Keep Sweet by Michele Dominguez Greene

Author:Michele Dominguez Greene
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Published: 2010-07-27T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER NINE

THE SUN WAS BEGINNING TO SINK LIKE A YELLOW

ball of fire in the sky. Through the open window of the kitchen I felt the chill that crept over the desert as evening approached. I opened a can of my mother’s sweet onions and emptied them into the pot on the stove. My sisters were setting the table and bringing in the clean wash from the line. I needed to find a way to get out of the house to meet Joseph John at the barn.

“Mama, I’m thinking some mustard greens would be good with dinner tonight,” I suggested.

“We have canned onions and peas, that’s enough.”

“I think something fresh would be good, that’s all,” I pushed.

“Well, if you really want them, go on and get them. I don’t know where the others are. If they don’t come back soon I’ll have to call those girls out back and have them eat here in the main house so as not to waste anything.”

Mama was annoyed. Sister Cora and Sister Emily must have gone to visit Rita Mae and the new baby. They were always back well before sundown to begin the evening meal, but today they must have lingered.

“I’ll be right back, Mama,” I said, running out the door.

I raced toward the livestock barn where the community’s horses and cows were kept. It was just a ways outside of the center of town. Sundown was rapidly approaching, the sky shifting color to the purplish hue of twilight that made the desert look as if the hand of God Himself had painted it. The red rocks surrounding Pineridge were slowly turning into shadows. I looked over my shoulder as I drew near to the barn, making sure there was no one to see me.

I knew it was wrong to meet Joseph John alone like this, but I was so close to seeing my dream fulfilled, I just had to find out what his news was. I slipped around the side of the barn and there he was, pacing in front of the boxed doors that led into the interior. His face lit up when he saw me.

“I’m so glad you came, Alva. I have been wanting to get word to you all week. My father agreed that my dream was a revelation from God, and he’s going to speak to your father and the prophet this evening about us getting married!”

These were the words I had been waiting to hear for as long as I could remember! After years of thinking on it, dreaming of it, the time had finally come. We were going to be married! In my excitement I leaned forward into Joseph John’s arms. As my lips brushed against his, I suddenly felt a strong hand grip my collar, yanking me backward. I lost my footing and flailed, regaining it just in time to come face to face with the blazing blue eyes of Sister Cora.

My heart froze; I couldn’t find any words to say. How did she know I was here? Wendy Callers must have heard and told her, there was no other explanation.

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