er a period of years; bought a railroad ticket to New York。
When she bout it; in a kind of scarlet rage; she held like a talisman at the back of her mind thethought: ‘I can give it back; I can sell it。 This don’t mean I got to go。’ But she knew that nothingcould stop her。
And it was this leave…taking that came to stand; in Florence’s latter days; and with othermany witness; at her bedside。 Gray clouds obscured the sun that day; and outside the cabin windowshe saw that mist still covered the ground。 Her mother lay in bed; awake; she was pleading withGabriel; who had been out drinking the night before; and who was not really sober now; to mendhis ways and e to the Lord。 And Gabriel; full of the confusion; and pain; and guilt that were hiswhenever he thought of how he made his mother suffer; but that became nearly insupportablewhen she taxed him with it; stood before the mirror; head bowed; buttoning his shirt。 Florenceknew that he could not unlock his lips to speak; he could not say yes to his mother; and to theLord; and he could not say no。
‘Honey;’ their mother was saying; ‘don’t you let your old mother die without you look herin the eye and tell her she going to see you in glory。 You hear me; boy?’
In a moment; Florence thought with scorn; tears would fill his eyes; and he would promiseto ‘do better。’ He had been promising to ‘do better’ since the day he had been baptized。
She put down her bag in the center of the hateful room。
‘Ma;’ she said; ‘I’m going。 I’m a…going this morning。’
Now that she had said it; she was angry with herself for not having said it the night before;so that they would have had time to be finished with their weeping and their arguments。 She hadnot trusted herself to withstand the night before; but