“I’m dealing with a lunatic
and I’m really scared. Maybe I should
---------“
Approx. 3,111 words
TANNIE, THE ARTIST
©2003 by Mae Ondracek
“Mom, she’s scary. Why did you have to rent our spare room to
her?” Julie asked.
Being seven
years old, Julie did not like changes.
Changes were associated with bad happenings that she’d like to forget,
especially her Dad passing away six months ago.
He used to take her fishing and let her help him fix the tractor. Now the hired man chased her away, saying,
“This is no place for a girl.”
Julie told
him, “But I know all about fixing and running our tractor. My Dad taught me.”
Jim, the hired
man, said, “I don’t care what you know or did.
We don’t need any accidents here.
Your mother would never forgive me.
So, please, just go to the house.”
Julie flipped
her long braids over her shoulder and marched to the house, saying, “Mom, that
guy is mean. He won’t let me help.”
Her mother,
Marie, a short, slight built woman, said, “”That’s all right, dear. I need your help to make cookies.”
One day Marie
said, “We have to clean up the spare room.
I need to rent it out so we can get money to fix the furnace.”
They spent
three days hauling out junk, packing away some of Julie’s dad’s treasurers, and
putting some things in the living room.
Marie placed an
ad in the town’s local paper and a woman came out to look at the room. Her eyes flashed like fire and her hair was
almost orange, like carrots. There were
freckles all over her face, neck, arms, and legs. Julie wondered about the rest of her body, and
then laughed, to herself, to think of freckles on the woman’s belly. Her name was Tannie Footloose and she was
twenty-five years old.
Tannie
explained that she painted and needed a quiet place to pursue her hobby. She liked the seclusion of the farm and took
the room right then. Tannie said she
could move in that weekend if it would be all right with Marie. She paid her first months rent, a deposit,
and left after a furtive glance at Julie.
Marie said,
“Well, that was easy. Now we can fix the
furnace before winter comes.”
“But Mom,
she’s scary!” Julie cried. “I don’t
think she likes me.”
“Give her a
chance, Julie,” Marie said. “Maybe she
hasn’t been around children before.”
On Saturday
Tannie arrived with her van stuffed to overflowing and a dresser tied to the
top. Marie coaxed Julie to offer her
assistance to bring things in, but Tannie said, “I don’t need help from
anyone. I’m used to doing for myself,
thank you,” and her eyes snapped and Julie could have sworn they really flashed
fire at her. She turned and ran to her
room, afraid to look back.
As Tannie
carried things to her room, Marie stopped her and asked, “I forgot to ask you
before, but will you be eating your meals with us? I don’t make anything fancy. We are a meat, potatoes, and gravy type
family.”
Tannie
snapped, “I’ll make my own things to eat, thank you. I don’t eat much, anyway.”
Julie was
sitting at the kitchen table with her drawing tablet and she glanced up at her
mother. After Tannie walked out, Julie
said, “She is real weird, Mom.”
“I’m afraid
so, Julie, but we rented her the room, so let’s make the best of it, okay?”
“Sure Mom, but
I still think she’s weird.”
Tannie entered
with another box of things and on her way out, said, “I’ll bring in my dresser
next, if you will please hold the door open.”
“Sure, but I
can help you carry it in,” Marie offered.
Tannie looked
Marie up and down and frowned, saying, “I think I can manage better alone.”
Marie and
Julie looked at each other as Marie said, “Julie, please hold the door open for
Tannie.”
As Tannie,
carrying the dresser, passed Julie, she gave Julie a smug look and continued to
her room. Julie sat down and continued
to draw in her tablet. Tannie paused at
the kitchen table and looked at Julie’s drawing, “If you keep that up, someday
you’ll be as good as I am,” and she walked outside.
Julie
mockingly said, “’Someday you’ll be as good as I am.’ Who does she think she is, anyway? I’ll bet I draw better than her, already.”
“Now, now,
dear. Let’s wait until we see some of
her work before we condemn it.”
The days
passed and they didn’t see much of Tannie.
She would go out in the morning with her painting supplies and return
about
Sometimes
Marie tried to talk to Tannie, but she either didn’t receive an answer or else
she got an angry reply. Julie stayed in
her room a lot and seemed overly quiet and unable to cope with Tannie’s
outbursts. Tannie showed no interest in
Julie except to flash her fiery eyes at her and scare the poor girl into
running to her room. Julie asked her
mother many times to tell Tannie to leave, but her mother would say, “We have
to give her a chance, dear. She’ll come
around soon. You’ll see.”
Two months
later, they still hadn’t seen any of Tannie’s paintings and while they all sat
resting on the porch, Marie asked, “Tannie, would you please show us some of
your paintings? We’d love to see them.”
Tannie jumped
up and exclaimed, “No! You wouldn’t
understand them anyway. My paintings are
titled “Other Worlds” and wouldn’t make sense to you. If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to drive into
town.”
Ten minutes
later, Marie pushed back her chair and said, “That does it. I’m going to look at those pictures,” and she
marched to Tannie’s room. She threw open
the door and gasped in surprise. The
paintings were really out of this
world. Marie cried, “Julie, get
out. You shouldn’t be looking at this
type of stuff. It’s terrible and scary.”
There were
pictures of skulls with swords through them, others had upside-down people
walking on their hands and all were deformed in some way. Other pictures were just too gruesome to look
at. Marie quickly closed the door and
hurried to the kitchen and made tea.
“I’m dealing with a lunatic and now I’m really scared. Maybe I should call the Pastor. I could show him the paintings and ask for
his advice.”
That is what
she quickly did and he said he’d drop by tomorrow morning. Marie’s hands shook as she lifted the cup of
tea to her trembling lips.
They soon
heard Tannie’s van drive up and Julie ran to her room, not wanting to see those
fiery eyes again. Tannie looked in the
kitchen and said, “I’m sorry for snapping at you earlier. I was upset about something. I’ll bring out a couple of paintings for you
to see,” and she hurried to her room before Marie could tell her not to
bother. Tannie soon returned and said,
“I set up a few in the living room. Ask
Julie to come look, too.”
“No, that’s
all right. You can keep them
private. We’ll understand,” Marie said.
But Tannie
called out, “Julie, come see my paintings.”
Julie slowly
emerged down the hall with downcast eyes.
“Come on, Julie,” Tannie said. “See
if you recognize any of these pictures.”
They entered
the living room and both Julie and Marie gasped in surprise. Julie cried, “Wow, Mom! That looks a little like me, and there you
are, cooking our dinner. That’s our
house from the little hill way out back.”
Marie
exclaimed, “Well, I’d say you shouldn’t be afraid to show these off. That is a very good likeness of Julie.”
“Now you see
why I must have privacy and quietness?” Tannie asked.
“A person can paint better when it is quiet with no one
disturbing them.”
“Thank you for
showing them to us,” Marie said. “I do
hope Julie can one day paint this good.”
“She will,”
Tannie said, “If she keeps at her drawing, now.
Later on, you can get her watercolors and let her paint her drawings
with them. Then she can go on to oil or
acrylic paints, just like I did. Don’t
let anyone discourage you from your drawing, Julie.”
Julie looked
up at Tannie and her eyes were flashing with fire, so Julie quickly lowered her
eyes and said, “Thanks, I won’t. May I
be excused now, Mom?”
“Of course,
dear, good night.”
After a
sleepless night, Marie was up early and made breakfast, then mixed up doughnut
dough so she would have lunch to serve to the Pastor. Her mind was in a turmoil about the
difference in Tannie’s paintings, and she wondered if perhaps she only imagined
those gruesome paintings in her room.
Time would tell and she jumped when Tannie stuck her head in the kitchen
doorway and said, “I’ll be out all day because I promised a friend I’d paint
her portrait today.”
“Okay, enjoy
yourself,” Marie said rather nervously.
Soon the
doughnuts were in a covered dish and she and Julie were sitting in the living
room when they heard a car drive up.
Julie ran to the window and called out, “It’s Pastor James, Mom. I’ll let him in.”
“That’s good,
and I’ll bring in the tea and doughnuts.
Please take your drawing things outside so I can talk to the Pastor
privately, will you, dear?”
“Of course,
Mom, just as soon as I eat and have tea with you two,” Julie said
matter-of-factly.
After a snack,
Julie excused herself and Marie said, “I’m sorry to bother you, Pastor, but the
woman who stays here has me scared.
Julie noticed it right away, but I thought it was because we were new to
her.”
Marie went on
to explain everything that had happened, then told him about the paintings, and
took him to Tannie’s room. The Pastor
gasped in horror and said, “Are you sure she painted these? They are from a very sick mind. I would advise you to ask her to leave. Think up some excuse for needing that room,
for guests or something. I don’t think
it’s a good idea to have Julie seeing that type of thing.”
Marie heard
the front door burst open and Julie cry out, “Mom, she’s back and looking
madder than a hornet.”
Marie and the
Pastor hurried out to the living room and were again drinking tea when Tannie
burst in and yelled, “That old witch!
I’ll never paint her picture, now.
Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you had company.”
“This is
Pastor James, Tannie. We were just
having tea and doughnuts,” Marie said nervously. “Would you like to join us?”
“No! I don’t drink tea and I hate doughnuts. They are fattening,” and Tannie hurried off
to her room.
The Pastor
looked at Marie, rolled his eyes up, and said, “I’m sure, now, that you better
ask her to leave. That was a terrible
outburst, and those eyes sure did spit fire.
Don’t wait too long, Marie.
Neither you, nor Julie, need to put up with that stress. If you need help doing it, I’ll come by
again. Thanks for the delicious
doughnuts and tea. I always enjoy your
goodies.”
On the porch,
Julie sat hugging her knees to her chest and tears were streaming down her
cheeks. Her tablet was thrown in a far
corner and her pencils were scattered about.
“What on earth happened?” Marie cried as she ran to Julie’s side.
The Pastor
knelt beside Julie, too, and asked what was wrong. Julie said that after she let them know
Tannie was back, she came back out to draw and Tannie had ripped the tablet out
of her hands and threw it in the corner, then scattered her pencils and told
her to quit dreaming, before she stormed into the house. “Oh, Mom, she is so scary. Can’t we get her out of here?” Julie cried.
“We are going
to do that right now. Pastor, can you
stay a few minutes longer?”
“Yes I will,”
he said as he patted Julie on the shoulder and helped her pick up her
things. “Julie, please go to your room
while your Mother and I ask Tannie to leave.”
“Thank you
Pastor James,” Julie said as she wiped the tears from her eyes and hurried to
her room.
Marie knocked
on Tannie’s door and said, “Tannie, please come to the living room. I need to talk with you.”
“What do you
want?” Tannie demanded.
Marie
nervously said, “I just found Julie crying and her drawing things scattered
about. I do not like anyone hurting my
daughter, so I am asking you to move out.
I will give you two weeks to find another place to live, but you do have
to leave.”
“But I can’t
find another place like this. I need to
be here,” Tannie cried.
“Miss Tannie,”
the Pastor said, “You’ve hurt Julie terribly and Marie has every right to ask
you to leave. I have been a witness to
this injustice and I’ll gladly help you move your things.”
“I sure don’t
need help from you,” Tannie cried as she stamped her foot. “You’ll all be sorry for this.” She hurried to her room and they could hear
her throwing things about.
“Marie, I’m
going to ask Martha to come stay with you until that woman is gone,” the Pastor
said. “That was a threat and I think you
need help to get over this bad time.”
“Thank you,
Pastor, I’ll appreciate that,” Marie was half crying and shaking as she shook
his hand.
When Marie
entered the living room, Tannie was standing there with her hands on her hips
and demanded, “You cannot put me out. I
need this place to live in and to do my painting. You’ll not get rid of me.” She turned and stomped back to her room.
Julie came
running out and hugged her mother around the waist, “Oh Mom, I wish we had
never seen that woman. I’m scared.”
Marie took
Julie to the kitchen and said, “We’ll call Mary Jane and see if you can stay
with her until Tannie is gone. That way,
Martha can sleep in your room, and you won’t be bothered by Tannie again.”
“But Mom, I’m
scared for you, too. She might try to
hurt you or do something bad here,” Julie cried.
“No, dear, she
won’t. Not with Martha here. Now let me call Mary Jane while you pack up a
few things and tidy up your room for Martha.
Run along now.”
As Julie
opened her bedroom door, she stepped back and screamed, “Mom, Mom, my room is on
fire!”
“Oh, my God!”
Marie yelled, as she yanked the spread off the bed and threw it out the open
window. “This has to end right
now.”
Marie turned
and bumped into Tannie who was standing in the doorway smiling, “I told you
I’ll not leave here. This is my house
now and you will do as I tell you too or it’s over for you two.”
Marie cried,
“Run Julie, as fast as you can. Get away
from here and don’t look back. I’ll be
fine.”
Julie heard
Tannie’s terrible laugh as she ran down the driveway. She almost ran into the Pastor’s car before
she could stop running. He jumped out of
the car and grabbed Julie and held her tight, asking what was wrong. Julie told him what Tannie had done and she
needed to get to the police right away.
Martha held Julie as they drove back to town and talked with the
police. Sgt. Hanna called the nearby
asylum and requested help in subduing a woman.
After hearing all the facts, they said the asylum wagon would be there
within twenty minutes. One of the men
said the woman sounded like one who escaped nearly six months ago. Sgt. Hanna also requested the fire wagon to
accompany them, in case there was more fire out there. Within 45 minutes they were all heading back
to the farm. Martha was holding Julie,
telling her that everything would be fine now that those men would take Tannie
away.
Julie rushed
to the house as soon as the Pastor stopped the car. He tried to call her back, but she kept
calling, “Mom, Mom, are you all right?” The
men from the asylum stood by the door as Julie burst into the house and before
anyone could stop her, she threw herself at Tannie, who had her arms raised,
holding a whip. Marie was lying on the
floor and she looked unconscious. As
Julie knocked Tannie over, the men rushed in and quickly wrapped the straight
jacket around Tannie. She fought like a
wild cat and one of the men said, “By golly, this is Germain. How long has she been here? You’re lucky she hasn’t gotten physical
before this. She’s real dangerous. It’s a locked and padded room for her now.”
Martha was
trying to revive Marie while Pastor James held Julie. When they saw blood on Marie’s dress, Sgt.
Hanna called for an ambulance.
Martha took
Julie to her room and helped her pack a suitcase, telling her, “You will stay
with us until your Mother is well enough to come home.”
“But we have
to get rid of Tannie’s awful paintings and everything,” Julie cried.
“You show me
where her room was and we’ll take care of it all,” Sgt. Hanna said.
Julie pointed
to the spare room and as the officer opened the door, he gasped, “Oh, my
God! This is terrible stuff. Get the firemen in here.”
They hauled
all of Tannie’s stuff outside into a big pile and set fire to it. They couldn’t be sure, but they all seemed to
hear groans, growls, and wails as the pictures curled and burned up. Were all those souls really painted into her
pictures? Everyone was glad when the
last spark died and the firemen washed the area with their hoses.
Marie regained
consciousness as they loaded her in the ambulance and told Julie what a brave
girl she was and to be good for Martha.
She would be out of the hospital soon and there would be no more
renters. That room would be a studio for
Julie to draw and paint in and where Marie could sit, relax, and sew. They would repaint the room and have only
good times in there. Julie kissed her
mother’s cheek, and said, “You bet, Mom!”