Black Stump Ridge by John Manning; Forrest Hedrick Page B

“That’s okay. I wasn’t getting any anyway.”
    Peete laughed. “I stand by my statement. I can’t help but think that sex with that…“ he hesitated, looked at William who merely shrugged, and then continued, “… that creature would freeze my pecker right off. I started to say bitch, but I don’t know you that well and I happen to like dogs. You might feel like you have to defend her honor or something, but I hope not. I just don’t feel like fighting today.”
    Two hours later Edith, Johnny, Fred, and William were in the kitchen. The remains from the Thanksgiving feast were wrapped and stored in the refrigerator. Stacks of dirty plates, flatware, and cookware littered the counter. William scraped the scraps from the dishes into a black plastic bag that lined a tall kitchen garbage can. He stacked the plates on the counter by the sink. Edith ran hot water in one of the double sinks. After she rinsed any remaining residue from the dishes or utensils, she handed them to Fred who placed them neatly into the dishwasher.
    In the living room, the Detroit game was gone from the TV screen. The Lions had beaten the Chiefs 37 to 10. The second game was on. Dallas had just kicked off to San Francisco, who returned the kick to the 28-yard line. The Forty-niners were ready to start their first offensive play. Peete and Charlie watched from the couch while Dave sat nodding in one of the armchairs. Seated in another chair, Anne leafed through a magazine. She made it clear that she was bored and anxious to leave this testosterone-dominated environment.
    “Why don’t you just put the dishes in the dishwasher after I scrape them?” Johnny asked. “According to the commercials, you don’t have to rinse them anymore.”
    Edith shook her head. “I tried it that way a couple of times. It didn’t work. I ended up with cooked on food. Ever since, I do it this way. Truth be told, I don’t usually use a machine to wash my dishes. I don’t trust’em to do a good job. I only use’em when I have a big job, like today or Christmas time, when the whole family – or most of it, anyway – gets together.” She shot a meaningful glance toward Fred.
    “We like to never got her to use one even then,” William said. “I remember when we got the first one. You remember that, Fred?”
    “Oh, yeah.”
    “How long was it before she finally used it?”
    “You mean, after the first time, right after she got it? I think it was close to a year.”
    William sipped from a soda can. “We used it when she was away so we could get done with our chores quicker.”
    Fred nodded. “Yep. I don’t think she ever knew. Did you, Mom?”
    “Oh, I knew all right. Those were the only times that the dishes were really clean, so I knew something was up.” Edith glanced around the kitchen. Satisfied that everything had been rinsed and placed into the machine, she shut off the water. She dried her hands on a dishtowel and then turned around.
    “You knew?” Fred and William chorused.
    “Of course I did. I had a houseful of boys. Not a girl in the bunch. So, I was happy with little things like that. At least I knew they’d be clean once in awhile.” She looked at all of them. “I thank you, gentlemen, for your help and for your conversation. A Happy Thanksgiving to you all. Speakin’ of help and conversation, could I get you to come up to Lawyer’s room, Fred? I need your help with somethin’.”
    “Sure, Mom, no problem.”
    “You need me, too?”
    “No, William, thank you anyway. It ain’t that much. One extra set of hands should do it. Why don’t you and Johnny go watch the game with the others? ’Course, if one of you wants to set the garbage downstairs, that would be a big help.”
    “We’ll take care of it later.” Johnny picked up the bag by the top, spun it once, and then tied a knot using the excess plastic. “We’ll make sure all of the garbage is in the cans before we go.”
    “This ain’t the city, boy. We don’t have