Torrent Falls by Jan Watson

Author:Jan Watson [Watson, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Historical, FICTION / Religious
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2010-12-05T05:00:00+00:00

January passed slowly, each day as dull as dishwater. Just-laundered clothes froze on the line as soon as Copper hung them there, and every Monday evening she hauled shirts and overalls, skirts and shirtwaists, linens and long drawers into the house and stacked them like kindling beside the cookstove to thaw.

Darcy fetched jar after jar of green beans, corn, and tomatoes from the cellar. She kept blackberry jam or apple butter on the table at all times. One morning she brought up pear butter, and Copper recounted the day she’d found the ripe pears and how John had saved her from the feral hog. Darcy never tired of the story. Sitting at the kitchen table, spreading pear butter on her biscuit, Copper ate that summer day and licked her lips.

When they tired of cured pork, Dimmert and John went hunting. Fried squirrel in gravy and crispy brown rabbit tasted extra good on cold days. On special occasions, Copper made chicken and dumplings; it was Lilly’s favorite. Copper’s also, but she daren’t take many hens for the stewpot. Eggs were too valuable. And then there was Mazy’s creamy milk to round out their menu.

One memorable morning, Darcy brought in a whole hog’s head and some sausage that Dimmert had traded a basket of potatoes for. It was late for killing hogs, but the neighbor who traded for the potatoes didn’t have a choice. The hog had managed to strangle itself trying to reach an ear of corn dropped outside its pen. Copper doubted he’d get the hams and shoulders to cure, but Darcy was pleased to get the head. She was determined to pickle the ears and turn the rest into mincemeat. Copper was not fond of either, but if Darcy hankered for pickled pig’s ears and mincemeat pie, she was game.

Lilly Gray stood on a chair at the kitchen table watching as Darcy lifted the lid from a large blue-speckled pan. The hog grinned hazily from under a length of cheesecloth. Lilly stared, then screamed. Copper barely caught the chair as it fell backward. Lilly screamed again, jumped to the floor, and ran from the room, shutting the bedroom door behind her.

Looking stunned, Darcy covered up the lolling head. With a flick of her wrist, Copper indicated for Darcy to remove it. Following Lilly, she knelt on the floor and peered under the bed. She was under there along with her dolly. “Lilly, come on out.”

“No! Piggy eat Dolly!”

“Piggy’s gone, baby. He can’t hurt you.” Copper stretched out to grab Lilly’s arm.

Lilly was faster and scooted to the far corner. Her little chin trembled as she clutched her doll tight. “Bad, bad piggy.”

Copper slid under the bed to comfort her. “Honey, don’t you know Mama would never let anything hurt you or Dolly?”

Lilly was not mollified. “Dolly wants Dimm.”

“But he’s working.”

If there had been more room under the bed, Lilly would have let go in a full-blown tantrum. Her face threatened like a quickly brewing summer storm, and she opened her mouth to scream.

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