Chapter thirty two
Henrietta Pickett was born Henrietta Mullins and was delivered at home in what was known as a “shotgun house” so called because they were so small that you could fire a shotgun in the front door and out the back door without hitting anything. She was the third daughter of Leroy and Bessie Mullins of the ilk referred to by the natives as river rats. Her parents were a homely couple as were the majority of their ancestors. Leroy was of modest stature with a long neck and prominent Adam’s-apple. He had a very long face, what people refer to as horse face, with deep-set eyes and a nose at least two sizes to big for the rest of his features. Bessie was a short heavy-set woman with extreme bosoms. Her one redeeming feature was a round pleasant face that exuded happiness and a contagious smile. However, something in the gene pool combined to produce, from this unlikely source a truly beautiful child. She had curly black hair, fair skin and she had inherited her mothers smile. When Henrietta smiled, even the most dour felt the need to smile along with her.
Their shack was located on the Crystal River with a pier that extended nearly two hundred feet into the river. Moored at this pier was an eclectic clutter of boats from cabin cruisers to skiffs all of which wore a patina of age brought about by a neglect of maintenance. Piled precariously on the pier were coils of rope, wooden floats, stacks of crab traps and coolers of varying sizes along with a plethora of fishing apparatus. Much of this paraphernalia belonged to Henrietta’s father but the majority belonged to relatives. There was also a large sink for cleaning fish. This had a hand pump attached that pumped river water to the sink. The Munn’s were a large family many of which didn’t live directly on the river but still derived their living from it. A lot of them that didn’t have river front property kept their boats and equipment at Leroy’s pier.
The house itself consisted of an open corridor, front to back, with bedrooms and a common room on one side and a kitchen on the other. There were only two bedrooms, one for the parents and a larger one for the children. Once the children began to reach puberty, blankets were hung across the room to separate the boys from the girls. The necessity room consisted of a two-holer out back with a half moons cut in both sides of te four by eight structure. There was a large wooden platform along the back of the house with tubs for doing laundry. On that platform was a water pump that served both the house and laundry.
Henrietta had a very happy and mostly carefree childhood. She knew almost everyone up and down the river and was related to most of them. The river people were a cheerful lot that visited frequently and were known for their large Saturday evening get-togethers. These parties that rotated up and down the river, were of a potluck nature, but always included a huge fish boil. The fish of choice was mullet which they netted in large quantities, both for sale and personal consumption.
Although life on the river could be hard, and everyone was expected to contribute from the youngest up, there was never a time in Henrietta’s youth that she wasn’t surrounded by love. Her early schooling was received in a one-room schoolhouse that she traveled to and from via rowboat. Her teacher thought of this bright young girl with the beatific smile as a cut above her normal student and often spent extra time on her.
When Henrietta finished the eighth grade, her teacher came to the house and pleaded with her folks to send her to high school. There wasn’t a high school in Crystal River, but there was twenty miles away in Inverness, and the Mullin’s had relation there. After much prodding, by Henrietta’s teacher, and Bessie, Leroy contacted his cousin and struck a deal. In exchange for sewing, cooking and general housework, Henrietta would be provided room and board with the understanding that she would be allowed to attend high school.
It was with great trepidation that Leroy sent Henrietta to live with his cousin. Of all of Leroy’s children Henrietta was by far his favorite and he was afraid that if she left the river she may never return.
During her time in Inverness she was treated well and kind of enjoyed the larger town but was desperately lonely for her folks and the river. To compensate for the lack of companionship she had enjoyed on the river, she immersed herself in schoolwork. Due to her diligence, her grades were excellent and in her senior year her teacher urged her to apply for scholarships. She was accepted by three schools but chose the University of Florida in Gainesville for it’s proximity to Crystal River. It turned out that Henrietta was not only the first in her family to graduate high school, but also one of the very few to ever graduate college.
During her freshman year Henrietta met a young man named Adam Pickett at a fraternity dance. Henrietta thought he was very handsome, dashing and sophisticated. Of course, Henrietta’s total lack of sophistication may have caused her to endow Adam with a quality of which he had only a smattering of, at best. The topper however, was that he owned a bright red new Ford convertible. Henrietta had never known anyone that owned a very nice car let alone a new one.
If Henrietta was impressed, Adam was completely smitten. They had only dated for a month when Adam proposed. Henrietta was adamant about completing college and replied that if they were still together when she graduated, she would give him his answer then. They were inseparable from the day they met and both were convinced that they were made for each other. When their first Christmas approached Adam asked her to go to Tallahassee over Christmas break to meet his parents, but she turned him down. She apologized but said there wasn’t any way she could miss Christmas with her family. He managed to talk her into going the weekend before Christmas instead.
Adam’s family lived in an upscale middle class neighborhood. Henrietta was flabbergasted by the house, the furnishings and by the neighborhood. She was convinced that Adam’s parents were extremely wealthy and couldn’t help but wonder how he would perceive her family. The main thing that impressed Henrietta with Adams house was the size. It was a four bedroom with a living room, dinning room, kitchen, den, lanai and summer kitchen. Her uncle’s small three bedroom house in Inverness, which was the largest house Henrietta had ever been in, was tiny by comparison.
Henrietta got along well with Adam’s parents and was especially fond of her mother. When they were leaving Adam’s father said, “I sure hope my son is smart enough to not let you get away.” which made Henrietta blush.
Henrietta spent Christmas break on the river. She was often aware that she was babbling about Adam way to much but somehow wasn’t able to stop herself. Her mother was happy to let her talk all she wanted. It was obvious that her daughter was in love and was anxious to learn all she could about the boy she was in love with. Bessie was ecstatic that her daughter was so happy but Leroy’s reaction was less enthusiastic. He had the uneasy feeling that he was losing his favorite child. He felt that the premonition he’d had when she left home to attend high school was coming true.
When spring came Henrietta invited Adam to visit the river and meet her folks during spring break and he eagerly agreed. Since Henrietta’s folks didn’t have phone service, she wrote and told them she would be coming home during spring break and that she was bringing her beau. Adam was anxious to meet her family and had wore his best suit for the occasion. She started to tell him he was over dressed but thought better of it. She decided to let him handle the situation in his own way.
When the pulled off the dirt road and into the driveway Adam looked at the house and with a dumfounded look asked, “You grew up in this house with how many siblings?”
“Five.”
Henrietta had hesitated before answering trying to comprehend Adam’s thoughts, but Adam showed no indication of having noticed.
“That is absolutely amazing!”
In addition to the crowd scattered around the front yard and pier, there were more emerging from the house. Henrietta thought that her dad must have invited everyone on the river. Henrietta’s father came out of the house wearing his Sunday best, which consisted of slacks and white shirt with bright red suspenders. He walked up to Adam, stuck out his hand and said, “You must be Henrietta’s fella.”
“I sincerely hope so. you must be Mister Mullins. I’m very glad to meet you. Henrietta talks about you constantly.”
With the pride showing on his face he said, “Don’t believe everything you hear. Please call me Leroy. This is the missus, Bessie.”
“I’m very pleased to meet you Mister Pickett. Please come in out of the heat. My what a fine southern name you have. Are your folks from around here?”
By now people, all wanting to shake his hand and with everyone talking at the same time surrounded and carried them toward the front yard like flotsam on an incoming tide. On the way to the house, he noticed that his car was full of kids with most fighting for the coveted front seat positions. He said, “Mister Mullins…uh…you think…maybe I should take my keys out of the car.”
Leroy following his gaze slapped him on the back and said, “I wouldn’t worry none about it, most of them youngsters drive purty good.”
He said it with a straight face and Adam couldn’t make up his mind if he was joking or not.
When they all gathered to eat and started vying for a place at one of the many tables set up on the lawn, Henrietta noticed he was no longer wearing his coat and tie. She also noticed a glass in his hand that she was sure was moonshine. Unbeknown to Henrietta it wasn’t the first.
Henrietta and Adam slept on two of the beds in the kid’s bedroom with a blanket hanging between them. Just before they retired Leroy told Adam, with a wink that he and the missus was very light sleepers. Adam had known Henrietta in the biblical sense for some time but was wise enough to keep that information to himself.
Once they were in the bedroom Adam couldn’t help but smile at the warning. There were children of all sizes scattered across the floor providing an effective minefield between him and Henrietta. On top of that Adam wasn’t sure he could have navigated a clear room let alone that living mine field. Adam had never drank moonshine and he was drunk as the proverbial skunk.
The next day Adam awakened with the worst hangover he‘d ever experienced. He sort of wondered if that wasn‘t what his future father-in-law had planed. After washing his face at the pump he walked around to the front yard to encounter the biggest breakfast he had ever seen. As he sat down next to Henrietta he felt his stomach do flip flops. He jumped up from the table and made a bee line for the outhouse. He almost made it. When he had emptied the contents of his stomach went to the water pump, washed his face, came back with a bucket of water and washed down the mess he had made in the back yard. He was thankful that Henrietta had not followed him to the back yard. When he returned to the table and embarrassingly retook his seat, Henrietta’s dad asked if he was alright.
After two cups of scalding coffee his stomach settled somewhat and he discovered that he was hungry. After breakfast Henrietta helped clear the tables while Adam, along with the rest of the men, drank coffee, smoked and talked about fishing. Adam noticed that he was the only one smoking tailor made cigarettes. He offered them around but the only taker was Henrietta’s father. He said, “Never turn down a fancy smoke.”
After a very prolonged goodbye, shaking every hand and making a sworn promise to return, he and Henrietta drove away along the river road chased by dogs, children and a cloud of dust.
After out running the kids and critters Adam said, “I’ve never ate so much in my life. I must have gained ten pounds. Do these people always eat like that?”
Henrietta instead of answering said, “Well?”
Adam realized that this was the first opportunity they had to talk alone since arriving.
After a short hesitation Adam said, “I was overwhelmed to say the least. I have no idea what I expected, but it sure wasn’t that.”
“You didn’t like them.”
“On the contrary, I loved them, every one of them, although I have no idea who most of them are.”
Henrietta slid across the seat, threw her arms around him and kissed him full on the mouth nearly causing him to lose control of the car.
“Whoa, careful with the driver. We might wind up in the river.”
“You really like them?”
“You bet. I can’t remember ever having a better time and I especially liked your mom and dad. I can only imagine what a hoot it must have been growing up with that gang.”
“I really do love you Adam.”
“Was this some kind of test Henry?”
“I guess it was in a way. I’m sorry, I should have told you what to expect but I really wanted to see your unbiased reaction.”
“There is no need to apologize. I can’t imagine how you could describe that to anyone who hadn’t seen it for them self. I don’t think I would have believed you even if you had tried.”
“Adam, there’s no way I could marry anyone who looked down on my people and after seeing how you were raised I was afraid you might.”
“Are you kidding? I don’t see how anyone could help but like those people. I can’t remember ever having such a good time, especially among strangers. Does this mean you will marry me?”
“Adam I would love to marry you, on one condition…no, I take that back. There are no conditions. I would love to marry you. However, I do have to graduate first.”
“I’ll try to be patient. By the way, what was the condition you were thinking of?”
“Adam, if it’s all right with you, I would really like to live in Crystal River after we are married.”