I might could have stood anything but that

Source: Askew, Rilla. 1991. 'Breakfast' in Iris (June). (author is from Bartlesville, OK) Full Context: long gone, and mama and daddy's been dead for years, so all that's partly how. And I still got up on Sunday mornings, washed my face and went to church, bought groceries in town every Saturday, continued on in the world same as Clay did, and I don't guess a soul knew, except Frieda says she suspected it all along but Frieda always acts like she' got the last word on everything so you can't tell. # The other thing that changed after I went back was Clay himself. I might could have stood anything but that. # I guess I scared him when I took off. I guess he saw himself getting older and fatter down through the years and his gout getting worse. He knew good and well Janice Waters wasn't going to take care of him. Maybe he just felt what it feels like to be alone. Who knows why he started acting like he did. # But he started calling me names. It was sweetheart this and honeybun that. Sugar, shug