Read Online The Dark-Thirty by Patricia McKissack - Free Book Online
Authors: Patricia McKissack
Ads: Link
Jo-Beth at the sandbox. “I’ll never get a brother.”
“Well, my mama is big as a refrigerator,” said Arthur Lee. “They say she’ll be going to the hospital soon. If she brings home another baby boy, you can have him. I got four brothers, and that’s enough!”
JoBeth added, “I saw in a magazine that you can adopt a baby in a faraway country for pennies a day.”
No, Josie decided. “I want a brother that’s the same as me.”
“You don’t always get what you want,” Arthur Lee said. “Look at me.”
“When my mother goes to the hospital, I’m going along to make sure they choose a brother.”
Summer was passing quickly, and Mama was as thin as ever, snacking on carrot sticks. How could she get fat that way? Just when Josie was about to give up hope, she overheard Miz Annie and Miz Charlene talking about a conjure woman who had just moved to town.
“Reckon she could do something to change this streak of bad luck I been having?” Miz Annie asked.
Miz Charlene answered, “Yes, honey. I bet she could. She fixed me a salve that really helped my arthritis. And didn’t charge me but a dozen eggs.”
Their talk gave Josie an idea. Maybe the conjure woman could fix her up with a brother! That night Josie went to sleep thinking about what she and her new brother were going to do.
At first light Josie slipped out of her house. She gathered a basket of grapes to use as payment. Within the hour she was standing outside the conjure woman’s house. A sign said: MADAM ZINNIA—SPELLS, POTIONS, AND SALVES—ALL WELCOME .
What did it look like inside? Josie wondered.Would there be bubbling pots and glowing bottles?
“Come in.” A very attractive woman opened the door before Josie could knock. “I’ve been expecting you,” she said, touching the side of Josie’s face. “I see you’ve got a problem? Come, Josie, let Madam Zinnia help you.”
Josie was impressed. Madam Zinnia knew her name and even knew she was coming. The girl stepped inside the house and looked around. There were no smoking skulls with cinder-hot eyes. No bats hanging from the ceiling, no bubbling jars of weird-looking stuff. In fact, the living room looked like a picture from a home magazine. It was a sunny room, cheerfully decorated with fresh-cut flowers and interesting whatnots.
Madam Zinnia matched her house in style and disposition. Dressed in a crisp yellow-and-white checked shirtwaist and white heels, she looked like one of the saleswomen down at Hopperman’s Dry Goods Store.
“Come have some fresh-squeezed orange juice and a just-from-the-oven biscuit,” the woman said, ushering Josie into the kitchen.
This is all so
normal
, Josie thought.
Madam Zinnia poured two glasses of juice and took a seat at the kitchen table. Josie asked,“Would you please conjure me up a brother? I asked my mother to go to the hospital, but she’s still skinny.”
“Oh, chile, you can’t go round ordering brothers like you do hot dogs at the ballpark.”
“I know, but I’ve waited all summer.”
“I see,” Madam Zinnia said, giving an understanding nod. “A brother may not be what you really want. I know, because Madam has one. Oh, what a rascal,” she said, fanning her face with her pocket handkerchief. “Let Madam conjure you up a fine pet instead.”
“My brother will be different.”
“Well, a brother you shall have.” And closing her eyes tightly, Madam Zinnia said some words Josie didn’t know. Then she gave the girl a formula to conjure a brother. “You must do just as I say. Don’t change a thing. Find a peach tree twig. Don’t strip the leaves. Slide it under your bed from the left side. Then at exactly one minute after midnight, climb into bed from the right side and go to sleep saying whatever name you want to give your brother. Come morning, you’ll have a beautiful baby brother.”
Josie hurried home and followed the conjure instructions precisely—well, almost. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t
“Well, my mama is big as a refrigerator,” said Arthur Lee. “They say she’ll be going to the hospital soon. If she brings home another baby boy, you can have him. I got four brothers, and that’s enough!”
JoBeth added, “I saw in a magazine that you can adopt a baby in a faraway country for pennies a day.”
No, Josie decided. “I want a brother that’s the same as me.”
“You don’t always get what you want,” Arthur Lee said. “Look at me.”
“When my mother goes to the hospital, I’m going along to make sure they choose a brother.”
Summer was passing quickly, and Mama was as thin as ever, snacking on carrot sticks. How could she get fat that way? Just when Josie was about to give up hope, she overheard Miz Annie and Miz Charlene talking about a conjure woman who had just moved to town.
“Reckon she could do something to change this streak of bad luck I been having?” Miz Annie asked.
Miz Charlene answered, “Yes, honey. I bet she could. She fixed me a salve that really helped my arthritis. And didn’t charge me but a dozen eggs.”
Their talk gave Josie an idea. Maybe the conjure woman could fix her up with a brother! That night Josie went to sleep thinking about what she and her new brother were going to do.
At first light Josie slipped out of her house. She gathered a basket of grapes to use as payment. Within the hour she was standing outside the conjure woman’s house. A sign said: MADAM ZINNIA—SPELLS, POTIONS, AND SALVES—ALL WELCOME .
What did it look like inside? Josie wondered.Would there be bubbling pots and glowing bottles?
“Come in.” A very attractive woman opened the door before Josie could knock. “I’ve been expecting you,” she said, touching the side of Josie’s face. “I see you’ve got a problem? Come, Josie, let Madam Zinnia help you.”
Josie was impressed. Madam Zinnia knew her name and even knew she was coming. The girl stepped inside the house and looked around. There were no smoking skulls with cinder-hot eyes. No bats hanging from the ceiling, no bubbling jars of weird-looking stuff. In fact, the living room looked like a picture from a home magazine. It was a sunny room, cheerfully decorated with fresh-cut flowers and interesting whatnots.
Madam Zinnia matched her house in style and disposition. Dressed in a crisp yellow-and-white checked shirtwaist and white heels, she looked like one of the saleswomen down at Hopperman’s Dry Goods Store.
“Come have some fresh-squeezed orange juice and a just-from-the-oven biscuit,” the woman said, ushering Josie into the kitchen.
This is all so
normal
, Josie thought.
Madam Zinnia poured two glasses of juice and took a seat at the kitchen table. Josie asked,“Would you please conjure me up a brother? I asked my mother to go to the hospital, but she’s still skinny.”
“Oh, chile, you can’t go round ordering brothers like you do hot dogs at the ballpark.”
“I know, but I’ve waited all summer.”
“I see,” Madam Zinnia said, giving an understanding nod. “A brother may not be what you really want. I know, because Madam has one. Oh, what a rascal,” she said, fanning her face with her pocket handkerchief. “Let Madam conjure you up a fine pet instead.”
“My brother will be different.”
“Well, a brother you shall have.” And closing her eyes tightly, Madam Zinnia said some words Josie didn’t know. Then she gave the girl a formula to conjure a brother. “You must do just as I say. Don’t change a thing. Find a peach tree twig. Don’t strip the leaves. Slide it under your bed from the left side. Then at exactly one minute after midnight, climb into bed from the right side and go to sleep saying whatever name you want to give your brother. Come morning, you’ll have a beautiful baby brother.”
Josie hurried home and followed the conjure instructions precisely—well, almost. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t
Similar Books
