1963-07-05 - Cornbread & Good Talkin'
Summary: Sam and Jean have a little chat over cornbread, while he shares the wealth with Jubilee and Bobby.
Related: None
Theme Song: None
cannonball jean bobby jubilee 


For about an hour, a warm, homey scent has wafted from the dining hall throughout the first floor of the Xavier Institute, setting mouths to watering. Disdaining the sandwiches left out by the kitchen staff for the thin summer student crowd, Sam Guthrie has settled into the kitchen and whipped up a huge pile of cornbread, homemade according to Grandma Guthrie's infamous recipe. He exits the kitchen now, holding a steaming platter of the little muffin-y rolls. A couple of first years have already nabbed some, and he's openly offering the plate to any passers by, but his eventual destination is the dorms. Baked goods on delivery: it's how the Guthries have buried hatchets since at least the Civil War years.

*

The library was her main source of power training. Books float along like a spectre, often hovering all around Jean like a magical orbit. There were times she's used her gift to turn the pages, and used her gift to put the books away. This exercise sometimes expanded for hours, the young woman soaking up all of the information that she could, time being cast aside in favor of knowledge..

..that was until a smell hits her nose and her stomach begins to growl. She could feel the joy in the air as the people nearby eat, smell it, even catch the glimpses of those children and students and their dreams of home..

And not too long after, Jean emerges from the library, following the source of the smell, only to see that it was Sam in a surprising turn of events with the plate of food for everyone to eat.

"Good morning Sam." Jean says cheerily, finger extending to point towards the plate. "Is any of that for me?" Here's to hoping.

*

Sam turns at the sound of Jean's voice, breaking into a slightly sheepish smile when he recognizes her. "Well, sure, Miss Jean," he answers. "Help yourself! It's no harder to make a lot than a little, so Ah figured Ah'd whip up enough to share." He walks in her direction and extends the platter toward her. "Guthrie family recipe. Not too sweet, not too dry. Ah just hope Ah did it justice."

*

Jean was going to help herself alright, she was so hungry, looking at those perfect little muffins made her ache all over. As he extends the platter, she takes two, a grin drawing upon her face as she sniffs, then takes a quick bite to chow down upon the bred with flushed features. "It's… so good.." She manages to murmur, mouth full but not calked with bread. It really was the best thing since.. well.. take it from someone who's lived off of hospital food. Everything was forced down your throat after it was pureed.

"Is there anything else that you -can't- do, Mr. Guthrie? These are like little slices of heaven."

*

"Aw, thank you very much, Miss Jean," Sam answers, grinning as a flush rises behind the freckles on his cheeks. "You're too kind. Like Ah said, it's a family recipe, so Ah can't take credit with a clear conscience. My Pa's Ma is the real bakin' genius." He shrugs his shoulders and continues with that same sheepish smile, "There's plenty Ah can't do. Steer when Ah'm blastin', stay awake through more'n a chapter or two of a book." He lowers the platter an inch or two with a faraway, embarrassed expression. "Go more'n a couple of days without puttin' my foot in my mouth, it seems."

*

"I would love to meet your family one day. At least for a little bit of their cooking. It seems like it's something that I'd miss if I were away from home for so long." She reaches out to tug his arm, looping hers within his as she continually munches. And listens. That was the most important thing.

"Mmh." Jean murmurs quietly, carefully dabbing away at her lips as she finishes off the last muffin. "You can probably steer.. Or someone could steer you. And you have to be interested in a book to stay awake." She frowns a little, then stops in the little stride she's easily forced him on. "What do you mean by that?"

*

Sam stares at the arm that has looped around his. Then he looks down at the platter of cornbread. Thank you, Grandma. Thank you so, so much. "Oh, it's nothin'. Ah just got in kind of a spat with Mr. Havok yesterday," the lanky boy says with a shrug of the shoulder opposite Jean. (He's reluctant to move the arm she has draped herself over, for fear he might disturb her.) "Bad enough to make a bad impression on a teammate, but he's liable to be one of my teachers in the fall. Ma warned me Ah might not see eye to eye with some of the academic types up north — Ah should've been more careful."

The boy winces, knowing he should probably get away from this topic and on to something more pleasant. "You're welcome to meet the family, Ah'm sure, but it might take more'n one day," he jokes. "And that ain't just a number of people versus acres of farm problem. The Guthrie clan ain't small by any measure."

*

"Oh.." Hearing about the spat, Jean frowns just a little. She felt that tensions were high, and elected to not return to the danger room, figuring it was her own doing of being angry with herself and not trying her best. She didn't know it was.. well.. them. "Well, your mom is right to a point, Mr. Guthrie. But that's the beauty of it all." She smiles up towards him, continuing to tug him along, only stopping when a student snags one from the tray, and then she moves again.

"Well, I'm okay with everything taking more than a day. Sometimes being away from here actually.. well.. could be a breath of fresh air. Soon as I convince myself to leave." She shrugs a little, then questions.. "What was the argument about? Care to talk about it?"

*

Only too willing to let himself be led around, Sam dips the tray for the student's convenience but continues to focus mostly on Jean. When she mentions time away from the school, he offers, "Well, Ah'm good for makin' a flight with a passenger, if ya wanna take a trip somewhere. Probably a little early in our acquaintance to have you meet my ma, though." Sam grins, then his clear blue eyes widen in panic as his brain maps out the implications of what he just said. Change of topic change of topic!

"Politics!" he nearly shouts, before forcing a laugh and adjusting his volume back down to a conversational level. "Politics is what we tussled over. Ain't a fit topic for friendly talk, Ah know, but it came up and before Ah knew it, we were buttin' heads. Bobby wasn't real into it, but Ah got the impression he was on Mr. Summers' side." Sam's head eases lower on his shoulders, and he glances around guiltily. "Ah do feel I made a bit of a scene without meanin' to."

*

"Well, you certainly are a really great conversationalist." Jean compliments. "I bet walks with you are a blast." She happens to laugh a little, turning up towards him to grin full on to show that she was serious. And it was true; she's never met a southern gentleman before and his manner of speech was actually a bit refreshing. Nevermind the brit who rules this house.

His words seemingly go over her head, a little frown brought on. "Well, we're practically living together, Sam. I'd let you meet my parents." She grins a little, then leans against his arm.

"Well, yes. Politics are a very touchy subject, but I think it's something that should be discussed with a person that you're comfortable with." She nods slightly. "And with Alex being a teacher that he is, I'm sure he's used to dealing with short tempers and the like." She shrugs her shoulders faintly. "Did you feel like you were ganged up on? That no one listened?"

*

"A little bit, yeah," Sam confirms quietly. "Not in a mean way or nothin', or at least not on purpose, but it was like…" He looks upward a little helplessly, never the best at putting his thoughts into words. "Alex is a real smart guy — Bobby too — and Ah got no airs: Ah'm a simple farm boy. So Ah didn't really follow everythin' they were sayin', and Alex kinda jumped on the little things Ah misunderstood without ever sayin' it was okay for me to be gun-shy about what Ah did understand."

At this point, one of the students who they passed earlier returns and asks about seconds. The lighthearted banter about cornbread and making sure there's enough to share draws Sam out of his slightly morose mood and puts a gentle smile back on his face.

Once they're alone again, Sam continues, "You're really too sweet to say Ah'm a fine person to talk to. Ah'm flattered, for sure, but we both know Ah ain't really gonna measure up to some of the educated folks around here." He chuckles and grins, then admits, "Still, all y'all lovely ladies have been more'n kind helpin' me feel welcome. Ah might go back to Kentucky spoilt."

*

"I see.." Jean quietly confirms.

She doesn't say much, but she does stop and smile as the younger ones draw up, watching and listening to Sam speak to them gives her a brand new perspective on things. He feels that he is dumb. That.. well, compared to others, he wasn't good enough.

"Well, Sam." Jean starts, shrugging her shoulders. "You can be as educated as you want. Anyone could be. But.." She grunts a little. "..an asshole is still an asshole." She grins again. "I've heard a saying too, that God doesn't like ugly, that is if you believe in him. Which means, it doesn't matter how smart you are or how handsome or how lean and tall.. it's whats on the inside that counts. And if you're downright mean and just unsightly and bigoted.." She was getting a little heated, so much that her fingers were curling hard into his arm.

She stops, collecting herself as she gives a slight frown. "Sam. There are some.. no. A lot of things that you know that an educated person does not. And I am telling you -my- truth. As a girl who .. never really graduated high school or .. " She too, looked ashamed at revealing that information, "..anything. You're teaching me a lot right now about what it is to be human."

*

"You never graduated neither?" Sam asks, flabbergasted. "Smart girl like you? Ah figured it was just me!" He realizes that he's speaking a little too loudly about their secret and drops his voice, lowering his shoulders conspiratorially at the same time. Still, he's so relieved at her sympathy and understanding that she could be digging into his arm with claws and he wouldn't complain.

"Ah had to drop out when Pa got killed," he explains. He doesn't linger on this revelation for even a second, although it obviously affects him below the surface. "The farm wasn't makin' any money and he'd had to go into the mines to keep the taxes paid. When he was gone, Ah was the oldest, so it fell to me." He hesitates on the cusp of a lopsided smile. The bitter memory is somehow sweeter for being shared. "Ah'm not gonna lie, it makes me feel a lot better to know that a smart, got-it-together girl like you went through somethin' similar. Makes me think Ah ain't such a lost cause, after all."

He lowers his gaze to the platter again, going slightly pink after opening up like that, and laughs. "Aw, Ah don't think anybody's no — donkey's behind." (Pronounced BEE-hind, of course.) "We just had a li'l bit of country mouse, city mouse goin' on. Different folks from different places — it can take some time gettin' used to bein' around each other, Ah guess."

*

"Nope." Jean murmurs with a lack of pride. Her cheeks burn red, keeping her gaze far and away from Sam as they continue on that endless stroll. "I'm not smart, not book smart. I spent the rest of my days in a mental asylum until Professor Xavier came for me." She does listen to his story, the walk slowing just a little as she lightly pats his arm with her hand, even leaning on him a little bit to comfort him.

She could feel it, the sadness. The loss. The bittersweet emotion, even catch a glimpse of the farm.. though the light that would shine upon it now casts a cloud of gray. "Trust me.. if you only knew.." Jean murmurs quietly, then leans away from him, even pulling her arm from around his own to wrap around herself. "You never were a lost cause. No one ever really is. It just takes different steps for different people."

"Tell you what. How about I take you out for a day or a night on the town? So you can see how us city slickers live?"

*

*

Sam pauses by a decorative table, set with flowers and a couple of candlesticks, and places the tray full of fresh-baked cornbread on its surface. Then he turns directly to Jean, reluctantly pulling his arm out of her grip so that he can take her hands in his. "Miss Jean, that's terrible. Ah can't believe anybody was fool enough to lock you away." His blue eyes are sincere and sympathetic. "You say you ain't book smart, but Ah saw you comin' out of the library just a minute ago. You speak your mind and you can keep up with them science boys when they start goin' on — you sure seem smart as a whip to me." He pauses, wanting to say more, but his own clumsy way with words feels insufficient, so he simply flashes her a smile for a moment, then puts it back on for keeps.

"Well, Ah'd be honored if you wanted to show me around the city," he answers her shyly. "Ah hope you won't be real embarrassed if Ah stare too much. Don't wanna come off like a prize yokel at the World's Fair."

*

The front door opens and Bobby walks in wearing his usual pair of 'it's summer and I'm outside' shorts. He's carrying the mail and flipping through it, glancing up when he sees people. "Hey." he greets then glances over at Sam. "You umm, doing okay Sam?"

*

That.. was different. She didn't expect much sympathy when it came to that. So when he finally showed her a little, she was taken aback. In fact, she nearly shed a tear. Nearly. But she kept it in, a little smile drawing upon her features, her head slowly shaking. "It's okay.. T..they were just scared. I was scared too. And everything just.. kept.." She grows silent, then grins just a little.

"I.. sorta can? And can't. It helps that I can pick anything I want out of their mind to try to gain an understanding.." She leans forward, squeezing his hands. "Just don't tell them that I do it."

Finally, she lets go of his hands, her brows lifting upright. "I mean.. that's the whole point of me showing you around isn't it? So you can stare? There could be like.. a circus or some artsy show we can go to. Maybe I can sneak us into one.."

A plan was brewing.. and it was going to be great. Seeing Bobby? She takes a little step back from Sam, then smiles towards the man, offering up a little wave as he questions Cannon-Sam.

*

Nodding as Jean speaks, Sam doesn't really have time to answer verbally before Bobby enters the room. When he spots the shorter boy, Sam's posture gets ever so slightly worse. Hands free, he reaches up to scratch at a spot a few inches behind his ear. "Hiya, Bobby," he says in a hangdog voice. Then, abruptly, he remembers something and brightens. "Oh! Ah made cornbread. Would ya like some?" He turns and grabs the tray from the nearby table, then extends it toward other boy with a lopsided, solicitous smile. It's a well known anthropological fact: southerners practice diplomacy from the kitchen. "Family recipe."

*

"Cornbread? You cook?" Bobby asks, stepping over and tossing the mail down on the table. Making cornbread is different from frying up bacon and setting fire to the kitchen. Taking a piece, he makes a plate out of ice in his other hand to catch the crumbs as he takes a bite. "Oh, hey. It's good." He sounds a little surprised by that.

*

Jubilee doesn't know what's going on out here in the Foyer. But that's because her eyes are closed as she lets out a big yawn, stretching and wandering down the stairs, getting a late start to the day.

*

"Heck yeah Ah cook!" Sam answers with a broad grin. If Bobby's surprise at the quality of the food registered as an insult, he sure isn't showing it. "Y'don't grow up the oldest of eleven brothers 'n sisters — countin' Ray Junior: he's adopted, but that don't make no difference, of course, we love him just the same — not knowing how to help take care of all the little rascals, do ya?"

The tray is steaming and the cornbread still warm as he sets it back down on the entryway's decorative table. "And it ain't just bakin'. Y'all give me a holler any time you want a proper home-cooked breakfast instead of this 'sandwich' nonsense they keep pushin' on us 'cause it's 'convenient.'" There's nothing quite like a Kentucky drawl for pronouncing disdainful scare quotes out loud. Sam plants his hands on his hips and says, loud enough for the just-arriving Jubilee to hear, "Help yourself to just as much as you'd like. Ah made enough to go around."

*

Jean watches the display with a grin. The talk helped at least, plus Sam found a kindred spirit in herself which hopefully would help him get along just a wee bit better.

"I'm going to go back to reading.. Bobby.. Sam.." Jean stops, her head tilting just a little as she looks as the sleepy young woman. Her eyes grow vacant.. and for a clear moment it seems as if she were looking right through a glass.

"Jubilee." Jean smiles sweetly, then leans over to take another piece of cornbread, then heads on back to her studies.

Okay.. check that. She was going to stop in the kitchen first to get some milk. Then more studies.

*

*

Jubilee wanders on down all the way. Jean gets a tired smile and a wave, as she tries to wake up. Though the smell of that tray helps a lot. "Good morning," she laughs at herself to greet Jean, and the others. "This smells nice." she comments, seeing about joining the others to get something.

*

«It's not polite to read people!» Bobby thinks at Jean, recognizing that look. There's no sign of it on his expression though as he takes another bite and looks around for Jubilee. ON the stairs as it turns out. "Hey Jubes." he says, giving her a quick smile before looking back to Sam. "Can you make fried chicken? Cause I love fried chicken." And it's southern right?

*

"Can Ah make fried chicken?!" Sam looks nearly offended as he lifts the tray and extends it toward Jubilee so she can get a roll of cornbread. "Ah can make fried chicken out of an egg. You just wait — summer's the perfect time for it, too. Take a whole day and do the thing right." He smiles at Bobby and tells Jubilee, "Made 'em myself. Grandma Guthrie's own recipe."

He seems to have totally missed any weird brain tricks Jean has pulled, but looks after her with a gentle expression, calling, "See you later, Jean! Enjoy your books."

*

"A whole day?" Bobby asks. "What takes a whole day to make fried chicken?" What's Sam going to do, breed a chicken first? "Tastes good too, Jubes. You should have a piece. It's very good."

*

Jubilee takes a piece of cornbread, butters it up if she has the opportunity too, and carefully eats it with a napkin to catch crumbs. Then walking up to the chef, she smiles "This is great thank you." And at that, she heads off down a hall to resume her late start to the morning.

*

"That would be tellin', Bobby," Sam answers, cagey all of a sudden. The ghost of a smile and a twinkle in his blue eye suggest that he might be kidding around with the other boy. He picks up the tray and starts making his way toward the staircase. "Anyway, Ah was just about to take these upstairs so everyone else can have a go at 'em. Ah'll see y'all around!"

"Wait!" Bobby quickly takes another piece before Sam disappears and then goes back outside. "Thanks Sam."

*

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