Emerald Hell

Chapter 26

Hellboy came to the crossroads.

It was mid-afternoon, but the day had been a little rainy, and now as it warmed the mist drifted in off the deep acreage of sugarcane.

He and Lament had spent almost a week in the swamp village, recuperating, enjoying each other's company, and building houses that wouldn't get pushed over in a strong wind.

He'd first played baseball in 1947, but he pretended he didn't know the rules so that the village kids could show him how it was done. They found a flat dry meadow and the pumpkin-headed kid pitched, the insectoid kid was umpire, and Fishboy Lenny played shortstop. Lenny could really smother the ball.

Ma'am McCulver prepared huge meals, and the night before they left they had another genuine hootenanny that wasn't fouled by any uninvited guests or troubles-Leaving Hortense and Becky Sue behind in the village, where the girls wanted to stay for a while longer with their newborns, Hellboy, Lament, and Sarah said their goodbyes to the swamp folk at dawn and decided, without saying so aloud, to leave together.

They walked to the creek where the Ferris boys' stolen skiff had been beached on the shore and climbed in.

Hellboy was getting used to stobbing and rowing, and followed Sarah's easy directions through the blackwater. Every so often the sound of a loon or an egret would draw his attention to the slough.

On occasion the baby would cough or cry, a vast and lovely sound that filled the stillness.

They picnicked on a bramble island and ate a fine meal of griddle cakes and bacon that Lament cooked. Afterward, Lament played his mouth-harp and Sarah sang along, and with the morning moving away rapidly they were soon back in Enigma.

They were mostly quiet as they hiked the backroads of town, the hush broken only occasionally by a pickup rumbling by. No one offered to give them a ride, and Hellboy didn't think they'd take one anyway. He'd been worried about Sarah being on her feet for so long, but she seemed to enjoy the exercise as the day grew hotter.

"You come up with a name for the little one yet?" Hellboy asked.

"We're thinking of Lila," Sarah said. "After my mother."

He thought on it for a moment, wagged a finger under the infant's chin, and said, "I like it."

Without acknowledgment, but with a deeper understanding of what had to happen next, they walked until the Nail mansion came into view.

This time, the moment Hellboy stepped onto Nail land, he noticed a lifting of the atmosphere. He glanced up at the row of large windows above and saw that none of the six lovely pale women were staring down at him.

Lament turned to Hellboy and told him,"Bliss Nails her daddy, and she deserves a family, now that the folks who raised her are gone. A family besides me and the baby, a'course. She's got six sisters to gab with now. And ole Bliss Nail gonna have to cough up some of his coffers and quit livin' in the blood of the past. Someone's gotta help pay the bills at Mrs. Hoopkins's peanut farm and take care of the girls."

Hellboy nodded at that and stayed back a bit on the front walkway while Sarah and Lament continued up to the door. Lament spun and said, "What's this?"

"I've got to go."

"You ain't comin' in?"

"It's not my place, John."

"You're wrong about that. You're a friend, and a friend is always welcome."

"Thanks, but you're all a family now, and need time to work things out yourselves."

Sarah moved to him, hugged Mm, and said,"It's only thanks to you we ever come away from that place intact. We owe you our hearts."

"You don't owe me anything."

"I reckon we'll run into one another somewhere down the line, son."

Lament held his hand out and Hellboy shook it. "Mayhap we will," Hellboy said, and that got both of them grinning.

He watched them step inside, the man, woman, and child, and after a moment heard a swelling of voices and laughter. He didn't even want to bother Bliss Nail and ask for the bus ticket to New York.

As he listened to them, the family meeting in celeb ration, Waldridge the houseman silently appeared at his elbow.

"Shouldn't you be in there tending to things?" Hellboy asked. Still in his cap and white gloves, Waldridge said, "I'n dead this time. Don't be concerned with me none though, I'll be leaving this earth presently. I just wanted to hear the ladies speak for a while first, and see the new miss come home."

"Well," Hellboy said, "thanks for telling me."

"I knowed you was worried about it."

"Did you at least go peacefully?"

"Happened on the way back from droppin' you off at Mrs. Hoopkins's peanut farm. Heart just stopped workin' at the wheel."

"Did you crack up the Packard?"

"Bite off your tongue, son," Waldridge said. "I eased that car to a slow, full stop with my very last breath."

Hellboy stepped up to the house and peered through a window. The six silent daughters were no longer silent. They were chatty and giddy and fanciful, and Bliss Nail actually had tears in his shining eyes. They all took turns reaching for Lila and making faces. It wouldn't be long before the other six had husbands and families of their own.

The lace curtains napped and one of the sisters, perhaps the one who'd waved to him before and touched his cheek, smiled at him. Hellboy nodded, then turned away, alone again, and walked back down the road. Soon a pickup heading north stopped on the side of the road and he climbed in back. The rain started to come down again but he didn't mind as he sat there alone with his thoughts, humming quietly to himself.