June knew and was just as glad. You remember, don’t you, that your parents had
separate bedrooms? She’d lost her interest in that part of marriage. Ever since that little brother of yours, the one who died, what was it they called him? Jason
Lee, I believe. Well, after he was taken from her, she never welcomed Seborn between her sheets again. It was so hard on your father. Losing his son and then
as good as losing his wife. You were still a tiny thing when he made that trip to
Carlton. After that he started going out for his card-playing nights. Before he left
he’d go in and sit on the edge of Nola June’s bed, ask her if she didn’t want him
to stay home. She’d say, ‘Why no Seborn, you go. I want you to go. You mustn’t
be trapped here with me all the time.’”
Olivia and Mrs. Place sat in the quiet room, listening to the rocking chair creak.
“But that don’t mean I’m wrong about him always trying to do the right
thing,” Mrs. Place said. “He never thought of keeping company with me as a sin.
If he had, he wouldn’t a done it. He wouldn’t a done anything to hurt your
mother. He made sure his sweet Nola June had everything she wanted and needed and didn’t think the few hours a week he spent with me had anything to
do with the rest of his life. And they didn’t, Olivia. They really didn’t. You can’t
rob a person of something they don’t want.” Mrs. Place stopped for a moment,
her eyes on Olivia.
“I’ll tell you one thing, your mamma never crossed the street when she saw
me coming, the way them other women do. She always gave me a smile and said
hullo, sort of shy and embarrassed. I’ll tell you what I thought. I thought she knew her husband had a difficult life and, having a kind heart like she did, she
was grateful he managed to find a little comfort with me. Helped her feel like less of a burden. Not that I thought she spelt it out like that … them are the kinds
of things a person don’t put into words. Not even in their own head. We just feel
them deep inside. Now, I don’t expect you to believe that . . .”
Olivia blinked. “Actually, I think I do. I’m not angry with you, if that’s what
you think.” Her gaze returned to the floor and her voice trailed off. The faintest
thread of memory had begun weaving itself into her thoughts. She heard a
woman’s voice. Was it her mother’s? Who else could it belong to? The voice
was saying to Avis, “No need to go telling anyone about your father’s Saturday
night poker games. That’s not anyone’s business but ours.”
“He did his best.” Mrs. Place sighed and leaned forward. “Look, I’m sorry I
opened my big mouth and now you got all this on your mind, when what you
oughta be thinking about is your own situation.”
Olivia looked away and shrugged.
“The last thing you want is my opinion, but I’m giving it to you anyway.
You’d best stay here with me till you get the curse. Then that very day you can
prance home with a peaceful mind. And if you don’t get it, well, your family never has to know about that. I can take you to one of those places, say you’re
my niece.”
She paused and waited for a response, but Olivia went on staring at her toes.
“Or, if you wanted,” Mrs. Place continued, “you could just stay on here. Time
come, I’ll take you to some town where they got a good doctor or midwife. We
can stay in a hotel while we wait for the baby to come. Have us a little vacation.
