A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton - Michael R. Phillips [5]
“My daddy doesn’t drink like that,” said Katie.
“I’m sure not, Kathleen, and I am glad. But there are other problems too. Men change from war and I just want your mama to be prepared. Tell her to come see me when she can.”
“Yes, sir,” said Katie, flicking the reins.
Relieved again to be on our way, eventually the last of the houses disappeared out of sight behind us. What the minister had said sobered Katie for a minute. But pretty soon we both started thinking about Mrs. Hammond again.
Finally we couldn’t help it. I started to giggle and Katie burst out laughing so hard I thought she was gonna scare the horses into a gallop.
“That was the beatenest thing I ever saw!” I said.
“—with Mrs. Hammond. You were acting like a regular grown-up back there in her store, Miss Katie.”
Katie was still laughing too hard to say anything.
“One thing for sure, you knocked poor old Mrs. Hammond into a cocked hat!”
“What about you?” said Katie as she laughed. “Yes’m, Miz Katie,” she said in a gloomy voice, trying to imitate how I’d sounded. Then she started laughing again. “And with that long face and staring down at the ground. You were doing more playacting than I was!”
“Except for my mistake of calling you Miss Katie! That just about put her on to us.”
“It didn’t, though.”
“But did you notice that look on that fellow Henry’s face? He didn’t seem too altogether pleased with your answer after he asked about your mama.”
“He’s always been nice to me, nicer than just about anyone. But I didn’t really notice Henry too much with his son standing there. I can’t believe it. And to think that they haven’t seen each other in all those years.”
I didn’t reply. I didn’t know what to say about Henry’s son. But there’s no use denying that I couldn’t help thinking about him for the rest of the day. But Katie’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Do you think that man in the store was looking for Emma?” she asked.
“I reckon,” I said. “Leastways, that seems likely.”
“Should we tell her?”
“That’s up to you, Miss Katie. But it’d likely set her into an almighty panic—as if she isn’t in enough a one all the time as it is.”
“You’re right, Mayme. I don’t suppose there’s any reason to tell her … not unless something comes of it.”
Neither of us said anything for a spell, then slowly a smile spread across Katie’s face as we rode along.
“Mayme,” she said excitedly, “we did it!”
“You did it mostly yourself, Miss Katie,” I said.
The thought sobered her up some. She stopped laughing and got a funny look on her face, like she realized I was right and was almost proud of herself for it.
Then she smiled. “I guess I did at that, didn’t I?”
“You sure did, Miss Katie … I mean Miss Kathleen.”
We both burst out laughing again.
MAKING PLANS
3
WHEN WE GOT BACK TO KATIE’S MAMA AND papa’s house, Emma was in a fix of excitement and worry waiting for us. We’d been talking excitedly and laughing all the way back from town. Having Emma running outside the moment she saw us, going on and on about how she thought we were never going to come back, reminded us right quick that no matter how much we might have fooled Mrs. Hammond, we still had problems of our own right here.
By then we were tired and hungry. We went inside and sat down and tried to eat something while Emma kept talking without taking a breath.
“William was fussin’ real bad, Miz Katie,” she said. “I cudn’t git him ter stop no how.”
“What did you do?” asked Katie, speaking softly to calm her down.
“I fed him, Miz Katie, an’ den he went ter sleep, but I thought you was neber gwine git back.”
“Well, we’re back now, Emma,” said Katie. “And we won’t have to go back into town again for a good while yet.”
After we’d had something to eat and drink, we set to unloading the supplies and taking care of the buggy and horses.
“We gotta start making plans, Miss Katie,” I said later that day.
“What