Short Stories

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“Winston, come on out here, you shiftless son of a gun! I’m a ‘waiting, Winston.”

“Good Lord! What’s he doing here? I ain’t done nothing, Mavis; you stall him while I go down in the cellar to Pa’s old hidey hole. Get rid of him if you can.” Winston pushed his wife towards the front door before throwing back the rug covering the cellar door, ready to make his escape.

“Goodness Winston, what you done now?” Mavis whispered. Turning back, she got down on her hands and knees as she helped him close the trap door.

Winston repeated with a muffled oath that he hadn’t done nothing!

Mavis waddled her nine and a half month pregnant body out onto the front porch. Standing in her front yard, with a cigar hanging from his mouth, and a determined look on his face, was Deputy Wade Dingle.

“Howdy do, Wade. What’s all the hollering about?” Mavis waved to the Deputy.

“Didn’t know you was in there Mavis. I need to talk with Winston for a minute.” While walking towards the run down old clapboard house, which had long since seen it’s better days, Wade withdrew his cigar from his mouth, broke off the burnt end, and stuck the remainder down into his shirt pocket.

“Tell your old man to come on out here, Mavis. Mrs. Baxley was killed this morning, had a knife stuck in her stomach.” Wade watched as Mavis leaned against the porch railing, her face turning a chalky white. He had her attention now.

“Wade, you don’t mean to say that you think Winston had something to do with that do you? Why, …he wouldn’t kills nobody! Winston, well he,…he was with me last night. He wouldn’t have no reason to kill that nice Mrs. Baxley.” Mavis felt her stomach muscles clinch. Her birthing pains had started during the night, but knowing that she had plenty of time before hard labor set in, this being her first youngan and all, she had yet to mention them to Winston. But she had made preparations for the birthing. All she had to do now was get this Deputy out of here, before he noticed anything was wrong. Trying not to raise his suspicions she ask, “Why would you think that of him, Wade”?

“Seems that he was seen talking to her in town the other day and it was mentioned that Winston seemed a little agitated afterwards. Mrs. Baxley had a jar of money on the kitchen counter beside where she fell, a bunch of change was scattered all over the floor, but no cash was found.

Mavis clutched the railing tighter as she felt another pain rip through her. Catching her breath, she looked Wade in the eye, “Winston ain’t no murdering thief, Wade, and you know it!” Mavis gasped as another pain sliced through her stomach as fluid gushed from between her legs onto the porch floor as her water broke.

“Seems you about to birth that youngen right here and now, Mavis. I doubt we have time to get the Doc out here, so me and Winston’ll have to help you.” Wade picked Mavis up and carried her in his arms into the house and on into the bedroom. Lying her gently on the bed, he began rolling up his shirt sleeves as he looked around the room. Noticing the extra towels and sheets she had set out, Wade nodded his approval. “Looks like you got everything needed except the hot water. You lie still while I go get some from the pump outside and get it to heating.”

Wade left the room just as another pain came. Mavis knew that Winston couldn’t have killed Mrs. Baxley. He had been with her last night, except for early this morning when he had gone out hunting that old coon who had kept the dogs barking all night. He wasn’t gone long, said he killed that old coon good to. Mavis moaned, surely he hadn’t been talking about Mrs. Baxley. He was safe down in the cellar. She would get to the bottom of this as soon as the birthing was over and the deputy was gone.

Wade carried a bucket of steaming hot water into the bedroom. “You doing alright? I ain’t heard no screaming from you yet. My Ma says you gotta scream to let all the pain release. If’in you don’t, it’ll just get worse. I better get Winston. He needs to be here while his youngan’s being birthed.”

Before Mavis could tell him again that Winston wasn’t there, Wade preceded to yell throughout the house, “Winston, you hear me? Come on out. Mavis is having your youngan in here and I need help with the birthing. Come on Winston, I know you’re here somewhere, I watched you come in the back door myself, this morning. We’ll talk about Mrs. Baxley later. Right now we got the living to think about.”

Mavis looked at him with pain filled eyes as he stepped back in the room. “He ain’t here, wade. I done tole you. You can help me, we don’t need anyone else.” She screamed this loud enough for Winston to hear, knowing that unless he heard something from her he would be in the room as son as he could get himself out of the cellar.

Wade turned around at the sound of the trap door being opened. Peeping up threw the hole was Winston.

“Come on out of there you old goat, your wife’s having a baby, and I need help birthing it.” Wade headed over to the trap and slung it open. Winston gaped wide eyed as Wade reached out a hand to help him up. “We got one of God’s creation’s to bring into the world, Winston, and it don’t look like it’s going to be much longer.”

Winston withdrew his hand from Wade and whiped it on his pants leg. He glared at Wade before turning towards the bedroom where Mavis was writhing on the bed, such was her pain.

“Mavis, honey, hold on, I’ll help you , you just tell me what to do.” Winston said, stroking her brow as she moaned.

“Winston, you just hold her down and wipe her face with this once in a while, I think me and Mavis can do the rest.” Wade said handing Winston a wet cloth.

Wade pulled back the sheet and examined Mavis. As far as he could tell everything was going fine. The only thing he had ever birthed was a calf, but this couldn’t be much different, could it?

Mavis mumbled weakly. Everything had been going fine until the pains had ceased their orderly fashion becoming erratic. She was so weak Wade didn’t know if she could handle much more and Winston looked almost as bad.

“What’s that she keeps saying? Something about the Bible. Listen Wade, can you make it out?” Winston moved from his wife’s side so that wade could get close enough to hear her mumbling.

“I think she wants you to read scripture from the family bible. You got a family bible around here Winston? I didn’t think you even went to church on Sundays.’ Wade straightened as he watched Winston turn red in the face.

“Ain’t no God. I ain’t never seen Him. Besides what’s any God ever done for us? We ain’t got a pot to pee in and them church goers want ‘s us to give’m what we do have. Thai r aint’ no God as far as I’m concerned, not no fair one anyway.”

‘Winston, you go get that bible and read to your wife. You might not believe, but she does and right now she needs reassurance.” Seeing Winston hesitate, he continued, ‘Go get it man, before I’…

Winston interrupted him before he could finish his threat.

“I’m going. Don’t believe, I tell you. There isn’t no such thing as a God.”

Mavis struggled throughout the night. Wade kept the water hot and prayed a lot while Winston read what he could from the bible. There were many words he didn’t know, but Wade helped him along the way, sometimes reading whole chapters for him. When Wade read of Jesus’ birth, Winston threw up both hands throwing the bible onto the floor. “See, if there was a God, why did he let his only son be born in a stable, of all places? Gods youngan’s isn’t born in no stable, they’d be born in a palace full of servants and gold. This is a bunch of hog wash. Like I tole ya, there isn’t no God!”

This solicited a moan from Mavis. Shaking her head to and for she threw off the covers and screamed.

“Now look what you’ve done, you done got her agitated. That isn’t a good thing Winston. She got to calm down. Now pick up that bible and read. Whether you believe or not, she does.”

Winston watched his wife pitch around on the bed, he had to do something or his beloved Mavis might die, so he continued to read of the birth of Christ.

“Winston , it’s time. By golly, I think she’s gonna have it this time. I can see the head. Help me with her, Winston. Make her stop struggling so hard. Calm her down, man!” Wad had perspiration beading his forehead and upper lip. He collected clean towels off of the brewer and stuffed them under Mavis’ hips as Winston helped lift her. Wade took his pocket knife, opened the blade and poured hot water from the bucket over it and his hands.

Mavis eyes widened as she pushed one last time. Slumping back onto the pillows she fell into an exhausted sleep, not stirring even as Wade placed her new born daughter in her arms.

“Geez—manie, Geez—manie, isn’t that pretty! I isn’t never seen nothing like that before. Sure, I birthed cows before, but this is different. Geez-manie!” Winston felt for his chair and fell heavily onto it. Wiping a hand across his face he began to cry.

Wade handed him an unused towel before continuing with his work on Mavis. God had been in this room today, of that he was certain. His presence was so near you could feel Him. How on earth could Winston witness something so miraculous and still not believe?

Wade finished up Mavis, took the baby from her side and held her out to Winston. “Winston, I’d like you to meet your little girl. She’s bout near perfect far as I can tell”.

Winston took the child, holding her as he would some precious piece of glass. Afraid that he would drop and break her any minute. “I recon she’s bout as perfect as anything I ever done. Maybe things isn’t been so good in my life up to now, Wade, but you gona see a change. I’m gonna be a good Pa. One this youngan can be proud of .” Winston held his daughter, touching her tiny fingers in awe. “I guess one of us better go get somebody to come stay with Mavis and the baby while you and me go see the sheriff. I won’t run off if you want to go down the road to the Walker’s and get Ruby to come stay here with them.”

“I hate to take you in like this Winston, you just becoming a Pa and all, but it’s my duty. If you don’t have a alibi for late last night, or this morning, you’re going to be charged with Mrs. Baxley’s murder, proof or not, you know how the sheriff is, he’s been out to get you ever since you and Pete Clinton stole the red light offin his patrol car three years ago.” Wade began rolling down his shirt sleeves as he continued to talk. “Looks like Mavis will sleep awhile. She has a drawer cleaned out and lined with blankets over here…Want to put the baby down now?”

“No, I think I’ll just hold her a bit longer. You go on and get Ruby, I’ll be here when you get back.” Winston dismissed the deputy not once looking up from his daughter’s face.

Wade, with a final look at Mavis, turned to leave, as he heard a car horn. He pulled back the curtains from the bedroom window and looked out to see Henry Hammet, the only other deputy in Tabor County, getting out of his car.

“Looks like we got company, I won’t have to leave you to get Ruby after all.” Wade said as he went to let Henry into the house.

“Hey Wade. I thought you might be up here. Everything alright? “ Henry said, stepping into the room.

“Yea, everything’s fine here. Winston just became a proud Pa of a little girl. I was just on my way to get somebody to come sit with Mavis and the baby while I took him to the station. Now that you’re here, that won’t be necessary.” Wade explained as Winston walked into the room carrying his daughter.

“Why, ain’t she pretty? Congratulations Winston. Mavis alright?” Henry walked over and peeked a the baby cradled in Winston’s arms.

“”Henry, what’s got you all the way out here? You knew I wouldn’t have no trouble bringing Winston in.” Wade voiced his puzzlement.

“Oh, I came to tell you that there isn’t no need to bring him in. Sheriff got word from the coroner just a while ago that Mrs. Baxley had a coronary, and died before she was stuck with that knife. Sheriff figures she was prying off the lid of that old money jar when it happened. Must have fell on the knife when she hit the floor. Her daughter says that she’d been having chest pains for awhile now, but wouldn’t see no doctor about ‘em.” Henry played with the tiny fingers flapping beyond the blanket covering.

“But what about the cash money? Isn’t that missing?” Wade wanted to make sure the sheriff had covered everthing before letting this go.

“Na,… the daughter said that Mrs. Baxley kept that under the mattress. It was still there when we checked” Henry extended his hand to Winston, “Looks like this is your miracle day, Winston. You got a new baby and out of a jail sentence all in one day!! Somebody up there must have been watching over you. Well, I gotta get back to town, Sheriff challenged me to a game of checkers, and since the wife wants me to be off this weekend, I better go let him win a game or two. See ya, Winston, Wade.” Henry closed the door quietly behind him.

“Well, did you hear that? I was sitting in there trying to come up with a name for this little gal and I think I have one, Miracle. Yes, sir, God’s done give me a little Miracle of my very own.” Winston told Wade as he gazed down at his daughter.

“Thought you didn’t believe in God, Winston,” Wade countered.



“That was before . Now I think on it, I guess deep down I always knew that He was real. It just took this here miracle for me to believe. Some of us are just more stubborn than others, we have to have our own proof,”

“He understands that you know, that’s why the story of Jesus’ birth is so important, it was a miracle in itself, not only because of the virgin mother, but because people believed, just on faith, that He was the Messiah.” Wade reached out and took the baby from Winston, placing her in the mock cradle.

He and Winston smiled as they looked down Miracle. Winston placed his arm across Wades shoulder and hugged his friend.

“How about if I get the bible and we go into the living room and learn some more. I gotta lot of catching up to do, if I want to be a good Pa. Lord don’t send miracles ever day.

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