’cause I’d taken off my sandals, but then she’d gone to every blanket near ours looking for someone who had a cooler with ice. She’d pulled me onto her lap and held the ice on my foot until the last red-white-and-blue firework melted from the sky. It had almost been worth the pain and the angry blister, being able to sit like that.
As Eula scrubbed the iron skillet from the corn bread, I heard Wallace walking back and forth in the living room. Every once in a while I’d hear him say stuff like “Woman gone done it now” and “Can’t see no other way.”
I leaned close and whispered to Eula, “Wallace still seems pretty mad,”
She gave me one of her real smiles and winked, so I figured there was nothing to worry about. “He always mad when he in the juice. Best jus’ stay outta his way.”
“Juice?”
She nodded toward the mason jar still on the table. “Moonshine. Hard liquor.”
“What you whisperin’ about in there?” the bear called. There was a thud like he walked into something. “Gawwwwddammit!”
“Jus’’bout the baby, Wallace,” Eula said sweet as pie. “You okay?”
“Shut up!”
I looked at Eula. I couldn’t imagine anybody, man or not, telling Mamie to shut up. But Eula just kept scrubbing that pan.
“That baby gonna kill us.” He mumbled some, then said, “If ’n you wasn’t so gawwwddamn stupid, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I shoulda got rid of you long time ago.”
Eula leaned close and said in a voice even lower than a whisper, “He don’t mean it. It the juice.”
“He in the juice when he give you that bruise?”I pointed to her arm.
She sighed. “Sometimes things happen tween a husband and wife. You see when you grown—”
“I said shut up!”
Eula shrugged and we stopped talking.
Back in the room with the stuck window, she made me a pallet on the floor. She unfolded a patchwork quilt and shook it out, letting it fall onto the pallet.
“My momma made this quilt,” she said, running her hand over it like she was pettin’ a kitten. “From old dresses given to her by the woman she a maid for back in the day. Momma used tell stories ’bout the different scraps, describe the dress it come from, tell if it was for a special occasion or holiday.” Eula stopped talking for a minute and I wondered if there was something wrong. “I don’t remember none anymore,” she said, real quiet and sad, like she’d lost something special.
How could scraps of old dresses that hadn’t even belonged to you be special?
“In Cayuga Springs?” I asked. “You lived there with your momma?”
“No, indeed. She worked in Jackson for a right prosperous family, a judge the husband was.”
“You work in Cayuga Springs now? Is that where James come from?” I was getting real curious about her, not to mention curious about who might be looking for baby James. I wanted to get away from here, from the cranky bear, but I sure didn’t want anybody from Cayuga Springs to find me and haul me off to jail. I wondered if the law had already come looking for me at Mamie’s house, found out I’d run off, and was putting out PPBs to other police like they do on Dragnet . Just the facts, ma’am. I bet Mrs. Sellers told them a lot more than that.
Then I thought, What if they send Eula to jail for kidnappin’ James? I sure didn’t want that.
“Best you don’t know where James come from.”
“You said nobody wants him.”
“That right.”
“But . . . all mommas want their kids.”
“That so?” She lifted her chin and looked down her nose. “Then what your momma doin’ up in Nashville while you been in Cayuga Springs?”
Since I couldn’t tell the God’s honest truth and it was getting hard to keep all of my truth stretching straight, I used one of Mamie’s answers. “It’s complicated and you don’t need no details.”There was never any arguing after Mamie said those words. I crossed my arms to say,That’s that.
Eula squinted at me from the corners of her narrowed eyes.
As Eula scrubbed the iron skillet from the corn bread, I heard Wallace walking back and forth in the living room. Every once in a while I’d hear him say stuff like “Woman gone done it now” and “Can’t see no other way.”
I leaned close and whispered to Eula, “Wallace still seems pretty mad,”
She gave me one of her real smiles and winked, so I figured there was nothing to worry about. “He always mad when he in the juice. Best jus’ stay outta his way.”
“Juice?”
She nodded toward the mason jar still on the table. “Moonshine. Hard liquor.”
“What you whisperin’ about in there?” the bear called. There was a thud like he walked into something. “Gawwwwddammit!”
“Jus’’bout the baby, Wallace,” Eula said sweet as pie. “You okay?”
“Shut up!”
I looked at Eula. I couldn’t imagine anybody, man or not, telling Mamie to shut up. But Eula just kept scrubbing that pan.
“That baby gonna kill us.” He mumbled some, then said, “If ’n you wasn’t so gawwwddamn stupid, we wouldn’t be in this mess. I shoulda got rid of you long time ago.”
Eula leaned close and said in a voice even lower than a whisper, “He don’t mean it. It the juice.”
“He in the juice when he give you that bruise?”I pointed to her arm.
She sighed. “Sometimes things happen tween a husband and wife. You see when you grown—”
“I said shut up!”
Eula shrugged and we stopped talking.
Back in the room with the stuck window, she made me a pallet on the floor. She unfolded a patchwork quilt and shook it out, letting it fall onto the pallet.
“My momma made this quilt,” she said, running her hand over it like she was pettin’ a kitten. “From old dresses given to her by the woman she a maid for back in the day. Momma used tell stories ’bout the different scraps, describe the dress it come from, tell if it was for a special occasion or holiday.” Eula stopped talking for a minute and I wondered if there was something wrong. “I don’t remember none anymore,” she said, real quiet and sad, like she’d lost something special.
How could scraps of old dresses that hadn’t even belonged to you be special?
“In Cayuga Springs?” I asked. “You lived there with your momma?”
“No, indeed. She worked in Jackson for a right prosperous family, a judge the husband was.”
“You work in Cayuga Springs now? Is that where James come from?” I was getting real curious about her, not to mention curious about who might be looking for baby James. I wanted to get away from here, from the cranky bear, but I sure didn’t want anybody from Cayuga Springs to find me and haul me off to jail. I wondered if the law had already come looking for me at Mamie’s house, found out I’d run off, and was putting out PPBs to other police like they do on Dragnet . Just the facts, ma’am. I bet Mrs. Sellers told them a lot more than that.
Then I thought, What if they send Eula to jail for kidnappin’ James? I sure didn’t want that.
“Best you don’t know where James come from.”
“You said nobody wants him.”
“That right.”
“But . . . all mommas want their kids.”
“That so?” She lifted her chin and looked down her nose. “Then what your momma doin’ up in Nashville while you been in Cayuga Springs?”
Since I couldn’t tell the God’s honest truth and it was getting hard to keep all of my truth stretching straight, I used one of Mamie’s answers. “It’s complicated and you don’t need no details.”There was never any arguing after Mamie said those words. I crossed my arms to say,That’s that.
Eula squinted at me from the corners of her narrowed eyes.
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