Eventide (Plainsong #2)(56)

Luther stood in the doorway wearing sweatpants but no shirt. Is that you, Rose? he said.

Yes. Weren’t you going to let me in?

I didn’t hear you knock. He stood back from the door so she could pass inside. Betty ain’t up yet.

It’s past ten o’clock. I thought you’d both be up by now.

Betty never slept good last night.

What’s wrong?

I don’t know. You’d have to ask her.

I came to talk to both of you this morning. To see how things are going.

Things is fine, Rose. I guess we been doing pretty good.

Why don’t you go put on a shirt and tell Betty to come out. We’ll have a little visit.

Well, I don’t know if she’ll want to get up.

Why don’t you ask her.

He disappeared into the hall and she surveyed the front room and the kitchen. There were dishes and pizza cartons on every flat surface, and the black plastic bag of pop cans leaned against the refrigerator. A morning game show was playing on the television in the corner.

Luther came out of the hallway in a tee-shirt, with Betty shuffling barefooted behind him, looking tired and haggard in a pink bathrobe. She had brushed her hair and it hung down stiff on both sides of her face. She looked at Rose and looked at the television. Is something wrong, Rose? she said.

Nothing that I know of. I said before that I’d come by now and then. It’s part of the court order. Don’t you remember?

I ain’t feeling very good.

Is it still your stomach?

My back too. It’s been gripping me bad this past week.

I’m sorry to hear that.

I can’t sleep no more. I have to rest during the day.

Yes, but you know I’m going to visit you at any time, don’t you. You remember we talked about that.

I know, Betty said. You want to sit down?

Thank you.

Rose seated herself on a chair near the door and glanced at the television. Luther, would you turn that off, please?

He clicked the television off and sat down on the couch close to Betty.

So. How are things? Rose said. You said they were going fine, Luther.

Everything’s pretty good, he said. We’re doing okay, I guess.

How are Joy Rae and Richie?

Well. Richie he still has him some trouble at school. Like before.

What kind of trouble?

It’s hard to say. He don’t talk about it.

It’s those other kids picking on him all the time, Betty said. They won’t never let him alone.

Why do you think that is?

He don’t do nothing to them. Richie’s a good boy. I don’t know what they got against him.

Have you tried talking to his teacher?

That wouldn’t do no good.

But you might at least try. Maybe she knows what’s going on.

I don’t know.

What about Joy Rae?

Oh, now she’s doing real good, Luther said. She can already read better than me.

Can she?

Better than Betty too. Can’t she, Betty.

Betty nodded.

Better than both of us put together, Luther said.

I’m glad she’s doing so well, Rose said. She’s a smart girl. Rose looked around the room. Snow was melting outside on the roof, dripping down in front of the window. Now I have to ask you about Hoyt, she said. Has he been over here?

No ma’am, Luther said. We don’t want him here. He ain’t welcome with us no more.

You need to insist that he stay away. You understand that, don’t you. He cannot be here.

We don’t want to have nothing to do with him. We ain’t even seen him. Have we, Betty?

We seen him that one time in the grocery.

We seen him that one time in the grocery, but we didn’t talk to him. We never even said how you doing. Just went around the other way, didn’t we?

And we ain’t never going to talk to him again, Betty said. I don’t care what he calls us.

Yes, Rose said. That’s right. She studied them both but couldn’t be sure they were telling the truth. Luther’s great red face was damp with sweat, and Betty looked merely dull and sick, her lifeless hair hanging about her face. Rose looked out into the kitchen. That’s fine, she said, I’m glad Hoyt hasn’t been here, but it has to stay that way. Now I want to talk to you about something else. It’s important for you and for your children that you live in a clean and safe environment. You know that. So you need to do a little better in the house here. Things are not as clean and orderly as they might be. You can do better, don’t you think you can?

I told you I been sick, Rose, Betty said.

I understand that. But Luther can help too, can’t you, Luther.

I already been helping, he said.

You need to do a little more. You can start by keeping the dishes washed. And by emptying the trash. You need to take that bag of pop cans out. They’ll attract bugs.

In winter? Luther said.

It’s possible.

Well somebody might steal my cans if I put them outside.

You can keep them on the porch.

I can’t see how they’re going to collect no bugs in winter.

In any case, they shouldn’t be in your kitchen. They shouldn’t be near where you eat.

Luther looked at her, and then he and Betty stared out the front window, their faces stony and obstinate.