A Death in the Family - James Agee [43]
And there was the dusty ivy on the wall, the small glass-house in front, and on the porch, Aunt Amelia and his grandma. Even when they were still across the street he saw his Aunt Amelia wave and Victoria waved gaily back, chuckling and croaking, “Hello,” and he waved too; and Amelia leaned towards his grandmother who sought out and tilted her little trumpet and Amelia leaned close to it and then they both turned to look and Grandma got up and he could hear her high, “Hello,” and they were at the front steps, and Grandma came cautiously down the steps from the porch, and they all met on the brick walk in the shade of the magnolia, while Aunt Amelia came up smiling from behind her mother. And soon Victoria left; she disappeared around a corner, a few blocks up the street, handsomely and gradually as a sailboat.
PART TWO
Chapter 8
A FEW MINUTES BEFORE TEN, the phone rang. Mary hurried to quiet it. “Hello?”
The voice was a man’s, wiry and faint, a country voice. It was asking a question, but she could not hear it clearly.
“Hello!” she asked again. “Will you please talk a little louder? I can’t hear.... I said I can’t hear you! Will you talk a little louder please? Thank you.”
Now, straining and impatient, she could hear, though the voice seemed still to come from a great distance.
“Is this Miz Jay Follet?”
“Yes; what is it?” (for there was a silence); “yes, this is she.”
After further silence the voice said, “There’s been a slight—your husband has been in a accident.”
His head! she told herself.
“Yes,” she said, in a caved-in voice. At the same moment the voice said, “A serious accident.”
“Yes,” Mary said more clearly.
“What I wanted to ask, is there a man in his family, some kin, could come out? We’d appreciate if you could send a man out here, right away.”
“Yes; yes, there’s my brother. Where should he come to?”
“I’m out at Powell Station, at Brannick’s Blacksmith Shop, bout twelve miles out the Ball Camp Pike.”
“Brannick’s bl—”
“B-r-a-n-n-i-c-k. It’s right on the left of the Pike comin out just a little way this side, Knoxvul side of Bell’s Bridge.” She heard muttering, and another muttering voice. “Tell him he can’t miss it. We’ll keep the light on and a lantern out in front.”
“Do you have a doctor?”
“How’s that again, ma’am?”
“A doctor, do you have one? Should I send a doctor?”
“That’s all right, ma’am. Just some man that’s kin.”
“He’ll come right out just as fast as he can.” Walter’s auto, she thought. “Thank you very much for calling.”
“That’s all right, ma’am. I sure do hate to give you bad news.”
“Good night.”
“Good-bye, ma’am.”
She found she was scarcely standing, she was all but hanging from the telephone. She stiffened her knees, leaned against the wall, and rang.
“Andrew?”
“Mary?”
She drew a deep breath.
“Mary.”
She drew another deep breath; she felt as if her lungs were not large enough.
“Mary?”
Dizzy, seeing gray, trying to control her shaking voice, she said, “Andrew, there’s been an—a man just phoned, from Powell’s Station, about twelve miles out towards LaFollette, and he says—he says Jay—has met with a very serious accident. He wants ...”
“Oh, my God, Mary!”
“He said they want some man of his family to come out just as soon as possible and, help bring him in, I guess.”
“I’ll call Walter, he’ll take me out.”
“Yes do, will you, Andrew?”
“Of course I will. Just a minute.”
“What?”
“Aunt Hannah.”
“May I speak to her when you’re through?”
“Certainly. Where is he hurt, Mary?”
“He didn’t say.”
“Well, didn’t you—no matter.”
“No I didn’t,” she said, now realizing with surprise