Clay and Macie Logan, Ben Cutler, Amos Knotts, and Earl Davis had all died. Some young, some old. Ben Cutler was only twenty and Earl Davis was in his seventies. Amos Knotts left a wife and a whole bunch of young’uns. They’d be going to a lot of funerals in the next few days and the moonshine poisoning was the main topic of conversation in the small community for months and months. Some said they’d bought some, but thank God, hadn’t drunk any of it yet. They were the lucky ones. It sure cut down on the sale of moonshine, though, and several people quit drinking it altogether, unless they ran the still themselves. And the night five people were poisoned was brought up periodically for years afterwards.
The man who sold them the poison liquor was never found. The sheriff from over in Hamlin looked and looked for the man, but could get few leads on him. Clive told Dorie that he hoped the man drunk some of it himself and rotted in hell. Dorie said something about forgiving them that sin against us and Clive countered with, “How can ya fergive somebody that killed yer only brother?” And Dorie didn’t say anything else about them killing themselves by drinking the stuff.
Aunt Dorie had some beans and cornbread cooked and it tasted real good. Shannon ran the bread all around the bowl, sopping up what little bean soup was stuck to it. There was all kinds of dishes on the table, but they just wanted beans. They didn’t know what all that fancy food was except the chicken and Clay, Jr. eat a piece of that. They got two glasses of milk to drink with a piece of pie and that was a treat. They only got one glass at home, but Uncle Clive had two cows. Shannon thought they was doing good, getting cake last night and pie tonight. She could have had cake tonight, too, but the pie was special because it had browned egg white icing on top. One of the ladies she’d seen at church said it was lemon meringue pie, but Shannon didn’t know what that was. She just knew it was good.
That night, they slept in the big bed in their own bedroom. It was strange sleeping in there away from Uncle Clive and Aunt Dorie. They’d always slept in the same room with Mommy and Daddy, but maybe that was because they only had the one room. Aunt Dorie even had what she called a sitting room with no bed in it at all. Just a couch and two chairs and tables and little pretty things setting all around on doilies that they weren’t allowed to touch.
That sitting room was full earlier that evening as people found out about Clay and Macie and all the women from the church come by with dishes of food. They all cried and hugged Clive and Dorie and then they’d look down at Clay, Jr. and Shannon with sad faces and put their hands on their heads, patting them as if to make them feel better. It seemed everybody passed around little Nate till he got fussy and Dorie took him and fed him another bottle.
They laid there and whispered to each other about Mommy and Daddy going to live with Jesus, neither of them understanding just what had happened and why they had to go. “Why can’t we live in the cabin, Clay? We can take care o’ Nate.”
“They’s more to it an ’at, Shan. We can’t milk the cow, and butcher the hog. I helped Daddy, but I never done none o’ ’at stuff by myself.” A picture of his Daddy unhitching the horse the day before entered his troubled mind and he turned over and buried his face in the pillow, crying softly to himself.
Uncle Clive came to the door and told them to hush up and get to sleep, that they had a big day ahead of them tomorrow. That only served to get them wound up again, and it took them a long time to get to sleep.
The next few days were like shadows to Shannon. She faded in and out, not knowing exactly what was going on. She just did what any grown up told her to do. Holding her Aunt Dorie’s hand, she walked up the hill to where Uncle Clive and some other men had cleared off a space of ground up in the woods and dug some holes. It was right next to where Mommy had said their big brother was buried, but she couldn’t say for sure if it was a brother or a sister. Wasn’t big enough to tell, she said. Shannon kept asking her mommy questions about that baby that mommy didn’t know was a boy or a girl, but Mommy always started crying. It made her feel bad, so she didn’t ask no more. Shannon just knew it was a boy and tried to tell her mommy that, but mommy wouldn’t listen.
She was glad her mommy and daddy was gonna be close to the cabin and next to their big brother. She understood that Mommy and Daddy were in those boxes that Uncle Clive and some men from down in Big Bend let down in the ground with ropes. She understood when Mrs. Waters explained to her that only their bodies were there; that their souls were in Heaven with Jesus. Shannon knew she had a soul. She could hear it beating in her sometimes if she got real scared or if she run real fast. Mommy and Daddy’s souls had to be with Jesus because neither one of them was beating. She’d listened for the thump-thump down at the church when Uncle Clive held them up so they could hug Mommy and Daddy goodbye. They sure was in some pretty boxes. Shannon hoped when Jesus come and took her soul she’d have a pretty bed like Mommy did.
Clay, Jr. pitched a fit and didn’t want them to put Mommy and Daddy in the ground. He kicked out at one man from the funeral home and Uncle Clive threatened to whup him good if he didn’t stop carrying on so. They had to put them in the ground! Jesus done come and took their souls and when that happened you had to go in the ground! Evidently Clay didn’t believe Mrs. Waters about just their bodies being there and their souls being with Jesus, but Clay, Jr. straightened right up when Uncle Clive threatened to whup him. Maybe if he didn’t, Jesus would come and take his soul, too, and he’d have to be put in a box in the ground, like Mommy and Daddy. And he shore didn’t want that. It scared him to death! How could he get out? Clay made real sure he was good as gold the rest of the day, his little heart racing if he thought he might have displeased his Uncle Clive.
After all the singing that just made people cry that much harder, and the preaching, Aunt Dorie took Shannon by the hand, and Uncle Clive took Clay’s hand and was carrying little Nate. They were taking them back to their house around the ridge and Shannon looked back at the cabin sitting there without nobody to live in it.
“Don’t worry, little cabin. I’ll be back as soon as they let me. I won’t leave you all by yourself.” Trusting her uncle and aunt, as any small child would, her little legs swung back and forth as the horse pulled the wagon up the rutted lane toward two big long black cars the likes of which Shannon or Clay, Jr. had never seen. But Mommy and Daddy got to ride in them cars in those boxes, so they figured they were something pretty special. Maybe you got to ride in them when you was going up to Heaven.
When they reached the top of the hill, Uncle Clive went over and talked to the men that was driving them big long cars, and shook each of their hands. Clay and Shannon watched them talking and then waved goodbye to the men as they started them cars down toward Big Bend. Uncle Clive turned the horse and wagon back toward his place, taking all of them away from the cabin and to his house where they’d be livin’ from now on.
Chapter 4 Jewel Learns the Tragic News
“Matilda! The mail come! Bring it here. I’m polishin’ my toenails.” Jewel Howser yelled at the top of her voice, but still that good for nothing maid didn’t hear her or acted like she didn’t. She’d just been up there and Jewel knew she couldn’t have got far. Had just started down the stairs after finishing up cleaning Bull’s bedroom. “Matilda! Bring me that mail or I’ll tell Bull you didn’t do like I said!” Jewel threatened to tell on her, but she knew it wouldn’t do no good to tell Bull nothing about his precious Tilda. And Bull was the only one allowed to call her Tilda. Since Bull was gone most of the time, the tall, grey haired, stout woman run the place. Jewel didn’t stand a chance against her with Matilda treating her like a little kid all the time.
Matilda heard her the first time. She just liked to get that young’un in an uproar. She turned real red in the face and the curls in her dyed blonde hair come all undone where she shook her head