Homegrown by Massie Elizabeth

Author:Massie, Elizabeth [Elizabeth, Massie,]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: General Fiction
Publisher: Crossroad Press
Published: 2010-12-06T05:00:00+00:00

4

Pop Lawson had a new tie. It was navy blue, and was covered with little red embroidered names from the Home classes of 1973, '74, and '75 who had all gotten together for a Christmas banquet-reunion and decided to let Mary Pardine of '74 put her talents to work on a gift Pop would treasure and remember them by. He was wearing it today, the Sunday of the “Now It's Time To Go On Your Christmas Visit So You Better Represent Us Well” speech. From where Cooter sat at the back table with Mark and Conrad and Keith and Howard, the tie looked like the vertical slit of a cat's pupil, threaded with tiny bloodshot veins.

“Did everyone enjoy their day off from school last Thursday?” asked Pop from behind the podium. A few of the kids, mostly Cottage Fives and Sixes, offered some “yeahs.”

“Now, now,” said Pop. He leaned into the podium. He was obviously in one of his better, when-you're-happy-and-you-know-it moods. “I want to hear it! Who enjoyed their day off school because of the snow last Thursday?”

Half the Dining Hall shouted, “Yeah!” and “Me!” in a single, jumbled response. It still wasn't good enough.

Pop said, “I can't hear you.”

Cooter said, “We don't shout we'll be here all night.”

Cooter, Mark, and Keith joined the entire kid population in shouting “Yeah!” Howard sat silently, staring at Conrad. Conrad sat smiling vaguely, hands twisting around each other in his lap.

“Much better,” said Pop. He sighed deeply. His fingers crawled around to the edges of the podium until they found a comfortable spot.

“Now, there are several topics this evening, most of them pleasant.”

“Thank God,” said Keith. “We're not going to sing.”

“First of all,” Pop continued. “I want to wish everyone a very, very happy Christmas season. I want to remind everyone going on a visit to start saving clothes out from the checklist. No last minute racing around. Tomorrow morning we'll have an extra laundry run which will be ready Tuesday by suppertime. So if anything needs to be cleaned for your visits, get the bags out to the porches by 6:15. I'll be picking a few boys to get this extra load, some of you boys from Cottage One catch me after dinner if you're interested.”

Cooter nudged Conrad. “Want to, Con?”

Conrad grinned and shrugged. His fingers paused momentarily in their fumbling.

“Well, think about it,” Cooter said.

“Secondly,” Pop said. “I want to remind you as you go to your various destinations, that you are ambassadors of the Home. Consider how you behave. Exercise maturity.”

Cooter wriggled his hips in the chair and winked at Howard. “Think I can find somebody to exercise my maturity with me?”

Howard shrugged, and said nothing.

“What'cha think, Howard?” Cooter repeated.

“Sure, Cooter,” said Howard, his eyes retaining their cool. “Those girls over in Dayton are going to line up for it.”

“Don't mean girls,” said Cooter. “I meant woman. Singular.”

Pop pressed his fingers together, prayer-like. “I would hate to think that some of that itchiness from last week would come out during a visit.

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