Фэнни Флэгг - The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop

That morning, Evelyn had been sitting at her breakfast table drinking coffee and watching the local news, when a Missing Person Alert ran across the bottom of the screen.

The missing senior, Mr. James Buddy Threadgoode, eighty-four, was last seen in Atlanta, and thought to be headed to Birmingham. White male, five foot eleven inches tall, blue eyes, white hair, believed to be missing left arm, and last seen wearing a plaid wool jacket.

When Evelyn first saw the name, it caught her attention, but then when she read the description, she knew it had to be him. How many people with one arm named Buddy Threadgoode in their eighties could there be? He just had to be Ruth and Idgie’s little boy. The one she had heard so much about from her friend Ninny Threadgoode.

She suddenly became very excited and called Harry, her friend in the newsroom at the local TV station, and asked the status of the missing man and was told he had not been located as of yet. Before she hung up, she asked him to please call and let her know if they find him. Oh, she hoped he would be found. She would just love to somehow get in touch with him.

She didn’t know Bud, but she felt as if she did. Ninny Threadgoode had told her so much about Whistle Stop and the cafe, and Evelyn remembered that Buddy had married his childhood sweetheart and that they had a daughter. She also knew that they had moved, but she didn’t know to where. But if she could find him, she had something she had always wanted to give him—something she thought his daughter might certainly love to have. She had kept it for years. When Ninny passed away, she’d left Evelyn a shoebox of old photos of the cafe, some of the old menus and cafe recipes, and many photographs of Idgie, Ruth, and Buddy Jr. that really should be given back to the Threadgoode family.

—

AROUND TWO O’CLOCK, her friend Harry from the television station called and told her that Mr. Threadgoode had been found alive and well, and that he was at UAB Hospital under observation.

Evelyn was thrilled and called the hospital right away. Terry, who was still on duty, had answered “Observation, this is Terry.”

“Hey, Terry, this is Evelyn Couch, and I was wondering if I could possibly get some information about Bud Threadgoode?”

Terry said, “Is this the Evelyn Couch, who did all those Cadillac commercials on TV?”

“Yes.”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake. I used to see you on TV all the time. How are you?”

“Just fine, thank you, Terry. Listen, hon, I don’t want to bother him, but I’m trying to get in touch with Mr. Threadgoode’s daughter and—”

“You just missed her. She just left.”

“She’s in Birmingham?”

“Yes. Flew in today. I have her name and number, would you like it?”

“Thank you so much, Terry, I owe you one.”

“Oh, you’re welcome. But she may be trying to take a nap, so I’d wait a little while to call.”

“Thanks, I will.”

—

RUTHIE WOKE UP at around four-thirty that afternoon and wondered if she should try to get a cab back to the hospital. But they had her phone number, so she was sure if there had been any changes in Bud’s condition they would have called. Now, she didn’t know what to do. Here she was sitting all alone in some strange, ugly hotel room, in a town where she didn’t know a soul. She looked out the window and saw that it was starting to get dark outside. She decided to go ahead and call the hospital. They told her her father was sleeping, so she turned on the television set as a diversion, and was watching a rerun of Shark Tank when the phone rang.

“Mrs. Caldwell, my name is Evelyn Couch. You don’t know me, but I was very good friends with someone I believe was your father’s aunt.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Her name was Ninny Threadgoode.”

“That’s right. He did have an Aunt Ninny.”

“Married to a man named Cleo, and they had a son named Albert?”

“Yes, that’s exactly right. He talks about them all the time. Oh, wait until I tell Daddy.”

“Oh my goodness. I’m so glad I found you. It’s a long story, Mrs. Caldwell, but Ninny Threadgoode was a very special person in my life and I would love to tell him about it sometime. Would that be possible?”

“Of course.”

“They told me at the hospital that your father is doing well, and I know you must be relieved. That must have been quite a scare.”

“Yes, it was.”

“Listen, I know this is a bad time, and I don’t want to bother you, but if you and your father ever get back to Birmingham for any reason, would you call me? I have something I think you might like to have.”

“We’d love that. Do you ever get to Atlanta?”

“Not much, since it got so big. The last time I was there I was lost for three hours. I mean, how many Peachtree Streets are there? But I’m game to try again.”

Ruthie laughed. “It is confusing, I know.”

“Anyhow, I’m so glad your father is all right.”

“Thank you. The doctor feels pretty sure I’ll probably be able to take him back home in a couple of days.”

“Are you over here by yourself?”

“Yes.”

“Do you have friends in Birmingham?”

“No, not really.”

“Well, listen, if there’s anything I can do for you, please let me know. I’m not that far away. I can bring you anything you need. What are you going to do for your dinner tonight?”

“I haven’t even thought about it. Room service, I guess.”

“Oh, don’t do that. Let me come pick you up and take you someplace nice for dinner.”

“You’re so sweet. But, honestly, I look too terrible to go anywhere. I don’t have a stitch of makeup with me and my hair is a mess.”

Evelyn laughed. “Well, if makeup is your problem, you have no worries. I have makeup, believe me. Anything you need, I’ve got. Do you have a car?”

“No. I flew over and took a cab to the hospital. I guess I should rent something while I’m here.”

“Oh, don’t spend your money on that. Let me lend you a car while you’re here. I have a few extra cars. Or, better yet, I would be more than happy to take you anywhere you need to go.”

“Oh, I can’t impose on you.”

“Believe me, it’s not imposition. I’m a retired person and I am free as a bird and would just love to have something to do and someone to do it with. All my other friends ever want to do is sit around and play bridge.”

Ruthie didn’t know who this woman was, but whoever she was, God bless her.

The thought of trying to make her way around in a strange town was not very appealing. And she was hungry. She’d completely forgotten to have lunch!

—

ABOUT THIRTY MINUTES later, Ruthie heard someone knocking on her hotel door. When she opened it, there stood a sweet-looking, plump gray-haired lady holding a clear plastic carrying case full of Mary Kay makeup and a huge jar of Mary Kay cold cream. “Hi, Ruthie, I’m Evelyn.” Ruthie, who had never laid eyes on this woman before tonight, was so happy to see a friendly face, she wanted to grab her and hug her, right there on the spot.

While she was in the bathroom putting on her new beautiful makeup and they had talked a bit more, Ruthie realized there was something about Evelyn that reminded her of her mother. Maybe it was the accent or her voice—she didn’t know what—but it was so comforting to be with someone so clearly down-to-earth, and so real. She had missed that. She had forgotten what it was like to be with someone she could just be herself with.

—

EVELYN HAD TAKEN them to a lovely four-star restaurant. Ruthie had two glasses of wine with dinner and she certainly wasn’t drunk, but she must have been more relaxed than she knew because, by the end of the evening, she had told Evelyn—a complete stranger—all about herself and her life in Atlanta. And Evelyn had been most sympathetic. “I had a mother-in-law from hell myself,” she said. “But this Martha Lee character sounds like a real piece of work.”