Fields Of Gold Read Online Free Page A

“I told her it was all true, of course.”
    â€œRuby! You didn’t!”
    â€œYes, I did!” she whispered excitedly, even though there was no one nearby to hear. “I told them he’s staying in your house and the walls are so thin between your rooms that when he goes to bed at night you can hear him taking off his clothes and after he’s done you hear the sound of water pouring into the basin so he can wash the sweat off his bare skin. I told them that he grabbed you and kissed you out behind the house and asked you to fly away with him, but you said no because you couldn’t break your mama and papa’s heart like that, but even though you’d probably never see each other again, you’d always love him.”
    â€œRuby! That’s terrible.” I giggled with pleasure. “How could you tell such a lie?”
    â€œBecause it sounded so much better than the truth.” She shrugged. “Besides, Mary Kay deserved it for being so nasty. She got so mad thinking about it she stamped her foot and dropped a perfectly good triple-scoop ice cream cone into the dust and ended up stepping on it and falling right on her behind.”
    I knew she was making that part up to please me, just like she made up my romance with the mysterious Slim to tease the other girl’s imagination, but it was still a funny picture. We both laughed until tears came to our eyes thinking of Mary Kay and her ice cream lying, humiliated and melting in the dirt on Main Street.
    When we finally calmed down Ruby looked at me with disappointed eyes. “So, you really never even talked to him? You don’t know anything about him?”
    â€œWell, maybe one thing. Everybody calls him Slim, and you’re right, he is handsome,” I whispered, which started us giggling all over again.
    And there’s a least one grain of truth in your fairy tale, I thought to myself as I squeezed Ruby’s hand. Though I’ll probably never see him again, never talk to him, I will always love him.
    Â 
    It was afternoon by the time we joined the small crowd of people, a few waiting to take a ride and many more just standing and watching the excitement. Slim saw me and waved as he helped boost a big backside that turned out to belong to Mr. Miller up into the cockpit. I was so surprised my heart jumped in my chest. Ruby dug her elbow into my ribs and hissed, “Wave back, you ninny! Ha! I thought you said he never even noticed you. I think he likes you. Look how he’s smiling at you.”
    I could feel heat on my face and arms as I raised my hand shyly to acknowledge him. “Don’t be stupid,” I returned sharply. “You know it’s nothing like that. He’s just being polite, that’s all. He ate dinner with us.” Ruby didn’t argue with me because she understood what I was really saying, that someone like him would never be more than just polite to someone like me.
    We found a comfortable spot on a little knoll and sat rubbing heads of wheat in our hands and chewing on the kernels while Slim and the Jenny, loaded down with five-dollar copilots, landed and took off and landed again. I could have watched forever, the way the wings dipped and sliced through the sky, dancing on an invisible tide. I nearly did watch forever, or at least for hours and hours. Without my realizing it, the afternoon had passed and the crowd began thinning out, heading home to supper. Ruby stirred next to me, “Eva, I’ve got to go. Shall we catch a ride with someone?”
    â€œNo. You go on,” I answered without looking at her, my eyes transfixed by the sapphire miracle soaring overhead. “I’m going to stay a little while longer. I can walk back. It’s not far.”
    â€œYou sure?” she asked uncertainly as she stood up and smoothed out the wrinkles in her skirt. “Won’t your mama be worried?”
    â€œNo. It’s hours until dark. You go on.