Lily of the Springs Read Free Page A

that had a telephone. The news that Daddy had called her made my feeling of doom grow stronger. He hated using “them new-fangled telly-phones” and just didn’t, if he could help it, so I knew things must be serious, indeed, to make him call Sylvie Lou.
    “Is it Charles Alton?” I asked, holding my breath.
    The old woman’s face softened. “Yes-um. The baby is real sick, Lily Rae,” she said quietly. “They’s up in Louieville Hospital. Old Doc Scudder in Jamestown couldn’t figger out what was ailing the child, so he sent them up to Columbia this morning. And them doctors up there sent them on to Louieville. Your daddy says it’s no telling how long they’ll be up there, and for ya’all to come stay with me until they get back.”
    Oh, Lord, no ! Why, I’d up and die of boredom if I had to go stay at that widow-woman’s dull old house. Nothing to do there at all! Why, she didn’t even have any good magazines laying around, like Photoplay and Movieland , just boring old religious ones, or maybe, once in a blue moon, she’d have Look or Collier’s .
    I heard Norry step into the room behind me.
    “Hi, there, Sylvie Lou.” Norry’s dark eyes fixed anxiously upon the old woman’s face. “Did I hear you say Charles Alton is in the hospital in Louieville?”
    “Yes, hon, he is…and ya’all are gonna come stay with me until your mama and daddy get home.”
    I swallowed hard and glanced at my sister. She looked curiously vulnerable in her long white cotton nightgown, her shell-like pink toes peeking from beneath its hem. The color had drained from her cheeks, leaving her as pale as she’d been the night before when she’d been so sick.
    I understood why. It was fear for our baby brother. Just a few weeks ago, he’d been a happy, healthy two-year-old, an angelic, laughing child, his head covered in bright gold ringlets. When I’d kissed him goodbye this morning, he’d barely stirred, poor thing. And his cheek had felt like it was on fire. But now, at least, he was in the hospital, and them big city doctors would take good care of him.
    One thing was for darn sure, though. There was no way on God’s green earth I was going over to Sylvie Lou Blankenship’s. No matter what Daddy said! Tonight was the biggest night of my life, and I wasn’t about to have it ruined. After all, I was a grown woman now. Not only had I turned 18 back in March, I now had a bonafide high school diploma. Didn’t Daddy remember that?
    “Do they know what’s wrong with him?” Norry asked in a small voice.
    Sylvie Lou shook her tightly-curled head. “They’s doing tests. That’s all I know.” She looked around the room. “Where’s the boys? Y’all need to get your things together and come on now. I got soup beans on the stove and cornbread in the skillet. And later, you can help me fry up a pullet for Sunday dinner.”
    “I don’t know where the boys are,” I said, trying to sound all grown up. “They’re probably down at the Star Theater watching the matinee. Anyhow, I really appreciate your offer, Sylvie Lou, but we’re gonna stay right here and wait for Mother and Daddy and Charles Alton to come home.”
    The old woman’s haggard face darkened like a thundercloud. That meant she was gearing up for a fight. “But your daddy tol’ me---”
    “My daddy is upset about his baby,” I cut in, holding the woman’s gaze defiantly. “He’s forgotten he has a grown up daughter here, perfectly able to take care of things while he’s gone. So, thank you kindly for your offer, Sylvie Lou, but we’re gonna stay put.”
    Sylvie Lou opened her mouth as if to protest, but I didn’t let her get to it. “Thanks for bringing us the message,” I added, walking toward the door.
    The elderly woman shook her head and tsked under her breath, but stepped out onto the front porch when I opened the door for her. “I just don’t know,” she muttered in a last ditch effort to change my mind. “Your daddy ain’t gonna like