Hazel smiled faintly.
"I do like machinery."
He looked toward the packed freezer.
Then back at her.
"But this is what you've been doing with it."
She nodded.
"Part of it."
Ned stared at the room.
For a moment, he looked almost ashamed.
"We laughed at you."
Hazel didn't answer.
He continued.
"At the sale. When you loaded those things into the truck."
She nodded slowly.
"I remember."
Clay lowered his eyes.
Rafe remained silent.
Ned took a breath.
"We thought you were wasting your time."
Hazel looked toward the freezer.
Then said quietly, "I didn't know exactly what I was going to do with them either."
The honesty surprised him.
She continued.
"I bought them because I thought I could make something work. The rest came after we started using them."
Clay looked toward her.
For a moment, he seemed thoughtful.
Then he said, "Maybe that's the part we missed."
Hazel raised an eyebrow.
He gestured toward the freezer.
"We wanted to know what they were worth before anybody had done the work."
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Then Pearl smiled faintly.
"That's usually how people end up leaving good things in the weeds."
Rafe looked toward her.
For the first time that evening, he gave a small, sad laugh.
Then he placed his cap back on his head.
"I should go see my mother."
Pearl nodded.
"That sounds like a good idea."
Rafe drove straight to Edith's house.
It was a small white building near the river, surrounded by flowerpots and a vegetable garden she maintained as best she could. Her porch light was on when he arrived. Through the window, he could see her sitting in an armchair with a quilt across her knees.
He knocked.
Edith called for him to come inside.
When she saw him, she smiled.
"Rafe. What brings you here this late?"
He stood near the door.
For a moment, he couldn't speak.
Then he looked toward the kitchen.
A small bowl sat beside the stove.
Purple-hull peas.
Rafe felt his throat tighten.
He looked back at his mother.
"Mama, can I ask you something?"
She frowned.
"Of course."
He took a breath.
"Have you been getting food from Pearl?"
Edith became still.
For several seconds, she didn't answer.
Then she looked toward the bowl.
"Sometimes."
Rafe closed his eyes.
He pulled out a chair and sat opposite her.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Edith's expression softened.