Warrior on the Mound by Sandra W. Headen

Author:Sandra W. Headen [W., Sandra Headen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Holiday House
Published: 2024-03-05T00:00:00+00:00

I’m glad that our house feels happy again, at least. Isaac is talking and laughing and teasing me like he used to. Gran sings “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” while she makes supper. Hope smiles every time you look at her, and Papa Vee sits on the porch steps whittling and humming.

When it’s time to eat, Isaac is sleeping, and I’m disappointed he can’t be at the table with us. As soon as we’re done, me and Hope get up and rush to the back of the house, bumping into one another at the door of his sickroom.

“Gran said to let him sleep!” scolds Hope.

“Then go away and let him sleep.”

“That means you. I’ll peep in just to check on him.”

“All right.” I roll my eyes.

But I still want to be near Isaac, so I go outside and sit below the open window of his room to finish my homework. I still have to memorize that poem from Mr. Langston Hughes’s book, The Weary Blues. It’s called “Epilogue”—Miss Holmes says that’s not really a title, just a word that tells you it’s the end of the book, but he used it as one anyway.

I like this poem so much that the words come back to me easily as I whisper it to myself. It’s full of hope. I’m glad it’s not about some kind of sorrow that colored folks have to go through. Things like that weigh heavy on my heart sometimes.

After a while, I stand up and peek through the window. The room is silent and Isaac lies peaceful and still. Then I see Philly Dan come in, so I crouch down under the window again before raising my head just enough to look inside. Philly Dan’s back is to me.

“You awake, buddy?” Philly Dan kneels beside Isaac’s bed.

“Yeah.”

“Hey, man, I’m sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Can’t say it enough times.”

“Not your fault.” Isaac speaks softly.

“If I’d been on time, if I hadn’t missed the bus, none of this would’ve happened.”

“Can’t say that. There was a bunch of them.”

“It kills me to see you all busted up like this.”

“Not your fault,” Isaac says again.

“Do you forgive me?” asks Philly Dan.

“No need. We’re brothers.”

“Brothers or no, I plan to spend the rest of my life making this up to you. I’ll start with Cato—gonna give him and the Rangers some lessons on how to win their ball game. That’s what you would do if you could.”

“Yeah,” agrees Isaac. “I would.”

“I’ll teach Cato some of Satchel’s pitching tricks and give him some pointers on how to hit like Josh.”

“I want those lessons,” says Isaac.

Philly Dan lets out a hearty laugh. Can’t see Isaac, but he must be smiling.

“I’m just glad you’re all right, man.”

“Tears? Come on, Philly.”

“All right.” There’s a scrape of chair legs as Philly Dan stands. “I better let you get some rest before Gran comes in here and beats me with a broomstick.”

“She just might,” teases Isaac.

Philly Dan walks out, and I’m hoping he won’t come around to the side of the house and see me.

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.