Pye Dives for the Oarlock

Pye was a colored boy. He was Tina’s son. Tina was the girl that looked after things for her Uncle Benjamin and took care of his daughter Kate. Tina kept an eye on Ivy and me too, secretly giving us treats when she could. Aunt Sarah told me that Tina had nursed Kate when she was a baby. “She’d hold Pye in one arm and Kate in the other, each of them sucking on a tit.”

“Why didn’t Madeline nurse Kate?”

“She was gone by then.” I couldn’t get her to tell more. “I’ve said too much already. Now scoot.”

One afternoon Ivy and I were playing with Kate in her skiff when one of us accidentally dropped an oarlock overboard. We spotted Pye on the shore and called to him to swim out to the skiff. Pye obediently peeled off his trousers and swam naked out to the skiff where Kate demanded that he dive down and get the oarlock. Pye dove down to search for the oarlock. He dove again and again. Each time his head went down, his bare bottom bobbed up and flashed in the late afternoon sunshine.

At last, Pye returned to the surface with the lost oarlock. A huge grin broke across his face as he handed the oarlock to Kate She took the oarlock from him without a word and dropped it back into the water. “Get that oarlock, Pye.” Down he went again and again until he finally came up with the oarlock.

Each time he surfaced he looked madder and madder. The last time he came up he was holding the oarlock. He grabbed the side of the skiff and heaved the oarlock into the boat, just missing Kate.

“You could have killed me, boy. I know your Mammy taught you better than that.” Kate picked up the oarlock and was about to throw it at Pye when I stopped her.

“You better not do that, Kate. That’s enough.”

“Are you taking that nigger’s side?” She was still gripping the oarlock in her left hand, ready to throw it at Pye.

“You better listen to her, if you know what’s good for you.” Pye let go of the boat and swam back to the shore.

Kate dropped the oarlock in the boat. “If you know what’s good for you, you won’t threaten me, boy” she called after him.

She watched him until he was safely out of reach on the shore, laughing as he pulled on his trousers. Kate settled herself back on her seat. “Just wait until my Daddy hears what he did.” Ivy and I just looked at each other and shook our heads. We both knew that Pye hadn’t been aiming at Kate but if we said anything she would just accuse us of being a nigger lover so we kept quiet.