Free The Floatplane Notebooks by Clyde Edgerton Page B

children until she and her grandson Tyree died of typhoid. Then Tyree’s wife Loretta who wouldn’t let her children wear bright colors on Sundayand who had always thought it obscene that the children climbed chairs and sneaked looks threw the little bottle with the fingers down the hole in the outhouse.
    So then Thomas Pittman had another baby out there beside him.
They all appeared together on blue moon nights. Thomas in his rocker, facing the house, and four babies and a leg in rocking cradles made of dark maple. The new baby was quiet and still.
    Ross sat in the door to the smokehouse one rainy afternoon several weeks after the stillbirth and carved into the rock with a chisel BORN DED . On the next Sunday afternoon Vera called out to Caroline from where she stood beside the grave. Caroline walked out and stood beside her.
    But it’s spelled wrong said Vera.
    He can spell it any way he wants to.
    Well I’m going to ask him to do it over.
    He worked a whole day on it and as far as I’m concerned he needn’t waste time doing another one. Anybody knows what it says. Besides he lives here.
    Vera pulled hair back out of her eyes. Why do you say that Mama?
    It’s true.
    I know it’s true. You don’t like me living in town.
    Caroline turned and faced the house. No I don’t. Whoever heard of such a thing. Washing clothes with the niggers. It’s not decent.
    I do what I have to do to get along and I don’t mind it.
    Before Vera left that day she followed Ross out the back door into the yard. Ross will you change the spelling on the rock to dead DEAD .
    It says dead. DED .
    Dead is DEAD .
    It don’t make no difference.
    It does. It’s my baby and I want it spelled right.
    It’s my rock. Do your own rock. It took me all day to do it. Why don’t you do your own rock? If you can get a rock in town.
    Wouldn’t harm you none to come to town Ross see some stores and factories.
    We got stores around here.
    I know it. You’d be surprised what all they got in town. It’s not just fancy.
    I been to town.
    While Walker was away in the war a lone man dressed in a dusty blue uniform rode a horse into the backyard. He called out In here. A string of three wagons turned in and pulled up alongside the kitchen side of the house.
    The family was in the fields.
    The man went into the kitchen and came out with a blue plate of biscuits. He handed them around. There’s probably some molasses another man said. He talked like the field hand. Another said Check the smokehouse. They got two hams from the smokehouse and put them into a wagon and then they drank directly from the well bucket without using the ladle.
    They went back into the smokehouse and brought out a barrel of molasses and put that into the wagon.
    Caroline and the family came back from the fields. Vera carried William who was Caroline’s youngest in a basket. They stared at the men and passed slowly into the house. The soldierspaid them little mind. Caroline came back out to stand on the back porch for a few minutes looking at the soldiers. They sat around a fire they’d built in the yard. Then she walked by them to the kitchen. Their heads turned. One said something and a knot of about four of them laughed loudly.
    Caroline came out of the back side of the kitchen and walked over to the smokehouse. She looked inside returned to the kitchen. In a little while she stood in the door to the kitchen a heavy cloth in each hand holding a pot of boiling water. She looked down to the ground and stepped out holding the heavy pot. The men were turning around to look at her as she approached the ones who had laughed. She said I wish you were red hot in the belly and in the middle of hell and heaved the water over them down onto their heads arms and necks. They scrambled screaming and one started for her grabbed her arm and pulled her sideways. She was still holding the pot in both hands as another said loudly Whoa