Wild Card Quilt. Janisse Ray

Чтение книги онлайн.

Читать онлайн книгу Wild Card Quilt - Janisse Ray страница 15

Wild Card Quilt - Janisse Ray The World As Home

Скачать книгу

that by night appeared almost black but that would lighten to the exact amber of a tannic creek when held up to the morning sun. The thick syrup ran slowly toward the neck of the bottle when I upended it. A golden bubble traveled down the bottle’s length and disappeared.

      “It’s beautiful,” I said to Kenyon, and handed the bottle back.

      He kept his arms by his side, a bashful and happy look on his face. He shook his head.

      “I can’t take your syrup,” I said. “You’ve worked too hard for it.” I again held the bottle toward him.

      He shifted sideways. “You’re not taking it,” he said. “I’m giving it to you.”

      “Let me pay for it. I’ll gladly buy it.”

      “Your money’s no good here,” he said.

      “Thank you,” I said, pleased with the gift. “I’ll remember where it came from.”

      I’ve talked about the syrup and not enough about the people. Once I passed Sue and she led me to rabbit, roasting on a grill, from animals she’d raised and butchered. The piece she gave me was delicious. Jeanette brought in a baker of hot biscuits that we proceeded to drown in syrup and eat. Later I went out and shucked oysters with Walter and Uncle Mike. Everybody wanted to talk, to catch up. Linda asked me to send family information and photographs for her genealogy project. She and Walter live in Orlando now.

      Everywhere I turned, people were asking how long I’d been back and where I was staying and how the folks were, and remembering my grandmother, and telling me stories of their own lives, how their son was killed and they were raising their granddaughter, or how they loved the homeplace but their life was too tied to Atlanta or Dallas to leave. Every time I turned around, somebody was hugging me and telling me to come see them when the roll is called up yonder.

      It’s sweetness keeps people together. Sweetness. The sweetness of our tongues, of kind words, of praise, of invitations extended and invitations accepted, and the sweetness, too, of acts of imagination and love. Forgiveness, tolerance, and the courage to reach out. Every morning I pour the syrup on thick. I’ll be there.

       Calico Scraps

      Everything that seems empty is full of the angels of God.

      —ST. HILARY

      In winter of 1998, Mama and I began to piece together a quilt from cloth scraps she had gathered from the cotton gods. Some were bright yellow and red and blue, and shades in between, and shades of those in-between colors, and others were printed with flowers, stripes, polka dots. She and I were butterflies among the cloth scraps spread about us, and we raised one piece next to another, asking how it matched, as if trying on a roomful of gowns and shoes for a ballroom dance. We opened and closed pieces, butterflies fanning their brilliant sparkling wings, to see if there was enough yardage to cut a few squares.

      After awhile, I looked around. The tide of weaves had come in while we were occupied, and we were up to our fannies in stacks of cloth. Often we dipped into the current to find a piece we remembered seeing that should have matched some newly discovered piece.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4QAYRXhpZgAASUkqAAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAP/sABFEdWNreQABAAQAAABkAAD/4QMZaHR0cDov L25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wLwA8P3hwYWNrZXQgYmVnaW49Iu+7vyIgaWQ9Ilc1TTBNcENl aGlIenJlU3pOVGN6a2M5ZCI/PiA8eDp4bXBtZXRhIHhtbG5zOng9ImFkb2JlOm5zOm1ldGEvIiB4 OnhtcHRrPSJBZG9iZSBYTVAgQ29yZSA1LjAtYzA2MCA2MS4xMzQ3NzcsIDIwMTAvMDIvMTItMTc6 MzI6MDAgICAgICAgICI+IDxyZGY6UkRGIHhtbG5zOnJkZj0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMTk5 OS8wMi8yMi1yZGYtc3ludGF4LW5zIyI+IDxyZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24gcmRmOmFib3V0PSIiIHht bG5zOnhtcE1NPSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvbW0vIiB4bWxuczpzdFJlZj0i aHR0cDovL25zLmFkb2JlLmNvbS94YXAvMS4wL3NUeXBlL1Jlc291cmNlUmVmIyIgeG1sbnM6eG1w PSJodHRwOi8vbnMuYWRvYmUuY29tL3hhcC8xLjAvIiB4bXBNTTpEb2N1bWVudElEPSJ4bXAuZGlk OjE2NjI1Nzk0MEIxMjExRTFBQTQyQ0M3RDU4RTQ5RTEzIiB4bXBNTTpJbnN0YW5jZUlEPSJ4bXAu aWlkOjE2NjI1NzkzMEIxMjExRTFBQTQyQ0M3RDU4RTQ5RTEzIiB4bXA6Q3JlYXRvclRvb2w9IkFk b2JlIFBob3Rvc2hvcCBDUzUgV2luZG93cyI+IDx4bXBNTTpEZXJpdmVkRnJvbSBzdFJlZjppbnN0 YW5jZUlEPSJEQTUzNkU1RTJCMzlBNTlDMDc0N0YwOThGNUFFNDk1MCIgc3RSZWY6ZG9jdW1lbnRJ RD0iREE1MzZFNUUyQjM5QTU5QzA3NDdGMDk4RjVBRTQ5NTAiLz4gPC9yZGY6RGVzY3JpcHRpb24+ IDwvcmRmOlJERj4gPC94OnhtcG1ldGE+IDw/eHBhY2tldCBlbmQ9InIiPz7/7gAOQWRvYmUAZMAA AAAB/9sAhAABAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAQEBAgICAgIC AgICAgIDAwMDAwMDAwMDAQEBAQEBAQIBAQICAgECAgMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMD AwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwP/wAARCAQAApQDAREAAhEBAxEB/8QBCQABAAAGAwEBAAAA AAAAAAAAAAIDBAcICQEFBgoLAQEAAQUBAQEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQIDBAUGBwgJEAACAgEEAQMDAgMD CAEGAD8CAwEEBQARBgcSIRMIMSIUQQlRIxVhMhZxgZFCMyQXClKhsdFi0iV1GBnBQ7M0NVUmNlaW Nzjw4XKCk9O0RWW1J3e3KFg5GpKislNjc6NEVHSUhdVGZrZ4wsOldpfxg2SE1JWGR0gRAAEEAQMB BQUFAwgFBwgIBwEAEQIDBCESBTFBUSITBmFxgTIUkaFCIwexwVLw0eFicjMVCJKyQyQW8YLSU2Nz k6KzNFQ1VTYXwuJEdJS0JXU3GIOjZEUm/9oADAMBAAIRAxEAPwD7+NETRE0RNETRE0

Скачать книгу