Annie Oakley's Arc

Chapter 13 of 13

Annie went home to change out of her damp skirt. When the sun sat low, she crossed the path to the Grays' cabin for supper. Lucy Gray opened the door with a wooden spoon in one hand. The kitchen smelled of biscuits and butter. Faye set the table without being asked. Fallon carried a pitcher. Finnley watched Annie from behind a chair. Fawn was not at the table. She lay on a patchwork couch in the front room, curled small, one arm under her cheek. A quilt covered her legs. A bowl sat on the floor within reach. "Her stomach's still turning," Lucy Gray said. "It does that after. She'll be fine by morning." Annie went to the couch and crouched. "Can you eat any?" "No," Fawn said. "Not tonight." "Biscuit later?" "Maybe." Annie sat with her through supper anyway. She ate a plate at the low table beside the couch so Fawn would not be alone in the room. Lucy Gray brought Annie seconds without asking. Finnley crept close and sat on the rug by Annie's boot. Nobody spoke much. The clock ticked. Fawn watched the ceiling. When the plates were cleared, Annie stood. "I'll be back. Don't move." "I can't," Fawn said. Annie crossed the path in the blue light. She went into her own cottage and took her guitar down from the wall. She had been writing a song for weeks, in bits, on the porch after Misty was asleep. She had never played it for anyone. She carried it back over the wet grass. Lucy Gray raised her eyebrows at the guitar but said nothing. Annie sat on the floor by the couch. She tuned two strings. Fawn turned her head to watch. "It's not finished," Annie said. "But the middle part works. It's called That's Where Jesus Is." She played. The chords were plain. She sang about the porch in the storm, and the creek that almost took a girl, and the biscuit a mama saves. She sang the line she had fought over for days: where you thought you were alone, that's where Jesus is. Her voice did not shake. Lainey was not there to hum the start. Annie started it herself. Fawn's shoulders eased down into the cushions. Her hand came out from under her cheek and rested on the quilt. Halfway through the second verse, she closed her eyes. She was not sleeping. She was listening. When Annie stopped, Fawn said, "Play the end again." Annie played it again. Fawn sat up on one elbow. "I could eat a biscuit now." Lucy Gray brought one on a plate with butter melting on top. Fawn ate half of it and lay back down. Her color was better. Finnley pressed against Annie's arm. "I'll finish the song," Annie said, to the room. "I want the rest of it right." She carried the guitar home under her arm and knew she had one more thing to write.