Free Gone Crazy in Alabama by Rita Williams-Garcia Page A

said the dinner prayer as fast as I could.
    The “Amen” was barely out of our mouths when Ma Charles rapped on the table and said, “Well?”
    â€œYes, ma’am?” I asked. The South just slipped out of me. Big Ma smiled.
    â€œWell, what did she say about my gift? Speak up,” Ma Charles demanded.
    I fixed my mind and mouth to say, “Nothing, really,” but Vonetta jumped in front of me. “Miss Trotter said—” She made her face like our great-aunt, down to the pinched nose, and said, “Dentures? Dentures?” Then she openedher mouth full of cabbage and beef to show teeth and mimicked Miss Trotter’s strong and high-pitched voice: “Go on, young’ns. Run your finger ’longside the uppers and lowers.” And she chomped her teeth, even though Miss Trotter did no such thing.
    I was set to kick Vonetta for repeating Miss Trotter’s words and tone like that. But Ma Charles seemed to enjoy Vonetta’s imitation and reared her head back and cackled. “Do it again,” she said. “Just like that over-the-creek gal said it. Go on.” And she readied herself to hear it as if she were waiting for the second act of the show. For her, this was entertainment.
    Vonetta obliged her, only too pleased to perform. She cleared her throat. “Tell her my teeth are just fine. Tell her, why would a wolf need teeth she already has?”
    Ma Charles slapped the table and cackled harder and longer. Vonetta was in her glory. “What else she say?”
    Fern started to speak, but Vonetta hushed her. “This is my story. Mine.” Vonetta cleared her throat again, put on her Miss Trotter face, and said, “Denture rinse. I got something for her. You wait.”
    Ma Charles applauded. “Go on, baby. One more time.”
    Big Ma had had enough. “Less talking and more eating. Good food is hard to come by.”
    In spite of Big Ma’s order, Vonetta repeated her line. If Big Ma asked for a tree switch, I would have run out to the pecan tree and found a nice one.
    â€œThis is your fault, Delphine.”
    I almost choked on a gob of mashed potatoes. Big Ma’s forgiveness wore off quickly.
    â€œMarching them through the woods, across the creek to dig up trouble.”
    â€œBig Ma, you said ‘Git’ and they wanted to see cousin JimmyTrotter.”
    â€œAnd the cows,” Fern added.
    Ma Charles cackled. “They saw an old cow, all right.”
    Vonetta and Fern laughed at their great-grandmother for calling her half sister a cow. Ma Charles and Miss Trotter might as well have been Vonetta and Fern, the way they sniped at each other.
    â€œThe Lord wants you to make peace, Ma,” our grandmother said. “Before the sweet by-and-by.”
    Ma Charles coughed or rolled her eyes or made a sound that was as good as teeth sucking. “I’ll make peace when that old Negro Injun makes peace first.” To Vonetta she added, “And you can tell her I said so.”

Part-time Indian
    Since Vonetta wanted to ride JimmyTrotter’s bike and Fern wanted to moo with Sophie and Butter, we spent most of our days with JimmyTrotter and his great-grandmother. Whenever we came across the creek, Vonetta wheeled JimmyTrotter’s bicycle out of the barn and rode it in circles around the barn and house while Fern chased after her. JimmyTrotter and I always lagged behind to talk about teenage things while keeping an eye on Vonetta and Fern.
    â€œYou catching on?” JimmyTrotter asked with a smirk.
    â€œI got it,” I told him. “But why?”
    He shrugged. “It’s how they want it. Now that you and your sisters are here, you can play along while I get back to my airplane models.” He told me the story that I hadheard pieces of from Pa. The story Big Ma didn’t want spoken aloud. How my great-great-grandfather, Slim Jim Trotter, married two women at the same time.
    â€œHow do you know