Taking Care of Moses by Barbara O'Connor

away.”
    There. What else could he say?
    Randall studied Lavonia’s face. Slowly, slowly, slowly, it softened. She lifted her head slightly and gazed up at the sky. Then she looked at Randall again and said, “His name ain’t Moses.”
    â€œOh.”
    â€œHis name is Nathan.”
    â€œNathan?”
    Lavonia nodded. She took her straw hat off. Her wild hair sprang up high on top of her head. Then she pulled her skirt up over her knees and sat down right there on the sidewalk.
    Randall sat across from her, waiting.
    She shook her head slowly. “I just didn’t think I could take care of another baby,” she said.
    Randall waited.
    â€œEvery day I’d open my eyes and feel such a dark heavy thing over me,” she went on. “And all my kids needing me. Just needing me all the time.”
    She fingered the brim of her hat. She had rings on every finger. Rings with colored stones and rings with tiny pearls and plain silver rings.

    â€œHow many kids do you have?” Randall said.
    She chuckled. “Seems like a hundred sometimes.” She twisted a ring around and around on her finger. “Nathan makes six,” she said.
    Her shoulders lifted as she took a deep breath. She let it out with a whoosh that blew her hair off her forehead. “Six kids and no man,” she added.
    â€œOh.”
    â€œI moved in with my cousin Rozene, but that’s not working out so good.” She put her hat back on and tried to tuck her hair up under it, but little spirals of curls kept springing back out. “Rozene’s got her own kids to take care of and all,” she went on. “I was trying to find me a job, but what could I do with Nathan?”
    She lifted her eyes to look at Randall.
    â€œUh …” Randall tried to think of a good answer, but before he could, Lavonia continued.
    â€œRozene said her diaper days are over. So there I was. Way out there in that house with all them kids and all and …”
    She looked up at the sky and shook her head.
    â€œI told Rozene and my kids and everybody that Nathan was with his daddy’s people.”
    She looked at Randall. “I just keep making mistakes,” she said. “You ever make mistakes?”

    â€œSure,” Randall said. “All the time.”
    â€œI never should have left that child like that,” she said. “I knew it the minute I did it, but my old sorry self just did it anyways.”
    Okay, Randall thought, now is the time.
    â€œYou’ve got to go get him,” he said.
    Lavonia nodded. “I know. But now I’m scared to.”
    â€œHow come?”
    â€œWhat if they put me in jail?” she said. “Ain’t you ever heard of child abandonment? That’s what I done. Abandonment.”
    â€œAw, nobody’d put you in jail. Not if you go back and get him.” Randall tried to make his voice sound sure and confident, but actually he wasn’t so sure. What if they did put her in jail? What would happen to Moses then? And all those other kids of hers, what about them? Randall was starting to think he hadn’t done the right thing after all.
    â€œWhat’s your name?” Lavonia said.
    â€œRandall Mackey.”
    â€œRandall Mackey,” she repeated, twirling a ring around on one of her long fingers. “Who would’ve thought I’d need a little ole boy like you to shake me up?”
    â€œI didn’t mean to shake you up,” Randall said. “I was just trying to do the right thing.”
    Lavonia reached out and put a hand on Randall’s
knee. Her touch was warm. It made Randall’s swirling-around insides settle down to an easy calm.
    â€œThen I reckon I got to do the right thing, too, huh?” she said.
    Randall nodded.
    â€œOkay, I will.” She pushed a tuft of hair out of her eyes. “I got to go home and see to things first,” she said. “And then I’ll come get my