Wednesday, July 3, 2013

One Summer Day

Lacy's Mama had always told her to stay away from the field workers when they came to pull cotton. Every summer, since Lacy had been old enough to walk, her mama had warned her, her voice rough and warm in the heat of the old kitchen.  They ain't like the house help, she said.  They's crude, and they's dirty, and they's got no manners.   Lacy could still smell the aroma of the biscuits just pulled from the oven, even though her Mama was long gone.

Lacy didn't have cotton these days, but she did have hedges, a couple of trees that needed pruning, and an absentee husband disinclined toward yard work.  Lacy had found a solution to her problem; she had hired a lawn service.  The man, John, had shown up promptly at seven.

Lacy had spent the last two hours in the kitchen, watching from the window and thinking.  A  straw cowboy hat kept his face in shadow, but a strong jaw kept drawing her eye. He had removed his shirt finally, just outside her window, pouring water over his head and upper body.   Lacy watched those enticing droplets of water roll down a body chiseled by hard work, and her thinking was done. She only stepped away from the window long enough to make a pitcher of iced tea and set two glasses on the table.

Her Mama always told her to stay away from the field hands.  But Lacy thought that maybe a little dirt was just what she needed.





Have fun with the prompt and enjoy your week!
Katherine Hepburn quote




The prompt is the third definition of "crude".
3: marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.cRUdx2Xt.d
3: marked by the primitive, gross, or elemental or by uncultivated simplicity or vulgarity - See more at: http://www.trifectawritingchallenge.com/#sthash.cRUdx2Xt.dpuf

24 comments:

  1. Uh-oh Lacey's about to get dirty!

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  2. oh those field hands and their ummm, hands. (ahem)
    good for her, I hope she gets sweaty too. ;)

    I loved this (but you knew I would...)

    ;)

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  3. Oh, fun! Of course one of the most fun ways to break rules involves boys!

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    Replies
    1. Always a lot of rule breaking going on around boys!

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  4. Lacey, girl, I am with you all the way! Maybe make mine a Long Island Iced Tea!

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    1. You've got it--it's five in the afternoon somewhere!

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  5. Nothing like a little "iced tea" early in the morning to start the day off right!!! Hope it was refreshing for them both. My wife and I would love to have a little "iced tea" in the mornings but, we have small children so........... :(

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    1. I am sorry to say that you've still got a bit of a wait...my son is five and my husband and I still don't get to enjoy our iced tea in the mornings.

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  6. You brought so much more to this piece than merely Lacy's little quandary. You brought the changes that historically occurred in such a short span of time, from the revision of field hands becoming lawn service, from the perception of hard-working men taking care of their families to absentee husbands, and from proper social customs of interaction between the genders. Oh, and then some things never change...

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    Replies
    1. Iced tea will always be iced tea. At least in my book!

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  7. I love this little peek inside Lacey's head. And that last line was pretty perfect!

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  8. Hot damn! This had me thinking I need to make some ice tea. :)

    On a more serious note, it was well written and a fantastic read.

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  9. Uh-oh, she's going to go Desperate Housewives here :) Things have changed over the years - lawn service can be a respectable (and profitable) vocation.

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    1. Respectable vocation, indeed, and a part time job for many teachers during the summer!

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  10. Very tightly written, with just the right amount of past and present woven together to give some context but not have it feel too heavy.

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  11. Great story! Love your characterization of Lacy, love the way you set the tone in the first paragraph – love the line "an absentee husband disinclined toward yard work." Awesome job!

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  12. Oh my... someone is going to have fun. Beautifully written.

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  13. Just enough double meaning to make you blush...I'm not sure why,but I love the "finally" in that third paragraph. :) Great entry this week :)

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