Read Online Catfish Alley by Lynne Bryant - Free Book Online

and suit pants. His shoes are black and polished shiny. I've never
seen a man with shiny shoes on before. He kneels down beside me and looks at me
over the top of his spectacles. His voice is gentle.
    "Grace, we haven't met. I am
Dr. Albert Jackson,"
he says; then he gives me his big hand to shake. I take his hand and try to
fight the tears I feel starting to form under my eyelids. "Grace," he
says, "do you think your brother might have forgotten the time, maybe gone
over to Green's for a soda pop or a piece of candy? Adelle tells me he got a
nickel for his birthday today."
    I'm so overwhelmed I start to
blubber and stutter. "I don't know, sir. He's usually on time. He knows
Mama will be upset with us if we're late. She's cooking his favorite supper
tonight and Grandma made him a cake, and we have to milk ..." I finally burst into tears and Dr.
Jackson puts his arm around my shoulders. Mrs. Jackson and Adelle are patting
me, too.
    "Don't worry, Grade,"
Adelle says. "I'm sure he'll be here soon."
    Just then there's a loud banging on
the front door. Before Dr. Jackson can reach the door, it bursts open. I hear
loud voices coming from the hall, and Adelle and I rush to see what's going on.
I get to the hall first and I take in a big gasp. Two boys, one of them
Adelle's brother and the other someone I don't know, are lunging into the
doorway with Zero barely held up between them. Bright red blood drips from a
long gash across Zero's cheek. His nose looks crooked and blood oozes from his
nostrils. One of his eyes is swollen shut and his clothes are dirty and torn.
    "Zero!" I holler, and run
to his side, trying to help the boys hold him up. "Zero, what
happened?" He looks like he's trying to say something to me, but I can't
understand him. Dr. Jackson steps in.
    "In here, boys. Get him up on
the table." Dr. Jackson looks calm and in control. I try to follow him
into the room but he stops me. "Now, Miss Grace, you just go with Adelle
and let me take care of your brother. He's going to be fine. You just go on
with Mrs. Jackson and Adelle." He eases me toward the door. The last thing
I see as Dr. Jackson closes the door is a tear running down Zero's face from
his good eye.
    Things happen in a blur after that.
I sit with Adelle in her bedroom upstairs, while Mrs. Jackson sends Junior out
to our house in their wagon to fetch Mama. I worry that Mama will be terrified
and I keep getting up and going to the window to watch for her. Mrs. Jackson
brings us some supper on a pretty tray with flowers on it. There are dishes
with flowers on them, too, and cold milk in crystal glasses. If I wasn't so
worried about Zero, I might feel like I was at a party. Adelle tries to help by
reading to me from Mr. Dickens, but I can't concentrate. Every sound out on the
street makes me jump.
    Finally, after what seems like
hours, there's a soft knock on the door and Dr. Jackson comes in and sits down
next to me on Adelle's bed.
    "Grace, your brother is going
to be fine. He took quite a beating today, but I've gotten him stitched up and
I gave him some medicine for the pain. He's asking for you. I think you better
come and see him before he goes off to sleep again."
    I follow Dr. Jackson down the stairs
and he takes me into a big white room, where Zero is lying on a narrow bed,
covered with a quilt. Dr. Jackson guides me close to the table and reaches out
to gently touch Zero's shoulder. "Zero, here's Grace."
    Zero opens that one unswollen eye
and gives me a weak smile. "Hey, Grade," he whispers. I notice his
words are all slurry. "Don't get Mama all worried now, you hear?"
    I don't know whether I'm crying
because I'm mad at him or worried about him, but I nod my head and stand there
not knowing what to do. He reaches out from under the quilt to take my hand.
"I'll be all right, Grade," he says. "Don't you worry ...,"
and he drops my hand as he dozes off.
    We hear a horse's steps and the
crunch of gravel outside and Dr. Jackson walks over to the window and