Charley’s Tale

Charley’s Tale Part 6

With Cora to champion her and her brothers for company, Charley thrived..  Her father is pleased to see his daughter is smart and active.  When Ellen has been gone a month, he called her.  “Ellen, you need to come home.  Your children need you.  I need you.”

“Oh Charles, I don’t feel well enough yet.  I have been taking the hot baths daily and am just starting to put a little of the weight back on I lost when my nerves were so bad.  The doctor here thinks I would benefit from a longer rest.  He told me today I should plan on another six weeks.  I was going to call tomorrow and let you know.”  Ellen had a tremor in her voice as she bargained for more time.  She hadn’t even asked after the children.

“I am sure that doctor’s pocket would benefit if you stayed.  Ellen, I am your husband and I am telling you.  Come home tomorrow.  A month is time enough to rest up. You have responsibilities.  The baby is sleeping nights and trying to take steps.  The boys need their mother.  You can’t expect Cora and me to manage any longer.  Edna Jones has brought casseroles over twice.  The neighbors have been asking when you are coming home.”  Charles wasn’t leaving her room to argue.

Ellen was miffed at the mention of Edna Jones and the casseroles.  “What business does that hussy, Edna have sniffing around my kitchen?  She claims to be so Christian and she’s after you with her husband not dead a year!  I’ll catch the train tomorrow.”  It was one thing to be a delicate doctor’s wife needing rest and another entirely to have a woman after her husband.

Ellen caught the early train and was home by afternoon.  She dumped the leftover casserole in the trash, dish and all.   Charles and the boys were ecstatic at her return, but Charley clung to Cora, not remembering her mother.  Ellen was not pleased to hear the boys referring to their sister as Charley, but decided to leave that matter for tomorrow.

 

 

Charley’s Tale Part 5

Ellen’s disappointment in her child grew apace with Charlotte. Charlotte was a big baby, bigger even than her brothers had been. Ellen had expected a dainty, quiet child, not this bawling, thrashing baby Charlotte became. She screamed with colic from six in the evening till after three every morning, spitting up till she ruined all her mother’s gowns and wraps. Neither Ellen nor Charles could console her. During the worst of her colicky spells, her belly became rigid and thrashed her arms and legs wildly. By morning, Ellen was exhausted and gladly handed her off to Cora and headed black to bed. She insisted Cora put the baby on the bottle, saying the crying had spoiled her milk. Typically, as colicky babies often do, she slept deeply and well, off and on all day. Finally, in desperation, Charles started giving her a drop or two of paregoric, an opium derivative, to ease her agony. She developed a tolerance for it and Ellen increased the doses with the unavoidable side-effect of constipation. Despite intractable colic, she grew like a weed and looked like a short, fat bald man at three months, a fact that did not endear her to her mother. Over time, it reached the point that Charlotte required a daily enema. harles told Ellen to limit paregoric use, but Ellen said she couldn’t bear to see the child in agony, so the dosing continued for months until Cora appealed to Dr Evans on the child’s behalf. “Dr. Evans, if we don’t get this youngun off that stuff her bowels ain’t ever gonna work. I don’t believe no nine month old baby still has colic.”

Dr. Evans obviously had left matters regarding the children to his wife. “I didn’t realize she was still getting it. I’ll talk to her mother.” He also told the pharmacist to discontinue its sale to his wife.

Without the paregoric Charlotte, spent a miserable week or two, hardly sleeping and crying continuously. Ellen pleaded with him, insisting the child needed medicating. When he refused, she accused her husband of being heartless and fled to spend a few days with a friend in Hot Springs, swearing she couldn’t bear the child’s misery .

Cora moved in to care for the children and run the household for the duration. Charlotte recovered and woke to the world around her. She discovered her brothers, doing her best to toddle behind them. They were delighted with her in turn, dubbing her, “Charley.”

Charley’s Tale Part 4

Geneva’s reference to Cousin Jean was the last thing Ellen wanted to hear.  Her cousin had been a frequent presence in Ellen’s young life. Once Ellen was old enough to dread her friends’ criticism, she cringed when her mother championed Cousin Jean at family events, making it clear Cousin Jean was dear to her heart.  A masculine-appearing woman, Cousin Jean wore dark tailored suits with brown oxfords and beige cotton stockings when society demanded at weddings, funerals, and christenings.  Otherwise, she caroused with her young cousins clad in overalls, men’s shirts, and brogans.  Though her own girls were beautifully dressed, Geneva made no reference to Cousin Jean’s unusual wardrobe.

As a young child, Ellen, along with her mother and sisters, spent wonderful times at the farm where Cousin Jean had raised Geneva after she was orphaned.  They fished, did chores, and worked on the farm, right along with Cousin Jean, who farmed as well as any man.  They spent long summer days playing outdoors and balmy summer nights sleeping on her screened back porch. As Ellen approached puberty, she felt embarrassed confusion at Cousin Jean’s differences in the company of her friends, while being torn for her love for her “odd” cousin. She felt so free in her love for Cousin Jean in Jean’s territory, the farm.  It was only when she saw Jean through the eyes of her friends that her affection waivered. She loved and wanted to be a part of Cousin Jean’s life at the farm, was miserable at seeing Jean through her friends’ eyes. Why couldn’t Cousin Jean just try to be more like everyone else?  When questioned about Cousin Jean, Geneva excused her with “That’s just Jean.  She’s the only mother I never knew.  I won’t hear a word against her.  Don’t ever forget that!”

Ellen resented her mother’s excusing Cousin Jean’s eccentricity while diligently pushing her daughters conform to society’s expectations, never realizing her mother must have struggled with the same issues until she eavesdropped on a conversation and learned her mother had rebuked a friend who’d spoken snidely to Cousin Jean.

“I could have slapped her face for that.  There’s no need to be so hateful!” Geneva spewed.

“Geneva, I learned a long time ago not to waste time on small people.  I can’t change who I am for anybody.  If you and the girls love me, that’s enough.  Some people go through their whole lives with nobody.  Don’t concern yourself on my account.”

From this, young Ellen knew Cousin Jean knew how “odd” she was, and resolved to love her, but felt Jean could fit in if she tried a bit harder.  I would have made life so much easier for everyone.

As an adult, she’d conveniently catalogued Cousin Jean as an eccentric, and was genuinely glad to see her on the rare occasions their paths crossed. She was much more comfortable not seeing her on a regular basis.

 

Charley’s Tale Part 3

They named the baby Charlotte for her father. Though Ellen made a bit of an effort when Charles was around, she didn’t bond with the little girl as she had her two boys. Cora had had to bathe and change her. Refusing to nurse her, Cora assumed bottle-feedings, angrily muttering it just wasn’t right for a woman to worry about her figure over her baby. Though unhappy, Charles indulged her, dismissing her revulsion as baby-blues, as postpartum depression was known then. He consoled himself, convincing himself she’d come around in a few days, trying to suppress his concerns for the infant.
Her own mother, Geneva, came to stay for a few days and recognized Charlotte’s ambiguous genitalia immediately, having given birth to four girls. Ellen was infuriated when Geneva expressed her concerns.” Charles said he had to a little growth off her bottom, but she’s fine now. He said if she has any trouble when she gets older, we will take her to a specialist then. Charles doesn’t ever want her to know. I can’t talk any more about it, it gets me so upset,” clenching her fists, Ellen broke off crying raggedly.
“Ellen, this might be more than that. My cousin, Jean……….” Ellen cut her mother off sharply.

“Stop it, Mother! I won’t listen to your nonsense! Charles is a doctor. Don”t you think he knows a little more than you! He says there’s no need borrowing trouble. He’s not going tand tonico like it if we discuss this any more. Please don’t mention Jean ever again, especially to Charles.” Ellen was clearly agitated at the mention of Jean.

“Ellen, I am not about to go around telling your business, but I am going to talk to Charles about this. There might be a specialist she can see now. If money is a problem…………….”

“Mother, stay out of this! Money is definitely NOT a problem. Don’t you think Charles would move Heaven and Earth if he thought she needed to see another doctor? How could you bring Jean up to me? You know, I can’t abide her! My head is just throbbing. You and Cora will just have to manage while I rest. Please tell Charles I am going to take something for my headache and will see him when I get up.” Waving dismissively at her mother, she called out to Cora.

“Cora, bring up my tonic and pull the curtains for me. I feel like I am dying of headache. Dust a little talcum on my sheets and bring me that silk throw before you go. Take that squalling baby downstairs and keep the boys quiet. Maybe you better take the baby out in carriage and walk the boys over to play with Mrs. Barnes boys, but don’t you dare let anybody else change her. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Miz Ellen. I knows how to take care of things. You git some rest.” Cora hurried the baby out of Ellen’s way, taking her bassinet to the kitchen with her. Charlotte never slept in her parent’s room again. Cora had seen lots of headaches and tonic since the baby was born. Ellen had always been haughty and demanding, but now Cora dreaded her imperious demands. All was not well.

Charley’s Tale

Ellen Pendergrass led a charmed life till the day her daughter, Charlotte, was born in 1938. At Ellen’s birth, her parents celebrated the long hoped-for arrival of a perfect daughter born ten years after the last of their six sons. Ellen was all any parent could have imagined, dainty, feminine, and delightful. She was all the more welcome, since her mother had despaired of ever having a daughter. Both parents doted on her and were well-able to indulge her since her father was from a long line of bankers.
A high-minded young woman, well-aware of her importance, Ellen studied music and art at a notable Southern Women’s College, though she’d never need to earn her own way. No one was surprised when she accepted the proposal of a wealthy plantation owner’s son. It was the wedding of the decade. The father of the bride built the young couple a Victorian mansion in the finest part of town and Ellen’s husband, a doctor, spent his time between his practice and his father’s plantation. His practice grew so quickly, he had to hire a farm manager when he inherited upon his father’s death. Ellen, like her mother before her, gave birth to boys, though she yearned for a daughter to follow her in society.
At thirty-nine, Ellen feared she was entering menopause, when to her great joy, she realized she was pregnant. Surely, she’d have a daughter this time. Her husband attended the home birth, of course. Ellen was relieved to hear a healthy squall at delivery, but Charles didn’t meet her eyes as he handed the swaddled infant to Cora, the maid. “It looks like a healthy girl.” In minutes, Cora diapered and swaddled the babe and passed her to Ellen to nurse.
Ellen counted all the little fingers and toes as she admired her little one. “I do believe this is the prettiest one yet.”
Charles answered, “You always say that,” then whisked the infant away immediately instead of leaving her with her mother, as he had at all the other births. “Get some rest.”
Ellen was glad to rest, but was a little concerned that Charles had taken the baby.
“Cora, was everything alright with the baby?” she quizzed Cora.
“That baby looked plenty healthy to me,” Cora turned her back as she tidied things up. “Shore had a fine set of lungs on her. You ain’t as young as you was. Git you some rest while you can.”
Miffed at the reference to her age, Ellen snapped at Cora. “I am plenty young enough to tend my baby, thank you. I have the finest skin of any of my friends.”
“Yes’m,” Cora answered.

To be continhttps://youtu.be/8h6fFPsFZpI?si=onKJ1qbGqzs2PXgaued.