Free Listen To Me Honey by Fay Risner Page A

Tansy
suggested.
    Amanda grimaced. “I already had
that idea.”
    Tansy made a circle with her
finger. “So how did ya get like that?”
    “I
hurt so bad Grandpa told me to smear fresh cow manure over my legs.
He said it would take away the sting, but it didn't,” Amanda said
forlornly.
    Tansy put her hands on her hips.
“He did, did he? I hoped that trick wouldn't happen
again.”
    Amanda nodded. “What
trick?”
    “Never mind,” Tansy said quickly.
    Amanda went on, “When that didn't
seem to help, Grandpa said to come ask you for a home remedy of
yours.”
    “First thing I can tell ya is I'm fixin' ya a tub of bath
water. Hurry up while yer grandpa is still doing chores and get out
of yer clothes on the porch. I'll get the rinse tub off the wall
and put warm water in it. Once y'all smell good, we'll see what we
can do.”
    Tansy made Amanda stand out in the
yard while she filled a bucket with water and scrubbed off Amanda's
legs. The bucket reminded Amanda of the one she used when she
scrubbed the outhouse, but surely Tansy had more than one of those
tin buckets.
    Once she passed Tansy's inspection,
Amanda sank into the metal tub her grandma used to rinse clothes in
on wash days. Her legs hurt pretty bad when the water hit them, but
after while not so much.
    Grandma brought her a towel. After
Amanda put on her nightgown, Grandma handed her a bottle of pink
lotion to rub on her legs. It turned Amanda's skin a strange pink,
but the stinging quit. She decided her legs were feeling better in
the color pink than in the color brown.
    While she put lotion on her legs,
Grandma emptied the rinse tub into a bed of orange marigolds. “I
better get back to my supper.”
    Tansy ushered Amanda into the
kitchen. She ordered the girl to sit at the table until supper was
ready.
    It wasn't long before Art showed
up, carrying the two buckets of milk. “Feelin' better,
Mandie?”
    “Some. Grandma made me take a bath.”
    “Figured she might,” Art said. The corners of his lips
twitched like he was trying not to smile.
    Tansy dropped a pot lid in the
dishpan, making an unhappy clatter.
    “Grandma had me put a pink lotion all over my legs.” She
held her legs out so he could see. “That medicine is really
helping,” Amanda assured him.
    “That's good to know.” Art set the milk buckets beside the
crock. He glanced at Tansy. She had her back to him, straight and
stiff. “Ya ready for supper, Mandie?” Art asked.
    “Sure,” Amanda said tentatively, waiting for some sort of
explosion from Tansy.
    Art washed and sat down at the
table. He clasped his hands together in front of his plate. Amanda
was pretty sure he was waiting for something to happen,
too.
    Tansy ignored both of them as she
finished setting the table. Her face was beet red, and her lips a
tight line when she set the bowls of food on the table.
    Finally, she faced them with her
hands fisted on her hips. She glared over her glasses at Art.
“Arthur Craftton, why did ya let that poor child come to the house
in that kind of mess. Didn't ya learn yer lesson when ya had to
clean up Jeff?”
    “I
wasn't with her when she walked through the nettles, Tansy,” Art
said innocently.
    Tansy shook an arthritic finger at
him. “That's no excuse. Ya know that ain't what I'm talkin'
about.”
    “What then?” Art asked as if he didn't have a
clue.
    “Grandpa, I think she means the cow manure remedy,” Amanda,
staring at her grandma, said out of the corner of her
mouth.
    Tansy shook her finger at Art
again. “That's exactly what I mean. That was just plain mean and
---- and nasty. Amanda, he talked yer daddy into doin' the same
thing when he was a kid. I made Grandpa clean him up since he was a
boy.”
    “When I was a kid, my dad used to use cow manure on our
stings all the time,” Art defended.
    “Did
it work?” Tansy snapped.
    “Don't remember, but it works on Jubel right well,” Art
returned.
    Tansy shook her finger at the dog
and screeched like the wind in