mother passed.”
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The Man in My Basement
“I know. I was at the funeral. I was surprised not to see 1
you there.”
2
“Busy,” I said, not remembering the excuse I gave at the 3
time.
4
Lainie took a bite out of her sandwich and smiled. She 5
always smiled after the first bite of her sandwich. She told 6
me once that her mother, Arvette, made her lunch every 7
morning. I think the bread reminded Lainie of her mother 8
the way that Catholics are supposed to be reminded of 9
their Lord when they eat that biscuit.
10
Lainie and Arvette lived together just outside of town 11
in a small house where both of them had been born. Most 12
Negroes around the midisland lived in modest homes.
13
Our ancestors had been farmworkers mainly. Many had 14
come from the South over the decades, looking for a place 15
they could work in peace.
16
“I was out at Wilson Ryder’s new site this morning,” I 17
said.
18
“Really? Mr. Gurgel is the officer in charge of that loan.
19
He says that the Ryders have always been good business.”
20
She took another bite. But that was just eating — no 21
smile involved.
22
“Yeah. Well, anyway, I went over there to ask about a 23
job today. I mean, he had jobs. I know that because Ricky 24
Winkler works out there. But Mr. Ryder lied and said 25
that he didn’t have any jobs. And when I told him that he 26
was a liar, he started talkin’ about the bank and why didn’t S 27
I work there anymore?”
R 28
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Walter Mosley
1
Lainie took a big bite out of her sandwich. I think she 2
did that because she wanted time to think. After chewing 3
on her white bread and processed meat like it was a 4
mouthful of jerky, she stopped and took a deep breath. I 5
