The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom Read Free Book Online Page A

easily excited.
    Miss Sarah immediately began to exclaim about the holiday decorations, but then she caught sight of me standing with Mama Mae and the twins, and her eyes opened wide. Disliking her scrutiny, I stepped behind Mama.
    “Why, Martha, dear! Who… what…?”
    “I know, I know. I haven’t had time to… She was on board ship. James brought her home this past spring.”
    “But my dear! She must be given a chance! To put her with—”
    “Sarah! Might we speak of this later?”
    “Yes, yes, of course. But you understand my surprise.”
    Miss Martha ended the conversation by turning to Mama and thanking her for her hard work. Then she sent us out, though Belle was told to remain. We listened from behind the door as Miss Martha sharply questioned Belle as to why her head wasn’t covered. When Belle tried to explain that she had removed her head rag because of the heat in the kitchen, she was silenced.
    “Must you always seek attention!” Miss Martha said sharply, then quickly dismissed Belle when the captain and the others began to enter.

     
    I T TOOK A WHILE BEFORE Belle joined the family at Mama and Papa’s house for a Christmas meal. Belle’s mood was subdued until Ben, on whose lap I sat, gently teased her into good humor.
    After our meal, we were each given a few raisins and a fresh apple from the storage barrel. Papa cracked open some nuts, and Ben picked out the meat using the horseshoe nails he always carried in his pocket.
    Uncle left again to work at the big house when a bottle of peach brandy, a gift from the captain, was produced. Mama poured a drink for each adult, including Ben, Dory, and Belle. Talk turned lively after the second round of drinks, and I was soon caught up in the fun when I learned we were going to a dance that night down in the quarters. Papa George and Ben left shortly after, eager to get the chores done.
    When the dishes were clean, Belle took the twins and me back to the kitchen house. She went upstairs, and when she came down, I hardly recognized her. Under her winter shawl, she wore a white top I had never seen. Around the neckline, a small ruffle matched the one on the white petticoat peeking out from under her full skirt. Her long hair was combed down and curled around her face. The twins and I stared at her, and we all wanted a turn at touching her long soft curls. Belle smiled and told us to stop fussing with her, but her green eyes shone.
    She handed Fanny and me her silver comb, her silver hand mirror, and some blue ribbon to carry back to Mama’s house. She and Beattie each carried a large gingerbread cake that had been baked earlier. Before we left the house, I was told that I was not to eat the cakes at the party.
    “Why?” I asked.
    “Because we already ate our sweets,” Belle answered.
    When we returned, Mama was trying to convince Dory to come to the dance. “You come, baby, you gots to keep living,” Mama said. “Besides, I know one man gonna be looking for you tonight.”
    Dory turned away from her. “I just can’t, Mama,” she said.
    “All right, then,” said Mama, taking off her apron and sitting down at the table. “I stay here with you.”
    “No, Mama,” said Dory, “I don’t want you missin’ the fun.”
    “Then you come with us,” Mama said. “You come and sit with me, and we watch the dancin’.”
    Belle pulled Dory over to sit on a stool. “Here,” she said, “let me fix your hair.” Belle removed Dory’s head rag and wove a blue ribbon through Dory’s braided hair. When she’d finished, she held up the mirror. Dory glanced at her reflection, then her face crumpled and she began to cry. Belle leaned down to hug her. “Baby Henry is happy where he is, and I know he’d want you to be happy,” she said.
    Mama was watching, and when we saw her use her apron to wipe tears from her own eyes, we three girls also began to sob. And that was how Ben and Papa George found us when they opened the door.
    “Well, well, well,”