A Thousand Acres_ A Novel - Jane Smiley [37]
“Would have been better for the corn last week. Corn’s behind.”
I said, “Is it?”
Ty said, “It’s not that far behind. Anyway, if we get those cabinets in the house, Ginny will probably be just putting breakfast on the table.”
Daddy said, “You eating?”
“No, I ate.”
“Then you better cultivate those beans down on Mel’s corner, because it’s kind of low down there, and you won’t get the Deere into that field this week if you let it go till after this rain.”
“I was going to do that. The tractor’s down there already.”
“You left the tractor down there?”
I glanced at Ty. There was nothing unusual about leaving the tractor out when work in Mel’s corner was planned, since it was the farthest field from the barn and took longer to get there by tractor over the road than on foot across the fields. He caught my look and gave a little shrug, then said, “How about these cabinets? I won’t have time to help you with them later, and Pete’s got to go into Zebulon Center and file some papers this morning.”
Daddy said, “I’m tired of hearing about that damn kitchen junk. I’ll move them when I’m good and ready.”
“Daddy, you don’t want them to warp in the rain, do you? They’re solid oak. They’re nice wood.”
He drank down his coffee and said, “Quit telling me what to do.” He glared at us, until finally Ty turned and went out. I wished Rose was there, since she knew how to talk back to him, but at last I said, “What are you doing, leaving them out in the rain? Showing Harold a thing or two?” I tried to make my voice cajoling, as inoffensive as possible.
He said, “I’m minding my own business.”
I made him breakfast, pointedly not speaking, but he didn’t seem to notice. Afterward, he got in his truck and drove off, and I went home. I watched the sky, though, and when it started to rain, a steady soaker, I put on my slicker and walked down to his place. The cabinets stood mournfully in the gravel drive, shedding water in rivulets. I didn’t know what to think.
I found out that night. Rose was throwing off jokes like a Fourth of July sparkler. Her favorite notion was that Daddy intended to start breeding rabbits on the revolving shelves of the pantry and chickens in the wall cabinets. I could tell she was furious, because she wouldn’t drop the subject. Pete was angry, too, and he encouraged her to dwell on it. Finally Ty said, in his mild way, “Larry’s done silly things before.”
Rose said, “A thousand dollars! Right out the window. He bought them just to top Harold, and then he’s too lazy to put them in the house.”
Jess said, “Maybe he never intended to put them in the house.”
“Why would you have such nice cabinets in the workshop? Most people put the old ones in the workshop and the new ones in the house.”
Play around the Monopoly board matched the accelerated rhythm of the conversation, and it was hard for me to keep track of who owed me what. At her turns, Rose threw the dice off the table and banged her tiny metal shoe around the spaces. I began to feel tense.
“No,” said Jess, “I mean, maybe it’s just a gesture that’s supposed to denigrate whatever Harold does.”
“Kind of, ‘This is what I think about kitchens,’ ” said Ty.
“He’s crazy,” said Rose. “Anyway, Ginny, you’re running out of money and you have all the expensive rentals left before you get to Go. You want to sell your two railroads?”
“Don’t sell them to her,” said Pete, the edge in his voice not quite playful.
“He is crazy,” said Rose. “He gets in his truck every morning and drives off without telling anyone where he’s going. He bought a couch, too. Did he tell you that? It hasn’t been delivered yet, because he bought it at a place down in Marshalltown and they haven’t had time to send a truck up this way. Marshalltown must be two hours from here, so he’s not just tooling around the back roads. I don’t like his driving