Eggs

     It didn't take Mahlon long to become a very cute baby and John and I used to run home from school everyday, warm our hands by the stove, and then took turns to hold him. John usually didn't hold him very long before he decided it would be more fun working in the shop with Daddy.

     That left me alone in the kitchen with the hired girl. Mom had told me to be a good helper and even if she does things differently from what we were used to I was not supposed to say anything about it. I tried to stay quiet as I watched her haphazard way of doing dishes but kept a tally of all the dishes she broke. She broke more dishes in those six weeks than I had since the day I was born.

     Her cooking wasn't very good either, most of the things were edible but I couldn't stomach the way she fixed the eggs for breakfast. The egg-white used to still be runny and I simply couldn't make myself eat it, and morning after morning I would push the egg to the side of my plate and eat only my fried cornmeal mush. After several weeks of doing this Daddy happened to see my egg one morning and told me to eat it.

     I sat there and tried to choke back the gags that were threatening to come. I bravely cut a bit of the egg-white but when the half cooked egg white came oozing out, I gagged openly and started crying as I said "These eggs are not fit!" Everyone was quiet and looked at me, and I wanted to scoot down on my chair and out of their sight.

     Daddy told me to go get ready for school and I was happy to get away from the table and those awful eggs.

     The next morning the eggs were well done and I had no problem eating it, and that evening after we went to bed I could hear Mom and Daddy talk in their bedroom. I couldn't understand what Mom said but they both chuckled and then Daddy said. "I wish Mary Ann had said something about those eggs the first morning, so we wouldn't have had to choke through all those dreadful breakfasts."

     I snuggled deeper under my covers, happy to know that Mom and Daddy weren't displeased with my outburst at the breakfast table the day before, and knowing that I wouldn't have to worry about those yucky eggs again.