Gumbo

by E. Lynn Harris

  “But that Fortune.” Miss Merle look both ways up and down the street and in she rearview mirror to make sure the coast is clear, before leaning out the window to meet your eyes with her own murky black ones. “Boyboy, tell me a true true reason she come back from America so fast. That reason she live in that house all alone, nobody come, nobody go, no man, no friend nobody. You tell me Yvette, why is a woman look like that not have a man and no children to speak of? Taunting and tempting with she little shirts and breasts bouncing?” Beads of sweat form above Miss Merle's upper lip and spit flecks at the corners of her broken prune mouth. Then she sees Ramon and Cedrick approaching up the street and winds herself back into the car, breathing heavily.

  “Tante, are you alright?” you ask, half amused, and a little worried for the state she's gotten herself into.

  Staring straight ahead out the windshield, gripping the steering wheel, Miss Merle murmurs under her breath. “Obeah, I tell you, the girl is obeah woman or one ladiablesse, you mark my words Yvette, be careful with Dulce child!”

  You lean into the car window and pat her shoulder, give her brown paper cheek a kiss. “Is alright Auntie, Devil Woman and thing, none of them happen here anymore. Don't worry about me and Sello.” You hear the rhythmic squawking and the silence of Ramon catching the hens and killing them. He was always the fastest and the best at it of all his brothers. He brings the bodies in a basket out to the car.

  “Thanks, cousin,” you say as he puts them in the back seat.

  “Eh eh!” exclaims Ramon to Miss Merle. “Auntie, what have you so frighten? Look like you see one jumbie!”

  Miss Merle doesn't respond to his teasing except for one long suck-teeth. She puts her car into gear and drives off in a cloud of dust which leads Ramon to speculate on the rain that has been long in coming. You give him twenty dollars and he heads home, whistling.

  Now it's past noon and too hot for business or money, but you add up the dollars in your head anyway. Forty-five dollars a chicken, you've made enough for today, anyone else would be extra. And besides, is almost time for Fortune to come home from her job at the market in town.

  You close your eyes, feel the beads of sweat on your forehead, breathe the heat and tobacco from your own upper lip. The trees sway in the yard and on the hill across the road—cocoa, flamboyant, mango, jack fruit, and banana—just enough breeze to make a whisper of cool and force the leaves sing. From time to time a neighbor passes, or a cousin, on foot or in a wheezy car, and you wave them “Good afternoon.”

  Then here she comes, slightly slower of step than in the morning, eyes open not as wide, sandals still slap slapping the dusty road. On her head she balances a parcel must be brought from the market and a next one in the hand opposite the hand bag. She fills your horizon with her colors and packages.

  You remember coming to her after midnight and leaving before dawn, the timeless embrace between. When she knelt above you, her hair was a net to catch the shadows, she coaxed out the light within you to bursting. The land and hollow of her, the slackness of her belly from the child she left in New York, the salt in the crevice of the backs of her knees, in the crow's feet near her eyes, released. Afterward, you slept lightly enough to hear Sello if he cried out, and, for those few hours, you listened to her breathe. Before roostercall, you slipped out her back door and behind Auntie Pricille's house to your own. Her jasmine smell enveloped you, you still tasted her on your lips.

  As she draws even to your gate, she nods you a greeting, a hint of a smile beyond the tiredness at the corners of her eyes. I will see you under the belt of Orion, it says. I will see you when the rooster is still. When the lily closes its eyes for the day, and the old women sleep upright in their easy chairs, hold me like milk in a river of stones. Wash me in stars, I will be your good Fortune.

  $100 and Nothing!

  BY J. CALIFORNIA COOPER

  Where we live is not a big town like some and not a little town like some, but somewhere in the middle, like a big little town. Things don't happen here very much like other places, but on the other hand, I guess they do. Just ever once in awhile, you really pay tention to what is going on around you. I seen something here really was something! Let me tell you!

  Was a woman, friend of mind born here and her mama birthed her and gave her to the orphan house and left town. Her mama had a sister, but the sister had her own and didn't have time for no more mouths, she said. So the orphan home, a white one, had to keep her. They named her “Mary.” Mary. Mary live there, well, “worked” there bout fifteen years, then they let her do outside work too and Mary saved her money and bought an acre of land just outside town for $5.00 and took to plantin it and growing things and when they were ready, she bring them into town and sell em. She made right smart a money too, cause soon as she could, she bought a little house over there at the end of the main street, long time ago, so it was cheap, and put up a little stall for her vegetables and added chickens and eggs and all fresh stuff, you know. Wasn't long fore she had a little store and added more things.

  Now the mens took to hanging round her and things like that! She was a regular size woman, she had real short hair and little skinny bow legs, things like that, but she was real, real nice and a kind person . . . to everybody.

  Anyway, pretty soon, one of them men with a mouth full of sugar and warm hands got to Mary. I always thought he had a mouth full of “gimme” and a hand full of “reach,” but when I tried to tell her, she just said, with her sweet soft smile, “maybe you just don't know him, he alright.” Anyway, they got married.

  Now he worked at Mr. Charlie's bar as a go-for and a clean-up man. After they got married I thought he would be working with Mary, in the field and in the store, you know. But he said he wasn't no field man and that that store work was woman's work lessen he stand at the cash register. But you know the business wasn't that fast so wasn't nobody gonna be standing up in one spot all day doing nothing over that cigar box Mary used for a cash register.

  Anyway, Mary must have loved him cause she liked to buy him things, things I knew that man never had; nice suits and shirts and shoes, socks and things like that. I was there once when she was so excited with a suit to give him and he just looked at it and flipped its edges and told her to “hang it up and I'll get to it when I can,” said, “I wouldn'ta picked that one, but you can't help it if you got no eye for good things!” Can you magine!? That man hadn't had nothing!! I could see he was changing, done spit that sugar out!!

  Well, Mary's business picked up more and more and everybody came to get her fresh foods. It was a clean little store and soon she had a cash register and counters and soda water and canned goods and oh, all kinds of stuff you see in the big stores. She fixed that house up, too, and doing alright!! But, she didn't smile so much anymore . . . always looking thoughtful and a little in pain inside her heart. I took to helping her round the store and I began to see why she had changed. HE had changed! Charles, her husband! He was like hell on wheels with a automatic transmission! She couldn't do nothing right! She was dumb! Called her store a hole in the wall! Called her house “junk!” Said wasn't none of that stuff “nothing.”

  But I notice with the prosperity he quit working for Mr. Charlie and got a car and rode around and walked around and played around! Just doing nothing! And when people go to telling Mary how smart she was and how good she doing and they glad she there, I heard him say at least a hundred times, “I could take $100 and nothing and have more than this in a year!!” Didn't like to see her happy and smiling! I think he was jealous, but he coulda been working right beside her! When he married her it was his business, too! I heard her tell him that and guess what he answered? “I don't need that hole in the wall with stuff sitting there drawing flies, I'll think of something of my own!” Lord, it's so many kinds of fools in the world you just can't keep up with them!!

  I went home to lunch with Mary once and he got mad cause we woke him up as we was talking softly and eating. Lord, did he talk about Mary!
Talked about her skinny legs and all under her clothes and her kinky hair. She tried to keep it up but she worked and sweat too hard, for him! She just dropped her head deeper down into her plate and I could see she had a hard time swallowing her food.

  Then, she try to buy him something nice and he told her to give it to the Salvation Army cause he didn't want it and that he was going to give everything he had to the Salvation Army that she had picked cause it ain't what he liked! Ain't he something! Somebody trying to be good to you and you ain't got sense enough to understand kindness and love.

  She cook good food for him, too, and he mess with it and throw it out saying he don't like her cooking, he feel like eating out! Now!

  Just let me tell you! She want a baby. He say he don't want no nappy head, skinny, bow-leg baby and laughed at her.

  She want to go out somewhere of a evening, he say he ain't going nowhere with the grocery bag woman!

  I didn't mean to, but once I heard her ask him why he slept in the other bedroom stead of with her one night—she had three bedrooms—and he said he couldn't help it, sometime he rather sleep with a rock, a big boulder, than her. She came back in with tears in her eyes that day, but she never complain, not to me anyway and I was her best friend.

  Anyway, Mary took to eatin to get fat on her legs and bout five or six months, she was fat! Bout 200 pounds but her legs was still small and skinny and bowed. He really went to talking bout her then, even in the store, front of other people. Called her the Hog! Said everybody else's Hog was a Cadillac but his was his wife! And laugh! He all the time laughing at her. They never laugh together, in front of me, anyway.

  So, one day Mary say she going to take care some business for a few days and she went off alone. He say “Go head, do what she want to do.” He don't care bout what she do! “Do whatever!” Just like that! Whatever! Whatever! Didn't finish it like other people do, like “Whatever you want to,” just, “Whatever!” I guess he heard it somewhere and thought it was smart to say it like that. Well, when Mary come back, I coulda fell out cause she brought one of her cousins, who was a real looker; long hair, big busts, and big legs and a heart full of foolishness. Maybelline was her name and she worked in the store all day, I can't lie about that, she sure did help Mary, but where she got the strength, I don't know, cause she worked the men all night! In three or four months she had gone through all the legible men in town, some twice, and then all the married illegible ones, some of them twice too. She was a go-getter, that Maybelline. But, she did help Mary and Mary seemed to need more help cause she was doing poorly in her health. She was sighing, tired and achy all the time now.

  But she still took care of her business, the paper work and all, you know. Once, I saw Charles come into the store and she needed him to sign a few things, if you please, and he took them papers and bragged to the fellas in the store that “See, I got to sign things around here to keep things goin.” He didn't even read them, just waved his hand and signed them and handed them to Mary without even looking at her, like she was a secretary or something, and went on out and drove off with a big grin looking 50¢ worth of importance, to me anyway.

  Well, Mary just kep getting worse off. I told her to see a doctor and she said she had in the big city and she had something they couldn't cure but she wish I wouldn't tell nobody, so I didn't. But I felt so bad for her I loved her. I knew whatever was killing her was started by a heavy sad heart, shaking hands, a sore spirit, hot tears, deep, heavy sighs, hurtful swallows and oh, you know, all them kinda things.

  Soon she had to stay home in bed. Wasn't no long sickness though, I could see she was going fast. Near the end, one day I saw her out in her back yard picking up rocks and I knew the dear soul must be losing her mind also and I took her back in the house and tried to get her to let loose the rocks and throw them away, but she wouldn't let go. She was sick but she was strong in her hands, from all that work, I guess, she just held on to them, so I said, “Shit, you ain't never had too much you wanted to hold on to so hold the rocks if that what you want!” And she did.

  Now, she asked Charles to take Maybelline back to the city to get the rest of Maybelline's things to move down there and Charles didn't mind at all cause I had seen him looking that Maybelline upways, downways, and both sideways and I could tell he liked what he saw and so could Maybelline cause she was always posing or prancing. Anyway, they went for a day, one night and back the next day. Before they went, I saw Charles sit on the side of Mary's bed and, first time I ever saw him do it, take her hand and hold it, then bend down and kiss her on the forehead. Musta been thinking bout what he was going to do to Maybelline while they was gone, but anyway, I'm glad he did do it. It brought tears to Mary's eyes. Then, they were gone and before they got back, Mary was gone.

  I have to stop a minute cause everytime I think of that sweet woman . . .

  She had told me what to do, the funeral and all, so I had taken care of some of those things and Mary was already gone to the funeral home and the funeral was the next day.

  When they come home or back, whatever!, all they had to do was get ready to go to the parlor. I don't know when or nothing like that, but when Charles went to the closet to get something to wear, the closet was bare, except for a note: “Dear Charles,” it say, “They gone to the Salvation Army just like you always say you want. Yours truly, Mary.”

  Now that man run all over trying to find some way to get them back but they was nice things and somebody had done bought them or either kept them, you know what I mean? Then, he rush over to the bank to get some money and found out his name wasn't on the account no more! The manager gave him a letter say: “Dear Charles, You told me so many times you don't need me or nothing that is mine. Not going to force you to do nothing you don't want to do! Always, Mary.”

  His named was replaced with Maybelline's so naturally he went to see her at the store. She say sure, and give him $50 and he say, “Come go with me and help me pick it out,” and she say she ain't got time. So he told her take time. She say. “I got to take care this business and close the store for the funeral.” He say, “I'll close the store, this ain't your business to worry about.” She say, “This my store.” He say, “Are you crazy?” She say, “I ain't crazy. I'm the boss!” He say, “I'm Mary's husband, what's here is mine!” She say, “That's true, but this store ain't hers, it's mine! I bought it from her!” He say, “With what? You can't afford to buy no store as nice as this!” She say, “Mary lent me the money; it's all legal; lawyer and everything!” He say, “How you gon' pay her back? You got to pay me, bitch!” She say, “No . . . no . . . when Mary died, all debt clear.” He say, “I'll see about that!” She say, “Here, here the lawyer's name and number.” He snatched it and left. He musta found out she was right and it was legal cause I never heard no more about it.

  Now everybody bringing food and all, the house was full, but I was among the last to go and when Charles got ready to go to bed he say he wasn't going to sleep in the room Mary died in and he went into the third bedroom. I heard him holler and went in there and the covers was pulled back and the bed was full of rocks . . . and a note say: “Dear Charles, Tried to get what you wanted, couldn't carry no boulder, honest. Yours, Mary.” Me, I just left.

  Next morning he opens the food cupboard and it was almost empty, but for a note and note say: “Dear Charles, here is 30 days supply of food. Waste that too. Yours, Mary.” I'm telling you, his life was going upside down. He and Maybelline stayed in that house alone together and that old Charles musta had something going on that was alright cause pretty soon they were married. I knew he thought he was marrying that store again, but let me tell you, Maybelline was pretty and fleshy but she couldn't count and didn't like to pay bills or the workers on that little piece of land of Mary's and pretty soon she was broke and the store was closed cause nothing wasn't in there but some old brown dead lettuce and turned up carrots and empty soda bottles and tired squashy tomatoes didn't nobody want. Charles didn't have nothing but an almos
t empty house. They cussed and fought and she finally left saying she wasn't really his wife cause she didn't have no divorce from her last husbands! So there!

  Now, that ought to be all but let me finish telling you this cause I got to go now and see bout my own life.

  Exactly a year passed from the day Mary had passed and a white lady and a black lady came to Mary's house with some papers and I heard a lot of hollering and shouting after a bit and Charles was putting them out. They waved those papers and said they would be back . . . and they did, a week later, with the Sheriff. Seems like Mary had give Charles one year to live there in the house and then it was to go, all legally, to be a orphan home for black children.

  Welllll, when everything was over, I saw him sitting outside in his car, kinda raggedy now, just sitting there looking at the house. I took a deep breath and went to my dresser and got out the envelope Mary had give me to give him one year from her death, at this time. I looked at it awhile thinking bout all that had happened and feeling kind of sorry for Charles till I remembered we hoe our own rows and what we plants there, we picks. So I went on out and handed him the envelope through the car window. He rolled me red eyes and a dirty look and opened the envelope and saw a one hundred dollar bill and . . . a note. He read it with a sad, sad look on his face. “Dear Charles, here is $100. Take all the nothing you want and in a year you'll have everything. Yours truly, your dead wife, Mary.” Well, he just sat there a minute, staring at the money and the note, then started his car up and slowly drove away without so much as “good-by.” Going somewhere to spend that money I guess, or just stop and stare off into space . . . Whatever!