Up in the middle of the day, Mama and the other women put
dinner on the kitchen table. Some of the folks who had been there
all morning ate; some didn't.
Mama couldn't get Miss Ophelia to eat anything. Not till Mama
said, "Now, Ophelia, you'll just have to eat a little something
to keep your strength up," would she even sip any black coffee.
She nibbled at a piece of pound cake.
Aunt Lovie had brought the cake, and it was good. Aunt Vic
let me have two slices of it to keep up my strength.
Another wagonload of people came right after dinner. Papa
went out to the well lot to meet them, and so did I. They were
wrapped in heavy cloaks and had warm bricks and blankets at their
feet, but their faces were red, and they looked cold.
The man holding the reins said, "Whew, Mister Jodie, we
finally made it, but I don't know if I'll ever thaw out or not!"
"It's the worst cold spell we've had, all right. Y'all just
go on in. I'll hitch your team, and all."
As soon as the people got in the house, they went straight
into the front room.
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