“Yes she will,” said Ruthie Mae. “Mama done sent me for stuff before. All I gotta do is sign our las name on the back o’ the slip, after I say, ‘Mama say put it on the bill.’”
“For real?” Ludell asked.
“Yeah, that’s all I hafta do,” she answered.
“Well if you aine scared, I ain’t,” Ludell said.
“Okay, come on then,” Ruthie Mae said rising.
On the way there, the plan was laid. Instead of just crediting creme cookies, Ruthie Mae was going to get some bologna and something to drink, because, she explained, “It would look kinda funny just crediting two ten-cent packages of creme cookies.”
Hurrying along they soon reached the store, then walked inside looking innocent and got everything. When Mis Kelly rang it all up, Ruthie Mae said what she planned to, and Mis Kelly passed her the slip to sign, without comment.
Ludell was scared until they got outside, but was glad she’d come as she eyed the goodies. They took the long way back home down Sicamore street, and began eating right away. When they came to the Kangaroo man’s house Ruthie Mae said, “Come on, let’s go roun in back of here and finish eating.”
“You crazy?” Ludell shouted, stepping back. “I ’on even like to have to pass here, let alone go up close to that house. They say the Kangaroo man come back and haint people if he ketch em roun here!”
“Oh, I ’on believe that mess Ludell! Aine no such thang as ghosts, and hainting, and all that junk!”
“Well my grandmama say,” Ludell began.
“Well yo grandmama just ole-timey,” Ruthie Mae snapped, cutting her off.
“Girl don’ be talking bout my grandmama; I ’on play that,” Ludell firmly stated.
“Oh chile, I aine trying to talk bout nobody’s grandmother. I’m just trying to tell you that the older people still believe in ghosts and stuff like that. Mama say when she was a girl, the old people would sit roun at night talking bout men wit no heads riding horses and stuff; then they’d make the children go out to the pump for water cause they’d be too scared to go theirselves. Mama say when they put you in that ground, you is there to stay till judgment day, don’ care what nobody say!”
“Just what you thank we gon do if we don’ go back there?” Ruthie Mae asked. “We got a lot o’ stuff to eat. I shouldn’t ’ave got no whole pound of bologna,” she said looking down at all the meat remaining. “Well, what you gon do?” she repeated like Ludell was really starting to get on her nerves. “We look kind o’ stupid just standing here in the middle of the road eating!”
“Okay, okay,” went Ludell. “You can hush your mouth—I’ll go.”
As Ruthie Mae began to lead the way in back, Ludell followed cautiously, looking in every direction. She’d never been this close to the Kangaroo man’s house. It was brown, or used to be. Now it was all faded. The porch was about to fall in and the house had started to lean. There was a big oak tree on one side of the place and around front were rows and rows of bushes growing wild. All that could be seen of the front from the street was a rusty porch-swing chain hanging from the ceiling, giving Ludell chills each time she passed.
The Kangaroo man had been dead a long time now. When Ludell was smaller she’d been convinced that his mama was really a kangaroo like all the children at school said. The only times she’d seen him were coming from the store. He’d be all bent over with whatever he had cupped in his hands, like a kangaroo holding its baby. Whenever any children saw him coming they’d say, “Hey Mr. Kangaroo Man!” and he’d start chasing them. However if you didn’t pick at him, he would keep walking and talking to himself and not bother you. He never had to worry about Ludell messing with him! After he died she’d asked mama all about him. Mama said:
“Never did know the man’s real name, but they tell me he was in World War II and got shot down in a airplane. Folks had done give him up for dead. Then bout five years later, some mens was hunting and they came up on this straaange-looking creature. Hair down clean to his back, face all hairy, butt-naked! Firse they thought he was a caveman left over from earlytimes, being that he looked like he did—plus he was down on all fours! They say he was making funny sounds, eating grasshoppers, weeds, and some o’ everything! Wee-ll, the mens got a net and caged him. They tell me he really went wild then! Then they looks and see he got this here dog tag what they wear in the army hanging roun his neck, and bless my soul they discovers he’s a soldier. They placed him in the hospital for the longest, but soon as he learned how to talk again, he begged em to let him go. Tell me the army paid him allll his back pay and gave him a big check every month rat up till he passed.”
Fascinated with the story on him, Ludell would ask her to tell it time and time again; and she would, always adding something new.
“You ever been in the back before, Ruthie Mae?” Ludell asked, standing behind her trembling.
“Shoot yeah!” she answered.
“For real?” said Ludell. “When?”
“Chile, me and Willie nem came roun here and peeped ’fore the Kangaroo man even died!” she shouted, strutting over to a stump. “Come on, we can sit here,” she said.
“I ’on believe you ever came back here girl,” Ludell said, getting as close to her as possible. “Specially not wit him living,” she added.
“Yes I did,” went Ruthie Mae. “Ask Willie and Buddie Boy if you don’ believe me—but don’ slip up and mention bout us being roun here today now!”
“I aine gon even ask em,” said Ludell. “I just remembered how you was crazy enough to pick at him when you were little, so you was probably crazy enough to come roun here peeping too. Yall see anything strange?”
“Naw,” she said. “But he came out here and gave us something though.”
“Gave yall something?” Ludell asked, her eyes stretched and waiting for more. “Gave yall what?’
“Well,” began Ruthie Mae, “we was standing right over yonder by the edge of the porch trying to peep in that there window when we heard him coming. It was too late to run, so we all scooted down under the porch. He walked out the door and the next thang we knew, some greasy dishwater was landing on us!”
“Oooh, that musta been funny,” Ludell said. “What yall do next?”
“Funny nothing!” shouted Ruthie Mae with her mouth full. “We had rice and junk all over us and was all wet and slimy. What we do?—What else could we do but take our lil dumb butts on home. Mama tore all us up when she foundt out we’d been snooping roun here.”
Her story was so funny that Ludell had just about forgotten all the scarey ones about the place, when she heard Ruthie Mae shout, “A GHOST!”
“I-I-IIIII!” Ludell screamed, taking off, dropping cookies and all, as she ran toward the front. Wondering why Ruthie Mae wasn’t coming, she glanced back and saw her all bent over, cracking up.
“Oh Lordy,” Ruthie Mae went, walking to the front. “I aine never been so tickled in all my born days! Girl I didn’t know you could run so fast—I aine know an-ti-bodie could run so fast!”
“Ha, ha, ha,” Ludell said sarcastically. “So you got me! You know you made me drop the rest o’ my stuff, don’t you?”
“Well I’m sorry bout that part,” Ruthie Mae laughed. “But whatever lil bit you lost was worth the joke! Plus now I done got you back.”
“Got me back for what?” she asked her.
“I saw you up there laughing when Willie and them boys had me after school.”
“Oh that?” went Ludell as they headed on up Highsmith street. “Them boys git on my nerves. I told Willie I was gon report