LITMIR.BIZ

      Lela turned to see her men gap-mouthed and wondered if she’d gone too far. “Now, Moses, I know it’s a might loud, but it’s all I had and I just wanted to try to make our house pretty.” Once begun, she couldn’t stop explaining herself. “I shifted the supplies around to give more space and tried to give Solomon his own side and us ours.” When the men continued gawking at the room, she just sputtered on. “I can take down some of it if you don’t like it, and look, they can be pulled back in daylight, but,” her voice softened, “I thought this curtain here would make it a little private for us.”

      “No, no, Mama, it’s beautiful.”

      “He be right, Lela. It’s real purty. We just ’mazed that you could make this little shack look so good.”

      Lela realized how long she’d been holding her breath and let it go with a great sigh. She watched as Moses and Solomon explored their “new” home. Artfully combining the two bolts of fabric found in the renegade’s wagon, Lela had performed wonders to brighten and soften the little cabin. Splashes of red calico joined the sturdy blue ticking to make a privacy curtain for Moses and Lela’s sleeping corner. There were curtains over their single window and a swath of red painted the table in the room’s center.

      Abruptly Solomon froze and his voice wavered with emotion. “But, Mama, you were gonna make yourself a dress with the red cloth. This is all pretty, but Papa and me wanted you to have a new dress.”

      Reaching for her son, Lela replied, “My sweet boy. Don’t you worry about your Mama’s new dress. That was a whole bolt of cloth. There’s plenty left for more than one dress and some shirts, too.” The joyous laughter they shared was the perfect tonic after a long, hard day.

      Within a few minutes, the shortening day turned dark and the lamp on the table was lit. They didn’t do it every meal, but tonight it seemed right somehow to join hands to bless their night’s meal in earnest thanksgiving. Easy banter began as the stew was dipped.