Once, when he had asked Lauralynn why she thought Momma got so mad, Lauralynn shrugged her shoulders and said that she didn’t know for sure but thought that Momma was sad. The answer hadn’t made sense to him then, and as he waited for the inevitable crack of Momma’s belt, it didn’t make sense now. Sadness, as he understood it, brought tears; but rather than tears, Momma dealt blows.
