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Show 126 "To think you might never have found it," Mrs. Simpson said, watching him place the journal back in the box. "It pays to clean a little," Oscar mumbled. Dyna laughed outright hearing him admit it. The words from the past had put them all in a mellow mood. It didn't take much coaxing to get Oscar to talk about his early life in the Marmalade District, how he'd hidden a pet calf in the cistern so his father couldn't sell it, how he'd sold gilded spikes for the Union Pacific's 50th celebration, saving for a trip to Promontory Point, then had his money stolen by the neighborhood bully. Finally, Oscar rose and set his tin box back on the mantle. "Enough about the olden days, huh?" he winked at Dyna. "Those A-bombs changed everything. Today, a fellow like me has to trot just to keep the rest of the world in sight." It was Jan who suggested the final and unplanned segment of the evening. "Could we use your piano and sing awhile?" she asked Oscar. That the piano was out of tune didn't seem to matter. The house was soon full of music. As a request, Amy played Oscar's only piece of sheet music, the once popular "Does Your Mother Know You're Out, Cecelia?" The kids thought the words were hilarious and hooted through all the verses. The poor lyricist never knew he'd written such a wickedly funny song. They ended with Oscar's Golden Treasury of Best Loved Tunes- the sad songs from the South, spirituals and Stephen Foster- More than once Dyna noticed the expression on Oscar's face, as if he had a hard time holding back emotions. She knew what he was thinking: this would be the last music in his house from that piano. She also knew for a fact he had an appraiser's sticker behind the dining room buffet and on the tall wardrobe upstairs. Dyna sang all the louder. He wouldn't have to sell his furniture this year, anyway. Then about 10:00, Mrs. Simpson motioned to Dyna and suggested it was time for all of them to leave. There were groans. "Oscar needs his beauty sleep," Dyna explained, jumping to her feet. When Mrs. Simpson sent Derek and Tammy into the bedroom for the pile of coats, they all knew she meant business. Finally, at what seemed the last possible opportunity, she took a long envelope out of her purse and |
