The Pack (Chapter Ten: "The Last Plantation")

The Pact (or Deal)
No: 10

Abby Wallace would take two days to make the trip from Ozark, Alabama, drive down to New Orleans, and onto Fayetteville, to see her brother’s grave. She slept the night in New Orleans, at Betty Hightower’s home, a friend, and Thursday morning headed onto the plantation house, the Wallace Plantation.
There was only a hundred-acres left of land out of four-hundred they originally had, the four-hundred that Old Man Wallace had purchased way back in 1780, or thereabouts, they had sold, the two brothers had sold, her two brothers, the ones that were dead now, Wally and Frank, sold the three-hundred acres, giving her ten-present, keeping the rest of the money for themselves, as they always did, she was never quite equal with them, but it was better to take ten-present of something, better that is, than nothing, better than zero of nothing, they’d sign her name one way or the other, and a war would start, and by the time the fighting stopped, her ten-percent and their money would be gone anyhow.
This journey was really more for seeing Burgundy, than anything else, to see where everything stood between her and Burgundy, she told folks back in Ozark, it was to see her brother’s graves, and in passing mentioned Burgundy and the plantation, but said no more about it, save, she had to tell them something, and she didn’t want to look as a ogre towards the dead brothers, the ones who cared less about her, and more about their 1950-Chevy.

When Burgundy and Abby met, neither one turning and walking away, both dissolving the other for a moment, as if in a spell, as if ready each had to find a common moment to exhale the instant and find the right face to put on, thus, standing in a little square spot, each in a their own little cube as if it was marked, three feet from one another, both finding their comfort zone with each other, they looked into each others eyes, like a fox to a hound.
“Come in,” said Burgundy, Abby at the door, she was but half dressed, as if she was in the finishing process of dressing, and they somehow both ended up cross-legged sitting down in the sofa chairs in the living room.
“I was just in the middle of doing some of my voodoo dancing,” she told Abby with a smile; Abby in return, giving a flat “Oh,” to the statement. She had noticed, Abby had noticed, Burgundy had a lower body frame that seemed short, a long torso, and pale thin arms, like a snake, an odd kind of body she deliberated. Then her eyes and neck seemed to bob about the house, just a minute or so her eyes took a tour, around the house, finding wooden mask, voodoo masks, and disarray, a messy house.
“I cleaned your room for you, since this will be our home, unless we can come up with a pack or deal, and I’d like to talk to you about that shortly,” remarked Burgundy, going on, “after Wally died, Frank took it pretty hard, It was physically and mentally costly for him, his heart, his whole being collapsed I do believe, and remained for a long time in a convalescent state. Minnie Mae and I have been keeping the plantation afloat, well, Minnie Mae, more than I, I suppose. But now you are here and we can all work together.” (This was really not what Burgundy wanted to do, but it was what she had to say, and wait to see what response would come back.)
“To be quite frank,” said Abby, “I am more interested in selling the place, than living in it, or listening to your proposition, that is why I came.”
“Yes,” remarked Burgendy, “I fully understand that, and knew from the very beginning you and I’d git along well, I jes knew that, and look, here we are, seeing eye to eye.”
Amos came in, “Should I feed dhe hogs mis Burgendy?” he asked, and she nodded her head yes.
“Frank has some prize, country fair type hogs out yonder, as big as horses, one over 700-pounds, that one, the big one got a prize for eating more food in a meal, faster in one meal that is, than any other hog at the fair, and got a ribbon, blue ribbon for it, with its name on it, “Big Hog Wally,” Frank named it that, kids were riding her, so you-ll got to be careful, when she gits hungry back there in the pig pen, she can eat a whole lamb in a matter of minutes, and who knows what else.”
“Thanks for the warning, when I go by there I’ll keep my distance, or make sure they’re feed, especially Big Hog Wally!” They both laughed.

“Ok, Miss Abby Wallace, here is the deal (she pulls out a check from her purse, for the sum of $500,000-dollars written to Abby Wallace, hands it over to Abby) take this check, cash it, I sold all but four acres of the one-hundred acres left to Mr. Ritt, the Ritt Fayetteville Bank, once you cash it, the deal is sealed, and the plantation house is mine, and everything on this four-acres will belong to me, and the money to you, it is more fair than your brothers would have been to you.”
It was a fair deal, and she was right, her brothers would not have given her much if even ten-percent on the last one hundred acres left, although the land was sold a little under its value, and should they have waited to sell, it would have increased in value, an investment that seemed not to please either party, Abby or Burgundy, for neither were of the plantation breed, neither one wanted to grow corn or cotton, and Abby knew this, plus, she had never had such a sum before, and this kind of a deal was more than she had expected from this cleaver fox, and therefore accepted the check with a big smile, saying, “Yes, perhaps we see eye to eye, my brother’s and I never did.”
It was but a few days later, when Abby left to go back to Ozark, Alabama, she was happy, and Burgendy was happy, as the saying goes: there were two winners.