A Day to Pick Your Own Cotton - Michael R. Phillips [59]
“Not a whole year.”
“Well, it sounds like a year.—We will make you a cake.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“I want to! We’ll have a party and dance and sing again. Let’s teach Aleta the slave songs!”
I laughed to hear Katie getting all excited.
“Do you think she’ll sing them?” I asked.
“She likes you now, Mayme. She just had a daddy that didn’t understand about black people. But she’s getting over it.”
“She’s still a mite distant from Emma.”
“That’s true, but Emma’s different from you, Mayme. It’s funny to think that she was a house slave, but you weren’t, when you seem to know a lot more than she does. I thought house slaves were usually the smartest.”
“Not necessarily,” I said. “Sometimes it was all because of looks or manners—they’d put slaves in houses that were lighter in skin color or were the prettiest. I know my skin ain’t so dark as some, but I sure ain’t pretty.”
“I think you are, Mayme.”
“That’s nice of you to say, Katie, but most white folks aren’t of the same mind when they look at me.”
Telling Katie I had a birthday coming was all she needed. She ran off to tell Emma and Aleta what she’d found out and what she wanted to do. For the rest of that day, she and the other two had all kinds of secrets. Katie would tell me to stay out of the kitchen, and then I’d see her running upstairs and she’d glance at me and giggle and tell me to mind my own business.
I began to wish I’d never said anything about my birthday!
When I woke up the next morning, I heard Katie already downstairs. I got dressed and went down. Aleta was still asleep, and Emma sat in a chair nursing William and watching Katie.
“Good morning, Katie,” I said as I walked into the kitchen.
“Happy birthday, Mayme!” she said, glancing toward me from the counter, where her hands were full of flour. “I’m starting on your cake. I hope it won’t be a flop.”
“Happy birf ’day, Miz Mayme.”
“Thank you, Emma.”
“Are you sure you don’t want any help?” I asked.
“But it’s your birthday cake!” she laughed.
“I can still help.”
Then Katie got a serious expression on her face and looked at me, still stirring the batter.
“You’ve done so much for me, Mayme,” she said. “I want to see if I can do this for you all by myself. I know it’s only a cake, but there aren’t many ways to show you how grateful I am. So maybe this is something I can do that will mean more than just being a cake.”
Her words warmed my heart so much!
“I understand, Katie,” I nodded. “That’s real nice of you to say. I’ll look forward to it. But you won’t make me eat it all by myself, will you? You’re going to share it with me?”
“Oh yes! I’ll make it, but we will all eat it!”
I went outside. It was still early. The sun was up and it was already warm, but it was that early morning kind of quiet. I took in a deep lungful of the warm air and looked around.
I thought I’d like to go on a walk, a birthday walk, just to be alone for a while. I went back inside.
“Katie,” I said, “would you mind if I went to your special place in the woods?”
“Oh no, Mayme. I would like you to go there.”
“Thank you,” I said.
“That will be my birthday present to you,” said Katie. “From now on it will be your special place too.”
I went back outside and walked slowly to the woods.
Everything felt so fresh early in the morning like this. Even the woods felt different. There was still dew on the grass. Some of the pine trees were so wet that drops of water dangled from their needle tips, waiting to fall. Birds were everywhere in the trees, chirping and singing. I saw one little rabbit scamper by in the distance. Then I remembered how Katie said animals came to her secret place more at night and in the early morning than any other time. So as I crept through the trees, I tried to be real quiet.
I got to the opening into the little meadow, tiptoeing as softly as I could.
There was a deer standing drinking from the stream!
And the raccoon Katie had told me about was a little ways behind it, walking slowly across the grass!
I stood there watching, not making a sound.
Black folks loved to catch raccoons