Xaxac wondered how badly he had messed up as he ran past the fields, but he felt as if he should dwell on that later. That was a problem for future Xaxac.

Right now he had an opportunity he would be unlikely to get again for any length of time and he was going to capitalize on it.

He misjudged how much time it would take him to come to a complete stop, because he very rarely ran at a dead sprint, and as a result he went flying right past the outdoor storehouse and almost slammed face first into the kitchen wall, which probably wouldn’t have helped the situation with his face-

It occurred to Xaxac that Billy had hit him in his face. His cute face. The face that got him his position, the face he worked on for nearly an hour every morning shaving, moisturizing, and adorning.

He hadn’t had time during the fight to process his emotions; his primary concern was getting Billy to stop hitting him, and thus every reaction he had had had been geared toward that end goal. But now he felt stupid, and he felt his blood boiling. He had no right to hit him in his face! He knew Xaxac made his living on his appearance! Xaxac questioned whether that first punch had been thrown out a blind anger at being called stupid, or if it had been a calculated move meant to hurt him.

It was the middle of lunch for the house staff so the kitchen was buzzing with life as Xaxac walked into it.

“Xac?” Alice asked as she set down the tray she had been carrying on the counter and rushed toward him, “Holy shit! What are you doin down here? What happened to your face?”

“Does it look bad?” He asked.

“What the- Mommy!” Alice screamed.

Abby turned from her position where she was overseeing some sort of prep work, and it occurred to Xaxac that she was a supervisor. Had that always been the case? When did that happen? What position was ‘the cook’?

“Xacky!” Abby called as she came, darting and weaving her way through the crowded kitchen, “Oh, baby, what happened? Half your face is one big bruise, oh, darlin that is gonna swell… Did he hit you?”

“Billy hit me,” Xaxac explained because he didn’t know who his mother was referring to, “And Aggie told me to go home and tell Lee, but he didn’t say I couldn’t come in through the kitchen so I did because Jimmy told me about the baby, and I wanted to tell y’all uh… congratulations, I guess.”

“Thanks,” Alice said, “I’m in better shape than you. And I told him not to be tellin people that till after the weddin. Jimmy told you that?” She pumped water into the sink, soaked a rag in the cold, clear water, folded it, and pressed it to Xaxac’s face. “He ain’t got no business tellin’ folks about that. I’m whoopin his ass.”

“She got them mood swings,” Abby said, “Honey, you will sit up half the night cussin out everybody you know.”

“Cause of the baby?” Xaxac asked.

“Yeah, honey, they mess your brain right up. Now you sit down.” She led Xaxac through another door, not towards the storeroom as he thought she would, not into the dining room, but into another room laid out with a table, much more simple and less ornate than the dining room, and filled with people who were sitting there, eating a lunch of soup beans and cornbread.

Xaxac knew quite a few people at the table, and he realized that he had never thought about where the house staff ate, but that question was answered for him as everyone stared at him, including Lee, Jimmy, and Mrs. OfAgalon.

“What on god’s green xren is he doing here?” Mrs OfAgalon stood from her position at the head of the table, but Lee put a hand up, stood himself, and spoke over her.

“He’s my subordinate, Nancy,” he said, “it ain’t your problem no more.”

Alice grabbed Jimmy by the shoulder so hard that the look on his face told Xac it hurt.

“You out here tellin tales?” She asked.

“He’s your brother!” Jimmy argued.

“What else you tell him?” Alice asked.

“Nothin, baby- you know that hurts, right? That thing you’re doin? With your nails. Can you quit?” He asked.

“I told you I ain’t tellin nobody yet!” Alice said.

“Hey let’s all focus on Xac’s fucked up face!” Jimmy suggested, “That ought not be, right? What’s the story there?”

“He said Billy hit him,” Abby said before Xaxac had a chance to open his mouth, then, in a more hushed and caring voice she said, “You don’t try an talk, baby, it might hurt your face. You sit right here let me run and get you a bowl. You need a bite to eat.”

“Thank you, mama,” Xaxac said, and held the cloth to his face as she let go of it.

“Who’s BIlly?” Alice asked as she released Jimmy and stomped around the table, “Who is that? Where’s he work at?”

“Alice, you have work to do,” Mrs OfAgalon reminded her, “And that is no way for a young lady to speak.”

Alice shocked Xaxac by brazenly ignoring her as she knelt to look him in the eye.

“Who is it?” She asked, “Who tried to start shit with my baby brother?”

“He might be dead,” Xaxac said, “Aggie said he might kill him.”

“Here, honey, you eat you a bite,” Abby powered her way through the conversation to set a bowl in front of Xaxac, a cloth napkin with the cornbread on it, and a tin cup full of a clear liquid that smelled of alcohol.

“Ladies please!” Lee said loudly enough to echo around the room. “Tell me exactly what happened, Xac.”

“Aggie took me with him to see the fighters,” Xaxac explained, “And then we was gonna eat, and I noticed they all had chicken and I thought, ‘That’s weird’. And then Billy asked me why I was lookin at him and I said I wouldn’t, I was lookin at the food, and then he said that you had to eat meat to get strong and I said he was wrong and then he hit me so hard it knocked me backward on my feet and my mouth was all full ‘a blood and my tooth came out, and Aggle did some kinda magic on him and told me to come tell you what happened while he decided whether or not to kill him.”

“The way you run your mouth I knew one of these days you was gonna get hit in it!” Lee cursed, “I told you not to- Love of god you have the easiest job! Say nothing! Do nothing! Just sit there and look pretty! How do you keep messin up when all you gotta do is nothing!?”

“I’m sorry!” Xaxac said.

“He knocked your tooth out?” Alice asked.

“Yeah,” Xac opened his mouth as wide as he could, “See? Knocked it right out.”

“Ima kill him,” Alice said as if the matter was settled, hiked up her skirts and went walking toward the kitchen.

Jimmy lept from his seat and grabbed her by the arm.

“Oh no you ain’t,” Jimmy said, “You start shit with Billy the Bull he’s gonna come right back, and he does somethin to my woman I gotta fight him. And I will die. He will kill me. Look at me! He’ll kill me deader than hell.”

“He will,” Xac said, “He’ll kill him. He’s a big fucker. They make um big out there.”

“Billy the bull?” Alice asked, “The fighter? The one what won every match last year?”

“How does everybody know everything?” Xaxac lamented, “How does everybody know everythin before I do?”

“Folks like to run their mouth,” Lee answered, but Xaxac only sort of heard him, because Abby spoke at the same time to give practical advice.

“Baby, quit talkin,” she said, “You gonna hurt yourself. You eat your food.”

“Abby, you think you gonna get that boy to quit runnin his mouth, I got some news for you,” Lee said in exasperation, then to Xaxac he added, “You eat quick and I gotta get you back to Master Agalon’s room, because Master Lorsan likes to run his mouth too, and if you ain’t in there he’ll tell him. God above I can’t wait till that boy goes back to school.”

“Don’t eat fast,” Abby contradicted, “‘Eat fast’ and him missin a tooth, lord Thesis help me. Honey, drink your whiskey. It’ll make the pain stop.”

“Ain’t no pain,” Xac assured her, “Mama you know how quick I heal. I’m sorry I told you. Sorry I told Alley. Probably gonna mark the baby.”

“Ain’t gonna mark the baby,” Alice said. Her eyes darted and she shoved Lee away to throw her arms around her brother, “Xac, I’m just so glad you’re alright!”

He hugged her back, and was confused when she began to whisper so quietly he barely heard her.

“Xac listen at me. I been workin with- it ain’t important. But up there in that room, I need you to do something for me. I need you to see if you can’t find something what’s got some green stones in it like the one on Hattie May’s ring. I need you to get it to me. Don’t tell nobody. Don’t even tell mama.”

Then she was gone and he stared up at her, but he had become so accustomed to hiding his emotions that he was sure his shock did not register on his face. He nodded.

“I have to get him upstairs,” Lee was telling Abby when Xaxac tuned back in to the conversation.

“Well then he can eat up there,” Abby said, “I’ll make him a lunch. I’ll send you the soup beans, cornbread, some more whiskey and I’ll make a salad up for you, darlin,” she paused and added, “He’s gotta be gettin so sick of salad.”

“They’re good,” Xaxac told her with great sincerity.

“You gonna waste away on that,” she argued, “I’ll make you a cake, baby.”

“Ok,” Jimmy said, “I mean I was gonna eat but I guess I’m servin now…”

“I can pack it up there,” Xaxac told him.

“Xaxac just get up,” Lee thrust the whiskey into his hands, “I mean, she’s right, drink this, but knock it back and then get up. This is gonna just… set everything off wrong for everybody. Why the hell do you gotta keep runnin your mouth?”

“I’m sorry!” Xaxac implored.

“Just come on,” Lee said as he watched Xaxac drink, and impatiently took hold of the cup himself to tilt it.