Listen To Me Honey (4 page)

“I
fell into it and stayed in a hole all night. You need to get a new
mattress,” Amanda told her.

Tansy grinned as she hunted the
long handled turner out of a drawer. “I reckon ya sleep at home on
a bed that's hard as a board.”

“Yes. I didn't know there was any other kind.”

“Not
going to happen around here. That mattress is stuffed with
feathers. It's supposed to be soft. Ya will get used to it. Trust
me,” Tansy declared, turning the sizzling sausage patties
over.

“Great! I have to sleep on feathers,” Amanda grumbled.
“What birds furnished the feathers?”

“Geese. I pull the down off some that I butcher
every fall and save it to plump up our mattresses and
pillows.”

Amanda scrunched up her nose. “The
pillows are filled with feathers, too?”

“Yes. When I was a youngun, we slept on straw mattresses. I
never did think that was as soft as feather ticks.” Tansy dished
the sausage patties onto a plate and set the plate in the warming
oven. She turned her attention back to Amanda. “Ya have to sleep on
that mattress, because that's the only other bed we have except
ours. It has feathers in the mattress, too. If ya'd rather sleep in
the hayloft on loose straw that's yer choice.”

“No,
thanks. Too many strange noises outside last night. I'd rather not
meet up with what makes those noises. Not even long enough to go to
the restroom in the dark,” Amanda cried.

“Outhouse,” Tansy corrected, breaking eggs into the
skillet. “What did ya hear?”

Amanda made the yipping
sound.

Tansy grinned. “That's coyotes on
the run in the timber. They hardly ever come around people and
buildings.”

Amanda's head came up. “It's that
hardly ever part that worries me. I don't want to be the exception.
I need to go to the restroom before I set the table.”

“Outhouse,” Tansy corrected.

Amanda didn't stop to reply back.
She didn't take too long outside, either, since Grandma wanted her
to set the table. She did remember to look around her to make sure
she didn't step on a copperhead. Grandma wouldn't have to remind
her about watching for snakes.

Later, Tansy scraped all the
breakfast dishes off into the pail. “While I'm fixing the dish
water, ya take this pail out and dump it in the chicken yard. Ya
can open the door to let the chickens out. Pump some water in the
pail and clean it out before ya bring it back. If that old tire in
front of the chicken house is empty take some water and fill it up
for me. That way my chicken chores are done.”

“All
right.” Amanda was glad to get outside. She took a deep breath of
air that smelled like timber. She liked the country smells here
better than the smells in Chicago. As she dumped the pail and
banged the side of it against the chicken house, she turned her
head and took another deep breath. Some of the scraps had dried on
the sides, and the pail smelled awful. She'd have to wash it
out.

The squeaky pump handle worked hard
as she moved it up and down. The noise got Art's attention at the
barn. “Mandie, take that cup attached to the pump spout and get
some water from the drinking bucket in the kitchen. Ya need to pour
it down the pump to prime it. Might take more than one
cup.”

Amanda primed the pump. That
worked. She filled the pail with water. Once, she swirled the water
around, she emptied the pail on Tansy's petunia bed near the well.
She filled the pail with fresh water to take to the chicken
yard.

When she opened the chicken house
door, the chickens tried to fly out all at one time. Cackling
loudly, the hens sounded excited about getting their freedom.
Amanda got a whiff of the hot, dusty building and didn't blame the
chickens for hurrying away.

While she poured the pail of water
in the half tire, something bumped the back of her leg. She almost
buckled when the pressure hit hard behind her knee.

Amanda straightened up and whirled
around. A red rooster with a black tail bristled his feathers and
stomped the ground, ready to come at her again. Amanda had half a
pail of water left. She doused the rooster and raced for the
house.

The screen door slammed behind her
as Amanda stood wild eyed and panting.

Tansy dropped the dish cloth in the
dish water and came to her. “What's the matter with ya?”

Amanda accused angrily, “You forgot
to tell me about the mean rooster!”

Tansy patted her shoulder. “Sorry
about that. I reckon I'm just used to him tryin' to pick a fight
with me. Did he hurt ya?”

“No, he didn't get a chance to do more than hit me
once in the back of the leg. He meant to pick a fight all right,
but he got the worse end of the deal,” Amanda snapped.

Tansy eyed Amanda over her glasses.
“Laws a Mercy, what did ya do to my rooster? Y'all didn't kill him,
did ya?”

Amanda's face reddened and
scrunched up. Grandma was going to side with that old rooster. She
should have known that. “No, I tried to drown him with the water I
was supposed to water the chickens with.”

Tansy laughed. “Oh, is that all.
Good for y'all. That rooster deserved it. Maybe old Roehoe will
leave ya alone now. I should have told ya about the stick propped
in the lilac bush by the chicken yard. I always carry that with me
to whop him.”

Amanda was relieved. Grandma wasn't
mad at her after all. She was going to let Amanda hit that mean
rooster when she needed to back him off.

While Amanda dried dishes, she
remembered to complain about how bad the outhouse smelled. She said
she didn't think she'd ever get used to that odor.

Tansy stuck the cast iron skillet
in the warm oven to dry it. “I agree. The outhouse shouldn't smell
that bad. I haven't cleaned it for some time. Goodness, I cain't
remember when it was. Been wonderin' what ya and me was goin' to do
today. That's it.”

Amanda didn't like what she was
hearing. “What's it?”

Tansy opened the kitchen window and
tossed the dish water outside. “Ya and me will clean the outhouse
this mornin' before the mud daubers stir, and it gets too hot in
there.”

“Really?” Amanda squeaked, wrinkling her nose at the
thought of washing the smelly outhouse. She was sorry she
complained. “How?”

“I'll show ya,” Tansy said. “We need a pail of water, a bar
of lye soap, an old rag, and a can of lime.”

Amanda followed her grandma around
while Tansy collected the soap and rag. Tansy stuffed those things
in her apron pockets. She handed Amanda a tin soup can of lime. “Ya
hang on to this. We use it last.”

Tansy lifted her wide brimmed straw
hat off a peg on the kitchen wall and put it on. “Now I'm ready to
go.”

She took one of the brooms down
from the wall of the porch and handed it to Amanda. The mop she
propped over her shoulder after she pumped filled a pail with water
and headed for the outhouse.

Tansy might think she was ready to
go outside, but she didn't have shoes on when they walked across
the yard.

Amanda said, “Grandma, you forgot
your shoes.”

“I
never wear shoes in the summer unless I'm goin' to be out among
people. Like my feet to be free. Besides, keeps me from havin' to
buy new shoes so often. That's one way to save money,” Tansy said,
looking out of the corner of her eyes at Amanda.

“Don't the rocks hurt when you walk on them?” Amanda
asked

“Yer
feet toughen in if you're born goin' barefoot like everyone around
here is. Give it a try sometime. Y'all might like goin' bare foot,”
Tansy encouraged

As they headed toward the outhouse,
Amanda looked around for her grandpa. She hoped he could think of a
way to get her out of this work detail. “Where is Grandpa this
morning?”

“Fixin' fence. Every so often he has to go around our fence
line and fix broken wires. Deer jump back and forth. Sometimes,
they don't clear the top wire. They break it off. We don't want the
cattle to get out on the neighbor's land.”

Tansy stuck the frazzled broom in
the pail of water. “This is my old broom. All I use it fer is to
wash off the porch floor and the outhouse.” She pressed the broom
down and sweep back and forth fast, causing dirty water to fly.
Tansy did that several times until she was satisfied the floor
looked clean enough.

“Now
I'll take a break. Ya wet down that rag in the pail and rub some
lye soap on it. Ya can scrub the seat,” Tansy
instructed.

Amanda pushed the rag back and
forth slowly on the wood.

“Put
some elbow grease into it. That's what cleanin' is all about.
Remember cleanliness is next to Godliness,” Tansy quoted. “That
applies as much to outhouses as it does to people and
houses.”

So Amanda picked up speed and
scrubbed. She might get done with this nasty job faster if she
hurried.

Finally, Tansy said, “Good enough.
Drop that rag in the pail and take this can of powdered lime.
Sprinkle handfuls in both holes until the lime is gone. I'll rinse
out the rag and get rid of the water.”

When they finished, Tansy said,
“How about ya and me take a break. Be time to fix lunch soon. Want
a glass of homemade lemonade?”

“Sure.”

“Go
hang the rag over the clothes line for me,” Tansy said.

While Amanda did that, Tansy hung
the mop and broom back between the two nails that kept them against
the porch wall next to Tansy's good broom.

“Your brooms are upside down,” Amanda observed.

“That's the way to store a good broom. Keeps the corn
straws from gettin' bent out of shape,” Tansy explained.

Back in the kitchen, Tansy flopped
her straw hat on the peg and ordered, “Ya get the pitcher out of
the ice box. I'll get the glasses.”

They sat at the table, and Tansy
poured. “Feels good don't it to sit down after ya been
workin'?”

“Yes. What are we going to do this afternoon?”

“I
don't know yet. We'll think of somethin'. Say, what day are we
supposed to put ya back on the bus?” Tansy asked

Amanda picked at the checkered red
and white tablecloth as she sipped her lemonade.

Tansy's eyes narrowed as she
pressed on. “Yer mom did give ya a return ticket, didn't
she?”

“No.” Amanda ran a finger up and down her frosty glass,
leaving a clear track.

“Don't tell me she gave ya the money to buy the return
ticket here?” Tansy said disbelievingly.

“Are
you kidding? Mom wouldn't trust me with money like that,” Amanda
declared.

Tansy asked, “Mind telling me what
made yer mom so mad at ya?”

“Grandma, I wouldn’t be here at all if I hadn’t wanted to
get a tattoo with my friends,” grumbled Amanda. “They got one, so I
got a little butterfly on my ankle, but tiny didn’t matter to Mom.
She acted as though that tattoo was going to turn me into a
prostitute.”

Tansy patted her hand. “Yer mother
worries about ya, and so do we.”

“I’ll tell you right now, next time I won’t say anything to
Mom when I'm going to do something with my friends. If she finds
out she might send me to Siberia and leave me there like she did
this time,” said Amanda, pouting.

Tansy frowned. “Listen to me,
Honey. Ya should always confide in yer folks, and don't exaggerate.
Arkansas is far from Siberia. I'm here to tell ya.” Suddenly, it
dawned on Tansy what Amanda said. “Did ya say leave ya like this
time? What day are we supposed to take ya back to Saddle to get on
the bus?”

Amanda bit her lower
lip.

“Well, speak up,” Tansy probed.

“There's no hurry,” Amanda said quietly.

Tansy's eyes narrowed over her
glasses. “I'm almost afraid to ask why, but I think I better know.
Why ain't there a hurry?”

“I
don't have to go back for the rest of the term. I was suspended
from school for the last six weeks,” Amanda said in a low voice,
looking at the table.

The bottom of Tansy's glass hit the
table hard. “Because of a tattoo! I don't believe it. What else did
ya do?”

Amanda sighed, hating this
discussion. She leaned back in her chair and looked down at her
lap. This wasn't going to be easy to explain. “It was lunch time
when my friends and I slipped off to the mall to get the tattoos.
One of the girls lived close to the school. When we came back by,
she let us in her house and gave us a beer to sample.”

Tansy looked grim. “Ya couldn't say
no?”

“I
tried, but she said her parents let her drink beer whenever she
wanted. They said there wasn't anything wrong with it.”

“That's according to yer friend. It'd be interesting to ask
her parents what their opinion is. The answer is the opposite, I'm
guessing if they're good parents,” Tansy said. “Go on.”

“By
the time we made it back to school, we were tardy. Our math teacher
sent us to the office to get a tardy slip. The principal said he
could smell we'd been drinking. We were suspended for the rest of
the term.”