The Sweetness of Water

The next morning Isabelle makes breakfast and asks George questions about his appetite, trying to engage him in conversation about his night. As they eat breakfast quietly, Isabelle reflects on George’s condition from the night before, but honors his wishes to keep the pursuit of the creature a secret since she has her own secret. She tells George that they have not been honest with one another. One day after hanging laundry, she saw a man trying to steal George’s socks. When she went to collect the laundry, she felt the presence of someone and saw a tall Black man watching her. She knew there might be a danger but also felt disappointed when the man did not return. There is a mystery in the man Isabelle wishes to figure out. Two days later the man returned, and she watched his movements from the house. She approached the man, and he did not run but clutched the socks as if they were his only possession. She asked him what he was doing, but he said nothing, and she observed his jaw simply hanging open with no words. She felt uncomfortable because since Caleb went off to war, her entire social life had come undone. She told the man to take the socks, but he put them back and disappeared into the forest.

George reveals that he may have met the man and tells Isabelle that he is harmless. George then tells Isabelle about Caleb.

Landry finishes what is left of the rabbit they caught, and Prentiss tells him it is time to visit the camps to see their people. Prentiss worries about his brother, who was always cautious and unwilling to venture into the unknown. Knowing that it would not be good to see their old enslaver and those who chose to stay at Morton’s, Prentiss made sure not to walk the road until they were well out of sight of Majesty’s Palace. Prentiss reflects on true emancipation and how he expects the pomp and circumstance (bugles and lots of men). A week earlier a few Union soldiers came to Morton’s to announce the enslaved people’s freedom. Morton pleaded with those he enslaved to stay with him but then called them all hopeless. They note the beauty of the homes on their way, noting that the plague of excess had gotten to the town as well as Morton. When they come to the town of Old Ox, Landry refuses to go any further.

The narrator tells the story of how one day at lineup two of the enslaved people, Little James and Esther, were missing. When Morton asked if anyone knew where they were, he warned them that if his day started off badly it would be bad for everyone. He claimed that he was a righteous, innocent man, so he decided there should be one enslaved person who at the end of each month would bear the whippings for the wrong doings of everyone. When Morton asked for a volunteer, Landry inadvertently scratched his arm, so Morton picked him. Landry would take the beatings for anyone who worked too slowly or slept too long, and eventually Morton broke his jaw.

They know they are near the camps when they pass the bodies, some covered by leaves and others by rubbish from the town. The town was populated by tents, adults sitting and visiting or sleeping, and children without shoes playing in the street. While walking, Landry disappears off the path, and when Prentiss finds him he sees that Landry has discovered a pond from which he drinks.

Old Ox is a continually changing village. It had burnt down twice but rebounded, and businesses come and go, either because of fire or unpaid debts. There are a lot of people overwhelming the town, which challenges its decency. Old buildings mixed with new dot the landscape, and small nooks and crannies between buildings no bigger than a cage to house a dog shelter the poor, who are white men returning from war and some freedmen.

George enters Ezra Whitley’s shop. Ezra was close to George’s father Benjamin and took care of George’s parents’ finances when they moved to Georgia. George and Ezra discuss the Union soldiers and the freedmen gathering in town praying for their freedom or to survive their difficult plight, which Ezra calls an abomination. Ezra reiterates that he sleeps with one eye open while George can retire to the country. George has been relying on selling parcels of his land rather than working. Ezra is interested in buying up land, and Ezra asks why George has decided not to sell his land. George tells him his son is dead. George explains that he wishes to keep what he has and do something meaningful with it. Ezra instructs him to return to his wife, who has kept silent since George told her of Caleb’s death. George feels that Ezra is deceitful, shelving his wishes for another day.

George passes Ted Morton’s place and thinks about the fountain placed at the front of the property, its water encroaching on public land. Morton tells George that he had one of his enslaved men trained to take care of the fountain, but that man left. The accents around the home were fragile and in constant need of upkeep. With the enslaved men being freed, it was a lonely place with not many people. George feels judged because of his northern roots. Morton talks about still having some enslaved people to work, but other owners in the area have lost all of their enslaved workers.

When he returns home, George thinks he sees Isabelle’s figure watching him, but he realizes he doesn’t. He places his bags by the backdoor, takes out a pair of socks he purchased at the market and returns into the woods to repay a debt.

Prentiss and Landry return to their make-shift camp in the woods, and while Prentiss is preparing dinner for Landry, he sees George Walker. George tells Prentiss and Landry that his wife saw Landry taking the socks from the clothesline and that he has brought Landry the pair of socks he purchased while in town. George asserts that the gesture is a repayment for their help the night before. Prentiss thanks George for his graciousness and tells him they would be leaving and moving for the camps up the road. George is surprised to hear that they will be leaving and reminds Prentiss that he had volunteered to help George hunt the mysterious animal. George asks Prentiss to join him on a stroll on his way home. He is tired, but given George’s graciousness, he decides to indulge him.

George asks Prentiss if he is familiar with cultivating peanuts. George explains that he needs to cultivate the land and make enough money to keep it. He proposes that he, Prentiss, and Landry go into business together working the land. Prentiss thinks George is asking out of loneliness but explains that he already had an enslaver and is not interested in finding another one. George offers him the same pay he would hire anyone, lodging, and proper clothing. Prentiss again says that he cannot be of help. George offers to bring the men some stew, and Prentiss asks him why he cannot take no for an answer. George backs off and turns back to head home. Prentiss realizes that George is fragile and tells Landry he did not mean to be rude and tried to be polite, but “they always tryin’ you” (36).

Isabelle stays in Caleb’s room. Not knowing how else to console his grieving wife, George offers her a bowl of stew. When she does not answer, he returns downstairs to eat by himself. He is unsure if she is silent because he waited so long to tell her about Caleb’s death or if this is her way of grieving. The narrator notes that Isabelle appears downstairs on occasion, but she has become a ghost to George.

The next morning, Mildred Foster, Isabelle’s oldest friend, comes to the door to see for herself if Isabelle is shut up in the room by her own choice. When Mildred yells to Isabelle, she does not answer. As Mildred leaves, Isabelle comes down the stairs, walks past George, and embraces Mildred. George watches the embrace but cannot hear what the two talk about.

George feels trapped by the memories the cabin evokes and decides to go for a walk. He regrets the way he spoke to Prentiss about working the land and sets out to a familiar area where his father Ben had first told him about the elusive beast. He still remembers his father’s description of the animal—a black coat of fur, fluid movements, walking upright until detected then dropping to all fours, and most haunting of all was its milky white marble eyes. When Ben would see the animal, he would run, though he often regretted his fear. George chalked up these trips into the forest as an education in learning the land until he saw the beast for himself through his bedroom window.

His memory is interrupted by Isabelle, who yells to him from the porch. She asks him to send a telegram explaining Caleb’s death to her brother Silas. He agrees to take it in the morning and then asks Isabelle if she would like to read with him. She denies his request and returns to her upstairs room. As he weeps by the kitchen sink, he hears a voice coming from outside the cabin. He sees Landry and Prentiss coming out of the woods. Prentiss explains to George that Landry refuses to leave because he is obsessed with George’s previous offer of stew. George notices that Landry looks particularly underfed and lanky compared to when he last saw him. He does not have any more stew, but he offers the men eggs. George fixes a full meal for them as they sit on the steps of the porch.

Prentiss asks George about the land he wishes to cultivate. Prentiss explains that he and his brother need money to move north. George assures them he would pay what he would pay any man to do the work, regardless of color. The men leave, and George returns to the house and decides to stay downstairs in his armchair for the night.

The next morning Prentiss and Landry arrive at the Walkers’ cabin. George notices their ragged appearance, and Isabelle recognizes Landry as the man she encountered at the clothesline. Prentiss apologizes for his brother and tells Isabelle that he has taken an interest in her property. When Isabelle goes inside, George follows her and explains his plans for the land. George feels helpless and lost, but with the men’s, who themselves are looking for a new start after leaving Morton’s farm, help he could turn the land into something useful.

George receives a small loan from Ezra, and when George arrives home, Prentiss and Landry are ready to begin clearing the land. George is reminded of his bad leg, but he insists on learning how to do the work for after the men leave. The men take turns chopping trees, but George finds it difficult to keep up with them. He pays the men a dollar a day, even when occasionally they abandon the work to go for a walk.

One day when they are sitting on a felled tree, George tells them about the mysterious animal he used to hunt with his father. George then explains what happened to Caleb, and Prentiss tells George that he lost his older cousin, who was sold; his mother, who was sent away when her shaking hands no longer made her useful to work; and his father, who died when his mother was pregnant with Landry.

When the men return to the house, Isabelle pours each of them a glass of lemonade. Prentiss believes she does not mind them being there, and George views the act as a truce since she has not previously interacted with the men. After the men return to the barn and George comes home, George goes upstairs and notices the door to Caleb’s room is open. He is tempted to enter Caleb’s room, but the memories of his son in the room keep him from entering.

That evening, for the first time since the news of Caleb’s death, Isabelle sits beside George to eat, and while her joyous demeaner has yet to return, her daily activities are returning to normal. Each day George expects the men to have left with whatever money they earned, but each morning they arrive at the porch ready to work.

One morning while cutting a fallen tree, George hears the howling of a child. When the men run toward the cabin and into the clearing, George hears Isabelle moaning and sees her embracing Caleb. He freezes in place and examines the scene. He touches Caleb’s cheek and insists that they go inside.