Chapter 6 – Emmett – Goodbye

"Emmett! Over here!"

I heard Albie's foghorn voice over the noise of everything in the dancehall, and looking around I saw him waving energetically at me from a vantage point near the punch table. I grinned at him, and then grinned even wider when I saw that the rest of the gang were all there too. Gavin, Harry, Ron, Jack…somehow they'd all scrounged up enough money to come out on my last night at home, before I left for Rochester.

"You're late!" Albie scolded me.

I rolled my eyes. "Sure, Ma," I said sarcastically, adding in my regular tones, "The old man couldn't give me some money without a good helping of lecture on the side."

"Soon you'll be earning your own money," Gavin said, more than a trace of envy in his voice. "And in New York, of all places!"

"Not New York City," I reminded them. "Just some other city in the state. Rochester."

I knew where it was by then. Maggie had a map of all the states in her school geography book, and she'd shown us all where I was going. Uncle Lachlan had sent driving instructions too. My few possessions were in a beaten up old duffel bag on the seat of the car, and I had jerry cans of extra water and fuel. I was all set.

Apart from the minor matter of being completely fucking terrified that is!

But I had come out for a good time, not to worry about things, so I reached out and took Albie's flask, taking a swig that had my eyes nearly bugging out of my head. Moonshine whisky at its worst- strong enough to blind you if you could stand the taste of it long enough to get to that point.

"Where did you get that?" I croaked. It felt like it had permanently damaged my throat, and was currently burning the lining of my stomach as tears absolutely poured from my eyes.

"Old Colum Silas," Albie said with a grin, as all the others laughed at me.

"Talk about rot-gut liquor!" I shook my head and winked. "Well I got a goodbye gift from Jeb Allison, and you're all familiar with the Allisons' work…"

"Lead the way," Albie said, hastily shoving his own flask back in his pocket. Everyone knew that the Allisons made the best moonshine in the area. We couldn't usually afford it, so the whole bottle Jeb had given me as a going-away present was a real treat.

We left the hall and retrieved the bottle from where I'd hidden it in the stream running along the back of the hall. I filled my flask, a battered silver flask I'd inherited from Grandad, and then the six of us passed around the bottle until it was all gone. Not as eye-watering as the muck I'd drunk from Albie's flask it was still very strong, and all of us were nicely buzzed as we made our way back inside.

"The red head over there," Harry said after his eyes made a quick sweep of the room. "In the brown dress…I'm going to go and ask her to dance. Wish me luck fellas."

The rest of us watched him saunter casually across the hall. The red head, who'd watched him all the way, blushed as red as her hair as she nodded and took his hand. I wasn't surprised. In as much as I'd ever thought about such things, I probably would have said that Jack was the best looking of us. Or at least, he lived in town and had a kind of movie star polish that us farm boys lacked.

"So Emmett…when were you going to ask me to dance?"

I looked down. It was Laura, a sassy girl I'd been seeing around at the dances for the last months, smirking at me flirtatiously.

"Oh, maybe now," I teased, and then laughed as I grabbed her small, warm hands and tugged her out onto the dance floor.

"I hear you're leaving," Laura said as we danced.

"Yeah, I've got a job," I said proudly. "Up north, in a city in New York."

"Oooh, big man," Laura teased.

"Damn straight," I joked back, spinning her around. Laughing, she leaned close to me and I smelled the perfume she must have dabbed on before she came to the dance. "You smell good."

Laura giggled. "I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Only the ones who do," I answered with a wink.

It was a good night. My friends and I had fun talking and messing around with girls, and my flask kept up my buzz without being too much. Not that I minded getting drunk so much, but it was my last night at home and I didn't want to upset Pa if I didn't have to.

I ended up in the shadows with Laura at the end of the night. Some kisses and a little bit of fumbling around, but then her friends called to her. With one last, lingering kiss she left me, making me promise not to forget her.

I said I wouldn't. There wasn't anything serious between us, but I liked her. She was fun and pretty, and as well as kissing me she let me touch her breasts so I was pretty fond of her. But Rochester was a damn long way from Gatlinburg, and I wasn't at all sure when I'd be getting home again after I left, so I wasn't going to make any promises about the future.

The long walk sobered me up, and I was tired by the time I came in sight of home. But I caught sight of something glowing on the porch, and when I came closer I saw it was Pa, having a smoke.

"Pa? What are you still doing up?" I asked.

"Hi lad, how was the dance?"

I sat down on the porch beside his chair. "It was fun. A good send-off …I'm going to miss my friends."

"Ah, I know. You'll find some new pals to do things with when you have some time off though." Pa took another puff on his cigarette, and I breathed in the familiar scent of the tobacco.

"I'm going to miss everyone," I said, half shyly. "All the family."

"We're going to miss you too Em," Dad said gruffly. "I know you don't like to do it, but you'd better make sure you write too! She's hiding it, but your Ma isn't all that happy about you going so far away and she's going to miss you sorely. Elizabeth too, write to her…well, everyone really."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Yeah, I will."

"We're proud of you Em," Pa said. "You've been a good lad here at home, and I know you'll do your best and get on in your new job."

From my Pa, who wasn't exactly a speechmaker normally, this was saying a lot and I had to blink hard before I managed to mutter, "Thanks."

"Alright then, we'd better get on to bed," Pa said, grinding out his cigarette. "You've got a long drive tomorrow. And if you drank too much tonight, go and sleep in the barn and don't wake the other kids."

Having not drunk too much, I took my boots off on the porch and left my trousers and shirt in the kitchen and, in my shorts, slipped silently into the bedroom. It occurred to me that I'd spent most of my twenty years sleeping in this room, and yet this was the last night. It had always seemed hot and crowded and noisy, sharing first with my older brothers and Kitty, and then the younger ones, but as I looked around I thought that I might miss it. Hannah and Maggie were asleep in the big bed, Will and Stephen sprawled out on their pallets on the floor. I unrolled my own bed and lay down, listening to the breathing of the others around me until I fell asleep.

It felt odd the next morning to get dressed in my good clothes while Elizabeth hovered nearby looking mournful.

"Do you have to go?"

"Yeah, I do." I ruffled her curly hair. "It's time for me to be a grown up and have a proper job."

"When do you come back?"

"I don't know. But while I'm away I'll write you a letter…would that be good?" I offered.

Elizabeth considered. "If it's just for me," she said sternly. "Not for Will and Stephen or Maggie or Hannah. Just for me."

"Okay." I showed her the little bundle Ma had put together for me, with some notepaper and pencils and stamped envelopes. "See…all ready for writing letters."

I slapped some water on my hair, trying unsuccessfully to neaten the curls, and then went into the kitchen where Ma was making pancakes because they were my favourite. It was still odd to see her up and about after so long in bed, but it was good too. Made it feel more like home.

"Eat up Emmett," Ma ordered. "I'm making you up a packet of sandwiches to take with you and some smoked ham and some apples, and a bottle of water. Now, I want you to be very careful in that car on the way. Don't drive yourself to exhaustion, make sure you stop and sleep at some point…"

"Ma! I'm going to be fine!" I said, though a mouthful of pancakes. "Really."

"I know." Ma leaned down and hugged me, kissing my head. "But I'm your mother…of course I'm going to worry."

Everyone came out to see me leave. Will and Stephen were so impressed that Pa had got the car running again that they climbed in and refused to get out. Elizabeth hung onto my leg and Hannah cried. Eventually I shook Pa's hand, kissed Ma on the cheek, hugged Hannah and Maggie, pried Elizabeth off my leg and pushed her into Pa's arms. The boys I let sit in the car until I got half way to town, and then I stopped and let them out to run back home. It was only after that that I was finally on my own, and I set my sights on Rochester.

It took two and a half days to drive there. I slept in the car when I was tired, and stopped by the stores on the side of the road when I was hungry. I only got lost twice, although once was when I was actually in Rochester and trying to find the place. The traffic kind of freaked me out, and I was relieved when I arrived safely.

If the traffic had been nerve-wracking, my first view of the place where my uncle Lachlan worked was almost worse. The house was a huge, white columned affair that was bigger and fancier than just about anything I'd seen before, and set in acres of landscaped gardens. Nervously I ran a hand through my hair and tugged at my crumpled shirt, wishing I had something a bit better to change into.

I didn't though, so I simply took a deep breath and walked as casually as I could through a small side gate and then followed the drive around to the back of the house, like I'd been told to do. There was no one in the yard, so after looking around briefly I figured that there was bound to be someone in the house who could help me and I knocked on the back door.

"Can I help you?" A harried looking woman opened the door and eyed me suspiciously.

"I'm Emmett McCarty," I said, hoping I didn't sound too much like a schoolboy. "I'm supposed to meet my uncle Lachlan here."

"Lachlan? He's out with Mr King at the moment, so you'd better come in and I'll give you a cup of tea." Without waiting for a response, she turned and vanished through another door. Since a cup of tea sounded good, I followed.

"I'm Mrs Maguire," she told me as she handed me a mug of tea. "Lachlan didn't tell me you were coming."

"He got me a job," I said, a little uncertainly. "The son…"

"Mr Royce," Mrs Maguire informed me. "He's getting married and he and his bride are going to be making their home a few streets away. I suppose you'll be their man for gardening and driving and whatnot."

"That's what Lachlan said." Once again I hoped I was up to the task. I'd mastered driving reasonably well in the two and a half days from Tennessee and I knew I could grow vegetables successfully, but I wasn't sure about driving around in the city and I didn't really know much about growing flowers like the rich people probably wanted. I thought that they probably wouldn't need to be growing potatoes and pumpkins in the yard to fill bellies that ached with hunger.

Mrs Maguire was busy, and after giving me a second mug of tea and a thick sandwich with ham and cheese she pretty much ignored me. I didn't mind. I was tired after the drive, and the food was good. I was finished eating and had just started feeling sleepy when the door opened and my uncle Lachlan came in.

I didn't remember seeing him before, but I knew who he was right away. He looked just like an older version of my Pa, and I felt a sudden stab of homesickness.

"Jesus but you look like Jack!" Lachlan looked almost startled as he stared at me. A moment later he shook his head and smiled. "Good to see you, Emmett. Glad you got here safely." I stood up and he grabbed my hand and shook it hard.

"Are you taking him round to the little house?" Mrs Maguire enquired. "Because if you are you'd best do it now, before they come up with more errands to run for this wedding."

"Sure, I'll take him round now," Lachlan agreed. "Settle him in, so he'll be ready to start work tomorrow. I know Mr Royce and Miss Rosalie won't be moving in until after the wedding, but the good Lord above knows that we've got more than enough work to keep us all busy. Finish your tea, Emmett."

Hastily I swallowed down the last dregs and then followed my uncle Lachlan outside. At his request I led him to where I had parked my car in the street, and he stared at it in horror.

"Jesus boy, you drove this from Tennessee? It doesn't look as though it would make it to the corner!"

"Pa fixed it up," I replied, a little nettled. "It runs fine…what's a little rust matter?"

Lachlan grinned. "Don't take offence boy. You wait until you see what you'll be driving Mr Royce and his bride around in! Now, let's get you to your new place."

I followed his directions, and in only a few moments we arrived at what they referred to as the 'little' house. Sure, it was a little bit smaller than the palace we'd just left, but it was still a mansion and I had to try not to feel intimidated by it.

"Not bad, is it?" Lachlan said with a chuckle. "Your digs aren't quite so fancy I'm afraid."

It might not have been fancy, but the little room off the garage that was going to be mine was newer and nicer than everything I'd been used to. It was painted white and had an iron bedstead in one corner and a chest of drawers and a chair, as well as a sink with proper running water. I slung my bag down on the bed and looked at Lachlan. "What now?"

"Put your gear away, and then I'll show you around," Lachlan said. "Until the wedding's over and Mr Royce and his missus move in you'll be working here and at the big house, depending on where you're needed. It'll be a bit of a mess until after the wedding, but it'll settle down after that. You'll be fine."