When it was Macon’s turn to do this, he had to use the hall table to pull himself back on his feet. ‘This is very difficult. I didn’t suppose you ever broke a leg,’ he said accusingly.
‘I broke an arm once,’ Muriel said.
‘An arm is no comparison.’
‘I did it training dog, in fact. A big German guard dog. He knocked me off a porch, and then stood over me, showing all his teeth. But only one of you can be boss. So I tell him, ”Absolutely not”, and hold out my left hand and stare into his eyes.’
‘Jesus,’ Macon said
Muriel had lots of stories about her dog-training experiences. ‘I’ve had no failures yet. And Edward’s not about to be my first,’
She told Macon. ‘You keep practicing and I’ll be back Saturday.’
All that afternoon Edward refused to lie down. Macon tried everything. Rose and the boys edged around the two of them, politely avoiding any involvement in this private argument.
The next morning Edward attacked the mailman. ’We’re not solving the real problem, ’ Macon told Edward . He tapped his foot twice. Edward did not lie down.
In the afternoon Macon told called the Meow-Bow. ’May I speak to Muriel, please? ’ he asked.
‘she’s not working today,’ a girl said. ‘Her little boy is sick.’
He hadn’t known she had a little boy. It changed the way he thought of her; she was a different person from the one he’d imagined.