises, and had a reputation for attracting a rough crowd. He half hoped that Arlene's employment would not last long. Oh well. They might as well enjoy it while they could. Jesse joined the happy crowd as they piled into Arlene's car. Jesse had been working on the car in his spare time, and the ride was smooth and fast.
Jesse occupied the passenger seat while the kids shared the roomy back seat. They hadn't been on the road for five minutes before Daisy whispered loudly to Bo, "Ask her!"
Luke hissed back, "You hush now! Bo'll do it when he's good and ready."
Bo's reply to Luke was an exercise in lip reading as he nodded and mouthed the words, 'Thank you.'
Bo and Luke worked together to keep the impatient Daisy distracted throughout dinner.
By the time dessert was served, Bo judged that his Mama was as relaxed as she was going to get. Bo cautiously led up to his request. "Mama, you know how Speckles has those three puppies?"
Arlene nodded as she swallowed a generous portion of pecan pie.
Bo continued, "Well, there's three puppies, and between Luke, Daisy, and me, there's three of us kids, and Uncle Jesse says it would be okay …" Bo looked at his Mama with hopeful, pleading eyes, reminiscent of the dog's begging at the dinner table. "Please, Mama, can I have one of the puppies?"
Arlene reached across the table and covered Bo's right hand with her left. "Bo, you know I'd love to say 'Yes,' but what's gonna happen if we have to leave and can't take the puppy along?" She answered her own question. "It'll break your heart, you know it will. Leaving's never easy, and it's even harder if you have to leave someone you love behind."
Bo swallowed at the dryness that suddenly appeared in his throat, and blinked at the wetness the appeared in his eyes. Arlene lifted a hand to wipe gently at the lone tear that managed to escape. "God, Bo, I'm so sorry." After a minute of heavy silence, Arlene offered a partial solution. "Tell you what. I ain't got no plans for you and me to be leavin' in the next day or so. As long as we're here, maybe Uncle Jesse will let you foster one of the pups."
Bo asked for clarification. "Foster? What's that mean?"
Arlene explained, "It's when someone takes temporary care of someone by takin' them into their family. Even though it's not meant to be for keeps, every once in a while it is."
Bo's despair lifted slightly at her words, so Arlene continued, "Long as we're here, you can be that pup's foster father."
To Bo's inexperienced ears, the solution sounded like a very good one. He turned to Uncle Jesse, the despair of a moment ago replaced by a tentative hope. "What do you think, Uncle Jesse?"
Jesse had feared all along that Arlene's answer would be a flat out 'No.' He was pleasantly surprised by her creative solution. He was even more impressed by the parallels to Bo's status within the Duke family. When he responded, "I think that's a pretty good idea," Uncle Jesse was referring to more than just the fostering of a puppy.
After they returned home, the children set out to a select a pup for Bo. Actually, Bo already knew which pup he wanted. Blackie, a little girl, was the runt of the litter, and a bundle of energy. Bo admired her playful spirit. Besides, Brownie was more tolerant of being handled and driven around in a baby carriage by Daisy than any of the other pups. It was only fair to Blackie to spare her as much of that nonsense as he could.
Decision made, Daisy was all in favor of suspending the house rules and letting Blackie spent the night with Bo. Uncle Jesse quickly vetoed the idea, stating, "We're not starting the pups out to think that it's all right to go wherever we go."
To Uncle Jesse's relief, Bo agreed. He waved his casted arm and explained, "If I accidentally turn over in my sleep, I could hurt Blackie with this thing."
Uncle Jesse nodded. "That's for sure. Thing is, that cast comes off before the week is out. Even without a cast, it's possible to roll over onto an animal in your sleep." The last bit was added for Daisy's benefit, to discourage her from sharing her bed with any of the animals. Jesse heard tell of a man who'd rolled over onto a beloved pet and accidentally killed the poor thing. As long as the kids followed the house rules, there was no need for Jesse to share that particular story with them.
Jesse sat back and relaxed as the kids settled down with the pups. Bo, Luke, and Daisy played together like the pups, as if they'd been raised together. Every day, they seemed more and more like a real family. Jesse couldn't bear the thought of Bo leaving.. Now that Arlene had a job, he was more hopeful that Arlene and Bo were here to stay.
He couldn't have been more wrong.
/\/\/\/\/\/
Trouble showed up the next afternoon, while Arlene was at the Kit Kat Club. Jesse and Luke were out working in the field, while Daisy and Bo stayed close to the house. The two youngest children looked up as an unfamiliar car turned up the road toward the Duke farm.
Bo asked, "Who's that?"
Daisy frowned. "I don't know. I've never seen that car before."
They watched, curious, as the car pulled up in a cloud of dust. Bo felt himself go cold and pale as he recognized the driver. He turned to Daisy and gave her a forceful push in the direction of the field. His uncharacteristically firm voice left no room for questions as he ordered, "Go get Uncle Jesse, now!"
Daisy turned away from Bo's terrified face to look at the driver. Anger flowed from the man in waves. Daisy turned and ran.
Bo stood firm and faced his nemesis. It was Cephus, his Mama's former boyfriend. In the time he'd lived with the man, he knew that if he ran it would just make the man angrier when he caught him, and catch him he would. Maybe if he let the man talk long enough, Uncle Jesse would show up before Cephus could lay a hand on him.
It was not to be. Cephus wasted no time in clamping his hands tightly onto Bo's shoulders. He shook him as he asked, "Where the hell's your Mama?"
Bo stammered out a reply as his head bobbed back and forth from the shaking. "She - sh - she's .. n-n-not … here!"
Cephus let go long enough to slap a hand across Bo's face. "Don't lie to me, boy! If you're here, your Mama ain't far behind!"
Bo did not attempt to stop the tears that sprang into his eyes with the pain of the blow. It never made any difference to Cephus whether or not he made Bo cry, so Bo didn't have to pretend he wasn't hurt.
He sniffled in order to clear his throat enough so that he could reply. "I - I'm not lying!"
Cephus shoved Bo away from him with enough force that Bo fell backward onto the ground. He paced angry circles nearby and cursed. "God-DAMN the woman!" He let loose with a string of profanity that would've had Uncle Jesse scolding before the first word got out. Unfortunately, Uncle Jesse wasn't here. Cephus was.
Cephus stopped pacing and stepped toward him. Bo scooted backward in the dirt in a futile attempt to escape his tormentor. Cephus caught him up and twisted a hand in Bo's shirt and pulled him to his feet, keeping the material of Bo's shirt tight in his fisted hand. "Yeah, you're too chicken shit scared to lie to me. I just remembered you didn't answer the question I asked." He bent down so that he was in Bo's face, close enough for the terrified boy to smell the man's body odor and the lingering scent of stale beer and cigarettes. His voice low and menacing, he repeated the question. "Where. Is. Your. Mama!"
Bo was shaking in fear, remembering that the last time Cephus had been this angry, Bo had ended up with a broken arm. He was literally too terrified to speak. He closed his eyes as Cephus raised his arm in preparation for another blow.
With his eyes closed, Bo did not see Uncle Jesse arrive just in time to grab Cephus' raised hand within his own.
Jesse declared, "You hit that boy and it's the last thing you'll ever do."
Bo opened his eyes to see Cephus step away from him. Without Cephus' hand in his shirt holding him up, Bo stumbled and would have fallen if not for Luke's quick action.
The older boy wanted nothing more than to get Bo safely away from the menacing stranger. While Uncle Jesse restrained the man, Luke scooted close to stop Bo from falling onto the ground. He pulled Bo's good arm across his shoulders and wrapped his own arm around Bo's waist to help him walk away from the danger. "Whoa, I got you!"
Jesse ordered, "You kids get on into the house!"
Daisy tried to support Bo from the other side as the two boys hobbled up the stairs and into the house.
Jesse waited until the children were safely inside before he released his hold on his prisoner.
Cephus stepped away from Jesse and moved toward his car, shaking his hand to try to restore the circulation that had been temporarily cut off by Jesse's tight grip. "All I'm trying to do is get back together with my girl, Arlene. Bo knows where she is, and for that matter, I bet you do, too."
Jesse now understood why Arlene and Bo had come to him. They were right to do so. His anger was a cold stone within his heart, so much so that the stranger was lucky Jesse was not carrying a gun. He would not have hesitated to use it. "I don't care who you are or what you want." Jesse paused for effect, to allow the man to see the deadly seriousness of his words in his body language and hear it in his tone of voice. He stated, "No one threatens my kids."
Cephus snarled in reply, "Bo is not your kid."
Jesse's response was quiet and all the more menacing for its calm façade. "The boy is under my roof, and under my care. If you'd like to debate the facts of the matter with the police, feel free to stick around."
As Jesse suspected, the man turned tail and ran at the mention of the police. Just before the car door closed, he stated, "You want me to leave the boy alone, you tell Arlene Cephus is looking for her."
Jesse watched the road until the dust from the car's passing assured him that Cephus was not doubling back.
He headed into the house.
/\/\/\/\
Uncle Jesse was not surprised that Luke had stayed by the door in order to see and hear everything that was going on. Bo was sitting on the sofa, quiet and unnaturally still. He did not look up when Jesse entered the room. Daisy sat next to Bo, holding his hand and trying to reassure him. "It's okay, Uncle Jesse will take care of that mean man. No one messes with Uncle Jesse."
Jesse knelt down in front of the sofa, facing Bo. The boy's left cheek was reddened and slightly swollen, evidence that Uncle Jesse had not arrived in time to save Bo from harm. A thousand questions flitted through Jesse's mind, seeking the back story on Cephus and Arlene. He thought he might ask Bo if he was alright, but it was obvious the boy was not. Instead of a question, Jesse settled on a statement. He put all of his strength and sincerity into his words, willing Bo to believe them. "He's gone, and I intend to do everything I can to make sure that he never comes back."
Bo looked up, sad and desperate, with tears shining in his eyes. He whispered, "He's gone?"
Jesse opened his arms and carefully settled them on the sofa on either side of Bo, leaving it up to the boy whether or not to accept the implied offer of a hug. Jesse repeated the words. "He's gone."
Bo's face crumpled and he leaned forward as his small chest began to heave with hiccupping sobs. Jesse gathered the boy into his arms, whispering, "It's okay. I've got you."
Bo wanted nothing more at this moment than to stay with Uncle Jesse forever. He wrapped his arm around Uncle Jesse's neck to bring himself even closer to the strong, reassuring bulk of the man. His stuttering sobs turned into a pain-filled, drawn out wail as he buried his face in Jesse's shirt and began to sob out years of anger and grief and sorrow. Every time he tried to stop, the cries came louder and the tears fell as if they would never end.
Jesse did what he could as his heart broke along with Bo's. His own eyes filled with tears as he rocked the boy in his arms and repeated, "It's okay, I've got you. I've got you." He swore that he would never let go.
/\/\/\/\/\
TBC