Read excerpt from Chapter One below and order your copy on amazon.com
Leaving Henry
The next day, I woke up happy that Escelle hadn’t peed on me. I
climbed over my sisters as they slept and stood on the cold wood floor.
My stomach growled, so I went out to the kitchen to see about breakfast.
Momma, already dressed for church, wore a cream-colored
embroidered dress with long buttoned sleeves and matching lace
boots. Her coarse hair was swept into a tight bun, and she wore red
lipstick. Sundays and holidays were the only days I ever saw my parents
dressed up.
Momma sang along to gospel hymns on the radio while she
cooked, and my brothers sat at the table in matching black suits with
twisted faces and fingers in their ears.
“Momma, that screeching hurts my ears,” Clarence whined. “I
wish you would stop!”
“Me too!” Lucian shouted. Momma sang louder.
“Momma! Please stop!” Clarence groaned.
She left the stove and turned the music down. “Oh, be quiet. It’s
not that bad.”
“Good morning, everyone. What’s for breakfast?” I asked.
“Oatmeal,” Momma sang.
I made a face. Oatmeal was not my favorite. “Where’s Pappy?”
“He and Old Dick are at Grandmother Clem’s.”
The music ended, and another gospel song came on. I returned to
my room to clean up and get dressed. Sunday mornings we attended
church, but not as a family. Pappy was a Presbyterian and Momma
was a Methodist, so they attended separate churches near town. Pappy
went to church alone while the rest of us went with Momma. We
preferred it that way because Pappy was moody and grumpy compared
to Momma. Grandfather and Grandmother Ella usually came
to Momma’s church, but Grandmother Clem never attended church,
and I didn’t know why.
Momma waddled into the bedroom carrying a pan of water with
towels and washcloths, placing them on the bench. Loud snoring
came from across the room. Momma frowned, looking in that direction.
“I can’t believe those two are still asleep.” She charged to the bed
and shook the frame. “Wake up, sleepyheads! It’s time to get up for
church!”
My sisters stretched under the covers, and Irene’s head popped up.
She threw back the covers, sat up, and rubbed her eyes.
Escelle sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, stretching
her arms. “What time is it?” she yawned.
“Time to get your little fanny up for church!” Momma demanded.
“Do I have to? I’m so tired,” Escelle grumbled as she fell back in
the bed.
“Escelle, I don’t want no lip from you this morning. Wash your
little fanny and get dressed!”
Escelle poked her lips out. “Yes, mam,” she sighed, joining Irene
and me at the wash basin.
Momma straightened the bed and left. I heard Thomas Dorsey’s
riveting bass voice singing “Precious Lord” on the old radio in the
living room, and I stuck my head out the door.
“Momma, why is that song so sad?”
Her light brown eyes turned misty, and she touched her throat,
turning the volume down. “I believe Mister Dorsey wrote that song
during a sad time.”
“Why, what happened?”
“His wife had a baby, and they both died during childbirth.”
Momma’s voice was soft.
“Why did they die?”
“I don’t know, Little Ella. Bad things happen sometimes.”
I swallowed hard, feeling sorry for Mister Dorsey. Every time I
heard “Precious Lord” from that point on, I remembered the reason
he wrote such a sad song. It became my favorite, and I requested the
song often at church, even in adulthood.
I quickly put on my dress with big green flowers on a white background,
then laced up my too-tight black boots and headed to the
kitchen. Flames blazed in the fireplace, making the kitchen toasty
and warm. Back from Grandmother Clem’s house, Pappy sat at the
table. He looked like a preacher in his black suit, slurping his coffee
from a tin cup. Old Dick sat at his feet, and he wagged his long tail
when he saw me. I climbed onto the bench and sat at the table. Soon,
my sisters joined us. Escelle wore a blue dress with thick stockings,
and Irene wore a purple dress with matching tights. Momma gave
everyone a bowl of oatmeal, sat beside Lucian, and fed him his.
After breakfast, we bundled up in our coats and hats and piled into
the wagon. It had three leather seats in the front, three in the middle,
and three in the back. With my new Bible in my coat pocket, I settled
in the middle row with Clarence and Old Dick. Momma sat in front
with Pappy and held Lucian in her lap, and Escelle and Irene sat in
the back. Pappy whipped the reins, and Midnight trotted briskly
against the cold wind. Thank you for reading. Until next time. amazon.com
