Girls Like Us by Gail Giles Read Free Book Online

tell you another time to hush about me and boys. He show this duck to me and to Miss Lizzy.” She nod her head in that “I ain’t talkin’ ’bout this no more” way and turnt back to the duck. I swear I don’t understand that girl.
    Biddy waggle her fingers closer, and Mama Duck hiss through the hole in her beak and struck her head out like a snake trying to bite Biddy’s fingers.
    I jump up. “Biddy, you leave that duck alone. It’s gonna bite you.”
    “No, she ain’t. She’s just being a good mama. Telling me to leave her babies alone.”
    I couldn’t believe this fool girl. “You keep waggling you fingers at that duck, it’s gonna bite you a good one. Don’t come running to me when you get the duck rabies.” I got me tomatoes and basil and left.
    Biddy stay outside singing to that duck.

I got to get corns and a bowl of water. That way Mama Duck can eat and drink right here. She won’t have to leave her babies.

Biddy come in whilst I was washing the tomatoes. She grab her a little bowl out the cabinet.
    “S’cuse me,” she say, kind of singy-songy, and shove her bowl under the water.
    “What you doing?”
    “I’m taking water to Mama Duck.”
    I just stare.
    “And I need some dry corns. Ducks like dry corns, right?”
    “You ever hear me quack?”
    Biddy’s face knot up. “Huh?”
    “I look like a duck? How I’m s’pose to know what a duck eat?”
    Biddy look at me like I’m stupid. “You the one knows how to read. If I could read, I’d make sure I learned things.”
    My head start to ache. I couldn’t think of nothing to say. I went back to washing the tomatoes.
    “So, can you get me some dry corns at the store where you work?”
    “Biddy, I work at a grocery store. I don’t know where to get dry corn. And you don’t got to go feeding that duck. It’s been having babies all by itself for a long time. It don’t need your help.”
    Biddy sniff her nose. “That’s what you know.”
    Now, what was that s’pose to mean?
    We went on over to Lizabeth’s and I roast us a chicken and made a tomato and basil salad with hunks of cheese and olive oil drizzled on top. Biddy watch how Lizabeth eat and use her napkin and did exactly how Lizabeth did.
    “Miss Lizzy, do you know where I can get dry corns?” Biddy axt.
    “Oh, Lord, here we go,” I say.
    Biddy cut me a look and say, “You hush. You don’t even like ducks.”
    Lizabeth put her napkin up to her mouth. Look like maybe she be hiding a smile. Now Biddy got Lizabeth thinking I’m a fool.
    “Ain’t got nothing to do with liking or not liking ducks,” I said low-like.
    “Miss Lizzy, can you get rabies from a duck?”
    That napkin too small to hide Lizabeth’s smile now.
    “Why, Biddy, I’m not sure. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of”— a little laugh jump out Lizabeth’s mouth —“duck rabies.”
    Biddy nod her head at me, like “See!”
    “We need to be eating this chicken before it get cold,” I say. I say it loud so Biddy would hush her mouth.
    “Miss Lizzy, I need corns to feed that Mama Duck so she don’t leave her babies.”
    A look crosst Lizabeth’s face that was so sad and soft I was certain sure right then that Lizabeth knew ’bout Biddy’s took-away baby.
    “You could ask Stephen to get you some corn.”
    “I can’t be asking no boy for nothin’,” Biddy say, so low I almost couldn’t hear her.
    Lizabeth let the clock ticktock a little bit, then say, “I believe you could buy dry corn at a feed store, Biddy.”
    “I have to leave here and go get it?” Biddy slunk down. But right away she hitch up her back. “How far is a feed store?”
    “We’d have to look it up. We’ll do that another time. As Quincy said, we need to eat this wonderful chicken before it gets cold.”
    I thought about saying we oughta roast that duck and make omelets from the eggs, but sassy as Biddy done got, I figured she might stab me with her fork. Fool girl acting so crazy she might have the duck rabies