Chapter 5, State214 - rewrite

Billie scooted into the living room and pulled herself up into her special lounge chair. It was cut low to the floor, its feet removed so Billie could easily slide in and out of it without having to try to hop up. Behind her the pictures of Bumpersville and a few of its buisness buildings from a day when they were new looking hung along the wall. There were also photographs of different people, too many to be all inter-related and that caught the gentleman's eye.

"Not all these people are related, why do you have them on your wall?"

"Find them in houses at end of road," Billie replied. "They of people gone."

"These people used to live here?" the man asked.

"People came when road expanded, built houses at edge of valley," Billie replied.

"Why did you take the photographs?" the man asked as he followed each photo frame that circled the living room in a narrow, hip level band of black and white pictures.

"Liked them, faces make me comfortable," was the short response.

"These people your parents knew?"

"Don't know, suppose."

"These people came with the road, eh?"

"Yes."

"Doesn't look like the town lasted for very long, I mean some of the buildings look like they've been abandoned for twenty years or so," the man said.

"Don't know, town like this since remember."

"Everybody go?" the man asked puzzled.

"No, some still around like sheriff an' the Widow Hostetter."

"And they came with the road too?"

"No, they valley folk, they always here."

"Valley folk? Farmers?"

"Suppose, they always been here."