[1] Knock, Knock…
Just before the turn of the 20th century, an exceptionally beautiful young girl named Hattie Mae was born. Sadly, she grew up to become known in her family as “the meanest woman who ever walked this earth.” But I guess since she looked like Elizabeth Taylor and had the allure of Marilyn Monroe, men tripped over themselves to follow her, no matter how wicked her heart may have been.
So, the story goes...
Having grown up in calamitous poverty, Hattie Mae chased money her whole life. She was determined to use her good looks and persuasive charm to wile her way out of the backwoods.
She had no problem convincing a man with enough money in his wallet that she was his one and only. When a man with a thicker wallet came along, she pursued him until he surrendered, ditched the one she had, and rode off with her new unsuspecting victim.
Somewhere along her married way, Hattie Mae finally landed “the one with big greens” (one with big money in regular speak). He had two sons in their twenties when they married.
Hattie Mae had a fourteen-year-old daughter, Annie Mae, from a previous marriage. Within a year, those repugnant young men committed the detestable crime of having their way with their stepsister, leaving her soul scarred forever and her virgin womb impregnated.
When Annie Mae told her mother of the atrocity, Hattie Mae accused her of trying to mess up the best thing that ever happened to her. As the months passed, Hattie Mae became more desperate. One autumn evening, she drove her eight-month-pregnant daughter hours away and left her under a streetlight in a small town. She told her to knock on doors, until she found someone who would take her in. My great-grandmother told her only daughter she no longer had a mother and would have to find her own way in the world without a family because of her shameful behavior.
Doing as she was told; Annie Mae began knocking on doors. When dawn broke through, a young couple opened their door and took pity on her. After hearing her story, they shared their discouragement of not being able to have children and offered to take her in, if she would give up the child at birth. They promised she could be the nanny for her own child, and all would be well.
I’m sure you’ve already surmised that all would not turn out well. When the baby turned a year old, they kicked Annie Mae out of their home, accusing her of trying to steal “their” baby.
~~~
Sixteen and homeless, with nowhere to go, my grandmother began her entry into adulthood.
More to come…
