Returning to Hattie by Lynn Ellen

Author:Lynn Ellen [Ellen, Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Goose Lake Press
Published: 2024-01-12T00:00:00+00:00

“So, Charles. You new in town?”

“I been here a few weeks. I’m hopin’ to find me some work.”

“Where you stayin’?”

“At Mrs. Davis boardinghouse uptown.”

“So, you moved here all alone?”

“Yeah. Things was tough back home. Too many mouths for Ma and Pa to feed. It was time to get out and make my own way.”

“How many mouths were there?”

“Ten, plus Ma and Pa.”

“Lordy, that a big family. I got no sisters or brothers. Just me, Mother and Father.”

The blazing hot rays of the sun were offering them no mercy as they strolled down the dirt road.

“Let’s sit over yonder,” said Hattie, pointing to a large live oak tree with long spider-like limbs. Large clumps of gray-green moss hung from the tree’s branches, adding more protection from the scorching sun.

They found a flat area between several massive tree roots and sat down next to each other.

“Ahhh . . . this feel better,” said Charles as he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Hattie smiled and looked toward the sky through the thick, tangled branches overhead as bright rays of sunlight danced over her flawless, cocoa complexion.

Before Charles fell any deeper under her spell, there was something he needed to know.

“So, what ’bout Willie?”

Hattie looked disturbed. She turned slowly toward Charles and responded curtly. “What ’bout Willie?”

“Are you gone marry him?”

“Marry him?” she chuckled. “Where you hear that?”

“Miss Sallie.”

“Don’t you believe what she say. She just an old gossip.”

“She told me you betrothen to him.”

“That what Mother and Father would like to think. My mother and Willie’s mother been plannin’ this for, well, ever since we was born. And now, since he come into some money . . .‍”

“And how he do that?”

“He work somewhere in the city. Somethin’ to do with money. Like bankin’. Yeah, I think he a banker in the city.”

“So, he ain’t never told you where he work?”

“Not in so many words. Women don’t need to know where the money come from, he say. Only need to know how to spend it.”

“Do you love him, Hattie?”

She was silent for a moment, not sure how to respond to Charles’s question. “Of course I don’t. But Mother and Father . . .‍”

Charles looked Hattie straight in the eye. “You need to follow you own heart. Find a man for youself. Not one that you mama and papa picked out for you.”

“You know, Charles. You absolutely right!”

Hattie moved close to Charles and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I never felt this way ‘bout any girl before I met you,” said Charles.

“I feel it too, Charles. We only just met and—‍” Charles pulled Hattie close and kissed her gently.

A large shadow appeared behind him, and Hattie let out a scream as she opened her eyes.

Charles turned around quickly to find Hattie’s father hovering angrily above them. He reached down, grabbed Charles by his shirt, and pulled him up from the ground.

“Father!” screamed Hattie. “Don’t hurt him. We was just—‍”

“I seen what you was doin’.” He pushed Charles with a mighty force that sent him flying to the ground.

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.