The Darkest Child (26 page)

“Damn, ”Velman whispered when I was done.

“What?” Martha Jean asked. She had come to sit beside me, and her fingers steadily repeated that one word.“What? What?”

“Hurt,” I signed.

Velman paced the room, then he stepped toward the couch and I waited for him to say something. His mouth opened and closed. I saw him lift a foot, and the coffee table flew across the room and struck the wall. He followed after the table, kicked it again, then slammed his fist against the wall just above a framed still life of red roses. The roses sprang from their hook and crashed against the overturned table. Martha Jean stared in alarm, but I sat back and watched the destruction. It was futile, yet I understood it was for the love of me.

forty - two

W
e were awakened in the middle of the night by the smell of smoke and the peal of sirens some distance off in the heart of our city. It was an uncommon sound in Pakersfield, which made it frightening and exciting at the same time. We lit the kerosene lamps and filed out into the night.

“Where’s Sam?” Mama asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

“He never came home, ”Wallace told her.

Mama swore, and her words drifted up into the smoke-filled air. We stared toward the east where I expected to see flames leaping for the sky, but whatever was burning was too far away or too low for us to see.

Miss Pearl arrived early the following morning to tell us that she and Mr. Frank had attempted to go to work and had been rerouted by the police.“Frank went on around through Plymouth, but I told him to let me out,” she said.“They say somebody done tried to burn down everything on Market Street.They got barricades up and they ain’t letting no coloreds into town. Say they ain’t stopping nobody from going to work, just gotta find another way to get there.”

“I gotta go to work, Mama, ”Tarabelle said.“Miss Arlisa gon’ get rid of me if I keep staying off.”

Mama nodded.“You ain’t gotta go through town to get to East Grove.You go on.”

“We don’t have to go through town to get to school, either, Mama,” I said.

She rested her elbows against the tabletop and cupped her hands around her chin. She had a faraway look, like she was staring through me and could see something no one else in the room could see. Finally, she said, “If school that important to you, Tangy Mae, you go on. For all you know, yo’ brother could be burned up in a fire, and you standing there talking to me ’bout school.”

Tarabelle left almost immediately, but I allowed guilt and indecisiveness to slow me down, which is how I happened to be in the kitchen when Angus Betts and Chadlow stormed into the house. Miss Pearl shrieked, but Mama sat silent, staring with indifference at the gun Chadlow aimed at her chest.

The sheriff was also holding a gun, but his was pointed toward the floor. He glanced about the room, then asked, “Where is he, Rozelle?”

“I ain’t seen him, ”Mama answered.“He didn’t come home last night.”

“You’d better not be lying to me,” the sheriff said, raising his gun slightly. “I’ve got Marcus and Beck searching those woods out there. If we find him hiding out back there or anywhere near this house, I’m taking you in, too.”

“I’m telling you, Angus, I ain’t seen him since yesterday.”

The sheriff raised his gun and pointed it at her head.“What did you call me?” he asked.

Mama seemed confused. She placed one trembling hand to her throat and stared at him. “What’d I say, Sheriff?” she asked innocently.

He lowered the gun and turned to Chadlow.“You keep an eye on them while I search the rest of the house.”

The minute the sheriff was out of the room, Chadlow stepped closer to Mama and said, “He burned down my place of business, Rozelle.That means if we don’t catch him, you’re gonna owe me. Do you know how I deal with people who cross me?”

My mother trembled with fear. It was the kind of fear she despised, the same kind she had burned from my flesh. Chadlow stared down at her, and she closed her eyes as tight as she could.

There was not much to search in our house, and the sheriff was back in less than five minutes. He holstered his weapon and stared at my mother with contempt. “Rozelle, I don’t know where that boy is, but I’ll get him.When I find him, I’ll make him wish he’d never been born. And don’t try to tell me that it wasn’t him. He drove through this town throwing Molotov cocktails. Do you know how much damage that can do?”

Mama shook her head.“I don’t know what that is.”

The sheriff looked at Wallace. “Do you know anything about this?” he asked.

“No, sir, ”Wallace answered quickly.

“I’ve got a good mind to just go on and arrest everybody,” the sheriff said.“I’m ruined in this town. I stood up for that boy, asked the judge to set him free, to consider he was injured while in my care. I see now that I shouldn’t have done that.The Griggs’s furniture store is gone.” He flicked his fingers. “Just gone.The Pioneer Cab Company is rubble, Chad’s café was destroyed, and businesses all along Market Street were damaged.The fire started at Griggs’s and spread from there. I can’t even describe the mess they made on the courthouse lawn or what they did to the water fountain. Ralph was working late at the depot, and he says he saw your boy and some others just before the fires broke out.”

Mama wept softly into a dishcloth that Miss Pearl had handed her. She made no effort to deny anything the sheriff had said.

The sheriff watched her for a moment, then he turned to Chadlow and said, “Let’s get out of here.”

Once they were gone, Mama scraped a mess of bugs from her cheek. Her fingernails left three red marks running from below her right eye down to her chin, and I knew I was not going to school.

“I’m gon’ see if they all left, ”Wallace said, rising from his milk crate.

I followed him out back where we stood on the porch and studied the path between the trees for some sign of movement.There was nothing.Wallace went down the steps and mounted his bike.

“I’m gon’ find out what happened,” he said.

“Wallace, don’t go near town,” I said.

“I won’t. I’m going up on Plymouth and down to the flats. Somebody knows something, Tan.”

I stepped down from the porch, and walked slowly toward the woods.The sheriff ’s men had invaded my forest, trampled through the underbrush, and disturbed its tranquility. I could feel their intrusion, although they were long gone. I walked in circles, thinking of the price I had paid for Sam’s freedom, thinking of Mr. Pace and his plans for my future, thinking of my mother and her bugs.

When I returned to the house, Harvey was on our front porch talking with Mama and Miss Pearl. Mama had stopped crying and was concentrating on the information that Harvey was apprehensively imparting. I eased down on a step to listen.

“I’m telling you, he ain’t nowhere in town, Mama,” Harvey said. “I been everywhere.The sheriff ain’t lying to you. He came up to the house this morning wit’ Chadlow, and they searched the whole place.They even searched the funeral home.Ain’t nobody seen Sam. It was him and Hambone, Maxwell and Becky.They all gone.”

“That don’t mean Sam burned nothing down,” Mama said. “People all time blaming things on Sam.”

“He did it, Mama. Sam was in jail a long time. Every day he probably got a little madder, and he had time to plan this. I’d say Hambone knew about it, too. If Sam didn’t do it, where is he? How come he ain’t came home? He been outta jail for one day, and all of a sudden half of town burns down.Who ain’t gon’ think it was him?”

“You know, he got a point there, Rosie,” Miss Pearl said.

“Go home, Pearl!” Mama shouted. “You too, Harvey. I don’t need nobody ’round me that’s against Sam.Y’all don’t know that he did nothing.”

Miss Pearl rose from her chair. “I’m going,” she said. “I didn’t believe the sheriff when he was saying Sam killed Junior Fess, but looks like to me he got the right somebody this time.”

“He ain’t got him yet,” Mama retorted.

“Nah, Mama, but they gon’ have him soon,” Harvey said. “It’s just a matter of time.” He started down the steps, then stopped and stared out toward the road where Wallace was pedaling for home with all his might. “Look at Wallace. He got some news. Maybe they done caught Sam.”

Wallace leapt from his bike and let it fall to the road. He scurried up the embankment. “Miss Pearl!” he called excitedly. “Miss Pearl! Martha Jean done had a baby.Velman needs you to get over there right now. He don’t know what to do. Hurry up, Miss Pearl!”

“Lord have mercy. Who caught it?” Miss Pearl asked as she reached the ground.

“Huh?”

“Who caught the baby? Who delivered it?”

“Velman, I guess, ”Wallace answered. “Ain’t nobody there ’cept Velman and Skeeter. Skeeter went to get Miss Shirley, but she too upset ’bout Max and Becky to be bothered.”

“Come on, Rosie,” Miss Pearl said. “Run me over there right quick, see ’bout this child.”

“I ain’t going nowhere,” Mama said.“I gotta wait for Sam.”

“I’ll drive you,” Harvey offered.

“I’m going, too, ”Wallace said.

“Me, too,” I said, and started for Mr. Dobson’s car.

“Tangy Mae, you ain’t going nowhere, ”Mama called down from the porch.“What if I have to run someplace to see ’bout Sam? You gotta be here wit’ the girls.”

“Get my bike out the road, Tan, ”Wallace said as he climbed into the car.

“Wallace, what did she have?” I asked. “What did Martha Jean have?”

“A girl.”

The car pulled off, and I went down to the road to get the bike, then I went to the back porch to pout in private and to plot a diversion that would get me to Motten Street.

forty - three

T
hey did not wait until the wee hours of the morning to retaliate. The first fire broke out on Tuesday evening long before midnight, but we did not stand gazing into darkness as we had done before.These flames were visible, too high, and too close.

We joined a distressed throng on Canyon Street where hoses had been strung from the two closest houses.We raced back and forth with anything that would hold water, filling our vessels from a faucet in Walter Vanna’s yard.We did all we could in a futile attempt to save Logan’s store, then stood back and watched as the fire consumed it.

When there was nothing more to do, we began to disperse, then somebody yelled, “Oh, my God! Look!”

Fire illuminated the northern sky. It was far off, but so bright it seemed that all of Plymouth was burning.Walter Vanna, Glenn Henderson, and a few of the other men piled into cars and drove off toward Plymouth. Mama joined some of the women who stood on the wet pavement of Canyon Street to speculate about the distant fire.

Tarabelle grumbled angrily, and I understood why. We were tired, wet, and reeking of smoke, and it didn’t matter what was burning because we didn’t have the strength to fight it, anyway.We left Mama and Wallace on Canyon Street, but took the girls with us as we headed for home.

The following morning I left early for work, and because I could not go through town, it took me nearly thirty minutes longer to get to North Ridge. I arrived at the Whitmans’ house to find Miss Veatrice blocking my entrance.

“Hey, honey,” she said in a pleasant greeting. “I didn’t expect to see you today. I’m glad you came, but I can’t let you in. Bakker says you can’t work here anymore. He says he won’t stand for having niggers in his house, not with the way they’re acting around here. He says they burned down half the town.”

“I had nothing to do with that, Miss Veatrice,” I said.

“That’s what I told Bakker, but he said it didn’t matter. You’re one of them, honey, and I can’t let you in here. Bakker says if I see you coming, I’m to lock the door, but I didn’t think you’d want to do anything to me.”

“What could I do to you?”

She giggled.“Why, you could burn my house down.That’s what you could do. Only it ain’t my house. Did I tell you I’m getting married?”

“That’s nice, Miss Veatrice,” I said, backing down from the porch.

“Where’re you going?” she asked.

“I’m going to school. If I’m not going to work today, then I should be in school.”

“They burned it down, you know. Last night they went and burned it down. It’s gone, honey. Bakker says they hit all the nig-ger towns last night.You may as well stay and visit with me because your school is gone.”

“I don’t believe you, Miss Veatrice. My school is still standing,” I said, as my feet touched the ground.“How could anybody burn the school down?”

“Well, they didn’t bother your church. Bakker says . . .”

I began to run. I ran away from Miss Veatrice and her little white house with green shutters, then taking a detour around town, I ran along the shoulder of the four-lane highway and kept running until I reached Motten Street and Skeeter’s house. I was breathless and bending over when Velman opened the door.

“Hey.Who’s chasing you?” he asked.

“Nobody. I came to see my niece.”

Holding a finger to his lips to keep me quiet, he led me through the house toward his bedroom. “They’re sleeping,” he whispered. “Catch yo’ breath, and I’ll let you peek in on ’em.”

Martha Jean’s body formed a half circle around the baby, and they both slept peacefully, undisturbed by the world outside. I leaned over the bed, raised the blanket covering the baby, then touched her tiny hand just for the warmth of it.

“I’m an aunt,” I whispered.

Velman nodded.“And I’m a daddy,” he said proudly.“Her name is Mary Ann.”

We tipped from the room, and I took a seat on the couch. “Where’s Skeeter?” I asked.

“Up the street with Miss Shirley. They’ll be back shortly,” Velman said, as he sat beside me. “Miss Shirley’s helping out with the baby. Kinda hard when you can’t get into town to get things, but we got just about everything we need. Still, I’ll be glad when they take them barricades down. The way I hear it, didn’t that much burn in town no way—just the furniture store and the Western Auto that’s next to it, and that’s about all.”

“I heard it was more than that,” I said.“I don’t know what we’re gonna do. Half the people can’t get to work, and now there’s no school.”

“You can go to school,” he said. “It was the new one they burned down, the one they were building.”

“Miss Veatrice told me they burned the school down, and I just assumed she meant the old one. She let me go this morning, said her brother didn’t want Negroes in his house.”

“Yeah, well, when it rains it pours, ”Velman said, taking my hand and squeezing it.

“I can’t understand why anybody would want to destroy something they’ve worked so hard at building,” I said.

“If Hambone was telling the truth, they didn’t put much work into it. Remember? He said they were just throwing it together.”

I nodded.

His eyes met mine and he sighed.“Little sister, are things getting any better for you? I wrote a letter to Mushy and asked her to come.”

I eased my hand from his and stood up from the couch. “She won’t come. And if she does, what can she do?”

“I don’t know, but we’ll think of something.” He stood, too, and wrapped his arms around me.“We’ll think of something, little sister.”

I pulled away from him.“I have to go.”

“Trust me,” he said.

“I do,” I answered.“That’s what’s keeping me alive.” I winked to let him know that I was teasing when I wasn’t teasing at all.