WEEDS, WATER, AND WARNING WORDS
Chores kept me busy ever’ day. Lonesome watched me from the porch, as I pulled weeds from the vegetable patch. Over my shoulder, the corn was gitting tall, and I couldn’t stop thinking about the taste of corn on the cob, cornbread, and corn pudd’n. It would be a likeable change from pinto beans. Maybe in a couple more weeks.
The same sun that would ripen the corn had hardened the ground. That hard ground made it seem like an underground critter pulled harder on his end of the weeds than I did on mine.
I fetched a bucket and stepped onto the porch to go inside for water. A porch plank creaked under my foot, and my mind thunk about Daddy, who was sleeping off last night’s bender. The creek seemed a better idea. I trekked down the trail from the back of our house, hoping Daddy would be in a good mood when he woke up.
As I looked back up the hill, our shanty blended in with other weatherworn houses, cleaving to hillsides like fungus to a log. I could hear the plunk, chunk! sound of Pick splitting firewood beside the shanty. We didn’t need a fire in the fireplace most summer nights, but sometimes Raynelle used it for cooking to save on coal.
As I neared the creek, I heard voices. And giggling.
I crept quiet along the trail, moving from tree to tree. Standing behind the sturdy trunk of a maple, I caught a glimpse of Raynelle’s ever’day work dress. What was she doing down here by the creek?
She murmured quiet words, and I heard a male voice answer back. I peeked around the tree and tried to move closer. But my foot slid down the hill a mite, and nudged a stick that tapped a rock that sent a passel of other rocks to rolling into the creek with a splash.
“Adabel Cutler!” Raynelle hollered, and jumped to her feet. “Why in tarnation are you spying on me and Lud?”
I stepped out from behind my tree. After a few stammers, I said, “I jist come down to fetch water to loose up the garden.” I held out the bucket as proof.
“Ain’t you got water in your kitchen?” Lud asked, straightening his clothes and looking sheep-like.
I looked at Raynelle. “Daddy’s asleep in there,” I said.
Her eyes showed she understood, but Lud said, “If’n Ray Cutler is still sleeping off a snootful this time of day, the wrath of God won’t wake him. Ya needn’t be afeared of your own daddy.”
“You’re the one what ought’a be scared of him, Lud. ’Specially if he catches you down here kissing on my sister.”
Raynelle blushed. “Adabel! Hush your mouth. Me and Lud was jist talking.” But the blush that spread from her face to his told me different.
“No matter,” I said. “If Daddy wakes up and finds you’re off ‘jist talking’ with Lud, you best have good reasons for why.”
She brushed off the back of her dress, looked a good-bye to Lud, and latched holt of my elbow. “Come on, Adabel. I’ll go heat the soup for when Daddy wakes up.”
I pulled away. “I still need to fetch water.”
“Well, hurry on.” She raised her chin and headed up the path like she was Queen of the Hills.
Lud watched her go. “See ya tomorrow?” he called after her.
She didn’t turn around.
I planted my feet and looked Lud straight in the eye. “Ya best tread careful around my sister. If ya git into a tangle with Daddy, it might be the last tangle ya ever git in.”