“Granddaddy, the sole just came off my shoe. Can you
fix it?” Marcus asked. “I told you to leave your granddaddy alone,” his mother
angrily interjected. “It’s alright, Lizzie, he’s not botherin me none,” the old
man said in a soothing voice.
2 “See, Granddaddy, the sole is plum off of it.” The
boy held the shoe out for William to see. “Yep, I believe you’re right,” the
old man nodded in agreement. “Go fetch me my toolbox off of the dresser by my
bed,” he instructed.
3 “Daddy, you don’t have to touch that shoe if you
don’t feel like it,” Lizzie hollered from the kitchen. “He don’t mind none,
Mama,” Marcus proclaimed as he hurried toward his grandfather with the box full
of his old cobbler’s tools.
4 “That’s it!” William smiled. “Now let’s see what we
can do with this old shoe!” They both fell silent as the old man pulled some
pieces of leather out of his bag to mend the shoe. Marcus noticed that his
hands were slow and much wrinkled.
5 “My teacher said that the War Between the States was
one of the most glorious conflicts in history,” Marcus blurted out. At first,
William didn’t say anything and continued to work on the shoe. The boy,
however, was sure that he had seen the old man wince as if the memory of it all
was too painful to recall. “How come you never talk about the war, Granddaddy?”
Marcus persisted.
6 William stopped and laid the shoe down. “It wasn’t
glorious,” he finally responded. “A lot of folks got hurt, and a lot of folks
died in that war – some of your kinfolks,” William pointed towards Marcus.
7 “Your Granny and me had only been married a couple
of years when it started. She had to make do on her own. A lot of womenfolk had
to get by best way they could,” he remembered. “But I don’t suppose that’s what
you’re wantin to hear about, is it?” the old man smiled.
8 “Did you kill any Yankees?” William got that pained
expression. He reached down and retrieved the shoe. “Let’s see what we can do
with this sole,” the old man said as he resumed his work.
9 That night, William barely touched his food. “Are
you okay, Daddy?” Lizzie asked. “Just very tired,” he almost whispered in
response.
10 The following morning, a bloodcurdling scream came
from William’s room. “John!” Lizzie shouted. “John, come in here.”
11 As John Thrower approached the room, he already
knew what had happened. His father-in-law was dead. He looked from William to
his wife and said, “I’ll send for the doctor and you’ll need some help to lay
out the corpse.” Then, he turned and hurried quickly toward the front porch so
as to avoid his wife’s tears.
12 After the viewing, they loaded the casket onto a wagon and carried it to the little Primitive Baptist Church across the street from Rice Cemetery. Mary had been buried there almost five years ago, and William would be laid to rest beside her. For William Hendrix, the war was finally over.
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