ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (16)

"Ok, Ladies, let's get up the hill. It looks like a good travelin' day!" Mable said as though she was about to break out in song.

Mable and Edie started up the hill.  It was easier with Mable. 'Wish we had her at the beginning of the trip' Edie thought to herself.

As they approached the cab, Mable yelled to the cab driver for some help. It was a good thing he drove closer, because just as Susan and Edie were about ready to get into the cab, Edie spotted her brother's truck out on the road.

Edie tried to talk as quietly as she could, telling Mable and the cab driver that she saw her brother, but Mable was yelling at the cabdriver for not staying and helping with getting Edie up the hill. So, Edie yelled at Mable to STOP!. "I saw my brother.  And I think he saw me when he heard me yell."

He DID!  He turned around and started up the drive-way.

ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (15)

"Susan, how 'bout you carrin' that bag that's on your mama's lap? And Edie, do ya' have to take that table with ya?"

"Oh, this is not a table, this is a sewing machine!  I need to make a living where ever I live."

"Ya' sew? How ya' do that?"

"I put the foot pedal up on the lid (when it's open to sew) and use my left hand to push the pedal down like I was using my foot."

"Ya' sure are smart and ya' sew?"

"I made Susan's dress she's wearing."

"And ya' gonna' make a livin' sewin'?"

"I hope so." Edie replied. "No, I have to or starve."

"We won't starve, Mommy. We'll have a garden." Susan said.

"Out of the mouths of babes." Edie said as she hugged Susan. "Yes, we will have a garden and we will grow flowers to sell and vegetables to eat.  How do you like that?"

"Can I have a kitten? All my own? I'll take good care of it."

(How subjects change quickly with children.)

Escape from The Mountains (14)

"Where did the cab driver go?"
"He jes took off and went back to his car."
"Well, that was real nice of him.  Why did he do that?"

Mable explained the reason.  Then Edie calmed down.

"What are we going to do?", Edie asked anxiously.  She wanted to get going.

Mable went outside.  Said she would be back in a few minutes.  She was with a 4' x 8' piece of ply-wood.

"I think we can use this on the steps and ya's can slide down it.  What do ya' think?"

"If you hold the chair back so it doesn't go too fast, I think we have it made."

It worked!  It was a good idea that Mable was strong.  She was built like a bull.

Now the hill.

"I'm sorry you have to do this, Mable." Edie said as the touched Mable's arm.

"I've done worse. Don't ya' fret, now."

ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (13)

   He told her that he had been married before and didn't like it and swore he would never do it again. Well, she would live with him but as sister and brother in case someone came along that wanted to marry her. Well, no one ever did in forty-five years. I guess no one was as good as her "brother." You could see that Mable was a pretty woman in her younger years. Edie thought to herself, I don't think people believe your story, Mable, about you and Harry being sister and brother. After forty-five years, you still look at him like a school girl.
   "Oh, someone is knocking at the door. Mus' be the cab."
   "Hi, I don't think I better drive the cab down that hill with it being steep and the mud. I'll never get up the hill. You're gonna have to meet me up at the hill." And then he walked away so fast Mable couldn't catch him to tell him about Edie. 
    "Well, I guess we'll have to do it ourselves. Edie, come on. The cab man left. We have to walk you up the hill. He said the cab wouldn't make it up the hill. We'll talk while we walk."

ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (12)

    "I'm gonna cook up some fried eggs, bacon and tators. How's that? And more coffee."
    Edie shook her head yes but replied, "Please don't go to any trouble. Just coffee would be fine. Susan might want something, though."
    "Ya, can't live on coffee. Dear, if ya don't mind me askin' , was it the diabetes that took your legs?"
   "No, it wasn't diabetes. It was a fire. But I would rather not talk about it. Why does Harry go to the train station?" Edie had to change the subject, while Miss Mable still had her mouth wide open with surprise to Edie's comment. Miss Mable was a nice lady and very good-hearted but she sure was nosy. She asked a dozen questions. She never answered why Harry goes to the station. But Edie found out that Miss Mable and Harry were not sister and brother. Mable told Edie in secret because she was leaving and she wouldn't be able to tell anyone. Edie thought, oh well, let her live in her dream land. She was simple-minded. Harry met her working in a general store when she was fourteen living in a small town called Berryville, Arkansas. 

ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (11)

   "What are you doing, Edie?"
   "Harry, I told you what was going on at the farm with my brother. Well, Susan and I are leaving."
   "And you two walked all this way from your place?"
   "Yes, we did. Mud and all," Edie said proudly.
   "You get a lot of rain up your way last night?"
   "We didn't get much."
   "It came down in buckets. And lightning. I wanted to leave last night but Susan said she was afraid."
   "What? You crazy woman. In a storm! At night."
   "I'm desperate."
   "Well, your cab will be here in about an hour. So make yourselves at home. Mabel, get them something to eat."
   "I will," Mable said as she stood quickly.
   "Well, good luck and God bless you but I got work to do. Susan, take care of your mama. And you be a good girl, ya hear?"

ESCAPE FROM THE MOUNTAINS (10)

    Susan knocked on the door several times before  Miss Mable came to the door. She had the radio on in the kitchen so loud you could hear it outside. Gospel music. "Give Me That Old Time Religion." Edie recognized that song. Her mother played it on the piano all the time. 
   Miss Mable looked shocked when she opened the door. Where on earth did these people come from? No car or truck? She looked at Edie with her mouth opened for about a minute before she said anything. "Can I help you all?"
   "May I please use your phone?" Edie replied.
   "Darling, yes you sure can. Now how are you gonna get up them steps?"
   As luck would have it, here comes Miss Mable's brother Harry. He was the man that Edie met at the train station down town when she came home from Philadelphia. He pushed her chair to the cab and they talked while they were waiting for the cab. They were very glad to see one another. Now Harry can help Edie up the steps. Do I smell coffee? Edie thought as she entered the kitchen.