distracting."
"Yes, Jacob." Aunt Sara signed his orders to
May, who immediately dropped her gaze to her food
and stopped trying to communicate with me. It occurred to me that I had yet to see Uncle
Jacob use sign language with May. Up until now, it
had been only Cary, Aunt Sara, and I.
"I'm sorry," I said. "It was my fault. I am trying
to learn sign language."
"Well do it after dinner," Uncle Jacob snapped
and turned back to Cary to talk about the new traps. After dinner I helped Aunt Sara clear away the
dishes and put away the food. She went on and on
about the wonderful things Laura had learned to do
with fish.
"Got so her filleted bass was good enough to be
in a contest. You should have tasted her fish pie, too.
The crust always came out so light. That girl had
magic in her fingers."
"I cooked for my daddy often," I said. "Oh, did you, dear? Yes, I bet you did. I don't
remember Haille being much of a cook. She had other
things on her mind."
"Like what?" I pursued.
"Not fit to discuss." Aunt Sara sewed her lips
shut. "What's that mean?" I demanded.
She shook her head and then gazed at the
doorway before lowering her voice to a whisper.
"Truth is, Jacob don't even like me mentioning her
and those days."
"Well, I'd like to hear more about her," I said. "No you wouldn't dear. I must show you some
of Laura's needlework," she said to change the
subject. "Did I tell you she used to do that? I have it