Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles Page B

register who the contestant was and then your partner just helped you out. They didn't have to know who that was. Carolee and I was practicing a lot together. I didn't have me a bike, so I was the contestant. Carolee had herself a bike her daddy fixed up for her. She wanted me to win that bike so we could go riding all over together without me riding on the back of her bike like we always done. That was a real good idea, too, plus I wanted it bad. I never had me a bike before.
        We practiced day after day, we did. With a gunnysack race, 'lessen you git good, mostly you just fall on your nose when you go fast. But we was getting better at it and the skin on our noses was healing up pretty good.
        The day of the race we was surprised to see Darla Faye in line 'cause she had herself a fine bicycle already. But there she was, registered as a contestant and her cousin John Thomas was her partner.
        We all lined up in a row. Darla Faye and John Thomas managed to settle themselves right next to me and Carolee. They was grinning ear to ear. Now me and Carolee, we was taking this race real serious like. We wasn't grinning at nobody, but we wasn't trying to be unfriendly or nothing. We was just concentrating real hard on winning 'cause a lot depended on it. We was real tired of riding double on Carolee's bike. We was sorely determined to get me one of my own, and this was about the only chance. Ray still hadn't found any regular work, just odd jobs and stuff.
        The fella in charge of the race blew his whistle and we took off. Carolee and me darted away from that starting line so fast we was three feet ahead of everybody. We'd practiced for days on end pretending our ankles was locked together in a gunnysack, and we got real good at it, too. Now one a' her legs and one a' my legs was acting like they was just one leg. We kept barreling ahead faster and faster. I sneaked a peek sideways and saw John Thomas and Darla Faye inching up next to us. They was almost neck to neck, so we plugged along faster. We was still a touch ahead of them and that's all it took to win. There was only a few feet left to go and we'd be at the finish line! I was so excited my heart was pounding out of my body and my spirits was floating somewhere up on a cloud. I was getting me that beautiful new bike! I knew it. I was inches away. Next thing you know, John Thomas took a flying leap trying to catch us and Darla Faye got plumb knocked off her feet in the process.
        She went falling sideways right into our path. Carolee's leg stumbled over her in a heap and I come to a flying halt and landed next to her on my butt. Darla Faye jumped up and brushed herself off.
        "Oh that's such a shame, Lori Jean," she said. "I think you mighta won if John Thomas woulda watched where he was goin'."
        My eyes was blurring over and I was real close to crying. It wasn't 'cause my butt was hurting, either, even though it was. It was for the hurt in my chest. Right then I thought of my mama. I'd done what she told me not to: counted on something 'fore its time.
        "Lori Jean, honey," she said that morning, "don't go countin' on something 'til it's a fact. Okay?"
        "Okay," I answered, but mostly it was just to be polite.
        "I want you to win that race and get that bike more than I can tell you," Mama said, "but sometimes life is mighty cruel and won't give you what you want, even when you deserve it most." Yep, that's what she said that very morning. Now I remembered it good.
        I looked up and saw Mama standing next to Ray. They waited for the man with the whistle to call out the winner. Then they motioned for me to come over to where they was. I got up and brushed myself off and hung my head down trying to hide my tears.
        "I'm sorry, Lori Jean," Carolee called out. "It's all my fault," she said, and she started crying. Her tears got all mixed in with the sweat that done broke out on her face. I might