Granny5
01-02-2008, 01:49 PM
Thanks all who voted in the competition. I appreciate the votes my story received. I do have to admit that Robbed was my favorite.
A Chance Meeting
The summer dust was everywhere. But, Grace was used to dust and heat and mosquitoes and blisters on her hands. The cotton needed chopping and she had to work alongside the rest of her family in the fields. Five days a week her days started before sunup and didn’t end till the sun was down. Saturday was a half day, ending at the noon break. That was just the way of life for field hands. This Saturday afternoon though, she was making the three mile walk to see a movie even if she had to walk by herself. Grace had not been to town for two weeks.
The only shoes Grace owned were her work shoes and they weren’t fit to wear to town. She hoped to be able to buy her own pair by the end of the pickin’ season, but right now she’d have to be nice to her sister so she could borrow her pair and go to town. Not that her sister had lots of shoes, she only had two pair; the old ones and the not so old ones. If sister wasn’t going to town, Grace would get to wear the not so old ones. Of course, this would cost her in chores the next week, but it would be worth it. Luck was with her when Sister said she was staying home to wait for her beau.
So with shoes polished, skirt pressed, and hair curled, Grace headed down the mile of dusty road to the highway. There the highway would take her the two miles into town. Surely there would be someone there she knew to sit with. Otherwise, she would sit by herself and enjoy her time away from field work and the heat.
The line at the theater was long as usual. This was the only entertainment in a small cotton town and the only place that had air-conditioning. There must have been a hundred people waiting for the box office to open. As she stood in line, Grace watched for someone she knew to come by, someone she wouldn’t mind sitting through a movie with.
Emmit was glad it was Saturday. After a week of hard work, he deserved the break. Going to the movie was what Emmit worked the fields for. Every week he would go and watch and dream of making a life like the ones shown on the screen. The quarter he got to keep from his week of hard work was enough to escape for a couple of hours from the only life he’d ever known. And, although it would take all of his money, he would go and watch the newsreel and movie and enjoy the air-conditioned darkness. It was a lonely trip walking by him self, but he was fine with that. Large families could make a man want some time alone. And the five mile walk gave him time to think about where his life was going. Staying in the fields was not what he wanted to do.
Grace saw Emmit as he was walking toward the back of the waiting line. As he walked near, he made eye contact and smiled; she reached out and touched his arm, pretending that she had been waiting on him the whole time. “Oh, I was afraid you weren’t coming.” she said, just loud enough for the people around her to hear. Emmit understood, knowing that some would be angry if he just cut in line. So he stepped in beside her and said, “I was late getting the chores done.” It was easy to pretend that he had been looking for her. She was petite with brown hair and soft brown eyes. They had worked the same fields often and he knew her to be quiet and a little shy.
“I’m glad you made it.” She said. Grace didn’t want to be the only girl at the movies alone. And she had known Emmit and his family most of her life. Knowing that Emmit would offer to walk her home was a relief. Walking home in the dark alone wasn’t something she was looking forward to.
As they stood in line waiting and talking about unimportant things, more friends came by. Neither asked others to step in line with them. Without questioning they both pretended like they had planned this meeting.
The heat was waiting when they left the theater. “Is it alright if I walk with you?” Emmit asked, knowing it would add an extra two miles to his walk home, but not caring. He was enjoying the company more than he would have imagined. “I’d like that.” Grace replied. “I was dreading the walk back home alone.” They started off toward the homes and lives they lived, walking slow and holding hands. It was a quiet night after they left the town with the crowds and cars passing. The sky was clear and full of stars. They talked of family and of work and of what they hoped their lives would be.
When they reach the small house Grace and her family lived in, they were both reluctant to part. “I’ll go to the show again in two weeks.” Emmit stated quietly, knowing it would take that long to save the money to pay for both their tickets. “I’ll come by and walk you into town if you want to go.”
“That would be nice, should I meet you at the highway?” she asked.
“No, I’ll come by proper and walk you.”
They smiled at each other, both realizing that it could be as simple as that. Their lives would change and lives would be created because of this chance meeting in a small cotton town.
A Chance Meeting
The summer dust was everywhere. But, Grace was used to dust and heat and mosquitoes and blisters on her hands. The cotton needed chopping and she had to work alongside the rest of her family in the fields. Five days a week her days started before sunup and didn’t end till the sun was down. Saturday was a half day, ending at the noon break. That was just the way of life for field hands. This Saturday afternoon though, she was making the three mile walk to see a movie even if she had to walk by herself. Grace had not been to town for two weeks.
The only shoes Grace owned were her work shoes and they weren’t fit to wear to town. She hoped to be able to buy her own pair by the end of the pickin’ season, but right now she’d have to be nice to her sister so she could borrow her pair and go to town. Not that her sister had lots of shoes, she only had two pair; the old ones and the not so old ones. If sister wasn’t going to town, Grace would get to wear the not so old ones. Of course, this would cost her in chores the next week, but it would be worth it. Luck was with her when Sister said she was staying home to wait for her beau.
So with shoes polished, skirt pressed, and hair curled, Grace headed down the mile of dusty road to the highway. There the highway would take her the two miles into town. Surely there would be someone there she knew to sit with. Otherwise, she would sit by herself and enjoy her time away from field work and the heat.
The line at the theater was long as usual. This was the only entertainment in a small cotton town and the only place that had air-conditioning. There must have been a hundred people waiting for the box office to open. As she stood in line, Grace watched for someone she knew to come by, someone she wouldn’t mind sitting through a movie with.
Emmit was glad it was Saturday. After a week of hard work, he deserved the break. Going to the movie was what Emmit worked the fields for. Every week he would go and watch and dream of making a life like the ones shown on the screen. The quarter he got to keep from his week of hard work was enough to escape for a couple of hours from the only life he’d ever known. And, although it would take all of his money, he would go and watch the newsreel and movie and enjoy the air-conditioned darkness. It was a lonely trip walking by him self, but he was fine with that. Large families could make a man want some time alone. And the five mile walk gave him time to think about where his life was going. Staying in the fields was not what he wanted to do.
Grace saw Emmit as he was walking toward the back of the waiting line. As he walked near, he made eye contact and smiled; she reached out and touched his arm, pretending that she had been waiting on him the whole time. “Oh, I was afraid you weren’t coming.” she said, just loud enough for the people around her to hear. Emmit understood, knowing that some would be angry if he just cut in line. So he stepped in beside her and said, “I was late getting the chores done.” It was easy to pretend that he had been looking for her. She was petite with brown hair and soft brown eyes. They had worked the same fields often and he knew her to be quiet and a little shy.
“I’m glad you made it.” She said. Grace didn’t want to be the only girl at the movies alone. And she had known Emmit and his family most of her life. Knowing that Emmit would offer to walk her home was a relief. Walking home in the dark alone wasn’t something she was looking forward to.
As they stood in line waiting and talking about unimportant things, more friends came by. Neither asked others to step in line with them. Without questioning they both pretended like they had planned this meeting.
The heat was waiting when they left the theater. “Is it alright if I walk with you?” Emmit asked, knowing it would add an extra two miles to his walk home, but not caring. He was enjoying the company more than he would have imagined. “I’d like that.” Grace replied. “I was dreading the walk back home alone.” They started off toward the homes and lives they lived, walking slow and holding hands. It was a quiet night after they left the town with the crowds and cars passing. The sky was clear and full of stars. They talked of family and of work and of what they hoped their lives would be.
When they reach the small house Grace and her family lived in, they were both reluctant to part. “I’ll go to the show again in two weeks.” Emmit stated quietly, knowing it would take that long to save the money to pay for both their tickets. “I’ll come by and walk you into town if you want to go.”
“That would be nice, should I meet you at the highway?” she asked.
“No, I’ll come by proper and walk you.”
They smiled at each other, both realizing that it could be as simple as that. Their lives would change and lives would be created because of this chance meeting in a small cotton town.