Maddy licks her fingers any slicks back her blond locks. She takes a deep breath and begins.
"I have always lived in Louisiana,right up next to Florida. As long as I could remember my father's brother Jimmy has lived up in a Mental School in Georgia. When my grandparents couldn't afford to keep him there he moved in with them. No problem, until two years ago when me-me and pa died in a car crash after a party at their friends house. We had to keep him, we were all he had left. All was well again until February when daddy was drafted into the military." She rubs here slender fingers over here bony arms and continues.
"Now, Jimmy is ummm... different. Without a man to run the house mama went crazy. Kyle tried to help out with Jimmy and I cooked and cleaned. It was hard. Then, Jimmy met Misty French. He finally calmed down a little and fell madly in love. They were insperable and then it all started. Joey Clamm was a little too sweet on Ms. French and my uncle didn't like it one bit. One day he snapped and screamed at Missy, threw a vase, broke a picture. Missy told him he was a monster and no one could love him."
A warm tear starts sliding down Maddy's cheek. "Then what?" I ask although I don't know if I'd like to hear her answer.
"He went out and shot himself. Right on Misty's door steps. We stayed a couple months after that and then mama just couldn't stand it. She frantically packed our things in Daddy's old truck and left. I was heartbroken. I am heartbroken."
Then all her tears silently spills out while she slowly hugs me. The warmness of Maddy's tears soaks through my lavender sleeve. I can't stand it anymore. I cry too and pretty soon Maddy and I are blubbering messes. Will walks in confused at first and he starts crying to. Maybe he cries because he's scared. Maybe he's worried. Maybe he is crying because he can. I want to be five again too so I can cry for no absolute reason just like Will.
YOU ARE READING
Strawberry Jam
Non-FictionGrowing up during the forties, Kate Anderson's life has been tough. She has always kept to herself. Until shes meets the Balms. An eccentric and interesting family. She decides that keeping to herslef might not always be that easy.
