stroked his arms and shoulders with her hands made him nervous, and he could not stand still.
“Quit that jumping up and down, Dude,” Jeeter said. “What ails you?”
Bessie drew her arms tighter around his waist, and smiled at him.
“You kneel down beside me and let me pray for you. You’ll do that, won’t you, Dude?”
He put his arms around her neck, and began rubbing her as she was rubbing him.
“Hell,” he said, snickering again, “I don’t give a damn if I do.”
“I knowed you would want me to pray for you, Dude,” she said. “It will help you get shed of your sins, like Jeeter did.”
They knelt down on the porch floor beside the chair. Dude continued to rub her shoulders, and Bessie kept her arms around him. Jeeter was sitting on the floor behind them, leaning against the wall of the house and waiting to hear the prayer for Dude.
“Dear God, I’m asking You to save Brother Dude from the devil and make a place for him in heaven. That’s all. Amen.”
Bessie stopped praying, but neither she nor Dude made an effort to stand up.
“Praise the Lord,” Jeeter said, “but that was a durn short prayer for a sinner like Dude.”
“Dude don’t need no more praying for. He’s just a boy, and he’s not sinful like us grown-ups is. He ain’t sinful like you is, Jeeter.”
“Well, maybe you is right,” Jeeter said, “but Dude, he cusses all the time at me and his Ma. He ain’t got no respect for none of us. Maybe that’s as it should be, but I sort of recollect the Bible saying a son shouldn’t cuss his Ma and Pa like he does other people. Nobody never told me no different, but somehow it don’t seem right for him to do that. I’ve seen him pestering Ellie May with a stick, too, and I know that ain’t right. That’s sinful, and it ought to be prayed about.”
“Dude won’t do that again,” Bessie said, stroking Dude’s hair. “He’s a fine boy, Dude is. He would make a handsome preacher, too. He’s mighty like my former husband in his younger days. I sort of feel like there ain’t much difference between them now.”
Ada twisted around to see why Dude was staying on the porch. He and Bessie were still kneeling down beside the chair, with their arms around each other.
“Dude’s sixteen years old now,” Jeeter said. “That makes him two years younger than Ellie May. Well, pretty soon he’ll be getting a wife, I reckon. All my other male children married early in life, just like the gals done. When Dude gets married, I won’t have none of my children left with me, except Ellie May. And I don’t reckon she’ll ever find a man to marry her. It’s all on account of that mouth she’s got. I been thinking I’d take her up to Augusta and get a doctor to sew up her lip. She’d marry quick enough then, because she’s got a powerful way with her, woman-like. Ain’t nothing wrong with her, excepting that slit in her lip. If it wasn’t for that, she’d been married as quick as Pearl was. Men here around Fuller all want to marry gals about eleven or twelve years old, like Pearl was. Ada, there, was just turning twelve when I married her.”
“The Lord intended all of us should be mated,” Bessie said. “He made us that way. That’s what my former husband used to say. I’d tell him that a man needs a woman, and he’d say a woman needs a man. My former husband was just like the Lord in that respect. They both believed in the same thing when it came to mating.”
“I reckon the Lord did intend for all of us to get mated,” Jeeter said, “but He didn’t take into account a woman with a slit in her mouth like Ellie May’s got. I don’t believe He done the right thing by her when He opened up her lip like that. That’s the only contrary thing I ever said about the Lord, but it’s the truth. What use is a slit like that for? You can’t spit through it, and you can’t whistle through it, now can you? It was just meanness on His part when He done that. That’s what
“Quit that jumping up and down, Dude,” Jeeter said. “What ails you?”
Bessie drew her arms tighter around his waist, and smiled at him.
“You kneel down beside me and let me pray for you. You’ll do that, won’t you, Dude?”
He put his arms around her neck, and began rubbing her as she was rubbing him.
“Hell,” he said, snickering again, “I don’t give a damn if I do.”
“I knowed you would want me to pray for you, Dude,” she said. “It will help you get shed of your sins, like Jeeter did.”
They knelt down on the porch floor beside the chair. Dude continued to rub her shoulders, and Bessie kept her arms around him. Jeeter was sitting on the floor behind them, leaning against the wall of the house and waiting to hear the prayer for Dude.
“Dear God, I’m asking You to save Brother Dude from the devil and make a place for him in heaven. That’s all. Amen.”
Bessie stopped praying, but neither she nor Dude made an effort to stand up.
“Praise the Lord,” Jeeter said, “but that was a durn short prayer for a sinner like Dude.”
“Dude don’t need no more praying for. He’s just a boy, and he’s not sinful like us grown-ups is. He ain’t sinful like you is, Jeeter.”
“Well, maybe you is right,” Jeeter said, “but Dude, he cusses all the time at me and his Ma. He ain’t got no respect for none of us. Maybe that’s as it should be, but I sort of recollect the Bible saying a son shouldn’t cuss his Ma and Pa like he does other people. Nobody never told me no different, but somehow it don’t seem right for him to do that. I’ve seen him pestering Ellie May with a stick, too, and I know that ain’t right. That’s sinful, and it ought to be prayed about.”
“Dude won’t do that again,” Bessie said, stroking Dude’s hair. “He’s a fine boy, Dude is. He would make a handsome preacher, too. He’s mighty like my former husband in his younger days. I sort of feel like there ain’t much difference between them now.”
Ada twisted around to see why Dude was staying on the porch. He and Bessie were still kneeling down beside the chair, with their arms around each other.
“Dude’s sixteen years old now,” Jeeter said. “That makes him two years younger than Ellie May. Well, pretty soon he’ll be getting a wife, I reckon. All my other male children married early in life, just like the gals done. When Dude gets married, I won’t have none of my children left with me, except Ellie May. And I don’t reckon she’ll ever find a man to marry her. It’s all on account of that mouth she’s got. I been thinking I’d take her up to Augusta and get a doctor to sew up her lip. She’d marry quick enough then, because she’s got a powerful way with her, woman-like. Ain’t nothing wrong with her, excepting that slit in her lip. If it wasn’t for that, she’d been married as quick as Pearl was. Men here around Fuller all want to marry gals about eleven or twelve years old, like Pearl was. Ada, there, was just turning twelve when I married her.”
“The Lord intended all of us should be mated,” Bessie said. “He made us that way. That’s what my former husband used to say. I’d tell him that a man needs a woman, and he’d say a woman needs a man. My former husband was just like the Lord in that respect. They both believed in the same thing when it came to mating.”
“I reckon the Lord did intend for all of us to get mated,” Jeeter said, “but He didn’t take into account a woman with a slit in her mouth like Ellie May’s got. I don’t believe He done the right thing by her when He opened up her lip like that. That’s the only contrary thing I ever said about the Lord, but it’s the truth. What use is a slit like that for? You can’t spit through it, and you can’t whistle through it, now can you? It was just meanness on His part when He done that. That’s what
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