Tombstone.
This morning I met a woman named Ashton and we talked about how it was almost time for school. Ashton wandered off and then Mr. Joe came over and asked what I was up to. I told him I was working at the library and told him how I was staying with Miss Trin from now on. He said it was a good thing that I liked books.
“What do you do when it’s quiet?” I asked him.
“Well I tend to work on my furniture, or I go into the hills and just enjoy the place and read,” Joe looked at me.
“You read too? What do you read?”
“I read medical books, I still like to keep up with latest practices and I read art books and sailing literature,” he said quietly.
“Sailing?” I nodded.
“I can make boats Nat, and sail them, but not many places to sail around here,” Joe said.
“Wow. There’s a river by Miss Trin’s house. She has a canoe.”
“The wind powers my boats Nat,” Joe wrinkled his nose as a fly buzzed past. “Maybe I’ll take my dingy there sometime. Maybe , I will make a new boat for the kids here, we will see.”
“Would you, Mr. Joe?” I asked and smiled wide.
“I can try, but I will have to work out who will be the owner of the boat, but I’ll sort that later,” Joe looked at me. “Well guess I should get back to some kind of work Nat, good to see ya and I’ll give some thought on that dingy.”
I headed off to the library and then went to the stables to check Daisy. I found miss Pet and told her that I hadn’t seen Jimmy yet and how I was sorting books in the library. I took her there and showed her all the books I’d read and sorted.
“Miss Pet? Did you know there’s a secret room upstairs?”
“Oh is it really? Can you show me?” she looked at me. I ran upstairs and pushed open the bookshelf, showing her the small room. “Oh wow, it sure is!”
“This is gonna be my hiding place. You can’t tell no one, okay?”
“What if people come looking for ya?”
“Well you can tell Miss Trin and Mr Alex and Mrs Aly… but no one else. I’m gonna tell Jimmy about it. It’ll be like our secret hideout.”
“Well, I can’t lie.”
“It’s not a lie. Just um.. a secret.”
“Ohhh so if they ask me have I seen you. I won’t be fibbin’ when I say, nope. But what if they ask me if I know where you are? What do I say then?” she looked down at me with concern.
“Um… Say the library. Then you won’t be lyin’.”
“Oooh true. Very good answer.”
“When they don’t see me downstairs they’ll just keep lookin’,” I said. “But Trin, Alex and Aly can know.”
“They will just think you’ve moved on, right?”
“Right! See? And you won’t have to lie!”
We talked a bit longer and then headed back to the hotel.
***
This afternoon, I walked over to the courthouse and gave Mr. Ger a hug. “You gonna fight in court today?” I asked him and the judge, Jimmi, who was standing nearby, coughed at that.
“Something like that, only we use words instead of fists or guns.”
“That’s much better,” I grinned. “Guns are bad.”
“We call it debate, but it’s something like an argument,” Jimmi said as he headed in.
“You’re a judge, right?” I looked up at Mister Jimmi. I looked over and saw him helping miss Starling sit down and asked, “Are you sick ma’am?”
“No, I am having a baby,” she said.
I grinned and went to feel her stomach. “That’s where baby is right?”
“Yes, just there,” she smiled.
“How does it.. um…” I looked down and blushed. “How oes it get out of there and into your arms?”
“Magic, Natalie,” Nim said and Gerric chuckled.
“You will learn that at school or your mama,” Starling promised.
“Magic? Like the tooth fairy?”
“Yes.”
I looked down and said, “I don’t have a moma. Maybe Miss Trin will tell me. Is it like the bird? That brings babies?”
“Yes the stork bird will help.”
“Like the tooth fairy brings money?” I asked and looked at her with wide eyes, then looked back to Ger. “She makin’ that up,” I told him but he shook his head. “Are you sure?”
“No, she is telling you how it happens,” Gerric insisted.
“But... wait… So Mr Jimmi and Mrs Starling… They um… They… And then the baby gets brought by a bird? Really? Then why does her tummy get big?”
“Gives the Stork a way to better find Miss Rubble.”
“But…” I looked between them. “That don’t make no sense.” I sat in the front row and asked, “Mr. Ger…” I looked at Mrs. Starling and said, “I’m confused.”
“It is a confusing thing, even to us adults.”
I felt the stomach again and said, “I can feel it moving! The baby’s in there!”
“Right.”
“Did the stork put the baby in her tummy? Or did um…” I looked over at Mr. Jimmi.
“God did,” Jimmi said.
“God’s a stork?” I blinked.
“No, the stork only removes the baby…. you will have to ask Miss Starling how it got there because it is different for each couple,” Ger explained.
“But…” I frowned and looked down. “I’ll bet there’s a book about it in the library.”
Mr. Jimmi asked Mr. Gerric if he needed more time before court began and when Mr. Gerric said he was okay, Mr. Jimmi sent out a telegram for court. Sabi came over and sat beside me and Miss Pet handed out sandwiches to eat during court. I waved at miss paisley and then I looked over at Miss Pet.
“Hey Miss Pet? Is God a stork?”
“Hmm not to my knowledge,” she shook her head.
“Mr Ger said that a stork put the baby in Missus starling. But Mr Jimmi said that God did it.”
“No, I said the stork takes it out,” Mr. Gerric said.
“I’m still confused,” I frowned.
“Ohhh Nat, yer silly. Babies come from tha Sears & Roebucks cataloge. Everyone knows that,” Sabi insisted.
“From a catalogue!?” I blinked at her.
“Yup!” she nodded seriously.
“Is that true?” I looked at miss Pet. “So God is a stork AND a catalogue?”
“God is anything he wants to be young lady, thats the magic I spoke to you of,” Miss Nim smiled at me.
“It is kinda like, um, well see,” Miss Pet started to get flustered. “We best not discuss this in… public…” she looked around.
We focused on the courtroom then as people started to sit on the jury. I watched as court began and Susan was on trial for bank robbery. I listened to the stories, curious, and tried to stay focused, but it was harder when I didn’t really know what was happening. I still liked the courtroom though and it was fun. After a while I got bored and decided to go read somewhere.
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