Middle West -- Fiction; Short stories, American; Villages -- Fiction
But the rest of us was sharing a big minute. And I liked us all to be
feeling that way--I ain’t never liked anything better, without it’s the
Christmas feeling or the Thanksgiving feeling. And this feeling was
sort of like all two. And I betted if only we could make it
last--Absalom wouldn’t be getting done out of his arm’s money-value by
Silas, nor the Bettses out of their decent roof by Timothy, nor they
wouldn’t be no club formed to dole out charity stuff, but we would all
know a better way. And things would be different. Different.
I leaned clear past three chairs and nudged Mis’ Toplady. She looked
round, and I see she was just wiping her eyes on her apron-string--Mis’
Toplady never can find her handkerchief when she most wants to cry. And
I never said a word--I didn’t need to--but we nodded and we both knew
what we both knew: that there was a bigger thing in the room that minute
than ever Silas knew or guessed when he planned out his plan. And it was
what Mis’ Toplady had meant when she told him there was something
“greater than these”--as most folks mean ’em.
I didn’t lose the feeling through the piece by the band that come next,
nor through the selection by Silas’s niece. The music really made the
feeling more so--the music, and our all setting there hearing it
together, and everybody in the room being givers, and nobody givees. But
when the music stopped, and while I was still feeling all glorified up,
what did Mis’ Sykes do but break in, something like throwing a stone
through a window.
“I should think we might as well get the club name settled to-night,”
she says with her little formal pucker. “Ain’t the Charity Club that we
spoke of real nice and dignified for our title?”
It was Mis’ Toplady that exploded. It just bare happened it wasn’t me,
but it turned out to be her.
“Land, land,” she says, “_no_! Not one person in fifteen hundred knows
what charity means anyhow, and everybody’d get the wrong idee. Let’s
call it just its plain natural name: The Friendship Village Club. Or,
The Whole World Club. Or I dunno but The Universe Club!”
I knew I wouldn’t have the sense to keep still right through things. I
never do have.
“No, sir!” I says out, “oh, no sir! Universe Club ain’t big enough. For
if they is any other universe anywhere maybe that might feel left out.”
Long before we had settled on any one name, I remember Mis’ Toplady come
out from behind the refreshments screen and says: “Mr. President, the
coffee and sandwiches has come to a boil. Can’t you peter off the
meeting and adjourn it for one week?”
Which wasn’t just exactly how she meant to say it. But it seemed to come
in so pat that everybody rustled, spontaneous, in spite of themselves.
And us ladies begun passing the plates.
* * * * *
After they’d all gone, we was picking up the dishes when Silas come in
to see to the stoves.
“Oh, Silas,” I says, “wasn’t it a splendid meeting? Wasn’t it?”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account