CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Stacy Steimel waddled through the door of Mueller’s Drug store. She looked as though she had swallowed a whole watermelon. The baby was due anytime now. Herbert now noticed her and left the main counter to offer her his assistance. Helping her to the soda counter, he lifted as she pulled her awkward self onto a stool.
“Thanks Mr. Mueller, I sure do appreciate your kindness.” She said scooting her hips around trying to find a more comfortable position, yet it wasn’t to be.
“Still havin’ stomach cramps? Need some bi-carb?” He put forth.
“No, no problems right there sir. But…” She hesitated to answer his simple query as her cheeks blushed a darker shade of red.
Herbert scratched his head as he weren’t sure what the problem might be, but Hazel came to the rescue. His wife whispered in his ear, “Did you not see the way she’s sitting?”
“What?” He still wasn’t getting it as he scratched his forehead.
“Go get the poor girl some ointment, she’s having hemorrhoid itch, you silly willy.”
“Oh…oh, ah, yes dear, right away. You’re right, how silly of me.” Making hast he went behind the main counter.
Stacy looked up, “Thank you Mrs. Mueller, I just didn’t feel right about askin’ for you-know-what.” She was blushing again.
“Never you mind dearie, us women know how to look after one another,” she gave the young lass a soft hug and a motherly kiss on the forehead, “and tell your mother thanks for the blueberry pie she sent over last week, it was just delicious.”
Herbert appeared with the ointment he had placed in a small brown paper sack, “Here you go Ms. Stacy.”
Stacy pulled out a small coin purse that at first glance looked torn and had seen better days indeed, “How much do…”
“Oh, heavens no dear, put that away. There’s no charge.” Hazel said, which triggered another hug and kiss, which gave Stacy a feeling of self-assurance that she did matter.
She had long brown hair parted in the middle, soft brown eyes and a good helping of pimples on her face. Yet, she had a simple beauty about her, more so then the other girls around town her age. Slim of figure-- that is up until nine months ago--creamy skin and weighed no more than a hundred pounds, if that.
Many-a-townsfolk made her out to be nothing more than a cheap gallivanting whore; but nothing could be further from the truth. The only boy she had ever been with sexually was Bobby Taylor. His boyish charm swept her right into his arms, and that eventually led them to the old Nelson farm, where Bobby deflowered the innocent young lass.
As with so many rural young girls; for her it was her first true love, for him it was just another notch in his belt. Bobby had given her the nickname of ‘Lollypop’ because he said he liked to lick her all over.
No sooner had she figured out she was with child, yep, you guessed it, Bobby dropped her like a hot tater. Told anyone who’d listen, that Stacy had slept with over six different boys that he knew of, maybe more; lying came easy to him.
Truth was, she was living with her mother who took in wash, did house cleaning and did cookin’ for some of the more well-to-do folks. Stacy had two younger sisters. Her father had died several years back while workin’ for Sonny Darnell. He was in the barn putin’ up hay bales when old man Darnell rode in on his tractor and struck him. Never had a chance they say. Sonny told the authorities that comin’ out of the sunlight into the dark barn, he never saw him standing there. It was ruled an accident.
Times can be hard, but people do what they got to do, to survive. And that’s what the widow Steimel and family did, pulled themselves together working any and all odd jobs to scratch out a living; even if the so-called good folks of Saint Cloud said they came from the wrong side of the tracks.