Readers: *panics* "Leah, who's Leah? Why was she there?"

Happening: *shrugs and skips away* I ain't telling. Not yet! :D

Cherry & Mia: You guise never learn, do you? The woman is evil...

Happening: *laughs creepily in background*

Chapter Thirty-Six: Colors & Chaos

It's Saturday, the last weekend before the end of my tenth grade year, and I can't believe I survived it. The June weather is sweltering hot, the kind that makes you sweat in places you shouldn't, but that doesn't stop the Hales and the Masens from coming over to visit. Charlotte's daddy and Carlisle help Papa fix a few shingles on the barn roof, while Mrs. Hale and Esme chat with Ma on the front porch. They've got magazines and fabric swatches and various kinds of flowers all spread out with a checklist.

Charlotte Rose and I sit crisscrossed on the porch with the women folk while Rowdy tosses a football back and forth with Jessie. Harley Gene isn't crying for once while she chews on a toy in her playpen. She's teething, and up until today the tears hadn't let up for a minute. Esme yells at Emmett, who's trying to see how many jawbreakers he can fit into his mouth without choking.

"Emmett! That's enough!" Esme shouts across the yard. "I told you, no more candy!"

Emmett doesn't pay her no mind and Esme sighs, shaking her head. "I swear that boy don't listen for nothing. I had a soup chilling in the fridge and he snuck downstairs in the middle of the night and ate it all. Can you believe it? He's gonna eat me out of house and home, I tell ya."

Ma tsks and compares two squares of fabric. "You think about putting him on a diet?"

Esme shakes her head. "Carlisle said no, that he's just going through puberty and he'll grow out of it."

The only thing Emmett's growing is a bigger belly. He can't even walk properly. He just waddles side to side, trampling everything in his way. I bet he can't even see his feet when he stands up.

Mrs. Hale holds out a bridal magazine. "How about this, Cotton? Says here African violet and cranberry red are the most popular colors for weddings this year."

I take a quick glance at the glossy page and frown. "They're too dark. I was thinking something lighter."

"What about these honey?" Ma holds out one coral color swatch and one dark blue one.

"I like them," Charlotte Rose grins. "When I get married, that's what I want."

"You mean to Riley?" I giggle and she pinches me on the arm.

"Shut up!"

"What about that one?" I say, pointing to a softer color in her lap. "What's that one called?"

Ma turns the square over. "Says it's mint. So you like this one?"

She holds the mint and the coral samples together and I smile. "Yeah, that's pretty and fittin'. Like a summer wedding should be."

The women agree and Ma says it's as gorgeous as I am.

Ma's all about the wedding but honestly, I don't care. I'd marry Rowdy with nothing at all, but everyone disagrees with me. Here in the South, weddings are a huge deal. And since Papa said no expenses spared, Ma's taking it to heart.

"No daughter of mine is gettin' hitched in a field like a hooligan," he'd said when I complained. "You're going to have a proper wedding in a church, and everybody who's anybody is going to be there. You're still a Swan, Cotton. I don't want nobody thinking I don't take care of what's mine."

So he wrote a check with a bunch of zeros and Ma's already spent half.

A loud cracking sound comes from the side of the house, and Ma jumps up and runs to the left of the porch. Leaning over, she yells at AJ.

"AJ! Jasper! I know that's y'all! Don't be messing with my rose bushes. Go play in the backyard!"

AJ screams back that she ain't doing nothing, but the noise suddenly stops.

"Cotton?" Charlotte starts to speak as Ma sits back in her rocking chair. "How'd you know?"

I place my magazine down on the white painted wood. "How'd I know what?"

"About Rowdy, I mean. How'd you know that he was the one?"

Even though the three women sitting in chairs have years and years of marriage experience, they all stop rocking just to hear my answer.

"I didn't," I say, shrugging. "I ain't even like Rowdy at first. You know he cursed at me in church the first day we met?"

Charlotte gasps. "No!"

"Sure did. Called me a liar and said the 's' word and everything."

Esme chuckles beneath her breath. "That's my boy, through and through."

"But then I realized how charming he was. He always puts me before himself, even when I don't deserve it."

Everyone "aww's" as I sit there grinning like a fool. "You wanna know the best part? A couple of weeks went by and he took me to that fountain—you know, the one in the middle of town—and showed me how he carved our names in it. I thought that was just the most sweetest thing I ever saw."

Esme frowns. "The fountain? You mean across from the yogurt shop?"

I nod. "Yeah, why?"

"And this was after that cake walk we had last year?"

I think real hard, trying to remember. "I believe so."

Esme holds a hand to her chest and starts laughing. "Oh, Cotton. You have no idea."

I keep asking what she's talking about, but she's in hysterics so bad she has to catch her breath.

"Child, you remember how we had supper here, after church? It was the very first day I met you, before I had Harley Gene."

"I remember."

"Well, after we were good and full, Rowdy asked me to drive him to the town square. When I asked him why, he said he just had to do something. So I drove him there and waited for almost a good hour."

I'm trying to connect the pieces, but I don't understand. Esme sees my confusion and places a hand on my shoulder.

"Don't you see Cotton? Rowdy's been sweet on you since day one. Whenever he carved your names, it was before you two even started courting."

I open my mouth in shock and glance at Rowdy, who's tickling Jessie so hard she's screaming for Baby Jesus. He looks up and when he sees me staring, he winks and blows me a kiss.

"Yessirree." Esme rocks back and forth, her chair squeaking loudly. "I'd say that boy of mine swept you off your feet, but it's the opposite. I think he planned on marrying you long before he ever asked."

.

.

.

"Yank it out, Ma!" Jessie reaches for AJ's mouth, but AJ bawls and hits her hand away. Blood drips down her lips and Ma holds a cold washcloth to her face.

"See? I told y'all about fooling around. Now look what you've done!"

AJ looks bad. I feel awful since she's in so much pain. "W-we … owwwwww!"

She can't even explain what happened and Jasper has to fill in. "We were playing rock launcher. One of them rocks ricocheted back and hit her square in the mouth."

Ma shakes her head. "How many times have I said not to play that game? How many Alice Jo?"

AJ cries louder and holds up two hands.

"That's right, ten times. But you don't listen, and now your two front teeth are hanging by a string. Jessie, run and fetch your father."

"But-" Jessie hesitates, half-turning to the side. She doesn't want to move 'cause she doesn't want to miss anything, but Ma shoos her away.

"Now Jessie!"

She stomps off, pouting out her lower lip and crossing her arms.

"Cotton, go find that numbing anesthetic." Ma tilts her head to the side as she tries to stop the bleeding in AJ's mouth. "Should be in the medicine cabinet somewhere."

"Yes, Ma." While Jasper tries to soothe AJ with kind words, I dash towards the bathroom with Rowdy trailing behind me. While I push a bunch of half-empty bottles aside, Rowdy chuckles to himself.

"Aren't you going to miss this?" he asks.

"Miss what?" I question nonchalantly, sliding two tubes of first-aid cream to the left. Geez, why do we have so much medicine? AJ screams all the way downstairs, answering my question. My sisters have created so much havoc over the years, it's a wonder Ma isn't a professional doctor by now.

"This," he answers, spreading his arms. "Your house and your parents, one of your sisters screaming bloody murder … Charlie said he was going to help me look at houses next week, and I wonder if all this is too soon for you."

I finally find a small bottle of Benzocaine that looks a hundred years old. I grab it and turn around to face Rowdy, whose expression looks sorrowful.

"I'm gonna miss 'em, Rowdy," I say. "But it's not like you're taking something away. It's like you're giving me a better life, a different one. Sure, I won't have Jessie snuggle up to me anymore or have AJ trying to scare me from behind doors, but it's not like I'll never see 'em. 'Sides, I'll take a quiet life over this any day."

To prove my point, AJ wails again. Rowdy chuckles. "All right. I just … we're young, ya know? I didn't want to be marrying you before you were ready."

"I'm ready," I answer, kissing him quickly on the lips. I don't know a lot about life, but I know Rowdy and our love and how our marriage is meant to be. It won't matter if I'm 16 or 46, he will always be the fella of my dreams.

"Good." He shuts the cabinet behind me as we race downstairs.

Papa's kneeling in front of AJ, tying string in her mouth. Everyone stands around to witness my poor sister meet her doom.

"Yank it out, Papa!" Jessie yells excitedly, practically getting in his way. "Give it the ol' tug and pull!"

"Hush up, Jessie." Ma says, swatting her on her bottom. "You keep carryin' on and you're next."

Jessie gulps and takes two steps back. Papa finishes tying two knots around the dangling front teeth and stands up. "All right AJ. I put on as much medicine as I could. You just grip onto that chair and I'll be quick."

AJ's eyes are as wide as can be, but she nods and clutches the kitchen chair.

Papa steps back, carrying the string gently between his calloused fingers. "Okay, honey. One … two…"

You ask anybody in Forks County whatever happened to Alice Jo Summer Swan that day she lost her two front teeth and they'll give you all sorts of tales.

Some say she yelled so loud that both of her eyeballs rolled into the back of her head.

Others claim she went crazy and she hasn't been the same since.

One particular little girl said that Alice Jo met Baby Jesus Himself, and He said to tell her little sister that there aren't any taters in Heaven.

I reckon that last story isn't true, but the ending is all the same.

Just as I was meant to meet Rowdy, AJ was meant to meet Jasper.

One of 'em has all the teeth in the world and the other has none.

Maybe Rowdy was right; I would miss this—the screaming and hollering and chaos that comes from having two sisters with no good sense.

But as Rowdy tries to stop Jessie from tying another string in AJ's mouth, I figure maybe a little peace and quiet won't be so bad after all.