Francis opened the Company’s door, peeked outside. When he saw his cousin, he went up to her. I could see that Francis was upset about something because Bonnie kept shaking her head. Then she ripped off her miner’s helmet and threw it on the ground, the coal-stained hat bouncing out into the street, her boy’s cut poking out like a spent scarecrow at the end of its season.
Her cousin stepped back as if he’d been hit, pointed at her hair. “Who did it? Tell me!” His shouts carried high above the town and into pine-treed hills, his face mottling with anger.
The small group of huddled miners peered over their shoulders. Francis stormed over to them, yelling, “Which one of you filthy dirt-diggers touched my cousin? You best tell me now, or you’ll all be getting a piece of me.” He raised both fists.
“Francis, stop,” Bonnie said, grabbing his arm. But he jerked away. “Francis, please—” Her Coca-Cola tumbled to the sidewalk and busted, the jagged neck of the bottle rolling into the streets.
I hurried over to Bonnie’s side. “Francis, stop it,” I yelled. “Please don’t!”
Mr. Gillis shoved the boy away. Francis punched him in his jaw, and then they were tumbling, fighting out in the street. Francis got a couple of good licks in, but Gillis had more might and punched Francis once and then again. The young man dropped to his knees and hit the ground.
Gillis searched the pavement, then slowly bent down to scoop up a large piece of the bottle. I sprang over and kicked it away, the disappointing morning mounted in my hard boot. Gillis screwed up his face at me and reached for the Cola’s broke neck.
Surprised at my anger, I stumbled back. Another coal miner grabbed Gillis’s arm and twisted his wrist, knocking the sharp, jagged glass out of his hand. Francis stood and staggered and Gillis lunged for him again. Several men came out of the store and separated the two, dragging Francis back inside. “Come on, Son,” one man told Francis, “let’s get you upstairs to one of the rooms and clean you up.” Francis limped inside.
Bonnie snatched her helmet and took off fast.
The other men talked heatedly to the miner in between Gillis’s curses.
Worried about Francis, wanting to escape Gillis, I decided to go inside. Maybe I could try to use the telephone and ring my folk like Amara suggested. Hesitant, I waited a few minutes, then pulled a dollar out from my coat pocket and moved closer to the Company store.
Perry Gillis stepped in front of me and blocked the entrance. He leaned into my face and said, “If you bring any more of them filthy books to my home, so much as a page, I’ll register a complaint with the library and sic the law on ya for coming between a man and his wife.”
I cringed, remembering that I had read somewhere about the old alienation-of-affection law.
He pushed his face closer to mine and I tucked my chin, cowering, knowing if there was one thing the Blue folk had in common with other womenfolk, it was to do just that, duck from a man’s hard flying fist. Like all Kentucky women, I knew when to stand and knew when to bow and back down. It was a means of survival that was taught to the very young, instilled in the smallest of girls.
“Listen up good now, gal. Ya hear me?” He grabbed hold of my hair and yanked hard, burning my scalp. My eyes watered as he wound his beefy fingers tighter, knotted, and jerked harder.
A small cry escaped my clenched teeth.
“You stop running your mouth to my woman and stay the hell away from my place!” Gillis blew his stale breath into my face, taking a clump of hair with him as he shoved me backwards. When I finally looked up, he was walking back to the group of miners.
Torn, I stared at his back, breathing hard, shaken, trying to decide whether I should take Guyla Belle off the list. Wincing, I rubbed my scalp. If I lost my job, I wouldn’t have a chance of making it on my own. I needed this job and the steady income, and more pay stubs. She’d been desperate for the books, and I wanted to help the woman escape from her misery. If he brought the law down on me, it would be bad and even hurt anything Mr. Morgan was trying to do to keep me out of the prison. I could lose what liberty I had left.