Shivaree Read Online Free Page A

“Ow,” he said, rubbing the side of his head, though the blow hadn’t really hurt, and it had been the top of his head rather than the side. Mrs. Jones shifted her legs. “Why don’t you stop squirming,” he muttered.
    A sharp “Willy” from his mother’s lips caused his mouth to clamp shut, but only for a moment. “Those men were lying. I didn’t do anything wrong. I don’t see why we gotta go.”
    “I know, baby,” his mama said. “I know they were, but you can’t talk about those men no more. You never saw them, and you don’t know what happened to them.”
    But Willy had seen the men, and it puzzled him that the pastor didn’t get on his mama for telling him to lie. He waited until he figured Pastor Williams had time to say something, but the man kept quiet.
    “Last night you said Miss Ruby killed them. I heard you say it, Mama.”
    “Your mama was mistaken,” Pastor Williams’s voice boomed in answer. Then it softened. “Ruby Lowell is dead, and Ecclesiastes tells us that the dead sleep and know nothing, ‘neither have they any more a portion forever in anything that is done under the sun.’ That means Miss Lowell couldn’t have been there.” He paused. “No, your mama was just upset. Scared for you and your sister. She doesn’t really know what happened to those men, and neither do you, so you keep still about it like your mama told you.”
    Willy felt like he’d been chastened, and for no good reason. He sulked for a few moments, then decided to ask what he really wanted to know. “How long we gotta be up north anyway?” He hadn’t wanted to, he didn’t want to act like a baby, but as he posed the question his voice caught in his throat and he started crying, setting Joy off wailing again.
    Worse, his mama started crying, too. She tightened her grip on Joy, and patted his sister’s head. “Shhhhh, baby.”
    “You gonna have a good time up visiting your auntie Hettie,” Mrs. Green said, patting his knee. “Ain’t that right, Lucille?”
    “That’s right,” his mama said, her voice full of cheer. She pasted a big smile on her face, and used the back of her hand to wipe the tears from her cheeks. “I done told you, Auntie Hettie’s gonna love having you two for a visit. You are gonna like it up there, Mama promises. Auntie Hettie and Uncle Ernie live in an apartment in a real nice town.”
    “What’s an apartment?” Joy’s question came out muffled, her head buried in their mama’s shoulder.
    “Well, it’s like a house, but it’s like a whole bunch of houses put together.” His mama shifted Joy so that she could see her face. “You are gonna have a whole bunch of kids your age to play with. A whole bunch of new friends.”
    From what Willy could see of his sister, she seemed unconvinced, her eyes wide, but her mouth pinched in tight. “Why can’t you go with us?” Joy asked again. Even Willy had lost count of how many times, but he kept quiet. He, like his sister, hoped his mama would have a change of heart.
    “I done told you, baby. The Judge, he can’t get along without your mama. But it ain’t gonna be for long. You two will be home before you know it, and complaining that you got to stay here with your tired old mama, rather than visit your fancy new friends up north.”
    Joy stretched up, looking over their mama’s shoulder directly into his eyes. He knew his mama was fibbing, so he turned his head to watch out the window.
    “What’s the town called again?” Mrs. Green asked, sounding like she’d be excited to be going in Willy’s place.
    “Highwood,” his mama said, “and Hettie works for a real nice family real close to there in a place called Lake Forest. Don’t that sound nice?” his mama asked, but didn’t wait for a reply. “Auntie Hettie said they’s a lake there bigger than you’ve ever seen, right behind the house where she works.”
    “Why, that sounds real nice,” Mrs. Green said. She patted his knee again, causing him to look at