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`:Yes."

"Overpopulation, I suppose," Dave said. "Baby asleep?"

"Yes, she's taking a nap."

"Good idea. I think I might just do the same. It's been a while since I took a hike that long, Noble. Thanks for the walk."

"You're welcome," I said, and he went in' side.

Mama looked at me and then stared ahead a moment. I turned to go to the shed. "Noble," she called.

I paused and looked at her. "What, Mama?"

"Don't get too close to Dave."

"Why not?"

She didn't answer me. She just turned away. "Mama?"

She looked at me again and I knew she would say no more. It frightened me. Why would she say such a thing? Was she afraid I would reveal all our dark secrets, betray her? For the remainder of the day, I would stop whatever I was doing and suddenly realize I was trembling so badly, my hands shook. I couldn't get her eyes out of my mind.

Dave slept right through dinner this particular evening. Mama said she had gone up to look in on him and decided not to wake him.

"I'll bring him something to eat later," she said, which was exactly what she did.

The following day he once again called in sick and did not go to work. He remained in bed with Mama bringing him things to eat and drink.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked before we sat at the table to have dinner.. I hadn't seen him all day.

He thinks he has the flu. You know pharmacists. They think they're doctors. He asked for it so I made some garlic soup for him. I don't think that's his problem. but I did it to humor him, and good garlic soup has other medicinal and nutritional value anyway."

"Maybe he should go see a doctor."

"Doctors," she muttered as if they were all charlatans. "He'll be just fine if he does what I tell him and eats and drinks what I give him and," she added pointedly, "stops thinking about that spoiled brat."

Mama always did wonders whenever I was ill. I couldn't deny it. I had never had some of the inoculations children were supposed to be Oven, but no one cared or checked to see if I had. I never attended public school where they might have checked.

The following day Dave did get up, dress, and come downstairs, but he looked much weaker and even much paler. We had our first real winter precipitation in the form of snow flurries. Although it had been cold, it was proving to be one of the driest winters on record. I made a nice fire in the fireplace and Dave sat near it, warming himself. He didn't seem able to rid himself of the chill. Mama made him wear a heavy sweater and gave him hot herbal teas and mixes, but he was uncomfortable all day.

Baby Celeste tried with more determination to get him to pay attention to her. He didn't want to ignore her or make her unhappy, but he was afraid he was coming down or had come down with something contagious and asked me to keep her from getting too close to him. His appetite was small at dinner, almost nonexistent. He picked at his food and tried to eat more to please Mama.

"Everything is very good. Sarah,' he said apologetically. "It's just my stomach. It feels like I have a chain being tightened around it."

She nodded and told him not to worry about how much he ate. but I was alarmed. Why wasn't he thinking about going to a doctor at this point, especially with these symptoms? He should know enough to do so himself. When Mama wasn't in earshot, I asked him.

"Your mother's probably right, Noble. I probably have a touch of the bug. Her remedies are just as effective as anything I have at the drugstore for this, or anything else any doctor might prescribe," he insisted. "Thanks for being concerned."

When Mama returned from the kitchen. I turned away from him quickly and she looked at me suspiciously. Later. after Dave had gone to bed and she had put Baby Celeste to sleep, she confronted me in the living room. I was rereading Daphne du Maurier's

Rebecca, a novel I knew Mama thought was inappropriate for me. She didn't come right out and say it. She would simply ask. "Why are you reading that?" She pronounced that as if it were pornography. It annoyed her to see me reading it again.

"If you're going to read that sort of book, do it in private. You should be reading something more... vigorous." Manly was really what she meant.

I closed it quickly and put it aside.

"Why," she continued, still glaring at me. "do you continually tell Dave to go see a doctor?"

"He doesn't look well. Mama, and he's missed so much work and seems so weak." "His illness comes from places doctors know nothing about. I told you not to interfere." "I'm not interfering. I just thought--"