Author's Note: I have the urge to write. I shall write MORE! This is
basically the same as the book, with a bit from the movie, but I tried to
add some more thoughts to it.
~*~
I Can Fix That
Part Two: Katherine's Story
"Onions! Fresh, sweet onions!" I heard Sam call outside the schoolhouse. Slowly, I made my way to the door and walked outside. Dark storm clouds were covering part of the sky, announcing that it would rain soon.
I bought a few onions and fed them to Mary Lou, hoping that it would make me forget about the weather.
"Hello, Sam," I said while the old donkey ate an onion out of my hand.
"Hello, Miss Katherine," he replied. "Is something wrong? You seem distracted."
I smiled to myself. Sam seemed to have read my mind. "Oh, just the weather. It looks like rain clouds moving in," I said.
"Me and Mary Lou, we like the rain." I began to rub the top of Mary Lou's head when she finished the two onions I had bought for her.
"Oh, I like it fine. It's just that the roof leaks in the schoolhouse."
"I can fix that." I was surprised by what he said, but what had I expected? Sam seemed to have a cure for everything, maybe even for a leaky roof.
"What are you going to do?" I joked. "Fill the holes with onion paste?"
"I'm good with my hands," he laughed. "I built my own boat. If it leaked, I'd be in big trouble." I beleived him. His hands and arms were definately strong from rowing his boat across the lake every week. Trout Walker may have had a brand new, motorized boat, but he wasn't strong, like Sam. He never had to do any work with his boat, and he ended up sending out that disgusting smoke all over the water.
"I'll fix your roof," said Sam, bringing me out of my thoughts, "In exchange for six jars of your spiced peaches."
I turned away from Mary Lou and shook his hand. "Alright, Sam. It's a deal." I would gladly give him six jars of peaches, whether or not he fixed the roof.
It turned out that he did fix the roof, starting the very next afternoon, right after school finished. I sat at my desk and tried to grade papers, but found the little conversation we had much more enjoyable. It was hard to talk that much because we had to shout at the top of our lungs for the other to hear. Whenever he took a break, I would read him a poem. Surprisingly, he was able to finish much of what I read to him, reciting it from memory.
"Oh, Sam," I whispered, amazed, the first time he did this. Sam just smiled at me and went back to work.
When he finished, I was upset that we wouldn't be able to spend another afternoon together. My face must have shown what I was feeling, because Sam asked me if something was wrong.
"No," I said quickly, hoping he wouldn't think I was disapointed with his work. "You did a wonderful job. It's just that..." I came up with an excuse to see him again. "The windows won't open. The children and I would enjoy a breeze now and then."
"I can fix that," Sam said, and walked back to his onion cart.
Sam recieved two more jars of spiced peaches for fixing the windows. Although the windows didn't take as long as the roof had, having a conversation was easier. This time, instead of me reading to him, he told me all about his onion field.
"The onions grow there all year round," he told me. I was taking in every word he said. "And the water runs uphill."
I never doubted that Sam was being completely truthful and not exaggerating. If he had told me that Mary Lou was actually a turtle, I would have beleived him. Of course, Sam would never tell me Mary Lou was a turtle.
When the windows were fixed, I told him that my desk wobbled.
"I can fix that," said Sam, and he did.
The next time I bought onions, I bought more than usual for Mary Lou so I could speak with Sam a little longer. As Mary Lou ate the last onion, I said that the door didn't hang straight.
"I can fix that," Sam said with a smile, just like he always did. The door only took one afternoon, but it was still another afternoon with Sam. I sometimes wondered if he knew why I asked him to fix things, but he never told me he did.
By the end of the first semester, the schoolhouse had been changed completely and people would often stop on their way past it to say that it showed how much the town of Green Lake valued education. To me, it was a reminder of all of those wonderful afternoons with Sam. The only thing I was unsatisfied with about it was that I had run out of reasons to see Sam, since Mary Lou didn't take to long to eat the onions I gave her, even if I bought an extra two or three.
One rainy afternoon, I sat at my desk, listening to the rain hitting the roof. A few months ago, the sound would have seemed strange, but now I was used to no rain leaking in. That was why I was surprised when I saw a few drops land on the book I was reading.
"Onions! Hot, sweet onions!" Sam was calling out on the street. I blinked back more tears before I ran outside and hugged Mary Lou's neck. I wanted to have my arms around Sam, but I just couldn't do it. My face was pressed against Mary Lou's neck when I heard Sam speak to me.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.
"Oh, Sam..." I said. "My heart is breaking."
"I can fix that."
I let go of Mary Lou and stared at him as he took my hands in his, pulled me closer, and kissed me. When I thought back on that kiss, it always seemed to last forever instead of a few seconds. I never remembered being wet and cold, just that Sam was kissing me, and that I was kissing him back.
~*~
The next day, the schoolhouse was empty. I told myself that it must have been Saturday, because I was still in shock from having Sam kiss me.
I was surprised when an angry mob of men and women entered the schoolhouse. Trout Walker was leading them.
"There she is!" he shouted as desks were turned over and bulletin boards were ripped from the walls. "The Devil Woman! She's been poisoning your children's brains with books!"
"Think about what you're doing!" I cried, watching the mob pile books in the center of the room. I was petrified for a moment, but forced myself to run to the sheriff's office.
"Mornin', Miss Katherine," said the sheriff as I entered. His feet were up on his desk and he was drinking.
"They're destroying the schoolhouse! They'll burn it to the ground of someone doesn't stop them!" I told him, out of breath.
The sheriff got up and walked towards me, "Just calm your pretty self down a second and tell me what you're talking about."
"Trout Walker has--"
"Now don't go saying nothing bad about Charles Walker."
"We haven't got much time! You've got to stop them!" I pleaded.
"You're sure pretty."
I stared, horrified, at the sheriff. I felt completely helpless.
"Kiss me," the sheriff said. Without even thinking about it, I slapped him across the face, but he simply laughed and continued, "You kissed the onions picker. Why won't you kiss me?" He caught my hand as I tried to hit him again.
"You're drunk!" I screamed.
"I always get drunk before a hanging." I froze. He couldn't mean Sam. He couldn't.
"A hanging? Who--"
"It's against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman." I didn't cry, I was too angry. I wanted to do nothing but kill Trout. I wanted to kill the sheriff. It wasn't fair.
"Well, then you'd better hang me, too," I snarled. "Because I kissed him back."
"It ain't against the law for you to kiss him, just for him to kiss you," said the sheriff, as though explaining that two and two make four.
"We're all equal under the eyes of God," I declared.
"Then if Sam and I are equal, why won't you kiss me?" laughed the sheriff. "I'll make you a deal. One sweet kiss, and I won't hang your boyfriend. I'll just run him out of town."
I pulled free and ran out the door.
"The law will punish Sam," I heard him say as I left. "And God will punish you."
I got to Sam as fast as I could. He was at the lakefront, hitching his donkey to the cart.
"Thank God, I found you," I threw my arms around him, but pulled away quickly as I remembered how much danger he was in. "We've got to get out of here! Now!"
"What--"
"Someone must have seen us kissing yesterday. They set fire to the schoolhouse. The sheriff said he's going to hang you!"
Sam froze, but only for a few seconds becore saying, "C'mon, Mary Lou."
"We have to leave Mary Lou behind," I said sadly. I hated to say it, but it was true. Sam looked close to tears, but he nodded.
"Okay."
Sam found his boat tied to a tree, quickly untied it, and waded through the water. I followed him and, with his help, climbed aboard the boat. He picked up the oars and rowed as fast as he could. When we were just a little more than halfway across the lake, I heard an engine roar behind us. I looked behind me and saw Trout Walker's boat, followed by a stream of black smoke.
I don't know what happened then. The next thing I can remember is being pushed along and seeing Mary Lou's body lying on the ground when we returned to shore. Though there had been storm clouds gathering in the sky earlier in the morning, it didn't rain the next day. Or the next.
When three days had passed since they killed Sam, I shot the sheriff, and gave him the kiss he had been so eager to receive. The pain didn't go away, but it felt good to know that he had paid for what he had done.
I was known as Kissin' Kate Barlow. I doubt that anyone knew why I kissed all of the men I killed, and I doubt that anyone would care.
Twenty years later, no one remembers Miss Katherine, the schoolteacher everyone expected to marry Charles Walker. No one except me. I don't only remember that schoolteacher, I remember Sam. I would never forget Sam. Even now, twenty years since I saw him last, I can see him perfectly. It doesn't matter that I've lost my mind, I haven't lost the memories of those afternoons we spent together.
"Oh, Sam," I say, but no one is around to hear it. "I know it's hot, but I feel so very cold. My hands are cold. My feet are cold. My heart is cold." And when I fall silent, I hear a familiar voice reply,
"I can fix that."
~*~
Author's Note: That's the end. Did you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh? I thought I did a good job, but I'm the writer. What do YOU think? Yes, you. Well? Hmm?
In other words, please review. I'm feelin totally miserable after writing this and reviews make me feel special. And thanks to the people who reviewed in the first place, I love you to bits!
~*~
I Can Fix That
Part Two: Katherine's Story
"Onions! Fresh, sweet onions!" I heard Sam call outside the schoolhouse. Slowly, I made my way to the door and walked outside. Dark storm clouds were covering part of the sky, announcing that it would rain soon.
I bought a few onions and fed them to Mary Lou, hoping that it would make me forget about the weather.
"Hello, Sam," I said while the old donkey ate an onion out of my hand.
"Hello, Miss Katherine," he replied. "Is something wrong? You seem distracted."
I smiled to myself. Sam seemed to have read my mind. "Oh, just the weather. It looks like rain clouds moving in," I said.
"Me and Mary Lou, we like the rain." I began to rub the top of Mary Lou's head when she finished the two onions I had bought for her.
"Oh, I like it fine. It's just that the roof leaks in the schoolhouse."
"I can fix that." I was surprised by what he said, but what had I expected? Sam seemed to have a cure for everything, maybe even for a leaky roof.
"What are you going to do?" I joked. "Fill the holes with onion paste?"
"I'm good with my hands," he laughed. "I built my own boat. If it leaked, I'd be in big trouble." I beleived him. His hands and arms were definately strong from rowing his boat across the lake every week. Trout Walker may have had a brand new, motorized boat, but he wasn't strong, like Sam. He never had to do any work with his boat, and he ended up sending out that disgusting smoke all over the water.
"I'll fix your roof," said Sam, bringing me out of my thoughts, "In exchange for six jars of your spiced peaches."
I turned away from Mary Lou and shook his hand. "Alright, Sam. It's a deal." I would gladly give him six jars of peaches, whether or not he fixed the roof.
It turned out that he did fix the roof, starting the very next afternoon, right after school finished. I sat at my desk and tried to grade papers, but found the little conversation we had much more enjoyable. It was hard to talk that much because we had to shout at the top of our lungs for the other to hear. Whenever he took a break, I would read him a poem. Surprisingly, he was able to finish much of what I read to him, reciting it from memory.
"Oh, Sam," I whispered, amazed, the first time he did this. Sam just smiled at me and went back to work.
When he finished, I was upset that we wouldn't be able to spend another afternoon together. My face must have shown what I was feeling, because Sam asked me if something was wrong.
"No," I said quickly, hoping he wouldn't think I was disapointed with his work. "You did a wonderful job. It's just that..." I came up with an excuse to see him again. "The windows won't open. The children and I would enjoy a breeze now and then."
"I can fix that," Sam said, and walked back to his onion cart.
Sam recieved two more jars of spiced peaches for fixing the windows. Although the windows didn't take as long as the roof had, having a conversation was easier. This time, instead of me reading to him, he told me all about his onion field.
"The onions grow there all year round," he told me. I was taking in every word he said. "And the water runs uphill."
I never doubted that Sam was being completely truthful and not exaggerating. If he had told me that Mary Lou was actually a turtle, I would have beleived him. Of course, Sam would never tell me Mary Lou was a turtle.
When the windows were fixed, I told him that my desk wobbled.
"I can fix that," said Sam, and he did.
The next time I bought onions, I bought more than usual for Mary Lou so I could speak with Sam a little longer. As Mary Lou ate the last onion, I said that the door didn't hang straight.
"I can fix that," Sam said with a smile, just like he always did. The door only took one afternoon, but it was still another afternoon with Sam. I sometimes wondered if he knew why I asked him to fix things, but he never told me he did.
By the end of the first semester, the schoolhouse had been changed completely and people would often stop on their way past it to say that it showed how much the town of Green Lake valued education. To me, it was a reminder of all of those wonderful afternoons with Sam. The only thing I was unsatisfied with about it was that I had run out of reasons to see Sam, since Mary Lou didn't take to long to eat the onions I gave her, even if I bought an extra two or three.
One rainy afternoon, I sat at my desk, listening to the rain hitting the roof. A few months ago, the sound would have seemed strange, but now I was used to no rain leaking in. That was why I was surprised when I saw a few drops land on the book I was reading.
"Onions! Hot, sweet onions!" Sam was calling out on the street. I blinked back more tears before I ran outside and hugged Mary Lou's neck. I wanted to have my arms around Sam, but I just couldn't do it. My face was pressed against Mary Lou's neck when I heard Sam speak to me.
"Is something wrong?" he asked, his voice soft and gentle.
"Oh, Sam..." I said. "My heart is breaking."
"I can fix that."
I let go of Mary Lou and stared at him as he took my hands in his, pulled me closer, and kissed me. When I thought back on that kiss, it always seemed to last forever instead of a few seconds. I never remembered being wet and cold, just that Sam was kissing me, and that I was kissing him back.
~*~
The next day, the schoolhouse was empty. I told myself that it must have been Saturday, because I was still in shock from having Sam kiss me.
I was surprised when an angry mob of men and women entered the schoolhouse. Trout Walker was leading them.
"There she is!" he shouted as desks were turned over and bulletin boards were ripped from the walls. "The Devil Woman! She's been poisoning your children's brains with books!"
"Think about what you're doing!" I cried, watching the mob pile books in the center of the room. I was petrified for a moment, but forced myself to run to the sheriff's office.
"Mornin', Miss Katherine," said the sheriff as I entered. His feet were up on his desk and he was drinking.
"They're destroying the schoolhouse! They'll burn it to the ground of someone doesn't stop them!" I told him, out of breath.
The sheriff got up and walked towards me, "Just calm your pretty self down a second and tell me what you're talking about."
"Trout Walker has--"
"Now don't go saying nothing bad about Charles Walker."
"We haven't got much time! You've got to stop them!" I pleaded.
"You're sure pretty."
I stared, horrified, at the sheriff. I felt completely helpless.
"Kiss me," the sheriff said. Without even thinking about it, I slapped him across the face, but he simply laughed and continued, "You kissed the onions picker. Why won't you kiss me?" He caught my hand as I tried to hit him again.
"You're drunk!" I screamed.
"I always get drunk before a hanging." I froze. He couldn't mean Sam. He couldn't.
"A hanging? Who--"
"It's against the law for a Negro to kiss a white woman." I didn't cry, I was too angry. I wanted to do nothing but kill Trout. I wanted to kill the sheriff. It wasn't fair.
"Well, then you'd better hang me, too," I snarled. "Because I kissed him back."
"It ain't against the law for you to kiss him, just for him to kiss you," said the sheriff, as though explaining that two and two make four.
"We're all equal under the eyes of God," I declared.
"Then if Sam and I are equal, why won't you kiss me?" laughed the sheriff. "I'll make you a deal. One sweet kiss, and I won't hang your boyfriend. I'll just run him out of town."
I pulled free and ran out the door.
"The law will punish Sam," I heard him say as I left. "And God will punish you."
I got to Sam as fast as I could. He was at the lakefront, hitching his donkey to the cart.
"Thank God, I found you," I threw my arms around him, but pulled away quickly as I remembered how much danger he was in. "We've got to get out of here! Now!"
"What--"
"Someone must have seen us kissing yesterday. They set fire to the schoolhouse. The sheriff said he's going to hang you!"
Sam froze, but only for a few seconds becore saying, "C'mon, Mary Lou."
"We have to leave Mary Lou behind," I said sadly. I hated to say it, but it was true. Sam looked close to tears, but he nodded.
"Okay."
Sam found his boat tied to a tree, quickly untied it, and waded through the water. I followed him and, with his help, climbed aboard the boat. He picked up the oars and rowed as fast as he could. When we were just a little more than halfway across the lake, I heard an engine roar behind us. I looked behind me and saw Trout Walker's boat, followed by a stream of black smoke.
I don't know what happened then. The next thing I can remember is being pushed along and seeing Mary Lou's body lying on the ground when we returned to shore. Though there had been storm clouds gathering in the sky earlier in the morning, it didn't rain the next day. Or the next.
When three days had passed since they killed Sam, I shot the sheriff, and gave him the kiss he had been so eager to receive. The pain didn't go away, but it felt good to know that he had paid for what he had done.
I was known as Kissin' Kate Barlow. I doubt that anyone knew why I kissed all of the men I killed, and I doubt that anyone would care.
Twenty years later, no one remembers Miss Katherine, the schoolteacher everyone expected to marry Charles Walker. No one except me. I don't only remember that schoolteacher, I remember Sam. I would never forget Sam. Even now, twenty years since I saw him last, I can see him perfectly. It doesn't matter that I've lost my mind, I haven't lost the memories of those afternoons we spent together.
"Oh, Sam," I say, but no one is around to hear it. "I know it's hot, but I feel so very cold. My hands are cold. My feet are cold. My heart is cold." And when I fall silent, I hear a familiar voice reply,
"I can fix that."
~*~
Author's Note: That's the end. Did you like it? Huh? Huh? Huh? I thought I did a good job, but I'm the writer. What do YOU think? Yes, you. Well? Hmm?
In other words, please review. I'm feelin totally miserable after writing this and reviews make me feel special. And thanks to the people who reviewed in the first place, I love you to bits!
