Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith

Author:Lee Smith [Smith, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Historical, Adult
ISBN: 9781439508817
Publisher: Penguin
Published: 1988-01-01T05:00:00+00:00

When Rush sings, you can see what a handsome man he used to be. Then he sang my verse.

When I see your babe a-laughing

It makes me think of your sweet face

But when I see your babe a-crying

It makes me think of my disgrace.

Then Violet took a dive and started tickling me, and we rolled over and over on the quilt laughing. I do not feel too ruint when I am with Violet and Rush who have been through everything.

Then Oakley came by in a clean blue shirt, I bet he’d been doing something down at the church again. He never says much about going, but he’s there every time they crack the door, he is faithful as the day is long. He is not a bit like Sam Russell Sage though, believe you me! And it don’t seem to bother him that I won’t go. Nothing I do seems to bother Oakley. In fact he is so nice that sometimes I want to hit him in the face, it’s the same way I felt about him years ago.

Ever since I told Oakley I am not his girl, he has not said another word about it, or tried to kiss me again, or anything. But he does come by here right much even though Beulah is not always nice to him. Sometimes he brings things to Joli, a plastic brush or candy or a little book. She just loves Oakley. Sometimes he brings things to me, like Colliers Magazine. He still lives with his brother Ray in the bunkhouse and does not seem to want any more out of life than he has. He never asks me to go anyplace with him, and if he knows when I go with Franklin—he must know!—he never says a word.

Franklin does not come here ever, he sends me word where to meet him, or sometimes he will come by the store. Oakley never mentions Franklin, so I don’t either. Why should I? But I am caught between a rock and a hard place, in all truth. Franklin is not any good and I know it. Oakley is real good but I dont love him. I don’t. And anyway I can’t quit on Franklin while Beulah and Curtis are still here, they still think Franklin is somebody for me to marry, and I am still beholden. Thank God they will be moving to Huntington soon.

Although, Geneva, just between you and me—I don’t know how they will fare over there. Curtis is a good steady man, but Beulah wants so much that I don’t know if there is enough in the world to satisfy her, I honestly don’t. And also she is so scared, and ashamed of herself someway. Last week she got invited up to Mrs. Bolin’s house to make an alter cloth for the church, this is the kind of thing that is so important to Beulah. But then she fretted and fretted so much that she would say the wrong thing, or do something wrong, that she ended up flat on her back with a sick headache, and missed it all.

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