The Wonder Boy of Whistle Stop Read online

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

  AT 9:08 THAT morning, when the phone finally rang, Ruthie was so distraught that she almost fainted.

  It was a man’s voice, calling from the police department. “Mrs. Caldwell, good news. We found your father, and he’s alive.”

  “Oh, thank God. Where was he?”

  “He was…uh…let me read the report, we just got it in. Oh. It says he was found by the railroad tracks.”

  “What railroad tracks?”

  “It doesn’t say. Just somewhere outside Birmingham, Alabama.”

  Ruthie was stunned. “Birmingham? What was he doing in Birmingham?”

  “I couldn’t say. You’ll have to ask him. All I have is the report. Right now he’s at the UAB Hospital in Birmingham.”

  “Oh no. Is he hurt?”

  “I don’t think so, ma’am. It just says he’s being held under observation.”

  “Oh…thank you. Thank you so much.”

  “You’re welcome, ma’am. Glad to be of service.”

  Ruthie didn’t have time to waste; she had to get to her father right away. She booked herself on the next flight to Birmingham at 10:55. She threw a little makeup on, grabbed her purse, and ran to her car.

  As she was frantically driving across town to the airport, she knowingly broke the law, looking up a number while driving, but she had to know.

  “UAB Hospital. How may I direct you your call?”

  “I’m not sure. My father, Mr. James Bud Threadgoode, is a patient in your hospital, and I need to know his condition. I’m his daughter, and I’m in traffic in Atlanta.”

  “One moment please.”

  Then a dial tone.

  “Oh God. Disconnected.” Ruthie pulled her phone out of her purse, looking for the redial button.

  Just then, a man in the car next to her wagged his finger at her for being on the phone and then gave her the finger. Not being her usual polite self, she gave it right back and yelled, “My father is in the hospital in Alabama, you asshole.”

  He sped up and drove off.

  Then she heard a voice say, “UAB Hospital. How may I direct your call?”

  She didn’t know, so she guessed, “The People Under Observation Ward, please.”

  After a moment, someone picked up. “Nurse’s station, Terry speaking.”

  “Oh, hi, Terry….Thank heavens. I’m calling about Bud Threadgoode. I’m his daughter, Ruthie Caldwell. Could you tell me his condition, please? I’m in Atlanta and I’m trying to get there as soon as I can.”

  “Hold on, honey.”

  The nurse came back on the phone. “I just checked Mr. Threadgoode’s chart, and his condition appears to be stable.”

  “Oh, thank you. Please tell him I’m on my way and I’ll get there as fast as I can.”

  “Take your time, sweetie. Trust me, he’s not going anywhere.”

  As Ruthie was parking her car at the airport, the word “stable” kept running around in her mind. “Stable…that sounds good. She didn’t say ‘critical,’ she said ‘stable.’ ” So she calmed down a little and was grateful she could see her terminal up ahead.

  * * *

  —

  BACK IN BIRMINGHAM, Terry, the roly-poly friendly nurse, walked into Bud’s room and said, “Your daughter just called and said she’s on her way over from Atlanta.”

  “How does she know I’m here?” Bud asked.

  “Honey, you’ve been all over the news.”

  Bud, who was hooked up to an IV drip for dehydration, nodded. “Oh…did she sound mad?”

  “No. She sounded worried, though, and I don’t blame her.” She went over and checked his drip, then smiled at him. “You old scalawag, running away like that. You’re lucky they found you when they did, still all in one piece.” Then she looked at him. “Well, almost.”

  * * *

  —

  ONCE THE PLANE took off for the short thirty-five-minute flight to Birmingham, and the seat belt sign went off, Ruthie finally went to the ladies’ room. She was horrified when she saw herself in the mirror. In her haste to get to the airport, she had tried to throw on a little makeup, but somehow she had only made up one eye. No wonder people had been looking at her strangely.

  WHEN BUD SAW Ruthie walking into his hospital room, the first thing he said was, “Oops. I sorta messed up, didn’t I? I’m sorry, honey.”

  “Daddy, are you all right? I’ve been worried to death about you.”

  “I’m fine, just a little embarrassed I got lost. I didn’t mean to cause all this trouble.”

  “Are you sure you’re not hurt anywhere?”

  “Nope, just a few scrapes, and I pulled something in my back when I skidded down a hill.”

  “You look very pale. Are you sure you’re feeling all right?”

  “I’m sure.”

  He had always been her big, tall, handsome daddy. But today, for the first time, she couldn’t help but notice how much he had aged, and just how small he looked lying in that bed.

  “What in the world were you doing coming all the way over to Birmingham by yourself, and walking on the railroad tracks in the freezing cold?”

  “Well, I was trying to find Whistle Stop. I thought I knew where it was, but evidently I was wrong.”

  “Thank God they found you. Did you know you had people in two states looking for you? Your picture was all over the TV and everything.”

  “I’m sorry, Ruthie. I knew you’d be mad.”

  “I’m not mad. I’m just…why didn’t you call me and tell me where you were?”

  “I would have, but I forgot my phone.”

  Ruthie sighed and shook her head. “You crazy old man. What am I going to do with you?”

  “I don’t know. But now…there’s something else.”

  “Oh Lord. What?”

  “You’d better sit down.”

  Ruthie sat in the chair by the bed and waited.

  “Promise me you won’t get upset.”

  “I promise…what else?”

  “I lost my arm.”

  “What? How did you do that?”

  “I was trying to sleep and it was bothering me. So I took it off. Then when those EMT guys showed up, I was so glad to see them that I forgot to pick it up.”

  “Oh, Daddy.”

  “Now, I might be able to find it, if I could just figure out where I was. I could go back and try to look for it.”

  “Absolutely not. You are not going to go wandering around in any more woods. Just forget it. Your arm can be replaced, but you can’t. Do you realize you could have caught pneumonia, or fallen and hit your head? What were you thinking?”

  “Well…at the time, I was thinking I hope somebody finds me.”

  Then Bud looked at her and noticed something strange. “What’s the matter with your eye?”

  “Nothing. And why did you just take off like that, and not let anybody know where you were going?”

  “I was trying to not cause anybody any trouble. I thought I wouldn’t be missed. But that didn’t work out.”

  “No, it didn’t. The good news is the doctor says that other than the effects of hypothermia and a little dehydration, you seem to be okay.”

  “Good. When are they going to spring me out of here?”

  “Terry just told me they need to keep you a couple of days, just to make sure your blood pressure remains stable and your electrolytes are good.”

  “Oh darn. I’m so sorry, honey. Here I was trying not to bother you and now look at what a mess I’ve caused.”

  “That’s all right, Daddy. Just as long as you’re okay and not dead in a ditch somewhere.”

  She gently pushed his hair off his forehead and took his hand.

  “You know you’re the only daddy I have. I love you. And I need you to stay aroun
d as long as you can.”

  “I’ll try my best, honey.”

  She smiled. “So from now on you are grounded young man, okay? No more crazy trips, all right?”

  He nodded and held up two fingers. “Scout’s honor.”

  The entire time she had been talking to her father, the cellphone in her purse had been ringing. Finally she took it out and looked. It was her daughter, Carolyn, calling from Washington.

  “I’m sorry, Daddy, I need to take this.” She stepped out into the hall and picked up. She was hoping Carolyn was just calling to say hello, but no such luck. She was frantic.

  “Mother! Where are you? Grandmother called and said that Granddaddy has gone insane and ran away from Briarwood, and spent all night under some tree in Birmingham. Is that right?”

  “No, honey, he’s not insane. He just took a little trip and got lost, that’s all.”

  “And where are you? She said you just picked up and left without telling her a thing.”

  “Carolyn, just calm down. I’m at the hospital in Birmingham with Granddaddy.”

  “Hospital! Why is he in the hospital?”

  “He’s just a little dehydrated, so they’re keeping him under observation for a couple of days.”

  “Oh. Well, do you need me to come down there? I could fly out in the morning, I guess, but I’d have to come right back. We’re giving a dinner party for twelve people, including Brian’s boss and his wife, so I can’t just cancel it at the last minute.”

  “No, no, honey. You don’t need to come. We’ll only be here a short while. You take care of your party and I’ll call you when we get home. Okay?”

  “Well…if you say so. I’m glad he’s all right, but really, Mother, what’s wrong with him? Running away from Briarwood and embarrassing Grandmother like that? She said it’s been in the papers and everything. And after all the trouble she went to getting him in there in the first place.”

  “Honey, I have to go. I’ll tell Granddaddy you said hello.”

  * * *

  —

  RUTHIE WENT BACK in his room and smiled. “That was Carolyn, wanting to know how you were. She sends her love and hopes you feel better soon.”

  “Did you tell her where I was?”

  “No, that was the lovely Martha Lee, who just couldn’t wait to call her and tell her that you had spent the night under a tree.”

  “Oh darn. I was hoping she wouldn’t find out.”

  Just then, Nurse Terry walked in the room and Bud said, “Hey, Terry, this is my daughter, Ruthie.”

  Terry nodded. “I know. We met over the phone, and now that she’s here, I hope you’ll behave yourself. Did you tell your daughter that you told me you were John D. Rockefeller?”

  “Oh, Daddy. You didn’t.”

  “I thought I might get better treatment, but she poked holes in me anyway. The woman is a vampire. Look out, Ruthie, or she’ll start going after you next.”

  Her father was clearly going to be okay. She could tell he already had the nurses eating out of his hand.

  * * *

  —

  LATER THAT DAY, Ruthie called a cab to take her to a nearby hotel. She was exhausted and desperately needed a nice, warm bath and a nap. In her rush to get to Birmingham she hadn’t packed a thing. All she had with her were her purse and the clothes she was wearing. After she checked in, she stopped at a little convenience shop in the hotel lobby and picked up a toothbrush and some toothpaste. She would worry about the rest later.

  Bud was glad Ruthie had been so sweet about him losing his arm. She had gone to so much trouble to make sure he had the best prosthesis they could buy. He wished he could go back and try to find the damn thing but he knew, even if she would let him go back and look for it, the chances of him finding the exact tree where he’d left it were one in a million.

  Bud didn’t know it, but he had been to that very tree once before. It hadn’t been as tall then, but neither had he. He had only been six years old when his Aunt Idgie had taken him to her secret bee tree. And there was more to the bee tree than he knew.

  BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA

  EVELYN COUCH AND her husband, Ed, were, as they say, “sitting pretty.” They owned a lovely home, four nice cars, and a large luxury motor home. But after Ed passed away in 2011, Evelyn sold her car dealerships and retired. Now she mostly played bridge and managed her portfolio of property investments she had made over the years. But she was bored.

  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?”