“Because you were her favorite doll baby and the one she loved,” Pearl said.
I told Pearl about Judge Norton’s early layette set that Retta sewed, and the ol’ woman’s boldness in the courtroom and how she’d sassed the judge.
“Oh, Pearl, I was so frightened that she was going to get us both thrown in jail.”
“I wish I could’ve seen her!”
We both fell into a fit of giggles, nearly falling off our mounts as I recounted all of it. I scratched Pennie’s head and readjusted her on the saddle as my laughter finally stilled.
Soon, we arrived at my cabin with me still chattering away, my nerves lit from the past week, the worry of facing court again heavily on my mind.
Pearl climbed down Pie, reached for the cat, and said, “You sure have some wonderful memories.”
“Yes, I really do.” And I was grateful she’d encouraged me to share them.
We unpacked and carried my belongings inside.
“Want to stay for supper?” I asked.
“Only if you sit and let me cook it.”
“I’d be obliged, Pearl.”
“I’ll feed the mounts and Pennie and be back in a minute,” she said, picking up Pennie and nuzzling the cat’s tiny head with her chin. “Let’s get you fed, sweet girl.”
An hour later, Pearl raised a second glass of her blackberry wine over our supper of potato soup and fried cornmeal mush. “To Miss Retta.” She dipped her spoon into a bowl and asked, “Will you stay here?”
“I want to, but”—I grimaced—“the law might not let me once they find out Retta has passed. As easy as that freedom came, it has been quickly stripped away.”
“Laws written by men don’t protect females much.” Pearl sighed.
It was the first time I thought about it, and I suddenly realized it was true, remembering Retta’s comment in the courtroom about the men and my best interest.
I picked up my spoon, played with my soup. “Just sixteen months until I’m legally an adult, according to the law. But if the children’s prison or that social worker gets ahold of me, well, they can keep me another three years on top of that.”
“You wouldn’t get out till you’re twenty-one! We can’t let that horrid woman try again. Can’t you just stay hidden here?”
“I have a little money saved, but I’m going to need to find work,” I said, setting down my spoon, worrying the thought.
“What type of work?”
I thought about Bonnie Powell, spending long shifts in the mine, crawling across hard rock and smothered by dampness and rock dust. “Not many jobs around these parts but coal mining.”
“I’ve seen a few female miners around.”
“Bonnie Powell works it. She said the men don’t like women working down there with them though. They claim the females are trying to steal their paychecks, and their wives claim the women are trying to steal their men. But all the female miners want is the same chance as the men, to keep a dry roof over their heads and food on their table for their little ones.”
Pearl wrinkled her nose. “Surely there’s something else.”
“I’ve got to get work and support myself, have enough money to keep this place up. It’s the only thing that can keep me from the children’s prison.” I looked around the cabin and spotted the pile of books I brought from Retta’s. She’d fussed about the books, but like Mama, she made sure I had as many as I wanted.
For a moment, I shut my eyes and felt both Mama and Retta at my side, their gentle hands on my shoulders. Their presence was so strong that I jumped up, startling Pearl.