We had sirloin steaks that night with garlic french fries and home-made yeast rolls. The cotton was dry and needed to be hauled in and uncle Sidney was in the field from daybreak to dusk. I could tell the work was taking its toll on him. His face, arms and neck seemed blistered from the sun and his eyes seemed hollowed over. And no matter how much he seemed to bathe, he always seemed to be caked in dust.

“Once we get the last of the cotton out. I swear I'm going to take a break. I might go into the woods for a few weeks. Just to get myself back together. I'm sure you and Hailey can keep things running smoothly, her Cat.” He said as he leaned back in his chair. “I just need to see something beside that dusty, damn cotton field. I need about a dozen field hands too. Field hand's that know what they're doing and know their way around farm machines. I don't have the time. I'm afraid to break in a new hire, not in the middle of the harvest.” He said with a long, drawn out sigh.

“Let's not talk business at the kitchen table.” My aunt Cat said with a sigh as she cut into her steak. “We'll manage like we've always managed. The weather will hold, the cotton will be harvested. Our bills will be paid on time. Payments will be made on the notes for the new machines. All will be well.”

“I guess you're right. I worry too much. Side. We need to get Hailey enrolled in school. Need to get her name legally changed and get a new social. Damn brother of mine, running around the world with his wife. Not a care in the world. Lucky son of a bitch.” Uncle Sidney muttered under his breath.

My Aunt Cat fixed him with a cold hard look.

“Hailey dear.” Aunt Cat said to me. “Mrs. Stoner said you volunteered to staff the town's dunking booth. Are you sure about that? You'll be sitting up there for the whole town to see. Wearing nothing but a skin tight bathing suit. A two piece at that.” 

Uncle Sidney raised his eyebrow and peered at me.

“I kind of talked into it.” I said blushing.

“I guess we need to add a bathing suit to the list of things we need to buy tomorrow in Greenville.” Aunt Cat said with a sigh.  “And she also said you signed up for the beauty pageant?”

Before I could say a word, Uncle Sidney popped into the conversation.

“I'll sponsor her.” He said without taking his eyes off his plate. “Hell that son of a bitch across the river Clark Fields is running his mouth down at the Green Door that his daughter is going to take first prize in that thing. I'll be damned if I let that country club snob beat me in anything.”

I blinked and blinked again.

“Honey, are you still made because he blackballed you from joining the country club?” Aunt Cat asked as she peered toward my Uncle who was reaching for his glass of tea.

“Damn right I am! I'm Landing Gentry!” He said, pounding the table. “And I'll be damned if I let a Field take first place in that beauty pageant! I'm glad Hailey volunteered for the dunking booth! She is a Landing girl! Clark Field's daughter is afraid of getting wet for a good cause? Good, show's what kind of woman she'll be.”

“Little gold digging bitch!” He said, swallowing his tea in one go.

At this point I was very confused so I kept my mouth shut and focused on cutting my steak into bite size pieces. It was nice and tender and very flavorful. Aunt Cat had done a wonderful job of cooking them on an open charcoal fire and had seasoned them to perfection.

Aunt Cat just blinked.

“I guess since we're going to Greenville tomorrow we could swing by the mall. There a Belk's there. I'm sure they will have a limited but fine selection of gowns. And a bathing suit. And a few other things she'll need.” Aunt Cat said. She then added. “I also understand that Mrs. Stoner invited you out to dinner with them this coming Friday or Saturday?” 

“Yes.” I said stuffing my face with the garlic fries. 

“That means more shopping.” Aunt Cat said with a smile.

“Why y'all going all the way to Greenville tomorrow anyway?” Inquired uncle Sidney who was on his third glass of tea. “That's a full tank of gas there and a full tank of gas back,” He added. 

“We have an appointment with Mr. Percy of Percy and Walker. The Law firm that handled all the legal work to get Casper's name changed to Hailey.” Aunt Cat blinked and then shifted her gaze away from her husband toward me. “Sorry for dead naming you there hon. But I had to make my point.”

I just shrugged my shoulders.

“Also.” Aunt Cat said with a sigh. “It just dawned on me, how are we going to hide the fact that you still have a you know what under your bathing suit?”

“I'm not sure..” I said, shrugging my shoulders again as I focused on dipping the last few of my garlic fries in the drippings off my steak. That is the best of having steak and friend fries, that is you get to use the french fries to soak up the juices that come off your steak. “I'm sure we'll figure something out though. I was kind of blackmailed into volunteering anyway.”

“Blackmailed?!” Aunt Cat said as she shifted her full attention toward me. 

“Yep.” I said. “It seems Mrs. Stoner uncovered our little secret. Somehow, I'm not sure what kind of black magic she worked. But she knew my dead name. I don't know how she figured it out. But anyway she threatened to expose me to the whole community if I did not agree to volunteer.” I said in a calm tone of voice. Well calmer than I felt.

“Good fucking God.” Uncle Sidney said. “We are in deep shit.”

“Everybody in the village knows that Walker Stoner is the Senior Warden of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church and that he has the rector in his back pocket.” Uncle Sidney seemed to be rubbing his eyes. “Jesus,  knowing her, she'll have her husband whisper something into the ear of that  batty old priest we have here and before you can count to three. He'll be denouncing you from the pulpit.” 

I blinked.

“Lavender Stoner is something of a cunning fox.” Aunt Cat said. “She is well known for causing trouble in the village. The problem is.” Aunt Cat took a drink of her tea before she finished her sentence. “The problem is, she has a bit of power and she knows how to use it. Her husband is Senior Warden and her brother is Junior Warren and she is head of the Altar Guild. So in a sense they control the affairs of St. Andrew's Church and run the parish. They use that as kind of a social battering ram.” Aunt Cat Said.

I blinked and blinked again.

“The whole lot of the Stoners are nothing but trouble. Have been since the town was founded. They came with the railroad. Before the railroad laid down tracks and connected us with Yazoo City and Spanish Fort and Vicksburg. Most of our cotton harvested was sold to the merchants of New Orleans. Steam boats were the only way cotton could be shipped out and supplies brought in. So the population remained small. No more than a dozen leading families and their hired hands. Then the railroad came in and that brought in a fresh wave of settlers.”

“You might want to listen dear.” Aunt Cat said as she pushed away her remaining steak and garlic fries. “You still need to write that paper and somehow get it published. Otherwise the remaining threads of  our carefully woven cover story will come undone. And then we'll be up schitt's creek without a paddle.” She said, sighing again. 

“Anyway, among those fresh wave of settlers were the first Stoner's, they were low breed folks, who came sinking in from the hill country of East Mississippi. Some say they came from the coal fields in Alabama. Others say they came from up north and came to the delta looking for easy riches. And instead found only hard toil. Hellish summers and frigged winters. Yearly overflows. Disease carrying mosquitoes, yellow fever, malaria, foul tasting water, and still much of the land was covered in brush. With blue cane as tall as a man. They came looking for ready made farms and instead they found work.” Uncle Sidney said with a sigh.

I nodded my head.

“Anyway they endured. And through hard work they managed to achieve a small measure of success. But they always looked at us Sharbroughs with malice. I can see it in their eyes. You see the Sharbrough family did more than bring the railroad here. We laid the first telephone cable, our marriage to the Hegman Family, a family of merchants from Yazoo City, helped to establish a new general store. We along Hegman's built the first ice house here, and helped build the first school here. We brought a small regional vocational center here. Helped to establish and fund the first volunteer fire department. In short we did everything we could to make this place livable.”

“They even built the first High School. Sadly it closed up in nineteen fifty seven. The last class only had around four or five students.” Aunt Cat said. “The vocational center is still open for those wanting to learn shop skills. And there is an elementary and middle school here. But that's about it.” Aunt Cat said with a sigh.

“The point is Hailey.” Uncle Sidney took a deep breath. “You're a Sharbrough and that means certain people in this town are going to have a certain degree of malice toward you. The best thing you can do, is try to keep your wits about you when you around Lavender Stoner and watch what you say and do.” He paused. “I have a feeling she has a network of little birds watching you, so watch what you say and do, please..”

“My guess is she saw you flirting with her son and did a little digging. Maybe she googled your name. You'll be surprised to see what kind of personal information is out there on the web. School records, hospital records and stuff. Bunch of stuff. She knows the family well enough to put two and two together. Heck she might have even drawn up a family tree.” Aunt Cat said with a sigh. “Never should have invited that woman to that meeting.”

I remained silent. I was kind of brooding. While I brooded I reached over and picked up the remains of aunt Cat's steak and half of the plate that remained of her famous garlic french fries. And without muttering a word I started to eat.

“Eat up girl.” Aunt Cat said. “Your going to need your strength for tomorrow morning. Because we gotta leave here at the crack of dawn. Drive all the way to Greenville. Get Mr. Percy to sign them papers, then we gotta hit up the mall. Best thing for us to do now. Find a flattering swimsuit that will hide your little problem. Find a flattering gown that will blow the other girls out of the water. Get you some good make-up and not the stuff we brought from Dollar General a few days ago. And put your training into hyper speed mode.”

“I'm going to bed.” Uncle Sidney said as he stood up. Then something happened that I did not expect. As he walked by me he bent down and placed a kiss upon my forehead before kissing aunt Cat on the cheeks. And with that he vanished into the living room. I stood there puzzled for a moment but a few minutes later aunt Cat clued me in.

“He's changed. He's started to see you as his own child. His own daughter. I don't know what kind of magic you worked on him or if the Holy Ghost fell upon him. But something caused him to change. Lavender stoner expects you to make a fool of yourself up there in the dunking booth. So when you take your seat, sit close to the edge. Put your legs together, and place your hands in your lap and remember to smile. I'll put your hair in pigtails to really highlight those eyes of yours.”  Aunt Cat said smiling.

I said nothing but remained eating.

“Then, at the pageant. You'll really blow them away. You'll get the crown and get your name in the paper and it would be Lavender Stoner who ends up with egg on her face. We'll shame that old hen into going back into the hen house. We'll run her right off the barnyard.” Aunt Cat paused. “And that date with them. Trust me girl, when I get done making you up. That old snake in the grass would be speechless. Just make sure you order the biggest steak they have and be sure to eat it all. Delta men love a girl who can handle her beef. In more ways than one.”

And that is how that chapter comes to an end. Stay tuned there more to come.