LITMIR.BIZ

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to the nearest tree limb. Meanwhile the angry woman hadn’t noticed the visitor who had ridden to the edge of the yard.

      “Say you gonna kill ‘em, Sister,” the man called out.

      Startled by the sound of a voice, the woman spun around and saw a man she had known all of her life sitting there calmly on his horse rolling a smoke.

      The woman threw down her broom and placed her hands defiantly on her hips as she scowled, “Timothy Johnson, how long you been sitting there?”

      With a smurkish smile, he replied, “Long enough to see you beat the hell out of James’ dogs, and I do believe you’re gonna sure ‘nough kill ‘em first chance you get. I do believe that Mister James has up and married him a dog killer.”

      “Dog Killer! I barely hit ‘em and they have been killing my birds,” Sister said, as she went down the steps.

      “Yes Ma’am, I saw what you done to James’ prize hounds,” Timothy said, lighting his smoke. “And just wait ‘til I tell the preacher how you been cussing right out in public. Yes ma’am, Sister Wilson, you are one violent woman.”

      No sooner had he finished his statement, than Sister reached for her broom and with one swing, and to her own surprise, knocked Timothy from his horse onto the ground. Startled by the unexpected attack, Timothy’s horse bolted across the yard into a field and in the confusion, Timothy’s smoke went sailing into the air landing right in Sister’s hair. Sister could envision her hair aflame and began screaming and shaking her head in all directions.

      As she frantically tried to get the smoke out of her hair, Timothy sat there on the ground laughing as hard as he could, enjoying every minute of Sister’s dilemma.

      Seeing the smoke fall to the ground and knowing that she was no longer in trouble, Sister quickly regained her composure.

      Through the years, Timothy, one of her older brother’s best friends, and she had delighted in tormenting each other with pranks and verbal comments. Sister had always loved to antagonize Timothy but had a difficult time when she was the one being teased. Often parents had to intervene when the arguments got out of hand. Her seeming appearance of dislike masked the fact that she had found him both attractive and somewhat dashing. Timothy’s lack of parental discipline and his stories of devilish and adventurous exploits intrigued her. Even though she knew his stories were exaggerated, they still managed to excite her. One thing was certain, when they were together, sparks were going to fly.

      Smoothing her hair, she glanced over at Timothy. “I know what you’re trying to do and it ain’t gonna work. You’re not getting me upset, Mister Timothy Johnson.”

      He, pulling himself up, replied, “Too late, Sister. You done made a fool out of yourself, and you might near killed me in the process. That fall almost broke my wood leg.” He had lost the lower part of his right leg during the war and was very protective of his artificial limb.

      Hobbling to get his horse he continued, “Come sundown, me and that brother of yores is going to a revival down near Hickory.”

      “Revival! You ain’t going to no church meeting,” Sister exclaimed. “You ain’t been in a church since your daddy died more than a year ago, and my brother don’t need to be going nowheres with the likes of you.”

      Mounting his horse, Timothy replied, “Then where in blazes do you think I intend to carry him, Miss Know-it-all.”

      By that time Sister had gone back to the house and begun sweeping the feathers off the porch. “Knowing you, you will try to talk John into going to Meridian with you for a night of drinking, gambling, and you know what else.”

      “What do you mean by, you know what else,” Timothy asked.

      “The only thing you is fit for is whoring. Timothy Johnson you are nothing but a sinning whoremonger, and my brother won’t be going to Meridian with you. He’s got a pretty young lady who thinks the world of him. He don’t need yore whores. Why do you think that wife of yores run off with that visiting preacher? Cause of your constant carousing and staying away from home for weeks at a time. That’s why she left you. You just go on to Meridian by yoreself.”

      Before the Civil War, Meridian, a bustling rail center, was the largest town in Mississippi. When General Sherman sacked and burned the town on his raid across the state, many feared it would never prosper again, but as soon as his troops had left the area, its people began to rebuild. Now Meridian was once again thriving and prosperous. It was filled with merchandise, and its nightlife attracted people from all parts of the state. Gambling houses were in operation twenty-four hours a day and for those who wanted the company of the opposite sex, the red district was rivaled by none.

      Timothy was in the process of leaving when he caught the remark about his ex-wife and he sharply brought his horse to a stop and turned in the saddle. “Sister, we may get into some squabbles sometimes and most of the time it don’t mean nothing, but you better never say anything about Sally. That’s none of yore business what happened to us, and I’ll tell you one more thing, least I didn’t up and marry a damned Yankee.”

      During the war when Sherman made his raid through Little Rock, some of his soldiers were foraging for food when they came upon the Wilson’s house. Making their way inside, they knocked Sister’s father unconscious and were trying to force themselves on Sister and her mother when suddenly a federal officer, Lieutenant James Robinson, rode up and intervened. In the scuffle that followed, Robinson killed one of his soldiers and wounded the other. Following the war, he was assigned to the Newton county area as part of the military controlled government and began to stop by the Wilson’s on a fairly regular basis. Eventually, Sister and he began to see each other socially and after a ten-month courtship, they were married.

      Knowing she had probably gone too far, Sister stood motionless, fearing to say anything else.

      Heading down the road, Timothy stopped and shouted back to her. “You think I’m nothing but a whoremonger, but you know what your are, Lucretia Wilson? You’re the biggest gossip and hypocrite in Newton County and for your information, we ain’t going to Meridian, I think.”

      Calming down as he rode off, Timothy couldn’t help but feel a fondness for Sister. Even with her quick lip and spunky attitude, she could be delightful at times. Glancing back, he noticed how attractive she had become, standing well over five feet six inches tall with long flowing blond hair and blue eyes. She was certainly a striking figure on the porch. Without thinking, he raised his hand and waved.

      Without hesitating, she smiled and returned the gesture.

      Because Sister and James had built their home on a plot of lower Wilson land, it didn’t take Tim long to reach Sister’s parents’ place. Riding up, he could see Mrs. Wilson sitting on her front porch churning butter and singing a familiar church tune.

      At that moment she stopped churning and peered over the top of her glasses. “Timothy Johnson, you sure are dressed to kill. You must be on your way to see some pretty little thing. Get down and come on in.”

      Tim dismounted and politely tipped his hat. To him, the Wilsons were his second family. They had always accepted him no matter what he had done, and Mrs. Wilson always encouraged him to try to do better. He felt that his own parents never cared enough about him to even correct him or give him encouragement.

      Making his way up the steps, he said, “Good to see you Mrs. Wilson, mind if’n I give you a hug.”

      “I’d be disappointed if you didn’t, young man,” smiled Mrs. Wilson.

      After a hug and a kiss on the cheek, she said, “How’s your mama doing these days?”

      “She’s fine. She’s been doing a lot of garden work lately and putting up with me keeps her pretty busy,” he replied. “Is John in?”

      Mrs. Wilson pointed to the back of the house. “He finished his chores early today. You’ll find him back

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