Alafair Tucker 01 - The Old Buzzard Had It Coming

about it at the time, but now it seems too bad that he doesn’t at least have a name.”
    “I don’t see why we can’t name him right now,” Shaw said, “even after fourteen years. I can carve another stone.”
    Alafair smiled. “Well, thank you, Shaw, I’d like that. If I remember right, we had talked about naming him James, after your father. I always think of him as Jimmy, anyway.”
    “James it is, then.”
    Alafair fell silent again for a time as she pondered the other small stone. “At least we had Bobby for two years,” she said finally. “He’d be almost nine now.”
    “Seems hard to believe.”
    “I wonder what kind of a boy he’d be, what he’d look like now?”
    “I always thought he resembled Gee Dub,” Shaw mused, “but for them green eyes.”
    There was a pause before Alafair replied. “He did, didn’t he?” She sighed. “I never thought I’d be able to forgive myself when he sucked in the coal oil that was in the jar behind the stove. I just couldn’t run fast enough to get him to the doctor before his lungs gave out.”
    She recounted the tale in an unemotional voice, but she felt Shaw sag on the bench next to her when she brought it up.
    “Now, Alafair,” he chided. “There ain’t no use to fret about it after all this time. It was an accident plain and simple. I’ve told you that more times than I can count.”
    Alafair placed her hand on his arm. “No, that ain’t what I mean,” she assured him. “I know now that Bobby is happy. He has no hard feelings, Shaw. He still loves us.”
    Shaw covered her hand with his. “I’m glad you’ve come to know it,” he said.
    She turned on the bench to look Shaw in the face. “You know, it looks like we’re going to be having another little one directly.”
    Shaw’s heart leaped so violently that he almost fell off the bench. “I’ll be jigged!” he exclaimed, recovering. “When?”
    “Late September, early October, I figure. What do you think? Are you pleased?”
    It was a rhetorical question. Shaw’s grin was blinding. “Well, yes, of course,” he assured her. “I was surprised, is all. It’s been a long time since we had a new one. I expected that everyone had come who was going to.” He grabbed Alafair’s hand. “I’ll be switched. Ain’t this fine?”
    Alafair chuckled, happy that he was happy. “Don’t get too proud of yourself,” she teased him. “Some folks will probably think we’re long in the tooth for a baby.”
    “Oh, not a bit of it. Ma was thirty-nine years old with a bunch of grandchildren when Bill came along. The kids will bust. Just think. A new young’un and a new son-in-law all before the year is out.”
    “What do you suppose your folks think of John Lee?” she asked, smiling.
    Shaw laughed. “I think Ma and Papa are enjoying tormenting the boy way too much, but he seems to be holding up.”
    “Well, we probably should be getting on back before they wonder what happened to us,” Alafair decided. “Why don’t you go on ahead? I’ll be along directly.”
    Shaw put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze before he stood and made his way up the path toward the house. Alafair turned back and gazed at Bobby’s stone thoughtfully.
    “Thanks for helping me, son,” she murmured.
    Alafair never had the dream again.

Alafair’s Recipes
    Be forewarned: These are not health foods.
    JOSIE’S PEACH COBBLER
    Filling:
1 quart home canned peaches in heavy syrup OR
2 cups sliced peaches and 3/4 cup sugar
2 tbs. flour
1 tbs. butter
    Dough:
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tbs. sugar
1/3 cup shortening (lard, butter or vegetable shortening such as Crisco)
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
    To make the dough, sift together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar. Cut in the shortening until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
    Combine the milk and egg and stir them into the flour mixture until just moistened.
    Pour the peaches (or peaches and sugar) into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle with 2 tbs. of flour. Dot the peaches with butter.
    With a large spoon, drop the dough in several large mounds over the peaches.
    Grate cinnamon over the top of the crust.
    Bake in a hot oven (425 degrees) for 30 minutes or until the crust is golden and the peaches are bubbly.
    Cobbler should be very runny. Spoon it out into a bowl, making sure that everyone gets some of the dumpling-like crust.
    SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
    1. Place a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top of hot cobbler.
    2. Dot a