Read Online Dovey Coe by Frances O'Roark Dowell - Free Book Online Page B

politician. A few of the younger girls got right fluttery, chirping out, “Well, hey there, Parnell,” as he passed. I seen Parnell wink at a few of them, and they liked to never stop giggling.
    Caroline give Parnell a wave, and a couple girls sitting next to her on the steps scooted over to make Parnell room. He sat down next to Caroline like a king taking his throne.
    â€œYou know what I heard Fetzer Hall tell my daddy?” Wilson asked me, nodding over to where Parnell was making a fuss over my mama’s fried chicken.
    â€œWhat’s that?” I asked, relieved to be getting a conversation going instead of just sitting there looking fancy.
    Wilson leaned over close to me. “He said a bunch of them were up to Buddy Webb’s a-drinking Friday night, and Parnell was there, too, just throwing whiskey down his throat like it were water. Well, in wanders old Cypress Terrell, just to get in from the weather, is what Fetzer told my daddy. Cypress weren’t going to make trouble for no one.”
    I nodded my head.
    â€œWell, Parnell starts saying things to Cypress,” Wilson continued. “First just conversational type sayings, like, ‘There’s a whole lotta thunder out there tonight, ain’t there, Cypress,’ like that. But then he starts getting real mean, saying folks like Cypress and his mama ought to just wander off into the woods and get lost and stop being such a burden on society. Fetzer said Parnell went so far as to take off his belt like he was going to beat Cypress with it, but Buddy got aholt of him, and some of the other fellers got Cypress out of there.”
    I looked at Parnell over there on the steps, talking gay as could be with Caroline and them other girls, and felt a chill of fear in me. How a man could seem so nice and neighborly on the outside and be up to no good on the inside, well, it made me wonder about everybody in the world.
    Folks started making their way over to the barn once they heard Gaither and Luther tuning up their fiddles. Gaither and Luther started up with “Little Red Rooster,” then played a few more numbers before folks convinced Daddy to do the calling for a dance. That got about everybody out on the floor except for a few of the older folks. Even me and Wilson got in the swing of it, do-si-doing and bowing to our partners.
    I guess the playing went on for right about an hour when Gaither and Luther said they was going to take themselves a break. Most folks leaned against the wall to catch their breath and sent their little ones to fetch them a glass of lemonade. A few of the men stepped outside the barn to smoke. Wilson asked me if I felt like taking a walk to cool down, and I saw that as being a fine idea, so we headed over toward the pond down to the north end of the house.
    What happened next surprised me so, I barely known what to make of it. Wilson reached overand grabbed my hand real casual, like it were the most natural thing in the world for him to do. I looked around to make sure no one was watching, and when I figured no one seen us, I let myself relax into the feel of his hand holding mine. I ain’t ashamed to say I right enjoyed it.
    We stood at the edge of the pond for some time not saying anything, just letting our hands swing back and forth. The crickets chirped, and the frogs talked back and forth to each other. I could see a trace of a silver moon in the darkening sky, and I smelled the sweet scent of the honeysuckle growing in a tangle over to the house. Finally, Wilson cleared his throat a bit and said, “You look real pretty tonight, Dovey.”
    I give his hand a little squeeze and said, “So do you. I mean, handsome. You look right handsome, Wilson Brown.”
    I could feel my face going red from me telling Wilson Brown he looked pretty. But he didn’t seem to mind none. In fact, he leaned over and kissed me real light on the lips. I couldn’t believe how soft his mouth was, like a