Read Rainwater for Free Online Page B

preventing Ella from hearing Mr. Rainwater’s comment on that.
    “Them ol’ ladies is goin’ drive that man plumb crazy with all them questions about hisself,” Margaret said, shaking her head.
    “I heard you asking him some questions earlier.”
    “I’s just being polite,” she grumbled. When she glanced across at Ella, she did a double take. “You all right?”
    “All right? Of course. Why?”
    “Your cheeks look hot. I hope you ain’t coming down with that bad summer fever. It’s keeping some folks prostrate for weeks.”
    “I don’t have a fever. Have you spooned up the cobbler yet?”
    “Ain’t I always got dessert ready before I start washing up?” The maid used her shoulder to point out the dishes of cobbler on the counter, waiting to be placed on a serving tray. “What about them shutters on the front windows?”
    “What about them?”
    “I tol’ you. Brother Calvin offered to paint them.”
    Ella added the coffee service to the tray. “I can’t afford to have them painted right now.”
    “They look shabby.”
    “I know they need painting, Margaret, but—”
    “Brother Calvin said he’d do it for cheap. It was nice of him to bring us those dewberries. Picked ’em hisself.”
    Ella sighed. “Have him come around and talk to me about the shutters. We’ll see.” She checked Solly’s dinner plate. He had eaten enough to sustain him. “Solly can have a serving of cobbler now,” she told Margaret.
    The maid smiled down at the boy as she removed her hands from the sink and shook dishwater off them. “I’ll feed it to that baby myself.”
    Ella carried the tray to the door, put her back to it, and gave it a push.
    “David.”
    “What?”
    “Mr. Rainwater’s first name,” Margaret said. “I figure you wanted to know.”
    Ella looked at her with annoyance as she backed through the door. When she turned around to face the dining room, her eyes went directly to Mr. Rainwater, who looked up at her. His gaze held hers for a beat before he directed his attention back to Miss Violet, who was telling him about her and Pearl’s thrilling days as public school teachers.
    “It’s so nice to have pleasant conversation with a new acquaintance, isn’t it, Sister?” Violet said.
    “It is indeed.” Pearl simpered, patting her lace collar. “I hope you’re with us for a very long time, Mr. Rainwater.”
    Ella avoided looking at him and kept her expression impassive as she served the dewberry cobbler and cream.
     
    She was sitting at the kitchen table eating her own meal when he poked his head around the edge of the door. Immediately she came to her feet, blotting her mouth. “Mr. Rainwater. Can I get you something?”
    He stepped into the kitchen.
    Margaret stopped what she was doing and gave him a wide smile. “Coffee’s still on.”
    “No more for me, thank you.”
    Solly, sitting across from Ella and tapping his spoon against the edge of the table, didn’t react.
    The new boarder nodded down at Ella’s plate. “I wondered when you got to eat.”
    “Do you need something?”
    “Forgive me for interrupting your dinner. I was just wondering if it’s all right for me to turn on the porch light so I can read out there.”
    “Oh, of course. The switch is—”
    “I’ve located the switch. But I wanted to ask before I turned it on.”
    “Just be sure to turn it off when you come back inside.”
    He looked at Solly, who was still rhythmically tapping the spoon, then gave Margaret and Ella a nod and backed out the door.
    “Nice of him to ax,” Margaret said. “That Mr. What’s-his-name, the one with the liquor breath? You wouldn’t’ve caught him axing. I hope Mr. Rainwater plans to be with us for a long spell.”
    Ella sat down and resumed eating.
     
    After Margaret left for home, Ella put Solly to bed, and he fell asleep quickly. She remained kneeling beside his bed, gazing into his sweet face, listening to his soft breathing. When her knees began to ache, she kissed the