Little Adeline Kinder Chapter 4

Chapter 4

       Since it had been well past Lourie’s nap time she ended up falling asleep on Adeline’s shoulder while the girls were arguing. “Thank you Jesus, that’s one less thing I’ve got to tend to” she thought as she passed the walnut tree right outside the haunted shack they all called home.

       Adeline’s shoulder had become sore and sticky while holding her baby sister. She trudged on to the house and opened the door knowing it would be cooler inside thanks to a blanket of tree’s that encased their dwelling.

       Walking past the stove, she maneuvered around their family table and entered mom and dad’s bedroom at the back of the house. The house had gotten a little stuffy but it was tolerable. Adeline carefully pulled off Lourie’s sun dress and quietly changed her cloth diaper. She would have liked to open a window for her but that would just let the bugs in. Then scooping up the soiled cloth, she exited the room to toss it in a laundry bucket they kept on the front porch right by the washing machine.

       Momma had already finished most of the laundry early that morning and had it hanging on the line to dry. Entering the house again, she went to the kitchen to see what could be fixed for supper. It was a small kitchen. Mostly used for storing dishes and food. Adeline passed the well box and the troublesome cabinet that they kept their dishes in. This was the same cabinet that liked to make a lot of noise when no one was in there. At least it was being quiet today.

       Looking into the food pantry, all she could find was some flour, lard and some butter. Momma had been planning on harvesting some of the bean herself to fix for supper. This was a problem since Adeline doubted that her sisters would bring back any beans early enough to have supper at a decent hour. Her sister’s would forget about the time and not be in till dusk.

       Hanging her head she asked herself “What am I going to do Lord?”

       As she thought, there was a scratching at the front door. It was too soft to hear at first but gradually got louder. It wasn’t until the cat started meowing that she was snapped back into reality. Kitty wanted in for his nap as well.