“You don’t have to sit in the back anymore. You can sit right up front.”
The ghost woman moved to a seat closer, but still not too close up front. The baby fretted. The young mother comforted her as best she could.
They rode in silence for a while. Ray checked in the rearview mirror every now and then. She gave no reflection, but when he looked over his shoulder, she was there, all right. “Nobody will ever believe this,” he mumbled. “
I
don’t believe it.
“Things have gotten much better since you’ve been … away,” he said, wishing immediately that he hadn’t opened his mouth. Still he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—stop talking.
“I owe this job to a little woman just about your size named Mrs. Rosa Parks. Down in Montgomery, Alabama, one day, Mrs. Parks refused to give up a seat she’d paid for just because she was a colored woman.”
Eula Mae sat motionless. There was no way of telling if she had heard or not. Ray kept talking. “Well, they arrested her. So the colored people decided to boycott the buses. Nobody rode for over a year. Walked everywhere, formed carpools, or just didn’t go, rather than ride a bus. The man who led the boycott was named Reverend King.Smart man. We’re sure to hear more about him in the future.… You still with me?” Ray looked around. Yes, she was there. The baby had quieted. It was much warmer on the bus now.
Slowly Ray inched along the icy road, holding the bus steady, trying to keep the back wheels from racing out of control. “Where was I?” he continued. “Oh yeah, things changed after that Montgomery bus boycott. This job opened up. More changes are on the way. Get this: They got an Irish Catholic running for President. Now, what to do you think about that?”
About that time Ray pulled the bus over at Seventeenth Street. The lights at Gale Hospital sent a welcome message to those in need on such a frosty night. “This is it.”
Eula Mae raised her head. “You’re a kind man,” she said. “Thank you.”
Ray opened the door. The night air gusted up the steps and nipped at his ankles. Soundlessly, Eula Mae stepped off the bus with her baby.
“Excuse me,” Ray called politely. “About the bus fare. No need for you to make a special trip … back. Consider it a gift.”
He thought he saw Eula Mae Daniels smile as she vanished into the swirling snow, never to be seen again.
The Conjure Brother
Until recently, most rural Southern towns had a resident conjure woman who sold her knowledge of the powers of roots and herbs for donations of food or clothing. Though some people laughed at the conjure woman’s spells and potions, others swore by her ability to change luck or cure an ailment. Every now and then a conjure woman came along whose powers transcended those of the ordinary “root doctors.” There was no limit to what she could do.
J osie was tired of being the only child in the Hudson family. Her friends JoBeth and Arthur Lee had lots of brothers and sisters between them. Josie wanted a brother.
“I’m the girl in the family,” she reasoned. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a boy? Then I could be the sister and he could be the brother. What do you think?” Josie asked her mother.
Mama always had a ready answer. “I forgot to let the stork know we moved from Kennerly Street to Harrison Avenue last year,” she said,taking plates down from the cabinet. Josie set the table. Mama smiled, then winked playfully. “So you see, he doesn’t know where to bring a baby.”
Josie knew better. Arthur Lee had told her and JoBeth how babies came into the world. “When your mother and father want a new baby, first your mama has to get fat,” he’d said confidently. “She eats and eats until it looks like she’s going to pop. But she doesn’t. She goes to the hospital to lose the weight. Then they get to choose a baby. That’s how it works.”
Weeks passed and Mama stayed skinny. “She chews on celery,” Josie told Arthur Lee and
The ghost woman moved to a seat closer, but still not too close up front. The baby fretted. The young mother comforted her as best she could.
They rode in silence for a while. Ray checked in the rearview mirror every now and then. She gave no reflection, but when he looked over his shoulder, she was there, all right. “Nobody will ever believe this,” he mumbled. “
I
don’t believe it.
“Things have gotten much better since you’ve been … away,” he said, wishing immediately that he hadn’t opened his mouth. Still he couldn’t—or wouldn’t—stop talking.
“I owe this job to a little woman just about your size named Mrs. Rosa Parks. Down in Montgomery, Alabama, one day, Mrs. Parks refused to give up a seat she’d paid for just because she was a colored woman.”
Eula Mae sat motionless. There was no way of telling if she had heard or not. Ray kept talking. “Well, they arrested her. So the colored people decided to boycott the buses. Nobody rode for over a year. Walked everywhere, formed carpools, or just didn’t go, rather than ride a bus. The man who led the boycott was named Reverend King.Smart man. We’re sure to hear more about him in the future.… You still with me?” Ray looked around. Yes, she was there. The baby had quieted. It was much warmer on the bus now.
Slowly Ray inched along the icy road, holding the bus steady, trying to keep the back wheels from racing out of control. “Where was I?” he continued. “Oh yeah, things changed after that Montgomery bus boycott. This job opened up. More changes are on the way. Get this: They got an Irish Catholic running for President. Now, what to do you think about that?”
About that time Ray pulled the bus over at Seventeenth Street. The lights at Gale Hospital sent a welcome message to those in need on such a frosty night. “This is it.”
Eula Mae raised her head. “You’re a kind man,” she said. “Thank you.”
Ray opened the door. The night air gusted up the steps and nipped at his ankles. Soundlessly, Eula Mae stepped off the bus with her baby.
“Excuse me,” Ray called politely. “About the bus fare. No need for you to make a special trip … back. Consider it a gift.”
He thought he saw Eula Mae Daniels smile as she vanished into the swirling snow, never to be seen again.
The Conjure Brother
Until recently, most rural Southern towns had a resident conjure woman who sold her knowledge of the powers of roots and herbs for donations of food or clothing. Though some people laughed at the conjure woman’s spells and potions, others swore by her ability to change luck or cure an ailment. Every now and then a conjure woman came along whose powers transcended those of the ordinary “root doctors.” There was no limit to what she could do.
J osie was tired of being the only child in the Hudson family. Her friends JoBeth and Arthur Lee had lots of brothers and sisters between them. Josie wanted a brother.
“I’m the girl in the family,” she reasoned. “Wouldn’t it be nice to have a boy? Then I could be the sister and he could be the brother. What do you think?” Josie asked her mother.
Mama always had a ready answer. “I forgot to let the stork know we moved from Kennerly Street to Harrison Avenue last year,” she said,taking plates down from the cabinet. Josie set the table. Mama smiled, then winked playfully. “So you see, he doesn’t know where to bring a baby.”
Josie knew better. Arthur Lee had told her and JoBeth how babies came into the world. “When your mother and father want a new baby, first your mama has to get fat,” he’d said confidently. “She eats and eats until it looks like she’s going to pop. But she doesn’t. She goes to the hospital to lose the weight. Then they get to choose a baby. That’s how it works.”
Weeks passed and Mama stayed skinny. “She chews on celery,” Josie told Arthur Lee and
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