“Until you realize how easy it is for your mind to be manipulated,
you remain the puppet of someone else's game.”
Evita Ochel
Somewhere down south, 1961
Maizie Griffin groaned as she pulled herself out of bed that blistering hot August morning. The air was thick with humidity, making it feel as if she was swimming toward the bathroom down the hall. Behind her, still sleeping, was her husband of seven years, Darrell. In the other bedroom slept their two sons, Jackson and Wayne, and inside her belly, definitely not sleeping, was the soon to be third child in the family. She seriously hoped it was a girl this time. Her momma always said her brothers were harder on a mother than her daughters ever were. And since there were three boys and four girls in her brood, Maizie figured she ought to know.
After taking care of the more urgent of her needs, she stood before the mirrored medicine cabinet and stared at herself. She was only twenty-three but she looked a hard ten years older and felt even worse. Her hair, which had once been her glory, now hung limp and damp from the heat around a face that some used to call “cute as a bug in a rug.” She snorted in disgust. Hah! Now it was most definitely a very tired bug in a worn out rug.
After brushing her hair back into the usual pony tail she rinsed her face with cool water and brushed her teeth to get rid of morning breath before returning down the hall to the bedroom. Darrell still slept, snoring loudly in the quiet, unconcerned with what the day ahead would bring. Last night he’d arrived home with the news that he no longer had a job. He claimed there had been layoffs at the mill but she knew that wasn’t true . Otherwise she’d have heard about it. Nope. He’d gone and got himself fired. Again. Probably for slacking. Darrell was a professional slacker.
She thought back to when they were just kids. As a junior in high school, he’d been one of the resident bad boys with slick backed hair and attitude to spare, and the girls had all wanted him for their own. But he saw fifteen-year-old Maizie and that was that. No further looking necessary on either side. They were married after she turned sixteen. She’d dropped out of school since married people weren’t allowed to attend and produced Jackson eighteen months later with Wayne following two years after that. A few months after Wayne was weaned she’d miscarried, which left her brokenhearted. Darrell hadn’t seemed to care one way or the other, something that hurt her almost as bad as losing the baby. But she had still felt love for Darrell and told herself it was just his way of grieving. She knew men didn’t like to show their emotions.
When she found out she was expecting again she worried through the first three months. After that she was optimistic that this pregnancy would end with a new baby. But Darrell remained indifferent, still demanding his rights as a husband both in bed and out of it. The house had to be kept spotless. Dinner was expected at five o’clock every night. The boys must not be seen wearing anything less than respectable, if not new, clothes. And she herself was expected to conduct herself with the same decorum with which his momma, God rest her poor soul, had presented to the world.
And she was to do all of that with no help from him. It was, after all, a woman’s lot in life to care for her man and kids.
Once in the bedroom, she changed into a very loose fitting house dress and slipped her swollen feet into a pair of scuffs.
“Darrell.” She called out to him. “Darrell, wake up.”
He never moved and the snoring never stopped.
“Darrell! Wake up!”
This time a snore was interrupted by a grunt
“Shut up, Maizie. Can’t you see I’m trying to sleep?”
“Yes, I can see that. But you need to get up and go find another job.”
He turned on his side away from her and settled once more.
“I will. When I wake up. Now leave me alone in peace.”
Disgusted, Maizie left the bedroom and made her clumsy way to the kitchen. She really didn’t feel like cooking this morning, but she knew that when he did finally wake up Darrell would expect a full breakfast with eggs, sausage, gravy and biscuits. And she knew from experience that the quickest way to get him up would be the smell of frying sausage and brewing coffee.
Thirty minutes later, as if on cue, he wondered into the kitchen just as she was taking up the last of the fried eggs. Without a word he made his way to the table, never bothering to help in any way. Not even to get his own cup of coffee. Sticking her head in the hallway she summoned her sons.
“Boys!” She hollered, “Breakfast is ready!”
Moments later two bedraggled little boys ran into the kitchen and she clamped down hard on her temper.
“Hey! I’ve told you over and over, no running in the house!”
Being too busy tussling over who sat where, neither of them replied. Finally deciding to sit in exactly the same chairs they always sat in, they watched as she carried plates filled with food to the table then, along with their daddy, dug in.
As she had eaten as she cooked, Maizie took the opportunity while the menfolk were eating to change the sheets on the beds and create what order she could in the room where two little boys slept and kept their toys. It was a never ending task keeping up with them. Especially as she also had to keep up with their father as well.
After they had finished eating, she washed dishes while Jackson and Wayne changed into their play clothes and ran outside. Darrell also changed, announced he was going out, then left. She hoped he was going to look for work. For all the good it would do. He would probably do something asinine and lose it as well. But, well, miracles did occasionally happen.
Once again she straightened up the bedrooms where clothes had been left in the floor and the beds rumpled for whatever reason. Today was Wednesday. Wash day. So she gathered the dirty clothes in a basket and carried it into the washroom where her mother’s old ringer washer was. It was an arduous job given her advanced pregnancy, but it had to be done and no one else was going to do it.
As the washing and rinsing of each load was finished, she carried the clothes outside to hang on the clothesline. The sun shone brutally down. A sullen breeze was moving the humidity around without relieving any of the discomfort. In the distance she could hear her sons at play somewhere nearby. As long as she could hear them she knew they weren’t into anything they shouldn’t be. She hoped, anyway.
After hanging the laundry she returned inside and set to work cleaning the rest of the house. The bathroom and windows were all sparkling by the time she got around to the floors. Even in dry weather her husband and sons tracked in a lot of dirt so sweeping and mopping were things that got done several times a week. She toyed with the idea of waxing when she finished but decided that it was asking too much of herself in her present condition. So she swept then prepared a bucket of water and floor cleaner for mopping.
She had just finished mopping the living room and started on the kitchen when the front door banged open.
“Maizie!” Darrell bellowed.
“What is it, Darrell?”
“Where you at?”
“In the kitchen mopping.”
She heard him walking down the hallway in his usual heavy footed way and straightened as he appeared in the doorway. His dark expression didn’t bode well.
“Cyrus Camp down at the store said you haven’t paid on our account this week.”
“No, I haven’t.”
“And why not?”
“Because you haven’t given me the money to do it.”
“I give you an allowance.”
“A small one for mine and the boys basic needs. This week I had to buy school supplies for when they go back to school next week, and there wasn’t anything left over to pay Cyrus.” She paused and tried to stretch the kink our of her back. “Either you give me more money or you go take care of it.”
He took a step closer, bristling with belligerence.
“I shouldn’t have to take care of it. It’s your job to see that things like that get done.”
Maizie’s temper began to rise.
“And it’s your job to keep a job so I have the money to pay the expenses.”
She watched his eyes narrow. Many women would have been terrified at this point, but if there was one thing she was confident of it was that Darrell wasn’t one to hit his wife. He was the quintessential bully. Stand up to him and he’d back down. And she’d been standing up to him for a long, long time.
“I can’t help it if I keep getting laid off!”
“It’s funny how no one else seems to ever be getting laid off.”
“Well, they are. They’re just too ashamed to admit as much.”
She sighed, shaking her head.
“Go away, Darrell. Let me finish mopping the floor.”
“When you’re finished you can fix me some lunch.”
“Fix it yourself if you’re so hungry.”
“It’s not my job to…”
Her temper began to fray.
“What is your job, Darrell? Will you please explain to me what your job is supposed to be?”
“Fixin’ food is your job. Just like cleaning the house and taking care of the boys.”
“And it never dawns on you that I might need a little help occasionally?”
“Well, my momma never seemed to mind doing what came naturally.”
“Was she ever given a choice?”
“She was happy in her place!”
“Her place?”
He motioned impatiently at the mop.
“Just finish the mopping so you can fix my lunch.”
When he turned his back on her Maizie’s temper hit it’s maximum limit. Without thinking, she slung the wet mop and smacked him in the back. As he turned, his face livid with shock, she reached down and picked up the bucket of dirty water.
“Here! I’ve finished the mopping. Wanna see the dirt I picked up?”
Before he could respond, she pitched the bucket in his direction, sending the water flying into his face and across his chest. Then, throwing the bucket down, she pointed at the refrigerator.
“There’s food in there if you’re still hungry. Fix your own damned lunch. I’m going to go lie down!”
And with that she sailed by him, temper still flying, and marched down the hall where she changed out of her dirty day dress and into a fresh one before settling on the bed.
Just as she was beginning to fall asleep, she heard footsteps in the hallway. Moments later, the door opened and she looked up to find Darrell staring at her in obvious bafflement.
“What?” she demanded without moving.
“Maizie, I…”
There was a long moment of silence.
“I only want for us to be happy. My momma and daddy was always happy with the way they did things. I thought it was the same for us.”
“Well, you are wrong, Darrell. I can’t take care of you, the boys, the house, and carry this baby all at the same time that I’m worrying about having money to pay for things. It’s time you understood that.”
He looked away before walking further into the room. Maizie didn’t move.
“I’ll get another job, I promise, and I’ll keep it. I don’t want to have to worry about you worrying about things.”
She closed her eyes as exhaustion swept over her. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn’t. Right now she just needed some sleep,
“That’s nice, Darrell. Thank you. Now, would you mind starting with cleaning up the mess in the kitchen so I can get some rest?”
The last thing she heard before slumber took her was the quiet closing of the bedroom door.
You always have a way of making your stories turn out nice. But the reality of those stories was often wifebeating, looked away at by police until it was very serious or church members got involved.
You described my mother and father perfectly. She started out at 17 with two boys and a five year-later, girl. With a 21 year-old husband high school dropout who never lost a job until he had a DUI wreck and lost his chauffeurs license for a month. We lost a new house, unable to make the payment.
There were always arguments about spending money, although my mother was very frugal. We always had good food on the table, breakfast and dinner on time. The house was always clean even though my mom worked most of the time, sometimes full-time and still did all the housework.
When they retired when she was only 57, she laid down the law and he started having to do household chores as well as the outdoor chores and car like you always did. All the cars cost a lot of money and kept us poor until I told him to start buying used cars and he did.
(Baxter Springs, Kansas) - Discover how a beloved high school guidance counselor twists fate on behalf of four troubled misfits, and turns their life around.
