his father and his Aunt Sadie said

She looked at them so sharply and silently from one to another that Rufus thought she must be mad at them, and then she began to shake her head back and forth. “Lord God,” she said again. “Howdy, John Henry,” she said. “Howdy, Sadie,” his grandfather said. “Howdy, Aunt Sadie,” his father and his Aunt Sadie said. “Howdy, Jay,” she said, looking sternly at his father, “howdy, Ralph,” and she looked sternly at Ralph. “Reckon you must be Jess, and yore Sadie. Howdy, Sadie.” “This is Mary, Aunt Sadie,” his father said. “Mary, this is Aunt Sadie.” “I’m proud to know you,” the old woman said, looking very hard at his mother. “I figured it must be you,” she said, just as his mother said, “I’m awfully glad to know you too.” “And this is Rufus and Catherine and Ralph’s Jim-Wilson and Ettie Lou and Jessie’s Charlie after his daddy and Sadie’s Jessie after her Granma and her Aunt Jessie,” his father said. “Well, Lord God,” the old woman said. “Well, file on out.” “How’s Granmaw?” his father asked, in a low voice, without moving yet to get out. “Good as we got any right to expect,” she said, “but don’t feel put out if she don’t know none-a-yews. She mought and she mought not. Half the time she don’t even know me.” Ralph shook his head and clucked his tongue. “Pore old soul,” he said, looking at the ground. His father let out a slow breath, puffing his cheeks. “So if I was you-all I’d come up on her kind of easy,” the old woman said. “Bin a coon’s age since she seen so many folks at onct. Me either. Mought skeer her if ye all come a whoopin up at her in a flock.” “Sure,” his father said.