“I give you an order, son!” shouted Mister Harrison through clenched teeth. “An order, you hear me?”

The other man rushed toward Mister Harrison and tackled him. The three men rolled in the dust together until Mister Harrison was on top of one of the men. But before he could take a swing, Vern handed Baby Ruth to Paul and strode toward the men with a calm gait. Vern picked up Harrison with both hands. He lifted the man’s body high above his head.

Onlookers who had started to gather wore big eyes at the giant who held Mister Harrison in the air. Vern walked slowly toward a barn, holding Harrison with massive arms. Paul had never seen such a display of strength.

Vern set the man on the ground easily. He straightened the man’s collar. Then he glared at Harrison and said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”

Paul and Vern took the children and Eulah and left.

Thirty
Heartbreak

It was a magnificent Saturday. The crickets were making such a loud noise it seemed as though they were singing. The tavern at Cowikee’s was empty, and so were the rooms. The girls reclined on the porch, listening to the tranquilizing sounds of the piney forest.

Then came the sound of tires on gravel.

A chrome-fendered car rushed into the drive, and the doors flew open. A woman, a sophisticated woman with pearls on and matching earrings, jumped out. Her hair was done. Her shoes matched her green dress. The woman walked onto Cowikee’s back porch uninvited and unannounced. Her shoes made loud noises on the floorboards, like a log drum.

And she had children with her. One child was balanced on her hip. The other, a toddler, was standing beside her, holding the woman’s hand. The woman looked out of place on a porch like this. The girls, barefoot, wearing silk robes, became uncomfortable.

Helen approached the woman first. The woman, however, did not move or give Helen a smile. She only cut Helen off before she could ask anything.

“I’m looking for Rachel,” the woman said.

The girls stiffened. They stabbed cigarettes into the coffee tin filled with sand and looked at each other. One by one they stood and wandered into their rooms.

“Okay,” said Helen. “Just calm down. What’s this about?”

The woman’s face was not getting calmer, but red. She adjusted the child on her hip and said, “I am calm. I want to see Rachel. Please.”

Helen didn’t move her body. She only nodded toward Marigold. “Go inside and get Rachel.”