11
In Which Curiosity Leads Herb and Lorna to a Misunderstanding
AT MAY AND GARTH’S WEDDING, Herb was best man, Lorna was matron of honor, and Ella was flower girl. As a wedding gift, Garth gave May a cottage on the beach.
At that time, the narrow barrier beach across Bolotomy Bay from Babbington was only sparsely developed. Strung along the bay side were a few shacks, shelters for clamdiggers, where they could get out of the weather when the weather was foul, stay close to their work when the clamming was good, or hide out among their fellows when the door was locked at home. Attracted by the carefree bohemianism that a shack on the beach suggested, a few people who were not clamdiggers bought shacks, but since life in a shack is more rough than romantic, they enlarged and civilized them into weekend outposts of their mainland homes, where on weekends they led barefoot versions of their mainland lives.
Among the clammies, this stretch of shacks had no real name; most called it “over south,” as in:
“Where’s Bitzer these days? Haven’t seen him in a week or more.”
“He’s holed up over south. The woman locked him out, you know.”
However, to the people who thought of their cottages as retreats, where they might escape the cares, routines, conventions, and restrictions of life in town, “over south” was “the beach.”
The shack Garth bought for May was small and rough, but with it he gave her a sketch he’d made of what it might be. By the following summer it was a comfortable little cottage, thanks to May’s money and Herb’s handiwork.
The island was accessible only by boat. It was nearly a mile long, but less than a hundred yards wide. From a narrow dock on the bay side, a narrow boardwalk led to the “main street” of the settlement: a somewhat wider boardwalk that linked all the shacks. At its westernmost end was a small store, a shack much like the others, except for its sign: NECESSARIES. At its easternmost end was a bar, which, since Prohibition was still in force, looked just like the other shacks, without a sign; if it had had one, it would have read: NEWSOME’S. Said May of the bar at the beach:
Oh, nobody called it Newsome’s. If there had been a sign, it should have said “Nosy’s.” But Nosy wouldn’t have liked that. Not a bit. That bar was just a scream. Mr. Newsome — he ran it — had been a schoolteacher and a prizefighter, or an amateur boxer anyway. He wanted everyone to call him Mr. Newsome, but everyone called him Nosy, because he had a big broken nose pushed flat on his face. Nosy Newsome. Well, at first the bar was just too quiet. It was dull. Then one evening I said, “Mr. Newsome, I’m going to make a contribution to the atmosphere in this establishment: I’m going to give you my piano.” Well, I had an old upright in the cottage — not very good, but a piano. It was a grand gesture — giving the piano to Nosy. There was applause. I took bows. It’s talked about to this day. I suppose it is. The piano is still there. I think. I haven’t been to Nosy’s for years. I don’t think it’s even called Nosy’s now. Well, that doesn’t matter, does it? Oh, anyway, a dozen fellows went right over and carried the piano from the cottage to the bar. Well, they didn’t actually carry it the whole way — they pushed it quite a bit — did it have little wheels? — I think so. I rode on top. We were all a little drunk. Well, we got it into the bar, and we sang some songs and danced, but we had to dance outside, on the boardwalk, because there wasn’t enough room for a piano and dancing.
In Topical Guide 321, Mark Dorset considers Babbington: Neighborhoods: “Over South” or “The Beach” from this episode.
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🎧 321: At May and Garth’s ...