Sethe started to turn over on her stomach but changed her mind. She did not want to call Paul D'sattention back to her, so she settled for crossing her ankles.
But Paul D noticed the movement as well as the change in her breathing. He felt obliged to tryagain, slower this time, but the appetite was gone. Actually it was a good feeling — not wantingher. Twenty-five years and blip! The kind of thing Sixo would do — like the time he arranged ameeting with Patsy the Thirty-Mile Woman. It took three months and two thirty-four-mile roundtrips to do it. To persuade her to walk one-third of the way toward him, to a place he knew. Adeserted stone structure that Redmen used way back when they thought the land was theirs. Sixodiscovered it on one of his night creeps, and asked its permission to enter. Inside, having felt whatit felt like, he asked the Redmen's Presence if he could bring his woman there. It said yes and Sixopainstakingly instructed her how to get there, exactly when to start out, how his welcoming orwarning whistles would sound. Since neither could go anywhere on business of their own, andsince the Thirty-Mile Woman was already fourteen and scheduled for somebody's arms, the dangerwas real. When he arrived, she had not. He whistled and got no answer. He went into the Redmen's deserted lodge. She was not there. He returned to the meeting spot. She was not there. He waitedlonger. She still did not come. He grew frightened for her and walked down the road in thedirection she should be coming from. Three or four miles, and he stopped. It was hopeless to go onthat way, so he stood in the wind and asked for help. Listening close for some sign, he heard awhimper. He turned toward it, waited and heard it again. Uncautious now, he hollered her name.
She answered in a voice that sounded like life to him — not death. "Not move!" he shouted.
"Breathe hard I can find you." He did. She believed she was already at the meeting place and wascrying because she thought he had not kept his promise. Now it was too late for the rendezvous tohappen at the Redmen's house, so they dropped where they were. Later he punctured her calf tosimulate snakebite so she could use it in some way as an excuse for not being on time to shakeworms from tobacco leaves. He gave her detailed directions about following the stream as ashortcut back, and saw her off. When he got to the road it was very light and he had his clothes inhis hands. Suddenly from around a bend a wagon trundled toward him. Its driver, wide-eyed,raised a whip while the woman seated beside him covered her face. But Sixo had already meltedinto the woods before the lash could unfurl itself on his indigo behind.
He told the story to Paul F, Halle, Paul A and Paul D in the peculiar way that made them cry-laugh. Sixo went among trees at night. For dancing, he said, to keep his bloodlines open, he said.