06 Wish You Well by David Baldacci

Author:David Baldacci [Baldacci, David]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

LOU WAS CLEANING UP THE SUPPER DISHES two nights later while Oz carefully wrote out his letters on a piece of paper at the kitchen table. Louisa sat next to him, helping. She looked tired, Lou thought. She was old, and life up here wasn’t easy; Lou had certainly experienced that first-hand. One had to fight for each little thing. And Louisa had been doing this all her life. How much longer could she?

By the time Lou had dried the last plate, there came a knock on the door. Oz ran to open it.

Cotton was standing at the front door, wearing his suit and tie, a large box cradled in his arms. Behind him was Diamond. The boy was dressed in a clean white shirt, face scrubbed, hair pounded down with water and maybe sticky sap, and Lou almost gasped, because the boy was wearing shoes. It was true she could see his toes, but still most of the boy’s feet were covered. Diamond nodded shyly to all, as though being scrubbed and shod made him a circus spectacle of sorts.

Oz eyed the box. “What’s in there?”

Cotton set the box on the table and took his time opening it. “While there is much to be said for the written word,” he told them, “we must never forget that other great creative body of work.” With a flourish to rival the best of vaudeville performances, he unveiled the gramophone.

“Music!”

Cotton took a record out of a slipcase and carefully placed it on the gramophone. Then he vigorously turned the crank and set the needle in place. It scratched the wobbly record for a moment, and then the room was filled with what Lou recognized as the music of Beethoven. Cotton looked around the room and then moved a chair against the wall. He motioned to the other men. “Gentlemen, if you please.” Oz, Diamond, and Eugene pitched in, and they soon had an open space in the middle of the room.

Cotton went down the hallway and opened Amanda’s door. “Miss Amanda, we have a variety of popular tunes for your listening pleasure tonight.”

Cotton came back to the front room.

“Why did you move the furniture?” Lou asked.

Cotton smiled and removed his suit coat. “Because you can’t simply listen to music, you must become one with it.” He bowed deeply to Lou. “May I have this dance, ma’am?”

Lou found herself blushing at this formal invitation. “Cotton, you’re crazy, you really are.”

Oz said, “Go ahead, Lou, you’re a good dancer.” He added, “Mom taught her.”

And they danced. Awkwardly at first, but then they picked up their pace and soon were spinning around the room. All smiled at the pair, and Lou found herself giggling.

Overcome with excitement, as he so often was, Oz ran to his mother’s room. “Mom, we’re dancing, we’re dancing.” And then he raced back to see some more.

Louisa was moving her hands to the music, and her foot was tapping against the floor. Diamond came up.

“Care to stroll the floor, Miss Louisa?”

She took his hands.

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