Read Online Roseflower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Jackie Lee Miles
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he kept. My favorite was Colonel Corn. He pushed all the others outa his way to get the corn. He was a real hog, that one. Right fine pig, he was. I liked him best ever since he won a prize at the fair the year before and Mr. Hawkins let me stand a'side him for the pictures.
We took them hog parts home. Come Sunday, Mama fixed us a fine dinner. We had black-eyed peas we left cooking in the pot whilst we went off to church. When we got back Mama made grits and ham hock gravy. We had biscuits and butter and some of MeeMaw's rhubarb jam we'd been saving from before she died. It was a mighty fine spread we had us that day. Lexie and Melvin come over with the babies. It was like a Thanksgiving and Christmas banquet and here it was just a regular Sunday after church when we sat down to eat it.
I sure enough enjoyed that good food. Mama roasted the ham with brown sugar and pecans on top like MeeMaw taught her to do. It was my favorite. I ate slice after slice of that pork roast; it about melted in my mouth. I ate 'til my belly nearly hurt something awful, which I hoped weren't a sin, but probably was.
I got to thinking how good pigs was to eat, which made me kinda sad 'cause they was so cute. That made me think about Colonel Corn, and I remembered the last time I seen him. It was right before Christmas when we got that cold spell that surprised us with snow. I never seen snow before. I never seen Colonel Corn again, neither. Mr. Hawkins butchered a hog that week it snowed. Good golly almighty! I knew right then we done ate Colonel Corn. I didn't sleep too good that night. I seen his snout a twitching and his pitiful eyes just a blinking at me. I tossed and turned in my bed. Finally 'bout dawn, I swore I'd never eat pork again if he'd just forgive me and let me git on with my life. I figured it was the least I could do, since I ate more of him than anyone else. In the morning 'fore school I told Mama about who we ate and how bad I felt.
"Oh, honey," she said, "he's in hog heaven by now, so don't you worry none about Colonel Corn."
I hoped she was right 'cause I sure needed my rest. The mark on the wall showed I'd growed another inch, and all that growing wears a body out for sure. After that I counted on that hog being happy wherever pig heaven was, and I figured if 'n he wasn't, 'least he musta forgived me 'cause I didn't have no more trouble sleeping after that.
As a matter of fact, about that time it seemed like everything was going real fine. Ray was being so nice to us, my mama and me. I was getting real happy about having a stepdaddy like him.
It was spring the year I was almost nine. Carolee and me was helping her daddy with the plowing, following along one afternoon, picking up big branches a storm blowed down from the trees nearby.
"That's real fine work, girls," Mr. Thompson said. "Climb on up here. You can ride the rest a' the way." There was only a handful a' rows left to plow.
"I gotta get home, Mr. Thompson," I said. "Ray's takin' my mama and me to the picture show tonight." I was real excited. It was like a date. We was fixin' to get hamburgers and stuff 'fore it started. I stopped to see Lexie and the babies on the way home. That Little Irl was a handful. He was already climbing out of the crib and him not even a year old. Alice, that's what they called Katherine Alice, she couldn't climb good yet. She was a little bit younger than Irl, her being born last, so she wan't as good as him. He about showed her up in everything. But that little Alice, she just loved that Irl to pieces, I'm tellin' ya'. She followed him around everywhere, laughing and reaching out for him. Melvin and Lexie only had money for one crib, so the babies slept together, but I don't think they woulda slept apart, nohow. So being poor and only having that one crib suited them fine.
"Lori Jean, honey," Lexie said. "How'd you like to watch the babies for a while
We took them hog parts home. Come Sunday, Mama fixed us a fine dinner. We had black-eyed peas we left cooking in the pot whilst we went off to church. When we got back Mama made grits and ham hock gravy. We had biscuits and butter and some of MeeMaw's rhubarb jam we'd been saving from before she died. It was a mighty fine spread we had us that day. Lexie and Melvin come over with the babies. It was like a Thanksgiving and Christmas banquet and here it was just a regular Sunday after church when we sat down to eat it.
I sure enough enjoyed that good food. Mama roasted the ham with brown sugar and pecans on top like MeeMaw taught her to do. It was my favorite. I ate slice after slice of that pork roast; it about melted in my mouth. I ate 'til my belly nearly hurt something awful, which I hoped weren't a sin, but probably was.
I got to thinking how good pigs was to eat, which made me kinda sad 'cause they was so cute. That made me think about Colonel Corn, and I remembered the last time I seen him. It was right before Christmas when we got that cold spell that surprised us with snow. I never seen snow before. I never seen Colonel Corn again, neither. Mr. Hawkins butchered a hog that week it snowed. Good golly almighty! I knew right then we done ate Colonel Corn. I didn't sleep too good that night. I seen his snout a twitching and his pitiful eyes just a blinking at me. I tossed and turned in my bed. Finally 'bout dawn, I swore I'd never eat pork again if he'd just forgive me and let me git on with my life. I figured it was the least I could do, since I ate more of him than anyone else. In the morning 'fore school I told Mama about who we ate and how bad I felt.
"Oh, honey," she said, "he's in hog heaven by now, so don't you worry none about Colonel Corn."
I hoped she was right 'cause I sure needed my rest. The mark on the wall showed I'd growed another inch, and all that growing wears a body out for sure. After that I counted on that hog being happy wherever pig heaven was, and I figured if 'n he wasn't, 'least he musta forgived me 'cause I didn't have no more trouble sleeping after that.
As a matter of fact, about that time it seemed like everything was going real fine. Ray was being so nice to us, my mama and me. I was getting real happy about having a stepdaddy like him.
It was spring the year I was almost nine. Carolee and me was helping her daddy with the plowing, following along one afternoon, picking up big branches a storm blowed down from the trees nearby.
"That's real fine work, girls," Mr. Thompson said. "Climb on up here. You can ride the rest a' the way." There was only a handful a' rows left to plow.
"I gotta get home, Mr. Thompson," I said. "Ray's takin' my mama and me to the picture show tonight." I was real excited. It was like a date. We was fixin' to get hamburgers and stuff 'fore it started. I stopped to see Lexie and the babies on the way home. That Little Irl was a handful. He was already climbing out of the crib and him not even a year old. Alice, that's what they called Katherine Alice, she couldn't climb good yet. She was a little bit younger than Irl, her being born last, so she wan't as good as him. He about showed her up in everything. But that little Alice, she just loved that Irl to pieces, I'm tellin' ya'. She followed him around everywhere, laughing and reaching out for him. Melvin and Lexie only had money for one crib, so the babies slept together, but I don't think they woulda slept apart, nohow. So being poor and only having that one crib suited them fine.
"Lori Jean, honey," Lexie said. "How'd you like to watch the babies for a while
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