Fair and Tender Ladies by Lee Smith

Wile Momma and me and Ethel was down ther in Majestic, we sent word to Victor to come on home and holp us. Now this was the start of all our trubles as I will relate.
    But wile we was in the store down ther, Mister Branham who runs the store he says, Now Maude, you know my old woman is poorly so we culd use a girl around the house I reckon, to sweep up and watch the baby and such as that, I will pay her a little I reckon, now what do you say? And Momma said, Ethel will come. I was thinking of the otherun, Mister Branham said, meaning me, and Molly my hart leaped up I have to say, for I wanted so to come. But Momma says, Cant nobody but Ivy do a thing with Silvaney, I have to keep Ivy at home, and so it was desided and Ethel stayed down ther with Mister and Mrs. Branham they have the gray house on the corner next to the Methodist Church. The last I seen of Ethel, she was sweeping ther front walk and grinning like crazy.
    So Momma and me taken little Danny back up on the mountain, and he is taken his tonick, it dont seem to do no good. I miss Ethel moren I thoght, and ever day the sun comes up so hot like a ball of fire, and dust devils dance in the yard. When I look down the holler its like it is shimmying, its so hot. But that aint all.
    The worst is that Babe is back.
    Now this is my eldest brother Clarence Wayne Rowe, he come up here and toled us that the message come for Victor but Victor cant come, he is gone off with the lumber company out West, so Babe reckons he will come home and stay a spell! Beulah says she heerd that Babe got fired, this is how come him to leave over ther at Poorbottom, but dont nobody know for sure, nor know what Babe is up to nether. It is all that Beulah and Momma and me can do to look after the littluns and hoe the corn and such as that, and Babe is in and out all the time now, he dont do no real work nor lift his hand in the garden. He says he has got business everwhere but he dont say what this business is, we know it is something bad.
    I hate it when Babe is here. It is like a dark wind blowing down from the mountain and filling up the house when he is here, he is so mean, he slapped the fire out of Garnie for getting in his way and talks mean to Momma.
    One nigt it was so hot I culdnt sleep good and so I got up and went out on the porch and Babe was sitting out ther drinking by hisself and he said, Well looky here it is Ivy, come over here honey and sit down, and I shuld of knowed better but it was hot and dark out ther and sometimes when you get up in the nigt your lonesome, and think that things is diffrent from what they are. Come out here and set with me Ivy, Babe said and in the dark his voice sounded just like Daddys. Then Babe lit a cigaret and when the match flarred up his face looked like Revels face. Babes face looks like Revels a lot in general but twisted, everthing is sligtly out of whack. But in the ligt of the match he looked like Revel for an instant, and my hart went soft.
    What are you up to anyway, Babe? I asked him.
    And he said Well Ivy, Ive got some prospects, and he laghed, and so I laghed to and then he said, Your sure growing up pretty honey and tuched me on the titty. I jumped up and spit in his face and ran in the house but I culd heer him laghing, laghing after me.
    Shoot fire, I didnt mean nothing by that Ivy, Babe said to me the next day, I was just fooling with you, your as bad as Silvaney, scarred of shadders and clouds, I aint never seed the beat of you all.
    Momma says we need Babe rigt now to hall the water and get in the corn, that it is life and death wether we can hold onto this land or not, but he dont holp much it seems to me. He is gone for days, I am glad when he leves, and since Ethel is gone now, Silvaney is acting so funny I do not mean funny ha ha nether. Beulah is tired so much, she is nursing that baby and working her hands to the bone, mooning over Curtis Bostick. She migt have a baby but she still has a broken hart.
    Molly Molly I miss you