Strumpets and Scoundrels – Part 1

Adeline McBook Kingston was Jasmina Eustace Howard’s favorite aunt. She had lost her mother, Geneva, when she was eighteen, and Addie, as she was called, became a surrogate mother to Jasmina and her siblings.

Addie was what you’d call a straight arrow type of person. She was trained as an educator and held her position as English teacher in the Colony School District as a badge of honor. She did not suffer fools and ran a tight ship both in the classroom and at home.

She married John Russell Kingston at the age of twenty-one. Everyone called the tall, good-looking John Russell, Red, due to his stock of bright red hair. He was gregarious, charming, and a snazzy dresser. This appealed to the young Addie who had a disdain for men who walked around in dirty farm clothes.

Red and Addie had two boys back-to-back. Milton came first, followed by John Russell, Jr.  Red loved being a father, but the role of husband seemed to be a bit of a challenge.  At least that was the impression Jasmina held through many conversations with her aunt.

All the cousins loved Uncle Red. He loved using his knee as a horse. Each child would climb up and he’d shake his leg like a bucking broncho. You could hear their squeals and laughter ring through the air, followed by pleads for another ride. This seemed to anger Aunt Addie. It wasn’t until Jasmina was older that she recognized her aunt was jealous.

After the boys were older, Red began going to nearby Colony on Friday and Saturday nights. He loved a cold beer and spending time with his cronies down at the small bar right on the outskirts of town.

The Barrel and Ball was an old shack converted into a bar with a couple of pool tables. It was conveniently located next to the Starlight Motel. Most of the clientele were folks traveling through on the highway needing a room for the night. The Barrel and Ball served a half decent hot meal, so many times the regulars got a chance to socialize with the passersby.

It was rumored, however, that a few rooms at the Starlight were always available for any of the clientele from The Barrel and Ball. Jasmina knew from eavesdropping on her mother and Aunt Addie that “bad” women only went to The Barrel and Ball. She didn’t know what a “bad” woman was, but she knew enough that it could not be good.

Jasmina was around twelve when she heard the word strumpet for the first time. She “happened” to overhear her mother and Aunt Addie talking one summer afternoon. They were sitting in the big rockers that her daddy had made for her momma. The two sisters were sharing a piece of warm pound cake and a cup of coffee.

Addie arrived in a state of agitation, and didn’t even offer a hug to Jasmina, who had always been her favorite. Instead, she flopped down in one of the rockers and began rocking. “Geneva, you will not believe what I have to tell you! That lowdown dirty scoundrel!” 

Geneva, always the source of comfort, immediately rose and touched her sister on the shoulder. “Oh, Lord. You calm yourself while I get us a cup of coffee. Would you like a slice of granny’s warm buttermilk pound cake? It’s been cooling for about thirty minutes.” She waited at the screen door for her response.

“Sure, might as well. My HUSBAND could care less if I put on weight. Bring me the biggest slice you can cut, Geneva. Bring it on!” Addie continued fervently rocking.

Jasmina was reading on her bed in the front bedroom with the window up hoping for a cool breeze. Summers in Mississippi were brutal, and a few cool breezes were a balm. Usually, the two sisters spent their time in the kitchen. In reflection, she did not feel guilty for what she heard. It wasn’t her fault they chose to visit right outside her window.

Once Geneva settled the tea tray between them, Addie took a huge bite of cake and started talking.

“Guess who bushhogged the back-forty this morning at 5 a.m.?”

Geneva shrugged and answered, “Well, I know it wasn’t Melvin because he is working in Biloxi this week. Who?”

“Jeb Houston. I was already up picking snap beans in the garden when he pulled up. Guess what he told me, much to my humiliation? Go on, Geneva, just take a wild guess.”

Before Geneva could even open her mouth Addie continued.

“He had the gall to tell ME that he saw Red Kingston going in the Starlight Motel with some strumpet Saturday night! Can you believe that? I swear if the Lord had opened the earth, I would have gladly jumped in!”

Geneva put her hand up to her chest. “Addie, no! No one believes a word Jeb Houston says. You know he spends more time at The Barrel and Ball than he does at home. Where was Red Saturday night?”

Addie stopped rocking for a split second and whipped her head toward her sister. “At the Barrel and Ball – ALL night. Didn’t drag his sorry behind home until daybreak.” She resumed rocking and crossed her arms, not before taking another bite of cake.

Geneva gasped, “All night? When did this start? I knew that he liked to visit the boys every now and again for a little nip, but staying out all night? Why, I wouldn’t have believed it.”

“Oh, you can believe it alright. I haven’t said anything, but it’s been going on for a while and get this, I know what that sorry Jeb Houston said about the Starlight is true!”

“Hon, you cannot believe everything Jeb Houston tells you. Sounds like he is just trying to embarrass you and Red. I do not believe Red would go with a strumpet over you. He loves you and the boys.”

Once again, Addie stopped rocking and twisted in her seat to face Geneva. “Sister, I love you. I truly do, but sometimes you are far too innocent and accepting. Trust me when I say that a man is only as faithful as his options. If he is tempted enough, he will bite. Just look at what happened to Adam in the garden with that heifer Eve!”

“Addie! That’s blasphemous! Now stop that! I know you are upset, but don’t you think you owe it to Red to ask him for the truth? You cannot take someone else’s word for it. Maybe he was going to help a nice lady with her luggage or something like that. Ask him, Addie. If it were Melvin, I’d ask him!”

“Ask, huh? Is that ALL you’d do? What if you found out Melvin was seen with a strumpet, go on, tell me!” Addie retorted.

Geneva gazed off into the cornfield across the road. “Well, first, I’d ask him what he’d been up to. Depending on his answer, I’d then determine if I needed to apologize for accusing him falsely, or if I needed to grab my old brush broom. I know when Melvin is lying, so if he was lying to me, I’d grab my broom and beat his hide all the way to the hen house! If he wanted to act like a rooster, he could sleep with the hens. He sure wouldn’t be sleeping in MY bed!”

For the first time since arriving, Addie laughed. “See? You get it and that sounds like the perfect plan, Gen! I probably should ask him directly. I never want someone to take my word over someone else. I’ll let you know if I need to borrow that brush broom.”

Once they had both finished their cake and two cups of coffee, Addie hugged her sister and left for home. 

Later that evening as Jasmina was helping Geneva prepare their supper, she asked her mother, “Momma, what’s a strumpet?”

Geneva dropped the spoon she was using and put her hands on her hips. “Young lady, I better not ever hear you use that word again. Do you understand me?”

Jasmina was so surprised at her mother’s response; she almost spilled the pitcher of milk she was using to help make biscuits. Immediately contrite, she said, “Yes, ma’am, but I do not even know what the word means. Aunt Addie was talking so loud, I couldn’t help but overhear.”

Geneva sighed. She came around and gave her daughter a hug. “I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean to be so cross. It’s not a nice word, but I reckon you need to understand why. A strumpet is a woman that will “go” with married men. Do you understand what I mean by that?”

Jasmina, unwise to sexual things at this age, was smart enough to figure out it must be something only married people should do together. She just nodded her head as an answer.

Geneva was satisfied enough and returned to stirring the pot on the stove. She knew that she probably needed to let the subject drop, but she could not help herself.

“So, if a woman goes with a married man, she is a strumpet, but then what if she is married, too? Or what if the man is not married? What if both are  married?”

She stepped back waiting for Geneva to explode again, but she paused stirring and stared out the kitchen window, mumbling to herself. After a minute, she started stirring again and answered, “It doesn’t matter who is or who isn’t married, if a woman goes with any man that she is not married to, she’s a strumpet. AND any man that goes with another woman who is not his wife is a scoundrel. Now, no more questions please.”

This opened all kinds of questions in Jasmina’s young mind. She went to bed thinking about strumpets and scoundrels. Were there any at Shaky Cane Baptist Church? What about at school, or the country store nearby? She had no way of knowing if strumpets and scoundrels were rare or common. She was dying to ask but felt she had already pushed her luck.

Little did she know that her questions were going to get answered and then some!