The Sittin' Up by Shelia P. Moses

Author:Shelia P. Moses
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Penguin Group US
Published: 2014-01-08T22:00:00+00:00

FOURTEEN

Me and Pole were still peeping in the window at Mr. Bro. Wiley when we heard Papa’s truck in the yard. There was no need to run ’cause Papa would have chased us down like runaway slaves and wore our hind parts out. His limp ain’t never stopped him from chasing me when he wanted to and the Cofields gave him permission to whip Pole if she stepped out of line one inch.

“I know-know you two not-not disrespecting the dead!”

“No, we just looking at Mr. Bro. Wiley, that’s all,” Pole answered.

“Let Mr. Bro. Wiley rest-rest in peace. I ain’t-ain’t gonna tell you again,” Papa said to us as he climbed down from the truck.

“That’s right. We got to let him rest in peace, so I’m going home right now,” Pole said.

“You do that, Pole. You go-go on home and don’t come back without your folks.”

“Yes, sir,” Pole said. Papa was gonna tell on us as soon as he saw her folks. I knew it.

“Bye, Pole,” I yelled.

“Bye, Bean. I’ll be back.”

Papa didn’t say a word to Ma about me and Pole peeping in the window. Maybe he didn’t want to upset her. She didn’t look as sad. That nap did her some good. I started bathing for the sittin’ up ’cause I knew our house would be chockablock full soon enough. There had been talk all week ’bout how many folk from Occoneechee Neck and Bone Town were coming over to see Mr. Bro. Wiley. Not to mention all the folk from Rehoboth Road and Bryantown Road. I knew for sure that Cousin Braxton and Cousin Babe were coming with their daughter, Cousin Mer. Cousin Mer had three children, Coy, Barb Jean, and the youngest, Pattie Mae.

Cousin Braxton’s grandchildren never missed school because he moved out of the Low Meadows long before they was born. Mr. Bro. Wiley said Cousin Braxton was a smart man like Mr. Creecy and Mr. Gordon without all the degrees. Just common sense in his head.

“That Braxton Jones is a man,” Mr. Bro. Wiley told me and Pole.

“Why is that?” Pole asked as she always did when she wanted the long version of what Mr. Bro. Wiley was saying.

“Braxton said, ‘No grandchild of mine will miss school to sharecrop. Let the white folk keep their own children home from school,’” Mr. Bro. Wiley confided. “So Braxton purchased him a backhoe and two mules. He started to rent land from white folk and buy his own seed. That way the children didn’t have to work for nobody but him.”

“Do you think my daddy and Mr. Stanbury smart too?” Pole asked.

“Sho’ I do. They ain’t as old as Braxton. Life teached him more.”

A thousand feelings were in my heart about Cousin Braxton and all the other menfolk that Mr. Bro. Wiley told us about. I felt bad knowing how much they had suffered for us children to have a better life.

Of course Ma interrupted my thoughts.

“Bean, are you taking your bath?” she yelled from the kitchen loud enough to wake the dead.

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.