D e s e r t E x p o s u r e
September 2009
Shadows
Page: 4"This little house of mine sits right where the Squires' veranda used to be, and I've always been glad to be here because when the sun goes down and the shadows begin to fall, this place makes me think of Luther, and as the days go by, I sometimes like to think of him as being the best of all my shadows. Now, young man, now that I've bored you some, I think you probably ought to be getting back down to Hall's store before Mr. Dean begins to wonder what has become of you. "
"Yes, ma'am," I said, getting up off the chair. "And thanks for showing me your shadows, Miss Hattie."
"You come back next week with another load of groceries," she said, "and I'll show you a few more."
Once I was back outside the house, I looked through a knothole in the green gate to make sure that Roscoe Bender wasn't waiting out there to ambush me like those Apaches that had killed Luther Squires. When I saw that the driveway looked clear and that Roscoe was nowhere in sight, I opened the gate and made straight for the street, congratulating myself once I got there. Things had moderated some in my part of "The Old West," but considering what I had seen Roscoe do to Jack Hines one morning on the school playground, I thought that there were still enough savages around so as to keep even a boy my age alert to hold onto his scalp.
"So, how's Miss Hattie?" Mr. Hall asked, as I handed him the $20 bill from my pocket.
"Fine, sir," I said.
"Show you some of her shadows, did she?" Mr. Hall asked.
"Yes, sir," I said.
"Good," Mr. Hall said. "Teaches you that we live closer to the past than you thought, doesn't it?"
"Yes, sir," I said, "it does."
"That's good," Mr. Hall said, "because now she's given you a shadow of your own, something you'll be able to tell your grandchildren one day."
"Yes, sir," I said, "and do we ever make deliveries to Julia Wilson, by any chance?"
"I'll see what I can do for you in that regard," said Mr. Hall.
Phillip "Pep" Parotti grew up in Silver City during the Forties and the Fifties and has recently retired and come home after a long teaching career at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas.