Did you make love to him?”
The words cut much deeper than any profanity I could have used. I saw in her face the pain that I felt. Deep, grinding pain that only gets worse with time. And though it didn’t make me feel good, it at least seemed to create some kind of balance. At least she wouldn’t leave unscathed.
“No,” she whispered. “No. We didn’t make love. I couldn’t with you back here waiting for me.”
A thousand questions went through my mind. Did you kiss him? Did you hold hands in the sunset? Did you say that you loved him? But I knew I couldn’t ask. Did he touch your breast? Did he breathe in your breath on a blanket near the water? I knew that if I asked one question that they would never stop coming.
I stood up. I was dizzy, light-headed, but didn’t let it show.
“Where are you going?” she asked.
“I got a job to do for Etta. A woman already paid me so I got to move it on.”
“What kind of job?”
“Nuthin’ you need to know about. It’s my business.” And with that I showered and shaved, powdered and dressed. I left her in the house with her confessions and her lies.
WITH NO OTHER INFORMATION available to me I went to see Etta at the Merchants’ seaside retreat. She only pulled the door open enough to see me.
“Go away, Easy,” she said.
“Open the door, Etta.”
“Go away.”
“No.”
Maybe I had gained some strength of will working for the city schools. Or maybe Etta was getting worn down between losing her husband and working for the rich. All I knew was that at another time she could have stared me down. Instead the door swung open.
Inside, sitting on the blue couch with golden clamshell feet, was a young black man and young white woman, both of them beautiful. They were holding hands and huddling like frightened children. They
“They came after you called me, Easy,” Etta said.
“Why didn’t you call back?”
“You did what I asked you to already. You found them. That’s all I could ask.”
“I’m Easy,” I said to the couple.
“Willis,” the boy said. He made a waving gesture and I noticed that his hands were bloody and bandaged.
“Sin,” the girl said. There was something crooked about her face but that just stoked the fires of her dangerous beauty.
“What happened to Big Art, Sin?”
Her mouth dropped open while she groped for a lie.
“I already know you called your father,” I said.
“I was just mad at Art,” she said. “He didn’t have to beat up Willis and hurt his hands. I thought my father would come and maybe do something.” Her eyes grew glassy.
“What happened?”
“I told Art that I was going down to the liquor store and then I called Daddy. I told him that I was with a guy but I was scared to leave and he said to wait somewhere near at hand. Then I waited in the coffee shop across the street. When I saw Abel I got scared and went to get Willy. When we came back to get my clothes he was…” She trailed off in the memory of the slaughter.
I turned to Willis and said, “You’d be better off holding a gun to your head.”
“I didn’t mean for him to get killed,” Sinestra said angrily.
“What now?” I asked Etta.
“I’m tryin’ to talk some sense to ’em. I’m tryin’ to tell Sin to go home and Willis to get away before he ends up like that Art fella.”
“I’m not going back,” Sinestra proclaimed.
“And I’m not leavin’ her or L.A.”
“She just had a big man break your fingers and then she went and fucked him.”
“She didn’t know. She was just flirtin’ and it got outta hand. She’s just innocent, that’s all.”
My mouth fell open and I put my hand to cover it.
Etta started laughing. Laughing hard and loud.
“What are you laughing at?” Sinestra asked.
I started laughing too.
“Shut up, shut up,” Sinestra said.
