Morning Glory Read Free Page B

flair and picked up his suitcase. "Supper is ready at
six?"
    "Supper is ready at five and don't you be late or
you'll be going hungry" Dulcie wagged a finger at him.
    "What happens if I want it in my room?"
    "This is a boarding house, not some kind of rich
man's mansion. And I can tell by lookin', you sure
enough ain't no rich man, so don't even ask tom foolery questions like that. Bathroom is at the end of the
hall. I'll let the other boarders know there's a man in
the house now so they won't be embarrassin' them selves or you neither. They're all womenfolk," Dulcie
told him.

    He carried his baggage up the stairs and found his
room. "Pretty-just like I knew it would be. Libby
would like this."
    Frilly lace curtains fanned into the room from the
summer breeze flowing through the open window. An
intricately patterned patchwork quilt covered the bed.
The hardwood floor was so shiny he could see the
reflection of his shoes. If there was a speck of dust anywhere, he would have been willing to lick it up. The
walls were covered with yellow rose wallpaper, reminding him of what had been in his mother's bedroom back
in Kentucky.
    Twenty minutes later, he had all his things unpacked
into a chest of drawers and the wardrobe. Yes, sir, Briar
Nelson could be very comfortable here even if he did
miss Libby. As he stretched out on the bed for a short
nap he wondered if Miss Clara was Dulcie's daughter
and if so, was she as big as Dulcie?
    "Rented that room for you. Paper is on the table over
there," Dulcie told Clara when she arrived. "Nice man.
Not a preacher. I made sure of that"
    "Not oil well trash?"
    "I sniffed real hard but couldn't get a whiff of it, and
I got a nose for that smell. No matter how much they try,
they never can get all the stink off them. Had on brandnew overalls and a shirt that was only just a bit dusty. Drives his own car and all. It's parked out there in front
of the house. Looks to be fairly new. I figure he's some
kind of salesman. Suitcase didn't look too beat up, and
he had a wad of money in his wallet. Didn't think I saw
it when he drug it out to pay, but not much misses
Dulcie's eyes. No sir. Now you just sit yourself down
and play a little tune on the piano while I finish supper.
You're late today. Did you go inside the drug store for a
cold drink?" Dulcie steered her toward the parlor.

    "Yes, Tilly and Tucker were both in town. Tilly and
I had lemonade. There was a fight in the pool hall. Men
out in the street slugging away at each other. One was
knocked down and sprawling on the sidewalk. I had to
step around him. That's oil field riffraff for you. Then I
remembered I needed some hairpins, so I stopped in the
general store and the time got away from me" Clara sat
down at the piano and began to play.
    "That's so pretty. I'm glad your momma made you
learn. Now I'll get back to that frying chicken."
    "What would I do without you, Dulcie? I couldn't
boil water without setting the house afire"
    "And if I tried to play the piano, honey, it'd bring
every hound dog in six counties to howl at the back
door. Some of us are good at some things. Some of us
are good at others."
    Clara's long slender fingers danced over the ivory
keys like children playing in the meadow. The village
idiot did have one talent.

     

    The aroma of onions sizzling in hot grease along
with the sweet sounds of piano music drifted up the
stairs and into Briar's room. He awoke slowly, taking in
his surroundings and remembering where he was.
Morning Glory Inn, not in his bed at home in Kentucky
when he was a boy and his mother often fried onions
with potatoes for their supper. Not even in his current
home in Pennsylvania where it wasn't unusual to hear
early morning music. This melody sounded nothing like
the whining fiddle of the hill country, but still he was
reminded of home. Both the one he'd left before he was
sixteen and the one where he hung his hat these days.
    He checked his