office full of people where we’re under the gun to follow the rules.”
“I told you I would meet with the two of you.”
“Like a referee.”
Shad leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Yeah, like a referee, or like a coach.”
“So who is going to invite her?”
Shad laughed out loud. “You!” He stretched the word out for a few measures.
“Me? It was your big idea. How am I supposed to— What is going to make her say
yes
?”
Shad folded his arms across his chest. “Well, I’m willing to meet you here. You’re going to have to figure out the
how
all by yourself.”
Chapter Nine
I think I need a vacation!” Michelle needed a break from everything. She needed to go to a land where people looked out for one another, where they had the other person’s best interest at heart. When Miz Ida answered the door, Michelle held out the flowers—the ones she had gotten from Tonya—to her. There was no point in letting them go to waste.
“Oh, baby! Come on in.”
It was good, Michelle thought, that there was one person in her life who always did what was expected, and what was expected was always good. “I wasn’t thinking to see you so soon.” Miz Ida’s eyes looked a question that her mouth did not ask.
“I just thought I would drop by.” Michelle held back what was on her mind for as long as she could. She drank the sweet red Kool-Aid Miz Ida gave her—so sweet that Michelle always wanted a glass of water when she finished. Michelle talked about the old neighborhood, how it had gone down, and she asked Miz Ida when she was going to move.
“You know I ain’t moving, baby.”
Michelle talked about nothing until she just couldn’t hold it anymore. Then she let it all out, like helium from a balloon, about work, about Tonya, and about Shadrach’s suggestion. It was good to have someone—at least one someone that she could tell all the details, all the shameful pieces she would have held back from anyone else. And then, since she was telling, she told Miz Ida about Todd and about the drama with Trench.
“By the time I got through fooling with Tonya in the office, she had blown all the good feeling I got from Trench.”
“Oh, baby, why you got to be with somebody like that—somebody that talks bad to you? Why is it so hard to let Todd love you?”
Michelle just shrugged. There was no point in hiding anything. Miz Ida knew everything anyway. She knew about the molestation, the prostitution, the drugs and jail, and about her mother. Miz Ida knew everything. Michelle could stand naked in front of Miz Ida. The old woman knew who she was and loved her anyway.
Michelle laid her head on Miz Ida’s shoulder.
Thank God for her.
Miz Ida shook her head, her chin brushing the top of Michelle’s hair. “You acted all crazy in the office, like that? So, you think this woman at work is trying to hurt you?” Michelle could feel Miz Ida’s chest rising and falling as she spoke.
“Well, maybe not hurt me, Miz Ida. More like she’s trying to control me and trying to make me be like her. She keeps watching me and trying to tell me what to do, like she’s some kind of preacher or like she’s my momma.”
“And we all know how you feel about that.”
Michelle lifted her head from Miz Ida’s shoulder. “What do you mean? Why did you say it that way?”
Miz Ida looked Michelle square in the eye. “Because that issue—
the momma thing
—just hangs around your neck like a rope waiting to choke you. Things in your life are always going to be off-kilter until you make some peace with who you are and where you come from and about who you belong to.”
“Miz Ida, we keep having this conversation about my momma, about God and everything. What is it you want me to do?”
She put her arm around Michelle’s shoulders. “What I want is for you to get yourself together on this thing. Look, Michelle, your momma wasn’t perfect. But she did what she knew to do. She fed you and she kept a roof over your
“I told you I would meet with the two of you.”
“Like a referee.”
Shad leaned back in his chair and smiled. “Yeah, like a referee, or like a coach.”
“So who is going to invite her?”
Shad laughed out loud. “You!” He stretched the word out for a few measures.
“Me? It was your big idea. How am I supposed to— What is going to make her say
yes
?”
Shad folded his arms across his chest. “Well, I’m willing to meet you here. You’re going to have to figure out the
how
all by yourself.”
Chapter Nine
I think I need a vacation!” Michelle needed a break from everything. She needed to go to a land where people looked out for one another, where they had the other person’s best interest at heart. When Miz Ida answered the door, Michelle held out the flowers—the ones she had gotten from Tonya—to her. There was no point in letting them go to waste.
“Oh, baby! Come on in.”
It was good, Michelle thought, that there was one person in her life who always did what was expected, and what was expected was always good. “I wasn’t thinking to see you so soon.” Miz Ida’s eyes looked a question that her mouth did not ask.
“I just thought I would drop by.” Michelle held back what was on her mind for as long as she could. She drank the sweet red Kool-Aid Miz Ida gave her—so sweet that Michelle always wanted a glass of water when she finished. Michelle talked about the old neighborhood, how it had gone down, and she asked Miz Ida when she was going to move.
“You know I ain’t moving, baby.”
Michelle talked about nothing until she just couldn’t hold it anymore. Then she let it all out, like helium from a balloon, about work, about Tonya, and about Shadrach’s suggestion. It was good to have someone—at least one someone that she could tell all the details, all the shameful pieces she would have held back from anyone else. And then, since she was telling, she told Miz Ida about Todd and about the drama with Trench.
“By the time I got through fooling with Tonya in the office, she had blown all the good feeling I got from Trench.”
“Oh, baby, why you got to be with somebody like that—somebody that talks bad to you? Why is it so hard to let Todd love you?”
Michelle just shrugged. There was no point in hiding anything. Miz Ida knew everything anyway. She knew about the molestation, the prostitution, the drugs and jail, and about her mother. Miz Ida knew everything. Michelle could stand naked in front of Miz Ida. The old woman knew who she was and loved her anyway.
Michelle laid her head on Miz Ida’s shoulder.
Thank God for her.
Miz Ida shook her head, her chin brushing the top of Michelle’s hair. “You acted all crazy in the office, like that? So, you think this woman at work is trying to hurt you?” Michelle could feel Miz Ida’s chest rising and falling as she spoke.
“Well, maybe not hurt me, Miz Ida. More like she’s trying to control me and trying to make me be like her. She keeps watching me and trying to tell me what to do, like she’s some kind of preacher or like she’s my momma.”
“And we all know how you feel about that.”
Michelle lifted her head from Miz Ida’s shoulder. “What do you mean? Why did you say it that way?”
Miz Ida looked Michelle square in the eye. “Because that issue—
the momma thing
—just hangs around your neck like a rope waiting to choke you. Things in your life are always going to be off-kilter until you make some peace with who you are and where you come from and about who you belong to.”
“Miz Ida, we keep having this conversation about my momma, about God and everything. What is it you want me to do?”
She put her arm around Michelle’s shoulders. “What I want is for you to get yourself together on this thing. Look, Michelle, your momma wasn’t perfect. But she did what she knew to do. She fed you and she kept a roof over your
Similar Books
