The Civil War Story
an excerpt

Miss Penny comes home today. Flowers are bloomin’ and bees are buzzin’ and Master is acting like the President is comin’ to our door. I don’t think Miss Penny likes to come home. I stand in the driveway as the buggy rolls up and think Miss Penny don’t look too happy to be here. I notice that her favorite flower ain’t bloomed yet and think Miss Penny came home mighty early. Her pretty gray green blue I don’t know what eyes look like cool lakes of dark dark blue. That means Miss Penny is unhappy. I don’t like Miss Penny unhappy. That means that she don’t laugh and Miss Penny not laughin’ is like the sun not shinin’.

I remember that she hasn’t liked sunshine the last few times she been home. She waits for rain and then goes outside to sit in the mud in a pretty new dress until Master starts yellin’ for her. Then she runs inside and Umi dresses her in some old ratty tatty dress she picked out and goes to see him, wet head and all.

I look up and see Miss Penny look at me. She’s got a white new lacy par-a-sol that makes her look like an angel flown down from heaven. Heaven don’t mean that all angels are happy. But when she sees me, she smiles for the first time. Her eyes remind me of winter fires and streams freezin’ over. I smile. We all smile.

Miss Penny’s home. It’s hard not to smile.