When they got home, even Rosalie was silent, watching her cousins march up the staircase as if they were going to their execution. No cheery good nights, no laughing and chasing. It felt as though they were caught in some great dark pit where the sun couldn’t reach. She kissed her mother goodnight on the cheek and started to take her sister’s hand to get her ready for bedtime but Rosalie pulled away, her eyes filing with tears. There simply wasn’t any room left for an additional emotion so Trinity simply walked to the paint smelling hall and undressed in the dark, sliding into bed without even saying her prayers, hoping the sun wouldn’t shine the next morning to wake her. But it did. This was California. The sun always shone in California, except when it didn’t. Though the two-story house became silent enough for her to be wakened by the occasional barking of the wild sea lions by the lighthouse on The Point, Trinity could no longer lay there simply listening to the uneven beating of her heart as it matched the pound of the surf. As she stepped into the hallway, she instinctively looked to her right but her sister’s bedroom door was shut and the there wasn’t any light on under her parent’s bedroom door. She put on her slippers and her coat, stepping out into the central area where the ceiling to floor murals made her feel like she had to hold her breath because she was under the sea! She took a cautious step into the center of the aisle formed by the furniture in the living room to her left and the unused dining room table with its eighteen chairs holding down a place under a blue whale’s belly as it strove mighty to reach the surface of the water painted at the very edge of the attic door. Warmth blew under the door behind her, mixing with the sea stenches that eluded the seal on the patio door. The light was off but she could hear the light thud of clothing falling around the metallic cylinder during the final drying cycle, and knowing someone might tiptoe out to put the clothes in the dryer before they went to sleep for the night, she simply waited until her eyes adjusted enough to assure herself that Granny Mayhew was asleep in the lounge chair, the still air pungent with old, stale urine odors, then she slipped into the darkened clothes room and made sure she unlocked the back door before pulling it shut behind her. After the clinging smells of laundry detergent and bleach, the air that struck her face seemed oddly pine and chilled. Greeting her like a lonesome puppy happy to find someone awake in the dark of the night so it could coax her out to the edge of the lawn to play. Feeling the unmowed clumps of grass under her slippers, she wanted nothing that would cling to her memory and add regrets when they returned to Chicago, but even as she tried to deny the impulse, the moonlit majesty of the Pacific ocean drew her to its edge as she watched three plumes of mist rising off the water as a pair of grown whales and a calf swam past in the lighted shallows just inside the line of the horizon. She didn’t need to use her birthday gift, and her only regret was that she wasn’t likely too before they had to return to pick up the pieces of their interrupted lives. She had no qualms about her Dad being accepted back at his old job, they’d done their best to keep him at Shedd’s and she was sure it would be a simply matter to make up her lost lessons at Nana’s Academy with her grandmother right there at the kitchen table to answer any of her questions. It was only her music lessons where she’d have to review. She hadn’t opened the violin case since they left Chicago either.

            She lost all sense of time as the stars thickened and drew nearer in the cold. When she first heard her father’s voice, she gave a small leap forward, then quickly scrambled back, though she was well away from the crumbling edge of the cliff. She was both shocked and relieved that one of her parents had sought her out, even though she was already resigned to returning with them and her aunt and uncle. It was nice that someone thought to ask her opinion this time. When her Dad found a smooth boulder to rest on, she climbed up beside him, burrowing into his plaid jacket for warmth. She waited for him to tease her and ask if she was intending to jump off the cliff but he reached up his ribcage and allowed a sigh to fall out that disquieted her.

            “  It wasn’t suppose to be this way.  “

            He was speaking, but not to her. She looked up instinctively; expecting to see Nana Stevens standing there, so real was the feeling that she was confronting them in that quiet, almost implacable manner of hers when she was proved right. 

            “  We’ll have to use the airport in San Jose, it’s miles closer than San Francisco. “

            She moved her head but he still didn’t seem to be speaking to her. This time she wondered if he even remembered she was there?  He turned and looked at her, as if he had felt her asking the question.  “  Nana has your room set up. We’ll send the rest of your things later, after we get them all sorted out. Right now everything is in boxes and I’m afraid they’ve ben hopelessly jumbled. “

            “  We’ll sort it out when we get home, Daddy.  “  She said, meaning to be supportive but he shook his head, causing his tears to strike the back of her left hand.

            “  There isn’t time enough. “   He started to say, then he stopped and she was shocked to see that tears were gathering under his eyelids. When she looked at her mother for reassurance, she was looking away, her knotted fist pressed against her mouth as if to keep the angry words locked in.

            Trinity was silent as she sorted out the hidden meaning, her heart dropping to her kneecaps as she remembered the last private conversation between her father and his mother. Nana always won. Nana was always right.

            “  Trevor can help with Baby Michael and Mrs. Taylor…. “  His voice trailed off but she was too tense to be concerned about his feelings.

            “  What do you mean Trevor? Mrs. Taylor? What about me? Are you mad at me? You’re mad at me! You blame me!  “  She wailed, the last of her word so high pitched it awakened the sea colony and garnering a throaty rebuke.

            “  Mad at you for what, Baby?  “  Her Dad’s voice demanded, but she was blinded by tears and she used her nails to get his hand free from her wrist as she pulled away from him several steps. “  Mad at you for what, Baby?  “  Her Dad repeated. “  You haven’t done anything! It was my idea! I was the one who broke us up! Mother’s right, your Gift is too special to risk! I had my chance and I blew it! El is right!  “

            “  Everybody else is right! You’re wrong! Your wrong! “  She screamed shrilly, and fleeing from him as fast as her slippers would hold on the slick grass, she ran back to the patio, throwing open the unwieldy door, not caring if it locked behind her or not. It must have remained unlocked because she heard her father’s slow footsteps in the hall, although she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep in the bed, then the light went out from under her door and she finally slept, feeling as though she’d been buried alive in an unmarked grave.

            The next morning her mother avoided her eyes and her Dad said nothing about their conversation. As Beth waited beside her for the school bus to reach the top of the hill, she leaned over and asked her to tell her about it when they shared library time as their third period ‘Home Room’. Trinity was sure she couldn’t say a word about anything, without it all falling out, under Beth’s coaxing and genuine concern she found herself telling everything she feared and accepting that the worst case scenario was fact.

Since none of her white classmates knew what to expect now that her father would no longer be building a marine rescue center near the lighthouse, none of them approached the scowling pair too near. Nor did her mother or father bring it up with her, but as boxes were being put away through the rest of the house, hers remained in the closet. “Out of sight, out of mind.”   Wednesday saw the return of the rain, although this was an El Nino year. By Friday, when things seemed to have calmed down for the school to notice that six new Black students had invaded it, the buzz was last night’s fire which destroyed the apparently inferior lumber purposed by the former Mayor before a full investigation could begin, taxing the municipality’s already challenged budget in paying for a private detective to try and track and track down the actual events in an another city miles away. Beth remained the only friend she made in school once Sarah Redding, the Principal’s niece started spreading rumors about the ‘invasion’ taking place in their tiny town.

            “  It’s Saturday, Trin.  “ Her mother coaxed but Trinity remained stiff, trying to pretend she was still asleep. Her mother’s tone never altered but she simply said she needed her to dress and help her to help unpack the remainder of the boxes. It was a summons she couldn’t ignore. Like she attempted to do her sister. Causing them to become even more tense with one another. She couldn’t help herself. She hated being here and she hated them for making her move here. When she saw their stocky landlord attempting to help by carrying the out-sized cardboard boxes from the back of the station wagon only as far as the slick deck she wanted to scream at him to go home and leave them alone. If he couldn't do it right, then just don't help at all! But strangely, her conscience fighting within seemed to tip the scale towards acceptance as her mother continued to show such patience with the gentle giant, and her. Unlike her Aunt who was seeking ways to find fault with her if she dared to step indoors while she and the Cousins were forced to briefly occupy the downstairs portion of the two and a half story house. It was as if they were strangers being forced to share the same boarding house. And even while she understood, her aunt and uncle had given up well paying jobs where they were accepted by their colleges to join their twins in making a go of Gordon’s dream, it didn't make it any easier. What was it that President Lincoln said about a house divided? Would Nana Stevens never come for her promised visit? The entire family would be torn apart if she didn't show up soon, the shy thirteen-year-old thought to herself, unable to meet her older cousins eyes as they challenged her moody silence, as they dared not challenge their father's twin brother. 

             Stepping inside to assure himself of Granny Mayhew’s continued well being, Blackie pulled the soft, shapeless cap from his head, causing his hair to remain in greasy ridges. Holding the cap against his chest, he inquired to her health in soft, reverent tones one might expect to use only in some lofty cathedral. She grinned, showing the uneven bumps of her toothless gums and she demanded he kneel and bend down so she could attempt to straighten his hair with her gnarling fingers, awaking a tenderness in the shy girl she’d never experienced toward anything but baby animals before, and glancing over her shoulder to be sure her mother didn’t need her as she stood at the stove with her back toward the hall wall separating them from the grand room, frying beef strips, Trinity turned back to find Blackie had seated himself beside the frail woman’s recliner, watching her face intently, almost worshipfully.

            “  We all need someone who smiles when they see us, Child. “  Granny said thoughtfully as Trin waited to help her back to the chair so she could empty the commode.  “ Same as I feel when your face lights up when you see me. “

            Trinity looked up in shock, trying to force a smile, but it wouldn’t come, no matter how hard she tried to twist the muscles into the proper shape.

            “  Oh Granny! We’re ruined! What are we going to do now?  “  She sobbed, laying her cheek against the woman’s bony chest.

            “  God ain’t. He brought us here, like the Hebrew Children from the Wilderness. Just trust His Hand, Child.  “  She said wearily and she was asleep from the moment her head rested against the pillow of the recliner which served as her day bed. Even so Trinity tiptoed as she returned the cleaned pan to the chair like apparatus beside the shriveled form.

            “  Breakfast. “

            Her mother’s normal speaking tone sounded like a shout. Trinity glanced up at the empty staircase in its grandeur from the previous century when servants lived in houses outside the main structure and carriages filled the smaller of the two barns when company came to pay a call. She could hear a fight going on upstairs as Scott rebuked his baby sister Mary Alice, but it seemed as far removed as the moon still visible in the morning sky as the rain left off.

            “  Let’s go out after we eat. “  Her father suggested, obviously shocking her mother as much as it did her.

            “  I don’t think Rosalie should be out in this cold, Gordie. “  She started to object.

            “  I’ve spoken with Mrs. Taylor. She’s going to watch over Granny and the children so Rosalie can get used to seeing her here, so it’s just the four of us. We need a break.  “

            While her Mom was arguing about having wet dogs in the barn-like house, Trinity pretended an interest in her plate as she watched the struggle on her eleven-year-old cousin’s face. Trevor didn’t want to go, but he wasn’t in a position where he could be as vocal in his demands as Scott or Hugh. Usually she spoke for him, but nothing was ‘usual’ since they gave up their house in Chicago and moved West! She wasn’t even sure he wanted her too or not, and before, that hadn’t even been a consideration. Nana Stevens expected her to defend her family and her was one of them, no matter whether his Dad had done the crime he was accused or not, and she didn’t know how to ask him with the adults so near. She’d hoped they were going to go somewhere, or do something, but once they reached Santa Cruz, they found the streets emptied of tourists or foot traffic by the recent rain so they drove out to the new Mall in Soquel. It began to mist heavily as the rain cross the low lying mountains containing the Valley were the small town nestled in the break from the Redwoods and Pines that crowded the mountaintops. It wasn’t as if they had money to spend on shopping, so she didn’t even look in the brightly lit windows under the covered Mall as they waited for the first movie of the afternoon to open but oddly, simply being away from the place no so associated with loss in her mind, helped her mood to lightened considerably. Especially once her parents relaxed and began to speak with one another freely. Trevor watch, but that was Trevor. She found comfort in simply having another dark face next to hers when she chanced to glimpse their reflection in one of the jewel light store windows.

-

             Because the entire area was constructed to resemble a Spanish Mission there was a small courtyard and fountain at the center of the new building where they sat to one side to avoid drawing attention to four Black faces, sipped Orange Julius and tried not to stand out as ‘tourists’ by gawking too much. Something Beth had assured her was looked on in scorn by those who lived in the small resort and winery-based town year-round.

            “  Trin? Your mother and I have been talking. We’re going to stay but Uncle El might return to Chicago or he may move to San Francisco and make a life for them there. Either way, there are going to be changes in our family that none of us saw coming. “

            “  Not even Nana?  “

            She knew instantly she’d said the wrong thing, for her looked terribly defeated and she instinctively reached out with her hand as she’d seen her mother do a thousand times before, brushing against bone and sinew as Adele did so too. Making her father smile sadly as he found the weight of both of their hands, then he gave a terrible sigh that seemed to shake his whole body.

            “  With women like you to believe in me and a GOD given talent that he watches over, I’m not going to fail you now! I promise!  “

            “  I know Daddy.  “  She agreed, as her parent’s eyes locked and saw again that tangible union between souls.

            “  Her education is important. “  Her mother said in code that she thought she understood. “ What’s she’s learning from us is as important as any fact or musical note. “

Then her mother looked at her so intently that it was intimidating. “ If you want to return, no one will be angry. You’ve been given a special gift and with it comes a great responsibility, even for a girl as young as you are, Honeybee. But when you grow up and we’re gone, you’re going to face situating as complicated and demanding as this one is. Your father wants you to go back to Chicago and stay with Nana so you don’t have to go through the pain and the turmoil, and a part of me feels the same way. It’s instinctive for a parent to want to guard and protect their children. But Granny is right. Some day you’re going to have to stand on your own and draw on your inner wisdom to make decisions, so start today. You choose, Honey. Do you want to stay or is your music important enough to you that you can trust us to work things out here while you do what you have to do? “

            Trinity sucked in her breath to buy time to answer, keenly aware of their surroundings in a flash photo that sealed every sound, every color, and every movement into an indelible memory

            “  Do I have to decide right now, Mommy? “  She felt back on the childhood name.

            Adele Rodgers shook her head yes. It wasn’t as though it was a brand new concept, she’d wrestled with it for almost the month since her birthday party, and the weeks preceding it while Nana still thought she could keep her grown sons at her side. 

She was wrong about that. Using the promise inherent in her mother’s soft words Trinity foresaw a good conclusion to all this sometime in the near future, though she couldn’t form any of the details in advance, so she looked inside the way the old Black woman had often urged her in their rare private moments together.

            “  I always wanted what Nana wanted for me.  “

            “  That’s not a bad thing, Honeybee. Your Grandmother is a wise woman whose lived through enough triumphs and tragedies to have formed a solid basis for all her opinions. But what do you want?  “

            She started to cry.

            “  I don’t know. “

            “  Then just say the first thing that pops into your head, yes or no. It’ll be the right answer.

            Both words pushed their way toward her mouth with the same haste and speed and she thought she was going to say ‘yes’, until she said it.

            “  No. I don’t want to go back to anything. I want to make something, and I’m right here right now. “

            Her parent’s silence and looks of shock was discomforting, but now that she’d made an internal decision, the agonizing indecision fled and a sense of rightness filled its place, allowing new sounds and movements to press themselves against her conscious mind. Right or wrong, it’d been spoken, she was committed. She wished she knew if her parents approved or not, but their faces were masks of adult ubiquity.  They nodded and stood up, cleaning up the rings left on the tile by the melting ice coating on the Orange Julius glasses and they walked, with her in the middle, to the theater, where they made do with a single box of candy for her and a shared box of popcorn they had less interest in then she did, and she lost herself to the theme and the celluloid promises being flashed on the silver screen at the front of the darkened room. She could finally relax. The darkness of their faces would be hidden in the dark. 

-

            There was a message on the answering machine when they got home. Pastor Lydecker invited them to bring along towels and swim suits because the Youth Group was driving to the Boardwalk in near by Santa Cruz for a four hour pass which would allow them free access to the roller coaster or any of the carnival rides. The Church would provide two hot dogs or a hamburger at the concession stand, with a small drink. If they wanted fries or a larger drink they’d have to make up the difference by bringing money with them. Trevor was so excited; they gave them money for a large size of both.

At first Trin didn’t want to go because as soon as they were in groups, Trevor would abandon her to hang out with the white boys he had as friends in the Church and though the one Black family in town attended the small Community Church, Sarah Johnson made it clear they weren’t going to be friends just because they shared a darker complexion, and Sarah wasn’t well treated because of her mother’s ‘immoral’ lifestyle,

which she explained away casually as her mother simply be ‘free spirited’, so she wouldn’t have any of the buffers she usually had. It was Granny Mayhew’s soft taunt that stung the deepest, for the withered old woman had no compulsions about speaking her mind frankly, expecting the Receiver to simply accept it at face value. 

            “  You’ve chosen this. Now you got to make the best of it, Girl. “

            She hated the way that Blackie looked at her so sorrowfully. If she wasn’t better than him, what had she become? Then the old woman’s eyes narrowed as the overweight man blushed and turned aside to hide his hurt feelings.

            “  You go, Girl! You don’t come back until you’ve learned a thing or two more about being kind! I ain’t got no time to waste with hurtful souls! “  She closed her eyes and stubbornly pretended to be asleep. Trinity refused to be treated with such disrespect,

but as the old woman’s breathing evened out, she realized it was no longer a pose. She rose and went to look for her younger sister, relieved that Rosalie still smiled when she her approach and still needed her. It was then that she decided that she could staying for Rosalie’s sake, whether the adults thought she was still needed, or not, and that made the whole thing seem less scary and unfounded. 

-

            Sensing the growing tension, Trinity noticed the way her dad was attempting to make time to spend just with her and it helped to ease the fears that kept bubbling past her firm resolve not to be so much trouble that her parents had to send her away. But it was Granny’s friendship with the odd, stocky man that allowed them to spend time together without frustrations pushing them further and further apart. Drawn by the lonely wail of the bagpipes the tall, burly man was playing from the cliff edge for his pet seal and her pup to hear from the open sea, she and her father made a place together by the small fire pit Blackie had lit at dusk.  Granny Mayhew snored slightly under her thick pair of blankets while Gordon Rodgers ripped apart the bag of marshmallows to get the last six wedged in one corner. He’d left Adele asleep on their bed with their younger daughter playing quietly beside her, and David freshly changed and sleeping in his crib.

            “  It’s been a while since I’ve had a man around to talk too, Blackie. “

            “  I know what you mean, Dr. Rodgers.  “  The heavily breathing man agreed.

            “  Gordie?  Remember? Did you take your medication today?  “

            “  I forgot.  “

            “  Do you need one now?  “   He asked in concern.

            “  No. This is just a cold.  “

            “  You didn’t take two of them because you forgot, did you?  “

            The shorter, rotund man looked hurt.

            “  I’m not a child, Dr. Rodgers. “

            “  No Ronald, you aren’t. I don’t allow children to call me by my first name. But Asthma is a serious medical condition and you’re my friend. That’s the only reason I’m asking. Okay?  “

            “  Okay, but call me “Blackie”! When you call me by My Name I think you’re mad at me, or sum’ thing. Do you want I should get those marshmallows out for you, Dr. R?  “

            “  I’ve got them now, thank you. Trin?  “

            Trinity leaped in surprise, the end of her branch was glowing red from exposure to the low flame.

            “  Why don’t you go to bed, Honey?  You’ve had a long day.  “

            “  No! I’m all right. “  She protested through a sudden yawn, but as much as she enjoyed having this rare time to share with her Dad, she was barely able to keep her eyes open in the cool of the summer air.

            “  Would you brown these for me, Blackie?  “ She heard him say, then warm arms circled her and she smelled her father’s aftershave. Placing her head on his shoulder she started to snore as she breathed in and out.

          Trinity woke in her own room with a pecking noise on the window, low and insistent. It finally woke her enough to recognize Sarah Powell’s voice. Pulling her robe over her pajamas, Trinity shuffled toward the laundry room doors. Although it was bright with early morning sunlight as she opened the unlocked door, as soon as she pulled it shut on the eager barking noise outside, Beth’s face was again in shadow.

            “  You got a shiner where your mother hit you. “  She noted quietly.

            When she wasn’t invited any further into the house, the redhead haired girl sighed and leaned back against the door.

            “  That was some speech your Dad gave at the Town Meeting last night.  “

            “  That wasn’t a speech. He really meant what we said.  “

            “  Then we’re equal, Trin.  “

            “  What’d you mean?  “

            “  We’ve both said something obvious. Can I come in or is there some reason that you’re keeping me out here?  “

            “  No, not at all!  I’m just not awake yet. “

            The girls hugged then Trinity turned to open the door. It opened first to her Aunt Alyesse with a plastic bag full of laundry! The door opened with such force it almost knocked Trinity over and she stepped on Beth’s foot jumping back out of the way.

            Alyesse Rodgers looked tired and annoyed but she stepped back to allow the two girls to walk into the house, her frown forbidding the obvious questions on her niece’s face.

            “  We’ve got to quit meeting like this!  “  She tried to make it a joke, but looking at the tear stained girl with a black eye, hiding behind her shorter friend, she just shook her head and pushed her the rest of the way into the heated noisy house.

            “  I’m not even going to ask!  “

            She said in a determined voice, then slammed the laundry room door behind her.

            “  You wan’na stay for breakfast?  It looks like cafeteria style!  “

            “  Maybe I shouldn’t stay.  “  She said hesitantly, but turning around she realized

that way was blocked by the angry twin to the woman giving orders in the kitchen behind the blue wall.

            “  Who’s going to notice one more face?  “

            “  Maybe because mine is white and yours are black!  “

            “  You want to know something truthfully? “

            “  What?  “

            “  I hadn’t even noticed. Come on, you wanted to talk with me when you came over didn’t you?  “

            “  I didn’t expect your whole family to be up.  “

            “  I didn’t expect them to be here, so we’re even.  “

            She motioned for her friend to go wait in the living room before all the good seats on the love seat were taken, then Trinity walked over, grapped enough silverware for both of them, two woven placemats and then balanced two full glasses of Orange juice for them. There was so much noise and so many kids running around in the small alcove that her Mom and Dad didn’t even notice that she was up yet or not dressed.

            The beef bacon strips cooking on top of the stove set her mouth to watering, but she wanted to take a moment to speak with Beth before she dressed so she could eat. Only on the Sabbath were they allowed to eat breakfast in their PJ’s and that didn’t start until tomorrow night.

            “  I’ve got to call long distance and Mom has a restriction on our phone! I need to call My Uncle and tell him about my mother. She scares me, Trin. “

            “  Won’t the Army tell him just like they did your mother?  “

            “  I don’t think so, he wasn’t Dickey’s biological father, and he deserves to know! Till he and Mom got to fighting so much about the time she takes to write her books, he raised us. I don’t want him to read about it in the newspaper or have someone else tell him.  “  Her voice broke, catching two of the younger cousin’s attention but Trinity glared them into silence. This would have been a private conversation if her Aunt and Uncle hadn’t moved their family back to the house as abruptly as they’d left it! Trin hadn’t even had time to look around upstairs and see what it looked like, and they were back already!

            “  Tito is going to have puppies!  “ 

            Jane Rodgers said happily, squeezing her wide body between the two girls already on the love seat.

            “  I’m sure Mrs. Tito is very surprised.  “

            She saw how wounded the eight year old became, but she really wanted some time to talk with the troubled girl who’d come to her for friendship.

            Jane pursed her lips, wanting to make it an issue about staying since Trinity was her best friend first and wanting to rush away because she clearly wasn’t welcomed or wanted by her older cousin any loner, and that hurt!  Trinity noticed the sudden appearance of purple nail polish on her friend’s hands when Beth held down Sarah’s arm.

            “  I’m the one who should be going. “

            The eight year old smiled happily and looked up, Trinity was standing now too.

            “  Tito’s going to have puppies and Mrs. Farnsworth said I could have all of them that I wanted! Where are you going?  “

            “  We’ll be right back.  “

            The pretty redhead promised but her older cousin never even turned around or acknowledged her. In a few moments, both girls were sitting at the table with her aunt and uncle, and the white girl was crying as she talked to someone using the white extension phone. It didn’t look the older girl even touched her Orange juice, so Sarah downed it in a single, satisfying gulp and put the empty glass over to one side of the end table, hoping no one would notice the extra glass.

            Sarah Powell’s face was stiff with rage when they knocked on her front door. She seized her daughter by the shoulder and pulled her inside.

            “  Did you think I wasn’t going to notice? Did you think he wasn’t going to call me as soon as you hung up?  “

            “  Sarah…Mrs. Powell…This is a difficult times for the whole nation much less you, for the terrible loss you just endured! But you don’t have to do it alone! We… “

            “  Its MISS Powell! And I shouldn’t have had to go through it at all! He said he was just going to his father’s place! I didn’t know he meant the Army as his father’s place! And you had no right to interfere! Now get off my property and stay out of my life! And that includes that brat of yours too! And her most especially!  “

            Before they could react to the grieving woman’s desperate attack, she pushed Beth further into the hallway and slammed the front door in their faces.

            “  I think we’d better go.  “

            Adele said in a low voice, emotion betraying her Southern accent as they could hear the angry female voices through the hard wood door. Inwardly Trinity repeated her friend’s earlier remark about saying the obvious but she knew not to repeat it out loud. Her parents weren’t hip enough to understand the reference without being told the whole thing. And that seemed a violation of new friend’s trust.

            When they came home, they found an odd silence clinging to their children as they leaned on the upstairs railing with sad eyes and mournful expressions. Then Alyesse

stormed to the head of the stairs and demanded they return to their rooms to pack! Acting as if her sister and nice weren’t even watching from the downstairs floor!

            “  We’re packing our things and moving! We can’t go back to Chicago, but we aren’t staying here! I won’t have my children subjected to this racist hatred!  “

            “  But mine should be?  “

            The statuesque black woman turned away angrily, pretending not to hear.

            “  Talk to Lionel!  “

-

-

End Chapter 8