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The next day, soon after breakfast, a truck pulled up to the front and I could see it was loaded down. There were two men in the old truck. Then an older man and woman in a brand new automobile pulled up. Later we learned they were Mrs. G?s father and mother. They must have been very wealthy.
We spent all day unloading and rearranging furniture and unpacking boxes of china, silver, and personal belongings. Mrs. G. made it very clear she was now in charge of the household. Uncle Willie had been right, things would never be the same. Mrs. G. had so many clothes they brought a large cypress armoire and placed it on the back porch.
We found out later that Mrs. G. was also a teacher and they had met at some sort of conference, even though she was from a town some miles away. I knew he had been gone a lot lately but had no idea why.
There was hardly a day went by that we didn?t have visitors, but it wasn?t all without work, especially for Uncle Willie and myself. After Mrs. G. finished decorating the inside of the house she began on the yard. We dug beds, hauled manure, planted bulbs and seeds, and went into the woods and dug up dogwoods by the dozens. We planted all of the dogwoods along the main drive, along with wisteria and any other blooming plant we could find.
And then there were parties. At least once a month the house would be filled with laughter and music and while the adults partied inside the house Rosa and I played with all the white kids and even went inside for refreshments. We were well received although we did get a condescending pat on the head from some of the adults.
One of my favorite times of the year was our birthday parties. Rosa and I were bom just a few days apart though I was two years younger. We were given the run of the house and invited all our friends, many who were from very poor homes so we asked them not to bring gifts. Mr. and Mrs. G. made sure we had plenty to celebrate.
Times were also good on the farm. It seems as if Mrs. G. had inspired Mr. G. to work even harder than ever and it was paying off. The next year Mr. G. gave up teaching, except for occasionally filling in, and he devoted full time to the farm.
The next summer Mr. G. brought home a brand new truck. It was the latest model and even had an electric starter. I was so proud as we rode in the back of the truck on Saturday. Mr. G. even let me pump the gas at the store. There was a long handle on the side of the pump and as you pumped the gas in the top just gurgled. It had a measure in the top with the gas where you could se how many gallons you had pumped.
For the first time electricity was coming to our area and the country store and the doctor?s office were the first to be wired. Funny, but for the first time I noticed the two separate entrances to the doctor4 s office, one for colored and one for whites.
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