Little Black Girl Lost (7 page)

A
s they left the dilapidated neighborhood, Johnnie looked out the window and saw some of the girls in her neighborhood watching as she rode in the lap of luxury with her white paramour. In a way, she was proud to be seen in a Cadillac, but at the same time, it bothered her to know they could see the rumors they'd heard about her were now steeped in truth. She saw Billy Logan staring at her. His eyes and lips were still swollen from the pummeling Lucas had given him. At first, he couldn't tell if it was really her riding with a white man in broad daylight.

“Ya whore!” he shouted with conviction.

Johnnie pressed her middle finger against the window.

Earl was driving along quietly, wondering if he should ask her about the incident with her mother. He knew she was angry, but he didn't want to make the situation worse than it was. Instead of listening to his intuition, he decided to ask.

“So, what the hell is going on, Johnnie?”

“What do you think is going on, Earl?” she snapped.

Strangely, her acerbic attitude titillated him. Johnnie was beautiful, but she was sexy as hell when she was angry. He had never seen her angry before. Whenever he visited her, she was always dutiful and did as he asked. This was a new treat, and he wanted her right then. If it were dark out, he'd have pulled over to the nearest curb and had her slide down his pole. Just thinking about it gave him a serious erection. However, since she was upset, he knew there was no chance of her fulfilling him sexually. He decided to change the subject to something that would change her attitude.
But what could that be?
Then it came to him.

“Johnnie, would you like to see the house I bought for you?”

Almost like magic, Johnnie's attitude changed. She was smiling now. Earl knew he would have her later. Whenever she was happy, he got the best sex from her. She seemed to go all out to please him and he loved it. He couldn't get enough of her.

“You found me a place, Earl?” she asked, not a trace of anger in her voice.

“Uh-huh,” he said, feeling like Santa Claus.

“Did you get me a nice place, in a nice neighborhood?”

“I said I would, didn't I?”

“When can I move in?”

“Well, the house needs some work. I have to have the place painted, put some carpeting down, and remodel the kitchen and bathrooms. I'd say in about a month. Probably a little while after school lets out for the summer.”

“Well, what am I going to do until then?”

“I thought you were going to stay with your mother until then, but it looks like that's out of the question now. What happened?”

Johnnie knew she couldn't tell Earl the truth. If she told him how she felt about Lucas, he would certainly change his mind about buying her that house. She decided to deflect his question with one of her own.

“What difference does it make, Earl? You got what you wanted.”

“What's that supposed to mean?”

“You wanted me to have a place so you wouldn't have to come to the ghetto to see me. You don't like the way the black men in my neighborhood look at you when you show up to get your brown sugar. So, you decided to make it more convenient for you, didn't you, Earl?”

A little smile appeared on Earl's face. She was right, but what surprised him was how much she'd grown up in the last year. At that moment, he remembered the first time he had taken her on that Christmas Eve. It seemed like an eternity had passed. He thought about how good things were between them now and how much better it would be in the near future.
I'll have the best of both worlds.

“The problem is,” Johnnie began again, “you're still going to have to see black people, and they're still going to hate both of us no matter what neighborhood you put me in. You didn't think of that, did you, Earl?”

“We'll see about that,” Earl said and patted her smooth thigh.

A
s they drove to the new house, Johnnie was quiet. She thought about the fight with her mother and the whole neighborhood seeing the good little Christian girl ride off into the sunset with her white lover. Following that, Billy Logan's final words, “Ya whore,” resonated in her mind over and over again. Although she had heard the constant whispers and subsequent laughter, she couldn't live with the idea of all of her classmates knowing her shame.

In her mind's eye, she could see herself walking into the school and being accosted by her rivals—girls who she had once ridiculed about their lascivious ways. There was no way she could subject herself to that kind of humiliation. It was settled.

They turned onto Main Street, where a host of Baroque Parish's black businesses were located. Well dressed Negro men and women were everywhere, going in and out of stores and restaurants. The Sepia Theater, owned by local entrepreneur Walker Tresvant, was the first building Johnnie saw. Tresvant was a millionaire who held the mortgages on several buildings on Main Street, including an office building, which contained the offices of Attorney Ryan Robertson, Cambridge Books and Publishing, Bernard Coleman's architectural firm, and several other successful Negro owned and operated businesses.

Continuing down Main Street, Johnnie saw Philip Collins' barber shop, with its red and white stripes just outside the front door. Further down, she saw a sign that read:
DENNIS EDWARDS' TAILOR AND CLOTHING STORE
.
Across the street from the clothing store was Nagel's Construction Company, which was right next to Michael and Beverly's Bakery and Sweets. At the end of the block near First Street was New Orleans' only Negro newspaper called
The Raven.
Across the street from
The Raven
was Mr. Big Stuff's World Famous Plantation Barbecued Ribs.

Just before Earl turned onto East Ashland Avenue, where the upper class Negroes lived, Johnnie saw a sign for Ashland Estates. Among its residents were many of New Orleans' educated colored professionals, the descendants of well-to-do slave owners. Among them were doctors, lawyers, an architect, and even a few published writers. The neighborhood was also full of maids who served as courtesans for their white employers. Many of these women were the mothers of illegitimate children spawned by these unholy unions.

As they rode down the street, Johnnie could see how pristine the neighborhood looked.
This must be a mistake. This must be where the white folks live.
The houses were huge and well-maintained, with manicured lawns. Seeing this impressive display of luxury, Johnnie couldn't help being roused from her dispirited thoughts. She was just about to ask Earl if they were in the right place when she saw a black man using a key to go into the front door of one of the homes.

She looked at Earl. He was smiling. He loved doing nice things for her. It made him feel necessary. But right now, he was smiling because of what she was going to do for him later.

Earl pulled into the driveway of a yellow two-story home with shrubs and daffodils near the entrance. He turned off the ignition and looked at her.

“Well, what do you think?”

“Is this my place, Earl?” Johnnie asked, unable to contain herself.

“Yes. It's all yours,” Earl said, dangling the keys.

J
ohnnie saw a black woman in the house next to hers peeking out of the window, watching them as they approached the front door. When the woman saw Johnnie looking at her, she closed the curtains for a moment or two, then resumed watching.
I wonder who she is. I hope we can be friends when I move in.

Earl handed Johnnie the keys and asked, “Would you like to do the honors?”

“Yeah.”

She walked into the foyer and gasped when she saw the cream-colored walls in the unbelievably spacious living room. To her surprise, the house wasn't in as bad a shape as she expected. There was a fireplace, a ceiling fan and well-maintained hardwood floors. As far as she was concerned, the house was ready for her to move in that day. Sure, it needed some furniture, some plants, some rugs and a few other trinkets to make it homey, but this was a palace—her palace.

“Earl, ain't nothin' wrong with this place. This is just fine. I can move in now.”

“Well, let's look at the kitchen and bathrooms first.”

“Bathrooms? You mean I got more than one?”

“Of course.” He frowned. “What did you mean when you said you wanted a nice place? A place with a roof that doesn't leak or what?”

“Is your home this nice, Earl?”

“My house is a mansion compared to this. And I still say this place could use a little work. Come on. Let's look at the kitchen.” Earl took Johnnie's hand and escorted her through the house, stopping at the dining room, which was next to the kitchen.

As she admired her new home, Johnnie knew she had made the right decision to move out and leave school.
What could schoolin' get me that my looks can't? I haven't even graduated yet and I have a house. Or do I?
“Earl, is this my house?”

“Yes. I told you it was. Why do you keep asking me about it?”

“Because I don't see no papers sayin' it's mine. And I know you gotta have papers to say you own anything in this world. Mama got papers on her house. I want papers on mine.”

Earl reached inside his jacket pocket, pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to her. It was a deed with her name on it. “All you need to do is sign it and it's yours.”

Johnnie took the paper and looked at it. Slowly, a smile began to emerge. It looked legal, but she wasn't sure. She would have to see her mother's to be certain.

They entered the kitchen hand in hand. Johnnie walked around the kitchen, thinking of what she could do with it, occasionally opening and closing cabinet doors. The kitchen needed some work, but all in all, it was in good condition. She particularly liked the countertops and the breakfast nook, which had plenty of windows.

She looked at the stove and refrigerator, wondering if it would be pushing her luck to ask Earl for new ones. They were better than what she was accustomed to, but still she wanted them replaced. “Earl, honey,” she said, looking at the stove, “I know you just spent a bunch of money on this house for me, but dear, I sure would like a new stove and refrigerator. “

“I knew you would. I ordered them for you already.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, really.”

Johnnie kissed his thin pink lips. She could feel Earl's hardness pressing against her stomach. Johnnie pulled away, knowing that if she continued to let him get more excited, she would have to do it right there on the kitchen floor, and it would be messy without any means of cleaning herself up.

Earl pulled her back and wrapped his arms around her. He squeezed her firm rump, then her thick breasts. He wanted to take her right then and there, and Johnnie knew it.

“I'll take care of you later, dear,” she promised, squeezing his hardness.

“How about a little right now?”

Johnnie knew he was all worked up. It didn't take much for Earl. Ever since she'd known him, whenever he was hard, he wanted to enter her immediately, whether she was ready to be entered or not.

“Think of how much better it's going to be once we get to the hotel, honey. I promise you it will be worth the wait, okay?”

“Okay.” Earl beamed like he was walking on air.

“So, how much did you say this house cost you, Earl?”

“I didn't say,” he teased as they walked into the first floor bathroom.

“You not gon' tell me, sweetie?”

“What do I get for the information?”

“All you can handle, Earl.”

“All I can handle, huh?”

“Uh-huh.”

“How much do you think I paid?” Earl asked, leaning against the counter.

“Gosh, Earl, I have no idea. Cain't you just tell me?”

“Well, I could, but that wouldn't be any fun now, would it?”

“Okay, fifty thousand dollars.”

“Come on. It isn't any fun if you don't guess for real.”

“Okay, thirty thousand.”

“Close. It was twenty-five thousand.”

The truth was fifteen thousand. The house was worth twenty-five thousand, one of the cheapest in the neighborhood, but he paid fifteen because the house had been repossessed and empty for over a year. The bank wanted to unload it in a hurry. They just wanted the payoff value.

Astonished, she said, “Twenty-five thousand dollars! You musta made a lot more than I made with those stocks you bought.”
Hmmm, if you can make that kind of money in the stock market, I definitely have to learn how it's done.

“I made enough for a few things. Now, let me show you the upstairs, and then we can get you a hotel.”