‘Ezekiel.’
She guffawed at that and got her whole foot under my thigh. I had a hard time keeping the car in the road.
While we rode along Ernestine flirted with me in the front seat and Clifton pouted in the back. Mouse was telling us a story about how a bad man in Houston shot his foot off while trying to shoot Mouse. It was a funny story and we all laughed, even Clifton, in that respectful way you’re supposed to laugh when complimenting a well-told lie. But I knew that Mouse wasn’t lying. That gangster, fat Joe Withers, died from gangrene poison. He had made the mistake of grabbing EttaMae one night and we all knew that Mouse would get him one day.
Ernestine was still giggling and wiggling her toes when Mouse started checking Clifton out.
‘Ain’t I seen you wit’ a guitar down in Fifth Ward? I swear I seen a big man like you down there playin’.’
‘Ain’t me, man. I ain’t the least bit musical.’
‘Well, yeah, I guess you must know. It’s just I seen this boy who looked powerful like you and I wondered why such a big man would waste his time on music.’
‘I cain’t tell ya. I mean I like t’listen but, uh, you know, I ain’t never gonna play nuthin’.’
‘Uh-huh.’ I could see Mouse nod in the mirror. ‘That’s just how I feel. You know I go on down t’ George’s saloon an’ get all the music I needs. You ever go there?’
‘Naw. The way them men in the bars an’ juke joints be lookin’ at Ernestine gets me mad.’ Clifton talked slowly as if every word he said had to be exactly right.
Ernestine stopped wagging her foot long enough to say, ‘He just jealous, that’s all. ‘Cause the men like a girl wit’ big titties like I got.’ She sneered at him; Mouse and I looked away.
‘You shouldn’t be talkin’ like that, honey. What these men gonna think?’
‘Well I am nice t’look at, ain’t I,’Zekiel?’ she said as she arched her foot.
I swear that I meant to look out at the road but I found myself staring down at her. Clifton would have opened my head if he saw my eyes but I guess he was too busy looking at her to notice what I was doing.
‘Ernestine, stop it!’
‘I will not! I will not! On’y reason we here is ‘cause you so jealous an’ you don’t know that a girl can get a compliment an’ not do nuthin’ ‘bout it!’
‘That’s enough now, girl!’ Clifton was threatening but Ernestine didn’t care.
‘What difference it make? If that boy die you know they gonna fines you an’ they gonna get you too!’
Mouse had a talent, he could smile without letting it show. You could be looking at him and if you didn’t know it you’d think his face was just plain, but if you knew what to look for you’d see how his eyes got larger and how his mouth lost its hardness.
He was smiling then.
‘You in some kinda trouble, Clifton?’ Mouse spoke the boy’s name like they’d known each other for years.
‘Ain’t nuthin’, man. Just a little disagreement.’
Ernestine frowned and turned to look out at the road. I missed her toes under my leg.
‘I wanna know, man, ‘cause we here wichyou in the car an’ if the po-lice stops us I just wanna know,’ Mouse said.
Clifton didn’t say a word.
‘You know you can get in trouble wit’ the law fo’just he’pin’ somebody done done sumpin’ wrong. . .’ Mouse let that one hang for a minute then he said, ‘An’ you know a guilty man more nekked than a baby, the patrols see you out here. . . I mean I wouldn’t wanna put you out or nuthin’, but me an’ Easy cain’t afford no dose look by John Law ourselfs. ..’
‘Ain’t nuthin,” Clifton said again. ‘Man was lookin’ at Ernestine wit’out no respect an’ I showed him a little sumpin’, that’s all.’
‘He beat that boy so bad that he prob’ly dead!’ Ernestine shouted with her lips stuck straight out.
‘Is that true, Clifton?’
‘He wasn’t movin’ much when we lefted,’ the sullen boy admitted.
‘But that don’t mean he dead.’
‘Anybody see it?’
‘We was in a bar fulla people!’ Ernestine had turned completely around. She was like a little girl in that dirty blue dress with litde pictures of cows stamped all over it.
Mouse shook his head and hummed his dissatisfaction, ‘Mmmmmm-mm! An’ you out here in the road for any hick sheriff t’haul you in? Mm! You two headed fo’a rope.’
‘I tried t’tell ‘im,’ Ernestine said. ‘But he won’t listen t’me. He think he so smart an’ they gonna hang him.’
‘You ain’t gonna be too frisky in jail neither,’ Mouse answered.
‘What you mean? I ain’t done nuthin’!’
‘But you wit’ a bad man. The law see you wit’ him an’ they call you the same. An’ if you a woman they call you a bad man’s girl an’ that’s even worse.’
Ernestine pouted and turned to put her face against the window. Clifton hunched down in his seat and
