Dirty Faces- Book 1

Chapter 19: Ballads

Chapter 19: Ballads

Thursday evening, Ginny followed the path between Jack's house and her own. It had rained off and on all day and she had stuck around the kitchen helping Aunt Betty can strawberry and blackberry preserves. With Tommy grounded, it hadn't been a bad way to pass the time.

She decided that if Lilly was parked in the yard when she got there, she'd just turn right back around and wait on Kody to get off work before going home to wait on Mama's phone call. She despised being around Ralph at all, but it was generally more bearable when there was someone else there to share in the tense misery.

She hunched over and kept low as she crept around the side of the house. To her relief, only Ralph's rig was parked in the yard; he'd probably gone to the diner for supper. She straightened back up and entered through the front door, heading straight for the radio once inside. This time of day usually offered a decent show, and if nothing else, a ball game. When she settled on a serial mystery, she sat down on the near-threadbare chair and let herself get lost in the story.

As the episode reached its climax, she wished she'd thought to bring her drawing pad with her so she could illustrate the intense scene for herself. Just then, the roar of Lilly's loud engine distracted her thoughts. She considered sneaking out the back door and making a run for Jack's house, but Mama would be calling soon, and Kody should be getting there any minute. She could handle Ralph on her own until then.

Ginny stared straight ahead as the screen door slammed behind her. Ralph glanced at her out the corner of his eye as he seated himself on the couch and pulled a pack of cigarettes from his shirt pocket. Tapping the top of the pack against his palm, he observed, "I don't much care for this here show."

"Would you like me to change it?" she offered.

"I'm perfectly capable of doing that." He stood up and crossed the front room over to the radio. After adjusting the dial to an acceptable station, he turned to look at Ginny. He lit a cigarette and took a long draw, all the while staring at her, then watched as the smoke he exhaled dissipated.

"I ran into that priest at the store today," he stated, before taking another draw, his eyes never leaving Ginny's face. She was silent, staring down at the floor.

"He said he caught you poking around that ol' place next to his."

Her eyes stayed set on the scuffed-up floor boards. She knew what to expect.

"Look at me when I talk to you, girl!"

She raised her gaze to meet his green eyes; they might have been pretty if they hadn't been his.

"If you're smart, you'll keep away from there."

She nodded. "Yes, sir."

"But you and me both know you ain't that smart."

Ginny kept an eye on his hands, dreading what was certain to come. He took another drag off the cigarette, exhaled, then stuck it it the corner of his mouth. "Lucky for you, I'm nice enough to give ya a little reminder," he said, taking off his belt.

*****

"What'd you get in trouble for?" Kody asked as they climbed up the path back to Jack's house. Ginny had had that air of defeat about her since he got home, that same one she always had when she got in trouble. It was like Ralph's belt dealt a harder blow to her pride than to her body.

She turned and looked back him with an expression he couldn't even begin to read. "He found out I'd been in that old house."

"Ginny, I didn't tell him, I swear. I haven't even been there to tell him."