Joyce Carol Oates was just a young child when she began exploring desolate homes and barns. Joyce would trek miles through fields to find that one empty home. A few of the homes were abandoned for so long that they began to decay and become over grown with weeds. Joyce was particularly attracted to the homes that were most recently deserted. The most recently deserted homes had lost remnants of past owners that really caught her attention. When Joyce entered the home she would often imagine that people were still living in the desolate house.
In the homes, that Joyce explored many of the once treasured belongings of the families, that had resided there, now where thrown all around like trash. The homes now had a moldy smell to them along with broken windows and overgrown weeds. Joyce often wondered why were these homes abandoned? Behind Joyce’s farmhouse deep through the potato fields there laid a home the community called the “Weidel house”. This house, which wasn’t actually owned by the Weidel’s but rented, was quite infamous in the community. Mr. and Mrs. Weidel lived in this rundown home with their six children. Four boys and two girls. It was said that Mr.
Weidel would beat them and abuse the girls. The community would often wonder as to why Mrs. Weidel would stay with such a man. All of this would change one summer day. One summer day, when Joyce was eleven, she could hear the Weidel’s dog whining and crying for hours. When Joyce’s father came home from work he went over to the Weidel’s to see what was going on with the dog. Mr. Weidel had shot this poor dog. Joyce’s father spoke to Mr. Weidel and convinced him to put the dog to rest. Finally one of the Weidel boys shot the dog. Joyce would come to discover the dog’s grave while exploring the Weildel’s abandon home years later.
The Weidel’s home was quite different from Joyce’s. Joyce had a solid built home while the Weidel’s home was a rundown stick built house. The Weidel’s home had no basement while Joyce’s home had a solid foundation. Joyce’s mother kept a clean home while Mrs. Weidel, who worked, did not do much housekeeping. The outsides of the two homes were very different in comparasion. Joyce’s house had beautiful flower beds while the Weidel’s home had weed like flowers that would last for years. The fire, that would make Joyce wonder where they all went, started one summer night. It was around 1am. When the sirens began to sound.
The Weidel home had been lit on fire. Immediately after the events of the fire the Weidel family disappeared. It was said that Mr. Weidel was a fugitive on the run. He was caught in Buffalo NY and arrested the next day. What happened to the rest of the family? Where did they all go? Eventually the County would put signs up on the Weidel property stating No Trespassing. Joyce was always told to not go over to the house but she couldn’t keep herself away. As Joyce explored the partial burnt Weidel home, this because Mr. Weidel was too drunk to successful burn the entire home, she saw the tough weeds Mrs.
Weidel had planted, the garden gnomes that were in the yard and that condemned sign that was posted for all to stay away. The smell of burnt wood was in the air and all the windows had been boarded but there were still remnants of the family that used to live there. There were drawings on the walls and clothing that once belonged to the children. As Joyce came upon old torn filthy mattress she wondered how anyone could sleep on such filth. A few years later when Joyce was in high school Ruth, the Weidel’s daughter, appeared. She was now living with relatives.
She was looked like a woman in her twenties, even though she was only sixteen. Her hair was bleached; she had muscler thighs and large breasts. She was in a special education homeroom and the teachers treated her carefully. She was quiet and often had violent outbreaks. Eventually Joyce would go on to befriend Ruth. Joyce felt the need to, in some way, protect Ruth. Joyce never spoke to anyone about what had happened to Ruth’s family. It became a challenge for Joyce to befriend and gain trust from Ruth. Eventually Ruth came around and was almost flattered by the attention she received from Joyce.
Soon after in the lunchroom Joyce asked Ruth about the “Weidel” home. Ruth began telling Joyce how her uncle actually owned the home and how lightning had struck the house which caused the fire destructive that night. All lies, Joyce thought to herself. Ruth went on to say that she is not living with her mother but does see her occasionally. Joyce went on to ask many more questions “why did you all leave the house? It could have been fixed and you should come visit me and see your old home. ” Ruth just laughed. When asked where everyone had gone? Ruth replied, adamantly, “They all just went away”.
One day after lunch while in the bathroom Joyce left a change purse on the sink where Ruth was washing her hands. When she went back into the bathroom, after Ruth was done, the change purse was gone. Joyce couldn’t recall if she had left that purse there on purpose or not. A few times Joyce asked Ruth to come have dinner at her house and spend the night. Joyce must have known that Ruth wouldn’t accept the invitation, because Joyce’s mother would have never aloud Ruth at their house. Each time Joyce asked her to come Ruth hesitatingly declined. Even though she very much would have liked to gone.
