A Sundog Moment by Sharon Baldacci

Author:Sharon Baldacci [BALDACCI, SHARON]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780446533782
Publisher: FaithWords
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

The hint of salt clung to the moist air, and breezes off the river cooled anyone near it on this day in late September. It was Indian summer, the season’s last performance before bowing out formally to autumn’s legitimate claim. The crowd of girls banded together was a multiracial gathering; two of the girls were white, another dark, one light skinned, and another whose skin was a beautiful mixture of dark cream and polished mahogany. This young woman was the star of whatever group she found herself in. Black rippling waves of hair cascading down her back, Serenity Brown demanded attention simply by breathing. Tall and regal, she could never be anonymous.

Her face held the mixture of all the best of several nationalities. Her cheekbones were as high and defined as any princess’s from India, her lips the best mixture of African and Greek features. Serenity Brown’s eyes, large and surrounded by lush dark lashes, were a mixture of browns and blacks and moods. Her body had an inherent grace that years of ballet lessons could never teach. School was finished, part-time jobs had been completed this late afternoon on Thursday. These friends were hanging out at the Freeze, the only fast-food joint in the area.

Serenity’s anger was eloquent, her low voice pleasant even while spouting steam. “I will not tolerate such behavior either from her or from my grandmother.” Her words were spoken with precision. It was the way she had been taught by her grandmother, each word and syllable clearly heard, and at this moment, quivering with fury.

Then she snapped to a low-class southern twang, notching the alto up higher. “That rich bitch is going to get it. I’m gonna make sure she gets hers; you be assured I get even with her. She be sorry for firing me.”

She seethed, recalling the afternoon. She had gone with her granny after school to clean up and help pack things away for the season. Sure, the lady had been all sweetness when Serenity first started working there in the summer, but now that white cripple had turned awful. She was missing some things and asked—oh, her voice had been the sweetest fake thing imaginable—“Have you seen any of my jewelry, Serenity? Did you happen to move my rings, Serenity?” The suspicious bitch had already convicted her, made all those snide insinuations! She felt anger flare up and burn all over again inside her, hands clenched in fists.

No one—not even her grandmother who had raised her for the last six years or these girls who thought they were her closest friends—could imagine what her life had been like before she came to this country. America, where so many had so little and yet there was this abundance of stuff. Pretty things, valuable things, all reaching out for her attention.

“What’d your granny say when she fire you?” Kasey asked, snickering. This outburst of temper was not unusual because Serenity was always getting herself into some kind of trouble. The fun was watching her get out of it.

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