let it thud to the ground. “This be your chopping block,” he said, as he rolled it
to the far side of the cabin. He stood it on end and hacked the blade of the axe
into it. “I give you your first lesson tomorrow.”
“I can’t wait.”
After they finished unloading, Olivia stepped into the cabin to feed the fire and then dragged herself down to the river to scrub, rinse, and wring out the laundry. Mourning – who had been studying the roof while pacing back and
forth, counting and muttering about run and rise – saw her struggling with the tub of wet clothes and hurried down to take one of the handles and help her carry
it up to the clothesline.
“You know you spose to use hot water,” he said.
“Yes, I know. I know. But I can’t –”
“All right. All right. I just be saying. No need to get riled.”
Both of them were grimy, sweaty, and exhausted. Mourning sat on one of the
stumps, watching Olivia hang the clothes on the line. When she finished, she sat
on the stump opposite him.
“Do you want me to make coffee?” she asked.
“You best sit a bit. Catch your breath.” He closed his eyes again. Then he opened them and gave her a warm smile. “You know, Livia, you been right. I gotta say. This be a good place. We gonna be all right here, like you said.”
“I hope so.”
“Farmers always got problems. Rains too much. Don’t rain enough. Too
much sun or not enough. One bad storm can wipe you out. Bugs and birds eat you out. Market go down. Seed go up. Always be things that can go wrong. But
this here be real good land. Plenty a wood and water. Lot more of it clear than I
’spected.”
“I’m glad you don’t feel like strangling me.”
“Nah. I real glad I come with you. We be ready to put in some corn by the last
of the month. Then wheat and some hay. We gotta clear them fields up and there
be plenty of sweat in it, but like you said, we got us a good start. A real good start. You can get some vegetables in pretty quick. Fine place for your plot right
over there.” He nodded toward the right side of the cabin. “Almost flat and plenty a sun. We start keeping the team there at night. Let them lay pies on that
soil for a few days and then you turn it over. Plant you some cabbage and peas
and onions and turnips and carrots. We be eatin’ fine by the end a summer. Just
look at you – all set up your first day out, cookin’ over your own fireplace, hangin’ clothes on your own line, like you been doin’ it all your life.”
Vegetable garden. She wanted to groan. She hadn’t thought of that. What she
said was, “You don’t have to sound so surprised. I told you I could.”
“Long as you know you spose to boil the laundry,” he teased and she smiled.
Every inch of her body ached to the bone and her hands were covered with
brown streaks of blood. Perhaps worst of all was the way she smelled. She
hadn’t known it was possible for a girl to smell that bad.
“Ain’t so many white women what ain’t dirt poor gonna do what you done
today. You all right, Livia.”
She felt her face flush and realized she was more comfortable with him acting
ornery. She was used to that.
“Well, I never had any doubt that you’d be all right.” She got up. “I’m going
to put the bread in. I’ve been heating the lid like you said.”
