Wish You Well(21)

down his throat. Louisa dished Oz the last piece of lard-fried fish, the rest of the cooked

vegetables, and another piece of cooked-in-grease corn-bread, which, to Lou, tasted

better than ice cream.

Louisa had not filled her plate.

"You didn't have any fish, Louisa," Oz said, as he stared guiltily at his second helping.

"Aren't you hungry?"

"Meal by itself seeing a boy eating his way up to a growed man. Et while I cooked,

honey. Always do."

Eugene glanced questioningly at Louisa when she said this and then went back to his

meal.

Diamond's gaze kept sliding between Lou and Oz. He seemed eager to make friends

again, yet seemed unsure how to accomplish it.

"Can you show me some of the places my dad would go around here?" Lou asked Louisa.

"The things he liked to do? See, I'm a writer too."

"I know that," she said, and Lou gave her a surprised look. Louisa put her cup of water

down and studied Lou's face. "Your daddy he like to tell 'bout the land. But afore he done

that he done something real smart." She paused as Lou considered this.

"Like what?" the girl finally asked.

"He come to unnerstand the land."

"Understand... dirt?"

"It got lots of secrets, and not all good ones. Things up here hurt you bad if you ain't

careful. Weather so fickle, like it break your heart 'bout the time it do your back. Land

don't help none who don't never bother to learn it." On this she glanced at Eugene. "Lord

knows Eugene could use help. This farm ain't going one minute more without his strong

back."

Eugene swallowed a piece of fish and washed it down with a gulp of water he had poured

directly into his glass from a bucket. As Lou watched him, Eugene's mouth trembled. She

interpreted that as a big smile.

"Fact is," Louisa continued, "you and Oz coming here is a blessing. Some folk might say

I helping you out, but that ain't the truth. You helping me a lot more'n I can you. For that

I thank you."

"Sure," said Oz gallantiy. "Glad to do it."

"You mentioned there were chores," Lou said.

Louisa looked over at Eugene. "Better to show, not tell. Come morning, I commence

showing."

Diamond could contain himself no longer.

"Johnny Booker's pa said some fellers been looking round his place."

"What fellers?" asked Louisa sharply.

"Ain't know. But they's asking questions 'bout the coal mines."

"Get your ears on the ground, Diamond." Louisa looked at Lou and Oz. "And you too.

God put us on this earth and he take us away when he good and ready. Meantime, family

got to look out for each other."

Oz smiled and said he'd keep his ears so low to the ground, they'd be regularly filled with

dirt. Everyone except Lou laughed at that. She simply stared at Louisa and said nothing.

The table was cleared, and while Louisa scraped dishes, Lou worked the sink hand pump

hard, the way Louisa had shown her, to make only a very thin stream of water come out.

No indoor plumbing, she had been told. Louisa had also explained to them the outhouse

arrangement and shown them the small rolls of toilet paper stacked in the pantry. She had

said a lantern would be needed after dark if the facilities were required, and she had

shown Lou how to light one. There was also a chamberpot under each of their beds if the

call of nature was of such urgency that they couldn't make it to the outhouse in time.

However, Louisa informed them that the cleaning of the chamberpot was strictly the

responsibility of the one using it. Lou wondered how timid Oz, a champion user of the

bathroom in the middle of the night, would get along with this accommodation. She

imagined she would be standing outside this outhouse many an evening while he did his

business, and that was a weary thought.

Right after supper Oz and Diamond had gone outside with Jeb. Lou now watched as

Eugene lifted the rifle off its rack above the fireplace. He loaded the gun and went

outside.

Lou said to Louisa, "Where's he going with that gun?"

Louisa scrubbed plates vigorously with a hardened corncob. "See to the livestock. Now

we done turned out the cows and hogs, Old Mo's coming round."

"Old Mo?"

"Mountain lion. Old Mo, he 'bout as old as me, but that durn cat still be a bother. Not to

people. Lets the mare and the mules be too, 'specially the mules, Hit and Sam. Don't

never cross no mule, Lou. They's the toughest things God ever made, and them durn

critters keep grudges till kingdom come. Don't never forget one smack of the whip, or

slip of a shoeing nail. Some folks say mules 'bout as smart as a man. Mebbe that why

they get so mean." She smiled. "But Mo does go after the sheep, hogs, and cows. So we