At Sunset

Her Full Moon

The wait to see Clarice again wasn't long for Cap, in fact, it was the following evening after he had given the red pipe tobacco to his father. The Darlings gift had been well received, and forgetting about his previous grievances of them being 'Yankees', Devil Anse Hatfield had extended an invite to their home for supper, the hospitable southern thing to do.

His sisters and the McCoy girl were helping his Ma set up in the kitchen while the men sat about waiting for their guests to arrive. Cap was out on the porch with Johnse and Robert E., teaching him his letters from a book while their older brother looked over the porch railing and out into their fields. It was proving to be a quiet evening, and Levicy Hatfield had stressed her point to their father about how important it was not to have Uncle Jim and his dog around for the supper. Clara had already made her acquaintances with Jim, but there was no telling what her father was like considering none had seen the elusive man yet. Cap was nervous for the fact, feeling like it was his responsibility to leave a good impression on her guardian if he wanted to be able to continue to keep seeing her. Not that he was courting her or anything of the like; they were just friends.

"She ain't never told you what happened out in those woods?" Johnse inquired as he turned to lean his back on the porch rail, watching him with their little brother.

"Nah, n' I haven't bothered ta' ask neither. S'none of my business." Cap shrugged while closing the book he had been reading to Robert E. from.

"You ain't curious though, not even jus' the tiniest bit?" Johnse prodded, and Cap concluded it was his brother who wanted to know.

"Suppose I am, but that's natural I expect." He brushed a hand back through his hair while coming to a stand.

"Skunkhair's been sayin' ta' everyone that she kissed you."

Cap scowled, giving Robert E. a shove by the shoulder into the house as he started to laugh. "Skunkhair's got a big mouth. N' anyway, it wasn't that kinda kiss."

Johnse stretched his arms over his head with a disbelieving look. "Really? Kinda kiss was it then?"

Cap once again cursed Skunkhair and his wagging tongue. Nothing was ever private in Mate Creek, least of all who was supposedly riding-the-hobby-horse together. He and Clara certainly weren't, and he couldn't decide if that twisting in his gut was disappointment.

"Don't know. I guess it was the friendly kind, like one you would get from Ma."

"Nah, I don't think so, not when she gave it right there," Johnse said with a chuckle as he pointed to the corner of his mouth.

Cap growled and gave his brother a good thwack on the back of the head to alleviate his annoyance. Wouldn't work in the long run, but for the moment it felt pretty damn good. Their brotherly quarrel was interrupted by Nancy poking her head out the door, shaking her head at their antics before she spoke.

"Ma wants you both inside ta' wash up before they get here, n' she also says ta' stop horsin' 'round cause yer both too old for that."

Johnse let out another boyish chuckle while Cap gave him one more slap on the back for good measure. They entered the house and ran through the kitchen, passed their Ma's annoyed face to head upstairs. Cap wasn't sure what was included in the whole 'wash up' routine other than to make sure his face was free of dirt and that he was presented in clean clothes. Hats weren't worn in the house so he would be without his stetson to hide behind. He made sure his shirt was well tucked into his pants and his suspenders straight over his shoulders without any twists. As he faced the cloudy mirror on the wall, his thoughts drifted to what Clara would be wearing that night. Her fashion was unlike anything the women around Virginia ever wore, and he realized Europe must have been a really fancy place if most of her wardrobe had been supplied from there.