(The bone is passing from hand to hand. At last a boy about twelve takes it. He has just walked up and is proudly handling the bone when a woman’s voice is heard off stage right.) VOICE. Senator! Senator!! Oh, you Senator? BOY. (Turning displeased mutters) Aw, shux. (Loudly) Ma’m? VOICE. If you don’t come here you better! SENATOR. Yes ma’am. (He drops bone on ground down stage and trots off frowning.) Soon as we men git to doing something dese wimmen…. (Exits, right.) (Enter TEET and BOOTSIE left, clean and primped in voile dresses just alike. They speak diffidently and enter store. The men admire them casually.) LIGE. Them girls done turned out to be right good-looking. WALTER. Teet ain’t as pretty now as she was a few years back. She used to be fat as a butter ball wid legs just like two whiskey-kegs. She’s too skinny since she got her growth. CODY. Ain’t none of ’em pretty as dat Miss Daisy. God! She’s pretty as a speckled pup. LIGE. But she was sho nuff ugly when she was little … little ole hard black knot. She sho has changed since she been away up North. If she ain’t pretty now, there ain’t a hound dog in Georgy. (Re-enter SENATOR BAILEY and stops on the steps. He addresses JOE CLARK.) SENATOR. Mist’ Clark…. HAMBO. (To Senator) Ain’t you got no manners? We all didn’t sleep wid you last night. SENATOR. (Embarrassed) Good evening, everybody. ALL THE MEN. Good evening, son, boy, Senator, etc. SENATOR. Mist’ Clark, mama said is Daisy been here dis evenin’? JOE CLARK. Ain’t laid my eyes on her. Ain’t she working over in Maitland? SENATOR. Yessuh … but she’s off today and mama sent her down here to get de groceries. JOE CLARK. Well, tell yo’ ma I ain’t seen her. SENATOR. Well, she say to tell you when she come, to tell her ma say she better git home and dat quick. JOE CLARK. I will. (Exit BOY right.) LIGE. Bet she’s off somewhere wid Dave or Jim. WALTER. I don’t bet it … I know it. She’s got them two in de go-long. (Re-enter TEET and BOOTSIE from store. TEET has a letter and BOOTSIE two or three small parcels. The men look up with interest as they come out on the porch.) WALTER. (Winking) Whut’s dat you got, Teet … letter from Dave? TEET. (Flouncing) Naw indeed! It’s a letter from my B-I-T-sweetie! (Rolls her eyes and hips.) WALTER. (Winking) Well, ain’t Dave yo’ B-I-T-sweetie? I thought y’all was ’bout to git married. Everywhere I looked dis summer ’twas you and Dave, Bootsie and Jim. I thought all of y’all would’ve done jumped over de broomstick by now. TEET. (Flourishing letter) Don’t tell it to me … tell it to the ever-loving Mr. Albert Johnson way over in Apopka. BOOTSIE. (Rolling her eyes) Oh, tell ’em ’bout the ever-loving Mr. Jimmy Cox from Altamont. Oh, I can’t stand to see my baby lose. HAMBO. It’s lucky y’all girls done got some more fellers, cause look like Daisy done treed both Jim and Dave at once, or they done treed here one.