T a l i t h a

Chapter 21

   Levi with his colorful banjo would be one of the principal music makers for the dance, as usual. His nimble fingers and a willing mind to oblige had long made him the first choice with the young people. Although disappointed, when he asked Talitha to be his "lassie" for the dance, to learn she had accepted a date with Mr. Radford, Levi had promised Talitha she would dance to better music than she had ever heard coming from his banjo, then probably more to tease her, he added, "Be sure you don't sit them all out with Mr. Radford."

   The aged gentleman who was to call each set was by no means new on the job either. The ring of his chatter made it hard for anyone to want to sit out a dance. At the beginning of each set he never failed to say:

Gents, bring your best girl to the floor,
Oh, hi, de, ho,
Look into her eyes and smile
As you've never smiled before.

   After dancing many sets with Mr. Radford, Talitha had him take her home by the stroke of twelve, remembering her busy days at the store at this Christmas time. She recalled that Levi once laid down his banjo to dance a set with her, later to tell her, "Only to be nearer you, lovely as you were."

   It was Christmas Eve, but with all the gaiety of fun, hustle and bustle, Mrs. Sammons found time to view the position of the moon at this time, as had been her custom since her early childhood. Alone in her kitchen she was watching a full moon rise higher and higher. Calling Talitha and the boys to view the moon with her, she said, "Your great-grandmother would say, 'It's beautiful and it brings glad tidings. Light nights at Christmas tells us the New Year brings heavy crops and light graveyards!'"

   Since early childhood, Talitha could remember her mother calling as many of her family as possible together to view the moon on Christmas Eve and then repeating the words of Grandmother.

   The last week in February was approaching and Mr. Radford's pupils were soon to see the last day of subscription school. John, with Talitha's encouragement, was to be one among them and he was glad. He admitted he had been greatly benefited during the last three months in school, and Talitha couldn't deny that John's last school days had benefited her also. She couldn't recall a night during subscription school when she did not do the homework with him. Together, they learned to spell new words, and taking turns reading in John's new reader was a joy for both. Neither could Talitha recall a Sunday night over a period of weeks that Mr. Radford didn't call, driving Fiddle to a new buggy, then to take her to church on church nights. But not before, through John, his note bearer, he had made sure Talitha would be expecting him.

   She and Mr. Radford were now frequently the subject of talk in the group that liked to gather around Grandma Berry at church to hear her opinions on many questions they might ask her. The possibility of marriage between the schoolmaster and his attractive former pupil was discussed with lively interest. But when one of the group asked Grandma Berry if she thought it would happen, she laughed and said, "No, child, no. I know Bob Radford hasn't come all the way from Georgia to marry a widow with a child. Why, back in Georgia he could have married numbers of girls. Mark my word, I tell you, he ain't the marryin' kind."

   Spring blossomed into beauty and Mr. Radford became more dissatisfied with only a date on Sunday night. He was now insisting that Talitha let him see her at least one night during the week as well. The fact that she didn't seem to object did not puzzle Mrs. Sammons in the least, yet with many thoughts running through her mind concerning the matter, not one word came from her lips. As Mr. Radford's visits at the Sammons home continued, the boys began to think of him as one of them. They soon discovered he too liked the feel of a gun, and a day's hunt in the swamps was a joy to him also. Mr. Radford continued to assure Talitha of his love, in the hope that she would pledge her love for him in return and promise to marry him as he had by now repeatedly asked her to do.

   It was an ideal spring Sunday night, Talitha and Mr. Radford, preferring to walk home from church, had sent Mrs. Sammons and one of the boys on ahead driving Fiddle to the buggy. A Southern moon, full in all its splendor, was casting shadows on the crooked rail fence entwined in honeysuckle and May pop vines. Slowly walking in the moonlight Mr. Radford, clasping Talitha's hand, said, "Talitha, I think I have waited long enough for your answer. When you were my pupil I required you to answer all the questions I might ask. Now, I'm tempted to require you to do the same." Talitha had heard every word Mr. Radford had said but she was more conscious of the fact that he, for the first time, had called her Talitha. Walking on in silence they both were conscious that somewhere near, nestled among the clinging vines on the rail fence, a mocking bird was sounding its sweetest notes, no doubt to a nesting mate. At long last, believing Talitha had no intention of answering, Mr. Radford said, "Do you doubt my love for you or do you doubt your love for me?" Then Talitha broke her silence and said, "Mr. Radford, I have a question to ask also and the man I marry must answer it to my satisfaction." "What is your question?" he asked.

   When they were alone on her mother's porch, Mr. Radford, still pressing her for an answer, said, "I love you and I wish more than anything to have you as my wife. Won't you make my wish come true?" Talitha then knew she was about to pose the question she had formed and kept hidden in her heart for so long, and to the man with whom she knew she was deeply in love. Speaking with the utmost earnestness, she said, "Will you be a father to my baby and help me to educate her?" Mr. Radford then held her in his arms and with the first kiss he said, "Indeed I will, your baby shall be my baby. How could it be otherwise when her mother is the only woman I have ever loved?"

  Throughout the community the farmers had by now planted their crops of cotton and corn. Jason, who was having several acres of land cleared, was planning a logrolling in the hope of planting the cleared acres to pumpkins. Word had gone out for miles around that Saturday there would be a logrolling at the Jason Hill place. Polly and the women of the family had already started baking several days ahead of time, putting aside cakes and pies and making ready to have plenty of chicken pies in the oven the morning of the appointed day. Jason, along with the men of the family, was taking care the barbecue meats would be the best ever. A logrolling, once the word got around, was an affair both young and old looked forward to. When Saturday came arrayed in a warm sun, families started arriving early in the morning. The women, as was the custom, sat around discussing things past, present and to be, while all the men were in the field rolling the logs high in a heap to be burned later. Talitha was keeping busy taking chicken pies from the oven, making room for more. But she was not so busy that she couldn't keep an eye on the kitchen window where Mr. Radford would be sure to pass on his way to the field. They had discussed this affair on their last date, he assuring her he would be there.

   A bountiful lunch was served at noon under the towering oaks that stood near the kitchen door. A large pot of coffee was steaming near by, and not too far away someone had remembered to keep the tea pot brewing on smoldering coals.

   Mr. Radford was soon to find Talitha among the many guests, and when they had served their plates, each with a cup of tea, they quietly slipped away. No sooner were they gone than they were missed. There were those to say, "Where is Mr. Radford, where is Talitha?" They were spotted eating alone under the willows on the bank of Dry Bayou that ran a short distance behind Jason's house. The young people wouldn't consider their lunch finished until they had turned their cups and Mrs. Sammons had revealed their future to them. Seated on the kitchen doorsteps, Mrs. Sammons was turning cups in all angles, each handing her their cup in turn, when someone noticed Talitha and Mr. Radford emerging from the willows. At once the young people started calling, "Turn your cup, Talitha. Come on, Mr. Radford, be a sport and turn your cup." Talitha quickly took Mr. Radford's cup from his plate and swirled the two cups in a bucket of water on a table nearby. "Talitha," her mother scolded, "you have ruined a bucket of fresh water." Grandma Berry, who was comfortably seated in the shade of the oaks, was heard to say, "Talitha don't have to turn her cup to know her future. I can tell her now, she'll never catch Bob Radford."

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Charlotte Curlee Ramsey
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