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Do Angels Wear Brassieres?
Do Angels Wear Brassieres?
Do Angels Wear Brassieres? 0
Recommended Citation
0 Senior, Olive, Do Angels Wear Brassieres? , Kunapipi, 8(2), 1986. Available at:
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Abstract
Beccka down on her knees ending her goodnight prayers and Cherry telling her softly, 'And ask God to bless
Auntie Mary.' Beccka vex that anybody could interrupt her private conversation with God so, say loud loud,
'No. Not praying for nobody that tek weh mi best glassy eye marble.'
Thi s serial is available in Kunapipi: http://ro.uow.edu.au/kunapipi/vol8/iss2/3
D o Angels W e a r Brassieres?
Beccka down on her knees ending her goodnight prayers and Cherry
telling her softly, 'And ask God to bless Auntie Mary.' Beccka vex that
anybody could interrupt her private conversation with God so, say loud
loud, 'No. Not praying for nobody that tek weh mi best glassy eye
marble.'
'Beccka!' Cherry almost crying in shame, 'Shhhhh! She wi hear you.
Anyway she did tell you not to roll them on the floor when she have her
headache.'
'A hear her already' — this is the righteous voice of Auntie Mary in
the next room — 'But I am sure that God is not listening to the like of
she. Blasphemous little wretch.'
She add the last part under her breath and with much lifting of her eyes
to heaven she turn back to her nightly reading of the Imitations of Christ.
'Oooh Beccka, Rebecca, see what yu do,' Cherry whispering, crying
in her voice.
Beccka just stick out her tongue at the world, wink at God who she
know right now in the shape of a big fat anansi in a corner of the roof, kiss
her mother and get into bed.
As soon as her mother gone into Auntie Mary room to try make it up
and the whole night come down with whispering, Beccka whip the flash
light from off the dressing table and settle down under the blanket to
read. Beccka reading the Bible in secret from cover to cover not from any
conviction the little wretch but because everybody round her always
quoting that book and Beccka want to try and fmd flaw and question she
can best them with.
Next morning Auntie M a r y still vex. Auntie Mary out by the tank
washing clothes and slapping them hard on the big rock. Fat sly-eye
Katie from the next yard visiting and consoling her. Everybody visiting
Auntie M a r y these days and consoling her for the crosses she have to bear
(that is Beccka they talking about). Fat Katie have a lot of time to walk
bout consoling because ever since hard time catch her son and h i m wife a
town they come country to cotch with Katie. A n d from the girl walk
through the door so braps! Katie claim she too sickly to do any washing
or housework. So while the daughter-in-law beating suds at her yard she
over by Auntie M a r y washpan say she keeping her company. Right now
she consoling about Beccka who (as she telling Auntie M a r y ) every
decent-living upright Christian soul who is everybody r o u n d here except
that Dorcas Waite about whom one should not dirty one's m o u t h to talk
yes every clean living person heart go out to Auntie M a r y for with all due
respect to a sweet mannersable child like Cherry her daughter is the devil
own pickney. Not that anybody saying a word about C h e r r y God know
she have enough trouble on her head from she meet u p that big hard back
m a n though young little gal like that never shoulda have business with no
married man. Katie take a breath long enough to ask question:
'But see here Miss M a r y you no think Cherry buck u p the devil own
self when she carrying her? Plenty time that happen you know.
R e m e m b e r that w o m a n over Allside that born the pickney with two head
praise Jesus it did born dead. But see here you did know one day she was
going down river to wash clothes and is the devil own self she meet.
Yes'm. Standing right there in her way. She pop one big bawling before
she faint weh and when everybody r u n come not a soul see him. Is gone
he gone. But you no know where he did gone? N o right inside that gal.
Right inna her belly. A n d Miss M a r y I telling you the living truth, just as
the baby borning the midwife no see a shadow fly out of the mother and
go right cross the room. She frighten so till she close her two eye tight and
is so the devil escape.'
'Well I dont know about that. Beccka certainly dont born with no two
head or nothing wrong with her. Is just hard ears she h a r d ears.'
' D e n no so me saying?'
' T h e trouble is, Cherry is too soft to m a n a g e her. As you look hard at
Cherry herself she start cry. She was never a strong child and she not a
strong woman, her heart just too soft.'
'All the same right is right and there is only one right way to bring u p a
child and that is by bus' ass pardon my french Miss M a r y but hard things
call for hard words. T h a t child should be getting blows from the day she
born. T h e n she wouldn't be so force-ripe now. W h o cant hear must feel
for the rod and reproof bring wisdom but a child left to himself bringeth
his mother to shame. Shame, Miss M a r y (...truncated)