The Beans of Egypt, Maine by Carolyn Chute

Author:Carolyn Chute
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
Published: 1995-09-25T04:00:00+00:00

5

AT THE CHURCH with the square steeple there are only two men who sing well. Cole Deveau is the big one. He stands in the back with his pastel dress shirt rising and falling upon his bearlike but tuneful bellows.

Earlene Pomerleau sits with her father and grandfather in the front row. She wears a little pink, child-sized sundress, and her hair splays over her back. She smells of the hot steam iron. Her small shoulders are endearing.

Lee Pomerleau holds his face in his hands, the pain in his back and legs a dull red.

The congregation sings madly. Gram Pomerleau plays the organ, the narrow shoulders pumping, the white curls pumping, the feet in black prescription shoes running over the pedals.

Earlene’s eyes move in long, rolling waves around the room, returning over and over to the warden.

Nobody else seems to look at the warden. The congregation acts like nothing’s different. You hear a few “Praise Gods” here and there. One or two moans. Meanwhile, Cole Deveau sings hoarse and toothless. All the way from the corners of his mouth to each ear are the uncountable tiny stitches. Where are the eyes in the black-and-yellow wreckage of his face? He holds his hymnbook inches from his face.

Earlene squeezes her eyes shut. “Praise Jesus,” she says. She can feel her father jiggling his leg next to her leg.

Earlene says, “Daddy.”

He gives her a sharp look.

“Daddy,” she says.

“What?”

“I’m goin’ ta be sick.”

“Do it outdoor,” he says.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.