At two o'clock in the morning, on a January Saturday of the following year, Ellis Kazan, one of the flock of Lebanese immigrants (who were, for the most part, store keepers and active civic leaders) and his wife, Linda, lay awake in their bedroom.
The lights had been long turned off. Ellis and Linda were not talking to each other about it, but they were, generally, worried about life in general.
One of the main worries was their store. How could business be improved? How could prices be lowered in the near future? What could be done about the smell of the meat market?
The other worries were their children.
Their three children, Rosalie, nineteen, Danny, seventeen, and Bill, sixteen, were growing up too fast. Why? wondered their parents.
It seemed like only yesterday to Linda that she was feeding Rosalie, or changing Danny, or gleaming, along with the two older children, at the newborn William whom they immediately decided to call Bill.
Now, the precious children were growing up.
It was the parents of Ellis and Linda who were among the immigrants who ended up in Mississippi in the early 20th century, leaving the "old country" for a better life in the United States. Some changed their surnames; some did not.
People who lived in Cole prior to the influx of these hardworking, industrious people erreneously referred to them as Syrians when, in fact, they were Lebanese. This didn't matter to the younger generation, though, who blended in well with their American and Jewish friends. Add to that the dark, good looks of most of the Lebanese boys and girls, and that made them all the more popular, so much so that Danny, the middle Kazan child, was nicknamed "Israel."
Rosalie, now at a Mississippi college, was voted Most Beautiful at Cole High. So far, she had not disappointed her parents, and they hoped she'd meet some nice boy at college and settle down to marriage and family.
Danny was six feet tall, had very curly, black hair, and a witty, mischievous personality. Deep down, Danny was ambitious, and hoped to take over his father's grocery business when he came of age. Though silly at times, he always knew when it was time to work and when it was time to play, and managed to separate the two successfully, so far. He was also a very good athelete, and, at this moment, was on the way home from a date.
Bill looked almost exactly like Danny. In fact, some people mistook them for twins. However, Bill was quite different from Danny, in that he was not the "driver" Danny was. Bill made average grades, but his interest in sports, etc., was little. He was currently going steady with a girl by the name of Karen Ingram, who was a rather shady character in the eyes of Ellis and Linda. Bill and Karen frequented out of the way nightspots, bought and drank alcohol illegally, and were the "talk of the town" among the youth of Cole.
Every morning, Ellis and Linda would arise early, dress, and eat breakfast. By the time the rest of the family had eaten, the parents had opened their grocery store, Kazan Grocery and Market, one of the four main grocery stores of Cole.
Every weekend, the Kazan family seemed to be in bedlam. Between the Saturday rush at the grocery store, the Sunday church or social activities, and the children's cavorting around, Ellis and Linda were worn out.
The Lebanese of Cole were dedicated to hard work. They owned and operated three of the four aforementioned stores, and several dry goods stores.
The downtown section of Cole was a crammed, crowded cluster of old buildings that housed the stores, banks, a funeral home, etc. Almost every store could be identified as Kazan, Moses, Knapp, or Thomas ownership.
It was in these downtown stores, especially the Kazan store, the largest, that some of the most interesting gossip and loudest small talk went on. On a Friday afternoon or Saturday, the busiest time, one could hear constant chatter, laughter, cash registers ringing, and babies crying. It was interesting to tourists from out of town who might happen by one of these stores.
Sunday morning at eight thirty, Linda walked into Bill's room. She made her way through the cluster of clothes on the floor, and flung open the curtains.
"Wake up, Bill," Linda said, shaking her son. "We're all going to church this morning!"
Bill turned over.
"I said wake up!" Linda demanded. Apparently, the demand was a usual one that Bill had built up a tolerance to.
The boy, his long black hair mussed over his face, again turned over. Rubbing his eyes, he mumbled, "What time is it?"
"Eight thirty! We've got to hurry if we're going to make it to the ten thirty service!"
As soon as Linda walked out, the nude Bill got out of bed. He went straight to the bathroom, and examined his neck.
"Oh, damn!" he gasped, noticing two blood red passion marks on his neck. "Karen, Karen!"
As he showered, he thought about his love affair with Karen. Karen, the seventeen year old monster, or so it seemed: he had never known anyone like Karen. Her long, red hair; cat eyes; wide hips; sensuous lips--all this was exciting to bill, who had done a little too much living for age sixteen.
At the breakfast table, tension prevailed.
"What's wrong with your eyes?" Linda asked.
"And what the hell's on your neck?" Ellis demanded to know.
The older Danny sighed relieved that his eyes weren't red and that there were no marks on his neck, even though his "night before" was similar to his younger brother's.
"Would you lay off?" Bill replied. "I don't feel too good this morning!"
"I'll bet you don't!" Danny laughed.
"That's enough, you two!" Linda said.
"I'm going out to Karen's after church," Bill said. "They invited me for dinner."
"How are you going?" Ellis asked.
"In my car, of course," Bill replied.
Not much more was said for the remainder of the meal. Ellis thought about Danny and Bill, and wished that he'd not spoiled them so. Danny, he wasn't so worried about. Bill, however, was another matter.
No comments:
Post a Comment