CHAPTER 6
Mary Jo woke to a damp chilly morning. She climbed out of bed and picked her boots off the floor. She turned them upside down and hit the heel of it to dislodge any unwelcome visitors and then shoved her feet into them.
The house was quiet. Ma must have overslept. Mary Jo quietly left her room and started a fire in the stove. She hung over the stove, shivering until it began to give off heat. She slipped into her jacket, grabbed the milk bucket and headed for the barn.
Did rich people have heated barns? They probably just paid poor people to do it for them. She stopped and frowned. What was she thinking? Everyone didn't have animals to tend. In fact, most probably didn't. If she moved to Clarksville and got an apartment, she wouldn't have any animals to tend. The idea wasn't exactly appealing.
She sighed, sending a cloud of vapor from her mouth. If only there was some way to make money on a farm. She giggled at the idea. That was silly. Of course people made money from a farm. How did the rest of the world eat? If it were not for the food they grew on the place, they wouldn't have enough to eat. If they had a freezer, they wouldn't have to can everything. Maybe next time the cow had a calf, they could butcher it instead of selling it. She continued to the barn, thinking of all the possibilities. Maybe Pa would have enough money to buy the generator as well as a used freezer and refrigerator.
She was still pondering the possibilities when she brought the bucket of milk back to the house. She set it on the counter and removed her coat. Ma was in the kitchen cooking oatmeal. She eyed Mary Jo's clothes and shook her head.
"Them clothes look like you've slept in them." She frowned. "Ain't that what you was wearin' yesterday?"
"I thought I'd take a bath after I did my chores." She pinched a lock of hair between her fingers. "I don't know what to do with this stuff. Do you think I should just cut it short?"
Mom's brows shot up. "Rosemary JoAnn!" Yer father'd have a cow if ya cut yer hair. You know how much he likes it long like that."
Mary Jo grimaced. "He don't have to take care of it."
Ma stirred the oatmeal and smiled. "No, he don't. If you really want yer hair cut short, I'll do it for you…but I like it the way it is. When it's clean, it shines with gold highlights." She gave Mary Jo a sly look. "I bet he would like it long too."