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By Betty Almond �����I really, really gotta go, Bethy,� Missy whined into Bethy�s ear.��I mean, really.� ���� Bethy burrowed deeper into the nest of quilts on the bed. She made herself breathe slow and quiet. It was pitch black in the tiny alcove between Aunt Cat�s bedroom and her parent�s bedroom where the two slept in a single bed. ���� �Bethy!� Missy hissed, lifting herself up and leaning down over Bethy�s face. �I can�t wait no more.� ���� �Just use the pee-pot under the bed,� Bethy whispered, irritated to no end. ���� Missy flopped back on the bed. She clamped her legs shut and grit her teeth. �Peeing won�t help.� ���� Bethy cringed. She didn�t want to go to the outhouse. She didn�t want to tell Missy about the weird noises she heard sometimes. She�d already tried to tell her brother, Little Jim. He had just called her an old scaredy cat. ���� �Now, I gotta go now,� Missy whimpered, then flipped back the covers and yanked Bethy�s arm. �I mean it, Bethy. I�m gonna tell Miss Angel Louise if you don�t go with me.� ���� �Poot!� She �d be double dog danged if she�d ask Missy to spend the night again. ���� �We�re going but you better do your business quick,� Bethy warned. She grabbed a flashlight and the screw driver she kept under a pillow in case someone tried to get her in the night, and followed Missy into the dark yard. ���� With each step Bethy kept telling herself to be brave. A Hightower never, ever showed fear, especially in front of your best friend in the whole world. Daddy Jim always said a man didn�t know his own worth if he didn�t face fear head on. She wondered what he�d say about a scaredy cat little girl whose heart was threatening to jump out of her chest. ���� As soon as they reached the outhouse and opened the door, Missy whimpered. �Shine the flashlight in both holes.� She shuddered. �I�m scared to death of snakes.� ���� Bethy puffed up like a toady frog. �We don�t have snakes in our outhouse. Daddy Jim left the bottom boards off the back where the chickens could get in and peck around and scare off the snakes.� ���� �Yeah, right.� Missy rolled her eyes. �I reckon he had some cockamamie reason for leaving off the top boards, too.� ���� Bethy plopped her hands on her hips. �Anybody with any sense knows the back of our outhouse has that great big old chinaberry tree blocking the view.�
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2001 Betty Almond