Page from a Tennessee Journal (AmazonEncore Edition)

Grandma Charity’s. While Annalaura’s hands fumbled with a corner of the feather quilt, Becky took another long draw on her pipe, letting the smoke rise in the air. Becky’s narrowed eyes looked at her without blinking. Annalaura pulled the coat tighter. Her body shook with chills, but her face was almost as warm as the fire in Becky’s fireplace. How much longer was this Cherokee second sight going to last? Perhaps Aunt Becky was going deaf. Maybe she hadn’t heard after all. Could Annalaura get those words out again?
    “I can pay her something, but I need to see her quick.” Annalaura rocked on the feather bed.
    “When’s he comin’ back?” The sound of the voice that had chewed and spit snuff for over forty years rattled off every wall in the one-room cabin, as Becky took a third draw on her pipe.
    Though she turned her face away from the fireplace, Annalaura still felt its heat blasting her from chin to forehead. Was it true? Could these old Indian women really read minds?
    “That’s just it. I don’t want him back. I’ve got to find me a way to keep him from knowing.” She bit her lip.
    She had let too much slip to a woman who already knew what she was thinking. Creak, creak went the old rocker. It was the same one Grandma Charity had sat in when she rocked Annalaura to sleep all those years ago. Becky, with those eyes narrowed to pinpoints, said nothing. Annalaura wrapped both arms around her middle and squeezed her eyes shut.
    “Just tell me where I can find her, and I’ll walk all the way there tonight.” Annalaura let the pleading in her soul whisper in her voice.
    “You got money to pay?” The sound of the old woman’s rocker hadn’t broken stride.
    “Yes, ma’am, I do.” Annalaura moved to the edge of the feather mattress as she tried to get the sound of the rocker out of her head.
    “You takin’ yo’ babies’ food money for this conjure woman?” It was a cross between a question and an accusation coming out of Becky’s mouth.
    Annalaura opened her eyes and trained them on the low-burning embers in the fireplace.
    “No, Auntie, I got money to feed my babies and seed money to plant the summer vegetables come April.” She gave her head a vigorous nod for emphasis.
    She had to find the key that would unlock the secret of the conjure woman from her cantankerous aunt. Maybe it was money. If Becky believed she had enough to pay, perhaps she would not guard the woman’s name like it was the secret to the Holy Grail. Becky took another draw on the pipe, and Annalaura watched the smoke encircle the woman’s head. The quiet in the cabin was broken only by the snap of a log in the fireplace and the hiss of the peas boiling in the pot.
    “Let me see, gal. You do have food fo’ your chil’ren.” Those eyes trained on her niece. “You got money fo’ spring seed.” Those eyes didn’t blink. “You got you a warm new winter coat.” Becky smacked her lips on the pipe stem, but her eyes bored into Annalaura. “You don’t want ‘him’ back, whoever ‘him’ may be.” The word came out of Rebecca’s mouth like she was the hangin’ judge pronouncing Annalaura “guilty.” “And you tell me you needs a conjure woman.” If there had been a wall clock, Becky would have marked off a good five minutes of puffing on her pipe as her rocker kept up its unceasing creaking. The old woman finally leveled the worn pipe like it was a firing pistol. She aimed it straight at her niece’s stomach.
    “Who’s the daddy?”
    Annalaura felt her body leap from the mattress and her feet propel her to the rocker without her willing them.
    “I’ve got to see the conjure woman, Auntie, please help me.” All the morning’s planning on the exact words and tone to use to gain Becky’s assistance left her. She stood at the rocker before her aunt, her whole body shaking.
    “I said who’s the daddy, and don’t hover over me, gal. Set down.” Becky’s accusing voice had always sounded like an ax splitting a chunk of wood.
    She stumbled into the chair by the table. Words tumbled over themselves trying to get out of her mouth.
    “The hired man that helped me bring in the tobacco last fall.” Annalaura let the lie slide out on short bursts of air.
    “Uh huh.” Creak, creak went the rocker.
    “Me and him got real close during those tough times.” She prayed Becky would believe her long enough to give up the name.
    “He the one give you that coat and the money for the conjure woman?”