Family

Chapter 5

They ne'er say anything during dinner or clean up. We get our read time in the living room tonight. I grab my favorite magazine. There a lot o' teared pages. Ma take out the ads 'cause the first time I read a magazine I ask for some stuff. Now Ma take 'em from me e'erytime.

Tonight I read 'bout how a woman created her favorite recipe. She happy with what she made. I wish I could cook like her. But I ain't allowed in the kitchen without Pa's permission. He control e'erything I ain't allowed in the kitchen. Pa want me in the barn with Mack. "Cooking fun, ya need to get work done 'fore fun," he tell me.

Sam look up the definition for the words he didn't know. He can't read, but he get Megan to read it for him. "Distraction," she say slow, "a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else." She say it so slow it take her so long to read one definition. Sam don't know what it all mean, but he move onto the next words. He jus' give her the paper and she find it. Megan read to Sam e'erytime. She tell him 'bout fairy tales. Megan six years old. She been reading for two years now. She feel bad that Sam can't read. So she help him. Claire jus' look at books with pictures in it. No words to read.

Mack read his favorite history book. It 'bout the "founding fathers." That what he told me. I don't know what a "founding fathers" is. He try to explain, but I get confused.

I jus' memorize the recipes in the magazine, and write it down for Ma. 'Fore I go to bed, I give it to her. Sometimes she make the recipe I give her later. She ne'er make the desserts I give her 'cause "sugar ain't good for a growing child, ya mus' eat ya healthy food." Ma try to keep us from being sick. I ne'er been sick 'fore. The others ne'er either. The magazines I read talk 'bout the flu and what-not. But I ne'er experience anything like that. They say to go to a hospital if ya feel bad. But I don't know where a hospital is. I ne'er left my family land. After I pick the next article, Pa come in and tell us to go downstairs now. "It late, y'all need to sleep. Ya gon' finish ya work early tomorrow." Then, he turn to Ma and tell her make breakfast fast and early. She jus' nod and continue cleaning.

The five o' us put our stories away and go downstairs. 

The bulb on. The stairs feel different tonight, I not know why, but it do. It feel like I going somewhere I ne'er been. But I been here e'ery night o' my life.

Claire tire, so I help her with getting in her nightgown first. She wear this light pink gown with lace on all the edges. She love this nightgown. She call it her princess dress. But she only wear it to bed. Only we see it. Ma made it for her when a few months ago. She sleep in it since.

Once I tuck her in, she asleep. Playing by the creek make us all tire very fast. After Claire in bed, then Sam tire too. Mack help him to bed. Me and Mack tire but we wait for Megan to go to bed. I try to get Mack to go to sleep but he refuse. His face fallin 'cause he so tire.

Megan finally wanna sleep. She play with dolls for a while, and that made her tire. She change her clothes and lay in bed. I tuck her in and she fall asleep fast too. Mack look at me. His eyes big. I think he scare. "What wrong Mack?"

"Will we needa tuck in another?"

"We not know yet."

"Yea we do."

"How?"