Breaking the Chain by Frankie Berry Wise

Author:Frankie Berry Wise [Wise, Frankie Berry]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780615859545
Amazon: 0615859542
Publisher: WISE Scholars Publishing
Published: 2013-07-29T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

Sarah continued to stay at the Boggs' home for

another month. She was caring for Iris, Belinda, and now

baby Samantha. She was still waiting to hear an answer

from Mr. and Mrs. Boggs on when they would return from

Detroit.

Belinda finally got word, from her father, that the

doctor said it would be a long time before Mrs. Emma

would ever be well enough to return home. Mr. Henry told

Belinda that the doctor felt that it was possible that Mrs.

Emma may never be able to come back to Crosstown,

Georgia if she does not snap out of her depression. He

wanted Belinda to secure the house, pack everything that

she could bring and come to Detroit to help him care for

her mother.

There was nothing Iris could do, but swallow her

pride. She and Samantha would have to go home and live

with Sarah and Lilly. She would have to abandon her future plans of studying at Tuskegee Institute. She would

have to work at Cleo’s cafe while raising her daughter.

Iris and Belinda said their goodbyes and promised

to always remain best friends. Belinda went up North

while Iris and Samantha remained down South. Iris felt

envy towards Belinda. She envied that Belinda, though

dire circumstances, was moving away from Crosstown, but

that she was unable to do the same.

The town's gossip, about Iris birthing a little white

baby and Cleo dating the town’s whore, sent Sarah into a

tailspin. For the first time in her life, Sarah felt as though

she was no better than the other niggers in Cross Town,

Georgia.

She was extremely disappointed with Iris. She did

not get out of bed all day, except to use the chamber pot.

Sarah was beginning to have a bad body odor because she

was not bathing or changing into a clean nightgown. Iris would have to cook and bring Sarah’s meals to

her bedside. Lilly was always overworked at the cafe and

usually went straight to sleep from exhaustion.

Iris felt trapped, deserted, lonely, and old beyond

her years. Iris was frustrated that Sarah was being

unresponsive, that she had not heard a word from Belinda

and, to make matters worse, Samantha was now suffering

from colic. Sometimes Iris would find herself thinking

about Sam and hating him for dying. If Sarah was trying to

punish Iris for disappointing her, she was doing a damn

good job. The colored women, who really despised

Sarah, made the situation worse. They would visit the

house under the false pretenses of being concerned for

Sarah. Some even brought homemade cakes and casseroles.

Iris would greet the ladies at the door and tell them that

Sarah was too ill to have visitors. The obvious back

stabbers would leave and take their food back home with

them. Iris knew that their main purpose, for visiting, was

not to wish Sarah well, but to get a glance at her baby

They wanted to see if Samantha looked white so that they

could have something to gossip about and spread around

town. But, Iris never gave them the opportunity that they

sought.

* * * * *

With Samantha in her arms, Iris fell asleep in the

rocking chair. She awoke, early the next morning, to the

aroma of food coming from the kitchen. She laid Samantha

on the bed and went to investigate.

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