Harlem Redux

by Persia Walker

  ‘“You’d better make up your mind fast,’ she said.’ The neighbors’ll start talking if they see me standing here like this.’

  “Well, that did it. You could see Miss Lilian didn’t like it, not one bit, but she stepped aside and made for Miss Gem to come in.

  ‘“You ain’t changed a bit,’ Miss Gem said. ‘Still a fool for appearances.’

  “Then she put her hand on her hip and strutted on by. Miss Lilian asked Miss Gem what time her ship had got in, but I think she really wanted to ask Miss Gem when her ship was leaving. Either way, Miss Gem ignored her. Just gave a little wave of her hand. She stood under the light of the vestibule chand’lier. She coulda been an actress standing in the spotlight. Her face glowed; her eyes sparkled. Miss Gem always did have a flair for the dramatic. She just stood there, quiet-like, looking round. Then she whispered sumptin’ about not much having changed. Turned to me, told me it was good to see me. Then she gimme them little pecks on the cheek them Eur’peans pass for kisses. I know they treat the help different over there, but Miss Gem knew she was back in Harlem, where a smart colored woman don’t try to lord it over the help.”

  David smiled at that. Gem knew better than to strut in front of Annie. If anybody in the house could yank Gem’s chain it was this old woman. He raised his cup to his lips and took a sip of coffee, enjoying its bitterness. “Did Gem say exactly where she was all those years?”

  “Miss Lilian tried to ask her, but Miss Gem just waved her away again. Said she’d tell her all about it later; she just wanted to enjoy being home at first. Said she was dying to look ‘round. Wanted to know if her old room was the same. But she didn’t even wait for Miss Lilian’s answer. Miss Gem went to the foot of the stairs and looked up. She pushed her coat off her shoulders, just let that beautiful coat land in a heap at her feet, then she run on up the stairs, never once looking back. Left me and Miss Lilian standing down here with her luggage on the doorstep, like we was bellhops or sumptin’.

  “Miss Lilian turned to me and told me to clean up the downstairs thorough. She grabbed my arm, led me to the parlor, clucking like a worried hen, and pointed out stuff she wanted put away. It didn’t take long to see what she was up to: clearing out all signs of a man in the house. That’s all it was.

  “I said to Miss Lilian: ‘You can’t keep Mr. Jameson a secret. When you gonna tell her?’

  “Her jaw got tense and that look come on her face—you know the one I mean—sort of pained and worried. ‘Not now,’ she said.

  “‘You got to tell her sometime,’ I said.

  “She shook her head. ‘Maybe Gem won’t stay that long,’ she said. ‘She might leave before he gets back.’ Then, she gimme a hug and told me she’d take the luggage upstairs herself.

  “Miss Lilian put off telling Miss Gem about Mr. Jameson for as long as she could. And that was only about a week. She got away with it that long ‘cause Mr. Jameson was outta town. Miss Lilian was real careful about not letting Miss Gem into her bedroom neither, where she coulda seen signs of him. But by-and-by, Miss Lilian lost hope that Miss Gem was back for a quick visit. I don’t know where she thought Miss Gem might go, seeing as how Miss Gem didn’t know nobody in Harlem no more. She’d been away too long.

  “Now cain’t no woman hide the fact that she got a man living with her. ‘Specially when everybody up an’ down the street know about it. I don’t know who that sister of yours thought she was fooling. But even if nobody hadna said nothing, Miss Gem woulda figured it out all by herself. That woman’s got the nose of a cat. She can smell a man hanging round like an alley cat can smell a rat.

  “Well, Miss Gem had me and Miss Lilian running ‘round, serving her like she was the Queen of Sheba. One night she come back ‘round four o’clock in the morning, hissy as a snake. She’d been hanging out at Hayne’s Oriental and somebody’d asked her what she thought of her sister’s new husband. Naturally, she ain’t knowed nothing but nothing about what they was talking about. So, they laid it on thick. I ain’t never seen nobody as angry as Miss Gem at that time of morning.

  “Well, she woke Miss Lilian. Me, too, for that matter. I was in my room, but I could hear them. I reckon the neighbors heard them too, the way they was carrying on. Miss Gem told Miss Lilian she was a fool.

  “‘Don’t you realize he married you for your money?’ she said.

  “Miss Lilian said she didn’t care.

  ‘“Well, you’d better start,’ Miss Gem said. ‘Everybody’s laughing at you. Everybody knows he ain’t no good.’

  “Miss Lilian asked Miss Gem, since when did she care what everybody says. ‘You never cared before,’ Miss Lilian said. ‘And for once I don’t care neither. Everybody thinks they know he doesn’t love me. I know for certain he does.’

  “Then they sorta got quiet. Dropped their voices like. And I’m glad they did, ‘cause I didn’t wanna get involved no way. I don’t have no trouble staying outta other people’s business. Not that anybody ever asked my opinion. But I’ll tell you sumptin’: Laying in the dark that night, I got a sense of foreboding, the likes of which I ain’t never had b’fore. It sat like a rock, here in my chest.”

  She wedged her fist tight up under her bosom. “It was fright’ning to lay in bed and listen to them voices. Voices that sounded like the folk they b’longed to was dead. Voices that made you think of ghosts. Ghosts that kept on fighting into the grave.”

  David shifted uncomfortably. He was a lawyer and lawyers like facts. He didn’t like superstition and any reference to it unsettled him. But what unsettled him more, if he were honest, was the way her words echoed inside him. He was frightened all of a sudden, and he wasn’t quite sure why.

  “What happened next was written on the wall,” she said. “Anybody with eyes to see woulda known what was coming.”

  She picked up her cup and ran a finger over the nicks on its rim.

  “Mr. Jameson come home the next day. Miss Lilian was out running errands. Miss Gem come downstairs looking for Miss Lilian and found Miss Lilian’s husband instead. He was in the parlor, sorting his mail. Miss Gem stopped short in the parlor doorway. She was wearing a frock, red like cherries. I seen her. We’d just got some new flowers for the vestibule and I was standing there fixing them. I must say she looked very pretty that day, very pretty standing there. She was watching Mr. Jameson, waiting for him to see her.

  “He was sitting at your daddy’s old writing desk. He didn’t notice her at first ‘cause he was concentrating on a letter. Had his pipe in his mouth. That man smokes a nice pipe. Uses fine tobacco. Actu’ly, Mr. Jameson’s pretty fine hisself. I got to give the devil his due. He’s the kinda man every Mama warns her girlchild about.

  “Well, I could see Miss Gem just licking her lips. She cleared her throat— real delicate-like but loud ‘nough for him to hear. Mr. Jameson looked up, said hello, and went back to his mail. Then he swung his head back ‘round again. His eyes liked to pop right outta his head.

  “‘Lilian, what have you done to yourself?’ he said.

  “Miss Gem gave him time to take in every pretty detail. Then she sort of floated on in and gave him her hand. Introduced herself, real lady-like. Said it was ‘so nice’ to meet him, just as sweet as she could be.

  “Now, I must say, Mr. Jameson’s got the manners of a gentleman. He stood up quick as lightning. And Miss Gem, she broke into a smile as wide as the Mississippi.

  “‘I like tall men,’ she said, real soft-like. ‘You remind me of Daddy.’

  ‘“Do I, now?’

  “‘Yes, you do.’

  “They shook hands for just a li’l too long, if you know what I mean. Then the front door slammed and they jumped apart. Miss Lilian come in. Fresh as a June breeze. Cheeks all rosy. She was a-glowing. Didn’t have no idea of what was coming at her. But when she saw them two together, she got right pale. Her face got all pinched. She tried to act like it was all right, made a big show of hugging and kissing him. Miss Gem stood by, patient-like, her arms folded cross her che
st. She kept her face all pleasant and polite. Miss Lilian wrapped her arms ‘round Mr. Jameson’s waist. She said she was happy he and Miss Gem had fin’ly met. But she didn’t sound happy. And she told Miss Gem it was nice of her to keep Mr. Jameson comp’ny while she was out. Miss Gem said it was no trouble, no trouble at all.”

  Annie rose from the table and went to the stove. She picked up the coffeepot. “You want some more?” she asked him.

  “No.” He shook his head. “I’ve barely touched what I’ve got.” He let her pour herself a cup, then asked: “So, did Miss Gem try to …” He paused, searching for the words. “Try to, you know ...”

  Annie nodded and her lips tensed. That look of knowledge and disapproval once more flitted across her face. She brought her cup to the table and eased back down onto her chair. “Once she’d met him, Miss Gem was real polite to Mr. Jameson. She didn’t show nothing of her true feelings. Nothing happened: no fireworks, no nothing. Miss Lilian let out a breath of relief. That was one naive child. I coulda told her it was the quiet b’fore the storm. Miss Gem was just biding her time.

  “Oh, she was proper and correct when Miss Lilian was round, but the moment Miss Lilian was outta sight? Hmmm-hm! Miss Gem used to follow Mr. Jameson ‘round with her eyes whenever they was in a room together. She’d say li’l cutting things at the dinner table and look over at Mr. Jameson like they was sharing a secret. She’d find a way to touch him, get close to him, every time she saw him. She’d brush up ‘gainst his shoulder if they happen to come in a room at the same time. She had sumptin’ in mind all right.

  “Miss Lilian saw what was going on, but she wouldn’t let it get to her. She did say sumptin’ to me. Once. We was in the kitchen. She wanted to know about supplies for a dinner party she was planning. I don’t right recall how we got on the subject. Maybe I asked her about the seating. Anyway, she said to make sure Miss Gem’s place at the table was as far down from Mr. Jameson’s as possible. She musta caught my look, ‘cause she turned her eyes away sorta embarrassed. Then, she said, ‘I know there’s nothing to worry about, Annie. Gem’s trying to rile me. She wants to prove that my man’s no good. But we not gonna play her game. He’s not about to give her the satisfaction, and neither am I.’

  “Miss Lilian tried to sound brave, but her voice shook. She weren’t nowhere near as confident as she made out to be. She knew Miss Gem wasn’t one to give up easy. Now I know lots of women woulda put their sister outta the house. But Miss Lilian wasn’t like that. I don’t b’lieve it ever crossed her mind. Still, there was a lotta talk going round. Some people said Miss Lilian was a fool. Said she’d invited the fox into the chicken coup, and was working hard on keeping it there. But Miss Lilian said her marriage was her business. And she was not gonna let the gossips get their way.”

  “Why didn’t Sweet do something to set Gem straight? Say something?”

  “Well, actu’ly, he did. I gotta say he tried. It was about a month later, in late November. Miss Lilian went to a lit’rary conference in Chicago. Mr. Jameson drove her to the train station.

  “That morning, I washed the windows, starting with the downstairs, and worked my way up to the second floor. It got to be ‘round lunchtime. I was heating up some chowder—I love me some soup, ‘specially in the wintertime—and the doorbell rang. It was Miss Gem. She’d gone out and forgotten her key. I let her in. She went on in to the parlor. I went back to the kitchen. I was breaking my last cracker over my soup when I looked up to check the time, and I sees Mr. Jameson’s car pulling up to the house. I let Mr. Jameson in, then came on back in here, finished eating, and did the dishes real quick. The wash was next, so I headed upstairs to get the used linen and dirty clothes. I had to go past the parlor. Them doors weren’t shut all the way. I couldn’t help hearing. Mr. Jameson had joined Miss Gem in the parlor. Now Mr. David, I ain’t never eavesdropped before. Ain't never spied on nobody. But that day, sumptin’ told me to go on and do it. Soon as I saw them two was in there together, I put my eye to the crack in the door and had me a good look-see.

  “Miss Gem had found herself some bootleg liquor and was curled up on the sofa with a glass of it. Mr. Jameson was leaning up ‘gainst the fireplace mantel. He was telling her that Miss Lilian had missed her at breakfast. Miss Gem shrugged like she didn’t care and said she’d see her sister when she got back. Mr. Jameson didn’t like that attitude, didn’t like it at all. But he didn’t say nothing, just took out his cigarette case and lit a Lucky Strike. He smoked for a li’l while, all the time studying Miss Gem. Finally, he turned round and tapped his ashes in the fireplace. Then he gave Miss Gem sumptin’ to think about.

  “‘I’m only going to say this one time,’ he said. ‘And one time only. I won’t let anyone make my Lilian unhappy. I don’t intend to make her unhappy myself. She’s one of a kind.’

  “‘She certainly is,’ said Miss Gem.

  “‘I bless the day she married me.’

  “‘I’m sure you do.’

  “Mr. Jameson liked that answer even less, but he let it go. Miss Gem, she grabbed her drink from where she’d put it on the floor and swung her legs down off the sofa. She sallied on over to the table where she’d stashed her bottle, poured herself another drink, and made one for him, too. Then she sort of sidled on over to him and pressed the glass in his hands.

  “Why wasn’t he smoking his pipe, she wanted to know. Said she liked his pipe. Told him he prob’ly only smoked it to impress women. Well, Mr. Jameson told her that if that was the case, then she’d best take note he wasn’t interested in smoking it ‘round her. Miss Gem gave a little laugh and scolded him for being so direct. Anyway, she said, the only reason he wanted Miss Lilian was the money her daddy left her. She told Mr. Jameson that he and Miss Lilian didn’t have nothing in common. Said that even if he did want her sister, there weren’t no reason why he shouldn’t want her more.

  “Mr. Jameson took a long, hard look at her. Said she must take him for a fool, but he was gonna have to disappoint her. He loved Miss Lilian, he said.

  “‘You mean you love her money,’ Miss Gem said.

  “Mr. Jameson got angry. Said he didn’t care what she thought, but she’d better get one thing straight: Couldn’t nothing happen—not between her and him, not between him and Miss Lilian—if he didn’t say so. He was her sister’s husband and she’d better get used to it.

  “Then he told her that he understood if she was jealous. Said she had reason to be, since Miss Lilian had ‘out-classed’ her and all. Miss Gem got so angry, she threw her glass at him. Mr. Jameson stepped aside and the glass broke at his feet. He laughed at her. Well, Miss Gem couldn’t take that. She went crazy, tried to hit him, but he caught her.

  “‘Don’t,’ he said. ‘Don’t you ever do that again.’

  “He never raised his voice, but you knew he meant business. She told him she didn’t never let nobody laugh at her. He lowered her arm and kissed her wrist, real gentle-like. Then he asked, ‘Is that better?’ Well, it musta been ’cause she got her lazy smile back. She leaned into him. He stroked her face. He cupped her cheeks. Then his grip got tighter. He squeezed so tight it hurt to see. She tried to pull away, but he yanked her back. Then he kissed her. Well, I’m calling it that, but what he done ain’t had nothing to do with no affection. She fought him—leastways, at first she did. Pounded him on the chest and such. But then she started to give in. Started to put her arms around him. And the minute she did that, he let her go. Pushed her away. She fell back, hit the mantelpiece. Mr. David, there was tears in her eyes. That man actually made Miss Gem cry. He got to her. Looked at her with about as much feeling as a butcher’s got for meat. Said the only kinda loving he’d ever have for someone like her would be hard and quick—when he wanted it and how he wanted it.”

  “For ‘someone like her’?”

  “Sure ‘nough. She swore to him that he’d regret it. He shrugged. Said maybe he would—maybe he wouldn’t.”

  Annie sipped her coffee and was silent, thoughtful. “Th
e strange thing of it is, after a while I got the feeling Miss Gem genuinely cared for him. It started as a game, just to spite Miss Lilian. But then Miss Gem fell for him. Fell hard. She changed after he put her down like that. She started treating Miss Lilian with more respect. No more of them sly looks at him.

  “It was just after that, that Miss Gem and Miss Lilian started spending more time together. They’d go on shopping trips. Come back laughing and giggling like they was schoolgirls. I wondered what Miss Gem was up to. Later on, I started to think that maybe she was poisoning Miss Lilian ‘gainst Mr. Jameson.”

  “Why’d you think that?”

  Annie looked at him. “‘Cause of what happened later.”

  And just what was that? David wondered. He could try to get Annie to clarify her statement, but why rush her? He’d find out soon enough what she meant. Pressing his fingertips to his eyebrows, he massaged the muscles over the bridge of his nose. Poisoning Lilian against her husband would be something Gem would do. If she couldn’t have Sweet, then she’d take away the woman he really wanted—and ruin Lilian’s feelings for the man she’d finally found. David looked at Annie and his eyes hurt.

  “What then?”

  “Miss Gem went out and got herself a man of her own, a West Indian guy. Everybody in the neighborhood was talking about it. They said he was a gangster. Well, you never know now, do you? She brought him ‘round here a coupla times. Seemed like a nice ‘nough fellah. Li’l bit older. Quiet. Good to look at. But smooth. Maybe too smooth, when I think about it.

  “Everything seemed so nice for a while. Miss Gem and Miss Lilian was getting along. Miss Gem was going out all the time with her fellah. Miss Lilian was busy with her poetry readings. Then, it all fell apart.