He grabbed her when she fell and held her and put his hand over her angry mouth.
She tried to bite his palm, but he cupped it out over her mouth, and he held her down with his other arm.
And in a moment she lay still, and in another moment they were giggling together in the dry grass.
“Why, we’ll be a-comin’ back purty soon,” said Al. “An’ I’ll have a pocketful a jack.
We’ll go down to Hollywood an’ see the pitchers.”
She was lying on her back.
Al bent over her.
And he saw the bright evening star reflected in her eyes, and he saw the black cloud reflected in her eyes.
“We’ll go on the train,” he said.
“How long ya think it’ll be?” she asked.
“Oh, maybe a month,” he said.
The evening dark came down and Pa and Uncle John squatted with the heads of families out by the office.
They studied the night and the future.
The little manager, in his white clothes, frayed and clean, rested his elbows on the porch rail.
His face was drawn and tired.
Huston looked up at him.
“You better get some sleep, mister.”
“I guess I ought.
Baby born last night in Unit Three.
I’m getting to be a good midwife.”
“Fella oughta know,” said Huston. “Married fella got to know.”
Pa said,
“We’re a-gittin’ out in the mornin’.”
“Yeah?
Which way you goin’?”
“Thought we’d go up north a little.
Try to get in the first cotton.
We ain’t had work.
We’re outa food.”
“Know if they’s any work?” Huston asked.
“No, but we’re sure they ain’t none here.”
“They will be, a little later,” Huston said. “We’ll hold on.”
“We hate to go,” said Pa. “Folks been so nice here—an’ the toilets an’ all.
But we got to eat.
Got a tank of gas.
That’ll get us a little piece up the road.
We had a bath ever’ day here. Never was so clean in my life. Funny thing—use ta be I on’y got a bath ever’ week an’ I never seemed to stink. But now if I don’t get one ever’ day I stink.
Wonder if takin’ a bath so often makes that?”
“Maybe you couldn’t smell yourself before,” the manager said.
“Maybe.
I wisht we could stay.”
The little manager held his temples between his palms.
“I think there’s going to be another baby tonight,” he said.
“We gonna have one in our fambly ’fore long,” said Pa. “I wisht we could have it here.
I sure wisht we could.”
Tom and Willie and Jule the half-breed sat on the edge of the dance floor and swung their feet.
“I got a sack of Durham,” Jule said. “Like a smoke?”
“I sure would,” said Tom. “Ain’t had a smoke for a hell of a time.”
He rolled the brown cigarette carefully, to keep down the loss of tobacco.
“Well, sir, we’ll be sorry to see you go,” said Willy. “You folks is good folks.”