Jewel was one of two sisters that lived in Fort Smith , Arkansas . Opal was the other . The two women were rarely seen without the other , so it was a surprise when Hazel heard only Jewel on the other side of the door . It was especially disconcerting because she was rarely demanding like that . That was usually a job left to Opal . " Opal 's not far behind me , " she said . " She brought her own car so she could stay a few days longer . " Jewel paused and raised her eyebrows with a look that said , " Sorry ! " Hazel laughed at the commiseration . They both knew how difficult Opal could be . They had known it their whole lives . You might say that having to deal with Opal gave them something in common . It had kept them close all these years . " I need to tell you something before Opal gets here , " she said . " That 's why I 'm so flustered . I didn 't want Opal to hear me . " Laurie was Opal 's favorite , above everyone else in the world . Up to this point , she had always been beyond reproach . In fact , most days , you couldn 't get a word in edgewise for all the talk about Laurie : Laurie had gotten a raise at her job . She had gone on a date with a medical student . She had attended the symphony with her church group . There was really no end to all the good work that Laurie was doing . Hazel wondered what could be so bad that Jewel would race ahead of their sister in order to have a private conversation . Already , Laurie had stunned Opal by moving away to Dallas as soon as she graduated high school . Hazel couldn 't think of anything worse than that . She remembered watching Laurie grow up and Opal talking about her granddaughter 's future as if it were her own to decide . She would have a small house in Fort Smith and marry a Christian man who would emerge from the small house every morning with his briefcase with Laurie standing at the door with his coffee and a kiss . And then Laurie and her husband would have a sweet little great grandchild that Opal could cuddle in her arms . She had even talked of their living with Opal so Opal could be of assistance with the children . When Laurie moved away , it had stunned and hurt Opal deeply . " My word , " Hazel said , putting her hand to her mouth . " Did she marry a Baptist ? " Her eyes widened as her mind tried to guess what could be so bad . And then she gasped . " Did she marry a … Catholic ? " She could barely get out the last word and when she did , she whispered it . She knew that would be worse than anything in Opal 's mind . Everyone knew how her sister felt about church and other churches . Hers was The One True Church , the church without instruments , the church without separate Bible classes . When anyone asked Opal about her beliefs about Bible classes , Hazel knew that Opal would consider those people as feeble minded . And she saw it as her duty to teach them . " God did not say , ' Go off and put yourselves in different places to worship me ! ' He said , ' Everyone must be together to praise me ! ' " She was quite passionate when she would relay this to anyone who challenged her on it . When pressed where in the Bible she got her information , she 'd shrug and say she couldn 't remember exactly where it was , but she knew it was there and far be it from her to dispute the Word of God . So , as her children had children , Opal made it clear that those grandchildren must marry within the church - her church . They should never even think about dating anyone outside the church . Marriage was hard enough without being unequally yoked , she 'd say . A car drove by outside and both women jumped . They looked back through the front door as if expecting Opal to be standing there listening . Hazel was relieved to see that the car wasn 't Opal 's and she wasn 't standing there . " Laurie called a while back and told Opal she had cancer , " Jewel said . She took a Kleenex from the box and dabbed at her eyes . " You can imagine how Opal received that news ! It was terrible ! " Hazel remembered Opal recounting how , on the night of his death , he had called while he was on the road . She had wanted to say hello to her son , but she had been in the bath and , by the time she got out and dried off enough to go to the phone , Lloyd had hung up . She never got to say goodbye or anything . She had always wondered if Bruce had meant to confide something to his mother , something important that he 'd never get to say . So she blamed Lloyd until he , too , died some years later . Laurie was Bruce 's only child . When she came along , Opal took care of her on the auspices of helping out , but really she had wanted to be with her favorite son 's child . She could see Bruce in Laurie and that was as close as Opal would ever get to her son . It helped Opal cope with Bruce 's death , but Hazel knew that her sister had taken all the dreams she had for Bruce and pinned them on Laurie . Jewel nodded . " Opal went to Brother Bailey in tears and asked if the church could have a special drive to help Laurie with her cancer treatments . And he was quick to agree to it . He told Opal that 's what the church was for - to help in times of need ! " " That is so kind , " Hazel said . She warmed to the new minister 's generosity and thought maybe he had finally started filling the shoes of the previous minister . It had been hard on the congregation when Old Brother Leon had a stroke and it took a while for them to take to Brother Bailey . " Opal was making plans to go to Dallas , " Jewel continued . " She wanted to take care of Laurie herself . They talked every night on the phone , so much so that Opal had to work out a payment plan with the phone company ! Her phone bills went sky high ! " " Laurie didn 't want Opal to go , " she said looking up and blinking her eyes . " She said she 'd rather call and give daily reports , which she did . It did such a number on Opal to not be there and know how to be helpful . She prayed , of course , but she was sick with worry . " " That 's Opal , " said Jewel . " I have to tell you quick then . Opal found out last week that Laurie didn 't have cancer at all . Never had it ! It was all a scam to get money ! " Hazel started to stand to go to the door , but she felt light - headed and had to sit back down again . The breath escaped her chest and she felt all the sadness , misery , and embarrassment that Opal must have felt this last week . She could barely believe that Opal 's own granddaughter would do such a thing ! After the second ring , Hazel managed to get to her feet and shuffle to the door . Tears clouded her vision , so it took her a moment to get the door opened . Before Opal could even get over the threshold , Hazel pulled her into a big hug . Opal burst into tears herself and she practically melted into Hazel 's embrace . And then Jewel joined them . The three sisters stood in their familial triumvirate and wept in unison . Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . Albert sat at his sister - in - law 's kitchen table reading the Fort Smith newspaper . His wife , Hazel was busy cleaning up the lunch dishes . He figured they had about another minute 's peace and quiet before Opal , his sis - in - law , started up again with her constant demands . There it was . Opal couldn 't keep quiet longer than twenty minutes before she needed something new . For about a week she had been lying in bed nursing her gall bladder surgery for all it was worth . Albert had wished some other sister had been available to stay with her while she healed up , but Jewel had a job and Cleo was in Houston visiting the new grandbaby . That left his wife to do all the heavy lifting with their oldest sister . " That woman , " Albert said under his breath . He watched Hazel dry her hands on a kitchen towel before heading down the hallway to Opal 's bedroom . His wife had this soft way about her . Even her steps were soft and gentle , though he also noticed they were always full of purpose . He knew whatever Opal wanted Hazel would give her . Sometimes he wished she 'd just tell her sister to stuff it . But then , she wouldn 't be his Hazel if she did that . " Nothing … nothing . It 's just , I noticed there 's a lot of dust up there on the door frame , above the door . I hadn 't noticed it before , but just lying here makes me see things from a different angle . Would you get a dish cloth and try to get all the dust off that frame ? " " Who does she think she is ? " He whispered , leaning forward again . He had to resist the urge not to hit the table top with his fist . Albert pretended to be reading the newspaper when Hazel entered the room again . He knew his marriage had always been a point of contention between his wife and Opal . It didn 't help that Opal knew what he thought of her marriage to her dead husband Lloyd . Albert had liked Lloyd , but he thought he had always been a spineless jellyfish and let Opal walk all over him . One day he told this to Hazel and Opal overheard . You would have thought he had accused his sister - in - law of genocide . She laid into him like a cat chasing chickens . They had steered clear of each other ever since . " Oh , Hazel ! " It hadn 't even been five minutes since Opal called her sister back to the room . " I think the baseboards need cleaning too . " " You didn 't come here to do her housework ! " He said through his teeth . " Tell her to get her old fat butt out of bed if she wants anything else dusted . " He stood up , ready to go tell Opal himself just what he thought of her . Hazel walked over to him and put a hand to his chest . She looked up at him with pleading eyes - the eyes he fell in love with . " I 'm going for a walk , " he said , finally , stepping around his wife . In three strides he was out the door . He slammed it so hard the entire house shook . He didn 't actually go for a walk right away . Instead , he sat on the front steps for awhile to try to calm down . He watched the birds skittering and chirping around the bushes in Opal 's front yard . Under the windows along the front of Opal 's house , he noticed some shrubbery needed trimming . He would have already trimmed them if they were not Opal 's shrubs . He liked to stay busy . He was never happier than when he could stand back and look at a job well done . But he simply would not let himself do it . If he did that , it would open up all kinds of expectations from his sister - in - law . She would ask him to paint her house and put a new roof on and build a new shed . It would never end . Opal 's house was the last house on a dead - end street . Albert looked around , thinking about the implications of that . It made him smile . He certainly felt like her house was a dead - end whenever he visited . " Heck , no ! " Albert bristled . " She 's my wife 's sister . Opal 's had some surgery and my wife doesn 't drive , so I had to bring her . " Albert rubbed his big heavy hand through his hair . " If it was up to me , I 'd already be gone back home . That woman wears on me like nobody else ever has . " The man leaned closer to Albert . In a confidential tone he said , " That woman has been a sore spot to all us neighbors . Most of the men in the neighborhood won 't even go out in their front yards anymore . She 's always out there hollerin ' from her front porch . You can only pretend to be deaf so long ! She doesn 't give up and she doesn 't take a hint . " Albert cackled in commiseration . " Oh yeah . She would never take a hint . You 'd have to scream it in her face . Even then she might not get the message . " Opal 's neighbor pointed to a house further down the street . " See that house there with the flag pole ? That 's Ralph Martin 's house . He 's been forbidden by his wife to go anywhere near Opal . " The man shrugged . " I don 't know if it 's true , but it seemed like Ralph was running to the house every other day to look at the faucet or the refrigerator or any little thing to get him over there . His wife Millie had enough and put her foot down . " Both men looked at each other for half a second as the image of Opal the Seductress sunk in . Then they both started laughing at the same time . Tears sprung out of Albert 's eyes he was laughing so hard . Albert continued on his way and , while he walked , he wondered why God had even made people like Opal . It seemed to him that she served no real purpose , except to make the people around her miserable . Albert supposed that her husband Lloyd had loved her , but she was 16 when they married and he figured she was nicer back then . The thing that bothered Albert most of all about Opal is that she did not know unlikable she was . She could at least have a little humility . Albert 's thoughts went further back in the past , then . He thought to the time when he had been courting Hazel . He got dressed up every time he went to a family supper over at her house and her parents gave him the once - over more than once . He always felt claustrophobic when he visited . Hazel 's entire family was so proper and pious . He tended to like people who were more down to earth and didn 't think so much of themselves . Opal was by far the worst of the worst . She played the piano after suppers and the family would gather around and sing . Albert hated it , but he endured it because he loved Hazel . Albert scratched his head trying to understand Hazel 's family . Hazel and another sister , Jewel , used to say that their mother would 've been happier if she had had Opal as her only daughter . He never understood that . He never saw anything attractive about her . He almost hated her for the way she treated Hazel . Opal was exactly the kind of girl he would never have looked at twice because she already thought she was so pretty . He would much rather be married to that sweet , kindhearted Hazel . Sure she sometimes wore her heart on her sleeve , but she always tried to do the right thing . Albert figured it probably wasn 't easy to be Hazel . Sometimes he felt sorry for her . Once they were married , he didn 't plan to spend much time at her family home , if for no other reason than to give Hazel a break from trying to measure up and take care of everybody . " Opal is having a hard time , " Hazel said . She gave him a second look , like she was trying to figure out why he was smiling . " She , uh , needs you to go and get her some more pain pills and the pharmacy closes in about 30 minutes ! " Albert looked at his wife 's plaintive face and his heart melted . He could never tell Hazel no about anything , even if it was to help that harridan , Opal . He knew that his wife was such a goodhearted person and that he didn 't really deserve her . She went out of her way to keep things calm , keep everyone happy , make sure he had what he needed . He didn 't say a word as he got in the car and drove away , but he did look in the rear - view mirror . As he drove up the road , he noticed that Hazel didn 't budge from the porch . He was pretty sure he 'd never forget this moment , or that look of confused happiness she gave him just after he had kissed her . Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . My legs bounced with impatience while I sat on the couch in the middle of the night waiting for Pearl to come home . I was the only one awake in the house , but then , I was the only one who knew Pearl wasn 't there . While my life was trudging slowly by , people I had known at college seemed to be on fast tracks to all kinds of success . And Pearl was on the fast track to trouble . I stood up and peered out the front window . I closed my eyes tightly and wished for Pearl to appear . When I opened my eyes , she was nowhere to be seen . I looked up at the radium clock that sat on a wall shelf in the living room . It was three in the morning . The bar was about four blocks from where we lived . Before I could talk myself out of it , I had my coat on and I was out walking in the cold . I resented every step I took . The winter wind blew in my face and I blamed my little sister . By the time I reached the parking lot of the bar , I was angry and winded . I was caught up short , though , when I realized I 'd have to walk through a half - dozen couples kissing in that cold parking lot to reach the door of the bar . It made me feel sick . From outside the bar window , I saw Pearl . Even at that distance I could see her pregnancy glowing on her face . And then she tipped up another drink from some kind of dark bottle and she laughed at something the young man across the table said to her . But she did have something to lose . She had that baby growing inside her and she wasn 't doing a thing to take care of herself and make sure it was healthy when it arrived . I hadn 't wanted that baby any more than anyone else , but in the last few weeks , I had begun to think of him or her as a part of our family . With courage I didn 't know I had , I pulled my coat tighter and marched through the thicket of kissing couples in through the door of the bar . Before Pearl could even register who I was , I was standing in front of her table . I pulled the bottle from her hands and grabbed her arm , forcing her to stand up . You would have thought I had said she had the plague . Every single man in that room simultaneously leaned away . Some of them even slumped off to the darker regions of the bar , as if they might be accused of getting Pearl pregnant . I pulled my sister by the arm and shoved her out into the night . She was drunk . She could barely walk , but I refused to give her any help . She 'd brought this on herself . She looked at me for an answer , but I was too fed up to say anything now . I had done what I set out to do - get Pearl out of that bar . Even so , I was guarded . I kept one eye on her and felt my heart twist with disappointment and suspicion . " What am I supposed to do with you ? " I asked . " You don 't care about anyone but yourself . Look at you ! You 're pregnant ! Don 't you want to be a good mother ? " A few hours later , I rose from a muddied sleep and looked over at Pearl . She was sleeping peacefully . I shook my head and pulled back the covers to get out of bed . As I shuffled off to the bathroom , I kept telling myself that all this stuff I did for my little sister was really for my mother . Her peace of mind meant so much to me that I was willing to stay home from college for a year just to help her out . Without meaning to , I wished Pearl had never been born . Without her there would be fewer worries , even with all the other kids Mama had to contend with . Then I chided myself . Pastor would look harshly upon me for the things that were in my heart when I thought of that selfish girl . Looking into the mirror in the bathroom , I asked Jesus for forgiveness for my mean thoughts . I asked him to take away my mean thoughts toward Pearl and help me to be a better person . And then I leaned my forehead on the mirror and prayed I would get through the day without falling asleep . I had a cleaning job to get through . I knew it was going to be a hard day when I saw Mr . Butler 's car in the driveway . I wondered why he was home on a Tuesday morning . His wife 's car was gone , though . With her there , at least I 'd have a buffer , but now I 'd have to keep my eyes down and pretend to be deaf , dumb , and mute . He was one of the meanest men in town and everybody knew it . I tried to soothe everything by laughing and saying , " Oh my ! You gave me quite a surprise . I didn 't realize you had come in the room ! I 'm so sorry . " But it came out high pitched and completely unbelievable . " You little bitch ! " he spat through clenched teeth . Then he paused and listened . There was a car door that slammed and heels clacked on the pavement outside . Mrs . Butler walked in seconds later . Even before she got through the door , she was chirping on about a good buy on porterhouse steaks . She and Mr . Butler were hosting a cookout for all their friends and she went on and on about what it was going to be like . " Honey ? " Mrs . Butler said , " Why are you still in your p - j 's ? " Her voice sounded worried and she stepped forward with a hand raised , like she might try to feel his forehead for a fever . I was relieved to get out of there and continue my work . I just had to get through four more hours of cooking and cleaning before I could go home . By the end of it all , I was exhausted and I felt like I might just break down right there on the sidewalk , but I kept thinking about why I was doing this kind of work - for Mama - and I kept going . It was worth it , too . When I walked through the back door of our house , I took a deep breath . Mama had made hot beans and rice with bacon and cornbread . It smelled so good after such a long day . " I was 17 . Your father was so happy I had married him ! " Her eyes were distant , as if she was being transported to that time when she and Daddy were so young . " He was so happy I had married him ! " She giggled and slapped the table with her fingertips . " You know , he was so eager to make us official that he went down to the bank and added my name to his checking account ? It wasn 't just Ernest Washington , Jr . anymore . It was Mr . and Mrs . Ernest Washington , Jr . ! " " We had a little Christmas tree by the window , " Mama continued . " His mother had given us one string of lights to wrap around it . They blinked off and on , and we would lie in the dark and watch those blinky lights for hours at a time . Ernest had already put a present under the tree for me . It was a long sort of flat box that he had wrapped himself . He made me promise not to peek , not to ruin the Christmas surprise . I spent lots of time wondering what that box held . Then on Christmas Eve , when both of our families were at our apartment , we each opened one present . Ernest got up and handed me the long - awaited present . I was almost afraid to open it , but when I did I couldn 't believe my eyes . I didn 't want to believe it . " Mama laughed like I hadn 't heard her laugh in years . This made me laugh too . I stood up to grab a handkerchief from a drawer just outside the kitchen and that 's when I saw Pearl . Her face was ashen and her eyes were hollow . Grace Washington is a part - time contributor to Jet Planes and Coffee . Like many of our writers , she is from Texas with roots all around the South . Her stories often uncover the realities and courage of those who fight for justice . Share this : TwitterFacebookPinterestEmailPrintMoreLinkedInRedditGoogleTumblrLike this : Like Loading . . . Posted in Contributors , Essays , Fiction , Grace Washington , Literature Tagged essay , fiction , Grace Washington , short story Even a Sister Has Her Limits Opal shut the bedroom door behind her and leaned against it . She listened to her sister shuffling through her trash - piled hallway . Opal 's heart raced as if she was afraid , but she knew it wasn 't fear . It was revulsion . " Goodnight ! " Her voice wavered . She thought for sure Cleo would be knocking to make sure everything was okay , but all she heard was more sounds of her sister getting ready for bed . She closed her eyes and slowly counted to ten . In between each number , it became clearer what a disaster it was for her to think of staying with her sister . She knew for one thing that she could never have another meal in there . Thanks to the oven exploding , she had avoided eating corndogs which had been frozen since the dawn of time and were probably covered in cat fur . But she wasn 't sure if she 'd have that same kind of luck in the morning . Opal looked around the floor . She sought any kind of path to the bed , but there wasn 't one . She didn 't think she could get to the other side of the room without falling . The bed itself was covered with trash bags , suitcases , dolls , toys , and magazines . And that was just what she could see without getting closer to it . There was no telling what was underneath all of that . Opal felt her chest tighten from panic . She realized that she was going to have to move all that if she was going to sleep there . The thought nearly made her black out . She couldn 't sleep there . Not in a room that was so busy with nothing . Before she could open the door , though , she remembered the state of the bathroom . She had forgotten to ask Cleo about how they were going to go about bathing . There were , after all , birds living in the bathtub of the only bathing facility in the house . Cleo wasn 't worried about anything . Why , no . She went right on to sleep even though her hair was burnt off and her face was covered in soot . Opal had the urge to go wake her sister up and force her then and there to clean off the bed , to clean out that room . Their mother had taught all of her daughters better than this . They had learned how to cook and keep a clean house and they were all expert seamstresses . In fact , Cleo 's sewing skills were more advanced than any of the other girls in the family . But if their mother could see her daughter 's house now . Opal shook her head and sighed . There were times when she was glad Mother had already gone to her reward . To see all of this would kill her . Mother had prided herself on good manners and keeping everything spotless . Anyone could have stopped by her house on any day or hour and Mama 's house was always sparkling clean - and that was with seven children . There was no excuse for laziness in any of them . Opal looked around the room again . No . This was not their mother 's fault . She eyed the pile of bags on the top and couldn 't even guess what was in them . She wished she could at least find a place to lie down . But every space and room in Cleo 's house was packed and piled with who knows what . Opal picked up a trash bag with one hand and held her arm stiffly out in front of her to keep the bag as far from her body as she could get it . She set it on top of other bags by the window . She did this for a good fifteen minutes , moving bags and boxes off the bed to somewhere else in the room . " I asked her for one thing , " she muttered under her breath while moving a handful of dirty toys to the floor . " Just a place to sleep . That 's all . Is that too much to ask ? " " Oh , good grief , " she said out loud . She slapped at the fabric of her dress to try to dust herself off . " I 'm going to get a disease in this place before it 's over . " Finally , she decided she couldn 't take touching anything anymore . She found a broom in the corner and used it to clear a small space on the bed . It wasn 't big enough for her to sleep , but at least she could see the bedspread . But then a smell wafted up from where she had just been working . It burned her nose with the fumes of decay . At first , she couldn 't place what exactly it was but then she saw it . A dead rat was lying on the bed . " Just going to bed now ! " Opal spoke through gritted teeth and she only half - hoped Cleo didn 't hear the disgust and anger in her voice . But she didn 't have to worry . Before long , Cleo was back in her room snoring . That just made Opal angrier . Opal had always known what to do in every situation , but this was too much . She didn 't have any idea what she should do . All she knew was that she could not stay the night in that rat bed . That was enough for her . She knew then exactly what she had to do . She picked up her purse , her Bible , and her wedge pillow and tip - toed to the front door . She paused just for a moment to make sure she could hear Cleo 's measured breathing . As quietly as she could , she eased the front door open , and stepped out into the fresh air of night . She slipped off to her car , and started it . She didn 't turn on her headlights until she was backed out of the driveway . A few blocks away , Opal realized that she really did feel bad about leaving , but she didn 't have a choice . She had to go stay with their other sister , Hazel . Hazel 's house was calm and peace . Her bedrooms had clean , fresh - smelling sheets that had dried on a clothesline . Opal didn 't want to upset Cleo , so she tried to think of what she could tell her , but she couldn 't get the stench of the dead rat out of her head enough to think logically . Hazel would help Opal think of something . Maybe Hazel could talk to Cleo when the inevitable phone call came from their sister the next morning . Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . Opal sat tense with her eyes closed in her sister 's kitchen . It was impossible to relax . Before she had closed her eyes to block out the mess , she had counted eight cats who seemed far more at home than she felt . She was about to take a deep , cleansing breath , when her nose prickled again from the fumes of cat pee , rotting leftovers , and mildew . She decided then that it was probably best not to close her eyes either . There 's no telling what might crawl out from under the table and up her leg . So it was in silence that she watched Cleo scuttling around the kitchen . Not once did her sister actually lift her feet off the ground . Opal decided it was because if she lifted a foot and set it back down again , she might step on something and break it or hurt it or kill it , depending on what it was . Shuffling just scooted it out of the way . Opal was almost relieved to hear Cleo speak . At least it gave her something else to think about besides the mess around her . But the question itself was odd and it made Opal wonder if she had heard correctly . Cleo didn 't respond . She was suddenly preoccupied with unwedging a baking sheet from the bottom of a pile of newspapers and dirty dishes . Opal looked over at what would normally be a countertop , but it too was stacked with empty cereal boxes , a few dirty rags , and of course , a cat . Sitting next to the cat was the clump of frozen corn dogs Cleo was bent on making them for dinner . Opal 's mouth went dry . A little knot of nausea dropped down into her stomach . The idea of serving frozen corn dogs to an out of town guest was bad enough , but those corn dogs in that condition sitting next to a cat and a stack of filth - it was almost too much to bear . The knot of nausea moved up her throat . Opal screamed . She and several of the cats ran out the back door and into the backyard . She was halfway to the gate when worry and panic made her turn around . Her sister was still inside . Seconds later , though , she smelled the scent of burnt hair . She pulled away to get a good look . It was then that she saw how Cleo 's eyebrows were curling up , her hairline was singed , and her face was covered in soot . Opal nearly fell off the steps with laughter . The ridiculousness of the day and her soot - covered sister overcame her . She figured it was better to laugh than cry . " Don 't you worry about dinner tonight , " Opal said with her old familiar confidence . She reached over and patted her sister on the hand . " I 'm going to go get us some hamburgers and maybe a malt . What flavor would you like ? " Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . The one item she questioned the most was the pair of yellow stretch pants she had bought the week before on impulse . She had thought they might be more practical to do the work of packing up Cleo 's house , even though she knew the church did not condone women wearing pants . She figured that perhaps in this situation , church folks might cut her some slack . When she went to pull them back off , though , they were too tight . She started to panic as she pulled and pushed to get the blasphemous apparel off . In complete desperation she ran down the hall to her sewing room and cut them off . Once relieved of the pants , she took great pleasure tossing the pieces into the garbage bin . She thought about Hazel , her sister who lived in the same town with Cleo . Right after Neal had died , Opal had wondered why Cleo hadn 't asked Hazel to help her . It didn 't take much thinking on Opal 's part , though to know why . Hazel was afraid of her own shadow . After her husband had passed away all those years ago , Hazel never recovered . She was barely equal to all the surprises life had handed her . She had nothing left to help Cleo stay afloat . Opal frowned thinking about this sister whose husband had so recently passed . In her heart she had never liked Cleo 's husband , Neal . In all her memory , she couldn 't remember a single word he had uttered to her . For this , she could never forgive him . It was rude not to talk to your own sister - in - law . Besides that , he was just odd . When the call came a month ago that he had passed , she had thought about not even going to the funeral , but her sister had wanted her there , so she went . Now , though , Cleo needed her to clean up the house and help her settle in as a widow . And when duty called , Opal was the first to answer . The folks at the church in Fort Smith had been so accommodating when she told them about her family 's loss and her sense of duty . Brother Brown , the minister , had been especially kind to Opal during this time of need . He was a fire and brimstone preacher who delivered his sermons with a nasally Arkansas lilt . In times like these , he always found the right words of comfort . Opal had nodded at these kind words with furrowed her brow , clutching her watch necklace . It was a gesture she always did in sorrowful times . In that moment , though , she didn 't have the heart to tell Brother Brown that she was only half sure Neal was in heaven right then . She simply thanked the preacher and told him that she looked forward to joining her brother - in - law someday . The car dinged when she opened the door and she rolled her eyes . There was a time when the only noise a car made came from the engine . She decided she would like to go back to those days . She could do without the racket . It was going to be a sunny day . She leaned over the wide berth of a front seat and dug her clip on sunglasses out of the glove box . She looked in the rearview mirror and decided it was a good thing she was doing . Besides being a help to her sister , she knew she , Cleo , and Hazel would have some high old times remembering their childhood . While she waited for a table , Opal noticed a family nearby whose children seemed better suited for the jungle than a public diner . Parents had no idea how to raise children these days , she thought . If those had been her children , they would 've sat in their seats and been quiet and still . Now , though , people acted like they were afraid of their children , afraid to discipline them , afraid to even tell them no . What she hadn 't counted on , though , was how small the bar stools might be . She hefted herself up on the stool , but there was more of her hanging off to the sides than was on the stool . She shifted her body to the seat next to her and distributed everything across two stools . It never occurred to her that her seating arrangement might be amusing to the other customers . She had stopped trying to explain her weight to anyone . Everyone who knew her knew that she ate like a bird . She often looked at her sisters , who were not fat , scarf down huge meals like wolves . Opal had just come to accept that her weight was just another injustice she had to endure . Sitting there all alone , she had the impression that this trip seemed longer than it usually was . Maybe it was because on most of these trips to Texas her sister Jewel had been with her . Jewel wasn 't all that interesting , but she would 've made the trip easier for Opal by just being someone to talk to . She listened intently to the news stories as she continued toward Denison . She was thankful when she heard the shooting had taken place somewhere besides Texas . Once she knew this , she turned off the radio . Opal took in the scene of bargain hunters picking over the junk overtaking the whole front of Cleo 's house . She had forgotten how Cleo loved to haggle over things . She often wondered in these moments how she and Cleo could possibly be sisters . This feeling alone made Opal want to get back in her car and drive down the road . But she watched Cleo and suddenly felt sorry for her . Cleo would never be the pillar of strength or the definition of cleanliness and organization that Opal was , but ultimately they were sisters and this bond alone kept Opal from leaving . She was there to help Cleo become stronger in her time of need and , if she could , teach her to be a little less cluttered , more organized - like she was . Opal didn 't even have to look at her sister to know tears were already streaming down her face . She could feel the sadness pour through her . She felt the pent up worry and fright that Cleo must have been enduring all this time . It took them half an hour , but the two sisters worked together to get all the boxes , containers , and fold - up tables back into Cleo 's house . Opal bit her tongue to keep from making editorial comments on the items her sister felt proud to offer for sale . From what Opal could see , it was just a bunch of ridiculousness . It wasn 't until they had gotten Opal 's things from her car and had started to settle in that she realized her sister had left off cleaning at all . She wanted to say something . She wanted to point out that Neal would never have liked living in these conditions , but she didn 't think it was the right time , so she kept her mouth shut . Other than that , she kept her mouth shut out of respect for Cleo 's feelings . She almost lost it , though , when they came to the bathroom . Two birdcages sat in the only tub in the house . There was no shower - this is where Cleo would bathe . Opal had wondered when they had hugged earlier , when Cleo had last bathed . The birdcages confirmed her fears . " Is this where they stay all the time ? " Opal asked . She took in shallow breaths to keep from breathing in the smell of bird dung that permeated the room . " I could think of lots of places they could be , " Opal thought to herself . But again , she held her tongue . Cleo was still suffering , she thought . Give her time . It was almost too much , though , when they came across their mother 's crocheted ecru tablecloth . It was torn all along the edges . Pieces were just dangling from it . Opal wanted to pull the tablecloth to her and cry . She remembered their mother working on it for hours with hopes that it would be cherished and passed down for generations - and now it was in tatters , beyond repair . Opal felt her blood pressure rising . When she had agreed to help Cleo get settled , she didn 't imagine this level of disaster . Even with the contents of her three suitcases , she had not come prepared . She thought of her suitcases and wanted to cry . All the clothes , all her belongings were going to be tainted with the smell that seemed to follow her everywhere she went in Cleo 's house . It was a combination of mold , rotting food , and bird or cat mess . When she reached the kitchen , Opal found the source of at least two of those smells . Littered across the floor were dirty plates . There were several cats sitting on the countertops and the table . One was on the floor cleaning the leftovers off a plate . " Oh , I just let them come and go . They 're neighborhood cats . " Cleo pointed to a hole in the screen door that led out to the back of the house . The cat purred in Cleo 's arms . Opal suddenly felt sick . This was a new feeling for her . She was the rock that held everything together . This , though , was too much . " What should we have for supper ? " Cleo asked Opal . She set the cat down next to a plate of picked - over chicken bones and then started rummaging through the cabinets . " I , um , I saw a restaurant a few blocks away we could go to . " She surprised herself by the lack of conviction in her voice . She usually always knew what she wanted and was never reserved at saying so . Cleo laughed . " We can 't go there . They close at five . " She opened the freezer and started rummaging through a thick block of frozen things that had been there for who knows how long . " I 've got some corndogs in here somewhere . Would you turn on the oven ? " Opal tried hard to focus on her sister . It was a rare thing for her to be shaken like this . She kept reminding herself she was there to help , but she was just beginning to wonder if Cleo could be helped . " Found ' em ! " Cleo said , holding up a flimsy box of corndogs . She turned and looked at Opal with a smile . " I 'm so glad you 're here . " Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . I tried not to think of how things were going to turn out . Many nights I sat in the dark in my mother 's rocking chair in the front room praying , crying , asking for divine intervention . My sister , Pearl , was a mindless creature lurking about in the night - trying to find some hapless man to marry her . I didn 't say anything to her when I heard her crawling out the back window . What could I have said ? Truth was , I was half - hoping she would find someone to marry her so she could be someone else 's problem . Sometime around dawn I woke to the sound of Pearl trying to get back in the house through the bedroom window we shared with our siblings . Most nights I ended up sleeping on the couch . It just wasn 't ideal for me to sleep in the same room with so many people . On this night , though , I stayed put because I had heard my sister slip out around two in the morning and I wanted to be there when she got back . She looked shocked when she saw my face in the window . I glared so hard I knew she 'd be able to see my anger glowing in the dark . Before she could say a word , I pointed out toward the front of the house . Her eyes grew two sizes larger and , without protest , she made a beeline in the direction I had pointed . I don 't think I had ever scared her as much as I did right then . It was a heady experience . She was so strong - headed ; not much upset her . Under the yellow light of the porch , my younger sister looked like something you might find in the gutter . Her dress had dirt on one side of it as if she had been rolling around in the mud . In one hand were her high heels , in the other , a cheap bottle of wine . All the spunk she was building up to moments before washed right out of her . She slouched and then stumbled to the steps of the porch . She plopped down and sat quiet for awhile . " What ? " Now it was my turn to be gut - punched . I shuffled to the steps and stood behind her . " That baby doesn 't need a name ! It needs a family ! " If it had been anybody else , I would have crumbled and cried beside them . But this was my sister , a girl who had never shown love for anyone but herself . She had never once offered to help Momma with the children or taken on odd jobs to help pay the bills . Times were tough with our father dead and our mother struggling to make ends meet . I squinted at my little sister and said , " You will not bring that baby under this roof . You understand me ? It would finish Momma off if she knew this had happened . " I thought of our mother sleeping peacefully in her bed . I had helped her all summer with her cleaning jobs , and for the first time since Daddy died , she was beginning to look rested . I tried to take stress off her , but Pearl only added to it . She was so different from me . She didn 't think through things . She certainly didn 't give much thought to all the pain she had caused Momma . But there she was sitting on the step crying hysterically now . She lived so completely in the moment , so absorbed in her own wants . All she ever thought about was the next drink , the next cigarette , the next man . I looked at her sobbing and knew she had not a clue what having a baby meant - not only to her , but to her momma and all the rest of us . In the end , it broke my heart . I knew what was going to happen next . I hurt for Momma , I hurt for what this would mean for me and , to be honest , I hurt for Pearl too . She was only 15 . From all outward appearances , she was a woman , but on the inside , she was just a kid . After watching her for another minute , I did the only thing left to do . I scrunched down and sat next to her on the step . I put my arm around her and rocked her back and forth until she calmed down . When she was quiet , I wiped the tears from her eyes and said , " Alright now . You are my sister and I love you . I don 't like you , but I love you . I will be here for you . " She put her head in my lap and sobbed again while I rubbed her back . I looked out at the road in front of our house and saw all of my dreams collapsing . My place would be here to help Momma and Pearl and the rest of them . Grace Washington is a part - time contributor to Jet Planes and Coffee . Like many of our writers , she is from Texas with roots all around the South . Her stories often uncover the realities and courage of those who fight for justice . Share this : TwitterFacebookPinterestEmailPrintMoreLinkedInRedditGoogleTumblrLike this : Like Loading . . . Posted in Contributors , Essays , Fiction , Grace Washington , Literature Tagged essay , fiction , Grace Washington , short story The Higgins Family Move to Elm Street She worried - a lot . And it was my job not to worry her . It seemed to me that I had to be good to make up for my brother and all of his shenanigans . So , I didn 't push limits and I kept to just the one street . Up on the corner of my street was a small , two - bedroom house . I knew it had two bedrooms because I heard Mrs . Harris , one of our neighbors , whispering to my mother about it . Seeing that our house just had my mom and me , two bedrooms seemed plenty , but hearing how Mrs . Harris talked , I got the impression that meant it was extra small . The size took on new meaning when a family of five moved into that house over the winter . The house was a rental , so people were moving into and out of it all the time . This time , the Higgins family moved in . Nobody knew about it until the weather got warmer and we started venturing out of our houses again - and , boy did Mrs . Harris and all the other neighbors have something to say then . Mr . Higgins was a taxi driver but he often went days when no one needed a taxi ride . It was hard to tell what he was really like because he never spoke . He may have talked inside his house to Mrs . Higgins or the children , but he never spoke to or even looked at any of the neighbors . He and Mrs . Higgins had three children and another was on the way . Now that I knew how many bedrooms their house had , I did wonder how they all fit in there . Did all the kids sleep in one bedroom ? And where would the baby go when it was born ? Truth was , I couldn 't help but be a little jealous of such a large family in the tiny house . I wouldn 't have felt alone in their house . Maybe I could 've just immersed myself into the family and not let things worry me so much . The oldest child was Margaret . She was in third grade , two grades below me . People said she could 've been very pretty , but her teeth were coming in crooked . These same people would say that there was something about her that set her apart . Margaret was often put in charge of her mentally challenged brother , Junior . She did everything for him that he couldn 't do because Mrs . Higgins already had her hands full with the littlest child , Waynie . When her mother deemed it necessary , Margaret was even pulled out of school to help out . " What on earth is she going to do when she gives birth to that forth ? " My mother asked one night when we sat on the porch together and listened to Mrs . Higgins yelling at her kids . We lived half a block away and could make out every word . I felt bad for Margaret . At school , Margaret 's life wasn 't a picnic either . Kids made fun of her clothes and bullied her about how poor she was . I felt bad for not sticking up for her , but I wasn 't socially secure enough to stand up to anybody . What impressed me was how she had a way of flipping her black hair . It made it look like she could care less what those other kids thought . A part of me wished I had hair like that to flip in just that way . But then , I wasn 't bullied like she was and I was glad not to be . No matter where I went - school , home , or church - the Higgins family was the talk on everyone 's lips . Mrs . Green , one of the ladies from our church , stopped by our house one day after dropping off some donated groceries to the Higgins family . She was a florid - faced woman whose mouth was always set in a tight purse no matter what she did . When she delivered groceries to our neighbors , though , her mouth got so tight we thought it might pop right off . " You would not believe the state of that house , " Mrs . Green said . Her nose scrunched up like she smelled something bad . " She had the audacity to see my visit as a social call . " " The smell was horrific , " she said , her nostrils flaring this time , as if trying to air them out . " You could smell it from my car . " She looked out the open door to her late - model Buick LeSabre . " I hope it didn 't permeate my car ! " " Well , was she happy about the donations we took up for her family ? " my mother asked . I remembered then that we had taken some canned peaches and fruit cocktail to church with hopes Margaret might get to enjoy them . " I just do not know how that woman does it . There 's not a spot in the house to sit that isn 't covered in something . " Mrs . Green shivered . " To be polite , I pulled up an old wooden chair that seemed cleaner than the other things and watched her go through all the items like it was Christmas day . " I wasn 't sure how to interpret Mrs . Green 's snobbery . On the one hand , she had been nice to deliver those things to the Higgins family , but the way she spoke about them was the way other people talked about cockroaches and that seemed kind of mean . It was very confusing . I didn 't understand why she cared about giving a poor family groceries if she thought they were so disgusting . Since I only rode my bike up and down our street , I saw them often . One time I ventured to wave and say hi to Margaret . She looked down and half - waved back . Margaret 's eyes lit up for only a second and then she looked over at her mom . Mrs . Higgins didn 't look at me or say a word but she shook her head slowly no . Margaret looked down at her hands and shook her head too . " Don 't you come around here with that shiny new bicycle trying to make us feel poorer than we are , young lady ! " Mrs . Higgins yelled so loud I was sure everyone could hear her . " You get on out of our yard now ! We don 't need people like you trying to make us feel worse ! " I was so stunned that all I could do was stand there and stare back for a minute . I know I opened my mouth , but no sound came out . I trembled while I backed my bicycle out of their yard and rode back down the street toward my house . Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . It was one of the first days of summer ; still cool enough to sit out on the front porch of my house . In a few days school would be out and I would officially be finished with fourth grade . I looked forward to summer , but I was a little sad that the school year was coming to an end . It had been a good year overall . I didn 't like endings . My heart yearned to hold to what I knew , and not keep changing things . I saw Mr . Powers walking down the street in front of my house . He wore a hat to keep the sun out of his eyes and carried a fold - up stool in his left hand . There was something purposeful about his walk , something that suggested he wasn 't just walking around the block for exercise . Years before , when I was very little , he had scared me because his bottom lip was gone from cancer . I soon learned that there was nothing scary about him . He liked to make me laugh and he always feigned surprise when he saw me , as if it had been a hundred years since our last meeting . He and his wife , Hattie , had been a special part of my young years . She was a study in calmness , a beacon of kindness to everyone she knew . I remember dancing as a little girl through her garden . It reminded me of a fairy tale and I felt like a princess . There was even a rose arbor in the back with a place to sit inside . I loved the beauty and tranquility Mrs . Powers ( as I called her ) carried with her . Inside the house they had photos of their children and their life together as a couple . Mr . Powers told me once over a plate of cookies how shy he had been to court Mrs . Powers when they were young . It made Mrs . Powers giggle to hear him tell it , but I could see in his eyes the real concern he had felt back then . " I had to quit school , " he told me , leaning forward in his blue - upholstered rocking chair . " I hadn 't even gotten to the third grade . " He looked up and counted something on his fingers . I wondered what that would be like to not have school anymore . In my mind , it seemed wonderful to never have homework again . I loved the structure and the sameness of the school year , but it seemed so freeing to imagine never having to go there again . Mr . Powers grinned over at me . " Before you get to thinking what a grand thing that would be , let me tell you something . I left school to pick cotton so my family could have just the basic necessities . " He looked at the plate of cookies Mrs . Powers had set in between us . " We couldn 't have those cookies . No ma ' am . I forfeited my childhood so we could just have some potatoes and a bit of meat now and then . " He opened his eyes and shook his head . " I panicked sometimes . The rows of cotton went further than I could see . I felt stuck there in the middle of all these plants that needed tending . But I couldn 't let it get to me . I had to keep working . " Mr . Powers grinned . " But then I saw this one here , " he said , leaning forward and taking his wife 's fingers into his hand . " I couldn 't look at another girl . I was obsessed . " " No one should have to live with that kind of memory and misery , " my mother had said to Mrs . Wright , our next - door neighbor . They were watching Mrs . Powers from a distance . She stood on her back porch looking out at her beloved yard and she looked a little lost . Mrs . Wright agreed . " It was such a tragedy . But it 's going to be just as much a tragedy to lose her memory of him . She had always lived with that sorrow and managed to find peace besides . " Weeks passed and Mrs . Powers started forgetting bigger and bigger things . The few times she and Mr . Powers visited after her diagnosis , she would forget what she was talking about in mid - sentence and lower her eyes pitifully . I didn 't totally understand what was happening to her , but I felt sad anyway . After that , they didn 't come visit us anymore . They didn 't visit us anymore , but my mom made sure we did what we could to help out our neighbors . One Saturday evening , we went to their house to drop off a casserole . One of their daughters answered the door . She thanked us for the food and invited us in . Mr . Powers pulled open a photo album they had kept nearby to help Mrs . Powers with her memory of her family . He , my mother , and I looked through it together . When we came to their son Tad , Mr . Powers seemed happy and sad at the same time . " He had a huge imagination , " he said . " And Hattie always believed him no matter what he told her . " He smiled and continued . " Made me love her even more … . " His finger traced along the edge of their wedding photo . He and Mrs . Powers looked so different . I didn 't recognize them until Mother complemented the dress Mrs . Powers was wearing . " It 's hard to see her like this , " Mr . Powers said with a gentle nod toward the living room . " I try to give thanks for the years we 've had . I try not to be bitter and angry at God for giving us this burden . " Tears pearled up in his eyes and overflowed down his cheeks . It was the first time I had seen an old person cry and I wasn 't sure how to handle it . I shifted in my seat and accidentally knocked my glass of tea . It spilled all over the table , but my mother was quick enough to lift up the photo album before the liquid reached it . He flicked the picture back to the table and continued . " That there is my brother Pierce . " The photo showed a young man in a white t - shirt and partly rolled up jeans . His arm was slung over the door of an old car and he looked like he was singing at the top of his lungs . We were both speechless . I had seen that man several times and was a little afraid of him , though he seemed nice in a way . He was always singing that song - When Irish Eyes are Smiling . " He used to live with us , " Mr . Powers continued . " For years he did . " His face softened for a moment . " Hattie was so good to him . She cried when he left . " Mr . Powers looked right at me and I could see anguish in his eyes as he said , " Because I told him to . He wouldn 't stop drinking . I couldn 't let my children be around that . " Several days later , I watched as Mr . and Mrs . Powers tried to get in the car to go somewhere . When she stepped out of her wheelchair to get into the car , she held onto his arm and took tiny , uncertain steps . Not once did Mr . Powers get irritated or impatient , not even when she took a long time to get in the car . He just seemed to be reassuring her every step of the way . I didn 't see Mrs . Powers after watching her husband help her into the car . It wasn 't that I wasn 't allowed to go visit . It 's just that I wasn 't invited by my mother when she would go . I never asked why , though I figured it was because of something she didn 't want me to see . She always seemed sad when she came home from her visits . It was the first funeral I had ever been to . Mrs . Powers looked like she was sleeping in a lacquered box stuffed with satin pillows . She looked smaller than I had remembered . I cried when I realized she would never wake up and there was no one to tend to the fairy tale garden or the rose arbor . It didn 't seem fair . The neighborhood wasn 't the same after she died . Mr . Powers looked even older than before . It seemed like a piece of him had died when his wife did . On that summer day before the end of my fourth grade year , I decided to follow Mr . Powers on his solitary walk . I hid behind a bush outside the cemetery and watched him walk to Mrs . Powers ' gravesite . He sighed . As frail as he looked , he also seemed weighted down . Something seemed to pressed down on his shoulders and make them sag . He sat down on the fold - up stool he had carried with him . For a while he was silent . Then he put his head in his hands and cried . I wanted to go comfort him . He had always been so nice to me . But I also didn 't want him to know I had been watching him . Before he could see me , I snuck back to the road and went home . I was sitting on the front porch when he walked up the street to go back to his house on the corner . His back was straighter . His face looked less drawn in sorrow . It seemed he had talked things over with his wife and she had helped him to carry on . Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . It seemed like we had been waiting hours for my Aunt Opal to get ready to go . For a while , I had paced around the living room and kitchen like my mother . She spent the time cleaning up here and tidying there . Every now and then , she 'd look down at her watch and frown . There were two little lines in between her eyebrows that were only visible when Aunt Opal visited . On this day , they etched more deeply with every minute that passed . Opal swung open the door and swished out of the bathroom . " Keep your skirt on , Hazel , " she said . " It 's not like Cleo 's gonna go hungry . " Opal ambled down the hall . Her large hips curved out from her thin upper half , giving the impression that she had been sewn together from the parts of two different body types . If anyone was going to pull it off , though , it was my Aunt Opal . All my life I had heard about how she had been the beautiful one in the family . It seemed that , even now , even though age had settled into her features and her hair had started to thin , she wasn 't going to give up on that title . That explained the expensive night cream and why she brushed her hair 100 strokes everyday , but as a ten - year - old girl with a growling stomach , I had a hard time understanding why somebody would need so long to get ready for lunch . After what seemed like another eternity , we finally got in the car . Mother drove , I sat in back , and Opal settled into the passenger seat . The first thing she did was pull the windshield visor down to look at herself in the mirror . I had to keep from rolling my eyes at this . Hadn 't she just been doing that in the bathroom ? She grinned up into the mirror and examined her front - most teeth . " Lately , this lipstick 's been rubbing off on my teeth , " she said . " I don 't know what it is . I try to look my best and then things like this happen . " I felt the car jerk a little and looked over at Mother . Even from where I sat , I could tell she was angry . Her ears turned a little pink and her grip on the steering wheel tightented . " Well , it 's the truth , " Opal said . " That Neal was an odd duck . He just glared and glared . Never said a word . " She looked over at mother and made her eyes wide in a crazy stare . Mother had always taught me to respect the dead , even if we didn 't like them when they were alive . I looked around the car , feeling uneasy about what it might mean for my aunt to talk this way about my dead uncle . It seemed to me like she was asking for trouble . " Whether he was odd or not doesn 't matter , " Mother said after a moment . " Cleo loved him . She misses him and here you are going to lunch at her house happy about his death . " " I never had one conversation with Neal , " Opal continued . " Lord knows , I tried ! What kind of conversation can you have with someone who doesn 't talk back ? " " So you 're mad at me now , " Opal said . " Just because I said how I felt about Neal ? It 's not like you adored him . We both know how controlling he was . She couldn 't say a word without his permission and you know how much she loves to talk . " When she turned from the window , though , she started back up . " You remember that he lived with his mother , don 't you ? What kind of grown man lives with his mother ? " " Hazel , I have never in my life tried to control anyone ! " She shifted in her seat a little and wiped off some imaginary dust particles from her dress . " Sure , I 've tried to make helpful suggestions , but that 's not the same as controlling people . " " Let 's just face it , Cleo was not pretty , not terribly smart , and she towered over most of the boys . Don 't get me wrong . I 'm not putting her down . I 'm simply saying what happened . By the time Neal came around , she was 18 and had never had a real boyfriend . If a few more months had gone by , she would have been declared a spinster . I mean , let 's just call a spade a spade . She was desperate . " Mother sighed . I knew that sigh . It was the one that meant she felt helpless to do or say more . Her next words were quiet , tired . " Just try to be nice , please . " We had gone several more blocks before Opal turned to face my mother . " Do you know that Cleo didn 't even know how to spell her second child 's name when she gave birth ? Anybody in their right mind would have wondered or asked someone how the name Juanelle was spelled , but she obviously didn 't know or care because I saw the birth certificate . She had written it with a W , like the way it 's pronounced . But that 's not how you spell that name ! I wanted to say something to her , but I decided to be nice . I didn 't want to cause trouble . " My mother 's face was weary . I knew she had hoped this would be a happy occasion for Cleo to see her sister . She had been so lonely after Uncle Neal had died . She seemed to be rethinking the value in having Opal there as a way to boost Cleo 's morale . Mother blinked at my aunt and then turned her eyes back to the road . The shift in tone seemed to surprise both of us . There was something in Opal 's urgency that made me lean forward and listen harder . Opal and Jewel both lived in Fort Smith , Arkansas . They usually traveled together to visit the family , but on this occasion , Opal came alone because Jewel had to work . I can remember Mother 's disappointment in learning that her other sister couldn 't come . The truth was , Mother and Jewel were the best of friends and Opal was much more difficult to deal with when Jewel wasn 't there as a buffer . " His name is Tommy , " Opal continued . " What grown man calls himself Tommy ? " Her smile spread across her face , but it wasn 't the kind of smile somebody gets when they 're happy for someone . It 's the kind of smile my aunt got when she had gossip to share . It was always mean gossip , too , and wasn 't something I liked that much . I turned to look out the window and forget about the conversation , but my aunt had a way of talking that was hard to ignore . " Well , you know Jewel isn 't classically beautiful like I am , but she has a certain sweetness of spirit . He tried to sit by me at first , but I didn 't want some old guy hanging around , so I moved as far away as I could just as soon as he sat down . But our Jewel is so gullible . He just had to smile at her once and she smiled back . Needless to say , they 've been sitting together in church for almost a month and he takes her out for dinner all the time . " " No , " Aunt Opal said . Her eyes were wide with conspiracy . " Conveniently , they all seem to be dead . Our sister is acting like a teenager . She keeps asking me which dress she should wear to go out with him for supper or picnics on Saturdays . " Opal shifted in her seat and dabbed a finger at the curls along her temple . " It 's almost more than I can stand , to tell the truth . " " The other church people are just horrified . Althea Morgan took an instant dislike to him , but I think it 's only because he didn 't try to take her out . I guess my standards are just too high . I 'll never find another Lloyd . " Mother gasped . " I hope you told Jewel that a man will not be sleeping under my roof under any circumstances . I have a little girl to think about . " Her eyes flashed up to the rearview mirror and we made eye contact . I suddenly had a feeling of dread at meeting this Tommy person . What if bad people did go to church ? Opal must have gotten the reaction she was looking for . She grinned from ear to ear . Her tone was more serious , though , when she said , " I 'm just trying to give you some advanced warning . I don 't like to see people blind - sided . " Finally , we arrived at Aunt Cleo 's house . I couldn 't have been more ready to eat and be rid of some of these conversations about terrible men . I loved Aunt Cleo . She had the most interesting collection of things on her front porch that were constantly for sale . If I hadn 't been starving , I would have stopped to look at all the toys and books she had out there . It was always changing . I never knew where she got the stuff she sold , but for a kid , it was fascinating to look through . I could see that Aunt Opal didn 't agree , though . She canned the porch and then raised her eyebrows at my mother . Mother glared back at her with her warning eyes and anything my aunt might have said disappeared behind haughty eyes . After Cleo gave us all hugs , my aunt seemed apologetic when she said , " This is my inventory that I haven 't priced yet . " She reached to the couch and moved a large Raggedy Ann doll from the couch . " I 'm going to try to get it priced and out on the front porch for tomorrow . If you see anything you want , Opal , I might could give you a special price . " She smiled warmly . " No … " Opal started . Her voice sounded harsh . Then , more softly , " No , thank you . I don 't need any earrings . " Beneath the tightness of her voice , I heard the real meaning of her words . She didn 't want to wear earrings she thought that had been dug out of someone 's trash . " I was saving this back for you , Opal , if you want it . " She pulled out what at first looked like a colorful caftan . " I know you are always looking for something comfortable to wear . " " I have nice clothes , Cleo " Opal said sounding offended . " I wouldn 't ever wear something like that . In fact , I don 't know any kind of woman who would wear something like that . " Cleo took a step back from her sister and looked at the cloth as if seeing it for the first time . The sides of her mouth dipped down . She seemed embarrassed and sad at the same time . Cleo had spent much of the summer working on the painting . It was called Pinkie and Blue Boy . If anyone asked her about them she was glad to tell people that they weren 't meant to be a pair , and were originally painted by two different artists . But like the rest of the artistic community , Cleo thought they were meant to be together . When Cleo was painting she rarely looked up even to talk to people . There were such tiny spaces that needed to be filled in with a color , and then she had to wait for the oil paint to dry . She worked arduously for hours at a time on her new project . Neal had only died a few months before , and Cleo 's grief was still fresh . My mother 's grief over the loss of my father had been plowed under more urgent matters years ago , but she knew what Cleo was going through . She was used to walking into a room and seeing only furniture , lamps , and a television where people used to laugh and talk . She knew the darkness of a day by herself in a house when no one called or came by . So , Cleo had her painting of Pinkie and Blueboy . She had Pinkie over half done , but had not yet started on Blueboy . When Opal picked up the box the painting had come in , she looked at my mother and pointed to the writing on the box . " Appropriate for ages 8 - 12 . " My mother ignored her and kept following Cleo into the kitchen . Mother instructed me to set the table while she put the water on to boil for the macaroni and cheese . Meanwhile , Aunt Opal walked around with flared nostrils , as if everything had a stench to it that was hard to place . Sitting on the counter was a package of ground meat . Opal traced a finger over the sticker that read " Reduced for Quick Sale " and made a face . She tried to get my mother 's attention , but she was too busy helping get lunch prepared . I dared not make eye contact with Aunt Opal . I did not want to be seen in league with her opinions . Finally , it was time to eat and Cleo asked Opal to say the blessing . For the first time ever , I heard my aunt falter . And then I realized she didn 't say a word about the food . Usually , when adults said grace , they were thankful for the food we were about to eat , but Aunt Opal left that part out . " I was only trying to save your life , " she hissed . " Did you see that package of ground beef ? It was warm and it was reduced for quick sale ! You 'd think you 'd be grateful to me for trying to warn you about it ! " Opal stood up then too and threw her napkin on the table . Her face had the look of someone who had bitten into a lemon . " Think what you want , but I wouldn 't eat anything from this kitchen if you paid me to . " Cleo drew herself up , shoulders back . When she stood like that , she was right at six feet tall . Any timidity she had had before completely dissolved . She was angry . " Nothing would be good enough for you , Opal . " She held out a hand which pointed to the front of the house . " So you can just leave . " I looked over at Mother . She had her head in her hands and I could tell a migraine was coming on . I silently counted on my fingers how many more days until Aunt Opal left . No matter how long it was , it seemed like an eternity . Opal stomped back through the house and Cleo followed behind . Opal picked up the caftan and held it before her sister . " Look at this . You think I want some prostitute 's cast off clothing ? Even if I did , I wouldn 't buy it from your porch sale ! " Mother slid out from the table and motioned for me to join her . I had only gotten a couple of bites of macaroni and cheese , so I was still hungry . But I did as I was told , turning back only briefly to take in the table of food . I couldn 't see what Aunt Opal did . The food looked delicious . Cleo patted her on the arm and I remember thinking it odd that Cleo was comforting my mother after all the things Opal had said . " Don 't worry , Hazel . I 've been dealing with Opal all my life . I can take care of myself . " Karen Brode is a senior contributor Jet Planes and Coffee . She grew up in Denison , Texas and graduated from Denison High School in 1972 . She took courses at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and worked in a church office for 25 years . She and her husband , Gary , have been married 39 years and they have one son , Brandon . Karen 's hobbies are writing , sewing , and gardening . Post was not sent - check your email addresses ! Email check failed , please try again Sorry , your blog cannot share posts by email . % d bloggers like this :