the ides of may

jolee didn't like it so hot. sweat sprang from her scalp like water from the spring, worked its way between her braids and tickled as it trickled down her back. she cussed at the hairs that escaped the braids, stuck to her neck, stuck to her forehead, whipped in the dry wind and caught in the folds of her eyelid. she pulled the hairs away from her eye and managed to get dirt in it. damn! weren't they past time for a small break, a sip of water? where was mr harrison? he'd left the overseer in charge and that man was just plain mean, wouldn't let 'em stop even just to stand up and stretch. berries, berries, berries! who in god's creation ate all these dadblamed berries! jolee hated strawberries. so juicy and sweet, probably would be so refreshing on this miserable dry hot day, but even one in her mouth and jolee's throat would close up quicker than a bird on a bug.

it was chance how they found that out. although jolee had only been a baby, no way she could remember it on her own, she'd heard the story enough times to have it in her heart like a memory. jolee's mama had been a picker, too, and had newborn jolee with her in the field that day. it was a hot day, like today, and jolee was sweating and flushed to the point her mama was scared little jolee would die of the heat, so her dear mama squeezed a strawberry in little jolee's mouth, just a bit of juice, thinking to relieve her poor baby's thirst. soon as that juice touched jolee's lips, she first smiled then her tongue swelled up and jolee stopped breathing. her mama started screaming and didn't stop until mrs harrison came in the field and wrenched little jolee out of her mama's arms and ran with her into the house where doc morgan was having a business meeting with mr harrison.

doc morgan saved jolee's life that day, but jolee's mama was so distraught at the thought of having nearly killed her baby that she left the harrison place that day and no one in the county had seen her since.